11-28-06 POW

Hello all, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I took the week off from doing the POW to rest my foot and it seems to have worked. I am walking around a little now, even driving a bit, but far from 100% healed. I am finding different ways to pass the days, though, none of which are very productive. Ha! Actually, I have fallen in love with the Internet. I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done, and the best part is: I never leave the couch and it all gets delivered to my door. FREE SHIPPING! Woo-hoo!!! Life is good.

In addition to buying things, I have been selling things. Bunk beds, to be exact. Alyssa's bunk beds! As much as I hate it she is growing up, and one day last month I went to tuck her in for bed and noticed that she could barely sit up straight while sitting on the bottom bunk. It was time. Also, the carpet in her room (or any of the bedrooms) had never been replaced when I moved in (I could only afford to do the LR/DR and hallway) and what better time to do it than when the room was empty? I put an ad in our local paper.

I couldn't believe it. My phone rang off the hook! One lady (Leah) called and wanted to see them that very night. Alyssa - QUICK!!! - clean up your room....and the rest of the house for that matter because I can't do it! Leah came by after dinner, was in there about 30 seconds and wrote me a check. Cool! She said that her boyfriend would be by on the Friday after Thanksgiving with a truck to pick them up. Way cool! I called the next morning to cancel the newspaper ad and ordered the carpeting. Good thing they could still find the stuff I bought 4 years ago. That was just the beginning. Now I had to buy her a full sized mattress set, frame and headboard, new bedding, paint the walls before the carpet arrived and get her a dresser -- all from the comfort of my couch. No problem, I had 10 days. I thought.

Two days later (Saturday morning at 9:00 to be exact) Leah calls and says, "I hope this doesn't create a problem, but could my boyfriend (John) come by in a couple of hours or so and pick up the beds? I know it's a week early, but would that be a problem? He rented a truck to move some appliances and figured he might as well get the beds, too......."

If I hadn't been so drugged I probably would have panicked more. It was 4 days after my foot surgery and I was still somewhat sedated. The look of horror on my face must have been pretty severe because Sidney got the same look on her face and said, "What?!?!?" I told her what needed to be done and what little of it I'd be able to do. We flew into action. Well, THEY flew into action. I directed. "Strip the beds and put the sheets in the washer. Alyssa, clean off the shelves and find new homes for the stuff. Sid, grab the Orange Clean and start wiping down ANYTHING white that can be wiped down. Now take the two mattresses into the living room. Sidney, get the screwdriver and unattach the ladder from the top bunk." It was like a well oiled machine. Before I knew it, most of the bunkbeds, dresser and nightstands were in the livingroom. I was so proud of the girls for working so hard. John arrived at 1:00 (time to spare!) and with Brent's help, got it all into a small U-Haul, bedding and all. I even gave him a CD of pictures taken while disassembling the beds so he could figure out how to put it all back together. I can't do much, but I can hold a camera! John was impressed....and grateful.

I had bought new mattresses for my bedroom last month, so I called the same guy and said, "Remember the ones that were right next to the ones I bought? I need you to deliver them to me, full size with a frame, please. Same credit card." Done. Bedding was next. I let Alyssa pick out some online and narrow it down to 3 favorites. I made the final decision. JCPenney.com, a wonderful site. Done. It arrived in 3 days. I even found a headboard online, free shipping. That should be here next week. Done. Sidney and her friend (Brianna) put TWO coats of Kilz on the colored walls to make them white, then I painted the final topcoat - white. I know, I know... how boring. NOT!!! I sent a friend to a craft store to get 9 differents colors of acrylic paint, all were colors from Alyssa's new bedding. I also had her buy some foam board, thin enough to cut (like a thick placemat). Next, I had Sidney cut them into circles and staple a handle on the back. Both girls got to cover the circles with paint and stamp the walls. Cool, huh? Pretty clever coming from a crippled woman on a couch, huh????

She loves her new room. The carpet arrived today so I could finally put it all together. I still need to hang some shelves and sort through some, too. She was so excited when she came home from school and saw it all put together. She couldn't wait to go to bed! Here's a picture taken early in the setup process, and one of the happy little girl who lives in this room.

I got my stitches out Monday (yes, it hurt) and tomorrow I start physical therapy on the foot. Yuck! It's supposed to be 3 times a week for the next month. I wore a shoe today for the first time (for about an hour) and let me tell you: I wore the widest shoe I own and it was STILL tight! They said to expect it to be swollen for up to 6 months. Oh joy. On a brighter note, my next doctor's appointment is December 28th so I'm off from work until at least then. Yea!!!

That's all for now. I hope you all have a good week.

