This has to be a first for me--posting three days in a row!  Don't get too excited.  The streak is sure to end.  Unless....I go out and buy myself a computer table for the playroom.  Hmmmm.....it's worth a thought.  I could go to that big ugly blue and yellow building where they sell lots of furniture you have to put together (you know the one, right?) and buy something with the 'gift card' we have from returning an ugly lamp that Ken bought there that died within 6 months of owning it.  Did I mention they only gave us 60% of the original purchase price?  Yeah, great customer service they have there!  I don't care if they sell homemade Swedish meatballs or awesome cinnamon buns (so I've been told).  I want my damn money back!

WOW!  I didn't realize how pissed I was about that until I started composing.  Anyhoo!  What was I even thinking of posting about?  Don't you just hate that when you go off on some tangent and cannot for the life of you remember your original train of thought?  It's not so terrible when you are writing something, seeing as you can figure it out later and put it in and no one will ever know you couldn't remember where you were going with a story.  Much worse when it happens in a conversation, especially a face to face conversation.  I don't know about you, but when it happens to me, I try to play it off like it's no big deal, wasn't an important part of the conversation.  But on the inside I am cursing at myself, trying to figure it out.

Once again, I'm off on a lame tangent!  Is it any wonder I don't normally post three days in a row?  No need to answer that, of course.  So, tonight I was channel surfing (i.e. putting off cleaning my bedroom and my laundry room, much like I'm doing right now), and I stumbled across Paula Ab*dul's new reality show.  My brain told me to just keep surfing, but then it said to me, "Let's watch this train wreck.  It could be quite entertaining."  Uh, yeah.  I lasted about three minutes, if that.  It was Grammy night, or maybe the Oscars, but who really cares anyway, right?  She was about to get dolled up for the show and was taking a look at the jewelry she was going to be wearing---vintage suchandsuch valued at 100 million dollars!  That's ridiculous in itself, but then it got worse.  Paula had the jewelry all laid out on her bed, on which she was allowing her 'furry babies' (aka ugly big eyed tiny yippy yuppie dogs) to play.  They were playing among the jewelry!  Paula seemed like she was high or drunk, which I guess is normal for her.  Anyway, she was laughing as the dogs were all over the jewelry and gently pushed them away from it, though still allowed them to be up on the bed with it.  She even put a necklace on one of the dogs and was cheering the dog on.  In her stupor she somehow managed to notice that one of the other dogs had  a ring in its mouth!  She grabbed the dog's mouth and was trying to pry it open while yelling at the dog, "Get it out!  Get it out!"  That's when my brain grabbed the remote and turned off that trash TV.  Really, was this a terrible joke?  I bet if I had watched the credits, I would have seen Simon's name in there somewhere.

I'm back.  It's been a DAY since I last posted.  Believe it....or not!  I have actually been on-line multiple times throughout the day.  How great is that!  I mean, yes, we have missed Ken, but we're loving our computer time.  Rachel came into my room this morning and said, "Mommy, I just wanted to tell you that it's morning time."  I invited her to come in my bed for a few minutes.  She climbed in and got cozy and then said, "Can I go on the computer in the morning time?"  I told her she could and then, as if she read my mind, she announced, "I'm going to get dressed!" and was off like a shot.  Addicted, we are.

I like to call this one 'No Naps for Me!'  With the extra hours of daylight, and therefore extra playtime, this Big Girl is catching extra zzzz whenever and wherever she can!  Last night she fell asleep while I prepared dinner.  It was my fault for making it so late, but we ended up at the library during our usual dinner time.  So, she fell asleep somewhere around 7:30.  I woke her up at 8:00 to see if she wanted to eat dinner, or go to her bed.  She chose the bed, so I took her up, jammied her, said goodnight, and we didn't hear or see her until 8:30 this morning! 

Look at my beautiful daisies!!  I bought a $5 pot last year and planted it.  This year it doubled in size and is just gorgeous!  This was taken a few weeks ago.  Right now it is full of blooms.

