Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day the boys went to the shooting range down on Front Street while mom and I got stuff ready for dinner. These are just some pictures from Daniel's camera. They said it was a lot of fun....Enjoy!

Happy 1st Birthday Owen!

Owen's 1st Birthday Party bash was a big success. Caleb was feeling much better from the day before and the birthday boy was just as happy as could be. We had a lot of fun seeing the Lima family and of course Aunt Martha and Uncle Larry. And luckily we got to visit with them two days in a row! Owen got lots and lots of clothes (Jenn was very happy) and he loved the couple of toys he got (Caleb liked them too!). Overall, the party went very well, and we were so happy to be involved in our Godson's birthday. :)

Howl at the Moon

On Friday night Nate, Daniel, Liz, Ben and I all went up to Cleveland to go to a bar called Howl at the Moon. We met Matt and Cat up there which was a lot of fun since we haven't seen them in awhile. The bar was a dueling pianos bar where you can make requests of different songs from Snoop Dogg to Classical and the two pianists sing and play the music. It was pretty fun. Silly me didn't take any pictures of the performers though....i'm not sure why. Oh well. It was a fun night though. Matt and Cat got a big party drink for us to share (see the middle picture above).....it was good.....very good. I drank more than my share i think.

Living in an Oven

Yesterday morning the outside temperature tipped the scales at around 85 degrees....at 8AM. We took Aida to the vet for her Lyme Disease booster vaccination appointment at 10AM with temperatures reaching the low 90s. By the time we got back around 11:30AM Mother Nature turned the thermostat up to almost 100. The temp did reach 100 that day with a heat index of 110 degrees.

It is the weirdest feeling to step outside and feel like you are standing in an oven. The air is so thick you can hardly breathe. We have been pretty much running our air conditioning non-stop and keeping the blinds shut all day.

Luckily, the Excessive Heat Warning is supposed to be lifted come tomorrow. Because the cold front is moving in of course that means more Severe Thunderstorm warnings are being announced. Currently the temperature is 97 with a heat index of 107. The storms are supposed to bring icy cold 89-90 degree temperatures....but we'll take it....it's better than 100 degrees.

We are looking forward to coming back to Ohio to see everyone and to enjoy the more seasonable weather. :)

Race for the Cure

First off, Ben and I would like to thank everyone who donated money for the Race. We really truly appreciate all your support and hope that you all know that you made a difference. Last time I checked, this Race ended up surpassing the 3 million dollar goal. So thank you all again.

Here is Ben and i towards the beginning of the race. Luckily the sun wasn't out at first. It was, however, very warm and muggy. Once we got to the third mile the sun decided to pop out.

Here's the finish line!! Whoohoo! It took us about an hour to finish the entire 5K. We probably would have gotten done a lot sooner, but the massive amount of people set the pace.

You can tell how muggy it is here in this picture. The Capitol Building is in the background covered in a humid haze. This picture was taken by another race participant after we finished. As we walked back to the metro, there were still hundreds of people walking the race. The amount of people participating in this walk was both massive and inspiring. It's nice to see so many people getting together for such a worthy cause.

*Just a funny tidbit: On our way to the metro station I heard a *pop* sound and felt a wetness on my left calf. I looked down and realized I had Ketchup splattered up my leg. I stopped to figure out where it came from and what i should do. Ben said he had felt a pop under his foot. Here there was a ketchup packet a few feet back that he had stepped on thus splattering the condiment up my leg. We thought it was funny.*

Our most heartfelt thanks, again, to everyone who both donated money and took the time to read about the cause.

Celebrate Fairfax

Ben and I went to the Celebrate Fairfax Fair this evening. It was still nice and hot and muggy, but the festival was nice. It cost us $7.50 a person to go and we got to see a concert by Ok Go! . If you haven't heard of them by name, you may have seen or heard about their music video in which they perform a choreographed treadmill routine. They were very good live, but i have learned that I am too old for that kind of stuff anymore. The loud music made my ears very mad. We were in the front row right up against the speakers. I know, that was our first mistake...but we eventually moved back.
This is Ok Go! Their video is pretty fun to watch. They said it cost them $5 to make and they originally posted it on You Tube and it turned into this huge sensation. You can follow the link below to You Tube to see the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

This picture is for Dad. Ben thought you would like to see this motorcycle they had on display at the fair.

