Back to life!

Well, we are home. The trip home was uneventful, but long. It is so easy to leave the country, but so damned hard to get back in! We were in Miami for 4 hours getting all but strip searched and the worst part-the Edy's Ice Cream in the airport was out of Carli's fave, brown. Ice cream brown is her most favorite food in the whole wide world and we had promised chocolate ice cream when we got through customs. She was not happy. No other flavor will do. We found a sub-par restaurant and at least found her chocolate milk and a steak. She perked up after that. Courtney was a little scarred by the airport security staff. They were impatient, rude and bossy. Courtney asked me when we were done "why are they so mean?" That is a loaded question, I can't imagine doing their job.
We got home at about 12am- the girls were exhausted. They both went right to bed, no questions asked. It really was such a great family vacation. I was off on Tuesday, so I was grocery shopping, doing laundry, picking up Ruby, etc.. when Lindsey called and said she was driving back from Maryland, where she flew into from St Kitts, and was driving home and wanted to stop and take Courtney out to lunch! They went to Sonic and then Lindsey dropped Courtney at the gym, where I picked her up an hour later. Courtney and Carli think Lindsey is the coolest cousin ever. She is. She is, as she often says, "awesome!"
One good night of sleep before going back to work would have been devine, but it was not to be had. Mark had a work function planned at Colonial Downs, a horse racing track in Williamsburg. So we went. I think Courtney was glad to see us go, she had enough mom and dad time.
We had a great time with Mark and Greg's staff and their newer partner, George. Alot of their referral sources came and it was nice to finally put some faces with names I have been hearing! Mark won $10.35 right away, on his first bet, then he was just cocky after that. Greg and I based our bets on things like names, jockey weights and racing position. We didn't win at all.
Mark's office sponsored 2 races, so we all got to go down and have our pics taken with the winning horses and jockeys after the races. That was kind of cool. We had a nice suite with dinner and bartenders and, my favorite part, our own bathroom. It was a long night, we got home at about 11pm. So tonight will be my night of rest, I have to work Thursday and friday, but no big deal.

Still on island time!

This week has been so great! We are having such a great vacation and it has been so great having Caren, Steve, Lindsey and Ann with us. I haven't even posted the horseback riding pictures or the great beach pictures from Reggae Beach. First off, last nights dinner was great, we went to a local place called Cathy's and she was there cooking for us. She was so nice, and insisted on Carli's dinner being free. Everyone here is so nice to Carli. At Reggae Beach yesterday there was a family that played in the water with Carli for a long time. The restaurant owners always come over and speak to her, it is such a switch from home. They are very loving and accepting over here. Today Carli got involved in a very intense pool volleyball game, and everyone knew her name and made sure she got the ball. She is having a blast. This morning we went to a different beach called Shipwreck Beach. Also very nice and it had a huge reef on one side, so we got some snorkel gear and checked that out. Courtney is a natural. Carli did not want to try it, but she did swim out to the floating dock with us and had a great time jumping off of that. We went back to the pool at the hotel and Mark and Steve went golfing again, while we stayed at the pool for a bit. We had another great dinner tonight at a place called The Spice Mill. It was beautiful.It was at the top of a mountain, the same mountain we drove over today, where you can see the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other side. The food was, again, amazing, we have not had a bad meal yet, and the view and the openness of the restaurant was just amazing. The owner came to the table several times to apologize for a party of med students that were having a graduation party there, he said it might get loud, but they were fine and actually left before we did. He kept coming over to make sure we were okay, and then walked us out when we were done. So nice. I put the pics up tonight of the Shiggidy Shack party, but I still need to get the zip line pics,the horseback riding, and the beach. Tomorrow is our last full day, and we are taking a Catamaran dinner cruise in the evening. Should be fun!

Zip lining over the rainforest!

