Stage One Dance

Today was G's first dance competition of the year. She was in 3 dances.

Spoonful of Sugar recieved a high gold and 5th place high points.
5 of the 7 girls in costume.



Crazy Feet recieved a high gold and 3rd place high points.





Mad Scientist (which is a production number with the whole company) recieved platinum and 2nd place high points as well as a costume award.

The studio has a whole did really well, all high gold and platinum awards and every dance placed for high points. The studio also recieved the Spirit of Competition Award which is given to the studio that is polite, friendly, helpful, and shows a positive attitude.

Surgery Day

Let me start by saying my daughter is a nut!

She has tried several ways to avoid this surgery, she contemplated removing her arm and hiding it. We discussed and decided that the surgery to put it back on would probably be worse then the surgery to have her bump removed. She though maybe she would just skip over Tuesday but couldn't figure out how and I told her then she would just have to have surgery on another day. So finally she decided it was inevitable.

We had to be at the hospital this morning at 0545 so I got T up at 0500. On the way to the hospital she was listing all the stuff that wasn't open yet; McDonald's, Walgreen's, the grocery store, STARBUCKS! She decided no one should have to go anywhere before Starbucks opened, I agreed with her. : )

We settled in the APU with out any problems, she sat in her recliner and watched Camp Rock 2. She rode her "carriage" down to the OR and I went with her to the holding area. They asked her to mark her surgical site with a marker and she drew a heart around it : ) One of the corpsman blew her up a glove balloon. She was really impressed with having a balloon I could touch (I am allergic to latex so balloons are a no no for me) and she kept trying, with out success to blow her own up.

The anesthesiologist explained to us that he would give her some gas (perfume) and she would go to sleep and then he would put the IV in and give her some more meds to put her under. My little nut decided right then that she was not going to like the perfume and that she was not going to smell it. She spent the rest of the time in the holding area holding- her nose! Things apparently did not get better in the OR because Aunt C (good family friend and OR nurse!) said she hoped T would forgive her.

Surgery went well no splint on her arm just internal stitches and Dermabond. Recovery so far has been smooth. She loved her wheelchair ride down to the car. Her local has just now started to wear off so we are using Tylenol, Motrin, and ice for pain and swelling. We have T3 to give her but are hoping not to use it.

Tomorrow is The Day

T's surgery date is finally here. I still don't know what time but probably early tomorrow morning. My in-laws are coming this evening so they can be here for the other 2 kids and W and I can both be with T.

Puppy Update-

House training is going pretty well. We have had a few accidents in the house- mostly when everyone is busy and no one is watching Gonzo closely. I took her to the vet last week and they gave her antibiotics for her snotty nose. She has also been REALLY itchy though and they could not find any cause for that so we went ahead and started her on benadryl. She still chews and scratches some but not nearly as much as before.

Happy New Year!

We had a great Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa S came the week before and then spent Christmas in Hawaii with S and H. Both the girls sang in the children's choir at Christmas Eve mass and G had a solo. We spent a quiet Christmas day with just our little family- packing. The kids and I left the day after Christmas for Virginia to spend the week with my brothers and their families and my parents. What an eventful trip!

3 hours into our 15 hour drive we hit a piece of metal on the road and blew the drivers side rear tire.

We spent the rest of the day in Auburn AL trying to find a place that was open that had our tire, on Sunday, the day after Christmas. The next morning at our second stop we found a tire and were back on the road only to have to stop again 3 hours short of our destination due to icy roads.

Once we finally arrived we had a great time and the kids really enjoyed getting to spend time with their cousins. We went to the Aquarium and celebrated Noon Years Eve at the Children's Museum. But the big surprise was Grandma's. For Christmas she took us all to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg to spend 2 days and 1 night at their indoor waterpark. All the kids had a blast "surfing", riding the water slides, playing on the lilly pads, and just soaking in the hot tub!

The way back was a little less eventful we made it in only 2 days and the only incident was E getting sick at the hotel. But things got interesting when we got home. I had been telling W that I wanted a puppy for my birthday. We got home Sunday and W suggested we go get a puppy on Monday since he had the day off. I started looking on the internet for shelters that had puppies and were open on Monday and found "Bear" at the Hotel for Cats and Dogs. They have a 24 hour waiting period to take you pet home but it was 5 pm and they were open till 7. We loaded the kids back in the car and headed to the shelter. "Bear" was just as cute and sweet in person as she looked in her picture and the kids were so excited about her that the shelter director let us take her home! After a stop at Walmart for a collar and leash GONZO was home to stay!

Everyone is adjusting well to the new puppy, even T who is not a big dog fan loves her. Gonzo was already "crate trained" when we got her so it is no surprise that she hasn't pottied in her crate at home but she has slept through the night both nights without whining. She has pooped in the house twice but has always waited to go out to pee. We train by putting a bell on the door where we want the dog to go out and then we ring the bell every time we take her out. It doesn't take long for the dog to learn to ring the bell to go out. Gonzo is not ringing the bell yet but she does come to the door and wait for me to put her leash on when I ring it so I don't think it will be long.