NATALIE'S

Monday (yesterday) was Natalie's 8th birthday. Her family also moved up here several years ago from Orange County, California. Although everyone in our neighborhood is sooooo very nice, Natalie's dad Scott and Mimi's dad really clicked because they are close in age and have the same interests. Sometimes little Scotty will ask little Greggy for a playdate on a Saturday night.

PLAYDAY WITH SARA

Sunday afternoon was our monthly buddhist meeting at Daphne's house. We all had loads of fun. Our theme this month/year is The Bucket List. On the previous Friday evening, we women got together at Hazel's for a pot luck dinner and watched The Bucket List as some of the women had never seen it. I saw it together with dad when it came out on Demand but it sure was good to see it again. My bucket list is definitely getting longer and longer by the day. When all was said and done, dad, Sonia and myself stayed around and had a playdate with Daphne while Mimi, Sara, Pepito and Tasha watched Madagascar. It was definitely a lovely day.

VALENTINES DAY 2009

Valentine's Day started off with a phone call from Mimi's BFF Samantha in California. Samantha is recuperating from a broken leg and will be out of comission for several weeks. A short while back Mimi had sent her a care package to help Samantha feel better. It was filled with all sorts of candy and toys that Mimi herself really likes. Later in the afternoon grandma and grandpa came over to the house for a delicious homemade Chinese dinner. Grandma brought Mimi a box of chocolates, the bear (Fuzzy) was given to her by dad and the Yorkie (Pretty) was given to her by mom. Pretty comes equipted with bowl, dog bone, cape, carrier and a leash. So now Mimi won't have to steal Butche's leash.

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS.....

Or at least our case - snows. Yep, that's right. It snowed again this afternoon but thankfully not like it did in December. Although Mimi is still a bit under the weather, she seemed to have a bit more energy or so I thought. We went to gymnastics this morning then school. After school she started to look a bit peaked so she had a little snack then went to lay down at 4:30 this afternoon and just now woke up. I think I may be in for a long, long night. Still she says her tummy hurts a little. Has not vomited since Saturday and a little on Sunday. None yesterday and today. She loves strawberry cream cheese with toasted bagel and fresh strawberries on top. At least she is able to keep that down along with the chicken soup and tea. The girl is hungry now so have to go.

VALENTINE CARDS AND CARE PACKAGES

Although Mimi is feeling a bit better today but she still has a little trouble keeping food down. Therefore she's been surviving on Campbell's chicken soup mixed with rice, osembe (rice crackers) and green tea. As you can see in the background of the video, I made a bed out of our sofabed. We basically video marathoned it today. In between the videos we talked about everything under the sun. One of the things she wanted to know about was the beginning of her life and about one minute into the story she asks "are you done yet?" That ended that discussion right then and there. Since Mimi's energy is coming back to almost full force we sat down to get her Valentine treats ready to bring to school tomorrow. All of her classmates get the rice krispy treats and the teacher gets the pink envelope. We also put together a care package for her friend Samantha who is recuperating back home in California. It is filled with all kinds of goodies that always makes Mimi feel good. We hope that Samantha will enjoy the goodies as much as Mimi does.

RECURATING

Last Saturday morning Mimi came down with some kind of virus that has been going around our neighborhood kids. Dad took her up to Snoqualmie for her ski lessons but then had to turn right around and come home again. He said that as soon as he and Mimi got up there Mimi said she did not feel good and laid down right then and there in the parking lot. When he got her back into the car she then proceeded to vomit all over herself and the car. She is feeling a little better today still not able to keep anything down except for the bland food. YUCK! I know that this too shall pass but it is not making life any fun right now. Especially for Mimi, cause it is cutting into all of the foods that she really likes (and we all know how much she loves to eat) such as BBQ chicken, corn dogs, pizza, hang-a- burgers of which now she likes the double cheese hang-a-burgers from McDonald's and these are just to name a few. Yesterday we found out that Mimi's BFF from California fell and broke her leg (spiral fracture of the tibia) and is now kind of laid up for a while. So now both girls are recuperating together. While we are laid up, we are going to work on our Valentine cards and get well cards today.

THE EXORCIST REVISTED

All is quiet on the home front now, but oh man you should have been here at 4:30 this afternoon when all hell broke loose! I had plans for this afternoon and it was sort of shot to hell when our dear, sweet, little angel Mimi had a total meltdown. I had planned to take her shopping at Target after she had practiced her piano for a bit. After shopping at Target we were to go over to Sara's house. Well we got through the practice alright even though she was goofing off at the bench. It was then I knew that she was tired since she still wakes up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 a.m. I can understand it if you have to go to work or something but she does not need to get up till at least 8:00 a.m. None the less 6:00 it was. I then told her that she needed to lie down until it was time to go to Sara's house. One could forget about the shopping of which I did. When I mentioned to Mimi that she needed to take a rest, oh man you would have thought the world would come to an end right then and there. She wailed at the top of her lungs. Arms and legs were flailing everywhere. All she had to do was turn her head 180 degrees and spit up pea green soup. Meanwhile Butch is downstairs raising havoc with Ollie and Stanley. That boy can really bark up a storm! In between her screams and crying, Mimi was yawning so I knew she was really, really tired. I then called dad to let him know that I might not make it over to Daphne and Sara's then proceeded to hold the phone into the air. He could hear the screams and barking clear to downtown Seattle very clear. Finally I was able to put Butch into his bedroom aka laundry room. and I got Mimi to lie down in my bed. Almost forgot to mention that somewhere along the line she locked herself out of her bedroom. Finally, finally, finally I got her to calm down and within 15 minutes she was asleep. One thing I have learned as a parent, anyone who tells you that their child never has meltdowns is LYING! I did not get to do the shopping but at least I was able to get to Sara and Daphne's house with a happy child in tow. Forgot to mention one last thing. Between our house and Sara's is 12 miles, just about halfway there I heard the infamous cry from the backseat "Mom! I gotta go pee!!!" I think I will go pour myself a stiff one now.