CooperSanchez

A Big Glass of Green Goo

2012-01-26T14:05:00.000-06:00

Over Christmas a friend was extolling a 10-day green smoothie diet he tried that made him feel so much better and lose a few pounds. He got the idea from watching the documentary "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", and since that had been sitting around on our Netflix Instant Queue for some time, we watched it. My parents coincidentally had a juicer sitting on their counter, but they wouldn't let me take it home to try for awhile. ha Like my friend, I feel like juicing is a little wasteful with all the pulp left over, but blending everything seemed like something I could try without having to get a new piece of equipment just to test it out.

Since I got back from the holidays and stepped on the scale to see a whopping 170 come up, I ~~think~~know I need to do something. One of my three pairs of jeans I regularly wear no longer fits. And though this diet was touted more for its energy improvement effects, I need that AND to lose some weight.

So I hem-hawed around, making sure I had everything I needed.That's a freezer shelf full of frozen organic spinach I already had from the CSA.

Then I decided I would try one before I committed to a full 10 days of these. My first had a lot of fruit (and I used milk) so it might be easy to drink.

It WAS pretty good.

Now to pull out the big guns...the Ronco built-in blender/mixer/whatever dealy...to blend up carrots, spinach, tomatoes, kohlrabi, with just water. It worked wonderfully and my smoothie (enough for breakfast and lunch) was in the frig.
Here goes...Well, that didn't last long. I came home starving and insisting on pizza and TWO Cokes instead of the broiled chicken on the menu. My inner child is a brat!

So, Where Was I?

2012-01-25T08:07:00.002-06:00

Well, I seemed to get derailed. I was once again going at a great clip, keeping up with the daily blog updates, but then...nothing. This time I have a reason...

We were finally able to see the neurologist Friday about Alexandra's walking. He is also in Louisiana and was referred to us by the pediatric orthopedic specialist Alexandra first saw in September. Though I'm not trying to hide anything and am glad that our concerns are finally being addressed, I am hesitant to put every detail out on the Internet. I've been thinking about it (in addition to still being sick this weekend) and discussed with Michael, and we agreed that we should hold back on some stuff we post to the blog.

I never said this was a full disclosure blog (ha), and I don't want to be limited to only fluffy posts with kid pictures or my occasional rants, but it's not like I'm writing for The New York Times. There are some specifics that we don't even discuss w/ Alexandra because they would go over her head or make her feel like something was wrong with her, so it's not right for us to post her private medical info. online. I'm not really sure where to draw the line, though.

That being said, I'll probably update the grandparents on our latest visit via phone call. And anyone who has a question, can contact me directly. ;-)

P.S. Alexandra is perfectly fine. She's a smart, fun-loving, amazingly happy child.

Awkward Family Photos

2012-01-18T20:58:00.030-06:00

Pirate Grandma with the new "strainer" patch...

"Wait, what?"...
My dad imitates (makes fun of ;-)) me and says that I say that all the time. Yesterday when my boss and I were having a discussion over FaceTime (He's in Houston now.), it froze. Right after he was explaining some crazy request one of our sales people made. So he emailed me his frozen screen. ;-)

MLK Jr Day

2012-01-17T08:30:00.005-06:00

Weekend Recap

2012-01-16T08:18:00.002-06:00

Back to the grindstone this morning after an "Eh" weekend. ;-) I wasn't feeling well half of the weekend, and we were all coughing yesterday. I've gotten to the point where I don't mind going to work, but it sucks when the weekend didn't afford lots of fun or rejuvenation.
We did, however, get to meet our future son-in-law. LOL This is the boy Colin Alexandra spoke about in the last video (how she was "in love" with him). ;-) Turns out that he was just as excited that she was coming to his birthday party as she was. She said that she asked him and that she was his "boyfriend."

The old familiar "Pump It Up" inflatables party place closed down, so I welcomed a change of venue. Colin's party was at this place that had video games and a labyrinth of tunnels and slides (like at McDonald's or Chick-fil-a but more extensive). All the kids had a fun time but one little girl (ours) didn't want to stop playing and take time to go to the bathroom, so we had to say goodbye after she had an accident.

Yesterday was spent mostly in bed. I wasn't feeling well in the morning so Michael and Alexandra didn't go to church without me. The washing machine broke last week, so I mustered up enough energy to bring the clothes to the washateria and get Alexandra out of the house so that Michael could nap (He was coughing the whole night Saturday too.). $10.75 for two giant loads. Holy cow! Even the regular (small) size washers were $2.75. What happened to the days when one washload was 75cents?! I didn't bother to dry the clothes there (I was almost out of money anyway!).
Oh, and Alexandra saw a half-dead roach! ;-)

I'm Not Ready For This

2012-01-13T20:00:00.003-06:00

[Audio messed up towards end for some reason.]

NOW It All Makes Sense

2012-01-12T12:26:00.000-06:00

My mom had eye surgery this morning at 7am to remove a wrinkle in her retina that was causing her vision problems. They left me a message at 8:20, already on the way home, and I called her back at 9 for an update. She was in bed, drinking a cup of coffee. It surprised me that she was awake and functioning to begin with (She had left the message saying everything went fine.). She said she was mostly awake during the surgery and could hear what the doctor & nurse were saying. The doctor said the wrinkle came right off, but that this surgery was different from something like cataract surgery with instant results. It might take six months to heal and her vision to get back to normal. Mama was about to relax and go to sleep for the day as she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

I was relieved to hear that everything went well but I had a question.

Me: "Why are you drinking coffee if you are going to sleep?"

Mama: "Coffee makes me sleep better."

Me: "Ooohh, NOW it all makes sense! I get my alien physiology from YOU! Like Pepto-Bismal MAKES ME throw up."

Mama: "It makes me throw up too! But maybe it's just all in our heads."

Me: "Well, considering I never knew that about you, I don't think I just came up with some kookie idea that the medicine to STOP people from throwing up should MAKE ME."

;-)
But anyway, glad to report that everything went well with the surgery. And that one more of life's crazy questions is answered. I AM NOT ALONE. ;-P

We Came, We Saw, We Sucked

2012-01-11T19:02:00.026-06:00

But we had one of the cutest cheerleaders!
Our team was in the BCS National Championship game Monday night. Michael said last week he would fix whatever I wanted to eat so I chose crawfish etouffee. It was so good!

We were cheering, we were shouting...

Man, we were psyched!

MAN, did it SUCK!!

If you followed any of my postings that night on Facebook, you saw my rants. We supposedly have a Two-Quarterback system, so when one QB doesn't perform, we ... wait for it ... keep him in. Huh? It was a disappointing end to a "perfect" (as in wins) season, and I was sad to see the Tigers go down like that. Of course, I still wore my LSU sweatshirt yesterday. When asked why I would wear such a shirt like that & that the shirt "stunk", I simply said "It's my team."

And the loss didn't negate the great season. As my cousin Lori sent to cheer us all up...

And after all...Honey Badger don't care!

(or does she?) ;-) [My little cousin Morgan when she learned the score the next morning. ;-)]

Today's Journal

2011-12-29T12:34:00.006-06:00

Ah! Outside! I feel like I've been cooped up...working inside at my mom's the last two days. I AM grateful that my job gives me the flexibility to work remotely. Today I'm off and all alone, but that's good too. Michael & my step-dad are both fishing, Alexandra is down the street playing with her cousin, my mom went to physical therapy, and my friend Catherine that I have been trying to meet is still snoozing at her mom's. It's 66F and sunny on the swing.

That makes it a good time to get back to blogging. I'm writing this on WritePad, an app I got for my new iPad. Well, the family's iPad. It really is for me, and I have been playing with it in secret since I got it in after Black Friday, but we wrapped it up for Christmas and told Alexandra it was a family present. She has been wanting to play with HER iPad the last few days and everytime I turn around Michael is checking the fishing maps or reading on it, so I guess it ISN'T mine. ;-)

I like this app because I can just write quickly with the stylus, and, for the most part, it recognizes my handwriting. I need to look into some blogging apps and hopefully get back to being more consistent with this. I have one limitation now, though. I won't go off on a rant, but the third camera of mine was dropped and broken so now I am left with my phone (again) for pictures. I guess I'm just not supposed to be IN the pictures.

I'm noticing a significant amount of glare on the iPad. Wondering how people really use it to read on a sunny beach. I guess a big floppy hat...yeah!

That's all for now. I need to venture to the store for some bowls and cups...and I can't forget the soup spoons! ;-) or as they call them in Louisiana, GUMBO spoons. My cousin Rachael and I are rounding up my mom's side of the family for a get-together tomorrow night. Rachael is cooking seafood gumbo. :-)

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Wishing you joy, purpose, and prosperity in 2012!

Love,
April

Kindergarten Picture

2011-11-06T14:44:00.008-06:00

Got in the individual picture taken at school last month. I can't believe my baby is already in kindergarten. I just love her!

It Bears Repeating

2011-11-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

Dental Training

2011-11-02T19:25:00.027-05:00

Alexandra got to try her hand at being a dental hygienist today...on her Daddy! She was also a good patient. They had a little trouble with the bitewing x-rays because her mouth is so small. This was the first time they really attempted to take x-rays. I was getting a little concerned at the amount of "do overs" they did (hygienist had another come in to help her) but I think they finally got one good one & just gave up on the other side.

