We're back

Well we are officially back from spring break. We had a great time and it is good to be back. We arrived in Salt Lake City at 1:00 am. their time which was 3:00 a.m our time on Monday morning. We gave the kids a little melatonin for the plane ride so that they would get some sort of sleep. Mallory and Nathan went right to sleep but Julianne was a little reluctant to succumb to the additional melatonin in her body. We got up early the next morning to get the girls ski's and get them off to ski school. They actually did quite well with their sleep deprived bodies. We did not have too many breakdowns. They had a lot of fun at school and learned a lot. Mallory seemed to progress the most especially since last year. Last year she had a hard time with maintaining the pizza wedge. I think mostly because she did not have enough strength to stop suddenly. On Wednesday we skied with the girls all day. Mallory loved to ski straight down the hill in her wedge and then complain that her legs were sore. She finally did turns and it seemed to help her speed and her legs. However, she was not afraid of going fast and it did not seem to phase her on the winding green runs. It did phase me. I was afraid that she would not be able to stop and would fly over the edge of the mountain. Julianne had a great time and also progressed as well. She challenged herself to go on the blue slopes and had great form and control. It was great to ski with D and our family. We had time to ourselves and time with my family. It was great to be out of Ohio and be out of our house with the kids.

Mallory had strep throat at the beginning of the month and then she had it again on Saturday before we left. I was unsure if it was coming back so I was a little hesitant about taking her to the local pharmacy clinic but the test did come back positive. So I was glad that I did take her so that we would not recreate last years Spring Break strep throat incident with Julianne. They put her on a strong antibiotic (I think they call it a Z pack). So hopefully that will stop the bug from coming back.

Nathan escaped March without a strong asthma episode. Before we left for spring break he had a runny nose and lots of coughing but it never progressed further than that. So that is great.

This week is busy with taxes to do and a plan to finish for work. I have been working non-stop on both of those tasks, as well as unpacking and doing the usual housekeeping/child raising tasks. I am blaming those extra things for my lack of blog entries. Sometimes when I don't write for awhile I become overwhelmed and do not know where to begin. So I guess I have also put it off. I know other noteworthy occasions occurred but I cannot think of them right now.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-taking a spring break vacation
-seeing my girls ski
-spending quality time with D and my family
-having great trustworthy neighbors take care of our house and dogs

Lovely Spring Weather

Due to the warmer spring like weather, we took the dogs for a walk on Tuesday and Thursday. That is the most they have been walked all winter. So they were tired but I think they were glad to be out of the house and out of the snow.


We played Elefun outside and it was great to play it in a larger space then our playroom.




While on our walk Mallory picked up every struggling worm off of driveways and put them in the grass. Needless to say it was a long walk.


"Girls! Here's another worm."

"Oh I am tired after that walk."

I am propagating seeds this year for my first real official garden. I planted basil and rosemary last year but this year I hope to actually grow veggies. So I took a seed propagation class a few weeks ago and then last night I took a organic veggie garden class. Both were very informative especially for a newbie like myself. I learned a lot and I hope it will help me in my gardening endeavors. So I started my seed propagation last week and I have a great turnout. Most of my plants, except for the cilantro , has popped up. My greatest fear is getting the plants started and then having them die once they get outside. So we will see what success I have. I propagated basil, cilantro, heirloom big mouth tomatoes, heirloom Al Kuffa tomatoes and heirloom Quadrato d'Asti Rosso red peppers. I am still participating in our local CSA with my good friend but I thought that the red peppers and tomatoes were lacking so I wanted to produce them myself. So I am hopeful that my brown thumb will become green this spring and summer. So wish me luck.




My friend Katie is starting a garden in TN and she hired someone to make her a 4X8 raised garden bed. I think that was a great idea and I wish there was someone in Columbus that did that. I guess there probably is I just don't know. But I thought that was a great idea. You go Katie.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-warmer weather.
-Hearing the birds chirp and seeing animals in my backyard (we had two ducks in our mud pond on Thursday) after a long winter
-Nathan saying "Mommy, I like your shoes" (my fancy shoes I wore to work)
-Julianne questioning how Santa flies from north pole to our house and back to other houses in one night.

My poor Mallory

Mallory was not feeling well on Wednesday and it just got worse on Thursday. So I took her in and she did not test positive for strep throat but she put her on antibiotics because her eyes were really red. We had to go to Julianne's open house on Thursday night and poor little Mallory looked like we punched her in the eyes. Her eyes were also secreting yellow stuff and she was just miserable. By Friday she was doing a lot better and her red eyes went away. The doctor sent her strep test to another lab and it did end up being strep. So that darn strep bug went havoc on her eyes. She is much better and is back to her usual self.

This was Mallory on Wednesday night when only one eye was red.

This was Thursday night and the picture made it look better then it actually was.

Julianne had a school production and open house on Thursday night and it was really good. The class has been studying the continents so the songs centered around different cultures. She was really into it and seemed to enjoy herself without becoming self conscience or unhappy.


This one is for you honey.


She is showing us her work in her classroom.


Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-seeing my deer family again on a morning run.
-Running some older routes since the snow is melting (I could not run on busy streets since the sidewalks were covered in heavy snow)
-warmer weather