Look at sweet Baby Moses!  He is a product of last week's Vacation Bible School.  The girls had a great time.  All of the families got to go to the church for a BBQ last Thursday and then hear all the kids sing the songs they learned there complete with actions.  It was very cute.  Both girls fully participated.  It's funny how they are both on the shy side (Rachel more so than Lauren), yet they love to perform 'on the stage'.  I hope they try out for plays when they are old enough.  They've been able to see some friends on the stage recently, and they enjoyed watching them perform.

Guess whose Mom is trying to one-up all the other Moms at T-ball??  Tee hee hee!  Here's a pic of my Li'l Slugger:

Note the lovely coordinated outfit she's got going on---red socks, pink skort, ugly green shirt (not her fault, obviously), topped off with the beautiful 'pearl' necklace.  That necklace is worn every single day!  Her friend made it for her and she truly adores it.  She could care less about what clothes she wears, but she is attached to that necklace.

Pics from a local festival to complete the picture pages for today:

My absolute favorite picture!  Ko*dak's software has a 'spotlight' special effect that I used here.  I love it!.  That is Ken and Rachel waving to me.  The girls were ecstatic to be able to ride the ferris wheel just like Fern and Henry Fussy did in 'Charlotte's Web'.

So the girls and I were walking home from the pool today when I noticed an unfamiliar car in our driveway.  So many thoughts ran through my head upon seeing this white P*T *Cruiser.  Who drives that kind of car?  Who is at our house?  Do I know this person?  How embarassed will I be to be seen in my swimsuit and 'pool hair'?  Is Ken okay?  Is the mysterious owner of the white car a bearer of bad news?  What the hell?  Just before we crossed the street, I figured it out.  Ken is going on a business trip and does not trust his car to get him out of Michigan safely, so he is renting a car.  Ahhhh, it all makes sense now!  My tense stomach muscles start to relax.  We get up to our driveway and Lauren says excitedly, "I know who the white car is....it's Big Red Car's Grandma!"  As you may recall, the girls refer to our red minivan as the Big Red Car, like from The Wig*gles.  And seeing as the PT Cruiser does look old-fashioned, I can see how it might look like the 'Grandma' compared to my car.  I found her observation quite amusing!

If I were getting graded on my parenting skills, I think I'd be getting an F in 'Sunscreen Application'.  Up until this year, I think I could name just a few times where the girls got a little pinkness on their skin.  And those times weren't so bad seeing as they would fade by the next day.  This year is another story.  Poor Rachel has had raccoon eyes on more than one occasion!  I told myself last week after the three of us got fried at the pool that I would reapply the sunscreen during every break time (the last 15 minutes of every hour at our pool is 'adult swim', and therefore 'break time' for children).  So, today, I slathered us up really well.  We swam for 35 minutes and I figured we could wait until the next break, seeing as it had been such a short time.  We had our break, swam for another 45 minutes, and then it was break time again.  I pulled out my new continuous spray sunscreen and sprayed the girls up and down.  I even sprayed myself on the shoulders and arms.  Guess what I forgot?  FACES!  I forgot to put sunscreen on the part of the body that receives the most sun!  So, once again, we have a Raccoon Rachel.  And I swear they need to make a shampoo or hairspray or something so that I can protect my part.  Yes, that's right, once again I have burned my scalp!  Just noticed that Lauren's part was pink today also.  I am such a loser!

Ken left today for an Ohio business trip, so it's just us girls until Friday.  I was so disappointed when I saw him walking out, packing up the car.  I had it in my mind that he was leaving tomorrow.  Makes the week seem longer already.  Rachel sees it differently.  As soon as she heard Ken was leaving, she gave him hugs and kisses and then turned to me and asked, "Can I go on the computer?"  So her mother's daughter!  We still haven't moved the family computer downstairs (haven't found a computer desk yet), so our computer time is limited.  So funny that she sees her Daddy leaving as a golden opportunity!  Hopefully he wasn't too heartbroken!  Well, since Ken will be away this week, I may actually post more often.....maybe.  I often think of things to write about and by the time I sit down at night, they are forgotten.  Just call me Mrs. Short-term Memory!

