OK, this week has gone by fast. I guess I was thinking about trip preparations and nervous because I hadn't heard back from the foster person who agreed to watch Dottie. I ended up calling her and it was all fine. I guess some people are just not email people! Tuesday ended up being super windy, but still Owen's soccer practice was not cancelled. We went, but not many other kids showed up and they decided not to bother since you couldn't even kick the ball without it curving way off target. Luckily Wednesday was a little nicer, since Declan had soccer that night. Right after soccer, we went to the Pack meeting, which was a tour of a firehouse. I was afraid they might be bored since we have been to a few of these, but it ended up being fun and they got a cool goody bag and patch at the end.



Today I ended up helping at the library at Owen's request. His class his library today, but when I originally volunteered, I was working on Thursdays so I could only help during Declan's library time. Now that I have been moved to Wednesday, Owen asked if I could help when his class is there. I kind of forced him to check out a certain book I have been wanting him to try, so maybe he won't want me there next time! He did get one of his choice, too, though. Right when I was picking up the kids, it started to rain, then snow, so I figured Owen's practice would be cancelled again, but then it suddenly cleared up and the sun came out. It was still windy, but they toughed it out.

Saturday was a crazy day, but we managed to survive. It started early with Declan's first soccer game of the season. The game ended in a tie. Meanwhile, I was at the extra orchestra rehearsal, since I will be missing dress rehearsal during spring break. Then Scot had to drop Declan off at a birthday party and then go on to Owen's first soccer game. They lost, but it sounds like the other team was kind of tough and it was a good game anyway. Orchestra rehearsal ended just in time for me to pick up Declan from the party. It was a bowling party, but they got to play arcade games, also, so he had a lot of fun. They were nice enough to make an extra goody bag for Owen, in case he was able to come. Scot and I decided to go out for dinner with some recorder friends and watch a jazz recorder performance downtown. It was over by 8 p.m., but by then we were pretty worn out and ready to come home. We were able to watch the first party of The Social Network, and had to finish it up Sunday night due to Scot falling asleep. He's been sick and was also on call, so I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did.



The kids got up early on Sunday so they could watch the Rapids game that I had recorded from Saturday night. I had them do their cleaning, and I decided to finally clean out the van, which was getting pretty bad. I cleared out all the stuff that had accumulated, threw out the trash, and then vacuumed the inside. I even took it to the carwash since it was pretty dirty on the outside, too. Owen and Declan got invited to play at Standley Lake, so they ended up being gone most of the afternoon. Scot was dealing with on call stuff most of the time, and I ended up being lazy and reading then napping. By the time the kids got home, we had dinner and then Owen worked on some homework and piano, which was torture since he is working on something that is frustrating him and he was getting mad. Luckily it was soon time for showers and bed!

That is my portable external hard drive. I was moving some things off my laptop to free up some space yesterday, but my computer wouldn't eject it, so I finally just had to unplug it. Hopefully it didn't do anything to mess it up.

I started my day in the school library, which was a little more hectic than usual for a Wednesday since a class was coming in at a different time than their usual and the librarian had some classes to teach. I went straight to the Apex afterwards to exercise, because if I let myself go home, I seem to never leave again until I have to pick up the kids. Then I spent a couple of hours just relaxing, knowing our evening was going to be hectic. We went straight from school pick up to piano, and then the kids had to get their homework/chore done before Declan's soccer practice at 6. I fed them early and then took them both to practice until Owen and I had to leave so I could drop him off at a scout meeting and head to bunco. Meanwhile Scot picked up Declan after soccer and then drove to the rest of the scout meeting. After all that, I didn't even win at bunco...



