Ten on Tuesday

1. I thought Lauren was dead.  Okay, not really.  But the thought did cross my mind when Geoff & I woke up after 9 on Sunday morning and hadn't heard a peep from our early riser.  Before long she came strolling into our bedroom asking, "Did you read the book I put on your nightstand for you?"  It didn't take much coaxing to get her to snuggle in bed with us and read it.... The 3 LPZ or as she read it, The Three Little Pigs.  Of course the big, bad wolf was a werewolf in her version and she even added the finishing touch: a Scooby Doo sticker to the front cover.  Only Lauren.

2. I found my crack.  Glee!  When my cold turned into the flu, which them morphed into a sinus infection I spent A LOT of time on the couch catching up quickly on Season II of Glee.  Genius writing.  I'm admittedly an addict.

3. My gal pal, Susie, will be happy to know that I've now gone active on Goodreads.  My other new internet addiction.

4. I finally freed myself of my last old-fashioned paper book and began my first book on my Kindle.  The fact that Wi-Fi takes up a lot of battery makes it really easy to tune out the distraction of its internet capabilities and focus on my book, which by the way, I'm really enjoying!

5. Abby's first grade bestie is Emma.  The way Abby's face lights up when she talks about her friend fills my heart with joy.  It's such a treat to watch her enjoying being a young girl.

6. I drove home with the windows down today.  It's January.

7. The smaller, thin-skinned lemons are much juicer and more flavorful.

8. I would never pay $13.99 for a half gallon of Graeter's ice cream.  This makes me very unOhio.  That does not make me sad.

9. Wuden't isn't in my vocabulary.  This makes me excessively unOhio.  I'm still not weeping.

10. I currently work for the best boss I've ever had.  She's a 100% Ohioan (is that what they call themselves?!) but she is by far one of the people I respect the most, personally & professionally.  I've learned more from her than she can probably imagine.

Ten on Tuesday

1. "Today is the day," Abby proclaimed right away this morning.  Four weeks ago today was the day she joined the club, and now she can finally change her earrings.  She picked the "Love" earrings she got from her aunt & uncle for her birthday to be her first alternative to the originals.  I proudly report she learned to change them all by herself!

2. While it seems people in Minnesota are falling like dominoes as victims of the flu, a rash of strep that turns into Scarlet Fever is sweeping through our part of Ohio.  Yikes!

3. I stumbled upon Adam Young's blog the other day.  Ironically it was a post about how he pulled the name "Owl City" & it was featured with a pic of the Lift Bridge in Duluth.  I'm not sure what the exact link to that bridge is, but it fascinates me how a kid who grew up in the same town I grew up in has achieved such greatness while I clearly live the simple life.  Whooooo knows?!

4. What is Adel really talking about when she says she set fire to the rain?

5. Killing Lincoln is so well written that I cannot help but watch the President's speech tonight and compare & contrast the traditions today with those in the 1860s.  I can't help but wonder what Lincoln would think about every element of our country today.  Funny, I bet he couldn't even begin to imagine.  And yet we can't imagine our country without him.

6. How my sweet & caring child can lie stone-cold to her mother & father blows me away.  My heart truly sinks with grief at the thought of what happens to people who so blatantly lie.  I know some of those people.  It's a cold existence.  Now, how to keep her from falling to that fate....

7. An unexpected conversation with a fellow gymnastics mom last night revealed a disturbing discovery about the correlation between Kelly Air Force Base and Leukemia & Lou Gehrig's Disease.  What is going on in San Antonio that would contaminate the water and the people living & working at Kelly?  Heartbreaking.

8. Random Pintrest grab: Muffin Tin Eggs.

9. Clever Repurpose Pintrest grab: It's a Rake.  Seriously, this website is like crack.... once you start, you can't stop looking!

10. Another cold is taking hold of my entire body.  Tomorrow should be swell.  Looks like I'll be double-fisting my grapefruit juice.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Tonight for supper: Eggplant Parmesan.  I didn't even get to sit down and eat it with the fam.  But it smells awesome.

