Weekly Update

Ages ago, I used to send out an email that summed things up for the week. This morning I was looking for things to delete on my computer to free up some space, and I came across some of my old updates. It was fun to read the summaries of what was going on with us as we ended our time in UT and started our new life in TX. O is currently at a playdate so I am taking advantage of this time to recap the week. I hope to make this a regular feature of the blog, we'll see if it a realistic hope.

Overall, the Hills have had a good week.

Sunday morning O woke us up early to hunt for eggs. The night before she struggled going to sleep because she was so excited. The funny thing about it was, she was more excited for the Easter Bunny to come than she was for Santa to come in Dec.

Monday I went to a DBSA meeting. I haven't been to one since I lived in SA. I had to travel to Baltimore to go and it was well worth the drive, not only for the alone time in the car, but for the conversations of the evening.

Tuesday we had preschool in the morning and that evening we actually got to spend time with LT because he is done with school. Hooray.

Wednesday, we ventured into Baltimore for O to have a PT assessment. Our insurance sent us to Kennedy Kreiger. Talk about breaking out the big guns. As soon as we walked in there I knew we were way out of our league. It's nice to know that our insurance will send us to a cool place like that if we need it. O intoes and the PT doesn't seem to think it is a big deal. Well, I do! She complains of pain in her knees and she trips over her own feet, all of the time. Joints aren't made to work they way that O uses them. I'm going to take the assessment to the manual PT I worked with last summer and get a second opinion. I'd rather correct things early than deal with the dysfunction it creates later in life.

Thursday we had preschool, went shopping, watched a Tinkerbell movie and then LT took care of O while I cleaned our bathrooms. Gross. Then LT and I talked for 2 1/2 hours. It was almost like being on a date. We enjoyed uninterrupted conversation but I didn't worry about rushing home to relieve whoever was watching O.

So far today, I've been to the gym and chiropractor. O is at a playdate and I am trying to organize my thoughts and my house. LT will be busy with something tonight so it is just us girls. Hum, what to do.

Have a great week all

Much love

The Hills

On the Nightstand

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. I'm about halfway through this one. Last fall when the second to last book of the series was released, I decided to read the series again. It's a rich story with so many characters and I'd lost track of some of them. I'm getting a lot more out of it this go around. Then again, I'm keeping notes of who is who and where they are and why they are important. I knew this little reading project could take about a year. It is a lot of fun.

Study Guide for the State of MD Jurisprudence Exam.

Quite boring. But, it is a necessary step in getting licensed here. I hope to take the test sometime in May or June and then apply for my MD Massage License. Wa-hoo!!

Fibromyalgia: A Guide for Massage Therapists by Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, CD-N, RH

I haven't started this one yet, but now that LT is done with his schooling, it is my turn to get the study on. I'm excited to learn more about what I can do to help others with Fibromyalgia. I need to complete some CEUs to be eligible to renew my National Certificate.

Deep Tissue Massage by Dr. James Mally

This ought to be a review of what we covered in school. As I look through it, not a lot of it looks new, but I don't really care. I LOVE deep tissue, fascial release, structural integration philosophy and massage. Wa-hoo!!! (again)

Things that made me smile this week.

On Thursday at preschool, some of us briefly talked about travel. The conversations reminded me of all of the really cool places I've visited. Wow, I'm so lucky. This world is so big it's hard for me to comprehend the number of individuals who breathe on this amazing planet. I've got the itch to travel again. Maybe this time LT and I will do it together.

I booked a room at a hostel in DC for our anniversary in May. 10 years. I can hardly believe it. I think we've been together for 7 of those years. ha ha ha

O playing Wii Just Dance.

Beautiful blossoms on the bushes in my front yard.

The DBSA meeting on Monday. It made me smile to step into another persons life and hear them speak my thoughts. We are ALL connected in this crazy old world. I love being reminded of those connections.

The burn in my muscles that lasted for two days following my BodyPump class on Monday.

Puzzles in my Puzzler

Is it fair for people in jail to keep their right to vote? When and how should that right be restricted if it should be restricted at all? Does it depend on the crime, the type or severity? Does revoking that privilege interfere with their constitutional rights? Lots of thoughts on this one.

Happy Easter, a few days late.

Bingo

as promised, here is the video of the bingo song.

Green Monkeys in Japan

What do green monkeys in Japan and preschool graduation have in common???

You guessed it. OLIVIA!!!

O "graduated" from preschool on the 15th, but not really because she will be going there again next year. So this year was just for practice.

O went to the Nichols Bethel United Methodist preschool here in Odenton. I love, love, LOVE the program. The teachers couldn't be any better. O had a great time being there, she looked forward to going, she learned a lot and made a lot of fun friends. I loved that she received a Christian based education too.

