The Grateful Dead

So, many of you know I love the Grateful Dead. That's one of the reasons Andy and I met. We were both strong-armed into joining matchmaker.com by friends and Andy sent me an email based on info in my profile regarding the Dead. I love the Dead, but Andy LOVES the Dead! About a month ago he got an email from the GD site saying they were planning a reunion tour. Andy got tickets for the show in LA in May. We can't wait to go see them! I'm guessing Andy is excited to get his show count higher...he has been stalled at 76 (I think) since Jerry (Garcia) died in 1995. My show count is much lower. I can't remember what the exact number is, something like 17, nor can I remember complete set lists of shows I have seen like Andy can.

For those who don't know Andy well, the guy is like an idiot savant. He can remember dates, sports stats, game scores, show set lists, what he was wearing to a show or event...things like that. It isn't a matter of looking things up on the internet, he just knows it. If you are talking about an event or memory, he can tell you the date, usually based on a sporting event, and he will be able to tell you who won, and what the final score was. (He and my brother Dale are 2 of the smartest guys I know.)

Anyway....we are really excited for May to get here. I know there will be much speculation on Andy's part as to what the opening song will be plus the set list and encore. And finally, it will really be interesting to see which tie die, or Dead shirt Andy will wear. He will have a reason for what he has on and it will have great meaning to him. So many of his best memories are from trips with so many of his best friends to Dead shows. I'm sure he will really enjoy finding a new shirt at the show. His are for the most part all handmade shirts people make and sell at the shows.

This picture is of Andy's newest Dead shirt.... could there be anything better than both JETS football AND the Grateful Dead?

I AM White Trash

This was an email I sent my good friends Bob & Victor when Rose was 2 and a half, David was 14 months and I was 6 months pregnant with Joey. They set me up with the blog back in September and have to hound (encourage) me to keep up with it. They just forwarded the email back to me to share on the blog. I think it's worth the read. ENJOY!





That's it, I'm officially white trash.

Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart. David was sitting in the cart and Rose wanted to walk. I brought my leftover bag of popcorn from Target from the day before, just in case. The #1 at the snack bar is a bag of popcorn and a drink for $1. What a good deal!! I digress...... Rose decides to throw a fit in the store. She was crying and mad because I didn't bring a pacifier for her. I try to not use them during the day, especially in public.... (I always think people think less of you of you if you let your kids have pacifiers) I pick her up and she screams and cries even louder so I tell her we are going to leave the store. I didn't really want to as its such a pain in the ass to get to the store in the first place! We go over to the hair supplies aisle to find girly hair stuff to quiet her down. While I was picking out things for her, David was reaching to the pegs filled with fun stuff for him to pull off onto the floor. I was keeping my eye on him, and wasn't going to let him actually destroy the lovely Wal-Mart display. A Wal-Mart employee, stocking the shelves in the same aisle, said to David something to the effect "don't pull that off, honey". Imagine.... being reprimanded by a WAL-MART employee who barely spoke English herself!! I then told her not to worry, that I wouldn't let that happen.

Later, Rose sat in the back of the cart playing with her new hair goodies. I broke out the bag of popcorn so they would be tolerable for the duration of the shopping experience. They ate nicely, barely leaving a popcorn trail throughout the store. We got to the baby clothes area where I found a cute green fleece jacket for a mere $10. I had Rose try it on to see if we could get the last remaining size that might work. As she was trying on the quality garment, I see David sort of shaking the bag of popcorn. I knew I should stop him, and planned to do so, just after I took the jacket off Rose. I hear a RIP........ I looked over in time to see popcorn flying like confetti all over the place. (I knew it was going to happen, even before I went into the store with said popcorn, but decided I would take that risk.) I did my best to clean the popcorn off the floor, sweeping it neatly into a pile with my foot, then picking up what I could. I then found a machine that played kid's CDs I could park them in front of to push the buttons while I picked out fine plastic ware (plates and bowls) for them. They were also a fine deal at $1 for a pack of 2. (They really are good quality.... I have been looking for them for a few months now after finding 1 package to buy a while ago.) We then proceeded to the toy department to find a gift for a friend having a birthday on Saturday. Rose of course found several things that caught her eye which we picked up and carried with us for her to play with before dumping them at the soonest opportunity so we wouldn't actually have to buy them. Then I noticed the cameras in the ceiling. I thought certainly they must be keeping an eye on me for sure. I decided to dump the hair products as she really didn't need them. I set them down amongst the toys, then thought I might look suspicious to the cameras. I picked them back up and put them back where they belonged.... except for a Barbie toothbrush,which I figured was close enough to the correct department. We then proceeded to the registers where the cashier agreed what a good find my plastic ware was. I paid and we left the store. As I walked to the van, I laughed and realized I had really sunk to a new level. ME, UNWELCOME AT WAL-MART!!! No one said that to me, but if I were an employee there, I certainly would have bad mouthed me after my departure!!

Just thought I would share this with you. Love you!

