5.5

Last week my baby girl celebrated her half birthday.  I don't make a huge deal on the half birthdays but I do like to recognize them.  I can't believe she's 5 1/2.  Time is flying by.  She may only be 5 but she sometimes acts 15.  I mean, she's already boy crazy and loves wearing makeup.  She would wear makeup every day if I let her but I don't even let her leave the house with the stuff on unless it's her dance recital. 

She's so much fun and always keeps me laughing.  She's also quite a hypochondriac I think.  Every day it's something new.  Some pain somewhere on her body.  It's so hard to tell if she's being honest or not and it's frustrating.  Last month we were talking about diabetes and she said, "I had that last year."  Uhh ... no you don't.  Luckily I haven't received a phone call from the school nurse in awhile.  It's usually because she has a headache or stomach ache.  I always tell them to send her back to class.  It gets ridiculous.  Although once last month she did throw up and I did pick her up. 

She also has a big heart and is very sensitive.  She cares about other people.  When I told her about the death of her cousin she cried a lot.  She doesn't even remember her cousin but I guess it was the thought of losing a cousin that upset her.  She's also willing to help her grandmother.  

This girl is all about everything girly.  She loves wearing skirts and dresses and if she asks to wear a dress and I say no it can turn into a total meltdown.  She still wants to be a princess when she grows up.  I'm not sure how that's going to happen but I think it's adorable.  Her favorite animal is zebra and you will find zebra print stuff everywhere in her room.  She has been learning how to read and has started being able to solve basic math problems.  She amazes me. 

Recent Briannaisms:

"When I grow up I want to become president and I will tell everyone I have a dream of making the world a better place and if you don't like it you can leave."

A Little Bit Of Sunshine In February

We have been having amazing weather here in Pennsylvania and it's so strange for February.  We have enjoyed up to 70 degrees in the last few days.  It's wonderful.  Today is a bit cooler but the rest of the week looks like it will be in the 60's.  It's been great.  I am not a fan of the cold winter weather so it's nice to have such a mild season.  I am savoring every bit of it that I can because it's quite possible that mother nature will bring in the coldness again. 

Over the weekend we took the kids to a playground.  It was nice to be outside in the sunshine.  It was also nice that we didn't need the winter coats.  Yesterday, Presidents Day, the kids spent a lot of time outside as well.  I'm so glad I have kids that love running around outside using their imaginations.  All the electronic devices make it so rare lately, doesn't it? 

I also took the kids for a walk to our neighborhood playground while my husband worked on his mother's taxes. 

It's so typical to see warm weather one day and then cold weather the next so I'm anticipating the freezing cold to come back but I really hope not.  Even my day lilies think it's spring. 

Heaven Gained An Angel

It's so heartbreaking to find out that my oldest niece has passed away.  She was only three years younger than me.  It was always funny when introducing her as my niece and people would look confused and ask, "You mean cousin?"  No, she was my niece.  It's possible to become an aunt when you are practically a baby, that is, if your sibling is sixteen years older and started having kids young.  Yes, it's possible. 

Her and I were so close as kids.  We had so much fun hanging around.  There was a time when she was one of my best friends.  As we got older we didn't hang out as much and it was mostly because I ended up moving to another state.  Still, whenever we did get together it was a lot of fun.  She was always someone very special.

She spent her adult life battling with multiple sclerosis.  It has been so tragic watching her body slowly fade away.  No one deserves this, especially our beautiful Diana. 

My sister shocked me when she called me back in November to tell me that Diana was sent to the hospital and was about to die.  Everyone was there saying their goodbyes.  This came as a shock to me.  Her organs were shutting down and it didn't look good.  Suddenly it seemed she was improving and she hung on for three months.  It was three months of hell.  Lots of back and forth and uncertainty.  Then last Friday my dad called to tell me this was it.  It was only a matter of days.  Yesterday my sister told me they were all going to the hospital to say goodbye.  This was going to be it for sure.  As I laid in bed I received a text at 4am to say that she had passed away at 2:32am. 

My family lost an amazing person.  She was a daughter, sister, aunt, niece and mother.  She leaves behind two amazing boys.  My heart breaks heavily for them. 

Thank you for the memories Diana.  I am so fortunate to have known you and to have been your aunt.  Fly high angel! 

2017 Goals

I am not one for New Years resolutions.  I mean, who sticks with them anyway?

I do have plans for this year so we'll call them goals.  I have goals I want to achieve this year.  I like lists and I LOVE when I get the chance to cross things off the list.  So I'll create a list of some of the things I'd like to achieve in the year 2017.  It will be nice to see how much I've been able to cross off the list at the end of the year. 

• Declutter home.  Get rid of toys the kids no longer play with, get rid of all items none of us use or need.  
• Exercise more.  Lost weight.  Build muscle.  Reach goal weight
• Run a 5K
• Redecorate rec room
• Plan 2018 Disney trip 
• Less time and updates on Facebook compared to previous years
• Start becoming more serious about my dream writing career

Family Time, No Screen Time

I have created a new rule in our household about not allowing any television watching or video game playing during the week in the evenings.  A bit drastic?  Well, I was very lenient with my kids and allowed them a lot of time in front of the screens daily.  Sitting in front of those screens too much keeps you from enjoying life, at least that's my new motto.  I'm trying to be different.  They would spend so much time watching tv and playing video games that by the time it was close to bedtime we had to cram so many things together, trying to get it all done.  There just isn't enough time. 