There are some differences between Mormon culture and Methodist culture and I got a kick out of some of the differences. The songs O learned aren't the type you would hear in Primary, and they caught me off guard. For example, one day she busted out in a familiar tune, but with different lyrics. Instead of singing, "There was a farmer, had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O" She sang, "There is a man who lives in me and Jesus is his name-o. J-E-S-U-S". I laughed and laughed and laughed and told her she was a wonderful singer. She had no idea I was just not sure how to respond to it. Songs we sing about Jesus tend to be a bit more reverent. Either way, I thought it was great. (I'll post the video of it in the next post.)

The other week we were at the doctors office to get shots. I asked O if she would hold my hand when I got mine and she told me, "If you're afraid, God will give you courage". I love that God is apart of her conversation. She thinks about how He works and what He has created and how He has asked us to treat people. I'm happy to send her there next year.

The church where she goes to school is being renovated and the construction crew is ahead of schedule. So, school had to end a month early. I'm so sad this preschool ended a month early. O doesn't know the difference but I sure do. The three afternoons a week I had for errands, appointments and other stuff is no longer available. At least we still have our little co-op until June to keep us busy. But, enough about that, I need to tell you about her graduation.

It lasted about 15 -20 minutes. That is as long as the kids could stand/sit still. The ceremony was held in the worship hall and the kids entered through the back of the room in a procession to the front. There were lots of stops and starts, waves, smiles and pictures. Once up front the "graduates" led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang a bunch of songs. The teachers then gave out awards, we took pictures and then everyone had cake. It was perfect, nice, short and sweet. Oh, and by the way, my camera totally sucks. Sorry about the poor quality.

Blowing a kiss

Thoughtful pose

Posing for the camera after her name is called.

Her wonderful teachers

Her good friend J. He was NOT in the mood for pictures, AT ALL.

O and J enjoying post ceremony treats.

Green Monkeys in Japan

A very enthusiastic Pledge of Allegiance

Simply Irresistible

We took a trip to Storyville with some friends and one of them snapped this shot. O is peeking out of a hole in a log the kids can climb through. If we were playing a game of "whack-a-mole" and this little creature popped her head up, what would you do? I know I wouldn't be able to resist squeezing her cheeks off. Cute little monster.

Girly Girl

Balance.

Life is about balance, right?

Fortunately we can balance Os Star Wars obsession with a dose of girly girl stuff, like hair bows, fake nails and jewelry.

On a side note, she has a major crush right now. When she talks about her boy, who is completely oblivious about the whole thing, she blushes and gets all giddy. In fact, she listened to a message he left for her inviting her over for a play date and she ran around the room and jumped up and down with excitement. It took her a long time to wind down before bed.

I love that my girl will play in the dirt, hold worms and touch snakes, and then clean up and want to paint nails, play house, dress up in skirts and twirl around to music. I love that she can be teased and teases back. I love that there is some balance in her life. I hope it is something that will stay with her. I hope she can explore without too many boundaries generated by fear. And, I'm happy I get to participate in being a girly girl with her.

Pretty flower clip to show off her pretty face, (and dental mirror?

O pretends to kill all of the storm troopers in her mouth.)

Princess nails.

(Although it's kind of creepy, I can picture those nails

in a horror show at Halloween)

Princess earrings, bracelets and a necklace. This girl is set up.

Star Wars!!!!

O is obsessed with Star Wars. Literally, obsessed. I blame LT.

Anyway, I have a cool little story to share about this snazzy outfit O is wearing in the picture below.

A long, long time ago, in a state far, far away, I played soccer. (I rocked it in the goal, seriously, I was awesome. Then again, we had the best team in the state and our defense made sure the ball stayed away from me. That's how I totally rocked it in the goal. ) I played with some really cool people too.

Okay, my attempt to copy Star Wars ends here.

Through Facebook, I reconnected with one of my former teammates. She has a son that is really into Star Wars too. She had a SW themed birthday party for him and she made robes and light sabers for the guests. Lucky for O, one of her guests didn't show up so she sent her goods to us. O was THRILLED!!!

Thank you JWL, I wish you could have witnessed the joy you brought to my little girls life. Many, many thanks!

Behold My Little One

I blame "Parent Trap".

The other week, I was out for the evening and O and her Daddy had a movie night. They watched "The Parent Trap". It was the recent one. O really liked it. So much so that she imitated some of the scenes in the movie. The first being the haircut.

One morning before church, she proudly announced she had cut her hair. I couldn't really tell but I think any parent who hears that panics a little. I asked her where the scissors were she used to cut her hair. She told me, "In the box". Hum..... She took me to this little basket and showed me the hair and scissors. Whoa, that was a lot more hair than I thought. At least you can't tell unless I pull her hair back in a ponytail. It blends in with her bangs that are growing out. What a relief, it could have been so much worse.

The next scene she imitated was the scene where the girls pour stuff all over the cabin floor, along with other nasty pranks. I didn't get a picture of this, but O poured a 20 oz bottle of water all over the floor in her play room. Grrrrrr.

My favorite "Parent Trap" contribution is our new treat. Oreos dipped in peanut butter. OH MY!!!! I don't think I'll ever be able to eat plain oreos again. So, so, so good!!