How nice of Ken to leave town when the grass needs mowing, giving me this "opportunity" to do "man's work".........Bastard.

When you think about it, the lawnmower is really just a big outdoor vacuum............a louder, larger, smellier, more awkward to handle vacuum.

Cutting the grass in straight even rows is actually more difficult than I once thought.

This will be the third and final time I ever cut grass again, so help me God.

We have way too many low branches in our yard........and did I mention many of them are of the evergreen variety (i.e. very prickly on the head as I try to duck through them).

WTF?Shit!Oops!  There went the mole scaring device Ken put in our yard......is it my fault it was cleverly made green to blend in with the yard??

I wonder how long I can stay outside before the girls come looking for me?  Will they ever......maybe if I mow over the cable line.

Now I know why some neighbors cut their grass so often.....no grass clippings to bag.

Maybe doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning and child rearing isn't so bad afterall.

I hope the neighbors aren't watching while I try to figure out how to put the bag back on.

I wonder how much I'd have to pay one of those high school kids walking by to cut the grass?  Since when do I see them as kids?

They really should put a water bottle holder on the lawnmower......hey, I should talk to my patent attorney SIL about that......I could be RICH!

Maybe having a small backyard is a good thing afterall.

Ken's in Florida, I'm cutting the grass, I'm sweating my ass off, and the internet is down.......why God, why????

How many more years until we can make Rachel do this?

I used to love the smell of freshly cut grass.........until I started to smell like it.

I wonder what Ken thinks about when he's cutting the grass?

AHA!  This can be my gift to Ken for Father's Day!  Check.  He can forget about any additional "gifts".........I'm too tired for that.

T-Ball

A few months ago, I registered Rachel for kindergarten.  How is that even possible?  Is my baby really growing up?  If so, how do I stop it or at least slow it down a bit?  I need to borrow Shane and David's remote control!  I know they have a slow motion button.  Back to reality, Redhead.  Rachel is five years old and yes, she will be in kindergarten in the fall!  By the way, what is it with kindergarten?  Whenever I am around other mothers and we talk about the ages of kids, in particular five year olds, we become obsessed with kindergarten!  Oh, she's/he's five?  Is she/he in kindergarten?  When is he/she going to kindergarten?  What kindergarten will your son/daughter be going to?  I can't really make fun of those mothers, because I am one of them.  Five is a big milestone, as is kindergarten. 

Anyway, this portion of the post was meant to be about T-ball.  T-ball, apparently, goes hand in hand with kindergarten.  Kids entering kindergarten, as well as those completing kindergarten (and even some first graders) play T-ball.  I heard of T-ball when I was little, but I did not play.  I'm not sure if my school offered it, but I know it was out there somewhere.  I decided to have Rachel give it a try, having no idea of her athletic skills really (well, I do know that I personally have given her nothing in the way of athletic skills).  We don't have baseballs and mitts at my house.  We have big purple and pink bouncy balls (you know the big bins you see in many a store) and princess gloves at my house.  We don't play on teams at home, but we do sing a good Won*der Pets "Team Work" song, that's for sure!  In other words, the world of T-ball was a whole new world for Rachel.  I figured, if nothing else, it would allow Rachel to meet some potential classmates and teach her a little bit about baseball.

I found out that my friend's husband was one of the coaches and that Rachel was on his team.  That was very cool because it meant that two of her friends were on the team.  Rachel was excited to be able to see Nathan and Morgan.  When I found out that the team's name was "The Athletics" I had to laugh.

The first practice happened to fall upon our 9th wedding anniversary.  So after a romantic dinner for four, we went to T-ball practice!  I don't know how we'll top ourselves for the big 10th next year!  HA HA!  As we walked to the field, Ken asked me, "Was Rachel supposed to bring a mitt?"  Before I could muster a response, he answered his own question, "Yeah, I see kids with mitts."  Great start to Rachel's T-ball career!  I am so not an athlete, that literally the thought never crossed my mind.  Well, it would now be on my to-do list for the next day!  Fortunately, there was an older brother of one of her teammates who agreed to let Rachel borrow his mitt.  Okay, his mother made him.  Point is, crisis averted!