Well, we are off to bed. We have to get up early for the Race for the Cure!

Hot as H-E-double hockey sticks...

Well, the mercury in the thermometer reached into the 90s today. And thanks to the great Capital of the country being built on a swamp....the humidity made this day even that much more enjoyable. To add to it, there is another small wave of storms a movin' in tonight. Luckily for us, the storms aren't supposed to be nearly as ferocious as yesterdays.

Two tornadoes touched down somewhat near us. We are in Loudoun county and one of the tornadoes touched down in Fairfax county, which is the county we used to live in (just south of us). But let me tell you, Mother Nature dealt us quite the thunderstorm anyways. The trees whipped back and forth as if they would easily snap in half. The rain was coming in so hard and fast banging against our windows. Once the Tornado warning came up for our area, we retreated into the bedroom, away from the many windows in the living room. Everything turned out okay though.

Hopefully the strong storms have subsided for awhile. We are looking forward to our weekend. Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Celebrate Fairfax festival. It is supposed to be another hot day in the low 90s but that's nothing compared to our Race for the Cure day on Saturday. I received an email from the Race headquarters warning the participants on the heat advisory on Saturday. It is supposed to be mid to upper 90s. Yippee. Luckily the race is early and we probably won't be hanging around much afterwards.

That's about all the news for now. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are well and happy and hot. :)

Memorial Day

I know I am a little slow in my posting, but here are some pictures from the past Memorial Day weekend with mom and dad.

Here's a picture of Ben and I on the Key Bridge over the Potomac River. Mom, Dad, Ben and I walked from the Rosslyn metro station over the bridge to Georgetown. In the background is Georgetown University. The day was beautiful, I was a little chilly, but i am always cold.

Ben found this great little restaurant in Georgetown called Mr. Smiths. When you first walk in, it looks like a dingy bar but once you walk to the back of the "bar" and down some steps, you walk into this really pretty open garden area. There is also an outside area that you can eat at. It was really neat. This picture is from that restaurant.

I am sparing you the plethora of pictures I have of Dad stretching from Georgetown through DC. But here is one of the pictures where Dad is stretching in the middle of our walk from the metro to Georgetown. I'm not sure what Ben is doing.....but I caught the Kodak moment anyways.

In this photo, Daniel has joined in on the stretching madness.

The visit was a lot of fun....all too short though.

Other than that, Ben and I are doing well. We found a dentist that we really liked. And both Ben and I are cavity-free after something like 2 years (or more) since we've last visited a dentist. So we were pretty happy.

We went down to the complex's swimming pool the other day. It was really nice. But the water was cold. The weather has been beautiful so we are planning on heading back to the pool next week with hopes of warmer water.

Aida is going to be spending the day at "Doggie Day Camp" tomorrow as we help one of Ben's friends move from Manassas to Leesburg. Unfortunately the forecast is calling for thunderstorms so the move might be a little wet.....oh well. Next weekend we have the Race for the Cure and we are also going to be going to a festival in Fairfax. And then we have our favorite Godson's 1st birthday party the following weekend.

That's about all that is new with us. Hope all is well with everyone. Enjoy your weekend!

Race for the Cure

Ben and I have joined the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. For those of you who don't know, the Race for the Cure is a race geared towards raising funds for breast cancer research. Although neither Ben or I have lost a loved one to breast cancer, we hope that we never have to.

Unfortunately, I thought that the race was later on in the summer, and therefor am late in putting this information out. The race is on Saturday June 7th. It is a 5K run/walk (we will probably be doing more walking than running) in downtown DC. The proceeds go to the Susan G Komen for the Cure organization. The story of Susan G Komen is very touching and I would encourage everyone to read it at: http://cms.komen.org/komen/AboutUs/SusanGKomensStory/index.htm
If you don't have time to read her whole story, you should know that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33. She ultimately lost her three year battle but before she died, she asked her sister to promise to help other women with breast cancer. Her sister fulfilled her promise through the organization of the Susan G Komen for the Cure.

