Yesterday the school phone book came out and Avery had her first phone call. It was ADORABLE. This little girl called and said "Does Avery live there?" and I said yes and asked who was calling. Her name was Aniyah and she's in Avery's class. So I gave Avery the phone and listen to them make plans for a play date was too cute. Avery stood in front of her calendar with a pen while they debated the merits of what day worked best. I told her Thursday after she was done at Friendship. Somehow the call was ended before they said goodbye but I told Avery to talk to her at school about it too. I don't know if she's coming over or not yet, but that phone call was just too much! I wish I had recorded it. I was grinning and cracking up in the hallway the whole time.

About 3 years ago I bought a dark purple satin Dora winter coat with a fuzzy light purple inside for Avery. It was huge and didn't fit until last winter. She had mostly passed out of her Dora stage but she still likes to watch it from time to time and she loves the fuzzy inside of the coat. Tonight when I put her to bed we were talking about her being embarrassed to ask for help during swimming lessons when she had trouble with her side breath because the kids can do it just fine. I told her everyone learns things at different rates so it's  nothing to be embarrassed about and there is probably some part of the lesson that she is better at than the other kids so it all works out. I ended by saying something about see, it's not so embarrassing after all right? And she said something to the effect of "yeah not like my Dora coat".

I asked her what she meant and she said she was embarrassed by it because some girl named Maggie said that she thought it was weird a 7 year old would wear a Dora coat. I told her there was nothing wrong with liking Dora, for one thing. It's a good show and she can watch whatever she wants. The other is that it's purple, fuzzy and super warm, so that's great all on it's own. I also told her some kids don't have winter coats and they have to rely on other people to help them get one so they don't get to choose at all. So be grateful that she has a warm coat and don't worry what other kids say about it.

We watched an episode of Little Bill one time that had a boy trying to get Little Bill to call kids names. He would say mean things to Little Bill to get him to retort back something in return. His dad told him the way that worked best for him to get kids to stop when he was little was to just say "So?" in response. So I told Avery to try that next time someone said something that made her embarrassed. So it would go something like this. A 7 year old still wears a Dora jacket? So?! And move on. ;) She liked it, hopefully it will work.

So many fun things going on. It's been a little crazy and it's not done yet but we're managing. So lets see.

Tuesday I took a half day at work so I could get to Avery's school to meet the truck and unload for the fundraiser delivery. Then we dispersed almost all of them, with about 6 orders being sent back because they were frozen and weren't picked up. There will be another pick up next Thursday for an hour for those. After that we had a quick PTA meeting. We were out by 7:15. I don't think that has ever happened while I've been going. So that was great, we got home in good shape, had a bath and went to bed.

Wednesday Avery had school and I stopped by and had lunch with her in the cafeteria. It wasn't really planned so she thought that was pretty cool. Tim picked her up from school so that I could go straight home after work and get everything ready to go spend the night at Stef and Mark's house in Scandia. I brought Sierra over to my parents house, had dinner with my dad and then picked Avery up. It's getting dark so early now that we had to find their house in the dark, which was a little challenging but we made it. The kids stayed up till 10 pm or so playing and talking and then finally went to sleep. Stef and I stayed up till around 12:30 or 1. Around 7:15 I heard Avery start talking at full volume with Lucia. Sofia hushed them for awhile but it didn't work so she was up too. Elsie was also sleeping in a play pen in the room so I think she got woken up eventually too. I managed to lay in bed with a pillow over my head until 8:30 when I finally got up. We had pancakes and sausage and then it was play time.

We went outside and walked around the paths they've cleared on their land. Riley had a great time running around and peeing on everything. We unloaded some wood from Mark's truck while the girls "cleaned" the garage. Then it was back inside for more playing. We turned on Planet Earth and I dozed until 4:00 when we realized we had to go in order to make it to see Hotel Transylvania by 5:05 in Oakdale. I dropped Riley off at my parents quick and we went and saw the movie. It was really quite cute and enjoyable. Avery was pretty pooped after all this activity and we picked up the dogs and came home, had a snack and she went to bed.

But first she managed to circle all the toys she likes in the Fleet Farm Toy catalog. I love watching her do that because it's exactly what I did when I was little. I loved getting all the toy books and figuring out what I wanted for Christmas. She's so practical when she's doing it at first it's hilarious. She'll ask me "Oh do we have too many other things like this?" or "Well this would really take up a lot of space in my room, so maybe not..." It's great. But I told her it was just a Wish list, not that she'd for sure get everything and that she could circle whatever. So then she went nuts and certain pages are covered in circles. Anyway now she's in bed, the animals are all snoozing and I'm debating what I'd like to do for an hour or so before I go to bed too.

Avery and I went to the library today. I have a few books I've bought that I'm trying to get through so the trip was mostly for her. However I wandered through the cd section and found all sorts of goodies that I'm very excited to put on my ipod. I have Almost Alice (the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack), Now that's what I call music 37 (with goodies like Rihanna, Dev, Edward Maya, Mike Posner, and Taylor Swift), Now that's what I call the 80's (George Michael, Rick Astley, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Billy Idol and oh so much more), Madonna: MDNA, and Royksopp: Melody AM. Yay!! I figured this was enough for now, so I didn't even keep looking for more.

Then the day got even better! We went to Costco to get Sierra more food and I took a peak at their mattresses for sale. They were a great deal, but I need it delivered to my house so I went to look online at home. There was the Costco coupon thing in the mail and lo and behold there is a Sealy Posturepedic Plush Queen for $100 off starting September 13th! So now I'm going to order a new bed and that means I get to shop for a new comforter and sheets as well. It's all very exciting business.

Avery's pretty excited about being back in school. I've already gotten sucked into the whirlwind that is the PTA and labeled and got out the fundraiser packets that I'm in charge of this year. I figured I like the fundraiser orders so I might as well take charge of it. So now I have to make sure we sell a lot! Actually I guess we always do, so that's not a huge concern.

School shopping...done. That's right, only August 5th and we're all set for school to start on...well I don't know what day. I can't find a calendar for this school year on the districts website. That's a little ridiculous. I think it's September 3rd, but that is just a total guess. Anyway here's a summary of the day.

I woke up at 9 on my own and therefore had the first night of sleep and waking up when I wanted to since the weekend before some time. It was long overdue. I was able to enjoy a bowl of cereal and cup of coffee while I read. Avery came home from Tim's and she had an hour long bath before we took Geronimo to his agility testing. He is now a green band bunny. We have to work on me not touching him so much to get him to move. I have a video of the last session and its kind of cool to watch. We stayed for hoppy hour and then headed home.

My mom had picked Riley up to bring to Petsmart for grooming. It's been awhile because I've had to buy Frontline, food, etc and the pet fund keeps getting used up before I've had the $60 to get him groomed. Anyway he was really hairy. I picked him up and Jane (the groomer) showed me how about half of his back and left shoulder is a giant hot spot that is scabbed up and gross. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed, even with all the fur and now I feel like a big idiot. Poor man. Jane also said he was very growly, snappy with her for everything from bathing, to drying, and cutting. He even bit her today for the first time. So now she might not be able to groom him anymore. I asked if I could just get him some ace to sedate him, and they said they can't groom sedated dogs. I'd have to bring him to the vet. Now I worked at a clinic and I had to groom some cats under sedation. We basically shaved them down. I have no experience as a groomer and there's a reason we've paid so much money for Jane to groom him for all these years. I don't know what to do about that.

