Hockey!

I went to practice today. Of note is that while my shoulder was a little sore at the end I don't think I damaged it or slowed my healing in any way. On the fun side, I got to shoot on goal and did an ok job. Now if I could just lift that puck.

Good news today.

My shoulder is up to 155 degrees of active motion. That means that I can rotate my arm, under my own power, to 155 degrees. This is an improvement of 15 degrees in one week. This is really nice because I had been on a plateau for so long. Go me.

Today sucks!

Plain and simple. I know it's barely started for most of you, but I was up till 5:00 this morning (long story I probably won't blog about), and was up again at 9:00. The good and bad of this is that I will be able to go back to bed when I get home from PT. Why is that good AND bad you ask? Good because I will get to sleep more. Bad, because the reason that I'm sleeping is due to the fact that I return to work tonight. Yep, after 4 long months off for my shoulder I go back tonight, and it really sucks.

These last 4 months have been great because I've really gotten a taste of what I had been missing. I was able to spend time with our little family all together, I had weekends, and I could relax.

Now, as far as jobs go, I do like mine so that eases the pain a little. So tonight, while you"re having that end of the week cocktail, and then later snuggling down into your cozy bed, think of me at hanging out at work all night long.

Perhaps one of the longest days ever

What happened in the morning and afternoon seem rather inconsequential at this point in time. It was what happened at the end of the day that really got me.

The girls and I had gone to have a very nice dinner with Liz and Val. A single girls night out so to speak since Bill had a work function and Andrea was playing hockey. During dinner Sam managed to spill most of a bowl of miso soup on herself and we still had shopping to do after dinner. Sooooo, when we got to the mall I pulled Sam into the front of the car, changed her clothes, and proceeded to get out of the car to get Riley. In a sequence of events that happened faster than I could ever believe Sam hit the lock buttons on the car, hopped out, and the door got shut locking Riley in the car, strapped in her carseat.

At this point in time I was very thankful for 2 things. First, that it was not a hot, sunny, summer day and second, that Liz was with me. Having Liz there enabled me to stay right by Riley's side, who was rather distressed and crying at this point. Liz got mall security who in turn called the fire department.

After 3 hours (really about 20 minutes), they were finally able to open the car door and set my baby free. Even though nothing horrible happened, and realistically she was not in danger, it was still horrible. That was my baby in there and I couldn't get to her.

The girls told the story over and over last night on the way home, then to Bill when we got here, and once again this morning when they woke up. Their version goes something like this:
Sam: I push button, lock Riley in car. Firefighters come, help Riley.
Riley: Yeah, firefighters get me out.
Sam: I don't push buttons again.
Both: Firefighters help other people too.

They both got stickers and are no worse for wear.

Little Bing Bong update.

Apparently Little Bing Bong is now in Disneyland and we have to go get her. That was the update from Big Bing Bong this morning.

Could this be Viv's long lost sister?

Just wandering about the internet and ran across SoopahGrover. Thought she might be a long lost friend of our one and only, SoopahViv.

P.S.

For those of you keeping track I have finally posted the last of my Easter pics and I did not play hockey last night. Instead I sat around and pouted instead of playing. Pphhhlllzzzzzttttt.

Thanks to Heather and Jennie for piquing my interest.

Just what I needed to know - what kind of cheesecake I am.

You Are a Turtle Cheesecake

Decadent, and over the top... you just go for it! You dream big and aren't afraid to follow your dreams. You are definitely larger than life.

What Kind of Cheesecake Are You?

Reader poll

Don't let me down my faithful few.

Tomorrow I have my first hockey game of the new season, and the first game since I went out with my shoulder injury. Rehab has been coming along, but today my Physical Therapist tried to work my shoulder so hard that I wouldn't be able to play tomorrow. Bill doesn't think it's a good idea either because he believes I am too competitive and won't self limit.

So, I'm taking a poll. What do you, my faithful (and easily bribable?) readers, think I should do? Should I play or sit it out a little longer?

Happy Birthday Grandma (Mom)!

The girls made cupcakes for my mom for her birthday today. They had a great time mixing up the flour, eggs, etc., pouring them into the cupcake papers, and then watching them go into the oven. They were not so excited to wait for them to bake. Afterwards Stacey helped the girls to decorate them just in time for Grandma to get here. They were so cute singing their version of Happy Birthday for her. I wish I had it on video.

Oh yeah, they also helped her blow out her candles of course.

Even toddlers need to redefine themselves occassionally

This morning Sam, who we often call Bing Bong, declared that little Bing Bong was all gone. This made me more sad than you can imagine. It then got interesting because she declared that she was now big Bing Bong, and that little Bing Bong was in her bedroom crying. She quickly went to take care of little Bing Bong, and gave her hugs and kisses to feel better. Soon there were 3 little Bing Bongs in her room crying, but never fear she made them all feel better in the end and took them on a picnic with a lunch she packed for them.

