Mary Poppins

Who doesn't love Mary Poppins? She is so magical and delightful with a spoonful of sugar. She brings out the best in everyone and always has a smile on her face. I think we all wish we had a Mary Poppins to call on every now and again or a fairy godmother like Cinderella would even be nice. I'll take either at this point.
Today was a rough day. It's been a rough week actually. There have been some high points but I can think of more low points right now than anything else. This is where Mary Poppins would come swooping down and have her magic descend upon my house to tidy it up all the while singing "Spoonful of Sugar". If I was really techie like Randy I would be able to put in a link to the song. But he isn't here right now as his flight home tonight got canceled. Such is my life this week. Nothing is really going how I would like it to go. Maybe if I keep singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious I might always sound precocious too. I mean really, who didn't like Mary Poppins. I have such fond memories of this delightful musical. Just saying the name, "Mary Poppins" puts a smile on my face and warm fuzzies in my tummy.
Not too long ago I did get to share this wonderful show with my kids and Randy who had never seen the whole thing. I was just utterly shocked that my own husband who can recite random movie lines had never seen all of Mary Poppins. I'm not even sure if he has seen all of "The Sound of Music". Don't worry, all in due time it will be introduced into my house. This are by far the Disney classics that really do stand the test of time. Ones I can watch over and over again. I'm waiting for Disney to re-release these on Blu-ray knowing full well that my generation will buy them to pass along the memories to our kids. Disney is smart like that. Maybe even Ken Jennings smart.

Maybe if I play my cards right I will get to go see this fantastic musical at the lovely Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

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Win a sweet fairy dress over at www.modernmagical.com by @HeatherL from Paperie Boutique by @shutterblog – Put some magic back in your life!

Manic Monday

Normally I really don't mind Mondays. It's really not that bad. A typical Monday goes like this: Rayna goes to school, I go to work, Lorenzo hangs out with his little friends while I am at work, come home, have lunch, nap time for Lorenzo, quiet time for me, pick up Rayna from school, go to Zumba class, come home, have dinner, and then bedtime.

But not this Monday. First of all, both kids had been sick all weekend. Rayna was still running a little fever in the middle of the night last night, so no going to school for her. Then Randy had to leave early this morning to get to the airport for a 9:30 a.m. flight to NY for the week. The kids did sleep until 8 a.m. so that was nice but other than that, the day went down hill from there on out.

I knew Rayna must have been feeling better as her and Lorenzo fought all morning. Then it was the battle of the wills as she didn't want to eat the yogurt at lunch that she had asked me for.
Finally nap time arrived, probably the only other bright spot in the day. But it's what happened after nap time was over that really pushed me over the edge. I heard Lorenzo in the monitor and before I could go and get him I hear, "I poopy mommy." So I'm thinking great, he finally pooped, he hasn't pooped all day. But what to my wondering eyes do I see as I enter his room, Lorenzo standing in his crib holding his diaper full of poop and more poop on the sheet. Good thing it was bath night anyways tonight and I had just gotten my new Eco Sense Pre-spot stain remover from Melaleuca in the mail today. So I throw the sheets etc in the the laundry and Lorenzo in the bath.

Oh it gets better! As I am making dinner tonight Lorenzo wanders into the kitchen and pulls his pants down and I see that he isn't wearing his diaper anymore. I asked him where is his diaper. His response, "Where? Diaper? I don't know." So I pick him up, take him to his room to put on a new diaper and he points to the diaper pail, "In there diaper. I pee pee."

Needless to say, I think we need to seriously start potty training him. If he would only sit down long enough to do it. To think that he will be turning 2 years old in a month. Didn't I just start this blog when he was still in my belly? Time flies so fast. Speaking of fast, my dear nephew Cameron is 17 today. It feels like just yesterday that he was born too.

Well off to bed as only tomorrow knows what is in store for us. But I am sure glad to put this Monday behind us! All in all, I have survived another day in Adventures in Parenting, Gaytan Style.

Zumba

My body is telling me that I should really be in bed but I'm not sure if I can make it off the couch after going at a Zumba fundraising dance tonight. I know it was for a good cause, Haiti, but I think my body is now protesting the 2 straight hours of Zumba dancing. Well at least I got a good work out tonight. Does that mean I don't have to go to the gym for the next 5 days??

I can't believe it is February already. Where does the time go? The kids are growing like weeds both physcially and mentally as Lorenzo is learning more and more words to say and Rayna is reading books at about a first grade level. Work is going good for me. I enjoy sharing the world of Spanish with 2-4 year olds. It is a challenge all within itself but it is fun. I'm actually feeling a little more crafty since I have to come up with activities for my kids to do. Randy is pretty much working from home now that the Elberton plant is closed. He is in NY this week.

Probably the latest and greatest exciting thing is I finally got my new washer and dryer that I have been dreaming about for a long time. I got the steel blue Samsung steam. It is very pretty and I love it. I think I have done a load of laundry just about everyday since I got them. I have yet to use the wool setting though. Maybe tomorrow, I have a pair of pants that need to be cleaned.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/appliances/washers-dryers/washers/WF419AAU/XAA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&returnurl=

Ok I think I have to give into my body and go to bed. Another time, another day, another story!

