3/31/09

It's been QUITE a long time since I took a few moments to catch up this blog. Needless to say the Roberts family has definitely been on the run! Spring is SUCH a busy time! Since my brush with death with a few weeks ago (aka the flu), time has been hurtling by faster than ever! Both boys competed in their Odyssey of the Mind competitions and did great. Both of their teams advanced to state level competition. So there have been LOTS of extra practices of course...added to our already very busy schedule! We head up to Phoenix this weekend for the big competition! If they are top scorers, then we will be OFF to the World competitons! Woo hoo!

The photography business has been just awesome. Very, very busy. It has felt like the Christmas crunch around here lately! It's a GREAT problem to have. I attended another great photography conference over Spring Break in San Diego. That was really nice. And I am getting too excited over some new products and techniques! Just this week I ordered SEVERAL new rolls of seamless paper in all sorts of wonderful and fun colors! I can't WAIT for that to get here. Then I have just a couple of other things to gather and I will be ready to PLAY!!!! I'll also be looking for volunteers...so if you read this and are interested, shoot me a note! There is so much fun and exciting stuff going on with the whole photography business that I am thinking about adding a blog to my website so I can update it more regularly. I am not allowed to touch my website...too much potential for disaster...according to my dear hubby! But I'm quite handy with a blog and if he'll just add a simple button or link from my website...well that would solve everything! It's on my "to do" list! Along with a few hundred other things! LOL!

Another fun thing in our house....my sister, her hubby and two adorable boys are coming to Tucson to see us THIS SATURDAY!!! Woo Hoo! So we will be racing from the competition award ceremony Saturday after 5 p.m. to get back to Tucson and then down to the airport to get them! We have so many fun things planned while they are here! There are sunset horseback rides, hiking, the Desert Museum and a camping trip to the Grand Canyon! It will be a lively and action packed week for sure! Not there seems to be anything else at our house! I don't know what our family would do if we suddenly found ourselves with any semblance of free time or without a calendar slammed full of appointments and obligations! I do dream of it though! That is...when I slow down enough to sleep...which is NOT nearly enough lately. I am severely lacking in the sleep dept. here lately. I NEED to work on that!

Oh well...that's the catch up! Got to run again! Unfortunately, the laundry in this house does NOT do itself!!!!

Sleepless Nights

It is 3:46 a.m. right now and i cannot sleep. Every time I drift off at all, I seem to start coughing...or I just can't be still. This flu has whacked out my whole sleeping patterns. Not that i'm not tired! I've got plenty of THAT going on for sure. Just not the sleep results that go along with it. I'm not the only sleepless being in the house tonight. I see that Benjamin has passed through here at 1:37 this morning. How do I know this? Because I poured out a dose of medicine for him and left a note for him on the stairs that it was there. I figured he would come looking for something for his sore throat pain...and since I was planning to sleep well for the first time tonight...then he wouldn't have to wake me. He could just get it and go back to bed. I just told him in the note to jot down what time he took it so I would know when he could have another dose. Hence...the 1:37 pass through the kitchen. I found his note. What's really annoying is that once I'm up and sitting here doing something completely mindless and NOT trying to sleep...the cough completely disappears. Hmmmm. ain't life grand that way?

I was supposed to do pictures first thing in the morning, but I ended up rescheduling them because I cannot in good conscious bring a sweet healthy baby into the flu pit! Not with people still coming down sick every few days! I suppose that was the best decision, as I am still totally wiped out myself. The not sleeping thing, coupled with the coughing all day thing, coupled with I've been flat on my back, do not get up, do not pass go, do not collect $200 for three days thing...it really zaps you! We had a dinner thing last night for Chris's work, and I was practically crawling back in the door last night after dinner. And it was NOT a late night. But I could hardly talk by the time we got home because my throat was so exhausted. And I was coughing again. And I couldn't even begin to come close to finishing my dinner! That's a first! Anyway...this flu is taking an even bigger toll on me than I had realized and it's effects have been MUCH longer lasting and further reaching than I would have thought.