She got to operate the suction thing.

And then tried it on her hand of course.

Ahhhh

2011-10-27T21:07:00.002-05:00

Saw the doctor this morning. She prescribed a muscle relaxant at night and gave me some anti-infammatory samples for during the day. After I pushed for something stronger, she said "If YOU'RE asking for Vicodin, it must REALLY hurt!" ha And she wrote the additional prescription.

I gave the sample a few hours to work, but it wasn't helping. Hydrocodone (generic) kicked in. Ahhh, the first sign of relief in a day. Was able to take a nap without having to freeze in the one spot that didn't hurt. If you know how much I toss & turn, you would know how extremely hard that is for me.

Michael just hugged me and said that even my back was frozen tense like a rock. Not sure what's going on. Hopefully the muscle relaxant will help with that too.

The best part about being home sick is that Jess thinks I stayed home to be her personal slave. I don't care if she is 80-something in cat years, I want to kill that cat! But at least I finally feel better. :)

OMG This Hurts!!

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Not sure what kind of ninja moves I was doing in my sleep the other night, but I pulled a muscle in my leg. I've been hobbling around the past two days thinking walking up the stairs at work, parking far in the parking lot, etc. would work it out. WRONG! I was up half the night last night in pain. I'm talking "about to start crying" pain.

Just called the doctor, and they can see me at 10:45 this morning. This is the first time I'll be praying for a vicodin prescription or such.

I can barely walk. I don't remember labor hurting this bad!

A Walk in the Park

2011-10-15T16:07:00.009-05:00

Health Fair

2011-10-13T14:45:00.002-05:00

Interesting readings today at my company's health fair. You are looking at the face of obesity...
My body fat measured 34%, in the obese category according to their chart. My pulse and blood pressure were high (BP 127/73 to my normal 105/60). And even my fasting weight was three pounds over what it was just an hour before at home. ;-/ What tha...?

Will get the blood test results (cholesterol & such) and health analysis in the mail. I ain't skeered! ;-)

Wondering How It's Going

2011-10-12T13:13:00.003-05:00

We let Alexandra forgo the brace yesterday so that her teachers could discuss it with the students before Alexandra showed up with it on. She must have overheard the teacher tell me weeks ago to give her warning so that she could bring it up the day before with the kids and not have them asking Alexandra (or the teachers) tons of questions. Alexandra was really concerned about that (not wanting to field a lot of questions). She is definitely shy in some ways and expressed anxiety at the thought of being the center of attention.

I asked her how the discussion went yesterday, and she gave me the play-by-play. She is so funny about things like that. Like instead of telling me the gist of a conversation with her dad (even though I overheard it from the other room), she will tell me "Daddy said ... and I said ..." So funny.

The teachers asked if the kids had ever seen anyone with a brace or a cast. Then they talked about how Alexandra was going to be wearing one to make her leg stronger. They all seemed to like this explanation, including Alexandra. I asked if any of the kids asked her any questions afterwards. She said "NO!" with a big smile! :-)

Bring Your Daughter to Work -- The Aftermath

2011-10-11T13:53:00.003-05:00

Everything is now clearly labeled. ;-)I have lots of words on my board in case I wonder what rhymes with "moon."You may be able to see above...part of the parking ticket I got since I didn't want to cross the busy road with Alexandra to park in our designated lot.
Well now, that's a joke. I can't really attribute that to yesterday. It is a permanent, increasing fixture of my office until I can rid myself of my addiction. Alexandra asked why I had so many Coke cans. "Because I have a problem."

Parent-Teacher Conference Day

2011-10-10T15:22:00.016-05:00

So it's "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day." :-)

Spaghetti Dinner

2011-10-06T07:19:00.011-05:00

We decided to help out the 7th graders at St. Mary's Catholic School by purchasing three spaghetti dinners last night. Pretty good eats!

Jess decided to help herself to some milk.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T19:00:00.010-05:00

Try Again Sally Jane

2011-10-02T21:30:00.008-05:00

It's great to be able to "read" one of your favorite books to Grandma!

Water Conservation

2011-10-01T07:20:00.005-05:00

Alexandra Says

2011-09-30T20:57:00.028-05:00

"Mama, why can't I read yet?"

(Poor thing, she thought similar to a friend of mine that when she started kindergarten she would magically know how to read. She heard at school last year and over the summer that she would learn how to read in kindergarten. Given the frustration she has voiced lately and the shrugging body language that accompanies it, she thought it would just magically happen in one day. ;-))

"Daddy, when you were my age, did they really have TV that was black and white?"

[Yes, and they only had 3 channels too!]

At a birthday party looking at the cake with her friends...one little girl says "It's full of sugar!" Alexandra says "I don't SEE any sugar." ;-)

If you don't technically see it, does that mean it's not there? ;-)

"Do you know why they call her Wonder Woman? Because she wonders about stuff!"

Hidden Pictures

2011-09-21T19:41:00.017-05:00

Alexandra has really gotten into the hidden pictures lately. There are actually a couple Highlights apps on my phone that she does. But we found some issues of a magazine to which I had subscribed for her but forgot about, Hi Five I believe, the 2-6yo version of Highlights. Something about being able to actually circle things on paper makes it fun even though the pictures are not as complex. I remember Highlights as a kid. I used to love that magazine in school!

Cramming it All In

2011-09-19T20:02:00.044-05:00

We had a FULL week last week! Sad when you have to go to work to take a break. ha

Sunday was the first day of Sunday school for this school year. Alexandra was excited to go and kept asking all summer when she could start again. Last year she went two or three days, crying most of the time, me having to sit in the classroom or outside. Glad to see a change this year.

Sunday afternoon, Alexandra had two of her friends over for a few hours for some fun while their mom (my friend Amy) went to choir practice.

Monday afternoon soccer practice.

Tuesday afternoon gymnastics. Thankfully they pick up students at Alexandra's school, and I just have to pick her up at the end of class.

Wednesday afternoon was our appointment with the orthopedic specialist in Shreveport. [More on this later.] Alexandra joined my coworker's son Aiden at "Bring a Friend Night" at Awana at his church that night.

Thursday was a dentist appointment for me and then a Women's Handgun Safety class that night. This was the 3-hour sit-down portion of the class.

Friday, it was back to Shreveport for Alexandra to be fitted for the brace prescribed by Dr. Pickvance, the orthopedic doctor. Then back home for a Skype appointment that night for a class Michael and I are taking.

Saturday was a family walk down the trail, soccer game, quick lunch, and the shooting portion of the Women's Handgun Safety class for me.

Sunday was church, Sunday school, and a birthday party at Pump It Up.

Whew! I'm exhausted just typing all that! Here are some pics...

Starting off another busy week today with a Parents Association meeting and soccer practice. Hopefully it won't be quite as full as last week!

First Soccer Game

2011-09-13T17:17:00.023-05:00

Snapped a few pics from Alexandra's first soccer game Saturday. Actually I snapped a lot, but I narrowed it down to six. And as I look at these, there are none from the actual game. Those are like looking at a picture of ants...you can't tell who's who. One of these days I will get a real SLR camera, with a zoom lens (I know I keep saying that. ;-)).

Alexandra seemed to have fun during the game, though she didn't have much endurance. Not sure if she was getting tired or bored really. She tends to keep to the back of the pack but does manage to still keep running with the ball.

We also ran into Alexandra's friend Kirby. She says it's her brother. (My coworker's son.) His soccer game was in the adjacent field. They each enjoyed a snow cone, as did I. :-)

Alexandra Says

2011-09-12T18:41:00.008-05:00

[I don't normally let Alexandra have gum, but there was one in the bottom of her snow cone.]

Me: "As soon as you chew a little on that gum, I want you to spit it out."

Alex: "I think I swallowed a little bit of it."

Me: "Let me see what is left in your mouth."

Alex: "It's way far back there."

Me: "Where is it?"

Alex: "It's down here [pointing] in my neck. I can't reach that far back."

[Shaking my head. You see?]

First Soccer Practice

2011-09-09T08:17:00.020-05:00

Alexandra had her first soccer practice yesterday after school. Driving over there, she asked me "WHY did you sign me up for this?" to which I replied "You were the one that asked to play soccer. Are you a little anxious?" She said she was and that she wouldn't know anyone. We talked about making friends, etc. It seemed to go okay once we got there. :-)

A Day at the Museum

2011-09-05T19:36:00.019-05:00

Got in some more educational pursuits before we left Dallas. Bank of America has a "Museums on Us" program for free entry to certain museums around the country the first weekend of every month. We took advantage of the timing to see the "Fire & Ice" and "Electric Theater" shows at the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science. We also played around in the Children's Museum area and checked out the dinosaur bones.

Can You Say GEAUX TIGERS!!!?

2011-09-04T08:42:00.063-05:00

Our little LSU cheerleader can!

What a great day we had yesterday! First off, it was fun to be away from home and spend some time with our friend Catherine in Big D. And what could be better than that was to have tons of friends in from Baton Rouge to help us have fun!