So I called Hillcrest Animal Hospital right down the road here and left a message for them to call me back about getting in first thing tomorrow morning. It's $50 just for the office visit there, so I know it's going to be an expensive venture. I hope they don't have to shave him, but I'm thinking they probably will. I used to bring him to Century Animal Clinic in Oakdale, but I don't feel as confident about their skill when it comes to creative problem solving. They're low priced and good for vaccines and routine things like dentals, spays and neuters but...yeah. 

Today Avery and I have been so productive. I love that! We picked Sierra up some Frontline on the way to the farm for lessons and therapy. She got to run around and visit with everyone so she was happy (Sierra that is). We stopped by RM Tack, which was Sierra's home for the last few years. She was very happy to visit her old friends and sister Sally. We had to make her leave, I think she would have been happy to stay! Avery got new spurs and straps and I got a pair of breeches. They didn't have tall boots in my size, so I'll try again another time.

We stopped by my parents house and fed Morgan on the way home and now we're relaxing for a bit before dinner. Which I still have to  make, so I should probably get going. Tonight is my friends fundraiser for his rugby team and Matt is picking me up after Avery goes to bed. So I've got a pretty full day.

Today started with me discovering the bathtub had backed up overnight and flooded my bathroom and into the hallway. The carpet was soggy for a few steps into the hallway. Management brought a industrial floor fan to dry it up and sent someone to snake the tub. AGAIN. I don't know how many times I've had that done since I moved in, but I think this was the third or fourth time. I could deal with not having that ever happen again...

I had a doctors appointment to get a birth control implant called Implanon this morning too. I went in, paid my $20 copay only to find out they hadn't actually set up the procedure, only a consult. So I was kind of angry because I didn't want to have to pay another $20 copay to come back another time to have it put in, when I was there for it then. So they worked me into the schedule but I had to come back in an hour. I putzed around at Target and came back. I didn't really know how big it was going to be, but it turns out it's the size of a matchstick. Quite large really! It's just under the skin so I can feel it, and that's kind of weird. It's good for 3 years though, and I won't have to make the every 3 month trip to the doc for a depo shot. I have a pressure bandage on that I have to keep on until tomorrow, and then I have to keep the bandaid underneath it on for 5 days. Oh and I could have a sizable bruise come tomorrow.

So due to this I was told not to go to my boxing class at the gym. I instead went to my parents house and did laundry, balanced the checkbook, and vacuumed my car. Then I sat out on the patio and read until my hair appointment. It's official, my hair has been altered after over 10 years of black and blonde. It was scary, but the blonde was so unhealthy I needed to make a change to get it back in shape. So now it's black and red. The red is kind of rusty colored right now, and that was expected since the blonde was so bleached out. The next session in 3 weeks should bring it to the darker red/burgundy color I'm looking for. It's a big change. I'll be honest, I don't like it right now, but I'm hoping I will eventually. *sigh* I hate change!!

Avery headed off to Grandma Robin's last night to get ready for Gale Woods farm camp, which started today. She'll be gone for the week, and home Saturday. I already miss her, hehe. It's funny how that happens. Yesterday was bunny agility, then we skipped hoppy hour and came home to drop him off before Cordelia's 2nd birthday party. We picked up my friend Chris' son Dylan and brought him along. I absolutely adore that little boy. He didn't want to go home either! So I let him stay for a little bit after Avery left. Otherwise the place would have been empty too soon.

Today I should stay fairly busy with work, checking on Morgan, and the gym. I also have season 5 of Burn Notice to watch. I'll make it through somehow! =)

Como Zoo field trip number two. Last year Castle's kindergarten class went and now this year at Little Canada the first graders. It was about 80 degrees so it was a bit warm, but not deathly so. I had Avery's friend Riley (who drives me a little crazy), Grace and Leticia. They all did pretty well actually, each with their own issue or  two, but overall not bad. Leticia had a hard time keeping up and staying with the group, Riley had to comment on how everything stunk, or how monkeys pee on the glass and they're gross, etc etc, and Grace decided to stop a few rides by raising her hand when not entirely necessary. Avery threw a minor fit after they wouldn't let her on the tornado ride even though she was probably only half an inch too short. It was toward the end of the day and she was getting hot and tired anyway. So the bus picked up the rest of the kids and we could have gone back in, but Avery was tired so we just left.
We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back and got some ice cream. After an hour nap for me we headed to the park for a few minutes before we had to eat and leave for dance. I brought the dog brushes and got rid of some excess fur on both Sierra and Riley. I could have combed for hours. Those dogs have so much hair! Especially Sierra.

This was the last night of dance for Avery before her recital on Saturday. We're still not sure if she's going to do it in the fall or not. She wants to try gymnastics, sometimes she says she still wants to dance, and sometimes she doesn't want to do anything. We'll reassess in the fall. Her coordination and timing with dance isn't great, and I don't know if it will get better or not. I'm not good at any of that myself so maybe she inherited my gracelessness. Gymnastics might be a better fit for her energy level, but then again she's done dance for 3 years now and it'd be neat for her to stick with it as she got older. So I'm not sure what to do on that account either.

Next week swimming lessons start twice a week for four weeks. Then she'll need to go on for the next camp of four weeks, but I'll have to figure out how to get another $130. Money money money!

Sierra is curled up on the couch for our nightly ritual of browsing the web and then reading a book. She is my little cuddle bug, and always has to be by my side. I just got out of the shower and she lays in the hall and snoozes while I'm in there. Did I mention I LOVE THIS DOG?! She has brought a lot of fun and happiness to our home.

Avery and I went on a walk Thursday afternoon with Riley and Sierra down the path by our place. Avery walked Sierra and she did great, well both of them really. She doesn't pull, she comes when called, and keeps up the pace. She greets other dogs and people a long the way and I think this is where she really gets her kicks. She may enjoy the walk, but what she really loves is schmoozing. She's such a schmoozer. Haha. Our neighbors on the other end of the building (Warren and Cheryl) have a dog named Max that Sierra went over to meet the other night. We stayed and talked for about 15 minutes and while I've waved to them frequently over the past 2 years, this is the first conversation we had! It's amazing how a good dog can get you out and talking to people.

In Riley's defense, he is taking this all very well. He's been acting like himself lately (I think the Rimadyl is helping too) and he likes wandering around the yard with Sierra too. She tends to need to meander for a few minutes before she'll do her business outside, where Riley will hop out the door and go right away. So I've been bringing him a long too, and while not necessary, he likes it. Now come winter, hopefully Sierra will figure out the art of a quick potty trip to the outdoors because then I won't feel like meandering so much. Haha.

Sierra arrives!

So yesterday we stopped at RM Tack to see a corgi that was Louey's (lived at Pine Lake until he had a car accident) momma. She had to be spayed when the last litter of puppies didn't survive. They were looking for a good home for her to go to, for free! So I told my mom about her because she thought Louey was awesome too. We went to meet her and it was pretty much love at first sight. She is so amazingly calm, sweet, and adorable. She gave kisses (but not sloppy, nasty ones) an squirmed her way onto the laps of everyone, including Avery. She loves belly rubs and "talks" in a warble-y growl when you do it.

So we brought her home and gave her a bath (she was pretty dusty from living outside) and while she didn't enjoy it, she held still and let us do what we needed to for about a half hour! Then we rubbed her down and let her explore the apartment. She did fine with Riley and Rafferty and even Majik (who isn't a fan of all these dogs showing up). Mom brushed her for ages, she's very tuft-y like Tasha was when she blew her winter coat. So there was lots of fur to be had, and she tolerated that too.

