Hello again-

I have been updating the blog only once a week, with the kids back in school and us back to our regular work schedules, there really isn't that much to talk about!
Next weekend we have our annual camping trip to Luray in the Shenandoah mountains, that's always fun and I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to post and stories to tell when we get back!
Courtney has adjusted well to high school, she is having fun and enjoying being on the cross country team. Last Saturday they ran in Williamsburgh at William and Mary, this week they went to Leesburg, Va. She did really well at both meets, and ran varsity this last weekend. She is a superstar!
Carli has also adjusted well, she doesn't seem to mind the new school or the longer bus ride. We are very happy with her new school and teachers. Last week she did discover the clinic, though. Mark was out of town and I was really busy at work. Mark called and said Carli was in the clinic and I might need to go pick her up. I was in a procedure, had two more scheduled and was already running 20 minutes behind. He called Caren and asked her if she could go pick her up, and of course, she dropped everything and went to get her. Well, long story short, Carli was very happy to see that if you go to the clinic and lie down for awhile, your very favorite Caren comes to pick you up and take you home! Well, of course, Carli was fine and was not even the littlest bit sick. So on Monday, the teacher calls me again and says Carli is not feeling well. I said "No way, she thinks Caren is coming to rescue her-send her back to class!" and that was it. She hasn't gone back to the clinic yet. She is so sneaky, that Carli!
Last night Mark and I went to dinner with our friends, Greg and Christine, then we went to see Jerry Seinfeld. I tried to take an illegal picture for you guys, but it didn't turn out. But I did get a lovely shot of the sushi we ate before we went!! Enjoy!

Just what I have been waiting for...

You may be wondering why I have a big travel cup on the blog. I have, for years, been in search of the perfect travel cup. Perfect, to me, means it can go in the dishwasher. I have looked everywhere for a nice dishwasher safe cup for taking to work in the morning. Caren heard about this cup at work the other day and ran right out to get us both one! It is called a Contigo. She got it at Costco-two in a pack for $20! What a deal! Keeps your coffee hot for hours, doesn't leak,dishwasher safe-I heart it!
As for my near-death experience the other day with the blood pressure issues, as soon as I stopped taking the birth control pills, the issue resolved itself. It took no time to get it out of my system. I got all my labs in the mail and everything was perfect. So, I am back to thinking I am 20 instead of 41. I must admit, I did enjoy the diuretic that I took for two days-it helped me shed a delightful 4 pounds! Tomorrow I am getting back outside for a good long run and I can't wait!
Courtney had a cross country meet in Williamsburg today at William and Mary. I didn't go because Mark is in Pennsylvania moving his mother into assisted living. She had to leave at 5am, so we were up at 4:45. They all ride the team bus anyway, but I still would have like to have gone. Getting up at 4:30 and getting dressed and driving to Williamsburg would not have been a good time for Miss Carli. She spent the day entertaining herself with her movies, swing set, painting and playing with Ruby. Courtney ran well, and then they all went to lunch and got home at about 4pm.
It's just a quiet weekend with the girls-last night Caren and Steve came over and we made dinner, Courtney went to the football game. Tonight the girls and I watched a movie...and of course, tomorrow night will be Christian Dinner night-Hooray!!

I thought 40 was the new 20?

So, yesterday I went to my Obgyn for my annual appointment. No biggee, I go every year. However, this year I was not completely compliant and did not get my mammogram before I went,so I was expecting a lecture. I was prepared for it. I was going to counter with "but I went the year before, and I run several times a week and I eat healthy and my weight is fine, etc, etc..."but I didn't even get that far. I sat down and they took my blood pressure, which is always normal or even a little low-and it was 136/93! So we went ahead and completed the exam, then went back to the blood pressure again-140/95! We went over any changes that could have caused this, and the only thing I can think of is that they changed my birth control pill to the generic version-Tri Sprintec. Dr West said that may be what is causing it, and to check my blood pressure 3 times today. I went home and thought about it and I have been feeling less-than-100% the last two weeks, which is about how long I have been on this new pill. I was even thinking the last few mornings that I looked a little puffy, and felt a little headachy-not a full out headache, just a distant woozy-ness. I just didn't put it all together until the doctor mentioned it.
Today I went to work and checked my BP three times-it was higher than yesterday. I called my OB doctor and told her I was not taking that pill anymore and I was going to my family practice doctor. I left work early and when I got there, my blood pressure was 150/105! Yikes!
She is optimistic that it is just the new pill and told me to stop taking it, start taking the diuretic she prescribed for me and hooked me up with some lab work. I have to track my BP for the next month. So hopefully I will just pee my brains out and go back to baseline. She kept asking me "You feel okay? Are you sure?" I said yes, in fact I went for a 3 mile run yesterday! She told me not to do that anymore until she tells me it's okay! Bummer...