Coach John, though very friendly and cute, had no game plan whatsoever.  He laughingly asked the assistant coach what they should do.  I was kind of disappointed because I was hoping Rachel would get a run-down of how to play, what the bases were, a mini-lesson on T-ball perhaps.  Instead, they had them run around the bases once, partner up to practice throwing and catching, and then they played T-ball.  No explanation really, just told the kids where to stand and who should put on a helmet.  My friend, Cindy (John's wife), was quietly offering up suggestions.  Maybe she could have given John her ideas before the first practice?  What can you do?  The coaches are parent volunteers, not paid coaches.  It's pretty inexpensive to play.  I guess I can't really complain, right?  Watching the throwing and catching was quite amusing.  Rachel was paired up with a boy with equal skill.  He would throw the ball over her head and she would run to get it.  Then she would throw it over his head and then he would run to get it and so on.  Watching Rachel run the bases made me think of myself, especially as she ran to home plate and then...kept on running to first base again!  So proud!

Her first game was Monday night.  They had an opening ceremony, complete with opening pitches thrown by the kindergarten teachers.  Okay, I may know nothing about sports, but I'm pretty sure there is no pitching in T-ball, am I right?  It was fun, though, and all the teams were announced.  We ran into lots of people we have met through our neighborhood play group, so that was fun.  Rachel's school for next year is largely made up of our subdivision.

They don't keep score or have outs in T-ball, so I guess that means we won, right?  Rachel was put in the catcher's position during the first "inning".  She even got to wear the catcher's mask.  However, since they did not have someone in the catcher's position during practice (nor did any balls come near her), Rachel came up to me on the verge of tears because she "didn't get to play".  I explained what happened to her and then talked a lot about how she would soon get to hit the ball, and then she was fine.  She seemed to enjoy the rest of the game.  At one point, she was on third and a runner was coming at her, I had to tell her to run (while videotaping).  Born athlete, I tell you!

Tall Teeth

Miss Rachel is going to enter kindergarten looking more like a first grader.  She's a tall girl (obviously not her Mommy's 5'1" genes!),  but that's not the only thing that will make her appear older.  She has two loose teeth and an adult tooth is already emerging!  A few weeks ago she said she had a loose tooth.  I figured she just thought it was wiggling when it was really just how her hand looked as she tried to wiggle the tooth.  No, it actually wiggled!  She said her top teeth bumped her bottom teeth and that's how it got loose.  Again, thinking I know a thing or two about teeth, I figured, okay, yes, she has a loose tooth now, but it could take a long time for it to actually come out AND an even longer time for the new one to appear.  Wrong again.  A few days ago when I was brushing her teeth, I saw something unusual.  I took a closer look at her mouth and saw that her adult tooth was starting to come in just behind that first wiggly tooth!  Maybe something I had heard a while ago about teeth is correct.  I heard that your baby's teething pattern will determine how soon the adult teeth will come in.  In other words, early baby teeth will mean early adult teeth, while late baby teeth will mean late adult teeth.  Rachel had her first two teeth before she was 5 months old, so it makes sense that her adult teeth want to come in already (just under 5.5 years old) and she's still in pre-school!  We were at the dentist today (okay, now it was yesterday, thanks to my night owl tendencies AND pathetic typing skills!), and the dentist confirmed my theory.  She said this is definitely young for losing teeth and new ones already coming in.  Rachel didn't get that from me.  I know that I had all my baby teeth in my first grade picture (age 6.5) and then had a whole new set in the second grade picture.