Next stop was my parents house to meet Napoleon who's buddy she was intended to be. She followed him around, sniffing and being a good girl. Poor Polee though was a bit nervous. He really doesn't know how to act around other dogs, so he was just trying to hide. My dad took Napoleon's side of course and was concerned for him. So Sierra and I went outside and had dinner, then I brushed and brushed her some more. I brought her home with me and the kennel Riley used at my parents house.

After a long day she got a little growly at Riley when he started yelping from  his collar. I put her in a little time out in my bedroom after she jumped on him and did a mini-attack. Nobody was hurt but I wanted her to have a break from the chaos. When I brought her back out, she slept on the right side of the couch, Riley on the left while I watched Dog Whisperer until midnight and finally went to bed.

She slept all night in her kennel without so much as a peep. I let her out and she followed me outside. She was  little hesitant to go potty, but then I brought Rafferty out and he peed on the rocks where she decided, oh yeah that's a good idea. I put them back inside and was picking up the towels from her bath yesterday hanging on the chairs outside when Rafferty decided to make a break for it. I chased him down the street and when I looked back, Sierra was running as fast as her little legs could carry her, after me. I caught Rafferty, she stopped to potty on someones lawn and then she trotted along beside me all the way back home.

Yep, I love her. It's a fact.

I know Riley is kind of a jerk to other people, but since he's my dog and he likes me...I don't know, I guess I'm okay with it. I'm dog-sitting Rafferty, Dulcey's dog this week. He is a Cocker Spaniel mix and he's...nutty. He has more energy than I have witnessed in an animal in this household in years. He came bounding into the apartment Sunday afternoon during my Party Lite party. He settled down fairly quickly and was happy as long as he was on someones lap, or being pet. Avery absolutely adores him since he is nice to her and plays with her and generally loves her too. He sleeps in his kennel in her room.

Yesterday I decided he needed a good long walk to rid him of some excess energy. We went for a 3 mile walk and stopped at Subway for a break and I got chips and iced tea. After we got back he still bounded around for a bit, but eventually did lay down. I'm pretty sure he could have gone for another 3 miles. So this morning I was trying to give Majik his treat of cat milk in the bedroom. Rafferty will eat anything food related that is within his reach so I had to put Riley and Majik's food up. When he came in the room while I was giving Maj the milk I told him to get out. He didn't, so I said it again and shooed him towards the door. Well this sent him into a "beaten dog" mode and he shoved himself under my bed trying to get away from my "wrath". Finally I got him up, and he spent the remaining few minutes before I left trying to make sure we were still friends.

Anyway he's here for another 12 days so things will be interesting for awhile yet. Riley isn't pleased with the addition but he'll live. It's made me appreciate him a bit more. Facts like, he won't run away if I leave the door open a crack, and if he does run, me yelling "Stop!" does actually work. Rafferty...not so much. I got to chase him around the neighborhood barefoot. Not fun. Riley doesn't jump all over me or randomly throw himself into my lap. I can calmly pet him in bed as we go to sleep. These are good things. I must remember that when he's barking his fool head off at the door bell. Oh yeah, Rafferty doesn't bark. +1 for him.

So I've been on a crazy cleaning mission that this apartment hasn't seen since we moved in. I mean, not all at once. Normally I'll vacuum one day, scrub the floors another, etc but since I have the Party Lite party on Sunday I decided to do everything. I rented a carpet cleaner from Petsmart and did the carpets yesterday. It was amazing!! All the pee stains from Geronimo vanished with one go over the area. I was pretty impressed. I bought a commercial entry mat from Home Depot to cover the floor now where his pen is. I moved him into the bedroom until the party so there will be more room in the living area. All I have left to do is dust and wash off the patio furniture the day of. Oh and make the food the night before and day of as well. We also have Geronimo's agility at 11:30 and then my friend Dulcey is dropping her dog Rafferty off for me to watch him for 2 weeks while she's traveling. So we'll have a busy Sunday for sure.

Well now I have to go get the rugs out of the dryer and put in the comforters. Everything should be spic and span for the party!

My butt hurts. It's been a few months since I last hopped on a horse for a lesson at Cheri's. Today I rode Diamond in the advanced lesson (but we did things beginner style for me). It had been kind of a chaotic day with not enough help in the first therapy session and one of the boys being rammed in the nether regions by Evander the goat. Poor kiddo. Barkley the min pin got loose and only Cheri can grab him so that caused a little more ruckus. The second therapy session went considerably better as it was only Lydia and Emelia. Avery has been doing her lessons during therapy but since we were shorthanded Cheri needed to help us. After we finished with therapy she asked if I wanted to ride during the next lesson. We didn't have anywhere to be at a certain time so I decided to ride Diamond. We did fairly well I think, with one buck that I managed to hang on for. Ann took some pictures, and unfortunately none were all that flattering of me. I guess it's time to start behaving with food intake again. *sigh*

We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's on the way back and made a batch of cake pops. Then I ran home and let Riley out and we all went to Chili's for dinner. Once home again we glazed the cake balls and watched part of Dinotopia. Avery is finally in bed after what seems like a non-stop stream of chatter, even during the movie. Sometimes I just want to put myself in a time out for some peace and quiet.

I still get emails from Edina Realty for the houses that come up in my "range" which is a joke, because I could never have afforded them anyway. I don't know why, but I feel the need to take a look at what's there every now and then, even though it only depresses me. Most of the time I feel okay about where Avery and I live, and other times I feel like poop that I can't do better. I really would like a nice little house in North St. Paul where she can go and play in the backyard and I can watch her out the kitchen window like my mom did when I was little. She can still go out and play here, but I feel I need to be out there the entire time. Anyway, feeling bad about it doesn't do any good, so moving on.

Avery had a really good weekend with my cousin Kendra, and the rest of the family too. I honestly don't know the last time I had been out to my grandparents house. It could be as long as 4 Christmases ago. I'll take a look through my pictures and that might give me an idea of when it was. This time I forgot my camera and so had to rely on Mom for the picture taking. She then left her camera in WI so now we won't have the pictures back until it gets sent home.

The trip to Jordan was made today with my friend Ken for company. It definitely made the hour drive go a little faster. Geronimo does indeed have fur mites and was given an injection of Ivermectin. I quite liked Dr. Lancello and he even gave me the next injection to give myself so I don't have to drive back out there in two weeks. I picked up bottles Epi-Soothe shampoo and cream rinse to take care of his itchies for now, and then to keep his butt fur nice and clean and sleek to prevent such big mats from forming since he doesn't do the best job at cleaning his own bum. He weighed in 6.2 pounds and he's teetering on the edge of being overweight. He's not yet, but I have to cut down some of his treats and measure his pellets from now on. Otherwise he is a healthy lil bunny. The whole deal cost me $100 but it could have been a lot worse I suppose. I'm going to hold off on his bath until tomorrow when I have more time for him to dry, and since he's already been stressed out once today.

Avery did it again! I'm cracking up. She just came out of her bedroom and said "Is there anything I can do for you, or something I should put away?" I said no everything's cleaned up, how about I lay with you for a little bit. "Oh, okay." Proceed back to bed. She is so funny! I think she says it that way because I'll ask her to bring her books, or coloring or whatever and put it away before she goes to bed. Sometimes I'll ask her to grab something for me, like my water bottle or slippers. I think it's hilarious that even in her sleep she's trying to help. Makes me think good grief I love that cute lil girl!