Take care,
Amy and the girls

11-17-06 POW

Hello all, I'm back. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the POW's. It is fun to share the lives of the girls with so many friends and family. This POW will be about the GOFAR race last Saturday. I tell you, the weather couldn't have been better. It was warm and sunny and the colors in the trees were amazing. There were about 300 runners from at least 5 different schools and all were excited to run. When I had gone to the meeting about GOFAR at the beginning of the school year I was certain they had told me that siblings/parents were not allowed to run this year due to the costs. I had explained that to Sidney and she was fine with it. When all we got there, however, I saw lots of dads, sisters and friends all suited up to run. Sidney looked crushed. We went over to the registration table and asked if there was any way to enter a last minute runner. They said yes and the smile was back on Sidney's face. Alyssa chose to run with Hayley, her bestest buddy, but allowed Sidney to start out with them. She didn't stay long. The 5K course was entirely on the campus of High Point University. Such a beautiful place! Anyway, they were off and running and all the parents slowly made their way to the finish line. The same digital clock was at the finish line and the same really tall guy was standing in front of it. He didn't have a clue! He stood there at the last race, too. Lucky for you, I have a digital camera. I was able to crop off his head and slide it down so you'd be able to read Alyssa's score. Ha! If he only knew. Sidney was the first of my girls to cross the finish line. If I read the scores correctly, there were 91 girls in their age group and Sid finished 6th. Doesn't sound too bad, huh? Did I mention that she ran the whole 5K (3 miles) in her FLIP FLOPS?!?!?!? They didn't fall apart and her toes weren't bleeding. I couldn't believe it! She amazed the crowd at the finish. She wasn't happy with her score, but taking into consideration the footwear she chose to don, she was pleased. Lys and Hayley were in the same age group as Sid and finished 28th and 29th. MUCH better than last time! I was very proud of both of them. I think Alyssa will want to do it again in the Spring and I think Sidney will wear tennis shoes next time she comes to watch Alyssa race. Ha!

I guess I forgot to tell some of you that I was having foot surgery. I had two bone spurs removed from my right foot on Tuesday and now I am off from work for 2 months or so. Great way to get Christmas off, huh? Anyway, they gave me Meprozine which makes my head spin a little, so I don't take it much. My right leg is my strong leg so when you take it out of commission, things get a little...comical. Apparently it was quite entertaining watching me try to walk with crutches in recovery! I can't balance on my left leg and I proved it by almost landing on Brent and one of the nurses. Ha! It became the general consensus at that point that perhaps they should send me home with a walker. Oh, the humility! Brent stopped on the way home at the "store for old people's stuff" and picked one up for me. I hated it, but it was the only way to get around in the house. No, I'm not taking a picture of it so don't even ask! I don't have to use it much now, I can put some weight on my heel.

That's all for now. I need to elevate my foot for a while and can't do that while sitting at the computer. Any errors in spelling and/or grammar and to be blamed on pain pills!

Take care,

Amy and the girls

11-09-06 POW

Hello all!
This has been a good week. LOTS of Halloween candy to eat....er...I mean...to TAKE CARE of for the girls while they are in school. It's been tough (more on that later). On a brighter note, this week was report card week. I'm honored, once again, to announce that both girls made the A/B honor roll. They both got all A's and one B. Alyssa's was in science and Sidney's was in Geometry (a 10th grade class). I am very proud of both of them! Here is Alyssa, proudly displaying her certificate. Yes, they got to choose dinner that night. I am so eternally grateful that they made it through the Golden Corral stage. Don't get me wrong, I love all you can eat dessert restaurants, but it was getting old. Almost made me wish that they DIDN'T do well on their report cards. Ha!
Sidney has set a goal for herself. She wants to be able to do the splits by the end of the year. She's almost there, I think she'll be able to make it. I remember watching a program on TV of Olympic gymnasts and the training they did. I told Sid that I'd stack some bricks on her head to help her stretch! She politely thanked me and told me she'd do her own training.


An interesting thing happened to me last week. I got the mail out of the box and inside was a fancy, embossed envelope addressed to "the parents of Alyssa Havas" with a return address from Washington, DC. Oh great, NOW what has she done? Is she being sent to a 5th grade boot camp?? I sat down, and it's a good thing. Let me type a little of what was in the letter:

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that in the next few days Alyssa will receive an official invitation to attend a 2007 People to People World Leadership Forum in Washington, DC. Allow me to offer my personal congratulations for Alyssa's achievements. You must be very proud. Selection for participation in the World Leadership Forum is based on the academic recommendation of valued and respected educators. Alyssa was nominated by educator Dana Sherwood (her teacher) of Colfax Elementary, who qualified Alyssa as an outstanding student with high academic standings and promising leadership potential.

I stopped at this point to read the outside of the envelope. Alyssa?!?!?!?! I kept reading:

People to People was founded in 1956 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower with the premise that peace can be achieved through understanding. Making a difference in the begins with developing your child's own leadership skills and the World Leadership Forum offers a unique opportunity for Alyssa to join other highly motivated and accomplished middle school scholars from around the globe.