Wow-we are having so much fun. I have so much to write about and so little time. I am going to have to re-cap when I get home, but last night we went to the Shiggidy-shack for dinner, a restaurant on the beach with a fire show and bonfire. Carli had the best time, she danced all night on the table top! I will post the pics later. Courtney and Caren went horseback riding yesterday morning while the guys golfed. When the girls got back, Carli and I trucked them off to Reggae Beach, a calm, caribbean beach that was perfect for Carli. We had lunch on the beach and then swam and looked for shells. It was such a relaxing day. When we called for the cab to come get us, he had Scooby-Doo painted on the side and Carli thought she was riding in the mystery machine. She was very happy. Then we showered and partied until late at night. We all had so much fun last night.
This morning we slept in and rested. There was a knock on the door at about 7am-Mark had ordered me flowers-today is our 16th wedding anniversary. It was so sweet of him. We had a leisurely breakfast and let Courtney sleep in, then Courtney and I went and made reservations for her and Caren and I to go zip-lining over the rainforest. Yes, OVER the rainforest! It was anywhere from 250 to 500ft high! There were 5 lines and they all connected. It was so amazing. I even got brave enough to take some pictures while I crossed over. I will post them later-
Mark and Steve took Carli back to her favorite Reggae beach, were she swam another day away and petted Wilbur, the pig that lives on the beach. I don't know why he lives on the beach.
Tonight we are going to another great beach restaurant for our anniversary. Lindsey and Anne offered to babysit so Mark and I could go alone or just with Caren and Steve, but we are all having so much fun together, I want us all to go out together and celebrate as a family. Isn't that why we got married in the first place?

Live from St. Kitts!

We are having an absolute blast. We had some trouble getting off the ground in Miami and we sat on the plane on the runway for over 3 hours! Lindsey and her friend Ann were on that flight, too, so at least we were all together. Caren had the foresight to make sure we brought lunch on the plane, so at least we were not hungry. The girls were so good-we moved around a little on the plane, talked and laughed-then just before takeoff a storm blew over and we were delayed about 1/2 hour more! The flight was fine and we breezed through customs-Carli doesn't mind waiting when there is an elevator ride at the end of the line-it's the simple things that she loves!

Monday night when we got here we all went down to the poolside pizza shack and had pizza and relaxed with a cocktail. We got up early Tuesday and went down to the beach-the girls couldn't wait! Unfortunately there was a bit of a tropical depression near us and the skies were gray and windy, with some sunshine, but it was warm-we stayed on the beach and took turns watching Carli and taking walks, exploring the beautiful beaches. This island is as untouched by modern construction as it can possibly be, and they want to keep it that way. There are no tall buildings, no restaurant chains, just local spots and tropical beaches. The locals are friendly, but make it clear they are not interested in our American influences.

After the beach we moved up to the pool, and took advantage of the swim-up bar. We swam for a bit then had lunch at the poolside restaurant. We headed out to dinner later that night at Ballyhoo's, an open air restaurant above the main street downtown. That is were we met Sir Walter the cab driver. He took us to dinner and back and offered an air-conditioned island tour the next day. We took him up on his offer and he picked up up the next afternoon. He took us all over the northern side of the island, were we visited the home of Thomas Jefferson's great,great, grandfather. We had a fabulous authentic Caribbean lunch at an old sugar plantation. I am going to update more later, but try to get pictures on the Flicker account!

Those are the pins that were stuck in her finger!

I know I said I probably would not blog again this week but I have some important news. Courtney got the pins out of her finger today! Both of them! We knew there was a chance of getting one pin out before our vacation, but he went ahead and pulled them both!

I have to say, I was a little freaked out by the whole "pulling the pins out" thing-Dr Stuart was twisting them around and kind of pulling on them and then he was like "your x-ray looks good-you want me to pull them out?" and-even though I work in the ER and have plenty of experience with irrational family members I was like "you're just gonna pull them? AAAAgguuhh! I was expecting some numbing or sedation or something- and he said " ooohh a little color commentary from mom!" But he had her lay on the table and he tugged the pins out of her finger-I circled the table and kept saying "does it hurt?Are you okay?"Just like all those family members I get annoyed with at the hospital. It is a learning lesson being on the other side of the table. I have to remember sometimes what it is like to be a family member, and this was the perfect opportunity.