I really have no other news than exactly that tonight. Or I should say, this morning. It is nearly 4 a.m. and I'm just so tired. Going to try to slip back into bed and see if perhaps I can log at least one or two more hours before I face this new day. Now that I moved my appointment, there is NOTHING on the calendar. Like NOTHING. And THAT is a first in I don't know how long! If I wasn't so darned tired and worn out, I might be giddy with excitement. Instead...all I can think about doing with the day...is sleeping. Flu...it's a nasty thing!

Life With the Flu

I FINALLY feel like I turned the corner this afternoon. After a VERY rough start this morning that sent me right back to bed shortly after my FIRST attempt at starting the day, I seem to have finally gotten over the hump and actually feel somewhat, semi human tonight! Not great. My throat is STILL hurting. And there's the headache. And I'm quite tired as well. But I was able to take a whole shower today AND dry my hair all in one pass. That is a HUGE improvement over the rest of this week! I even managed to get fresh sheets on our bed and a LOT of Lysol coverage accomplished in our house! I'm exhausted tonight...but feeling....okay. Unfortunately...our Ben is NOT feeling okay. He went to bed MISERABLE with a sore throat. And chills. And body aches. And a fever of nearly 103. Awesome. It would seem as though he has picked up my disease. How very special. I told Chris...without a doubt...if all of our children are coming down with this....our Spring Break vacation then is OUT OF THE QUESTION!!!! We are supposed to go to San Diego again. But there is NO WAY I am taking three cranky, feverish children to the beach and trying to share a whopping 30 foot tin can with them while they hack and cough and cry and complain. NO THANK YOU!!!! We can all just stay home and die and be miserable in the comforts of home. I know the kids will be disappointed for sure if that's the way it shakes out. But the beach is ONLY fun if everyone is HEALTHY and happy when you go!!! Hopefully, our Ben will rest it all off tomorrow and feel just peachy by Saturday. But somehow....I doubt it. He was PRETTY miserable tonight. And it was a kind of misery that stoked an instant pang of recognition in me and rang only too accurately of this latest bout of mine! Here's hoping. But I think the Roberts will be spending Spring Break at home in the bed!!!! Pray mightily for us. This is bad stuff floating about our house! I am praying and hoping for the best...but truly expecting the worst!

Bad Decision

Going to Clara's play tonight was a bad, bad idea. It was entirely too ambitious considering my state and lack of sleep over the past two days. My fever and chills kicked in about 20 minutes into the performance. By that time I had been sitting there for nearly an hour as we had to get there early in order to get a decent seat. The last 20 minutes were unbelievably long. All in all...for a school play it was a very reasonable 40 minutes long. It just felt so much longer due to my state of illness. The first hour and a half I was home after the play was miserable. My throat was hurting so badly. I was nauseaus. Horribly. And freezing again from the chills. I did my pathetic salt water gargle...or the best impression of it that I could manage considering I was trying not to vomit. Then tried hot tea to soothe it...but that only added to the nausea. All in all it was quite a setback and I felt like I lost a lot of ground. So now it's back to bed for me...this time with a whole new knowledge and appreciation of what my current limitations are. This flu is miserable, miserable business. But at least Chris is home now. Of course...he's terrified of getting it! No doubt about that and I can totally see it in his eyes. But at least he is here to help get the kids out the door to school. That in and of itself is a huge relief. That expediture of energy in and of itself has nearly killed me each day. Off to try to sleep now. Flu sucks.