It's close to 4pm when my kids get off the school bus.  My son has a paper or two to complete for homework so he gets that done right away.  Then I start on dinner.  While I make dinner I would love for them to help me, play something productive or take care of whatever their cleaning needs done.  After dinner is bath time.  That leaves us with only one or two more hours left before bed time.  Sometimes we'll put on music and dance or we'll come up with some type of family activity.  Last night we did crafts, played indoor bowling and then sat and watched our daughter dance.  My husband put on Irish music and she immediately started Irish Step Dancing.  I don't know how she knew what to do but it was funny and I looked at my husband and said, "Well, looks like we'll need to look into Irish Step Dancing classes."  She loves to dance and is already involved in ballet and tap.

After not seeing my husband and kids all day while they are at work and in school it was nice to have time to focus on each other.  Last night I also tried to refrain from looking at my phone.  My focus needs to be solely on them.  It was great.  I can focus on housework and "me" time while they are in school and when they are home my attention can be completely theirs. 

Just Some Thoughts ...

Good morning.

I went through the typical morning routine, said goodbye to my husband as he went off to work and then put the kids on the school bus.  It's a very sunny and warm morning.  Very unusual for the end of January here in Pennsylvania but I will take it.  The cold and rain is expected to come again this evening so it's nice to have this moment of vitamin D out there.  Sunny days are also great for keeping me in a good mood.

Before I start on the daily routine of housework I am sitting here typing this up, sipping on a hot cup of coffee and catching up on last night's episode of This Is Us.  I'm not usually one to get into the trendy new shows but this one I like a lot.  It's a sweet story.  I love it!

Yesterday I made a decision to stay off of Facebook.  Maybe not permanently because I do enjoy the social media site.  My family, that I don't see very much, is on there and I can see their updates and pictures of my nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews ... it's so nice to be able to easily stay in touch this way.  I also enjoy seeing all the updates from my friends and catching up on their lives.  However, lately, it's all politics.  Nothing but politics.  Nothing but Trump and Republican bashing.  I mean, come on, I thought Democrats were known for being "peace loving, tolerant people who accept everyone's differences."  It's annoying.  Very annoying.  It's okay to have your opinions and it's okay to post links that actually matter but it's just ... so ... much.  Then when I see all of it I get angry and then feel the need to do my own rant.  Then after my rant I feel a little better inside but know it doesn't solve anything.  It's ridiculous.  I cannot allow anger to get the better of me.  I also noticed whenever something happens I always think oooh I should put this on Facebook.   It's like some sort of obsession.  It's not good.  Just not good.  So I'm done, at least for now.  I decided to spend my online time on here and also on Pinterest.

I also realize that I spend so much time looking down at my phone when my kids are around.  My husband just got an iPhone and he is always on it.  Even after lecturing me so many times on how many times I look at mine.  Last night I was watching as he sat on the couch pounding away on the phone while the kids were doing their things near him and he was completely ignoring them.  When they say, "Daddy, look at this" and then get ignored it's a problem.  Now, I will say, I have done that too.  Many times.  I promised myself a long time ago that my kids will never be ignored and they will always have my attention.  The smart phone and computer ruined that.  It's totally my fault.  So now I am making an effort to stay off the phone when they are around.  It's not good.  Also, it will teach them how to focus more on screens and not so much on the world around them.  This seems to be how everyone lives now and it's sad.  Everywhere I go people are always looking down at their screens.  Even when driving.  Really?  I'm sure whatever conversation you need to have can wait until you are home ... or at least pull over.  I don't understand it.  But I'm guilty too ... not in the car though ... never in the car.

Oh, I did come up with some great ideas on what to do with this blog.  I came across a 30 day writing prompt challenge on Pinterest, so many of them.  So I combined 28 of them for the month of February.  Be on the look out for that.  It should be fun.  I am ready to turn this blog into something I do full-time.  It helps.  Really helps.  And helps keep me off of Facebook.  Ha!

Happy Hump Day y'all!

The Sickness Continues

It's really frustrating here in my house ...

It all started at the end of December when my daughter got sick.  I thought it was just a cold that would be short lived but she was down for the entire week off of school.  She was still sick the following week so I brought her into the doctor.  She said it seemed like pneumonia but she wasn't certain so she put her on an antibiotic just to be safe.  The antibiotic worked after a few days.  She was better.  Then my son got a fever and a really bad cough.  I didn't hesitate to get him to the doctor.  The doctor said it was an upper respiratory infection and gave me some tips on what to do.  Nothing worked and he remained the same, some moments worse.  The following week he was back at the doctor.  Pneumonia.  He was put on an antibiotic and had an allergic reaction to it.  Back to the doctor.  He was put on another antibiotic and has been on that for exactly a week.  The fever is gone but he still has a horrible cough that is nonstop.  Last Friday I took him for a chest x-ray.  It showed up clear so that's a good sign but the cough will not go away no matter what I do for him.  The antibiotic hardly worked, cough meds don't work, honey, lots of water, etc.  ... nothing!  I feel so bad because he has been feeling so miserable.  Since he isn't contagious anymore he is back to school but I feel really bad about it because I know the  constant cough must be an annoyance to everyone but more importantly it's uncomfortable for him.  I wanted him to at least try in hopes that the cough will eventually stop.  Yesterday he had a check up and the doctor said, "Oh, this cough could last another week or two."  What?  No!

On top of everything else last Friday I received a call from the nurse that my daughter was throwing up so I had to pick her up.  She threw up two more times at home but woke up Saturday feeling much better.  I was feeling so worn down all weekend and tried to remain low key.  On Sunday I started to feel nauseous and threw up twice.  Sunday night I was back to feeling fine.

Last night I went to bed with a headache and woke up with one.  I also started coughing and it leaves my throat feeling awful.  I have been sneezing and feeling dizzy.  Really?  Really?  I have remained strong for four weeks.  Now I'm knocked down.  I'm the Mom.  I can't be out of commission.  This isn't fair.

When is this going to end?

As for sickness, this is the worst we have ever been through.