So Courtney is happily pin free and ready to enjoy the rest of her summer. She still has to wear a splint for the next 5 weeks, but at least the pins are out and she can swim. She went to Friday night Cheers tonight, which is like a party on friday nights in the neighborhood next to ours. She is so excited to go on vacation next week, I think we all are! can't wait!!!

Getting ready!

Today was my last day of work before our vacation. We leave for St Kitts on Monday at about 8am, so we are going to have to leave really early in the morning. I took Carli this afternoon to Best Buy to buy a battery pack and headphones for her DVD player. She is not a fan of headphones, but it is really her only option on the airplane. No headphones, no movies. She was not happy about having to go to the store, so she was already mad when we got there. She had a bit of a meltdown in the store while I was talking to one of the employees about what kind of battery pack I needed. She climbed up on a table and I pulled her down, and she pushed me. I pulled her aside immediately and talked to her about her behavior and told her she could sit on the floor if she wanted to sit down. But the poor guy that was trying to help us, he was obviously so uncomfortable. He said "I just want you to know that I think you are handling this really well, you are so patient and I just don't know if I could do it." Then he felt bad and said "I am sorry, I know you don't have a choice, and I don't mean to make you feel bad"-I told him it was okay, she isn't always this difficult and she would settle down in a minute. The rest of the time she was fine, but I have to say, somtimes when I take her out in public and she gets mad and does stuff like pushing me, it makes me wonder what I am going to do when she gets older and I start having a hard time managing her without getting hurt. I just don't know what is to come.

Anyway, we are preparing to go on vacation and I am planning to bring my laptop so I can download pics and update my blog. Last night Mark and I cooked out on the grill, we grilled some bread and made bruscetta outside while our fajita steak grilled. It was all quite yummy. Then Colleen and I went for a walk before it got too dark. It was nice to catch up, we haven't had the time to walk and talk for a long time. Hopefully, this school year will be better with her daughter Ellie being able to ride the bus and we can walk a little earlier. Anyone not familiar with Ellie's story, her mom's blog is Life Appreciated.
I don't know if I will update again before the trip, so everyone-have a great week!

The Swartz farm

This is a picture of our gathering from the garden this morning. Caren and I went out and worked in the garden, staking tomatoes, pulling weeds and picking lots of cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini and green beans. Yum! Lots of fun. It was really hot and sweaty but we loved it. Mark was making dinner tonight for Steve (the big fifty celebration continues-he has had more birthday parties than Michael Jackson has had funerals). We made a marinade for the green beans,and Mark roasted brussels sprouts . He grilled Porterhouse steaks-we made a tuscan marinade that was soo good and baked potatoes-what a spread! You would think we weighed 300 lbs as much as we talk about food, but good cooking is a passion that we all share. Mark, Steve, Caren and I have created some fabulous dishes on our sunday nights here. We call it our "christian dinners". We try, especially in the summer when the garden is in full swing, to eat as much of our own home grown or at least local produce as possible. We stopped at the Chesterfield Berry Farm on the way home and got blackberries, oh, they are so big and sweet and juicy-I just love summertime fruits and veggies!