Tomorrow I might be making a trip out to Jordan, MN to bring Geronimo to a rabbit doc there who is really good and has great prices. I went to rabbit agility today and asked about what shampoo to use on a rabbit with flakey skin. Someone mentioned it probably was fur mites, not dandruff and that I should get it checked out. I dug around his fur a little bit and looked at the skin and sure enough it does look like a case of mites. So the small critter vet I've been to in the past with my rats, ferrets, and Pete charges $80 just for the office visit. I asked the person running agility if she had any better suggestion that was more affordable and she recommended this guy in Jordan. He only charges $30 or so for an office visit so to save $50 I guess I'm willing to drive an hour away. Now I just have to see when I can make it out there between work and picking Avery up from school and bringing her to Tim's. Hopefully they're open past 5. We'll see. And then my poor neglected bunny can get treated! I feel pretty stupid being a vet tech and not even noticing my own animals problems. But isn't that the way it goes? (It is.)

After I picked Avery up from Friendship (not early this time, I got in trouble for her not getting enough play time on Tuesday!) we went to the grocery store and got fixings to make our own pizzas. She chose pepperoni and green olives while I stuck with just cheese. I cheated and got pre-made crust so we could eat sooner, and I don't actually have a pizza pan. Anyway she got a kick out of making hers and they looked great and tasted even better. Along with some garlic bread and 7up we had a dinner that made Avery decide every Thursday should be pizza day. =) I said maybe once a month...

Last night she had a brief sleep walking episode. She stumbled out of her room shortly before I went to bed and said "Is there anything you need me to do for you before I go to bed Mama?" I said "No, but why don't I tuck you back in." To which she said "Okay." and turned around and went back to bed. It was super cute.

Leprechaun (Chaun) passed away today at the age of 30. This was the first "big" horse Avery rode and she won a ribbon with him in the last fun show at the farm. She adored him and he will be missed. This one was kind of expected, but it just seems like there have been a lot of sad happenings at the farm this year. Say hi to Sam for us Chaun.

Okay second post for today because I have to transcribe some of Avery's writing journal from school. It's adorable!! Mind you, I'm going to spell correctly, otherwise it will mess with my brain and typing. =)
12/2/11: I take care of my cat. I brush him. I give him a treat in the morning.
12/3/11: I never take candy from a bad person.
12/12/11: I have a dog. I have one only. His name is Riley He doesn't like kids but he likes to play with toys!
12/21/11: My favorite Jan Brett book is Hedgie's Surprise because it's funny. I like it because I love it. I like the boy.
No date (I imagine after Christmas): I have a Monster High doll! I have a working pony! I got a Monster High doll shirt! I got a Zhu Zhu Pet. It's name is Freezy...(not sure what the rest says).
I got some Zoobles in a carrier.
-I made a paper doll at home. You have to draw the doll first ,then you color it. Then you cut it out.
-I have a cat, his name is Majik. I love him. He's so nice.
1/11/12: I love going to school. It's so fun because we get to learn and its so so fun!
-I have a hamster. He is a beanie baby. His name is Twitch. He is cute.
2/6/12: At my birthday party I got a balloon crown! And some Polly Pockets that can go in the water. I have not opened the box yet. I think it's fun. (She drew a picture of the Polly Pocket water slide). I love my new Polly Pocket!
2/8/12: The way I cheer myself up is to do something funny. I would dig to China!
-I like to ride horses, they are fun to ride. I have some Orbeez. They smell. It is a Scent Bug. Not the little one, the big one.
-Avery ate some apples. Crunch crunch. Avery had some apples. Yum yum. They are sweet, so very sweet.
2/22/12: The 44th president is Barack Obama. He is a good man. I care about him. He is nice. I love him.
-If I were president of the United States I would give to the poor; food, and water. And flowers. I would bring them to a safe place. I would care for them.
2/27/12: On Friday I was sick. Instead I watched A Dolphin Tale. The dolphin is Winter. She had to get her tail fin off so she had to get a mechanical tail. Winter lives in Florida. She must be happy there.
-I had the best weekend because I was having good fun stuff. This is what I played with: Barbies, my Orbeez.
-At riding lessons I did a jump! I did a western game! At the beginning I had to do a warm up. It was so fun. Riding is so fun!

If you could see the pictures and misspellings, it's a hoot. I sure do love that little girl! ;)

So the apartments recycling hasn't been picked up in over a month. I have called 4 times, and talked to a person 3 out of those 4 times and left a message the other time. I took a picture of the pile of recycling that has piled out and out of the bins and onto the parking lot. I sent this to the management company and have heard nothing. I want to know why no one will flipping listen to me, and how hard it is to figure out how to get a recycling truck to come here when it had already been coming regularly for the last year and a half I lived here. I'm so frustrated right now!!

Avery has a ringworm lesion on her stomach. Originally I thought it was a scrape from when she fell (multiple times) off her scooter. Then I realized it was getting bigger, and the other scrapes went away. So I took a picture of it and sent it to my Aunt Pam and my mom sent it to her friend Chris and they both agreed it appeared to be ringworm. So on Saturday we went to the Minute Clinic at CVS which should be called the 120 Minute Clinic because that's how long it took us. Then 10 minutes for the PA to say yes it is indeed ringworm and get a prescription for econazole cream sent in to Target.

So anyway, it's only the one lesion, and really until we started talking about it all the time, she left it alone. It's getting better already, but I've been putting a big bandaid over it for her to go places during the day and then taking it off at night. When she went to school today I told her not to tell everyone, it's not that big of a deal and she didn't need to freak people out. So what's the first thing she did when she got to school? Pulled up her shirt to show her teacher Mrs Grossen and said "I have ringworm and it's contagious! My mom told me not to talk about it." I found this out when I stopped by to give her a sweatshirt for under her rain jacket and a hat because it was so cold today during recess. Mrs Grossen told me and I about died. She's so funny. I said that's exactly the OPPOSITE of what I told her to do. Kids!

Watching Hoarders never fails to entertain me. My favorite line I think, is when they say "I just have a lot of clutter". I consider clutter the few dishes that are too big for the dishwasher that may take me a day to get to. I think our definitions are a bit different.

So it turns out the instructor that I really like for my boxing class will not be coming back tomorrow after all. It's been 6 weeks I think since she's taught the class and it turns out it's because she's pregnant. She was having heart issues and the doctor didn't want her getting her heart rate above a certain level. Teaching a cardio class wasn't going to work for that. Apparently the restriction was extended out for the whole pregnancy instead of 6 weeks. Brenda, the woman teaching it now is making the class just dreadful. I think I mentioned it in an earlier post, but you barely work up a sweat, if at all, when she does it. I hated it so much I didn't go back while she was teaching it. Now I guess I'll have to do Zumba on the days when I can get there early enough, and when I can't I'll have to figure out something else to do. Without that day of heavy cardio I've definitely felt it in the weight department.

Well I have one tired little bunny back in his cage right now. We had our first rabbit agility class at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. It was at 10:30 and we left around 9:40 to stop by the bank to get cash to pay for the classes, and we ended up there a little early. Geronimo decided he needed to get acquainted with some of the other bunnies via mounting them, so he wasn't allowed t roam free at first. Once everyone got the harnesses and what not figured out we started with teaching them how to sit, and to hop/walk when told on the leash. Geronimo did pretty well I think. He got a little tired and confused about half way through and started laying down a lot and keeping himself tight against the wall. We worked a little on going right and left with foot cues, which he did a few times, but we'll be working on it some more. The last thing was going to a target, which was a blue lid type thing in our case and we gave him treats when he went to it/or us. He was pretty pooped by that point, so that didn't happen much.

After class was over we stopped by Jen's Pampered Chef party at her house. We came just in time for food, which was a quiche type egg dish, and dessert. Avery played with the kids and before we left we took Geronimo outside on his leash for a little hop around. So now we're finally home and he is voluntarily snoozing in his cage. Big day for a little bunny!

