We actually got a good helping of snow yesterday. Unfortunately, it was pretty much a 1 for 1 mix of snow and rain, so it was pretty wet and heavy and made the commute home a bear. They're calling for more to come some time on Saturday. I decided, on Wednesday, to stay home today to relax a little (make use of Monday being a holiday - four day weekend and all) and clean the house for the jewelry party I'm supposed to host tomorrow but, when Jeff got Kadie up this morning for me to get her ready...

Read the rest of this post

Christmas was good. Kadie woke up entirely too early, but she didn't start tearing into packages until we were all downstairs (which still happened faster than I had planned). After ripping into a package, she would inspect the goods and then hand them to me to open while she very tidily picked up all the paper scraps and put them in the garbage … don't know where that came from, but it was nice to not have to declare my living room a disaster zone. After everything was opened, we sat down for...

Read the rest of this post

I had my first meeting with the headhunter / recruiter yesterday. We went over my resume and what I was looking for (and what I was trying to avoid). While my limited formal education and my complete lack of desire to do computer-related work is going to make things a tad more difficult, there are still some possibilities open.Tuesday, I passed my tolerance limit for my current job - it has more to do with the team lead's personality and managing style now, but I still don't care for the work...

Read the rest of this post

Kadie is doing well in her classes. She has made several new friends and, aside from a few mornings when I think she's dealing more with being a little tired than anything else, she very much looks forward to going. None of the"normal" first-year jitters here. She is getting better at elaborating on what she's been doing during the day and has been sharing several of the songs they've taught her (complete with minimal sign language). I'm torn between which type of class might benefit her more...

Read the rest of this post

Thank you to all for your birthday wishes. I had resolved not to celebrate these things anymore but, since everyone has conspired against me, I will resort to Plan B. You've seen those bumper stickers where it's"my kid's an honor student at such-and-such a school" and then the parents get"...again" stickers for subsequent honors, right? Well, I'm 29...again.I didn't leave work until a quarter after 6 am today (Saturday) so I got home around 7:30. When I got out of the car, I was promptly...

Read the rest of this post

Though I'm trying hard to climb out of the pit, I think both Jeff and I are suffering from a bad case of the"Mondays" today. It doesn't help that someone drove past Jeff in the parking lot at 40 mph and soaked his pant legs (it's been raining all night) and then someone else almost ran him over. That kind of start will dampen most anyone's mood. I'm suffering from lack of sleep more than anything else. Kadie has definitely closed the door on her napping phase which, I would think, would help...

Read the rest of this post

Our weather forecast (starting last night) is calling for upper 80s and thunderstorms for at least the next 10 days. It was rather eerie this morning on the drive in to work - it was pretty dark until we were a few miles from Tracy's and then the sun found an opening and poked it's head through. But, since there's so much haze in the air, it offered a diffused and orange-ish light. The sun, itself, was blood red. At least my car will get a bath. Kadie has developed a sty in her left eye. It...

Read the rest of this post

We've been a bit busy here, though I've tried keeping up with the posts from everyone else.Kadie is still experiencing problems with her allergies (or whatever is causing the problem) and I think the nasal spray the doctor gave us is drying her nose out too much as she's had 3 nosebleeds this week. She has also continued to throw up during our commutes - w/ continued use of both medication and the motion sickness wrist bands. I'm hoping (only because other options are too scary to consider...

Read the rest of this post

To all the fathers out there...we hope you had a nice day"off" yesterday. Jeff didn't get one as we were finishing up Kadie's play area, but we're taking Wednesday off to wander around town and/or the mall, get some breakfast and lunch and a movie. It'll be like an extended day date as we are unable to have dates during the evening or weekend hours.As I just mentioned, Kadie now has a beautiful play area out back. We put timber down around the swing set that Jeff and his dad put up last summer...

Read the rest of this post

Okay, so Maryland has apparently decided that it's now officially summer time. Ugh! Memorial Day weekend was spent outside cooking - ourselves. Jeff and I are both a delightful shade of pink. Good news is, that KP on my upper arms (mom knows what I'm talking about) gets a lot better when it's exposed to the sun and I made sure to pull my sleeves up onto my shoulders to ensure good exposure. Thankfully, during the morning hours, the sun is on the back side of the house so Kadie would spend...