I had no school obligations this morning, so I headed to the 9:30 exercise class. The day started out pretty warm, so I decided to make some iced coffee for a change. It is cold and snow tomorrow, so I guess it will be the last iced coffee for awhile! I went to school a little early so I can do the STARS prizes from February. Then home to do piano/homework/chore before Owen's soccer practice. I am able to get a lot of reading done during these practices, at least, so I finished The Psycho Ex Game, which was o.k., nothing spectacular. I was excited to finally get The Social Network from Netflix, so hopefully Scot and I can watch it sometime this weekend. Tomorrow night we don't have any soccer, but it is the talent show, and Owen is performing a piano piece again. Looking over the list, it is mostly musical instruments, singing, or dancing. No less than three kids are singing Firework, which may be the only Katy Perry song that is G-rated, as required for the talent show...

No coffee yesterday since I had to work, but I should have stopped and gotten some on my way since there was only one child there when I arrived. I had to drop Owen off at school an hour early for a talent show rehearsal, so that's out of the way now. If you don't attend a rehearsal, you can't perform in the show, which is Friday night. I woke up just 10 minutes before 8, so we had to rush out and then Declan and I came back to get ready for work/school. We are trying to adjust to the soccer practice schedule, but it's kind of a pain. Scot got home before we had to leave for Declan's practice, so Owen stayed home and ate with him, and then Declan and I had a late dinner after we got home.

Today I had to go back to the dentist so they could take out the BIPPS that was put in on Friday. I don't know what that stands for, but it's the yellow strip of material that was soaked in clove oil and pushed into the socket. I guess they were trying to keep the hole open for drainage purposes. Now I am back to irrigating 4-5 times daily with the syringe until it heals, hopefully without the infection this time. My only consolation was that the dentist is right near a Krispy Kreme, which happens to have a really good glazed old fashioned, my favorite donut. They call it a sour cream donut. Yummy! The kids stayed and played after school for a little bit since the weather was nice, but then we had to go get our stuff done before Owen's soccer practice from 6-7:30. Scot came by and picked up Declan at the practice, and I fed Owen before we left. He also had to get his piano, homework, and chore done before we left, which he did. These will be some crazy days! The kids are excited for their first games on Saturday, although I'm still waiting to find out exactly where Owen's game is going to be.

Friday I helped in the library, went to the Apex for a little workout, and then came home to call the dentist. I got an appointment to see them in them in the afternoon, knowing I couldn't go in until Tuesday otherwise. I guess there was an infection and it was draining into my cheek, causing the swelling. He did a few things, stuffed something that had been soaked in clove oil in my gum, and told me to come back on Tuesday. I am on antibiotics for the next 10 days, and it's a good thing I don't have trouble swallowing pills since those things are huge! The soreness is getting better, but there is still some swelling. I have been putting hot compresses on it as instructed. We had dinner at Qdoba and ended up getting all 4 meals for only $5 since I had so many reward points on my card, so that was a nice surprise.

Saturday we were up bright and early for our skiing trip. The kids were supposed to check in between 8:30 and 9:00, and luckily we made it there in time. After getting them checked in, Scot and I took off for the main trails and had a full day of skiing. We don't usually start so early, so we were plenty worn out by the end of the day. We went to the beginner area a little early and watched the last part of Declan's lesson. Owen was off somewhere else, but Scot did some runs with him after the class was done while I watched Declan practice more on the bunny slope. We were lucky since there wasn't much traffic and the ski resort wasn't busy at all, plus the weather was nice.



Today I took the kids to a birthday party at an indoor soccer place. They had fun getting to run around and play soccer for a few hours. We played at a nearby field afterwards with friends. After coming home we had to our Sunday cleaning, but the kids had time to play outside more, also, since the weather was so nice.

Scot and I finished out Breaking Bad disc on Saturday night, and I just watched Date Night while doing a little digiscrapping.

The photo is from yesterday. Today I was at a coffee shop with my friend Amy, but I didn't have my camera. Declan is now reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and I swear, those books are like crack. Owen could not stop reading and re-reading them, and I finally had to put them away until summer since he needed to do his homework reports on more than just the same books over and over. Now Declan can barely put them down, but at least he still has to read his assigned books for school, also.

Since yesterday, I've had swelling and pain in my jaw again, so I'm not sure what's going on. If it doesn't seem improved by tomorrow, I'll call the dentist. I guess it could be that something is infected. I think the hole left from the tooth is almost healed, so I thought I was home free... So annoying, but I do need to get it straightened out before we leave for Oregon in a couple weeks.