I was standing by the patio waiting for Riley to do his business when I looked in the glass and realized I'm wearing camo sleep shorts and a tie dye t-shirt. When did I get so classy? I was also thinking how before when I received a free t-shirt with some sort of logo on it, say from the Walk for Animals, or work picnic I would only wear it to bed. Now I wear them everywhere and when I get one I'm really excited at the fact I'm getting a free t-shirt.

Avery went to Robin's on Friday and since they're packing to move, the items we had stored from Avery's baby days got brought back. It's weird to see her little massage chair, car seat, moses basket, etc. They're so small it seems like forever ago she was in them, and yet so recent at the same time. I wish there was a little newborn baby I could borrow for a day or two to put in all these things again. Or if I could dial back the time a bit and have Avery tiny again.

Tomorrow is Avery's field trip to Saxon Lanes for bowling with her class. I'm meeting them there and I get to be in charge of a lane and finding the kids their shoes. I wish there was a way I could go on these things without having to look after the other kids...ah well.

The music program was quite cute, but the gym was very crowded and there wasn't enough places for people to park. Avery had a afternoon performance so she wore her outfit of "a plain red shirt, and dark bottoms" to school. I asked her to try a little harder to stay clean, but I know accidents happen so just do your best. Well when I picked her up from Friendship she was literally soaked all the way through to her underwear. Her coat, snow pants, and boots sopping wet, because she was laying in puddles outside. Even her hair was wet, and she smelled like a wet dog. Riley, her friend went home the same way as did some other kids. So what I'm wondering is, why were the people in charge letting them do this?? Today they didn't even go out for recess because it was just too wet. I wish the idiots at Friendship would have thought of that. We had a different pair of pants to change her into, put her shirt had to sit under the fan in the kitchen until we had to leave. Oh socks and underwear were changed also. Her boots have been sitting on a plastic bag under the fan ever since, and they're still not dry. I bought her some rain boots at Fleet Farm today and she'll be wearing those until her winter boots dry out. I also got her a Carhart style jacket to have embroidered with the Pine Lake logo to wear at the farm. It's light blue and lined with fleece. I'll take pictures once all the embroidery is done.

Avery's singing softly to herself with her headphones on in bed. It's pretty darn cute. Tomorrow is her music program at school. She asked if I could bring her the colored flowers we like. (For last years dance recital I bought her dyed daisies). I was informed that she would share half of them with me, and that I could stop by Costco to pick them up where we last saw them. Isn't she funny? I almost feel like I have to now or I'll be the mean momma who doesn't buy her special girl flowers.

I wonder when her costume will be in for this year's recital. It's a purple sparkly one, and if she doesn't do dance next year as requested then this will be the last time she's all dolled up in a super cute costume dancing around on stage. =/ Aw. Maybe she'll have a change of heart in the fall. We don't have to register right away in the spring, so she has time to think about it.

She got a new pair of hot pink swimming goggles in preparation for swimming lessons at Foss this summer. We went to Kohls after lunch with Jen and Cordelia yesterday. We met at Panera in Roseville. I forget how delicious their sandwiches and soups are! Avery didn't like her chicken noodle, so I even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Today I'm missing my Pete. I was uploading pictures onto Flickr and I have the pictures of Pete from last summer on the memory card still. I usually only keep that last 200 or so pictures on the card, but I can't bring myself to delete them, even though they're on Flickr, my back up hard drive, printed in a Snapfish book, and on Facebook... He was my sweet bunny boy. Don't get me wrong, I love Geronimo, but he doesn't love me like Pete did. I could cuddle that boy all day long and he wouldn't say boo about it. He groomed my knee when I brushed him =) and he loved his bananas with papaya tabs so very much. I know I should be grateful for the time I had with him, I just wish it could have been even longer.

I'm hoping once we start agility with Geronimo and he gets a little training, he'll learn the love us a little more. He does, in his own way, he just seems like such a grump when he grunts and kicks at me just for picking up poop in his pen area. Maybe he'd feel a little differently if his cage wasn't cleaned and litter box scooped every morning with fresh fruit and vegetables twice a day, unlimited hay, food and water didn't show up like magic. Then what!! Take that grumpy bunny!

I finished The Help last night around 11:30. It was excellent, as was expected. Today I stopped by a Redbox and rented the movie and watched it when I got home from work. I liked it fairly well, but as per usual, the book was better. I can't think of any book/movie combo that I prefer the movie to the book off the top of my head. Books are always better for me, because things are just so much neater in my imagination than people can make them in movies. That and they last longer. I like being able to spend a few days with a story, as opposed to 2 hours. But never the less, I enjoyed the movie.

I got out my rain boots to wear to work tomorrow. All that slushy nastiness that's all over is too much for my winter boots. It'll soak right through, and if there's one thing I hate it's wet socks that I can't change out of. Riley, who loves the snow, is not a fan of this much either. He does his business real quick like, and hops right back in the door. He's snuggled up next to me on the couch on my blanket. He's so cute, but of course if I try to take a picture he'll get up and look at me like "What?". Animals. I tell ya.

Next Thursday Avery's class is going to the bowling alley for a field trip. I took a half day at work so I could come too. I am not going to bowl, since there is no need for a group of children to see me curse at the bowling alley... ;) I'm just so bad at it. But I try to go to Avery's field trips whenever possible because I know some day she won't want me to anymore. I don't even want to think about that!

I wish it was still the weekend. Avery and I had a good time. She is still coughing, but not really feeling blah and sick like she was Thursday so we got a lot done. Saturday we went out to the farm for both sessions of therapy and she did her lessons during my normally scheduled one. She rode Duchess again and Elle and her mom Autumn helped with her lesson since we had some snafoos to take care of during therapy. Avery has a lot of fun playing with Elle and they want to do a sleepover sometime. I'm fine with that, as long as it's not here. I don't know if I can handle another sleepover for quite some time after the last one. Two girls that are the same age bickering/playing and repeat is not my idea of a fun weekend.

I finished watching the second season of Vampire Diaries. Now I'm all caught up on my shows and don't have any more to watch. I'm looking for a new series but haven't really found anything yet. In the mean time I've just been reading more. Right now I'm on The Help by Kathryn Stockett and then I'll watch the movie. I'm waiting for our coats to finish drying so I can go to bed. I'm just so tired today. I've been blowing my nose often, but not really felt sick but when I went to the gym today I didn't have the energy to do the class. I stayed for a little over half of it, but then I just couldn't do it any more. Hopefully by getting enough rest and drinking a lot of water I can stop whatever sickness it is before it's fully here.

Oh one cute thing Avery said the other day; I was telling her that I was writing down the date and time of her spring music program for Tim and she asked if he was coming. I said I'm not sure, but I'm sure he would if he has the time. She said "I know you'll be there, because you always come for me". It's true. =) And I'm glad she knows it.

A day off with Avery since she had to leave school with a fever yesterday. They aren't allowed to go back until 24 hours after their fever breaks and she was at 103 last night. She was pretty miserable at Grandma's but after a bath was feeling a bit better and went to bed around 9. I was thinking she'd sleep for ages since she was sick and stayed up later, but come 7:30 she was awake and ready to watch some cartoons. I obliged and continued to sleep until 9. ;)

I rented Dolphin Tale from Redbox the other day and we watched it before lunch. It was really good. It reminded me of Free Willy from when I was little. This was a true story about a dolphin named Winter and she lives in Florida. I was thinking the other day that I should start planning a trip to Disney World so maybe we could swing by and see Winter too! I have to say I'd probably be just as excited to go see her as Avery would.