We think it is a worthy cause. And I could bet that anyone who reads this can think of at least one person affected by this disease. For me, Aunt Helen, Grandma Myra and Lee Panco. Who do you think of?

The smallest donation you can give is $5.00. Our goal is only $250. We hope to surpass our goal, but any little bit counts. Please take a minute to visit our team page at:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=263218&lis=0&kntae263218=4B771B0AB602472EBDB6BA86863839B1&supId=0&team=2804058

or by clicking on the link underneath the thermometer icon on the right side of the screen. And help in the fight against breast cancer.

SPOOOOOOON!!!!!

Ok, unless you have ever seen the old cartoon "The Tick," the title of this post would not make any sense to you. "Spoon!" was the tick's battle cry....it was a funny cartoon...whatever...Just thought I would add this disclaimer.

So, as Ben was giving Aida some good loving pets, he said, "what the hell is this?!" and instructed me to get the flashlight. As he picked through her fur like a monkey, he found this bulbous skin tag. Or so we thought. I actually would have preferred a skin tag to the nastiness that was the engorged tick attached to her chest.

After a short freak-out, I called the vet and made an appointment for "tick-removal." And as I was on the phone with the vet tech, they reminded me that I was indeed behind on my Lyme Disease vaccination. I forgot that a few weeks after the initial vaccination, a booster shot was needed. Therefor I had to get her re-vaccinated. Super.

What started as a "free-of-charge" tick removal, turned into a $50 vet visit. And what's worse, is the realization that the tick, flea and heartworm preventative we use (Revolution) is not strong enough for the vicious ticks and fleas of these here parts. The reason I liked Revolution so much was because it was very cost effective, and only one dose per month rather than a pill for heartworm and a separate pill or topical for fleas and ticks. So instead of $150 per year for Revolution, Frontline is running around $170-$180 per year PLUS $90 or so for heartworm. Ahhh the joys of owning a pet.

Add all of that, plus the gourmet organic food, and the fancy-pants expensive vets....and you've got one expensive mutt.

Oh well.

Virginia ticks suck...........................literally.

For the Love of Gallbladders!!!

Well, I went to see the specialist today. He was much much much better than the previous specialist. He said that although the text book symptoms of gallbladder problems shows up on your right side...it is possible to have a gallstone pass through the duct, get lodged, and cause severe pain that radiates from the center and wrapping around both sides. That's what i had. He thinks that the gallbladder is the cause of my problems and is sending me for another ultrasound. He said in ultrasounds that up to 15% of gallstones are missed and that since I did not "fast" before hand that could have hindered the view of the gallbladder somewhat. He also said that it is possible that on the Sunday of my first ER visit, that I had a stone stuck in the duct by my pancreas causing that horrible pain.

So the outcome of my whole visit: I am going next Tuesday for an ultrasound. I cannot eat or drink anything after midnight. :( Good thing i am not a very big breakfast person. Once the results come back, if I have any stones or "sludge" the doctor said I am off to the surgeon before I have any more "attacks." If the test comes back negative I will be on watch in case something happens again.

I know I probably mentioned it before, but the last ultrasound in Akron showed a polyp or small stone in my gallbladder. And unfortunately, according to the doctor, those small stones are the ones you have to watch out for because they can get stuck and cause problems such as pain and pancreatitis. So that's what they will be looking for.

So if i have the surgery, unfortunately I will be on a low-fat diet for the rest of my life....I suppose that is a good thing. But no big pizza parties, ice cream sundaes, etc. Oh well. Until I have the ultrasound results, I am on a low-fat diet. Boo hiss.

Well, that is the update. I will keep everyone posted on how I am doing. :)

Tylenol, Advil, and.....Dilaudid

I cannot remember the last time I have been so sick for so long.

First we started out with Ben coming down with Pneumonia/Bronchitis the weekend before last. I did my best mimicking mom and dad. As "mom," I cooked for him, got him whatever he needed or wanted, took him to the doctor's office and basically did whatever I could. As "dad," I went out and bought Clorox spray and wipes and disinfected any surface I could then I proceeded to get "sympathy sickness." The Sunday before last Ben took me to the ER with severe upper abdominal pain. As I laid on the hospital bed crying, Ben sat in the chair shivering with a fever. I was given Dilaudid (good drug by the way) but of course it doesn't take much to knock me out. And because Ben knows all the nurses, they gave him Tylenol with codeine.