We had to get up bright and early since our professional tailgating friend Jason wanted to be at the tailgating lot right when they opened. ha We reserved a spot in a lot that opened at 9am instead of having to wait for the other ones that didn't open until 3pm. And it makes a lot of sense when you come all the way to another state for an away game...you need to "rock and roll all night & party every day!" hehe

Turns out there was a big block party at the Lizard Lounge, one block down from Catherine's loft, on Friday night. We drove right past the commotion but couldn't really participate w/ Alexandra. Ah, it's so different from the old days. lol Truth be told, I was already tired Friday night and wanted to get to bed early. I had already worked the morning, driven an hour to attend a wedding, driven 2 more hours to Dallas, stopped on the way in for a bunch of stuff at Wal-mart, back & forth on the phone w/ Catherine about what beer, etc. to get. Who has energy after all that for a party? lol Oh how our priorities have changed.

We made the most of the day, starting off early and getting the jambalaya cooking. Since we were playing the Oregon Ducks, our friend Scott suggested we put some duck in with the chicken and sausage jambalaya. Got some good prices at a place called Hebert's Meats in Longview (a Louisiana transplant that has Cajun meats, etc.), but our pregnant friend Jami-Lynn wasn't too keen on that. Scott hung a toy duck from the flagpole instead.

We played lots of games, met some new people and saw some old friends. I hadn't seen our friend Alan who lives in Austin since 1998. Turns out he was in the same lot as us with his roommate from LSU. It had been like 1988 since I had seen that guy. We drank a few and I even did a shot of crown from a unnamed body part ice sculpture. Needless to say, I deleted those pictures. What was I thinking? Thankfully, Alexandra was not around.

We took a trip around Cowboys stadium, swang by to see some other friends, and then headed back to Catherine's. We didn't actually have tickets to the game but couldn't pass up driving a measly two hours to have fun with friends. At one point we had a line on some face value priced tickets, but that fell through. It turned out to be a good thing because that would have been too long a day for Alexandra (and us). We were back at Catherine's, bathed, in PJs, and sitting down to some jambalaya for the kickoff. I saw on Facebook, after Midnight, friends still trying to get out of the parking lot.

What's Some Haggling Among Friends?

2011-09-03T07:24:00.017-05:00

Catherine showed us the new jewelry box she bought. It's a huge mirror that hangs on her bathroom door that opens to hold jewelry. And it's painted in a zebra print, just her style. She formerly had stuff laying around all over. Lots of costume jewelry. She was surprised she filled the whole thing up, but I can believe it.

Michael thought it would be funny to act like a street vendor trying to get her to buy some of his jewelry.

And A Beautiful Wedding It Was

2011-09-02T21:48:00.009-05:00

It seems like these last few days to get to this wedding have taken forever! (That's because it's really been a month and a half...but I'll take it easy on the back-posting jokes.)

Two of Michael's coworkers from Cafe' Barron's, Chad & Genna, were married this evening in Mount Pleasant, TX. We had the privilege of being able to take off this afternoon from work and attend. Michael and Alexandra actually took off the whole day.

It was a beautiful ceremony for a beautiful couple. And another coworker, Mrs. Vicki, performed the ceremony.

After the reception, we said our goodbyes and headed down I-30 to Dallas.

Mother-Daughter Date Night

2011-09-01T11:59:00.036-05:00

It wasn't really as glamorous as it sounds. ;-) Michael didn't get back until late last night, so Alexandra accompanied me to the last available slot that the hairdresser could get me in before the weekend. We've got a full weekend planned, and I needed a touch up on these highlights before I went anywhere where real people (besides coworkers) would see me. ;-)

We had our first soccer meeting last night so Sonic was on the menu, and tonight was McDonald's. Oh what a good mother am I. But I had to do what I had to do with the hectic schedule.

Never let a kid alone with your camera phone. Just kidding. It DID keep her entertained for awhile. I just had to delete tons & tons of pictures.

A Good Morning

2011-08-31T12:58:00.009-05:00

Marshmallow Mateys
And my sweet baby!

Going to the Chapel

2011-08-30T21:04:00.032-05:00

...and we're going to a wedding.

Two of Michael's coworkers from Cafe' Barrons will be married Friday, and we are invited to the wedding. Alexandra eyed the new white sandals I got the other day and thought they would go perfect with the dress she picked out. I don't know how I'm going to break it to her that the dress (really a tunic) is too short to wear alone and she can't exactly walk in my shoes.

Freshly showered & trying on her outfit

When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play

2011-08-29T13:52:00.065-05:00

...with their food! Literally. ;-)
I had Chicken & Vegetable Saute on the menu last night and thought it would be fun for Alexandra and me to practice our chopstick skills.

I even went so far as to cook in the hand-hammered wok that my dear friend Billy gave us as a wedding present...after it sat wrapped in newspaper at his house for exactly a year after our wedding. ;-) He will be glad to know that in the 18 years since, we have used it quite a bit.
We both actually did better than I expected. And though we ate in front of the TV instead of at the table, I can't even remember if/what we watched because we were having so much fun together [and b/c I'm really back-posting this a month later ;-P]

Improper technique...;-)

I even cooked breakfast this morning!
Look at my awesome omelet wrap!

See, I got cookin' skillz too!

Another Business Trip

2011-08-27T13:36:00.023-05:00

Michael is heading out tomorrow for another business trip...this time to Nebraska & Iowa for a conference and visits to another slaughter house and pig farm. They are in the middle of a long transition period at his work, and he has not yet officially become their "protein buyer", but they keep sending him on related trips. I'm glad for him to have different experiences, and he seems to be having fun.

He even still manages to take care of us while he is gone...
quiche & biscuits for the freezer for quick breakfasts

Just Like Mommy

2011-08-24T19:52:00.005-05:00

The Life I Save Could Be Your Own

2011-08-22T21:36:00.069-05:00

I took today's afternoon session of the CPR class our company offered. We had a full room with lots of laughs, but also lots of learning. I thought it was very informative.

I don't remember the first instruction being to ascertain the safety conditions, but one of our instructors (nurses & EMTs) gave an example of one time when they came upon a field where everyone was down. There wasn't bad weather or anything. She told her crew to stay back. It turns out that there was a new gas pipeline rupture where the odor hadn't been added to the gas yet. They would have all gone down if they would have tried to resuscitate the victims in the field. Unfortunately none of the people survived.

Another first was learning how to use an AED (defibrillator). I would definitely still be anxious/scared but they are a lot more automated with instructions than I would have guessed.

The hardest part for me was knowing how fast 100bpm is to do the chest compressions. It made me nervous when they said that going too fast would effectively empty the heart of blood. I did find a free iPhone app to help me. haha But my coworker said that in previous classes he was instructed to sing (hear) "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees for the beat. I can remember that.

I did have a few pics of my coworkers in the class, but I figured I wouldn't post a bunch of pictures without their knowledge, so here's our dummies...

Oh, that was another better thing about this class than previous ones I've taken. We all had our own adult & infants and we were able to practice immediately instead of watching a 30 minute video and then being quizzed. It was watch a short clip for a couple minutes, practice what they did, watch another clip, practice what they did...

We had an infant CPR class before Alexandra was born, but I was glad to have a refresher (and improved) course. I hope I don't ever have to use it, but at least I'm more prepared now.

I Got My Baby Back Baby Back Baby Back!!

2011-08-21T17:37:00.019-05:00

Met up at the Cracker Barrel near Alexandria, LA to get my baby back!! Oh, and to see my parents. hehe Oh, and for lunch. And of course, to remind her who's boss with a prompt smackdown in checkers! ;-)

Company Party

2011-08-20T23:37:00.039-05:00

Michael's company's awards banquet was tonight in Shreveport, LA. They put everyone up at the Hilton and had a nice reception of drinks and hors d'oeuvres followed by an awards dinner and then casino craps shooting for extra cash.

I luck out with Michael in that I always have a designated driver...and I get all his drink tickets! lol But really we had drink tickets to spare. It was nice to meet some of his new coworkers and put faces with the names I hear about all the time. After dinner, I retired early while Michael helped out with some of the casino stuff. He got a few rolls himself and came up for the night with an extra $100. Nice.

We're headed down south tomorrow to meet my parents and get Alexandra!

I love staying in different hotels and always snap a few pics. ;-)

Nice masculine bathroom

Skyper Girl

2011-08-19T22:12:00.020-05:00

We've been Skyping a bit with Alexandra, which is really nice, but still not like the real thing. Ahhh, two weeks is too much. I think we're going to have to scale back next visit! I miss my baby!! Waaa!!!

Not Bad for $3.29!

2011-08-18T20:23:00.019-05:00

Tried out a new rotisserie place tonight, Cowboy Chicken, as my coworker said they were having a special. That's half a chicken right there! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T20:03:00.009-05:00

The Miracle of Birth

2011-08-16T22:45:00.075-05:00

I was honored today to take part in the birth of little Kaitlyn Jade Wingfield. My coworker Lance's wife Amy asked me to be in the delivery room with her. This was only the second human birth I'd ever witnessed, and that's counting the birth when I was having the baby! (And that wasn't in a hospital.)

