Emmy is 7!!

My sweet, middle child, Emmy turns 7 today.  What a joy she has brought into my life; she is a constant source of wonder, laughter, and worry.  Our family wouldn't be complete without our

 "Monkey in the Middle"!!

 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!!!!

I'm tired...

I'm tired.

I'm cranky.

I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

I'm having a hard time spelling correctly.  

I'm usually a night person, but since I've been working out and exercising regularly, my endurance for staying up into the wee hours has been depleted.  There is only one thing stopping me from doing that consistently.  If you listen carefully, you can hear it:

bounce

bounce

bounce

bounce

bounce

That would be The Boy...my night owl.  HOURS after the girls are asleep, that boy is up, bouncing, talking, singing....I guess it is better than screaming.  Typically he is at this until 11:30 - 12:00 at night!!!

Once in a great while, hubby will sacrifice his sleep so I can get to bed at a decent hour, however, this is really hard on him because he starts work a good 2 hours earlier than I do and being Mr. compulsive on-time guy, that means he's there at least 45 min - 1 hour early...But I digress.  Tonight, I gave the boy Benadryl...it's not what you think...I'm not drugging my 2 1/2 year old.  He's having a really difficult time with his allergies (runny nose, coughing, itching) so I dosed him with a tinge of hope that the Benadryl side effect of sleepiness would kick in...NOPE....not working.  

Next solution: 

Talking to the babysitter about cutting down the daytime nap hours.

Sweet Dreams....grab 'em if you've got them!!

Oh the Drama....Fx4 - 24 Apr 09

I dug through my photos and found this one that my MIL sent me on one of the days Jack was at her house....This is his reaction to Elmo....Oh, the Drama!!!

Thanks phor stopping by on this phabulous Phriday Phiesta hosted by Candid Carrie!!!  So there to see who else is playing!!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

So remember when I shared the news that the world's worst office manager was let go here? My friend Brenda and I have been sharing the management duties since that glorious day; we quickly found out that the job was not a full-time (that woman would claim that she was working 12 hour days...what-ever...but I digress).  The one thing I naively thought would happen after the micromanagement umbrella was lifted was that the office staff would thrive and things would run smoothly.  Well, I have come to realize that that type of freedom only works for self-starters and our office doesn't necessarily have a lot of those.  So needless to say, there are people who have been just scraping by/ slacking their way through the day.  I had a conversation with one of the physicians a couple weeks ago about the need for a point person, etc.  and I had warned Brenda that the MDs would be bringing up the necessity of getting an office manager.  I have a couple issues with this: 

1. Spending a salary on a position that really isn't a full-time position

2. After 2 office managers from hell, I am a little trepidatious going down that road again

3.  My position is very well established and works well for me.  I don't want someone new coming in and trying to run my department the way others have tried in the past

We had our MD meeting tonight and at the end, one of the physicians brought up the topic...the office staff needs someone to be accountable to, blah, blah, blah and then I realized he was looking at me and said, "would you consider doing this"  I literally zoned back in and said, "Are you talking to me?!!!" a la Dinero!!  I told them that I really didn't know.  I love my position in research (it's my baby; I started the dept from the ground up).  But on the other hand, I would be challenged by running things in the main office.  But on the other hand, I would miss my patients.  But on the other hand, I don't want anyone coming in and rocking the boat.  But on the other hand I would miss my freedom being in a satellite office; able to escape whenever I wanted.  But on the other hand, there are some yucky jobs I have to do in research that I would gladly bequeath.....so there you have it - a big ball of indecision.

After the meeting the MD that brought up the idea spoke with me privately and told me that he didn't mean to put me on the spot like that to which I told him that I was just caught off guard, and I didn't really know what I should do.  He told me to think about it over the next few weeks and we could carve out a position that I would still be able to be involved in both arenas.  

Hubby is supportive in whatever move I make...the advice I am getting all around is to take my time, create a pros/cons list, and plot out what my dream position would be....

Any one have a crystal ball that can point me in the right direction?!  How 'bout a Magic 8 ball?

I'm doing it....I think

After hearing so many sad tales and already experiencing the dreaded hard drive crash myself, I've finally done it.  I unwrapped the external hard drive we've had for 1 year and I am installing it as we speak (or as I write) on my slow-ass desktop computer.  'Cause it's only a matter of time before that sucker gives me the finger and dies a final, gory death taking all my pictures since 2003 down with it.  Unfortunately, I am one of those computer people that knows just enough to be dangerous...it's just like what I do when I following a recipe....I follow the directions initially and then I just lose focus and start doing my own thing.  Result = not always so good and yummy.  So I am struggling through this backup on this *(&^*&*^*^^&*()(*@#&&^$%$ slow desktop....so far 1000+ photos have been backed up.

Next step...syncing between the hard drive and my laptop to delve into the world of digital scrapbooking....may be I'll finally get past Cameron's 1st birthday (Yes, I AM that far behind).  

Sex Education....Kelly style

So, my oldest, Cameron is 10 1/2, and has NO idea where babies come from.  She just found out when Jackson was born 2 1/2 years ago that boys have a penis.  I still can't decide on what to call their "bottom"....sue-sue, who-ha, vulva, etc....yes, she is 10 1/2 YEARS OLD!!!  Not the most comfortable subject for me....and I was a Biology major!!!  

So in preparation for "THE TALK" I've purchased some books...."American Girl guide to your body" and another about your body book.  These books really just focus on puberty and what changes to expect.  So no easy out for me....I have no recollection of having "THE TALK" with my Mother...I really think I found out about S-E-X- when I was 15!!  (Yes, that means I was more naive than my daughter!!)

Cameron's school was showing a "Growing up" video; I had to sign a permission slip and everything....so I thought, maybe I'll get an opening for the topic....We reviewed puberty and the changes, etc.  and the Wimpy one (aka me) sent her on her way.  I anxiously awaited the end of the day to see if my job was done for me what she learned about....no dice!  Just....Puberty......SO not saved here!!! 

One high point and something I may use for a few more years days/weeks is Cameron reported that the girls in the class were all giggling when they heard the word "penis"...so I said to her, "Why is that so funny?  Jackson has a penis and it's no big deal, right?!"  To which she immediately agreed....so the new plan is to let her think that all men have baby penises....nothing interesting there....no big deal....push the sex talk back; my daughter has 0 interest in boys until she is 18.....

You think it will work?  Have you had "The Talk"?  Any Advice?

LMAO!!

Remember this picture?

I just got an email on Facebook from a guy friend from college....here's the exact email:

"Kelly - you look GORGEOUS!!  What have you been up to for the last 12-15 years"

I'm thinking he thinks this is me for real.....This is TOO funny!!!

Help me write a response back....

Here's my take: 

Hi, 

Well, for the last 12-15 years, I've been working out 8 hours a day, eating 500 calories a day, and going on photo shoots as Gisele Bündchen's body double.  

Ciao!

Kelly