Not on my worst enemy!

So after two different doctor visits...we still have no solid answer as to what is taking over Avery's poor little body. Our best guess is poison ivy, which is not contagious but does look extremely scary!
These lovely "bumps" as she has taken to calling them are now on her legs, back, stomach, bottom, and even a few on the face...
But it always amazes me how truly resilient kids can be. Besides the reapplication of Calamine lotion, many doses of Benedryl, the long sleeves and pants in the 90 degree weather, and the occasional whining... she pretty much is walking around with a face like this...
Amazing!

We left our hearts in San Francisco

We almost didn't get there. Avery came home from preschool on Thursday with what she was proudly calling her "bug bites". I took her to Urgent Care and the dr. said he didn't think it was Chicken Pox... but he wasn't sure. With 12 hours to go before we were to catch a plane to San Francisco... I was slightly frantic. In the morning, they looked worse but still not blistery as Chicken Pox should. To be safe, Dusan took her back for a 2nd opnion and still the dr. said she thought it was jsut a bad reaction to something. Although she did end up having a double ear infection...it wasn't enough to keep us home. Ear infections are the equivalent to paper cuts in our house!
So here we are Day 2 after going to a comedy club the night before... on the ferry to Alcatraz. Having never been there before, this was Dusan's only request. We took a very informative audio tour. We got so lucky with the weather... it was gorgeous... in the 80's. We did alot of walking...after Alcatraz we had lunch at the Fog City Grille...then it was off to a night on the town.

We had dinner at Luna Park in the Mission District followed by dancing at Blondie's and then to fun club called Double Dutch. The city was extra lively since the weather had taken a turn for the better.

We ended our trip this morning with some Dance Revolution and Mario Olympics on Lisa and Frank's Wii game system. I can see how addicting having those games around could be.

We had a fun trip...too fast. But it was so nice having uninterrupted conversations and just getting to be together. We may make some plans to go back and actually take this kids next time. I think it would be interesting to try my luck at being a city mom!

Signed, Sealed, and Almost Delivered...

Here it is... my Action Research Paper aka Thesis Paper for my Masters Degree. Ironically the topic was Teacher Morale...which I could use a little of right now after losing all focus on everything else in life while trying to get this darn thing done. The look on my face is one of pride... or possibly I am saying a silent prayer of thanks to the Big Man for helping me survive the past 20 months...Whew.

It will be such an incredible feeling to not be pulled into the office at night after the kids are in bed (picture the hook from the Gong Show) to read, type, and study.

I can't tell you how fun a night of Lego towers, dollhouse, and watercolor sounds right now!

If your "hoppy" and you know it

The boys discovered this fine green fellow on our front windows just the other day. They were torn between patience and impulse...should they let him stay or go? Unfortunately the moment after I snapped this picture Mr. Green made his own decision to get the heck out of there. If it wasn't for the glare of my white pants in the window this could have been a really cool shot. I actually think this was the same grasshopper that managed to get himself under my heel in the dark the other night...hmmm....reincarnation perhaps? or kharma?

On to our most time consuming activity each week...baseball. Hunter has had a few opportunities during prctice to try his luck at catching. At first he was so hesitant to have those hardballs fired at him. But has learned to embrace the challenge. But my personal favorite part about his new opportunity is the gear...

A fun shot of Davin doing everything he could to make Avery crazy during a baseball practice. All he needed to complete this picture are two little red horns coming out of the top of his head. My paper is done... hoping to keep the updates coming along more frequently.