I helped during the delivery with pushing one of Amy's legs, which was numb from the epidural, and being along side her. They even let ME cut the umbilical cord! Then I followed baby Kaitlyn as she was getting toweled off and checked for her Apgar score and took pictures and videos.

It was the beginning of a new life and the end of several years of trials including infertility and two miscarriages due to low progesterone. It was also the end of the first week in the hospital as Amy's water broke last week at 33 weeks. No contractions, but to protect against infection, the doctor wanted Amy to stay in the hospital. They would also give the baby steroids to speed development in case they had to deliver pre-term. With the loss of more fluid Sunday, the doctor decided to schedule an induction for this morning.

I went to the hospital at 9am, and they started things off. Amy sent me back to work around Noon when there was slow progress. She said she didn't mind making Lance wait but she felt guilty making me just sit there. I didn't mind though. Lance, Amy, and I had some good conversations, and the nurse had to come in to adjust the monitor on Amy's belly often because we kept making her laugh.

After the rest of the day at work, they told me to come back between 6 and 6:30pm. Kaitlyn was born at 6:52pm, six weeks early. Despite predictions of a week in NICU, she was a healthy little baby at 5 pounds even and 19.75 inches long (That's a normal full term length!). She even amazed everyone by latching on immediately and starting to breastfeed!

What an amazing experience and a precious little girl!

Recent Quotes

2011-08-15T19:48:00.048-05:00

"I see a bunch of Jessica's fur! We have to clean it up.
We always have to clean it up because she's older than me.
[pause]
Hey, do cats die?"

My baby was vacuuming & cleaning house...
She said "I'm gonna do EVERYTHING for y'all!" ;-)

"You know I don't lie, don't you?
But I sometimes trick."

"You know I just LOVE sandwiches!!"

"Do you see my tummy.
Feel it.
Do you feel a baby?"

Listening to "Kids Just Want To Have Fun" song (just like Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun")...
Alex says "And we also like FOOD!"

Talking about my cousin Tonya...
I told Alexandra that she was her cousin also. I said that she was my first cousin and that she was Alexandra's first cousin, once removed.
Alexandra said "Did yours get removed?"

Saw a relief of Shepherd Jesus w/ sheep in the cemetary...
"That looks like Little Bo Peep!"

"My Sneezer" = pack of Kleenex
"Swisher" = mouthwash
(makes sense to me)

"It was like that when we got it."
-my coworker Danny
(pertaining to every scratch they put on any piece of furniture they moved)

Restin', Relaxin', and a Whole Lotta Nothin'

2011-08-14T20:04:00.037-05:00

Oh yeah! We are seriously taking advantage of our kidless time!

This weekend we chilled, ate some grub, watched Rated-R movies, caught up on some Star Trek Enterprise, read the paper (well, some of it) and took a 3-hour nap. Michael took multiple naps BOTH days!

We did manage to compose a grocery list, make it to church, and then to Walmart. But that was in between all the chillin'.
Oh we did fold that load of whites...
AFTER Jess moved.

Vietnamese Pho

2011-08-11T13:16:00.011-05:00

Ah, nothing like a hot bowl of noodle soup for a ~~hot~~ cold summer day. Did I mention that it is as hot as the surface of the sun outside, but my office is a deep freeze?!

Happy Pics from the Weekend

2011-08-09T19:03:00.016-05:00

Stopped by my brother's for a quick visit as well as a trip to see Michael's grandmother while in Louisiana...
My brother, the quintessential Sugar Daddy (notice his shirt)! Ha
I couldn't get a picture without his mouth open or him looking the other way.
My new little niece, Alijah Rayne Cooper.

Mrs. Beverly & two of her great-grandaughters
Mrs. Beverly & two of her granddaughter-in-laws

Great to See Everybody, Not a Great Reason

2011-08-08T22:23:00.051-05:00

Just got back from an unexpected trip this weekend to South Louisiana. My first cousin Tonya died. I hadn't seen her in a few years, but I will sure miss her laugh! I remember growing up how she was full of joy and always laughing.

It's especially sad when people younger than you start dying. She was only 42 and leaves behind a 19 year old daughter. I can't imagine being 19 without my mother. I can't even imagine it now.

Alexandra's to the age where she is asking a lot of questions, and I really didn't have an answer as to why Tonya died. I told her that Tonya had cancer and that it was a disease, so inevitably, she asked me what causes cancer. I rattled off some of the suspects but couldn't give her a definitive answer.

Before we left home, Michael and I tried to explain to Alexandra what we would be going to do. How we thought that maybe Tonya's soul was already in Heaven but that we would be going to say goodbye to her body and help her family not be sad. Though my in-laws offered to keep her during the wake and funeral, it's sad to say but sometimes funerals are the only time we get to see extended family, so I wanted her with me.

Alexandra had had a long day and was acting up a bit at the wake. She really just wanted to be on (right on) her Mama the whole time. There were so many people there, and it took literally over an hour in line to get up to the casket. We said a prayer, and Alexandra actually even touched Tonya's arm. She was really curious. Later when I was talking to another cousin, I saw Alexandra go back up to the casket for awhile. We were about to head out, and she started crying...for 45 minutes straight until she finally fell asleep. She said that she was sad that she didn't get to see Tonya before she died (She had never met her.) and that Tonya was going to miss her. Upon talking further she indicated that it all happened too fast for Tonya (She was actually in remission.) and that she would miss everybody. I don't discount that maybe children (or anybody) can connect with someone on a supernatural level, so who knows. I just held her while she cried. Sometimes that's the best comfort. She asked why all the adults weren't crying, and I told her that sometimes adults can control their emotions better than children but that it was okay for children and adults to cry.

This morning I let her sleep as long as possible to make sure she had enough rest. I thought about letting her stay with the Sanchezs, but we discussed it, and she wanted to go to the funeral. She asked me questions for 30 straight minutes on the way to the funeral. Once there, again, she wanted to get in line right away to be able to see Tonya before they closed the casket. She lingered up at the front looking at her pictures while I talked to some people. Once the service started, she wasn't interested in sitting near her cousins, she just wanted to be glued to her Mama, and I was glad to get to hug her the whole time.

At the cemetery, question followed question, and though I didn't have all the answers, it was an opportunity to talk about what we believe about Jesus and resurrection . . . but in explanations for a 5 year old to understand.

Alexandra did really well and didn't cry at all today. At the "reception" following the burial where everyone went to eat, she was her usual self . . . cutting up, being goofy, and shy, etc. I kissed her goodbye and heading back home. She gets to stay for two weeks for her last "hoorah" before she comes back to Texas to start KINDERGARTEN! Can you believe?!

I made it home in record time (since I started from North Baton Rouge) and got me two crawfish pies and an Icee on the way (my tradition). It was great to be able to see so many people in my family, but such a sad occasion. It was definitely a new experience for Alexandra. Though she had been to a few funerals before, she was too young to ponder what was going on.

Moving

2011-08-05T19:49:00.058-05:00

My coworkers and I knew something was up as several times over the last few months people would come into our offices, look around, and say to each other "This'll be perfect!"

My boss, the CFO, no one knew anything about it. We assumed someone would tell us if we were to move. One of the principals finally called my boss and told him that another company was taking over our space and that we had to move...in one week and the week we would be in Austin.

Thankfully, I was able to move my stuff into a conference room before I left, and my coworkers handled most of the heavy lifting while I was away. Upon returning this week, I got to choose a new desk and set up my digs. Still no sunlight but a lot bigger office. And my new desk has a glass top so I can put pictures and such underneath . . . no frames, just clean.

And you can see that I took The Odessi Group team photo with me...no one else wants it. ;-)

Peeling!

2011-08-03T20:50:00.029-05:00

I want to kick myself for not reapplying sunscreen Saturday! Despite repeated latherings of aloe vera, the skin on my shoulders & upper back started peeling today. This is one time I'll refrain from any pictures.

I was reminded of telling a friend years ago that I used to use Noxema for sunburn. Isn't it funny how the years lead to memory loss. I second-guessed myself. "Was it Noxema?" Thankfully we have the Internet these days & it takes a mere seconds to find out if you're crazy or not . . . LiveStrong Article. So I'm not crazy. But I didn't have any Noxema anyway.

Weekend Visit from the Fam

2011-08-01T21:15:00.042-05:00

I came back from Austin to guests . . . Michael's brother's family came for the weekend. Though we packed in the activities, I was too exhausted for our Friday night plans, and we forewent (yes, that is really a word!) the balloon glow at the Great Texas Balloon Race.

Saturday we spent three hours at the Longview Swim Center. Even with sunscreen, I guess direct Noon - 3pm sun is a lot more powerful than a whole week at the beach because I got sunburned in that short amount of time. Our niece Abby showed off her swimming skills, but I was sad to hear that Alexandra couldn't even go down the slide as she wasn't at least 7 years old. She still had a blast. Everyone did.

We headed back home to change for dinner and ate early at Outback. I'm still aggravated that we forgot our $5 off coupon that expires 8/4. Hey, $5 is $5!