July 10, 2007

Carli is a good tree climber. Always has been. Most people go outside and scan the yard to look for their kids, we scan the tree tops. We lured her out of the tree tonight with a steak on the grill!
Mark made a great dinner tonight. He made salmon with a butter compound. He grilled the salmon brushed with olive oil, then when it was done, he put the butter compound on top, it was made with fresh basil, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper. But he cooked the salmon perfectly, which is the most important part! He served it with grilled asparagus and grilled peaches....it was all sooooo yummy. What a guy.
My greatest accomplishment today? I got out of work at 3pm, thanks to my clinical coordinator Tina, who is so great and always tries to make me happy (I try to do the same for her!), and I was able to come home and go for a 4 mile run, which felt sooo good after working the last two days.
On a sadder note, we lost a neighbor today to cancer. Wendy didn't live really close to me, she lived at the other end of the neighborhood, but we only have 229 houses here, so she wasn't very far away. She was my age and had 4 children. It is so sad. Her youngest is just a baby, and that just breaks my heart. Luckily, they are a very close-knit family, in fact Wendy's mother and father lived with her and her sister and her 4 children live next door. Her mother is a pillar of strength and I am sure will hold the family together right now. I hope they all hold each other up and get through this together.
Yesterday was Steve's 50th birthday!! The amazing thing, at least for me, is I cannot believe for one minute, that I have a friend, who I hang out with regularly, who is 50! What? My friends are turning 50? It is crazy. Am I getting old? Sure I will be 41 next month (!), and I did notice last weekend that while wearing my bikini, I had to tie the back a little tighter because my boob was sliding out from under my top-am I embarrassing you guys? But it's true! Things are starting to slide south, my vision sucks, and varicose veins? All kinds of old lady things are starting to rear their ugly head. I will fight it all the way. I will run further, eat healthier, whatever I have to do, but I will not go down old, fat and unhealthy!
I plan to spend the weekend cleaning and doing yard work (yeah!) but we only have 10 more days until we leave for St. Kitts!! Can't wait!!

Some advice for Sarah Palin

I don't know what she is doing, and I don't really care. I found it a little offensive when she was campaigning and said in her speech that she "was going to be an advocate for us", sure, now that she had a kid with a disability, we were supposed to look to her for leadership. Please. She knew nothing about having a child with a disability. What she should have been doing was asking for advice, not acting like she automatically knew exactly what to do. No one is prepared, nobody knows what to do and can just walk into it acting like they are the authority on this subject. How arrogant.
Had she asked, I would have said this:
Don't expect to do anything quickly-when I take Carli to the grocery store, I have learned to accept the fact that we will have to buy all of her favorites, even if we have them at home.
We will look at all the fruits and vegetables and name them, and talk about what color they are.
She will push the basket.
She will drool over the steaks in the meat department and probably insist we buy flowers, preferably yellow ones, especially if there is a holder in the cart for them because that is where flowers go.
You will not do this trip quickly, and if you try, it will only make it worse for both of you.

Don't expect to "match" clothes-yesterday, for the third time this week, I tried to discourage Carli from wearing an orange shirt with pink and blue flowered shorts. After a long battle Courtney said "Mom, what are you doing? Who cares if her clothes match at the book store? Let her wear what she wants, and lets go!" So I did. And it was okay. I used to think "Good Lord, what is wrong with that mother letting her kid out like that?" But now I get it. I totally get it. Some battles just are not worth it. I always said I would never cut bangs on Carli, because in my head, I thought it made her Down Syndrome features more prominent. But guess what? Carli developed this habit of holding her hair back when she walked, both hands up by her ears, holding her hair out of her face while she walked. It was bizarre, and it drew attention to her, people actually stared more when she walked like that. So I took her to the hairdresser and told her what our newest issue was. She cut Carli bangs. No more issues. Just another issue resolved in the life of Carli.
I don't think these are the things Sarah Palin was thinking of when she claimed to be my new "advocate". See, she doesn't know about these things that pop up. She is thinking of health and school issues. But when she deals with the day-to-day changes, habits and activities of Trig, then she can be an advocate for someone. But first, she needs to experience it first hand.

Runner

I am thinking about running a half-marathon. The most I have ever run is a 10k, and that was, I think, 2 years ago. I finished in 62 minutes. Not bad, but not great either. I think I could do it faster now. It would involve a lot of training, and time. Sometimes I wonder, when I spend time doing things like this, that are just for my own personal satisfaction, am I being selfish? Is this time I am taking time away from my family for purely selfish reasons? I talk to people all the time who tell me "I wish I had the time to work out, I am so busy with my job or my kids or whatever". I carve time out in the mornings, usually, but if I have to I will take an hour to myself in the evenings and go for a run, or go to the gym. Am I being selfish? I don't think so, I think I am a better person for it. I feel better, look better and hopefully inspire my kids to exercise as well. I think sometimes people say things like "I just don't have time, I don't know how you do" in some attempt to make themselves feel better about not exercising. Sure, I could spend my days researching Down Syndrome, or researching exactly what classes Courtney needs to improve on to increase her chances at a good college, but would I be happier? I don't think so. And if I am not happy-well, there is a big, dark cloud hovering over the house! My running time gives me the opportunity to clear my head and plan my day, my week, whatever. I like to run alone, no ipod or anything, just me and my time to think and plan. I did run with Brandi this weekend, she is in the Army and runs all the time, so she entertained me by talking the whole 4 miles (!) while I listened and only responded when I had to, I can't chit-chat when I run. But I can listen!
Recently I found out that Disney World does marathons-10k's, 1/2 marathons and marathons that look so fun. There is even a 5k that you can push a stroller in-Carli would love that, it's a family run, we could all take turns pushing her in her stroller. So we may have to try that...