I had to stop by Costco today to see if I could get a new phone or get mine fixed since it picked up the new habit of turning itself off when it feels like it. So we also got the newest Fancy Nancy book: The Mermaid Ballet. Target was an expensive venture as we got Puss in Boots (which we're watching now; hilarious), Petz Bunny bunch game for her DS, and some other less exciting items. Oh a frozen PF Changs meal which I thought was awesome but Avery was less than thrilled with. It resulted in me eating pretty much the whole thing, along with her little apple blueberry pie that she didn't like either. My pants are getting snug again...

I love cookies. It's true. I like shopping for the ingredients, making, and baking them. The best part of course is eating them whether it's pre or post baking. There is a batch of Easter M&M cookies in the oven right now. So its 8:43...seems like cookie time to me. Avery concurs; she's up "late" because she has tomorrow and Tuesday off school.

Today we went to the Shoreview Community Center indoor playground with Stef and the girls. They enjoyed themselves thoroughly and after a huge lunch at Applebees were thoroughly exhausted. We stopped back by the apartment and picked up Riley and then went to their house to play some more. Riley and Scooter (their daschund) got along quite well and they both snoozed on the couch with me while the girls played. We came back home at dinner and watched Barbie a Perfect Christmas. I had to take back my Redbox movies from last night with Lorna (Abduction and Hangover 2) so we went to Festival and then next door to Target for Avery to finish off her birthday money. She got another Bizu bracelet/pet kit, Meadow the lite sprite (half off!) and a Fancy Nancy bead kit (also half off). She has about $3 left on her gift card and then $20 cash. I ended up paying for some but she's all squared away on birthday money now.

She's currently playing with her bag of string from Grandma Robin's. She calls all the scraps her "knick knacks" and it is a huge offense to throw them away. The piles of knots she made are various animals. It's amazing how much time has gone into tying knots and playing with this string.

Riley wants me to go to bed, so I guess I'll make this quick. (Demanding little dog!!) This morning I got Avery up with promises of Valentines goodies at the kitchen table. She was tired because she was up at least 4 times last night asking to sleep with me. She's slept with me the last 3 days, so I told her I needed a night to myself, to you know, actually sleep. Anyway she was tired this morning, but she happily opened her Valentine and other gifts. It took her awhile to finish her oatmeal, as is the trend on days that she's excited for. I got her off to school, and headed to work.

I picked her up from Friendship Connection a little early so we'd have more time at home for her to play before dance. This turned out to be the wrong choice. She was in tears because she didn't have long enough to play. So for the second time now, she was mad at me for picking her up early. By the time we made the 2 minute drive home she was okay, but geez she's going to give me a complex. I suppose I should be glad she likes Friendship that much.

So we got home and went over the bag of Valentines she got at school. I was allowed to have some cheddar blasted goldfish from Austin. Delicious indeed. I decided we needed IHOP for dinner so we hurried out there before dance. I got an iced coffee that left my stomach a little less than happy, but I'm glad to say I've made a full recovery. ;)

Avery has told me numerous times now she doesn't want to do dance anymore. That she just wants to stay home, and on dance nights she's too tired. I told her she had to finish out the year, and that we could talk about it again later. She has fun at dance, and she loves the recital, but getting her to the practices is always a challenge. So I'm debating the merits of keeping her in it, or letting her quit. She has wanted to try gymnastics but I've said no because she already has horseback riding, swimming, and dance. So maybe she could try that if she quits dance? I don't know. I guess we'll see how it all works out.

I dislike making people cry, even if it's because I was nice to them. Last night my neighbor Roxanne brought food and cake slices people had given her and she told me she couldn't eat it all by herself, and that Bill was gone now. I said thanks and told her if she needed anything to come over. Today I got a card and a basket of flowers that you let grow and bloom indoors until it is warmer and then you transfer them outside. She loves flowers, last summer she filled her whole patio with hanging baskets and stands, and pots on the ground, everywhere. So I was hoping that would be something she wouldn't have to eat, or eventually throw away. Avery gave her a little pink and white bear that says "Love" on it for Valentines day.

Avery's very excited for Valentines day. She filled out her Valentines on her own this year and taped the Jolly Rancher suckers to them herself as well. Her class is going to have a party. I got her a Valentines activity book from Hallmark and a box of chocolates from there along with her Valentine and a mini La La Loopsy doll. I told her to stay in bed tonight if she wanted her treats tomorrow. Haha. The last 3 nights she's snuck into bed with me at who knows what time. I'll wake up around 5 and there she is, heating up the bed and curled around my side.

So while I'm thinking of it, I wanted to mention how cute and funny this is. When Avery watches Kipper (on PBS Sprout, a British show) she starts adding a British accent to some of her words. She doesn't even notice it, and it's hilarious. It's like when I've been hanging out with Lorna, eventually I say a thing or two like her and I'm like jeez I'm such a conformist!

Anyway today was fantastically laid back. We slept till about 8:30 and then I talked to Cheri about the temperature and status of lessons/therapy (canceled). So all of a sudden I had a almost entirely free day. I needed to stop by the Blue Fox bar and grill to pick up necklaces my friend Camille had made for the silent auction tomorrow so we decided to get some burgers there. Turns out they have excellent fries. Then we went to Target to use Avery's gift card she got from her cousin for her birthday. We moseyed through the store and she chose a set of 50 fine tip Crayola markers, a Junie B Jones Valentines book, and a Biscuit book she can read on her own. We looked at all sorts of toys and in the end when I asked her to choose the one she wanted out of all of them, she said that she only wanted the books and markers. =) She's 7!!
So after Target we went to Toys R Us and she opted not to use any of her cash, and go to the library to get more books.

Pretty amazing girly I have. The rest of the day was spent reading, watching some shows, playing on the computer, and making lip gloss. It appears to be easy, but dealing with lip gloss base is never a clean, non-gooey process. Ugh. We ended up with 2 containers, and the rest will be made at a later date. Avery gave me one of them, but I'm not entirely sure I want to put the stuff on my lips. Or anywhere really. Hehe.

Things I've learned about/with Geronimo:
-He likes to be picked up like a dog or cat, not a bunny (meaning scooped up, not scruffed)
-He thinks me talking on the phone near him is unacceptable and will stomp constantly (mom can attest to this)
-The small cat litter box I got for him as a secondary box is a bit to high and when he jumps out he makes a giant mess
-He doesn't enjoy being in the bathroom while I take a shower (which is how I discovered the last point)

See I put him in the bathroom with me because he has been on cage-arrest since the peed on my books. I felt bad about him being in there so much, but I need to retrain him on his litterbox skills. It appears that I gave him too much freedom, too soon. So now we're going back and taking baby steps. In order to do this I need to order some gates to block off the kitchen, which will be his first free roam area. Once he can master the litter box while being out in the kitchen, and messes are easy to clean up, then we can move on to other rooms. But until I get the gates, he's on house arrest. Makes sense no? Anyway, the bathroom was a bad choice. Moving on.

-He loves to hop right up to other animals to investigate. This usually ticks off Majik or Riley, but Geronimo seems to quite enjoy the interaction. Fearless bun!
-He will pick the cauliflower out of a mix of it with broccoli. It's okay, I think it's gross, and stinky, too.
-His belly and underside of his tail is all white. You don't get to see it often, except when he's grooming himself. It's cute!