Then it was off to catch the ArtsView Children's Theatre performance of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jr." It was the best production we've seen so far at ArtsView. A musical with kids 10-17 performing beautifully. Alexandra and Abby got lots of autographs after the show.

Dawn had a hankering for some ice cream and after one failed attempt at getting some at Dairy Queen, we satisfied the craving at Baskin Robbins. It was a little too rich and made her sick, but I think everyone else enjoyed theirs. (It's a whole different way of eating now for her since Dawn had weight loss surgery in January, and she can only eat a little bit of anything. 120 pounds lost so far!! Go Dawn!)

Sunday was church, (almost) free bowling, and then lunch at Posados Mexican Restaurant before the Sanchezs had to head home. Alexandra had the opportunity to go back to Louisiana with them but decided she wanted to stay with her Mommy & Daddy. An hour later I hear "I wish I would have gone with them!" ;-)

Back from My "Field Trip"

2011-07-30T10:45:00.024-05:00

Alexandra told everyone that I was on a "field trip" this week. Indeed I was...to our office in Austin.

'Twas a productive and fun trip, and I even ~~made myself~~ got to work out twice, in part thanks to one of the company VPs, Nichole.

Lots to eat...and drink.

Oh, and a few meetings. ;-)

Date Night from Hell

2011-07-26T17:11:00.001-05:00

Well really it wasn't, but Michael said "I bet I'm going to read about a date night from hell on the blog tomorrow." ;-)

We took advantage of our time alone to go out on a date Saturday night. We didn't have any more cash in the "dining" envelope, but we did have some gift cards! "Red Lobster it is then!" Michael even said that he'd take us out to a movie on his dime because he still had some "personal money" (We just implemented that.).

We got to the restaurant and there was a pretty long line. I had been working all afternoon trying to catch up on some things, so it was a quick shower and makeup, and we didn't have much time to spare. Surprisingly they called us pretty fast. Our waitress did her best to get us out fast too. After all, we had to go see a movie starring "little Justin Timberlake." The waitress looked about 20 and asked us what movie we were going to see. "Friends with Benefits." Then I was almost mortified when I heard the following words come out of my mouth "Yes, we like little Justin Timberlake." Wow. How old AM I?

So we get out of there with 15 minutes to get to the movie theater. Um, my car won't start. No warning, nothing...in the 9 years since I've had the car. (At least the battery lasted a long time!)

Instead of asking someone from the restaurant, I thought "Hey, I'll use my new AAA Roadside Assistance app!" This is exactly why we're paying for AAA. That turned out to be a wrong move. After waiting 20 minutes, I called the number to say "Hey, did you get my request from this app?" The lady said that she did but that the original estimate on how long it would take someone to get out to me was one hour. I told her that that would have been helpful feedback for the app to send back so that I could adjust my expectations accordingly. After several missed calls from the dispatcher, I called the main number back to find that their original choice of who would come to help us wasn't going to work out and that the new repair shop would be another 45 minutes. I told her to forget it, that I had already called a friend, something we should have done from the start.

My coworker came to try to jump us off, but it didn't work. He brought us home. We had missed our movie. But Michael was determined to see JT! So we jumped in his truck and headed for the later movie. Though I BALKED at the $5.15 cost of a Coke at the theater (COME ON!), it turned out to be a good movie. Great job little Justin!! ;-)

We went back after church Sunday and the car DID "jump off" this time. It only made it half-way home and died on me in the street. Michael jumped it off again with his truck, and I was peddle to the metal home. He spent his afternoon getting new batteries for both vehicles and installing them. You can see that this is a breeze on my car...the wheel has to be removed!
The irony of the whole thing is that I'm about to go on a business trip and Michael said last week "My battery has been acting up, so I need to get it taken care of before you are out of town."

"You can just use my car." was my reply. ;-)

Sisters

2011-07-24T19:44:00.000-05:00

Alexandra refers to her best friends at school as her sisters, and I think that is especially fitting of my friend Catherine. She came through town and spent a night with us. Long after Michael and Alexandra fell asleep, we were still up laughing. This time we probably looked more like today's teenagers than normally, as I helped her set up her iTunes account, and instead of talking, we were steadily downloading apps saying "Okay, download this one!"
Alexandra has a lot of fun with "Aunt Catherine." She IS her Fairy Godmother after all. As a matter of fact, we took advantage of Catherine's trip to bum a ride for Alexandra down to her grandparents. They jokingly posed as I snapped a picture of Catherine's license plate and them. Cathy asked if I thought she was going to abduct my child, and I retorted that if they were missing, the first thing the police would ask was "What was she driving?", "What is her license plate?", and "What were they wearing?" She agreed and said it was smart, but she also knows that I'm the most anal-retentive person she knows. ;-) But she still loves me . . . like a sister! :-)

And All Through the House...

2011-07-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

Everyone was sleeping...Even a Cat!

I Think It's Gonna Hold . . . Nah!

2011-07-22T17:50:00.002-05:00

We were actually impressed that the guy got it completely installed yesterday...even all the way into the corners complete with some type of caulking (which he hadn't done originally).

Michael said "I'll believe it when the water is completely filled but did say "I'm going to feel bad." (for thinking such bad thoughts of the guy?) I said "For what? Because he had to actually warranty his work?"

So guess what we woke up to this morning?

Spoke with the guy on the phone and he basically said that the liner has just shrunk too much and that there was nothing he could do. He said it could happen if you leave the water drained in the pool for months. I told him that we DIDN'T leave the water drained in the pool for months. When Michael uncovered it at the beginning of the summer, the liner had already pulled away from the wall. It apparently wasn't ordered big enough to fit the pool given that the liners are prone to shrinkage. I went on to say that Michael DID drain & refill the pool multiple times trying to get the liner to stretch and stay but that as soon as the water filled up, the weight of it would pull the liner out of the track. THAT is why Michael tried to put pounds & pounds of sand (that they just dumped in our yard yesterday) under the deep end of the pool so that it would alleviate some of the inadequate depth issue. The guy said he would pull up our file and see if there is anything the liner company can do, but it looks like he's not going to honor his work.

Michael started pumping out the water at lunch so it won't be a mosquito breeding ground and then is going to put on the cover. Until next year...

One Year Later

2011-07-21T13:56:00.001-05:00

So guess what we've been dealing with THIS summer? You may remember last year. As a matter of fact, we haven't been able to use the pool AT ALL this year. When Michael uncovered it, the liner had come off the wall and water was behind it. Thinking it was his fault and somehow he let rainwater get too high in the pool over the winter, he tried to fix it himself. He got some new "beadlock" stuff to put completely around the pool perimeter to make sure the liner stayed in the track. He has been wrestling with the thing for over a month, draining and refilling the pool multiple times, each time adding another $40-50 to our water bill. He has come to the conclusion that the guy didn't measure correctly to allow for shrinkage, etc. He is ready to throw in the towel and cover the pool and have to order a brand new liner next year, which runs about $1000 IF he installs it himself. He's almost an expert now with all the reading he's had to do on the Internet about how to fix the problem. (That sounds like I'm being sarcastic, but I would trust Michael to do a better job. You know how I feel about that.)

I spent 30 minutes on the phone yesterday with the liner company and though the guy there was pretty nice and offered suggestions, Michael had tried everything he suggested. And it came down to that the liner company provided what was ordered and there is nothing really wrong with the liner except that it is too small. Reluctantly, since we were going to cover the pool anyway and say forget it, I convinced Michael to let me call the guy who installed it and see if he could fix/make it right. Michael is now the one that doesn't want to talk to the guy, imagine that. (That was a bit sarcastic. ;-))

So I called and the guy came over and called me saying that he could fix it but that since we went a month without calling him and "let it get in the shape it's in", it wasn't covered under the normal warranty and he could fix for $800. I told him that there was no way in hell my husband (the bad cop) would pay him $800 and as a matter of fact didn't want to pay him a dime more nor have me call him. He asked why we didn't call him to begin with and I said "My husband doesn't think you installed it correctly from the start. Why would he want to call you to mess with anything else?"

I discussed with Michael and called the guy back to offer him $250 if he could fix it. He said that it wouldn't cover his expenses but that he wanted a satisfied customer (too late for that) and wanted to make it right. He said that if he couldn't fix it, he wouldn't charge me a dime. I REALLY didn't want to shell out any more money, but IF he can make the liner stretch/fix it, it will be better than having to wait until next summer and get a new liner. Especially since we have company coming soon and were looking forward to spending time in the pool.

Michael doesn't think it can be fixed and I told the guy "My husband doesn't think you can fix it." Soooo....he's there right now draining the pool. We'll see. As my coworker said about a problem at work, "Man, this is a cluster." ;-/

What's important to HER

2011-07-20T07:18:00.001-05:00

FlyLady,

You would be SO proud of me.

Two days ago my 5yo DD was playing with some Legos. I had put them on her Christmas list because _I_ think Legos are so neat, and I wanted them to be the first of many Lego sets. She was having some trouble with the pieces going together & staying together and got frustrated a bit but was continuing to play. I tried to help her but also allow her to play with them herself without me constantly stepping in.