Parental Follow-thru and on-going sickness

I think we should have a punch card for ER visits to Athens Regional Medical Center. How about 4 visits and your 5th one is free. Sounds good to me since I have been there 3 times in the last 3 months. No joke! I was there with Lorenzo on Aug. 19 and then again on Sept. 19 and then last night with Rayna. The kids were sick for like the whole month of September. They had everything but the Swine Flu. It all started with Lorenzo and his croup. Then about 10 days after that he got Rotovirus. He was well for I think a week when he got Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, which of course he in turn gave to Rayna. We've been in the clear for a couple of weeks now except for the fact that they both have colds and snotty noses.

Well last night's adventure to the ER involved Rayna and a splinter in her hand. She received the splinter on a log at school on the way to the car when I picked her up at lunch. She screamed bloody murder about it. We get home and I tried to attempt to get it out to no avail. I put her in the bath hoping that with the warm water it would be easier to remove. But of course she wouldn't even let me look at it. I was tired of hearing her cry about it hurting her hand so I gave her a choice: you can let mommy get it out or we can get in the car and go to the hospital and have a nurse take it out. By this time it is after 9 p.m. This is probably the craziest thing I've ever done as a mom but I'm sure it won't be the only thing! She still wouldn't let me do it so I told her to get in the car, we're going to the ER. It took 3 nurses and me to hold her down and get it out. Once it is out she turns to me and goes, "Mommy, I'm so glad we got it out. My hand feels so much better now." She liked the fact that the nurse's name was Poppy. They gave her a grape popsicle, a star sticker and a Dora sticker and she was as good as new. Another lady was walking by and ended up giving Rayna a teddy bear and Lorenzo got a little rubber ducky. She named the teddy bear "Take Care Little Child".

I'm chalking this one up to never underestimate the stubbornness of a four year old and never underestimate Mommy! I always say what I mean!

Challenging Week

It has been quite the challenging week to say the least. Yesterday I spent all day in the hospital with my little man. He came down with croup the night before and his breathing sounded really bad so I took him to the doctor first thing in the morning. He had what they call Strider Arrest, is where the airway is swollen. The doctor sent me straight to the hospital for some breathing treatments and a steroid medicine. Apparently this type of breathing treatment is one that can only be given in the hospital. And of course, Randy is out of town! So now I am trying not to freak out about Lorenzo not being able to breathe and figuring out what I am going to do with Rayna as she was at school. The doctor had told me that there was also the possibility that Lorenzo would have to stay overnight in the hospital for observation depending on how he responded to the medicine.

So I started making phone calls. I called my neighbor Jenny who said she could pick up Rayna from school and feed her lunch and bring her up to the hospital later. Sabrina said she could come get Rayna and she could spend the night there with them. So now I had Rayna taken care of so I could focus on Lorenzo. He did not like those breathing treatments or getting x-rays. Poor little guy, but he was a trooper. Everybody at Athens Regional Medical Center was just awesome. I couldn't have asked for better care. And my doctor is awesome too!

Well we ended up finally leaving the hospital around 7 p.m. with high hopes of not having to go back in the middle of the night. And thank the Lord, Lorenzo slept from 9 p.m.-8 a.m. with out any problems!!! He is doing much better today and really doesn't even have the barky cough that comes with croup.

I'm just so glad I listened to my mommy instincts. I'm just so thankful for all the good friends that I have here in Athens that will help me out when I need it. Thanks Sabrina and Jenny! I could not have gotten through yesterday without you guys! :)
Now I just can't wait for Randy to get home and this week to be over!

Rayna's 4th birthday and odds & ends

Wow! Can't believe tomorrow is the first day of school for Rayna! Where did the summer go? It's been quite the busy summer between gymnastics camp, summer school camp, going to the beach and having friends and family visit. I know I need to keep up on my blog a little better but then I get tired and always think I will do it tomorrow. Well you know how that goes, there's always something better to do tomorrow!
Here's some pictures from Rayna's Princess Pirate Party. She had a blast! It really was a lot of fun. My friend Sorina made her awesome cake. It not only looked fabulous but tasted good too! The party was a lot of fun even if it was like 100 degrees out that day. Grandpa G and Nanny and Poppy all came down for the occasion. I can't believe my baby girl is 4 years old already! Where does the time go? She is starting her second year at Montessori. She told me tonight that she is going to learn how to read this year. She is really starting to sound out words and spell them out. I'm sure she will be reading in no time. She will also be in gymnastics again and starting ballet class. She is a very busy girl.

Lorenzo is starting to talk. He can say ball, Rayna, Bauer, car, water and just about all the animal sounds. It is so cute to hear him do the animal sounds. My favorite one is the pig sound he does. He even knows some of his body parts like hair, eye, nose and ear. I'd almost forgotten how quickly they pick things up at this age. It is so fun and amazing to watch him. I love this age!