Today was Lauren's first dentist visit and she did her mother proud.  You never know with Lauren because she can be whiny in the late afternoon, and also stubborn anytime!  But, she did great from start to finish.  She quickly learned how to let "Mr. Thirsty" drink the water from her mouth and obliged when the debtist asked to see her teeth and "tickle" them.  She was thrilled with the toothpaste chosen especially for her--PINK, of course!  After smelling it, she said, "Mmmm...yummy!"  The highlight for me was when we were called back and the dentist asked who was going first, Rachel or Lauren.  Without skipping a beat, Lauren cheerfully (and loudly) declared, "Rachel!"

I am sitting at my computer at 12:49 am.

Yes, I know I should be in bed.

Reading the blogs, of course.

And then what do I hear?

The sound of a cute little girl....

...talking in her sleep?

Maybe....

...or maybe WIDE AWAKE?!

Little night owl

GO TO SLEEP!

Will she try to talk to me as I tiptoe down the hall?

Please don't let her think it's morning time!

Wish me luck.

Holey Moley!  We've been home for a week now and I'm still tired!  No, I am not knocked up.  The fatigue is due to many things, mostly me being a slacker and staying up late doing stuff like this.  I started out the trip on four hours of sleep and still haven't caught up.  Aside from being tired (and yes, somewhat cranky because of that), I must say it was a great trip.  It was strange being away from home for a whole week!  I guess it would have been different if we were surrounded by family and friends.  It wouldn't have seemed just so weird to be away, I guess.  We did so many things in the time we were away.  When you pack so many activities into one day, a week away seems more like a month away!

All in all, I would say we showed Lauren a good time on her first trip to Dis*ney.  We did all the activities we did with Rachel, plus a few more.  Rachel pointed out on more than one occasion that this was her second time at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, etc., while it was Lauren's first time there.  It's a good thing Lauren was oblivious to that.

The weather was excellent, so there was no need for the ponchos (Which will be going back to the store, because really, how often does one wear a poncho?  You see them at Cedar Point, but how many years has it been since we went there??).  Lauren was exhausted, as predicted, so she succombed to a few stroller naps.  One time she even fell asleep in line for the Buzz Lightyear ride.  She asked me to carry her and the next thing I knew she was out.  After we exited the ride, she woke up and was ready for the next event, which, of course, we had to get moving to quickly before she could realize that she missed out on the previous ride!

Rachel was our map girl.  As soon as we would enter a new park, she would request a map so she could see where we were going.  She often draws her own maps, so this was not a surprise really.  It was just cute to see her perched up on her Daddy's shoulders, checking the map.

Our resort had a nice pool with a serpent slide that Rachel must have gone down at least 50 times.  Lauren preferred the kiddie pool, so she could move about freely and play with other kids' toys.  Life jackets were not easy to come by, and we forgot to bring our own or some floaties, so the kiddie pool kept her happy.

I am happy to report that none of us experienced any sea sickness while on the ship.  We borrowed some of those sea wrist bands from a friend and Ken bought some medicine, just in case, but none of it was needed, so Yay Us!

I am just in complete awe of that ship.  The thing had 10 decks, two theaters, numerous restaurants, shops, three swimming pools, four hot tubs.  And the list goes on!  I still cannot believe it can float.  Now I totally get the name of the ship, The Wonder!  It's a wonder it can stay afloat!  The girls loved the Mickey pool, though Ken and I found it to be so crowded and chaotic.  The good news is that it was very shallow, so Lauren was able to rebound nicely (on her own) when she tumbled under water several times.  Rachel had another slide to go down, so he was a happy camper.  The best swim time was when we went for a night swim.  It wasn't as crowded and the girls found it very cool to be swimming outside in the dark with the pool lights on.  There was also the Goofy pool which was 4 ft. deep, so neither girl could swim freely, but it had the biggest big screen TV I've seen above it, playing old Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons.  I think we may have had a two hour lunch one day by that pool!  