Yesterday as we were cleaning her room, I had a basket for items to donate to others. She put the Legos in the basket and said that she was ready to give these to another kid. She wasn't mad or frustrated or anything, but apparently she didn't really enjoy playing with the Legos. As much as I wanted to say "Oh no, keep them. Legos are great and almost a collectible toy! I love Legos!", I just asked her if she didn't enjoy playing with them. She said No, she didn't. And I let her give them away.

This is a big step! I am so proud of myself for not voicing something that would make her second guess herself or impose my "pack rat" tendencies on her!

Thank you!
-FlyBaby April

No Excuses

2011-07-16T22:48:00.002-05:00

This shot is definitely going on my vision board!

Alexandra wanted to try on my heart rate monitor today. It wouldn't go small enough for her nor would the sensors stay in contact enough to consistently read her heart rate. It registered 106 then went down to 100. She said "I guess that means I'm losing weight." Wow, where do these ideas come from? ha

She spent the night at a friend's last night which gave Michael and me a chance to go bike riding unaccompanied this morning. When we had to ride single-file on some parts of the trail, he said I could lead so he wouldn't slow me down. haha I WAS booking it! Especially on some of the downhill slopes. I was thinking to myself "Please front wheels don't lock up or stop on something or I'm going to fly 10 feet as fast as I'm going!" Sometimes it's just fun to go FAST! I took all the alternate hilly paths at the beginning and was huffing a bit on the return trip, but it was a good workout.

Now if I can just stay consistent. Gotta do it...no excuses!

Movin on Up ;-)

2011-07-15T17:13:00.000-05:00

My boss Stephan ~~got roped in~~, um, I mean was promoted to a new position (j/k... but his words). Two of our company's software development teams from Austin and Longview have been merged into a new IS Department. Stephan will now be a VP and will be spending a lot more time in Austin, and I'll be taking on more responsibilities in our Longview office.

Announcement to the company earlier this week...

Effective July 1, 2011, April Sanchez has been promoted to Application Support Manager for Network IP. As before, April will continue her outstanding performance in coordinating all future Odessi releases. She will also now supervise our current AppSupport and Billing Administrating group.

April will need to be aware and supervise the development of all Odessi feature requests and system enhancements.

Please join me in congratulating her on this advancement within our organization.

:-)

Flashing Red & Blue Lights

2011-07-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

Michael couldn't understand why I kept saying "Whoa!" We were about 50 yards from the driveway on the way back from church Sunday.

"Why are you slowing down?"

Then he turned and saw the flashing lights of the State Trooper.

I didn't understand because I did nothing wrong.

Well, turns out that my vehicle inspection sticker had expired 10 days earlier at the end of June.

The trooper said that he was just issuing a warning, no penalty, but that I needed to get it taken care of this week.

I told Michael that it was probably a fortuitous stop because I wouldn't have noticed it for months and then maybe gotten a real ticket. Got the inspection/new sticker Tuesday. :-)

Up with the Chickens

2011-07-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

Farmer Bill at our CSA is about to plow up a whole row of jalapeno peppers. When I went there Monday to get our basket of tomatoes, he directed me to the row and told me I could pick as many as I wanted before he plowed them up. Same for a bunch of cherry tomatoes. This would be the last week of tomatoes as it got too hot too soon this year, and they are cooking on the vines. He put up stakes for them to grow and you may be able to see in my pictures below that they just wilted off the stakes.

I told him I would come back Tuesday after I picked up Alexandra but he said it was way too hot at 5pm, that I should come early in the morning. We didn't quite make it at 6:30am as he suggested, but Alexandra and I got there a little after 7 this morning and got my coworker Kyla and her son Kirby to join us. I thought it would be a fun educational activity.

We saw lots of stink bugs (apparently they like jalapenos?) and a few grasshoppers. On a side note, out of necessity, I'm not scared of stink bugs anymore. ;-)

The kids started getting bored after about 15 minutes and wanted to wander off to pick things in other rows, but we roped 'em back in and then it was time to go to school.

Felt a little like a farmer! ;-) And now this afternoon, I get a call from Farmer Bill needing help picking peas Saturday. What have I gotten myself into? lol

Checking out the chickens

Some of our harvest

Love the Possibilities

2011-07-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

And I also love the ability to create multiple Google calendars. I have one for meal planning, one for each member of the family (except Jess), a personal one for me, and one for items that pertain to all of us. I also got the idea from a comment on a blog I read to create a "Possibilities" calendar.

Mondays are Planning Day according to my weekly "Fly-Lady"-oriented assignment, and I'm trying to also incorporate an "@planning" context into my fledgling GTD implementation. Not that I always get a chance to sit down and look at the coming weeks or even sit with Michael and Alexandra to discuss our plans, but it's an aim. Whenever I come across an event that looks interesting, I put it on our Possibilities calendar. Then when we get a chance to have a family meeting or go over plans, we can view that calendar and move any items over to our "real" calendars. Then I can just hide that calendar when I don't want to see it.

Yet another look into my implementation of anal-retentiveness, or to put a positive spin on it, "organization!" ;-) Just trying to improve our quality of life through more efficient handling of the "routine." ha

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2011-07-11T14:47:00.003-05:00

It's getting hot out here!

I never paid much attention to the weather, but we desperately need some rain too!!

Cow Appreciation Day

2011-07-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

Alexandra and I scored free dinner tonight!

We just cut out and taped on the free printable cow outfit from Chick-fil-a. It wasn't a full costume but they still gave us our whole meal free, including Michael's, who was too "chicken" to join us! hehehe

In the Raw

2011-07-06T12:48:00.000-05:00

Our neighbor gave us some corn on the cob...Alexandra's favorite! It was an opportunity for a teachable moment to show her what corn on the cob looks like after picking.

This is called "shucking."
Yum!

Hot Cars & Babies

2011-07-03T13:54:00.000-05:00

[Getting out of the car]

Me: "Do you want to get your baby?"
Alex: "No, she can stay in the car."
Me: "You know you're not supposed to leave a baby in a hot car."
Alex: "That's not a baby! That's a dolly!"

I guess no matter how you try to play along, they're always going to look at you like you're crazy! ;-)

Zumba

2011-07-02T14:29:00.028-05:00

Mother-daughter morning at the gym today. Alexandra joined me for a Zumba class. She made it about 10-15 minutes, and I made it 30. We'll keep trying!

There were a couple of other little girls there, and Alexandra sat and talked with them. Afterward, we changed into swimsuits and ate a snack before heading out to the pool. The two girls asked Alexandra to join them to hit some racketballs in one of the empty courts while I was finishing up, and then later they came out to the pool with their moms. It was fun to make some new friends.

My Zumba Princess

Ice Cream Social

2011-06-30T16:19:00.000-05:00

My company rocks!

My marble slab combination of strawberry and cheesecake ice cream with chocolate chips and sliced almonds folded in!

How to Talk to Little Girls

2011-06-28T08:42:00.008-05:00

Yea for brains!!

How to Talk to Little Girls

And I LOVE MATH...and I hope my daughter will too!!

New Sleeping Arrangements

2011-06-27T13:21:00.002-05:00

Alexandra really does have a room...complete with beds, but she still chooses to sleep in our room, and I haven't tried to push her out. After all, her bedroom is way upstairs; I don't want to be afraid of her groggily falling down the stairs; and mostly because I love to keep her close and snuggle.

I do need to stretch out sometimes or just sleep near my husband without a kid in the middle, so we've encouraged her to sleep in her "little bed." She informed us the other day that her little bed (the mattress from her crib...where she never slept either) was getting too little and she wanted a bigger bed in the same spot.

We've settled for the mattress from her twin bed. (She still has a double bed in her room in case she ever decides to sleep there. ;-)) This is actually a good solution because I can lay on the mattress with her for a bit instead of her wanting to read a book in the big bed...and stay there.

We had to remove the lower shelf from my side of the bed so she wouldn't hit her head. A few other things moved around, but I think it's a good step forward for now.

Swim Lessons

2011-06-25T01:42:00.002-05:00

We enrolled Alexandra in swim lessons through her school again this year, so this makes the fourth summer of lessons counting the Water Babies classes. Last year we enrolled her in both two-week sessions, so she was taking swimming lessons for four weeks. When we talked about it with her this year, it sounded like that was too much, so we opted for only one session. She is in Advanced Beginner.

I got a chance to watch one of the classes last week and overheard one of the instructors saying to another that Alexandra was a "Not-Listener!" LOL The whole time Alexandra was on the wall, looking away from what the instructors were saying. Ahhh. LOL I'm hoping it can be contributed to me being there and that she wasn't like that the whole time.

They said that she can float really well on her back and do the back glide. But she has gotten into a habit of trying to tread water/doggie paddle instead of keeping her head under water and kicking to her destination.

Fortunately, we belong to the health club where they take the classes, so we've been able to take her some days after school to show us what she's learned. I was impressed that she wanted to jump off the diving board and kept close to make sure she could get to the ladder. I finally figured out about the doggie paddling as I was scared that she was going to drown. She'll go under but then paddle her way to the ladder...all the while smiling from ear to ear. That girl would be smiling as she drowned. You just can't stop her from being happy! LOL

Alexandra Says

2011-06-22T08:34:00.000-05:00

Some of her sayings this month...(I know I repeat myself sometimes b/c I post some of this to Facebook, but some of the family that reads the blog is not on Facebook.)