As is typical for Colorado, the beginning of the week was cold and soccer practices were cancelled, but yesterday and today we were able to go. It was still cool yesterday but today was pretty warm and sunny. Saturday the kids have reservations for ski and snowboard lessons, so hopefully it will be nice. Tomorrow I'll gather all the stuff together.

I have one more disc of Nurse Jackie to finish the season, and I got another Breaking Bad disc for Scot and I to watch this weekend. I watched Mother and Child on Netflix, which was good but kind of sad. Amy told me about a really strange movie that she just watched called Dogtooth, so I'm curious to check that one out.

Declan has been wanting to read Curious George a lot recently. We have a big hardback book which has a bunch of the original books in it, so of course, I had to bring out my childhood Curious George stuffed animal. He has held up well!

This morning I went to exercise class and that was about all the excitement in my day. I finished the 2nd disc of Nurse Jackie, and it looks like we're getting Breaking Bad for the weekend. We are hoping to go skiing on Sunday, so hopefully that will work out. I think the weather should be o.k., but I guess I need to call and reserve the ski lessons for the kids. I think Declan wants to try snowboarding this time, which is the opposite of what they said last time. Owen said he would wait and try snowboarding when we're in Oregon.

The lady called again about Dottie today, so hopefully her mom will be up on Thursday to meet her. I have my fingers crossed that she can go to a quiet one person home, since I'm sure she would be happiest that way. She does o.k. with the kids, but I'm sure she would rather be in a calmer atmosphere.

I wasn't very good about taking photos over the weekend, but in my defense, it was a busy one. This photo is from today, and the dental floss is because I rescheduled my dental appointment that I was supposed to have this week. The back of my mouth is still swollen in some parts, so I'm just not ready to have more procedures yet! I put it off until April.

Saturday morning I had orchestra rehearsal, maybe the last one until our performances since I will miss the dress rehearsal during spring break. I had lunch afterwards with a couple people from orchestra and had some yummy Thai food and Thai iced tea. Meanwhile Scot and the kids went to see the MLS cup that the Rapids won this year and then built a car at a Home Depot workshop. After dinner, we were off to the Avalanche game and sleepover. I don't know why, but we seem to have the worst luck with our seats. At the one Rapids game we went to, we ended up right next to a whole section bought out by the rival team, so we had to listen to their obnoxiousness all night, and then after sitting down in our hocket seats, some girl from the Rapids cheer team or something like that said that they had a bunch of seats in that section and were going to be chanting and making noise the whole game. Declan started to get really upset for some reason, so the girl said there were seats available in the adjacent section if it was too loud, so we moved over. We could still hear them, but at least they weren't right behind us. Since the AV's were playing so poorly, their cheering seemed kind of silly after awhile, but when the beer is flowing, mouths seem to get bigger. I don't have a problem with fans cheering, but with groups like this, it rarely stays appropriate for kids. We like to watch the professional sports events, but honestly, it's not what I would call a family-friendly atmosphere most of the time...

Anyway, we lost 1-5, but luckily they cleared off the ice and the kids were able to get on and play broom ball and run around for about an hour. By this time it was almost midnight and I was loosing steam. Luckily I was not staying so I left as we went out to get the overnight stuff. After I got home, I chatted with Scot on the computer and he said the kids were still up and watching the movie they were showing on the jumbotron. They said lights would go out after the movie, but I guess they only turned off half of them, so I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to sleep at all. As it was, I was wondering why our bedroom was so nice and dark, and I realized the street light that is on the corner was out. Too bad it didn't stay that way the next night! They had to get up at 7 a.m., so not a lot of sleep was had by anyone. The donuts and juice were a big hit, though. They came home and Scot fell asleep on the couch while the kids were going strong. Declan crashed sometime in the late afternoon and fell asleep before dinner, but Owen didn't fall asleep until he went to read before bed. I went to recorder performance at the library. Luckily my group played early, so then I could relax and listen to the others play. Declan's tooth had been really loose all weekend and he finally got the courage to pull it out after dinner. I even remembered to leave him money on the first night! So that was our busy weekend.