Sweet Valentine....whoa whoa whoa (think Neil Diamond)

So this past December I was in Target shopping for Christmas things when I saw all the Valentine things out....and realized how behind I was on my Valentine's Day prep! So mid January I was in a crafty mood and decided to make some fun Valentine hearts with the kids. Here are the fruits of our labor, and the how to, in case you are feeling crafty too!

You will need:

3 cups flour

1 cup salt (plain iodized table salt)

1 cup water

Cookie Cutters (I used heart shapes)

Wooden Skewer (or something else pointy)

Paintbrushes

Acrylic paint (I use craft paint)

Glitter

White Glue

Mod Podge

Narrow Ribbon

1. Mix ingredients together on medium with an electric mixer (my Kitchen Aid stand mixer which normally holds my sippy cup lids works particularly well for this) until a ball forms. Remove the dough and knead until it is smooth. I found I needed to add a little more water to make it more pliable.

2. To make each heart, roll the dough like you would for cookies (like I know what that's like) to about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. You could also just hand form to desired shape. Use a drop or 2 of water to glue pieces of dough together. I layered smaller hearts on top of larger ones on some of the hearts. Use skewer to make a hole for the ribbon about 1/4 inch from the top. Make it a little bit wide as the hole gets a little smaller during baking. Place them on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours.

3. Paint your shapes after they have completely cooled. I painted one side, let it dry, then did the other side. After paint is dry, coat with glue and sprinkle with glitter (you could also use the Mod Podge for this step). Let that dry then coat entire heart with Mod Podge or some other clear sealer, doing one side at a time. Once dry, string ribbon through hole and hang!

We are having such a great time making these.... (when I'm not cursing the fact that I will be vacuuming up glitter for a long time) particularly Rose, who is enjoying making them for her friends.

But crap.... this just reminds me how late I am for Easter!!

Happy Birthday to the Twins!

Today is Owen and Madeline Bittner's 6th birthday. They are my niece and nephew that live here in Poway, about a 1/2 mile away. They were born on this day at Pomerado Hospital to my sister and brother-in-law to loads of anxious family and friends. I was lucky enough to be the first to see them after they arrived. They were so small and cute, and still are! Ok, not so small anymore.

Poor Owen is sick today so Madeline headed to school with the birthday cupcakes while Owen stayed home. I believe this was the first time they went to school without the other. Happy birthday to you both! I love you!

David the Pirate (or a Pirate looks at 3 1/2)

Oh, my pirate with bad teeth..... So, after Rose and her tonsils (see last entry) it was David's turn for health care. On his 3rd birthday, July 15, 2008, we went in to Rady Children's Hospital clinic for Ophthalmology. He was officially diagnosed with strabismus. This means his eyes turn out. One eye will look straight at you, but the other turns out. Both of his eyes are affected, which is a good thing for him as it makes treatment easier. They turn out usually when he first wakes up or when he is tired. The doc said it was a pretty bad case for his age.

Dr. O'Halloran (very Irish, down to his accent) prescribed glasses which are wonky enough to force his eyes to focus in order to see clearly. He took to his glasses like a duck to water. I was thinking he would have to wear the cute (dorky) strap to keep the glasses on his head, but that was never the case. I must say, he is adorable in them and looks ever so smart and clever. We went in for a follow-up at 3 months and he had responded incredibly well to the glasses. If he had no care, there would have been a 100% chance he would need surgery to fix the problem. After the 3 month follow-up it was down to a 50% chance. At that appointment the doc instructed us to start patching. So, every day David wears a patch on one eye for 2 hours. We alternate eyes daily. This forces the other eye to focus and get even stronger. It has been 3 months now and we need to get him in for another follow-up exam to determine his progress. He is a real trooper with the patches. He doesn't like to put them on initially, but it's no problem after it's on.

Will keep you posted on his progress!

Tonsils? We don't need no stinking TONSILS!

I started this blog to track our lives, but have had a hard time really getting it going. So now I'm playing a little catch up for some major events of note. On July 3, 2008, Rose had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She had been a horrible snorer for most of her short life. When I mentioned this to her pediatrician for her 4 year check-up, she suggested we see a specialist to check what she thought to be large tonsils. After talking with the ENT specialist, she confirmed they were unusually large and probably needed them out along with the adenoids, and to insert a tube into one ear that had fluid in it for what appeared to be months. Rose is not a complainer when it comes to being in pain or getting hurt, so I would never had known about the ear infection. I had also noticed she would stop breathing while she slept (sleep apnea) for a few seconds, then would start again. I was told this was probably due to her large tonsils and adenoids. So, after the consultation we decided to go ahead with the surgery. The surgeon who performed the surgery was the partner of the gal who did the initial consultation. Dr. Fitzgerald told us his daughter had the same procedure at the same age with incredible results, so we felt we had made a good decision.