In Alexandra's goody bag was an Iron Man toy...
She doesn't know who that is, so she just used her imagination...
"Fast Lectrocute Man!
He's the kind of hero where when people are bad, he can lectrocute them!"
My little fan of corporal punishment. LOL

Uh Oh...Alexandra's first auto-timeout.
We told her a week ago that the next time she received a "No" answer from one parent & then proceeded to ask for the same permission from the other parent, it was going to be an automatic timeout. She made the mistake today. ;-)

Alexandra looked up at me this morning in church & said "Jesus is here!"
While that didn't stop her from acting up, it was good to hear. :-)

Alexandra chose some overalls to wear.
"These sometimes make me hot, but only on Saturdays. And today isn't Saturday."

"Remember when you thought I was trickin', but I was telling the truth?
But the truth was that I was trickin?"
The ultimate kid paradox! ;-)

"People think I'm a little kid. But I'm not. I'm five!"

I see this bowl someone threw in the garbage & ask about it. Apparently Alexandra accidentally threw it away when she was throwing away her strawberry stems (what was in the bowl). I AM glad that she cleaned up after herself! But then she proceeds to say that her Daddy did it (right in front of him), and when he tells her to tell the truth, she says that she didn't see anybody do it and she didn't see herself do it, so someone must have come into our house and thrown it away. Round & round about how it's okay if it was an accident but you need to always tell the truth. It's not sinking in. She doesn't even recall taking the bowl out of her lunchbox now. LOL

My Journey of Intention Day 2

2011-06-21T08:17:00.001-05:00

I've always been a positive person. Maybe, like my mom ascribes to Alexandra, I chose at an early age to be happy. In high school I read The Power of Positive Thinking and I can say that it has been the most influential book on my life, along with the Bible of course.

In college, I had quotes on the back of my apartment bedroom door, the biggest of which was on pink cardstock that read "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. -Philippians 4:13"

I've gone through phases in life where I got back to trying to daily inspire myself through focus on books such as The Power of Positive Thinking, the Bible, keeping quotes on my Palm Pilot, listening to tapes, etc. Sometimes they helped me to improve myself, sometimes they didn't. I started re-reading The Purpose Driven Life some months ago. My aunt gave it to us, and it seems to be a great book, yet I only get to Day 15 or so and somehow stop reading. I guess it's because I always think I need to take notes, and my perfectionistic tendencies end up making something like reading a book take up too much time, etc. But oh what I wouldn't really give to know my purpose in life. But in the back of my mind a little voice says that I'm not going to find it out through one book. Like how would one book tell millions of people their individual purposes? Maybe that's because our purpose is just to serve and worship God? Maybe I should just finish the book. ;-)

I came across something about mood boards a year or so ago and got Alexandra and Michael involved in putting some bulletin boards up in the dining room for that purpose. I meant to do a blog post, but ahhhhh. ;-/ Friday my cousin commented on one of my Facebook posts and mentioned having a vision board. It seems that the definitions of these two types of boards overlap to some degree, so I find it a coincidence that my cousin mentioned. Her example had more quotes and such and so the two ideas met in my mind and have inspired me to take this more intentional approach to life. It's time to start figuring out my purpose, or at least what I want in life, and put those images forefront in my mind.

I also discovered lately how much I really do like yoga. When we had extended cable, I used to do the routines on the Namaste Yoga TV series. I bought the Season 1 app for my iPhone and followed along with an episode alone on the beach on our recent vacation. What a wonderful "work out" that was! I've allowed myself to wake up and do yoga a few times in the last two weeks, and though my mind tries to convince me that I need to spend the time lifting weights or running so I can get in shape, I finally just said to myself "I like it! It makes me feel good! Get off me!" LOL (Get off me! = one of my favorite brother quotes)

So I'm going to start a vision board on the inside of my bathroom cabinet door and do some yoga this week. No grand plans. Let's just take one step at a time...one intentional step. :-)

My Journey of Intention

2011-06-20T00:37:00.000-05:00

I received an email yesterday from a dear friend who expressed feelings of a "mid-life crisis." I've been feeling some of those same feelings lately, the details of which I will share privately with said friend.

However, I wanted to put it out there that today is Day 1 of "My Journey of Intention" as I will call it. It seems that years can go by in complacency where you're just coasting along, or you're tackling life's trials, or you're actually pretty happy. But it's not until you get this sinking feeling that you MUST do something different that you see that you're in a corner where you HAVE to change or die. And by die I mean, resign yourself to a life not up to par with what you want, filled with regrets of what could have been, all the potential you had, etc.

I've been sick this weekend, probably taking a sick day today. But I'm going to start the day with intention, start spelling out what I want, what I want my life to be.

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

First Highlights EVER!

2011-05-25T23:51:00.015-05:00

Can't believe I'm 43 and today was the first day I ever highlighted my hair. Well, professionally that is...not w/ Sun-In! lol

That reminds me of what Alexandra has been saying for the last month or so. She will say something & then say "well, blah blah, THAT IS." I'm drawing a blank on an example at the moment.

But anyway, I was always hesitant to try to go lighter with my hair as I have such dark [thick] eyebrows and some people don't look good with light hair. I always thought I looked better with my natural color or darker...except for that one time in college when I dyed it TOTAL BLACK & had a perm and looked like a witch! Yeah, 'cept for that time. ;-)

You can judge for yourself. It's fun to do something different for the summer.

Last week...

Yesterday...

Today...

Happy 17th Birthday Baby Jess!

2011-05-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

Not sure how many that is in cat years, but the Baby Jess is getting up there. Hard to believe she is 17!!

She isn't as frisky as she once was, but she does still like to play occasionally. Here is one such occasion.

I love my first born! :-)

Another Day, Another...Hey, a New Blog Post!

2011-05-04T13:04:00.027-05:00

It seems that I can never get around to posting to this blog. I can't say that I'm more busy than I've ever been. As a matter of fact, things seem to be running more smoothly and I get more done that I have in a long time. I can attribute that to FlyLady, Springpad, and reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. I'm getting my routines down better and have even started waking up early and going to bed early.

But, even if I'm super organized and have everything down that I need to do, there always seems to be more to do than I have time. And time doesn't go on & on at night like it used to (ha) now that I make myself go to bed early. So here we are.

Well, even if posting here isn't my top priority, I still want to occasionally and forget doing that when I get home with a 4yo. So I'm going to try to take a 15 minute break from work at lunchtime and see what I can crank out.

For the first two days of this week, I was home sick. I managed to get some work done from home, but I still burned a day. Back at the office today; back in the groove.

Got a call yesterday from Alexandra's dance teacher about her upcoming dance recital. They have a formal recital once every two years so this will be Alexandra's first. The teacher said that of all the 3-4yos in her class, Alexandra sings the loudest and that she has really enjoyed seeing this little shy girl who used to cry going to class now becoming an outgoing child who the teachers tell the other students to emulate. We'll see how she behaves at the recital. One can never tell.

Things have changed with school and now Alexandra comes home telling us that she has had a great day at school, instead of counting down the days until the weekend and asking everyday if she HAD to go to school...the way it was last Fall. I was really starting to get worried. AND feeling guilty. My mom tells me about how she was home with us until we started Kindergarten, but that's not an option right now, so we have to do what we have to do. Hard to believe that Alexandra will actually be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. We are keeping her at the Montessori school for at least another year or so.

Apparently she's learning a lot there. She told me last month "If you don't know stuff, just ask me, because I know a lot of stuff!" and "I KNOW letters! Want me to do them for you?" (sing the song, I think). Just yesterday she said "I think I'm smarter than Daddy. But don't tell him; it might hurt his feelings." I guess going to school is making her VERY smart! ;-) And I'm glad she is also empathetic. ;-)

Last night she helped her Daddy grind up some deer stew meat (Thanks Uncle Kevin!) for venison burgers. They were pretty good. They actually tasted better than a regular burger, but I still get creeped out a tiny bit. ;-)

I'm probably going to back post some more. I hate to get things out of order, but I still want to have a record of some of the CooperSanchez happenings even if I took a hiatus for months. And I don't want to take a year without new posts while I'm "catching up." Maybe I'll give a warning if I add some stuff to, say 2010. Maybe. ;-)

Spring School Pics

2011-05-01T13:59:00.006-05:00

Alexandra's last preschool pics. :-/

Tax Fraud

2011-04-19T09:05:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the only thing I cheated on about my taxes was $18.83 worth of interest. Though Quicken told me I earned it, Turbo Tax wouldn't let me enter without a 1099-INT, which I never got from the bank. So then yesterday on my front door handle, was a frickin 1099-INT! The mailman must have delivered it to my neighbor MONTHS ago! I'm sure she was doing her taxes at the last minute just like me & found it in her stack of tax stuff. WHY couldn't she have been doing her taxes a day BEFORE me?!! Grrr!

If we get audited over $20, I'm going to be MAD!