Today I was at work most of the day, although I did get to leave a little bit early and have a couple hours at home before school got out. The kids got their stuff done before dinner, so we played some games after, and then it was time for bed. I've been trying to go to bed earlier myself, but it seems like I am more tired since I wake up earlier. Hopefully I will adjust soon...

Thursday was kind of a relaxing day since I didn't have any school obligations or anything. My Big Love DVD arrived, so I watched most of that during the day, which were the final episodes of the season. I think the current one is the last, and I can't wait to see what happens! I did go to my exercise class in the morning, and I guess that was about it. I picked up the kids was was trying to figure out what to do for the evening, and then I remember Declan had a scout meeting, so I had the kids try and get their homework/chores/piano done. It was also a school fundraiser at the Wings place, which we had never gone to, so I decided we would do that for dinner. The menu was not so great for Owen, but we did run into two of their friends and mom while going in, so we joined them for the meal. We saw a bunch of other kids from school, also, so that was kind of fun. We went straight to the meeting afterwards, where the kids learned to play marbles and then the leader spoke to them about a Polish holiday, similar to Fat Tuesday but they call it Fat Thursday. He brought some traditional Polish pastries for all the kids. It turns out he was in the Peace Corps and stationed in Poland, which is where he met his wife.



Today was a little rushed in the morning, due to me forgetting I was supposed to make my crock pot meal from Wednesday. I was at the library for 1 1/2 hours and then ran to the store to get some fruit for Declan's president potluck. I came home since I had a little time until the potluck, and realized I needed to get my meal prepared and in the pot. As you can see from the photo, it involved some Guiness, not that you could taste it in the final product. It smelled really yummy in the kitchen all day, which is one of the bonuses of a crock pot meal. I rushed back to school for the potluck, and then came home afterwards to finish watching the Nurse Jackie DVD. The kids also got their report cards today. Both did well, with mostly 3's and 4's. Owen got a few 2's (working towards grade level), which I told him I would like to see raised to 3's (at grade level) for the final report card, but he seems to think that won't happen, even though I know he is capable. I offered a reward if he makes it, and told him he would not be in trouble or anything if it doesn't happen. I told him I was happy to see that he had turned some 3's into 4's and that overall he had a great report card. He's had a tough year, and I would like to see him end on a good note. It has been hard to deal with his negativity, but I am working on changing my attitude towards it. Hopefully it's not too late!

This is from Tuesday. Today I had multiple cups of hot chai at the Indian buffet. Tuesday I decided to go to an exercise class and try to get my stamina up again. Luckily the regular teacher was about 15 minutes late, since 45 minutes of her class was more than enough for me! I will go again tomorrow since I am probably not going to be able to do my Wednesday night class right now, due to soccer. I went grocery shopping just before picking up the kids so I could make my veggie lasagna for dinner. We stayed to play for a little bit after school since the weather was so nice, and then Owen had a friend over while Declan went to their house to play with his brother. Nothing too exciting for the evening.

Today I was supposed to help in the school library, but I forgot that it is a CSAP testing day, some of which was done in the library, so I couldn't stay very long. I got ingredients for another crock pot recipe I want to try, but realized I would have to make it Friday instead. I took Dawn out to lunch as a thank you for helping me when I had my tooth pulled, so we had some yummy Indian food. I picked up the kids, dropped Owen off at piano, and then got the soccer stuff together since they both had practice at 5 p.m. Luckily Dawn was able to take Declan so I could drop off Owen. Scot picked Owen up while I went back to take Declan home. Luckily from here on out they will be practicing on alternating nights. My recorder group came over after dinner for one last practice before our play-the-recorder-month performance on Sunday.

I finished the 2nd disc of Big Love, and the last one will arrive tomorrow, along with Nurse Jackie, season 2.