So after my fun visit to the ER where it was determined that nothing could be done at that time, I spent the week with an uncomfortable stomach. Then I went to a GI doctor, who I am pretty sure got his MD from a mail-order-MD company or something...I didn't like him. So I found a new GI doctor that got really good ratings and I made an appointment for this upcoming Thursday.

I started feeling sicker as the weekend approached so I made an appointment on Friday to see the doctor. She gave me a prescription for Augmentin and said i had Allergic Sinusitis. So I was to take: Augmentin, Zyrtec and Mucinex. But as I was on my way to the pharmacy, I thought to call mom because I thought Augmentin sounded familiar. She called my old doctor and it was confirmed that I am allergic to Augmentin. After several hours of fighting the doctors office, they finally called in a new script: a Z-pack. On top of everything, I start with a low fever on Friday night.

Saturday rolls around and I feel horrible. But my good childhood friend, Derek, was getting married and we had RSVP'd for the wedding already and I really didn't want to miss it. So I insisted that we go. Ben, being the good husband he is, drove the whole way. Once we got to Ohio, i felt even worse...but after a little bit i started to feel better and decided to go to the wedding. To my surprise, I lasted through the entire ceremony and most of the reception without feeling really sick. I avoided dancing and drinking so as to not aggravate whatever I was sick with. It was really nice to see all my old friends from school though. I was happy we went.

That night, at about 2:30AM I woke up with a 101 temp, a headache and stomach pains. Ben got up with me and tried to get me to drink fluids, take Advil and get back to sleep. So the next day, Mother's Day, I tried really hard to feel better. But unfortunately my body didn't agree with me. So once my fever started spiking again and I was feeling like "a thousand buffalo" (referencing dad's quote from the car ride back from Maine) were trampling on me, Ben wanted to take me to the ER. So exactly one week from the first ER visit I was back...different state, different hospital.

After a long wait in the waiting room I was put in a room. And after another long wait my temp reached over 102 degrees. So I had a massive pile of blankets on me and mom went and worked her magic to get a nurse or doctor. Long story short (well at least a little less long) they tested me for everything, and besides treating me for a bad case of dehydration, there was nothing they could do. They basically concluded that I had some type of nasty stomach/intestinal virus. No fun.

So i am still going to the doctor this Thursday. I am hoping that there is something they can do. But don't worry, i will keep you all posted on my stomach woes. I can't wait to feel better. I still am not feeling great. But I did start to eat food today. I haven't eaten any real food beyond saltines, jello and popsicles since last Friday. I am hoping tomorrow will be better.

Looking forward to seeing the family Memorial Day weekend (so long as I am feeling better :) )!

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's....

SUPER-VISOR of the YEAR!!!!!

Congratulations to our superhero!!!

**We are very proud of you Dad**

A re-cap on what you already know...

This past visit to Ohio was a blast. As everyone already knows: The week started off with Owen's Baptism/Caleb's Birthday. It was so nice to see the Lima family. It had been awhile. Unfortunately, mom was really sick and was unable to attend. I took upwards of 130 pictures at the Baptism/Birthday so I could capture every moment for mom. I think she appreciated it...she was kind of out of it when I showed her. And even when you are in perfect health, looking at 130 photos from one event can be a bit overkill....oh well.

I apologize for uploading some photos...I know similar photos have already been posted on Mike and Jenn's and Aunt Martha and Uncle Larry's blog. But in case you were just craving some more photos of those cute little Lima boys...here they are.


After the festivities of the weekend, Ben headed back to Virginia to complete his last week as a probational firefighter. Dad and Nathan finished installing the new front door that Sunday. Of course (you knew I was going to add this in...) I had to fix the handle on the door. Dad and Nathan were trying to hammer on a brass cap over a screw...little did they know the washer between the screw and the door face was on backwards...leave it to a woman to fix a man's mistake. Lol....I have been rubbing this in since I figured out the washer was simply on backwards and once it was turned around, the cap snapped right on...ok now i'm done.