There's more, but this post is probably boring to everyone but me. So now I'll go to bed. =)

After a bit of internet research I have decided that Geronimo lost his litter box way due to a bit too much unsupervised freedom. We're going to go back and start over, which seems to be the obvious answer. I "tried" before, but he was too obnoxious when he slammed his teeth over the bars and yanked on his cage until I gave up and let him out in the middle of the night. Well not tonight Mr Bunny! Your cage is going in the living room for the night, and will be moved back to my room in the morning. Then we will have limited, supervised romp time, only in my room, later in the day. Baby steps...*sigh*. Animals I tell ya!

I'm watching Smash but finding myself not really caring. I've played games on facebook, and made chai and ate scones so I'm not sure if I'll spend next Monday watching it. Anyway today Avery and I put together her Polly Pocket water slide from Daisy and Mikai. I put a little water in the pool and it was fun to watch her totally engrossed playing with it. I have a cute picture I will post later.

Geronimo is still on my sh*t list but he's hard to be mad at. Fricking cute bunny. He stands on my feet when I open the treat drawer until I give him a yogurt chip. Ridiculous. I'm waiting to put the books back until I have some plexiglass to put in front of the bookshelves to prevent further damage and doom. I'm making him spend more time in his cage so he can reacquaint himself with his litter box. There's also a new one in the living room that I put some of his poop in so he get's the idea. We'll see how it goes.

Looks like its time for bed and a book.

I am so fricking angry right now I could scream. I haven't had peace since yesterday morning, this one was filled with bickering and arguing of two 7 year olds that have been together too long, and when I finally take Tierney home, I get back to my Twilight books and collector dvds, the Host paperback, and the Hunger Games trilogy all wrecked by Geronimo and his urine. I forgave him for some stupid dvds, but this I am 100% furious about. He is going to spend the day in his cage regardless of all the cage bar banging and loud fussing he does about being in it. UGHHHH I AM MAD!!!

Chuck E Cheese is a lesson in patience. I think I failed. However I'm fairly sure Avery was pleased with the day so we can call it a success. This morning flew by and before I knew it we had to go to Costco to pick up the cake and head out to West St. Paul for the party. We got there a little early, so I swung by the Starbucks on the corner, where they gave me the wrong drink and because it took so long to get in the first place, I didn't have time to turn around and go fix. Anyway, we got there and it was a zoo. The party planner that was included with the fee of the party was working on numerous groups besides ours, and we ended up with hungry kids, and parents. It was pretty unstructured and the kids ran amok. I wanted to run away. I refrained. Barely.

After a visit from Chuck E., cake, presents, and more games we finally stumbled back out into the real world. I got the correct drink from Starbucks and we went home with Tierney as well. They spent the rest of the day playing and alternately fighting over dumb stuff. Thank god I didn't have twins. Two 7 year olds are enough to drive me to drink. They're finally in bed now. Tierney is a asleep but Avery is finding every reason under the sun to get up.

Yesterday (the official birthday) I picked Ave up from school and she opened a few presents before we went to Osaka at 5:30 for dinner. We were there until almost 8. It was a drawn out process that involved a lot of waiting and mistakes. But once again, Avery went home happy so it's all okay. She opened more presents when we got home and we had cupcakes from Cupcake. Our selections were mocha, chai tea, lemon sunshine, have a nice day, tree hugger, and the June Cleaver. Check out their website and take a look at the beautiful cupcakes!

Tomorrow after lunch when I drop Tierney off, and Avery goes to Tim's this is what I have planned: a nap, followed by leisurely sipping coffee and reading. Bliss.

Today I changed the reservation for the birthday party to the final tally of 11 kids. Right now this is what the plan looks like for the next few days. Tomorrow we're going to pick up cupcakes for Avery to take to her class on Friday. We will also pick up special cupcakes from Cupcake, or whatever cake Avery decides she wants. Friday I took the day off after 3 so I can pick her up from school and then we'll head home for a few presents before meeting Mom and Dad at Osaka for dinner. Then we'll come back to the apartment for cake/cupcakes and presents. Saturday morning we'll pick up the cake at Costco for the birthday party and head out there for 11:45. After the party Tierney will be spending the night. And that is the plan. We'll see how it all pans out.

Oh the rash/hive issue on Avery's legs resolved itself, exactly as I had hoped! How often does that happen? I am still curious what the issue was though. Her inhaler seems to be working well for the coughing/constant cold type symptoms that she had before. She has 4 more refills on her inhaler so that will get us through May. I can get her on my insurance in June (July? I forget) so hopefully the doctor will just okay those few extra months of refills before she sees him again. I still haven't gotten the bill for the allergy testing and visit to the specialist. I'm not complaining, I don't want it! I'm sure it won't be pretty.

Last night Stef and the girls came over to play and Stef and I had Papa Murphy's garlic chicken pizza and a cinnamon wheel. Oh man was it good...but anyway it looked like Avery had a rash on her foot and up her ankle. She was scratching at her legs like crazy in the bathtub so I put some Eucerin on it and hoped it was just a weird thing that went away by morning. Well it didn't, and it looks kind of like hives. I asked her if it was bothering her (because she didn't seem to notice how bad it looked) and she said it was okay. I told her if it bothered her at school to have the nurse call and we'd go the the allergy/asthma doctor we saw before. It worries me that I was allergic to my inhaler and had hives for a horribly long period of time when I was little. I just got her first refill on her inhaler last night, so it's been a month. I'm really hoping that's not what it is, and it just kind of self corrects. Since every trip to the doctor is 100+ dollars out of pocket, I would rather not make multiple trips trying to solve the mystery of the rash/hives. I got some cortizone 10 cream with aloe, and put that on it after I picked her up from school, and sent it with Tim for the night. She wasn't bothered by it at school, so hopefully that doesn't change.

Tonight I planted my butt on the couch and finished season 7 of House. I have "Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen to finish and a Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate to accompany my reading now. It's also only a little after 8:30 on a Friday night, and I'm ready for bed. Oh well!

I'm debating on whether or not to try putting my bunny butt to bed, or to just let him run amok. The last few nights he has thrown hissy fits by biting and banging on the cage bars until I can't stand it anymore and let him out. Then in the morning when I wake up, he's put himself back to bed. He doesn't wreck anything while he's out, and pees and poops on the pee pads in the living room so I guess there's no harm done by letting him have his way. So maybe I'll just leave him out tonight.

I'm still waiting for the New Years Eve resolution-ers to fall off the wagon at the gym. Tonight was especially trying on my patience as the woman who planted herself in front of me couldn't follow instruction or go in the right direction to save her life. I understand some people have no rhythm but this was just ridiculous. She was flailing all over the place and constantly doing the opposite of what everyone else was. Idiots. Next week my instructor won't be there so she was looking for a sub. I think I might try to find a different class to go to that week, since subs don't usually show up, or if they do I don't like the class anyway.

Okay the votes are in, Geronimo stays out tonight. I'm going to bed without any bunny drama.

Getting Avery's birthday party in order every year never fails to stress me out. This year we're doing Chuck E Cheese. There were 8 kids invited, and 1 couldn't come, yet somehow now there the kid tally is at 12. *sigh* I'm going to stop thinking about it for tonight.

The other thing that has my mind in a tangle is that Sam is gone. Sam was a 20 year old Apaloosa owned by Cheri's neighbor Carol. He's been the go to horse for therapy ever since I started helping at the farm. His personality was so sweet and laid back, you couldn't ask for a better horse. Besides working with the therapy kids, he was the first horse I climbed on for an impromptu riding lesson. He dealt with my hands, legs, and eyes all telling him different things and somehow could still figure out what I was trying to get him to do. So when I got the text from Cheri saying Sam had passed away I couldn't believe it. They found him down in the morning and managed to get him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute peritonitis. I wish I could have given him one more hug and a kiss on the nose and told him what a wonderful horse he was and how much he meant to me. This coming from a person who doesn't own him, or even live there! I can't imagine how Cheri, Carol and Terry feel. Dear, sweet Sam, you are so loved, and so missed.