We went to Pomerado Hospital at 5 AM on the morning of the 3rd. We had really great nurses that made feel Rose very comfortable. She was prepped for surgery, then we had plenty of wait time for our doc to come in. He arrived and made sure we were ready to go. Then a BIG BURLY doc came over and picked Rose up to take her to the OR. I was surprised when Rose didn't make a peep when he took her. It was like a big grizzly bear taking her away. We said goodbye and off she went without any tears. Andy had to get to work, so off I went in search of a diet coke while our little trooper was in surgery. (Priorities!) The operation took about an hour and a half and the doc came out to let me know she had made it through with flying colors. (I was a little perturbed I didn't get enough reading time in while I waited....but what are you going to do.) I was taken back to the recovery room where she was just waking up from the anesthesia. She cried when she saw me, but that was about the only time. After a while I was able to take her home. We were back at the house by 10:30 AM. We were told it would take her about a week to fully recover. In reality it took her that first day of rest, and one rough night, then the next day she was off and running with her best friend from the neighborhood, Lexie. She is now such a sound, silent sleeper, I have to listen to make sure she is breathing.

I LOVE Pomerado Hospital. All 3 kids were born there in the same room (OR for c-sections). I was in the same room for the rest of our stays with Rose and David, then a different room for Joey. I know 2 other people who had babies in the same room I recovered in with Joey. I love that it's a good small town feeling place and have had excellent care there every time I have been there for my family. Yeah for Pomerado!!

January in San Diego

What do you do when it's mid January and 85 degrees? Head to the beach! It's nice that we still have so much free time during the week with David and Rose in preschool for a few hours in the mornings. We went to the beach and enjoyed a nice warm day with few people to be found. I will miss these days of picking up and finding things to do at the drop of a hat. Happy Sunday!

Christmas in Seattle, aka the JETS game fiasco

(Ann & Harlan at JETS / Seahawks game)

So my husband Andy had a great idea to visit my brother Dave and family in Seattle for the holidays. "Oh, and by the way...the JETS are playing the Seahawks the Sunday before Christmas". The plan was for Andy to fly up for the weekend, go to the game with my brother and 2 other friends who were coming to Seattle for the sole purpose of attending said game, fly home to work for a few days, fly back up at a super convenient time for a trip out to the airport...7:30 PM on Christmas eve, then spend a few more days there before heading home to get back to work. WELL.....very long story not so short, Andy never did make it up to Seattle for the JETS game. We all were able to board the plane heading up to Seattle, but the super great head flight attendant (who has no kids) on our flight decided Andy wouldn't be making the trip up with us. Joey, the 2 year and 2 week year old, WOULD NOT stay buckled in his seat. The guy is Houdini. Every time we buckled him in, ho got out of it. They kept coming by to inform us they couldn't take off without him buckled, but then we would wait for a long time without taking off....he would squirm out, they would come tell us to buckle him..... we sat at the gate, he squirmed out, they came to tell us off.... you see where this is going. All the while. Joey was crying and yelling. Yes, we were that family everyone looks at and wonders why they can't deal with their kid. Now Andy, who is so level headed at all times, started to get into it with the one particularly nasty attendant. He asked if we couldn't let Joey just sit on a lap for take-off as he had done literally 2 weeks prior. (I took Joey to Oakland to visit my other brothers, Greg and Dale.) "The FAA won't allow us to take off".....blah blah blah.... screaming and crying, arguing between Andy and the head attendant (and I even raised my voice to her.... they were being pretty unreasonable) something about the FAA kissing Andy's butt or something and we were headed back to the gate so Andy could get off the plane. We finally did take off and made it Seattle. There was one truly super great attendant who helped me get from the gate to baggage claim. (pretty far in Seattle, even when you aren't trying to wrangle a 4 year, 3 year and 2 year old plus 5 carry on items, 3 blankets, and 4 coats) She was the one who ratted out the other gal about being less than tolerant regarding kids as she had none.



The JETS game. Seattle had about the worst storm they had ever had the day we got there. The game was the next day. The weather was so bad that one friend who was flying in never did make it either, and the other friend who did make it had a hard time getting back home the following Monday as all trains were stopped heading South to Portland. With 2 extra tickets, sis-in-law Lizzy and I decided it would be great fun to go to the game with brother Dave and Andy's friend Harlan. So, we put on about 8 layers of clothes and off we went. We ended up having a blast. The game was blizzard conditions, but a great time. The JETS lost, so it was probably just as well Andy didn't make it. My 4 nieces did a WONDERFUL job of babysitting their cousins.



My brother and fam live in Issaquah at the top of a mountain. The area had snow storms for about a week. Their house got loads of snow, so we had a wonderful white Christmas. Rose is now the sledding Queen. David liked it too, but nothing like Rosie. Joey usually napped during prime sled time, but he got some time in too.



Andy did make it up, but even that was iffy as the weather was so bad. He got some good sledding time in too with the kids. He stayed a few days and had to head home while we stayed on and celebrated New Years eve, then came home. Niece Sally made the trip home with us to help me travel with the 3 kids. She spent the weekend here then flew home. The unfortunate part was she spent a few days sick with a stomach bug Joey caught and graciously shared with everyone. (He threw up the entire flight home, but that's a story for another time.) All in all, a good time was had by all. Thanks to the Seattle Heffernans for hosting us for a lengthy visit.