2. After months of suffering from stomach aches triggered by certain foods & other digestive dilemmas that shall remain nameless, I've decided that maybe what my system needs is to reboot.  I'm starting a four week probiotic regimen.  So far I think it's working; I started last night.

3. We have great neighbors.  Yes, in Fairborn.  I love them.  Just sayin'.

4. The girls weren't even awake for two minutes this morning before they found something insignificant to fight about.  Please tell me it's just a phase.

5. I'm so used to nasty dog farts that even when I'm not home I still think I smell them at times Lizzie would ordinarily be stinking up the house.  This has gotten worse with age.  Hers, not mine.  And I don't care what they tell you, once a poop-eater, always a poop-eater.  The Nasty Habit pills flavored with cayenne pepper that are supposed to make them unappetizing only get her more fired up for her meal.

6. If I had to pick a favorite dessert it would definitely be my mom's ice box cake.  Mom, you're not planning a visit anytime soon, are you?!

7. Who doesn't like Tom Selleck?  I've never heard anyone say they weren't a fan.  He's a true class act, stand up, all-American guy.

8. I'm completely engrossed in Killing Lincoln.  Who knew the Civil War could be so engaging.

9. I love the people I work with.  I love the girls at the age they're at.  Of all the details I would tweak about my life if I could, the truth is I couldn't be happier.  What a gift!

10. I was given a rude awakening tonight the things recent college grads have been facing.... mounting debt, the inability to get enough loans to pay for school, no access to credit cards even when you have a degree and are using it to earn a living.  It's going to be a tough road for these babes of mine.  *sigh*

Germ Squirm

Thursday evening I spent three hours sitting on the floor of one of our rooms at school for a class our staff was taking on communicable disease.  Our instructor was a seasoned nurse who delivered the material in such an informative & enjoyable way that not only did we walk out of that class ready to conquer the world's germs, we were entertained beyond belief with side-splitting laugh after laugh.

I took a lot away from that class.  So much so that I thought it was worth compiling a list of fun facts & helpful tips....

• Whatever you breathe in goes into your blood stream.  Consequently, whatever the person next to you breathes in will also be in your lungs.
• For immunizations, visit the immunization clinic instead of your family practitioner.  Immunization clinics are required to follow federal guidelines.  They give out more immunizations and the cost is usually always lower.
• When traveling out of the country, visit a Travel Immunization Clinic.  They know exactly what to immunize you for depending on your travel destination.
• People with poor oral hygiene are 63% more likely to get pancreatic cancer. Floss, floss, floss!
• Doctors don't test for viral infections, only bacterial.  Bacterial infections are larger, easier to test and are treated with antibiotics.  Bacterial infections are localized to a specific area, whereas viral infections can be felt throughout the body.  A cold or the flu would be examples of viral infections.
• People can exchange infections easily with birds, pigs & cats.
• Many of a child's birth defects can be traced to illnesses the mother was exposed to early in her pregnancy.  This is why they tell pregnant women not to change a cat's litter box: we can exchange illnesses with cats and they can easily be passed onto the fetus.
• Check a preschooler's armpits for swollen lymph nodes.  Leukemia can be detected by doing so and is easier to treat if detected early.
• Normal axillary temperature {the temp you get when you take the temperature in the armpit} is 97.6°.
• Baby Tylenol is five times stronger than liquid Tylenol for older children.  This is because the baby's tongue naturally thrusts and they push the liquid out.  A helpful hint: the smaller the bottle, the smaller the dose.
• The reason allergies like those to peanuts are on the rise is because we're over medicating our children with over the counter drugs.  Their T-cells have histidines on high alert, making them over sensitive.
• Cincinnati is the bed bug capital of world.  Bed bugs are increasing in population because of our move to "Go Green"; we're using less harsh chemicals that would normally kill them.  It isn't a matter of if everyone will get bed bugs, but when.
• To check a hotel for bed bugs, look for a sweet, musty odor upon entering.  Once inside your room, rest your bags on hard surfaces and check the cord of the mattress for their little black bodies; they tend to hide out there since that's an area that doesn't get washed.
• Baking soda is a disinfectant.  It's an easy, cost-effective way to wash fruit: place fruit in cloudy mixture of baking soda & water then rinse with water.
• Vomiting + Headache + Fever = 911!  The three are a deadly combination that can lead to Meningitis.