Here's Hoping

Tonight is Clara's first grade play. I have been preparing myself all day for the fact that I HAVE to pull myself together enough to walk into that school and see her do her thing. Apparently she has some important parts. And it simply won't do for her not to have her parent there to witness her doing them! And since her Dad is sitting on an airplane, then it HAS to be me! And so I have dragged myself out of bed and made an attempt to comb my hair into something halfway respectable. I've put on a touch of makeup (not that I think it has really helped too much) and I have on something besides pajamas. And now...15 minutes before it's time to go...I"m totally exhausted and ready to go to bed! The throb is SOOOO happening in my throat...despite cup upon cup of hot tea and several salt water gargles. Oh...and about those...boy do I suck at gargling! I mean....Yikes! Every other time I've attempted it I've either ended up wearing a great deal of my salt water on my shirt, had it running out my mouth and down my face, or managed NOT to catch it at the back of my throat, only to have a nasty swallow/gag response that manages to flush the vile stuff right out my nose. Very graceful that gargling has been. I think my gag reflex might be a tad bit sensitive for any real productive gargling to be able to take place. Nevertheless...I have tried repeatedly anyway. And now I am getting ready to drag myself off to the school. Luckily Chris' mom is coming to drive us. Because I'm not sure I can do all of that. I'm wiped out so easily right now. And I am hoping and praying that just this once, the music teacher has seen fit to come up with a short and concise little musical play. Some of the ones in the past have been QUITE long and seem to drag on forever. Pleeeaaassse don't let that be the case tonight. Please let it be short and sweet. Well...it's nearly time to go. So here's hoping for short and sweet. I don't even care if it's sweet....I'm just really hoping for short!!! Here's hoping!

New Day....Same Crud

Well...my chicken soup was NOT a miracle worker. I do NOT feel cured. Not by long shot. Quite the opposite really. I think I have a full fledged case of the flu. The night and this day have been miserable. My throat has hurt...it feels like it wants to stick together on itself. And it's excruciating. I have battled a high fever off and on. It was 103 this morning as I was trying to talk the kids through getting ready for school. I knew without a doubt that there was no way I could get my feverish self into the car and pilot it that mile and a quarter to school. NO WAY. So I put in an early morning SOS call to Chris' mom and asked her to help me transport Ben and Clara. Ben was a sweetheart and helped Clara get her breakfast and all she needed to have so that they were both ready when Gigi arrived. I proceeded to spend the entire rest of the day here in the bed...where I am still hanging out as of 8 p.m. tonight. Still miserable. Still flu like. It's bad enough that Chris is coming home from his trip early. Not that there is much that he can do to help. It is one of those things that you just have to ride out...unfortunately. But if I die, it will be less traumatic on the kids if he is here. Just kidding. Seriously though...I do not know when I have known misery and discomfort like this. Needless to say...today has not been fun. It was REALLY not fun having to drag my feverish body into my computer desk and do the work that I left for today because I thought I would be cured. Some things can be put off until later work wise. But I was working with a client on a major deadline for some announcements they needed and I HAD to get that uploaded to the printing company for her. Everything else is simply sitting on hold for now until I can get my head clear a little bit and my body to stop hurting. Tomorrow is a new day. I again, am hoping for a miraculous cure tonight so I can go to bodycombat tomorrow. But I am not overly counting on that. There is a new heaviness this evening in my face and sinuses that I am finding quite uncomfortable. Seems as though the symptoms just keep on rolling themselves out. Patience. Just trying to be patient through all of this.

The Trials of Motherhood

Today has been less than stellar. Seriously. For starters, I woke up with a lovely, itchy throat. Initially, I wasn't overly concerned, since we had been outside much of the afternoon with a run, and then yardwork. It was windy and there is a lot of yellow stuff floating around in the air right now with spring approaching. But as the day wore on, the itch was more annoying...and soon became a tight, painful cough and very scratchy throat. By the time I got home from dance with Clara my throat was screaming and I was running a low grade fever. Nice. Awesome Lovely. We nuked chicken noodle soup for dinner. That felt nice on my throat for sure. My feverish self asked Max and Ben to help unload the dishwasher. You would have thought I had asked Max to single handedly deep clean the house, top to bottom, with a toothbrush. I was NONE too happy with his attitude. NONE at all. And it was a VERY bad night to pull such an attitude showing. I can't tell you how my body was aching, and how my throat was screaming as I watched Max and his antics. I was quick to step in and set him straight on a few things. He not only earned dish duty thanks to his attitude, but also laundry duty, bathroom duty and he lost his video game priviledges...again. Worse still...there is NO daddy at home right now to step in and smooth the path or save him. Chris is in Boston, so it was just Max and the wrath of mom. Not ideal...that's for sure. By the end of the night, after dishes and laundry folding, I think Max was definitely reconsidering his previous outburst of attitude. As he will continue to do over the next few days. Or weeks. Or months. Or the rest of his days under this roof. I think that the next time I request a small amount of help it will come quickly and gladly. Or it will at least appear to!