Carwashers for hire

So, I get home from physical therapy this week to find all 3 girls out
front washing the cars while my parents supervise.

Sam had a great time with the hose soaking everyone in sight including
Stacey who was trying to get it so she could rinse the car. She thought
it was great fun until she inadvertantly sprayed herself.

Riley OTOH, liked filling the bucket, watching the water dance, and
spraying the cars. The most excitement she had was hosing down Stacey's
car which was already clean. She also liked wiping the car down with the
rag, for about 2 swipes.

They both stomped around in the water a bit, played in the bucket of
suds, and when they were freezing cold came in to be hosed down with
warm water, dried, and dressed.

Smokey Joe's Cafe

Last night I went to see Smokey Joe's Cafe at the Center for Performing Arts. I was really expecting a better show as it had received great reviews elsewhere, but I was sorely disappointed. Mostly the shows I see at the Center are pretty good, but there have been some real bummers. Even with those I have stuck it out through the whole show. Last night I actually left at intermission. So not my style.

The singing was totally cabaret as Simon Cowell would say. They wouldn't have even made it past the auditions on American Idol. The dancing was just as bad. I think I could have seen better at my local high school play or theme park. There wasn't one stand out in the cast. To top it off, 2 of the women did a fan dance, and didn't even take off one stitch of clothing. What's up with that? If you're gonna bust out the fans, then ya better be planning to use them for their intended purpose.

The most entertaining part of the night was at intermission where it appeared that some guy had brought his personal prostitute to the show. She was wearing a strapless dress that was probably 20" long from the top to the hem. It had feathers all around the bottom, and was accompanied by a leopard print stole with what appeared to be rabbit fur trim. As for accessories, her heels were about 6 inches high with a wide, spiked ankle strap and she was wearing a dog collar. Quite the sight.

Great Easter Weekend

This past weekend was busy, but tons of fun. We started off with photos with the Easter Bunny and actually got a fairly decent family shot. As usual, the people there were great, and even allowed us to us our own camera for photos (because we were buying some as well.)

Later that night I got to see Val take her first multiple steps in a row. When it happened again at the ice rink everyone cheered and she got a bit spooked, but I'm happy to say she's still trying. Nothing's gonna stop her.

Saturday we colored Easter eggs, and it was the best year yet. The girls really got into it, coloring their eggs with the wax crayon before putting them in the dye. Also, it was Val's first egg coloring experience and she seemed to enjoy it as much as the girls. All 3 had temporarily dyed hands. Aunt Cathy was there to help too, so I actually got to color some eggs myself.

The only sad point of the weekend was when some lame-o backed into Moblucar. It was a low speed thing though, and noone was hurt including Ms. Val who slept through it all in her car seat.

Sunday was an all day Easter extravaganza for the girls. They ended up celebrating all day with multiple egg hunts, multiple Easter baskets, family, friends, and of course some good food. Bill celebrated with all the foods he loves, Golden Rod eggs, ham, green beans, potatoes, and a lot of bacon sprinkled here and there.

It was a fairly relaxed day/weekend. I hope all of our Easters in the future are like this.

Circle Hunt

I don't know why, but I decided to start photographing all the circular things in my office, so I could square them. I got bored after a while, but you can see the results on my Flickr page.

My hubby is the best!

And not for what he did today, but that certainly earned him some extra points. What did he do today? He committed to getting me the quilting machine I've been wanting, and had me put down a significant deposit on it. I can't wait to pay the rest, so I can have it delivered and start stitching away.

Thanks hubby!

My little firefighters

Today my girls decided to be firefighters. They have put much thought and preparation into their play. They located the fire (it was near their play kitchen, but not in it), found tools to put out the fire (a rolling pin, wooden pizza box, and some dishes), and donned their protective gear (a coat with a hood) before going to work. After about 2 minutes they had the fire put out, but amazingly it kept springing back up. Finally, after about 45 miniutes, they had the fire out for good. They charged through the house cheering their victory.

Throughout their play I discovered the rolling pin was a fire hose, the dishes held water for extinguishing the flames, and the coats with hoods were of course a firefighter coat and hat. I never did figure out what the pizza box was for although it appeared to be some sort of transport mechanism.

My Mommies sent blueberries in my lunch...

...and I had a great time eating them along with some banana bread.

Thank you Mommies!

Love,

Val

You know, I thought it was just me

I thought it was just me that was in the blogging funk (I think it may be cured), but then I have been noticing that many of my friends are also not blogging so much anymore. There are a few of you that are keeping up for the rest of us, and for this I thank you. The rest of you, "Get on it!"

Early morning/late night haiku

Baby snores are cute,
Adult snores keep you awake.
I am not sleeping.