PUPPIES!

Madison LOVED seeing the puppies but was not exactly sure what to do with them. She could not actually play with them but she did try several times to get in the whelping box. She doesn't quite understand yet that she is going to get one. Here is the link to the website for the breeder: http://furfeathers.thruhere.net/Puppies.htm

Daddy got to enjoy holding the puppies as well. Thankfully he was not allegic to them. I am sure he will love our new little one like he adores Abby!

And I had to share my new favorite picture. I didn't think Madison would stick around for me to get the camera but thankfully, she did and this is the one we got. I just love it! And it has her natural smile - not the forced one we have seen in several recent pictures. Henry made the picture as well!

New fun at the job

So I guess they have finally decided to let us in on the really badly held secret. They are selling off our company in chucks - partly to Deloitte, partly to PwC and who knows about the rest. There are have been numerous calls today to go over that they just don't know much at this point, that it will be on a project by project, country by country basis and that they will know more in a couple weeks. Oh the FUN! Trying not to stress about it but there is a definite level of uncertainty there. Guess I should get back into looking at Monster......



On a completely different note, Madison is doing MUCH better thankfully. She is back to eating well and her smile is back too! We took her to see the puppies this weekend and I think she really liked it. I will post a picture soon.

So it has been a bit crazy

I am way way behind in everything, including updating this blog. Last week's work schedule prohibited anything social during the evenings.......so that explains last week. Chris went to Nags Head on Friday and of course, Madison wasn't feel well. We had a long night on Friday which resulted in a trip to Urgent Care on Saturday morning b/c the doc office was triple booked (even if the parking lot didn't look like it). Madison was great for us being so unprepared for going to Urgent Care and sitting for a couple hours. A prescription for an ear infection later and we were out of there.

Then it was off to SC to visit the Mahoney's. We had a wonderful time playing with everyone and spending some low key time together. Great family, great food = great trip! The funny thing is we ran into an old friend we knew in Texas while in elementary school - completely random. It was so nice to see her and meet her family!

We thought we are doing well after a full nights sleep on Sunday night but Madison came down with a stomach virus on Monday afternoon and it has been crazy since. Throwing up on Monday, fever on Tuesday, actually went to school on Wednesday but cried the whole day, went to school on Thursday for 30 min until I couldn't handle it anymore and brought her home, to Friday doc appt to say she isn't dehydrated or have a urinary tract infection and hopefully the virus has about run its course.......I'm tired!! Hopefully we are at the end and will have a quiet weekend.

So not much (besides that) has been happening. Looking forward to getting our puppy but that is a whole other post.....

Excuse for a Popsicle

So Madison had a little bump with the basketball hoop. In my defense, it is really hard to get her up high enough to put the ball through the hoop. Apparently, I got too close. Her lip only bleed a little but I thought this was the perfect time to break out a popsicle. Madi has had popsicles before at the Mahoney's but not at home. Plus is was 80 degrees so we had to have one. Mommy had one too. Too bad it is going to be rainy and 40 some degrees this weekend. Well it won't be too long until it gets nice and stays that way. She does look adorable doesn't she!

I actually made it through my run!

And it wasn't as bad as I thought. This week's training sets it up a bit and I actually ran over 1 1/2 miles. That is huge for me! And it wasn't as bad as I thought. I didn't die as I crossed my mile marker. So I am really happy. Don't get my wrong - it was hard but I said a TON of positive affirmations as I ran through each interval. Shocking to thinking that on Friday's run - it just says run 2 miles! WOW! I am sure I will make it!!!

Had a great weekend. Friday night we were low key and Chris was getting the Supra ready for the car show the next morning. This requires a bit of time. Saturday morning we had the Car and Coffee show at Northlake. It was a lot of fun. Madison and I had breakfast with Carmen and Jacob and walked around the cars. Neither child was really up for that so we took them to the playground at the mall. The great thing was it was so nice out there was NO ONE at the mall playground. YEAH!!

Saturday afternoon, Madison had a birthday party at Little Gym. She had the best time. I will post pictures later. She definitely did not want to leave. But she slept great on Saturday night because she was exhausted.

Yesterday, Heather came to visit us. She is a friend from middle and high school living in San Franciso with her family. There is a chance she is moving here so she came to visit her office and had dinner with us last night. It was so much fun to see her and catch up. We figured it out - it had been over 4 years since we had seen each other. A LOT had happened since then.

Now I am starving so I am off to eat but I will post pics of Madison later.

Goals for this year

So based on the mantra listed below that was provided by my father.....Here are some things I want to accomplish this year for me - not my family, house or career but for me.

• Run at least one 5k (training for one at the end of April)
• Learn Spanish
• Catch up on my scrapbooking

Let's start with these 3 and see how it goes.

New Mantra

"If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't

If you like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will -

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself

before You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!"

From Napoleon Hill's "Think & Grow Rich"

Footprints in the Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed

he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:

one belonging to him,

and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life

there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very

lowest times of his life.

This really bothered him and

he questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that once I had decided to follow you,

you'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you the most

you would leave me."

The Lord replied,

"My son, My precious child, I love you and would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you only see one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you."

Author unknown

Busy Busy Busy!

So a lot has gone on in the last several days. We had the funeral on Friday which was very very hard. The slideshow during the funeral was absolutely beautiful and brought tears to everyone's eyes. Rob's mom was an amazing person and I am sorry I didn't have a chance to meet her.

Following that, we had the Mahoneys in for the weekend and LOVED it!!! Friday night we hung out and were low key - what we needed after Friday day. Saturday was a zoo. We had the jewelry party in the afternoon - http://www.liasophia.com/index.html - beautiful jewelry and a lot of fun with friends. Unfortunately the weather was AWFUL - downpour all day long! Then we had everyone over in the evening and it was chaos. So much fun - I know the kids had fun and the parents were thrilled when the pizza arrived so that it got a little quieter for a little while.

Sunday we ran over to Concord Mills to get out before the snow hit. And did it ever. We didn't get that much snow - maybe 4 inches or so - but it was heavy and unfortunately we lost power for about 10-12 hours. That made it a bit chilly on Monday morning. And Madison was completely confused as to why we were sitting in the floor by lantern and she couldn't watch Backyardigans.

So that made for an interesting Monday. I got to spend the entire day with Madison and we had a great time. Not much work going on but it was nice to spend the day with her. The house was TRASHED but completely worth it. I can't believe that she already knows her numbers and colors and we are working on her letters - mainly everything is B or C or a number :-) She also has fun playing with all her animals and coloring. The number one thing though is to watch the Backyardigans and unfortunately we only have 6 episodes!