Ken and I did get our night out for dinner at the adults only, fancy schmancy restaurant, up on the 10th deck with a view of ocean.  The food was excellent and it was nice to not hear the hustle and bustle (aka. crying kids) of the other restaurants.  It was quiet and very nice.  And we were able to do it because of the excellent Oceaneers Club.  This was not a run of the mill baby-sitting service.  It was a state of the art kids' club, with lots of planned, fun activities.  The girls got to have a Little Einsteins adventure, learned how to be Mouseketeers, and had story time with Belle.  Besides all the scheduled events, they had a fun play sctructure, a TV, computers, a dress-up trunk.  In other words, a pre-schooler's paradise!  As you can see, I was very pleased with that portion of the cruise, as were Ken and the girls.  It was kind of funny the first time we dropped the girls off.  First, it was funny watching them walk down the hall to wash their hands (this cruise tried to kill as many germs as possible by requiring the kids to wash hands each time they entered the club, as well as handing out wipes as you entered each restaurant.  You germophobes out there would have been so happy! ).  Back to the girls walking down the hall that first night, slowly moving forward, ever so cautiously, eyes alternating between looking at the soap in their hands and the counselor guiding them to the bathroom.  It was priceless!  Lauren was pleased as puch to see that the sinks and toilets were all at her height.  I swear, Dis*ney thinks of everything!  The other thing that was funny was listening to Rachel's play by play of her first night.  She was talking a mile a minute!  We knew at that point to not feel guilty about wanting them to go there a few times so we could have alone time.  They were in great hands, having fun, so why sweat it?  Plus, after all the activities at the parks, they were craving some good old-fashioned play time, so they were able to do just that.

When I get a chance, I will upload some of my pics to flickr.  There are over 200 of them and I am a freebie flickr person, so I can only upload 20 per month.  So, I will have to make my choices carefully.  Not to mention reduce the size of the files.  If you do want to look at 200 pictures (not likely), I've got them on snapfish, so let me know.  A few family members who viewed them said, and I quote, "it felt like we were there with you".

....no,  not the Wizard, although the girls would love that.  They are currently obsessed with Dorothy, the good witch, the wicked witch, and To-To, too!  We are off to see Disn*ey Wo*rld!  Big excitement going on here, let me tell you.  I tried talking to my parents on the phone this evening, but two little girls were beyond wired!!  I actually checked the forecast and was a little sad when I saw scattered showers predicted for the next ten days!!!  Oh well, what can you do?  Cancel due to rain?  Nope.  You go out and buy ponchos!  Hopefully the showers are very scattered.  Whatever the weather, we're going to have a blast as we head out to the parks Thursday through Saturday, and then board the cruise ship Sunday through Thursday.  I'll be back next week with a full report, but I am hoping the resort and/or ship have a business center.  A whole week without the internet might have me rocking in the corner!  Who am I kidding?  I am going to be too busy for the internet!!

Redhead-Out

p.s. Anyone else have a problem with this week's Ameri*can I*dol?  Come on, Dawg!  Check it out, check it out.  It was a "rough night" because it was Barry Gibb songs!!!  Whose whack idea was that??

So, I was looking for shoeboxes last week.  The girls and I were going to this place to make a craft with some other Moms and kids and we needed shoeboxes (we were marble painting, if you must know).  I was digging through my closet when I came across a dusty old shoebox that, I can tell you, had not been opened since the summer of 1994. It made me laugh to see the contents, but I felt badly at the same time.  Here is what was inside the box:

The funny part?  Well, obviously that I actually wore these shoes, even if it was just for one afternoon and evening.  I wore them for my old roommate's wedding (With a matching shiny blue dress, that was purposely shorter in the front.  What a great style choice that was!  HA!).  Notice that I didn't say it was for my "old friend's wedding".  It was one of those odd things.  This girl, Vicki, was an acquaintance, really, of both myself and a good friend of mine, Laura.  We were all Elementary Education majors.  Somehow or other, we decided to share an apartment our senior year.  Laura and I hung out with the same group of people, while Vicki hung out with her boyfriend, mainly, and another friend.  Laura and I were shocked when Vicki asked us to be in the wedding.  Don't you ask your best friends to stand up in your wedding?  Anyway, we wore the disco blue dresses with the puffy sleeves on the hottest July day in a chapel with one measly ceiling fan.  We felt badly, not because we had to suffer in the ugly dresses and matching shoes, but because we felt that this wedding was a mistake.  It was the summer after graduation!  Too soon in our opinion.  They had no money, so I'm sure this couldn't have been Vicki's "dream wedding".  They were going to move to Tennessee after the wedding for a "job" for the groom, that turned out to be an unpaid internship.  Yes, they went anyway.  She got a teaching job at a Baptist school making little money.  The writing was on the wall.  There were too many bad decisions being made.  Sadly, we were right.  Laura ran into Vicki's husband a while back, only to find out he was now her ex-husband, he had a baby with a girlfriend, and from the age of the baby, it was apparent that the relationship started while he was still married to Vicki.