It was nice that I was able to stay so long. Even though mom was sick, i was able to help take care of her. She felt bad...but i figure it was a small repayment for the 23 years she took care of me with the countless days of being sick. So after many trips to Acme to get Jello, then back for saltines, and then back another day for soup, etc, mom started to feel better. As mom just was becoming more like a human and was emerging into the outside world, dad went in for surgery. The surgery went really well, actually better than expected. He was as happy "as a clam with two peters" (for explanation of that quote ask my mom) the day he came home from the hospital. I think he was just so happy to be out of the OR. He felt well enough to have an italian ice from Ritas and a Galley Boy, fries and a shake from Swensons. In the following days the drugs knocked him out. But once he was off the "hard stuff" he was back to his old self.

So Ben is officially off probation at work. After taking his final exam (and he aced it by the way) he was given a new badge plate that goes on his helmet that says "firefighter" instead of "probationary." He is now no longer considered a "rookie," yet another benefit of being off probation. Everyone was so proud of him, including me. :)

Since my birthday plans with my friends was so rudely cancelled by the big snow storm in early March, we rescheduled for this past visit. We decided to go to the new Quaker Steak and Lube in Canton. We had a lot of fun. Everyone was able to come (of course with the exception of the out of towners: Daniel and Sara). Afterwards we went over to our friend Brett's house to play a playstation game called rockband. The game is similar to Guitar Hero, but uses two guitars and a set of drums (of course not real guitars and drums, but video game type instruments) and also a microphone. I learned that unlike my dad...i have no rhythm on the drums. My foot and hand coordination is way off. And Ben was nice enough to record my attempt at rockstardom. Unfortunately I don't know how to upload a video onto this blog so my video debut will just have to wait. Darn.

So all in all, the visit was a lot of fun. We got to see everyone and I got to visit a little longer than usual. Of course that made it harder to leave. I really wish we could have stayed longer. We certainly miss the family a lot. Thanks for a great visit everyone. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Well, Sh**!

Bad news about the poor Geo. As many of you probably already know due to the high-speed communication highway that is my family, the Geo is a little more (or a lot more) worse off than initially thought.
I felt very car-smart going into Midas saying that the donut gasket was probably the problem and where I thought the problem was...but all my car jargon went down the pooper. Unfortunately the problem lies in the catalytic converter. There is a hole in the catalytic converter, which seems bad enough...but wait, there's more! On either side of the converter the flanges are seriously rusted out. If they replace the converter, the pipes are going to need replaced due to the severity of the condition of these flanges. The Midas guy was very nice, he put the car back up on the lifts and showed us the problem. He wasn't kidding. He said that because of the salt up North the under-carriage can rust a lot faster.
So Ben checked the Kelly Blue Book value of the car...and it is actually worth less than it would cost to fix it and that's in "fair" condition. So we aren't sure what we are going to do. But we will keep you posted.
On a side note...i'm a girl. I cried when I found out how much the car was going to cost. I think it was a mixture of how much the car was going to cost, it wasn't what I had expected to hear, and that she's my first car. The Geo means to me what a man's first muscle car is to him. :) Listening to her V4 engine purr....heaven.

For Shame...

Well, Virginia has gone and slapped us with the sticker of shame. My car did not pass their snooty state inspection. As if it wasn't bad enough that the trusty (or not so trusty) Geo had to tuck her tailpipe between her tires and drive away...the inspector plastered a pink rejection sticker on the front windshield. So the whole world knows, the Geo has been rejected by the state of Virginia. Bastards.
Basically what this means is that we have to get her fixed within 15 days and try the inspection again. The inspector said there is a leak in the exhaust system. Dad thinks it is a leak in the donut gasket between the manifold and exhaust pipe....or something fancy like that.
Midas here we come.

Christos Voskrese!