Avery had riding lessons today after a little hiatus we were on for the holidays. Of course it was the first Saturday it was cold again, but it wasn't too bad. She rode Duchess for the first time and I she really enjoyed helping Cheri with her training. Duchess is one cute little pony, I'll have to get pictures next time. She's been at the farm for a few years, but I've never worked with her before today.

After lessons we stopped at my parents and decided to go to dinner at Pino's Italian restaurant in Oakdale, since I had a coupon from restaurants.com for $25. We got there at 10 to 5 because we were hungry. The sign said they opened at 5 so we waited in the car. A few minutes after 5 the owner and servers showed up and unlocked the place. At this point we should have left since there would have been no prep work done, the ovens weren't on, etc. But we went in and sat down. We waited for food for an hour and a half. It was beyond annoying, and Avery was not amused either. I suppose she did fairly well over all for having to wait that long. Then to top it off, they charged us full price for everything, there was an automatic 18% gratuity for using the coupon, and it was crazy expensive. So we won't be returning to that establishment...

Waking up late really sets the mood for the day. I had to rush to get Avery ready and myself, she was about 15 minutes late, I was about 30. Work was okay but then I had to hurry up and pick up Avery from her after school program and get her fed and ready for dance. I missed the 10th street exit for whatever reason and had to loop around on 94. We made it on time, but alas, more rushing. After giving her a bath and getting her to bed, I feel I can finally slow down. But really all I want to do now is go to bed!

On an happier note, I finally found the Cane's Chicken in Stadium Village on the U of M campus. I haven't had it for ages, and it was delicious. It was confusing getting there and back, but I'll figure it out eventually. Then it's chicken for lunch every day! Just kidding. But it was delicious.

Tonight was Culvers night for Avery's school. A portion of the earnings from 5-8 pm go to the school's PTA so we went there for sundaes. I had a sourdough melt and some rootbeer as well. It was pretty good, and with the caramel cashew sundae afterward I'm still pretty stuffed. Good thing I go to the gym so when I eat like a pig it's only half as bad. That's why you go to the gym right?

I finally watched Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr in its entirety on my laptop since it was a blu-ray. I couldn't really tell the difference between it and a normal dvd but who knows. I borrowed it from a friend just to try it out. I actually liked it and would enjoy going to see the new one that just came out. I doubt I'll make it to the theater while it's still playing though. Warhorse is first on the list and my mom and dad want to see that too. Eventually we'll be able to find a day that works for us all. Hopefully anyway.

I ended up heading to Target last night to get the correct light bulbs and a few for the bathroom. I got regular light bulbs for the bathroom. I bought a 4 pack of the big round vanity lights and the only had them in 60 watt. I figured that was probably what I had but when I got home and put them in they were brighter than the sun! Apparently I had 40 watt in there or less. Oh well, it's just super bright and energy sucking in the bathroom for now.

Today Avery and I returned the CFLs that didn't fit to Menards and stopped by and saw Chad. Then we went to the library where I was in a constant state of annoyance. I really hate the noisy rude kids that run around with no parental supervision. They all just sit on the internet and use the library as a free unsupervised daycare. I miss the days when it was quiet and peaceful at the library. It hasn't been like that ever since they got the internet for free.

Today was a pretty productive one, once I got it going around 11! I cleaned the shower (wow I hate doing that) and then went to Menards to get a new lamp. I bought a Tiffany style one that was on sale and some of the "instant on" CFLs to go with it. Well the "100 Watt" one for the top lamp isn't bright enough to light up the living room so I couldn't even get rid of my old one, which was the whole point of this expedition...There is also a little reading lamp further down the pole that I was pretty excited about. It only takes a 40 watt or equivalent and if the 100 watt isn't bright enough, I don't even know what 40 will do. The one I bought has too big of a base to screw in. It needs the "G" size, whatever that is. So I get to go return the ones I bought and find the correct ones, but I'll save that for another day.

I also went to Half Price Books, Michaels, Costco, the post office, and Burger King. As far as BK, I'm pretty sure I'm the anti-New Years Resolution because my eating has been pretty crappy lately. But I haven't had a whopper junior in years! So it was tasty. Anyway I'm finally home with my spoils and now I'm going to wrap some of Avery's birthday presents and watch Bones. Phew!

Avery and I just got done watching Hachi: A Dog's Tale and while I didn't catch the beginning of it, and my neighbor stopped by during the end, it had me in tears. It's based on a true story, if you click on the link I did you can get more info. So good, and so heart breaking. Avery's in the tub now saying "Hachi, Hachi" in a sing-song voice.

I took down the tree today and its amazing how bare that corner looks with it gone. It's funny because when I put up the tree it feels like there isn't any space left in the living room and now it feels empty. I moved the floor lamp back over there, but I think I need to get a new one before it burns down the place. It was my parents' before mine and they had it for years too. It's really hard to turn on, and if I plug it in in the top socket, it sparks and makes the other lights go out. Slightly disturbing, and thus time to get a new lamp. Maybe that should be my goal for tomorrow after work, a trip to Menards.

Ohhhh how I dislike the gym after New Years. All the people make their resolution to lose weight and go to the gym, and all of a sudden my nice classes of a dozen people turn into 30 people who don't know what the heck they're doing. And for boxing that means only half of us can go on the bags at a time, and that's my favorite part darn it! I can't wait for 90% of them to fall off the wagon in a few weeks so my classes can go back to normal. Sad, but true.

I took down the Christmas decorations today, except for the cards. I put those up kind of late so I'm not willing to part with them yet. By late, I mean Christmas Eve. Oh well. The tree itself is still up but I'm going to take the lights off and take it apart tomorrow I think. Geronimo and Majik have one more night under their tree.

Avery has another two Mondays off school this month, which means she's off every other Monday this month. I like that idea...I wish I could do that all the time at work!

Avery got an extra sticker at dance class tonight for winning the quiet game. I have to admit, I was shocked. MY Avery, winning a game centered around being quiet? How is this possible! But alas she did. ;) Today was her first day back at school and dance so she fell asleep almost immediately after she got in bed around 8:30. Hopefully it will be easier to get her up tomorrow morning than it was today. She got spoiled sleeping in till 9:30! I was a little spoiled too, oh how I love sleeping in.

I've been staying up late reading and I finished the Bronze Horseman last night. I immediately started Tatiana and Alexander, the next in the trilogy. I'm so glad I stumbled across someones post about these books on Pintrest! They get a little "racier" than I care to read, but looking beyond that they're such fantastic books. I'm going to be sad when I'm done with them.

Sunday

I'm borrowing Robin's idea of using just the day of the week for the title of the posts so I don't have to put much effort into thinking of one. I like to keep things nice and simple!

Today was baby Harry's first birthday party at 1 pm. I had Tim bring Avery home by 11 so we could get ready. Guess who didn't wake up until 10:45? ME!! I stayed up reading The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simon until 2 am. It is such a good book, I didn't want to stop. I assumed I'd wake up at an early hour like I normally do but nope, it was almost 11!

When we got home from the party I read some more while Avery watched A Barbie Fashion Fairytale. Then she got out her Barbies and did a little runway work herself. I have it on tape, it was great. Then we played with paper dolls and drew our own clothes. She said she had the best day, which is always good to hear. Now I'm going to keep reading (but I'll probably stop before 2am!).