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone had a safe Fourth of July!

We had a great time today. Brandi and Alex, our cousins, arrived Thursday night. Brandi is preparing to move to Italy and Alex is getting ready to go to college at Washington and Lee, so they came loaded down with all kinds of stuff they could not take with them when they move, so that was fun. Poor Alex-he brought the William-Sonoma fried chicken mix for Brandi and I to try one more time to make him edible fried chicken. We are both very good cooks, but for some reason, fried chicken is something we cannot make. This time, I have to say, with the help from William-Sonoma and Caren's deep fryer, we were immensely successful. We also prepared a lovely side of grilled veggies.

Friday we spent the day taking the kids to the movies, Brandi and I took Carli to see Ice Age and Mark, Courtney and Alex went to see The Transformers. Carli thought Ice Age was hilarious. It actually was pretty funny, Brandi succumbed to the comfort of the new movie theatre seats and fell asleep! Carli kept waking her up to tell her she was missing the movie, but Brandi would fall right back to sleep. Finally, Carli left her alone.

Today, for the Fourth we went to visit mom and Andy in Chesapeake. They have a great pool in the backyard and the kids love to go and just swim and talk and eat all day. Mom always makes sure there is a full array of snacks and then they cook out, too! We spent all day out at the pool with Casey, Kenzie and Kerry. It was alot of fun. We all came home tired and a little sunburned! Check out the pics!

Slippin' and slidin'!

Today was a beautiful day in Moseley. It was warm and sunny and the humidity was nice and low. Mark and I both went for a run this morning and then I made the girls breakfast-bagels and cream cheese for Carli and banana pancakes for Courtney. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone liked the same things? Or would that be boring? Courtney is a vegetarian, Carli is a true carnivore. In fact, I am getting ready to slap a big steak on the grill for her in a few minutes. Courtney is spending the night at a friends and they are dining at the movie theatre. Yum. I am sure that will be a healthy choice. I, however, am off to a big night at my friend Jan's house. She is hosting Bunco tonight and invited me to come over and play. I used to be a regular, every 3rd Thursday of the month, but I work every Friday and the late nights were too much for me! So, now I just play as a sub and still get to visit with everyone, but I am not committed each month. Works out well for me.

The girls and I did a little shopping today, we had a few errands to run, then stopped at the toy store for a surprise for Carli. We got more than we were looking for, though when she found this little gem:That's right, its a Scooby Doo lunch box, and she was not leaving without it. It was right up there with the Shrek Trilogy gift set we bought last week because she liked the box. She already had all the movies, but she really wanted the box. You can never have too many Shrek DVD's, thats what we always say. But the real reason we went to the toy store was to purchase a Slip and Slide. Courtney and I thought it would be fun. It was. It took alot more effort than I thought it would and Courtney and I both had to give Carli a little extra help before she figured it out. She thought it was pretty cool, and later, we let Ruby out and she really liked it! I guess they don't just make a plain old slippery mat anymore, there was a very involved set up, involving an instruction booklet and some crocodiles that we never could quite figure out what we were supposed to do with. We finally just flipped them over and let them shower over us like rain. Check out the pics on Flikr. Gotta go to work tomorrow, and Brandi and Alex will be here tomorrow night. I think I should go and shower. I have grass in places that have not seen grass in years.