It is now 9:30 p.m. and I am starting to feel a little bit better thanks to a hefty dose of ibuprofen tonight! The aches and pains seem to have eased off a bit. The cough has quieted a bit. My chest and throat aren't screaming so much as I cough. Which is kind of nice. I have some work to do tonight...but I am letting it lie until morning. Unusual for me, for sure! Tomorrow is a new day and the work will still be there! It will keep. And with my ibuprofen and soup, I fully expect to be cured...like 100% tomorrow morning. Because it is my PLAN to head in to the gym and work out with my friend Jenny. I have missed her! Of course...we will have to see how I feel. And how Clara feels (who happens to feel miserable tonight with a tummy ache!). Hopefully everyone will make it out the door to school and have a fantastic, misery free day! Well...Max will most likely be pretty miserable for quite some time now that I yanked his video game priviledges. But I can live with that. No problem.

Tomorrow is a NEW day! And I am looking forward to it!

A Competitive Weekend

This has been a very busy and insane weekend for us. All three kids had competitions...simultaneously...on opposite ends of town! Max and Ben both had their Odyssey of the Mind competition this morning and their performances NEARLY overlapped. Chris accompanied them throughout their day. He got to observe Ben while his group performed. Then went screaching out of there and on to the next location to try to catch Max's. They had already shut the doors on that one...but he did get to at least observe it through the window! Meanwhile, I was down at the TCC with Clara while her cheer squad competed in the Cactus Jamfest. It was SO much fun to watch all of the little, and big, girls compete in dance and cheer! Her squad did SO awesome! They really nailed their routine and stuck every single stunt! I was amazed watching them out there. They were so bright and smiley and confident and sure of themselves. It was great to watch what at what time seemed like total chaos, really turn into something amazing. Here are some shots of the day!






Once the competition on Clara's end was finished, we headed back out to the other side of town to check out our boys! As we sat through the awards ceremony, we were thrilled and surprised to hear both of our boy's teams had performed really well and would be going on to the state level competition! This is awesome and exciting and a great opportunity for our boys. Of course...it totally complicates life as well! It means lots more late afternoon, after school rehearsals! Which means a lot more extra fun driving/mom taxi time for me! And it means being in Phoenix on the exact same day that my younger sister is flying in to Tucson for a week's visit! So we will arrive in Phoenix at the crack of dawn on that Saturday. Compete all day. Find out who scored well enough to head to the World level competition...then fly home like the wind JUST in time to slide on down to the airport and get Nikki! YIKES!!!! WHAT a day! It's not even here yet and I am exhausted!!!

I seriously could not be prouder of my kids today! All three of them competed so well and wonderfully! I am excited to be on this journey with the boys in Odyssey of the Mind again. I am excited to see my Ben pick up the torch and anxious to see how far he will dare to take it! I am thrilled that they made it to state level so that the next time they compete, at least will get to see it! It's an exciting time for all my kiddos! Even with JamFest behind us, Clara still has a lot of practice and preparation to do to get ready for her big recital. I am also nervous about that coming up, as it looks like she may have as many as four costume changes in the course of that short evening! Yikes! Big fun happening in the Roberts house! It appears as though it's going to be a wild ride from now until May! Yee Haw! Buckle down and hang on tight!

Clara's Cheerleading Rehearsal

Tonight, Clara had her last rehearsal before the big JamFest this weekend. It was a dress rehearsal . Her squad had worked so hard to pull this off! I was really surprised by the progress they have made in such a short time! I know it will be a super fun weekend for them competing and getting to watch the other squads! Here's the video of one of their runs! Clara is front, left with the long blonde ponytail. I tried to follow her, but those gals are ALL over the floor! I think I kept her on the screen most of the time! She always goes up on top of the pyramids, to the left side, should you lose her!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcGOyHP6mvY