Read the rest of this post

This week has been a major energy drain on the east coast Todnems. We started it off w/ the long weekend that included the birthday party and then me taking Monday to paint Kadie's room. Then we spent a couple of afternoons furniture shopping down around where we work. Kadie's still in a toddler bed and she's getting to the point where we need to move her up to a"real" big girl's bed. The problem is, both Jeff and I are fairly picky about what we want. Jeff is adamant about whatever we get has...

Read the rest of this post

I go in for my dentist appointment today to get my cavities filled. I'm stressing over this so much that not one, but five canker sores popped up in my mouth yesterday morning. I've never had a cavity filled, so I don't know what to expect and I don't think that's what's bothering me. It's because the first time I ever had to have Novocain was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled and the dentist that did that was so horribly awful that just the thought of another shot puts me on edge. I haven't...

Read the rest of this post

Taking a short lunch break, so I thought I'd log in to say hello to everyone. We're still freezing our buns off over here but it's supposed to get up to a wet 57 degrees today. They're calling for sun and 60 tomorrow so I guess I need to break out the shorts again. Kadie's first swimming lesson went okay. There was a moment that came straight out of our nightmares - Kadie stepped off the steps into the deeper water (3 feet) and went under. She was pulled out but she was still pretty traumatized...

Read the rest of this post

We actually saw flurries yesterday while driving home and, this morning, I saw them again. They're calling for"measurable" snow tonight and more flurries over the weekend with record lows at night. I don't think the outdoor egg hunt with the neighbors is going to happen. Kadie colored 6 eggs with Ms. Tracy yesterday and I think daddy's going to try to color some more with her today so we might hide some around the house for her to find. She doesn't quite"get" the whole Easter egg thing...

Read the rest of this post

Sounds like a horror movie title, now that I think about it. Today, we all three get to go in for our semi-annual teeth cleaning. Kadie's excited but I'm sure Jeff's less than thrilled. I don't care either way since I know it can't be worse than having someone attach a string to your tooth and pull on it (which I deal with on a monthly basis now).Yesterday I went in to get our taxes done at H& R Block and, while they came back with a refund amount from both State and Federal, with the...

Read the rest of this post

Has anyone checked Lisa recently? I'm beginning to wonder if she's been"altered" so as to keep up with her life. Just reading her posts makes me tired. btw...Lisa, if you're having troubles sleeping and it starts to become a regular thing, go to the doctor's quickly. Your sleeping habits are just that - habits. And if you get into the bad habit of not sleeping well, it becomes a perpetual nightmare. I suffered with insomnia for 6 or 7 years before I finally got help and it took a good year of...

Read the rest of this post

It's supposed to be 78 degrees and partly sunny today (actually, they said partly cloudy, but why be pessimistic?). They are calling for rain later in the day, but I'm hoping that'll be after we pick Kadie up so that she'll have plenty of time to run around outside.On the way to drop her off at daycare yesterday, Little Miss threw up in the car. We kept going after the first time, hoping that it was carsickness, but after wave 2 we turned around which really upset her - she was looking forward...

Read the rest of this post

Well, Lisa, it wasn't us who stole your sun. In fact, Friday afternoon, we had another storm system roll through and drop about 4 inches of snow on us. It was pretty bitter (in temps) for the weekend and Monday but today looks a little more promising as we drove to work at 5 am in 50-degree weather. I don't know if it's supposed to warm up much past that point, but it's definitely better than 20-something. The middle of March and we get 4 inches of snow. Come on! I'm ready for spring, people...

Read the rest of this post

The east coast half of the Todnems are still alive and kicking (or should I say that we're a third now that we've extended our borders to another hemisphere?). Our latest winter storm was a nasty one. It wasn't the snow that caused the problems, though we got a good 3 or 4 inches up north where we live, it was the freezing rain and sleet that came with it. The next few days are calling for sun but temperatures remaining in the teens and twenties (to instantly freeze anything the sun might...

Read the rest of this post

Certainly feels like it but it doesn't want to act like it. (It's been a frustrating day and it's gonna be a long one, too, as I have to stay late at work to make up some hours.) We actually got some real snow Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It was only about 2 or 3 inches worth, but that's a lot better than the pathetic attempts it had been making up to that point. Of course, that delayed everyone because buildings weren't opening up until 9 am and the roads were still being cleared. We got a...

Read the rest of this post