I'm Back Ya'll...

I got my laptop back, yay! I'm super excited because it's like a brand new laptop. It actually works better than it did when it was brand new. I'm pretty sure our computer was a lemon when we bought it. But now that the hard drive and the wireless antenna have been replaced and the charger has been fixed, it works great!

So it's been about 3 weeks since I've blogged. Not a lot has happened since then, but I'll fill you in on what has happened...

I've been keeping up with my resolutions. Cooking & working out 5 times a week & drinking 8 glasses of water a day. I didn't keep with the first 17 days of dieting, but that wasn't my resolution. My resolution was to maintain my weight & I am doing that, I'm just not doing it on the 17 Day Diet. I've been working out consistently & have actually worked out 19 of the 20 days this year! I even ran my fastest mile last week, 6 minutes & 51 seconds! I'm super excited about that! And Nick & I will be running our 1st 5K of the year tomorrow. We're running in the Rockets Run that benefits Autism Speaks. We'll run through downtown Houston & cross the finish line on the floor of the Toyota Center where the Houston Rockets play. Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!

Addy had a reevaluation in OT. The test is standarizied & because of that Addy scored low in some areas. She can do certain skills, but just doesn't do them the "standarizied" way. But that's actually a good thing, because it justifies her going to OT & makes it where the insurance will still pay for it.  She is doing so good that her therapist said that she doesn't really need to come anymore. But she enjoys OT & will still be going to speech therapy so we're going to keep her in OT. We're just going to drop her to one time a week instead of 2. Nick & I are so proud of our sweet little Addy girl! She is making so much progress.

Maryse's looking for a job. She's filled out one paper application & one online application so far. She doesn't want a fast food job & a lot of the places she went by only hire 18+ years old. She applied to be a cashier at a pizza place that's here in Sienna & we're hoping that she'll get that job. Seems like it would be pretty easy & fun for her. She also emailed a few moms that posted ads on Siennanet (like southeasttexas.com for sienna residents) looking for babysitters. So we'll see if any of that pans out.

On Monday, I took Maryse to the doctor for her headaches. She has gotten them on & off since she was in 3rd grade. We tried allergy testing but that didn't seem to be the problem. So this time I took her to the pediatrician. Based on what Maryse told the doctor & the fact that Nick got migraines as a child & teenager, Maryse was diagnosed with migraines. The doctor put her on a low dose of blood pressure medicine which should "break the cycle" of the migraines. This medicine is supposed to be pretty safe & if she starts to be headache free, she can choose to quit taking the medicine & then start back up as needed. I'm really glad that we got a diagnosis for her & really hope that this medicine works.

On a sad note, we had to get rid of Pepper. Alex hit her with a toy hammer & she jumped up & bit him in the face :( She punctured his left cheek & bit around his right eye. I was sad to get rid of her but we just had to. There's no way we could keep her after that. Luckily, Roger took her to his mom. Hopefully she'll be a good dog for her since she doesn't have any little kids. She was a good dog with adults, but she just couldn't handle all the excitment of the kids.

Nick & I went on our January date night. If you'll remember, January was dinner & a movie, Nick picks & he gets no objections from me. So we ate dinner at Pappasitos & then went to Ben & Jerry's to get some ice cream! And the movie that he picked was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I was a little unsure about the movie because the previews didn't look very good. But I did not object & I ended up loving it! It was definitely graphic in some parts but overall it was a great movie. And now I want to read the books. We had a really good time hanging out together. And when we got home, Maryse had gotten both the kids to sleep & was asleep herself!

We bought the kids a new swing set, a nice big wooden one. I have been considering buying one for a long time but just didn't want to spend the money. I was looking online last week for one & found this one for 50% off at Toys R Us. It was such a good price that I had to go ahead & buy it now, even though it's January & not really playing outside weather. Nick's parents came over for the weekend so that his dad could help him put it together. And of course, Alex wanted to help. He got all his play tools together, put on his hard hat & was a great big help! They worked on it Sunday & finished up on Monday. The kids absolutlely love it! Probably one of my best purchases ever!

in progress

Here it is!

the restaurant

the monkey bars

The kids are too little to do the monkey bars right now so Nick took a few of the trim pieces & closed off the entrance to them.

Of course the boxes that the playset came in were a giant success too!