Frickin Gas Prices

2011-04-12T21:44:00.001-05:00

Michael was going to fill up his truck yesterday and asked me which account to use (I had recently transferred some money around.). He had forgotten his PIN on his debit card, so I said to just use it as a credit card (safer anyway). He said "Using as a credit card cuts you off at $75, though." How ridiculous is it that we have to worry about something like that because filling up our vehicle will cost more than $75?! Did we ever think we'd see the day. Geez!

Possession Charge

2011-04-04T08:56:00.003-05:00

Alexandra was undressing to get in the bathtub & something fell out of her undies. I said "Alexandra! A little pooh fell on the floor. Did you have an accident?"

She said "It's not mine."

I think her Uncle Ronald has been coaching her! lol j/k

(I'm getting these in while she's 4 before the days when it will embarrass her. ;-))

Sunday Evening Aggravation

2011-04-03T17:04:00.001-05:00

It's about that time on a Sunday that I start getting a bad attitude...I think of all the things I still want to do on the weekend but the work week is looming. I start resenting the fact that I have to go to work and how it even encroaches on my time right now...having to get ready for the next day, get the kid ready for bed earlier, start winding down, etc. Ughh. Instead of being glad that I have a job, I start getting pissy.

I need an attitude adjustment!

Dear Abby,

2011-04-02T13:05:00.012-05:00

My husband refuses to wear a helmet bike riding or safety glasses while operating power equipment...

(currently sanding the wrought iron columns on our porch)
I fear that this is setting a bad example for our young daughter.

Fortunately, she seems to be more influenced by me at this moment...

No Witches Allowed!

2011-02-28T20:34:00.002-06:00

In case one thought about coming into our house...

Kids Eat Free!

2011-02-23T21:19:00.015-06:00

It was "Kids Eat Free" Night at Chili's last night so we got us some grub.

The Kids Menu was all about Superheros. Alexandra had fun drawing her hero...Spiderman! (Truthfully, she has several.) Because she only got yellow and blue crayons, she had to improvise, and she told me that the yellow was substituting for the red. She didn't actually use either of those words, but we introduced them. ;-)

I think that is a good action shot of his hand shooting out the web!
And she almost spelled her name right. She normally just writes ALEX, but the teacher has been trying to get her to write lowercase letters. We had to repeat the letters after A-l-e-x, but I'm trying to say them to her in groups like "a-n" then "d-r-a." I remember that about memory from a class in college. It seems to be working well when she is dialing a telephone number. She wants to dial every time (with me calling out the numbers) and has been doing pretty well identifying them on the phone and remembering the sequence.

She was quite the conversationalist also.

But she tired out towards the end. She has transitioned to "non-nap" in preschool, so she is ready for bed a lot earlier these days.

"Wake me up in 5 hours."

A Day with Mommy

2011-02-21T15:49:00.006-06:00

It's Parent-Teacher Conference Day so Alexandra's school is closed.

I'm TRYING to work from home! ;-)

Now That's a Big Box of Cereal!

2011-02-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

Ah, who can explain dreams? I've always had interesting ones, especially in those 9 minutes after hitting the snooze. But this morning's dream was just bizarre (read that "stupid"). LOL

In real life, we were supposed to babysit Friday night for my coworker & his wife. But then we had the flu and my coworker's grandmother died, so they went out of town to the funeral. My coworker was also sick last week, so he must have been on my mind.

So in my dream, they are having a party at their house (which looks nothing like their real house...you know how that goes). I was showing another new coworker around their house and showing in the cabinets all the boxes and boxes of cereal. I was saying "He really likes cereal!" We went outside and there was a barn/shed type place. And it had GIANT cases of cereal...like the size of a car....that held boxes and boxes of cereal. Several different kinds, like about five of the car-size cases.

So now I'm left with this wacky image and it's not exactly the right time to joke with my coworker on Facebook. "I'm so sorry your grandmother died. (I did actually tell him that.) And apparently my subconscious thinks you like cereal...A LOT!" ;-)

This Toddler is 44 Today!!

2011-02-12T16:07:00.008-06:00

Happy Birthday Boo!!

Jean-Luc

2011-02-11T18:25:00.010-06:00

I went back to work today...from home.

In working on some development tickets with a coworker, we were going back and forth about a couple of tickets that covered the same development. We closed one as a duplicate, but then in another ticket, my coworker referred to that invalid ticket. When I asked him if he meant to refer to the other ticket, he corrected it and then found that he had closed the valid ticket w/ the comment "Closing...as this ticket is a duplicate of itself." LOL (Yeah, all the details are meant to be all messed up...hence the confusion that resulted in my coworker's mind.)

He laughed at himself and sent me this picture.
It's nice to be reminded of Picard.

Cough, Sneeze, Brrr!!!

2011-02-09T22:41:00.005-06:00

We all seem to be doing a little better today. I never got as bad as the others, so I've been trying to keep household things running smoothly, like running the dishwasher, washing a load of clothes here and there, etc. Alexandra keeps saying that her stomach hurts, and twice she said her ear hurts, so I'll call the doctor tomorrow to see if there is anything else to do.

The temperature dipped this morning, and we got a light dusting of snow. It's in the low 20s now. We've been keeping the water running in every sink!

Apparently I'm Not an Alien

2011-02-08T17:45:00.009-06:00

I could swear that I have "alien physiology" as I never catch the same things Michael does, we never seem to pass things to each other, and because I seem to be opposite of everyone else in terms of health issues. Like anti-nausea medicine MAKES me throw up and things no one has heard of, like milk, make my stomach feel better. ;-) I was thinking that Alexandra was more similar to Michael because they seem to catch the same things. However, Sunday when she wouldn't eat anything and kept turning up her nose at the Pedialyte, she asked for milk to drink over and over.

Michael and I both had appointments at our respective doctors today and both of us have the flu too. I guess I wasn't able to avoid it. His seems to be more full-blown than mine, but all three of us have to take the Tamiflu stuff.

Michael's doctor says he can't go back to work until Monday. Mine said I should start feeling better in a few days but that I should work from home this week after I do. Alexandra keeps asking if she can stay home from school until Spring.

So we're all taking it easy this week.

No one takes pictures of me. Ahahaha!

Confirmed Case of the Flu

2011-02-07T17:55:00.008-06:00

They took a nasal swab at the pediatrician's office and diagnosed Alexandra with the flu. It's not full-blown & we seemed to have caught it in time, so she has to take Tamiflu for the next five days and be quarantined for 48 hours. Michael threw up last night but went to work today. He came home, took some medicine, and went straight to bed.

My boss also went to his doctor this morning and has the same thing, and when I called Alexandra's school, she was the fourth reported case this morning.

I'm hoping my "alien physiology" will preclude me from catching it!

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

2011-02-07T08:33:00.008-06:00

The Eastern front of my house, that is. There's a quiet that has settled on the house. Michael left for work; Jessica stopped meowing for treats; Alexandra is sleeping peacefully in the recliner.

She had a fitful night last night, waking up almost hourly. She's been feverish since late Saturday night and threw up yesterday morning. All day yesterday she coughed and lounged and slept and cried and looked pitiful. She wasn't interesting in watching TV and would say "I'm going to sleep for one more minute." ;-)

We've got an appointment this morning with the pediatrician, and I'm going to try to work from home while keeping an eye on her.

Well, that was short-lived...I hear Jess throwing up down the hall.

Conservationism

2011-02-05T17:26:00.003-06:00

After days of manually pouring buckets of water into the back-of-the-toilet tank, I have a greater appreciation of how ABSOLUTELY ABSURD 3 gallons of water per flush is!

I'm tempted to institute the "Meet the Fockers" toilet flushing philosophy. At the very least, any future toilet purchases will be low-flow. No wonder our water/sewage bill is $60+ even in winter months.

Baby, It's COLD out there!

2011-02-02T21:39:00.012-06:00

Of course, I switched my readout to Celsius for effect! But Brrr!!!

Today was our second frigid day after temps in the 70s over the weekend. Crazy weather! Or as Michael says "This is fr@#+n' bullsh&t!" Maybe a bit melodramatic. I pick on him and post some of the funny things he says that make me laugh (and sometimes get some flack for it), but it's all in good fun. And I tell him "I'm posting what you just said on Facebook." So if you're reading this Dear Cousin Lori, he can take it and he knows I'm talking about him. ;-)

But I digress...
Yesterday the temperatures dropped throughout the day into the 20s (F), and when I tried to leave work, I couldn't open either door to my car...they were frozen shut. Michael went to the house to grab something before coming to help me and found that the pipes had frozen and we had no running water. Fortunately, we had that plumbing work done last year where they installed Pex piping under the house, so he said though the water can still freeze, the Pex can expand without bursting.

Today we are still without water, so I washed a load of clothes at the laundromat and it's off to the gym for showers tomorrow morning! At least I'm using the gym for something! haha

Been A Long Time, Been A Long Time...

2011-01-27T20:22:00.003-06:00

YES, we ARE still alive! :-)

What can I say? Life went on & blogging about it wasn't highest on my list. Sorta like what Dave Ramsey says about a bill being "below the line"...just a set amount of time & updating the blog didn't make the cut. But I did THINK about it! And I got an appropriate amount of sleep!

See you soon...on a more regular basis!