A resource with a variety of website links can be found at RN Instruction Co.  If you are in southern Ohio and looking for an instructor for your school or company on any of the topics she provides, I HIGHLY recommend Shelia Claycraft, RN!  You can contact her through the above link provided.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Am I the only one who races the lady in the self check-out lane at the grocery store?  It's a success if I can get each item into my bag before she blares out that nagging reminder.

2. Why is it that when I pick up the pump at the gas station all of the prices clear before I can make my selection?  Hmmmmm.

3. This afternoon Abby told me she didn't care if she crushed my soul, she doesn't care if she gets kidnapped because she wants to get away from me, she is going to tell everyone at my school what I did to her so they get mad at me and I lose my job, and that she put the toilet paper roll on backwards just to make me mad.  On one hand I commend her wit.  On the other I wonder, when did her heart grow two sizes too small?

4. Three words: Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  She bugs me.  One, her hair is atrocious.  Two, and most importantly, she drinks more Kool-Aid than anyone I've ever met through the TV.  Three, I giggled when I saw her shivering in New Hampshire this morning.  What, your Florida blood can't handle the cold?!  Okay, that last one might be jealousy.  I'm still waiting for winter.

5. The girls' Barbie house is set up and oddly enough it looks more like the morning after a frat party than it does a child's play toy.  The only thing missing is a Barbie hunched over the toilet.  Yep, there's even a toilet in the Barbie Glam House.

6. I'm the latest fan of Pintrest.  I've been looking for a clever idea for magnet boards.  The wheels are turning!

7. I just signed up to follow a blog I can't read.  I truly have no idea what any of it is saying, I have no idea what it is even called, but the pictures are awesome.  And clever.  Wheels still turning.

8. Word on the local forecast is that snow is in the works for Thursday.  I hope so, because right now the only song I have in my head is the one I reworked the lyrics to, "Waiting for a Winter Wonderland".

9. Great.  Apparently there is another song waiting for that one to make its exit and replace my thoughts with its annoyance.... "Red Solo Cup".  Stupidest song on the radio, hands down.

10. I bought Solo cups today for a party I'm hosting next Thursday.  As I stood in the commissary weighing my options there was "Red Solo Cup" infiltrating my head.  Ughhh.  I went with the blue.

Seventh Heaven

Abby woke up Friday morning to find the house completely decorated in honor of her seventh birthday.  Needless-to-say, she was in heaven!  Banners, balloons, presents & party hats.  And of course a surprise visit from her favorite Elf on a Shelf, Jase.

She fielded an early morning phone call from her grandma, assembled around the little table for homemade waffles with strawberries, whipped cream AND sprinkles, then it was off to first grade for the very first time as a seven-year-old.

I came to school in the afternoon with ice cream cups in hand to celebrate with her class.

Abby wanted to go out for Chinese for supper, so up to Huber Heights we went to our favorite Chinese buffet, then came home for a birthday bath and finally opening presents and chatting with Grandma & Grandpa Phillips.  We capped off our night the way we conclude every birthday, snuggled together reading On the Day You Were Born.

Daddy planned a Saturday outing in honor of the birthday girl, so off to EnterTRAINment Junction it was for an afternoon at the world's largest indoor train display.  Not only was it an impressive collection of model trains throughout the history of railroads in America, but it is also home to amusement mazes and a kiddie play land.  The girls loved it.  And we all loved being together.

And after all of that, if you ask Abby the best thing about her birthday she'll tell you, "Being seven."

Happy Birthday, Abby!