I had to stop again. I looked around the room several times, looking for the hidden cameras. I found none. Was this for real? It was signed by Mary Jean Eisenhower, President and CEO. Alyssa? I flashed back to the parent/teacher conference a few weeks back. You know, the one where I was "informed" of Alyssa's love of talking. She couldn't get votes to be V.P. of her class, but she gets invited to DC to be the next world leader. I was truly confused.

As promised, the VERY impressive invitation arrived a few days later. It had the dates for next fall (all in Sept and Oct) and an outline of their agenda for the 7 days. Capital Hill, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Holocaust Museum, Arlington, Spy museum, Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Smithsonian, all the monuments and nightly Leadership Delegation Meetings, just to name a few. Extremely impressive. Lodging and all meals are included. Are you doing what I did? Yes: the math. They'll pick her up from the airport and stay with her 24/7, one supervisor for every 15 kids. She even gets high school credit if she writes all of this up and turn in the completion certificate.
Then it happened. I saw the price. Are you sitting down? All this can be hers for a mere $2,195! Yes, that is a comma in the price, not a decimal. Oh, and you have to RSVP by December 11th and send them the $300 deposit. I could go on and on about my shock and all of the details, but I'll give you the web link instead. http://www.wlfstudentleaders.org/default.asp . All kidding aside, I told her I was very proud of her, even if she didn't get to go. Alyssa for President????

The color of the leaves are absolutely beautiful again. I spent 30 minutes today just driving around to take in the beauty. I really wish I'd had my camera with me. This whole page would have been filled with Fall pictures. I did, however, take these of Ryan's tree last week. It was beautiful that day. The kids spent an entire afternoon raking three houses' leaves into a HUGE pile and jumped into it until the sun went down. Needless to say, I had leaf crumbles from my front door to my kitchen to the bathroom. Hey, it's only once a year, right????

Have a great week!

Amy and the girls

11-2-06 POW

Hello all!
So many of you have asked: how was the big Halloween party???? OK, OK, I'll get right to it. I hear it was great! I was out of town for the whole weekend, so poor Hayley's mom and dad had to do all the work. From the looks of the pictures, it was a LOT of work!

First, let's get to the costumes. Sidney was a bumble bee in honor of her uncle "B". Yes, those are fishnet stockings on her and yes, she asked me first. As you can see, they aren't my "little" girls anymore. The days of cute little cuddly Halloween costumes are GONE! So many of the kids are dressing up in costumes that are so much more adult, you can't get away from it. No more "Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz". Oh, I saw that one at Party City, too. It was worse than this bee costume! Suddenly I feel old...
Next we have our own version of Marilyn Monroe. How scary are these pictures? She looks twice her age, which is 10, yes. I curled her hair and put that lipstick on her and suddenly my baby was gone. It was at that very moment that I realized that they will be gone and out of the house before I know it. That said: could you hear the champagne bottle POP from where you were???? Ha!! Just kidding. She got the award for Sexiest Costume, even more so than Sidney's bee. That surprised me. It also surprised me to see just how well Alyssa could walk in those high heels. On to the party details.

I am told that about 55 kids came to this party which started at 6:00. All parents of "boys" were advised to pick up all "boys" by 10:00 SHARP or they would find their "boys" left at the curb on the side of the street. No problem. The party was a big success with the highlight being the fortune teller. There was a long line of kids waiting to find out what the future held for them. They had set up a burn barrel to do s'mores, had lots of snacks and drinks, a costume contest, a dance contest and plenty of kids to talk to. After the boys left the party moved inside. There was a stack of horror movies waiting to be watched on assorted TV's and more munchies. It turns out that 21 girls spent the night and set up sleeping bags in bedrooms, hallways and any other surface area they could find. Hayley's parents got kicked out of their own bed by 4 or 5 girls (2 of which are mine) and ended up on the couch. The rowdy girls were downstairs and after ignoring the 2 a.m. "let's-start-winding-it-down" message from Mom, got into a marshmallow fight in the kitchen at 5 a.m. The next message from Mom was a little ... louder. They took the hint and hit the floor. The last girl was picked up at 9:30 and nothing but a messy house and Hayley's exhausted parents were left, along with Sid and Lys. They told me that they got it picked up in a few hours and as they were doing it, they discussed what changes they would make for next year. NEXT YEAR????? Wow, they are really great parents! I told them that I would make it a point to be here for next year, and that I would take a nap that day.

I got home on Sunday and the girls were exhausted. They did, however, want to carve our pumpkin and bake the seeds. It was a VERY thick skinned pumpkin! Sidney had a hard time cutting into it, and even I tried to help. The seeds turned out great, though, and the pumpkin smiled all through trick-or-treating Tuesday night. Both girls brought home TONS of candy. I can't wait to go through it all!
That's all for this week. I hope you all are doing well and we'll chat again soon.

Take care,
Amy and the girls