It's too bad we weren't Vicki's best friends.  Maybe we would have had the courage to tell her to slow down, not to be in such a hurry to get married, to wait until the time was right.  Or at least, maybe we could have explained in a delicate way just how God awful those shoes and dresses truly were.  That true friends never make their friends wear shiny blue dresses and shoes dyed to match.  Did I mention the handmade barrettes with ribbons hanging down, which by the way, I would have loved when I was eight?  Okay, now I'm just getting mean.

So, do you have any interesting bridesmaid stories to share?  If not, then answer this: what's in your closet?

Hello Internet!  Wow!  It's been almost two weeks since I last posted.  It's not that I have been majorly busy or anything.  Just doing the usual stuff with the kids.  The main difference has been exercise.  As in, I am back ON the wagon.  After many months of doing nothing--what was I thinking?  When we hit the four week mark until our trip, I started to panic a bit.  Ken started exercising, too, saying that he needs to be able to keep up while we are at Disney.  I'm worried about that, but am more worried I'll have nothing to wear while we're there.  So, I have worked out the last 12 of 13 days.  I even stepped back on the scale, just for kicks.  Over the course of a few days, the pounds were melting away, one by one.  Yesterday, the number crept back up into my personal danger zone.  Maybe I'm building some muscles?  Then this morning, I stepped on the scale and saw a number I haven't seen in ages!  Not a danger zone number, but a fit zone number, a number I'd be thrilled to declare on my driver's license if I had to do that in Michigan, which I don't.  Now, I didn't really believe my nearsighted eyes, so of course, I stepped back up a second time.  Again, that glorious number appeared!  Miracle of all miracles!  I got in the shower feeling good!  Feeling lighter!  Feeling proud!  But still....I couldn't really believe that number, seeing as yesterday the scale told me a number that was 13 pounds heavier than what I saw today.  So, after the shower, I stepped back on and guess what?  Apparently my wet hair weighs about 13 pounds because the number from yesterday was back.  Damn water weight....hee hee hee

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On Friday we got an email from Ken's sister saying that she had a miscarriage.  This was her and her husband's first attempt to have a baby.  I'm sure they were overjoyed to have conceived so quickly and then, just as quickly, it was taken away.  I started to reply to her email and then thought, nothing will sound good, so I'll just call her and let her talk about it.  She was glad I did, and so was I.  She sounded okay, though she expressed concerns that she'll never have a baby, something she has always pictured in her life. The doctor said that this does not increase her chances of having another one. It did help her to talk about the fact that many people she knows have had miscarriages, but also went on to have children.   I was interested to find out that her mom, my MIL, had a miscarriage before having her first baby.  The interesting thing about that is the fact that her first child was born just nine months after she got married.  I told Ken about it and he said, "My Mom had a miscarriage?  That can't be....I mean, if you do the math, G was born just barely nine months after my parents got married."  After hearing this news, I couldn't help but think back to when I moved in with Ken (Yes, we lived in sin about a year and a half before we made it legal.  But, we were engaged at least.).  Soon after I moved in, Ken's Dad (may he rest in peace) called and I answered the phone.  He sounded flustered, asking where Ken was, as if he didn't know who I was or he must have the wrong number because a girl was answering his son's phone.  It was funny.  I kept telling Ken that his Dad was in denial that we were living together before marriage.  And now we all know what he was doing before he was married!