Happy Easter everyone! Ben and I went to church this morning and thought that if we went to the 9:00 mass that there wouldn't be as many kids and it wouldn't be as packed....we were wrong. We arrived like 5 minutes early, but it took us those five minutes to find a parking spot. The church was packed and we sat next to a couple that had two young kids...they were crying or screaming almost the entire time. After church I asked Ben if he wanted kids...he said "no." :)

When we got back to the apartment Ben set up a little Easter egg hunt for Aida. He put some treats and food into six plastic eggs and hid them around the living room. Once Aida got the hang of finding them, popping them open and eating the contents she had a blast. It was cute.

We miss everyone and wish we were there. Hope you all have a great Easter!

Christos Voskrese! Vosten Voskrese!

Happy Easter!

Today was my first attempt at making Paska. And I must say, they turned out really nice! Of course I haven't tasted either of them...but if nothing else they look pretty. And they smell great. I am really excited.

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

We will be seeing everyone in a couple weeks!

Hey there Four-Eyes!

Ben and I got our new glasses today. What do you think? It has been a long time since I have had the correct prescription lenses in my glasses and even longer since I have had new frames. So Ben, being the good husband that he is, really pushed for me to get new glasses this year. And even better yet...they are Coach frames. I know you are all impressed. :)

We were advised to wear our glasses for the next couple of days to get used to them. So far so good. I really like having glasses that i can see out of. But it does take some getting used to since I have been wearing contacts since 7th grade.

While we were gone, we set up the video camera to see what Aida does while we are gone. See we have been trying to leave her out of her kennel while we leave for short periods of time. Every time she seems to do pretty well. The video displayed that after licking the peanut butter out of her bone toy we gave her, Aida sat by the door occasionally whining for the majority of our 30 minute outing. At one point though, she walked into the living room and headed straight for the video camera on the coffee table. She stood looking at the camera lens for a second, dropped her head down and gave the camera a good stare-down for a few seconds...then walked away. I know it doesn't sound funny....but it was.

Hope all is well with everyone!

The lost pictures

I was going through my pictures on the computer and decided to post some of the other pictures I had from this past visit. They are pretty random...but i thought they were cute...

Ben took a nap the first day we arrived and Nathan decided it would be funny, and it was funny, to go up and "spoon" with Ben in bed. Nathan was quite pleased with himself as you can see by his face....he was the big spoon.

Here I am with my singing pig dressed up like a bunny from Aunt Debbi.

After a long day of snow-blowing for me and playing in the snow for Aida, we both relaxed on the couch (& floor).

Aida tends to snooze in the car on the way back to Virginia and this last trip was no exception. She made herself comfortable on the back seat for most of the trip. She is a good traveling dog.

Play with Food

The Christmas before last Mom and Dad got us an apple/peeler/corer/slicer from Pampered Chef. At the last apartment we didn't have any room to really set it up so now that we have the counter space, we pulled out our cool contraption and tried it out. Ben had lots of fun playing with the apple and Aida wanted to join in.

After playing with the apple, Ben decided that it would be fun to try out a potato. So we made curly potatoes with lunch. They actually turned out really good. And I am sure we will make them again.

After all the food fun, Ben and I headed out to the DMV to get my new license. My picture turned out really nice surprisingly. And the Virginia DMV is a little different from Ohio's. When you come in you have to go to the information desk. Once you "check-in" at the desk they pull a number out of a dispenser that prints out an individual business card sized paper, kind of like when you go to a deli counter. Then they tell you to sit down until they call your number. They have like 20 desks and 2 or 3 digital signs overhead scrolling the current number they are "serving." They also have this somewhat digital sounding voice come over the speakers announcing which number is next. So I just thought that the magnitude of the Virginia DMV was quite interesting.