First Day of School

Hooray!
I have to admit, I am one of those parents that craves the structure of the school year. Courtney would have been happy with another month of bikini-clad fun, but Carli was ready to go back. So Carli is now in middle school. After all the stress of the possible school change, she is exactly where we want her. The program she is in for middle school has an excellent reputation, and we are so happy she is there. We went to the open house last week and were so surprised at what they have to offer. They have a huge classroom space, complete with a full kitchen and apartment setting. This space is to be used for life-skills training-putting sheets on beds, using a kitchen and cleaning up, and a full laundry room that they will run a laundry service for the school from! Carli will love doing all those things. Of course, there is a full sized regular classroom. The program received several grants this year to add a lot of new equipment to the program, which is quite rare here in Virginia. She had a great first day and told Dad over ice cream that she was ready to go back tomorrow!
Courtney also had a great day. She has been getting up and going to the school everyday since the first of August anyway, for cross country practice, but she is so excited about being a freshman and seeing all her friends again. I think she was more excited than she was letting on!

Alex is officially in college!

We dropped Alex off this morning at Washington and Lee! We all got up bright and early, hit Cracker Barrel for breakfast (Carli ate a pancake-Hooray!) and headed off to college. It is about 2.5 hours from here, past Charlottesville. It is beautiful up there. They aren't big mountains, but they are pretty. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks for parents weekend when the leaves have turned! Anyway, Alex was very excited. He had the car all packed and ready before we were even up!
Once we got there and he checked in, we helped him unload his stuff. Carli helped, too, and Courtney got right to work making his bed for him. Sometimes those two are like an old married couple. His roommate is a nice kid-Alex went to school with him at Episcopal,so they are already friends. The room is so small-and there is no air conditioning unless you have a medical condition. Alex is already in the process of thinking one up, but honestly, they are in the mountains so it's cooler, and in that very small room they have 3 fans, so I think they will be okay. It is very close quarters, I told Alex when we got out of the dorms I was going to go get a TB test! But the best news, Brandi, you will enjoy this-I know his RA and she is directly across the hall from him! Her name is Katy and she went to school with Casey when she was at Clover Hill Elementary school. She was a few years behind Casey, but her and her family also went to our church. Small world, right? Alex was thrilled, as you can imagine.
So, we got him unpacked for the most part, then went and got something to eat outside, it was nice. We left him so he could finish unpacking and get to rugby practice. He texted Courtney after we left to see what we were doing, so I think he will miss us more than he let on! He will be fine though. We can all send packages as soon as he gets his PO box, which he was going to try to do today, but he might not get it until Tuesday. Anyway, check out the pics on my flicker account, there are some cute ones!

Dinner-not made by me!

I have not been updating my blog like I should, and I must confess, it is mostly because I have been dipping into a new guilty pleasure, Facebook. I avoided it for a long time because I thought it would be time consuming, and it is! I thought, "Why would I want to to get in touch with people I have not seen in 20+ years? But, I must admit, it is fun, and I can be selective about who I talk to and who I don't. However, I have yet to be "friended" by my own daughter (Casey-that's you) and my niece (Lindsey). But that's okay...maybe it's best if I don't know what the 20 year olds are doing!
Tonight, Alex and Courtney made dinner for Caren and Steve and Mark and I. It was, in a word, amazing. They made Brandi's pear bisque, (so good!) it was a chilled bartlett pear soup with whipped cream and cinnamon, salad with a homemade dressing-Alex said it was the bonefish house dressing-I don't know how he got the recipe, but it was complicated and it was soooo good-garlic bread, and then they made chicken tetrazinni-really, we all said the best we ever had!
Mark said it was better than mine, but, you know, whatever!
I am kidding, it really was the best we've ever had! Courtney was his sous chef. They are a great team. They were talking about opening a restaurant and arguing about where they would put it by the end of the night! They are such good kids and I love their relationship-they are like brother and sister, they look out for each other and get along great! They have the same sense of humor, and he is such a great role model for her. He has been driving her and picking her up from cross country practice this week, sometimes taking Carli with him- our kids are awesome! We will be sorry to see him go tomorrow, but I know he will be back soon, and Steve is looking forward to getting him into the OR to show him what a surgeon does. Courtney and Alex will graduate in 4 years together, he with his bachelors, her from high school, and we will have to do a big family trip. We are thinking Greece. I don't know what Carli will find to eat in Greece, but there must be something.
Stay tuned this week to hear about Carli- her back to school visit was amazing. I have high hopes for her this year!