I also registered to vote while I was there. I was pretty proud of myself for getting that handled so I can vote this November. :)

Also, for anyone who may have heard...last time I went to the eye doctor he was concerned about the cup size in my eye. He thought it could be an early sign of glaucoma and seemed a little nervous about it. So he got me in to go through a few tests in order to better figure out my enormous cups (hehe). I went in for those tests today, and, to his surprise, concluded that I am actually at low risk for glaucoma despite my large cups and optic nerves. Whoo hoo! One of the tests I did was to test my peripheral vision. I guess if there is vision loss in certain areas of your peripheral it is a sign of glaucoma. The doctor said I did really well on those tests and asked if I play video games....I said yes and asked why that would matter. He said that video games can actually improve your peripheral vision. So I thought that was pretty good validation for those years of playing video games with Nathan and Daniel...and Mom and Dad....and Aunt Martha and Uncle Larry....lots of video games. But it payed off. Thanks. :)

Fun in the Snow

Ben and i had fun on our visit despite the dumping of snow. Here are a few pictures I took while we were in town. The first one is from Saturday when mom and I were trying to make our way home from Acme, dad and Ben were certain that we'd get stuck at the end of Maplewood so they heroically walked down the middle of the street to push us out of the snow if we needed their muscles. We didn't. But it was a nice gesture...and good exercise for them. Mom and I initially did get stuck and the 4th St end of Maplewood but we got unstuck and drove up 4th street so we could attempt the other side of Maplewood. Then we couldn't to the other side of Maplewood due the the snow and a tow truck blocking our route. So we made our way back, yet again, the the 4th street side of Maplewood. All the while, Ben and Dad were walking back and fourth trying to meet us at whichever end we were coming from. Like I said, good exercise.

The next picture is of Aida out in the snow. She quite enjoyed her time romping like a gazelle. She doesn't get much of that in Virginia...we've only had one snow that she could romp in.

And the last picture is just a random picture out the back door at night of all the snow. Fun.

We arrived back to Virginia to bright blue skies and 60 degree weather. We had to open the windows of the apartment and turn on the fans because it was so warm inside. We are happy to be away from all the snow, but we miss everyone. Aida misses everyone too, but I think she misses the snow more. :)

Itsy Bitsy Spider...

As word travels fast in this family some of you may already know this story. Last night i decided that i wanted a snack. It was about 8:00pm and Ben was in Atlantic City with some buddies from work all day and I headed into the kitchen to get a piece of pita bread. As i turned to get a plate, with pita bread in hand, a dark shadow caught my eye. Running across the floor, almost onto my bare feet, was a gigantic spider. This eight-legged monster was so big you could see it breathing, you could feel the breeze as he ran by, you could....well you get the picture...he was big. And fast. I let out a nice girly shriek encouraging Aida to come bounding in. I thought quick on my feet, like John Goodman in Arachnophobia, and grabbed the trash can and put it on top of him. To ensure his man-eating fangs would not take a liking to me before Ben returned home to play exterminator, I grabbed a cookie sheet and put it over the opening of the trash can. I then grabbed our biggest pot (cookware, not drugs) and stacked it on top of the cookie sheet, along with 4 yearbooks and a 5 pound bag of sugar. As I talked to mom about my near death experience I stood watch over the trash can convinced that the MacGyver spider would surely escape and hunt me down.

Ben returned home and read the "Huge Ass spider under trash can" note and proceeded to put on his superman cape as he offered to exterminate the beast. I warned him of the spider's stealth of foot and giant of stature. So he took off his manly cape (metaphor) and strapped on some high heels (metaphor again) meaning he put on the biggest boots and thickest gloves he could find. He apprehended the intruder and put his smooshed carcass in a snack baggy. And that is the picture you see below.

We are calling an exterminator.

Hide and go Pee

As many of you know, Aida likes to play hide and go seek with us. While she is distracted with a toy or one of us, the other one of us will go hide. Then we tell her to go get "mommy" or go get "daddy." She is really good at finding us, eventually. Well today we had a rousing game lasting about 20 minutes of back and forth hiding until we had an abrupt conclusion. Ben hid behind the door in the guest bathroom. I encouraged Aida to "find daddy" several times as she ran from room to room getting increasingly excited. She went into the bathroom a couple times, but didn't check behind the door. Then...she ran into the bathroom all squirmy and excitedly and instead of looking behind the door she squatted in the middle of the floor and proceeded to piss. And she created a rather spectacular sized puddle. I flipped on the light as I stepped, in my stocking feet, into an apparent squiggle design of pee she had created from the living room into the bathroom leading all the way to her great lake pee puddle. She was scolded, put in the kennel, and the game of Hide and go Pee was subsequently over.