A winter walk. It was soooo warm outside - our high was 38, and it felt warmer than it has for months to me! (Either that my fever was still talking.) Whatever the case we went for a short winter walk to the Jensen Nature Park behind our house. David slept, I enjoyed breathing the cold air that felt heavenly on my lungs, and Cade ran over bridges. It was a great little stroll, but it makes me miss warmer weather and walking. I've got Spring Fever waayyyy to early.
Neb meet Debby. Debby meet neb. This is my new friend. I was so happy to have him today. I spent the bulk of my day at the Dr.'s office/pharmacy. I hate going to the doctor, and especially when I'm convinced they can't do anything for me. Official diagnosis: bronchitis. Most likely viral. So like a good doc, he didn't give me the often overprescribed antibiotics. But, to my surprise he did help me feel much better. I got an Albuterol Nebulizer treatment that opened my airway for the first time in days. After that, he said he still wasn't comfortable with the length of time I'd been sick, the sound of my cough/chest, and my history of bronchitis/pneumonia (we're old friends - nearly every year usually around history day I wound up down for a week with one of the two ailments.) So, I got a really great nightgown and a chest x-ray, which of course was clear enough to not be pneumonia. (I could've told him that...but....) Anyhow...I did get some Mucinex and an inhaler so that I won't wheeze so bad at times. Now I'm still stuck at home, trying to "rest and recover" so it doesn't turn into pneumonia. "Rest and Recover" with two crazy hyena boys? I wish! 
This is Eric on Christmas morning opening his "presents" from me. If you can't see - it is a bottle of Cola, pac of Mac n' Cheese, water, beans, and chicken noddle soup.....but not just any old joe blow foodie items. These are certifiable Dharma Initiative Food Items! Wahoo! Okay, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you obviously don't watch Lost. You are missing out friends, if you don't. Today was the opening episode in the last season of a really fun serial show that hooked me from the start. It's like a big long fascinating movie that never ends. Mixed with a little sci-fi and idealism vs. science it puts it right down my alley. I was much more excited about Lost today than I was for Groundhog's Day. That is saying something, maybe. I usually like Groundhog's Day. I checked out a video from the library on Groundhogs, and books, and had a bunch of activities planned to celebrate the day. (Did you know Groundhogs only breathe once every SIX minutes when hibernating? Cade keeps telling me this ad naseum.) The culmination of the day was supposed to be to go to the Sunset Sam celebration in Sunset Utah. Sunset, about 4 miles away has a resident guinea pig who studied under Phil. You can read more about her/him here:
I spent all day Monday in bed propped up by pillows or in the rocking chair. I am a wimp when I am sick. My poor husband. The roles are reversed. I'm the wimpy, whiny male when it comes to being sick. "I can't go to the gym....I can't breathe....my throat/chest/back/neck /head/nose/body hurts.....The kids are driving me bananas.........etc....etc....etc..." It didn't help that my kids were coughing up lungs right along with me. I was sick enough I cancelled all piano lessons, missed a rehearsal for a show I'm playing/singing Baritone in!!! that opens Friday. Rather....a show I was going to be in. Since I haven't had hardly any voice for 4 days, I'm going to have to pass on this show :( Sad. The up side of being sick? I started watching LOST in May. I had 7 episodes to catch up on before I was ready for the premiere on Feb. 2. I did it. It seemed impossible, but not being able to move/breathe/etc. made it happen. 
Saturday, closing night for Pirates. Once again pretty fun, except for my cold I came down with that day. After a busy morning at Spin class, a temple trip with the Primary Presidency, prepping for sharing time, and a rehearsal for the next February Cabaret show, I was ready for a nap. But, then I had to teach piano, and eating dinner started to sound pretty appealing, so I didn't get my nap. I did get a nice cough and a runny nose, though. 
The latest show I'm playing for is The Pirates of Penzance Interactive Experience 2010. I did the same thing last year and really enjoyed myself. Friday was the 2nd to last night and was dubbed "Apprentice Night." We had a full audience - which is truly remarkable and all the understudies were stepping in and taking the main parts. We were all a little nervous about that, but it worked out great. We had a hysterical performance. Part of the experience is that the audience members get to pick certain songs to be sung double time, or they can pick swapping genders, or swapping charachters. I got to be in on the fun too. Someone had me swap with Frederick. Andy who is normally the cop got to be the pianist (he can't play,) and I am really not a vocalist. I had my nice bass voice going for me though and got a laugh and a half when I leaped on the "leap year" vocal solo. Fun times at the Village Green indeed. 
This is one of Cade's fantastic Preschool Teachers. He goes to preschool at the Bravo Arts Academy twice a week, and once a week at the Sing Out Young Preschool. Does Cade have a future in music? um....no reason to suspect quite yet, and I am not going to push it. So....why does he go to TWO arts preschools? Completely selfish reasons - networking for mom. His one preschool has hooked me up with lots of performance gigs, and the other one is opening a new branch in Layton by my house and they are looking for teachers! Hopefully this summer I will get to teach some group, adult, and advanced piano classes. So, while Cade may not have profitted by these schools (he is a little annoyed and not the biggest fan of singing,) it certainly hasn't hurt him, and it has helped mom a lot. Anyhow I digress. Thursday was their preschool field trip to the downtown library So fun! We got to hear story tellers, and saw snakes and birds, and we got stuck in the elevator, and had a newbie check us out which took twenty eight years, and I lost both the boys coats. It all worked out - we got out of the elevator safely and recovered his coats at his preschool (teacher thought we had left them....when actually we were just taking ten years deciding which book to check out.) We made out like bandits. 7 eyewittness documentaries that both boys are obsessed with and a handful of books. I love the library, but it made me want a nap today.
Wednesday was haircut day. I hate shelling out over ten bucks for a haircut - but it had been a few months. My boys looked like mops, and I massacred Cade's hair trying to cut it, so I finally broke down and decided I wanted to see their precious faces once more. Wish I had a before and after....we went to Cookie Cutters. DVD's, Star Wars Lego on a Playstation, cars and airplanes, succors, and balloons.....these boys love getting their hair cut. Spoiled? Yup. 
Friday morning. 7:15 A.M. I was still sleeping. I am usually awake much before this time, but I had been emotionally drained. The phone rang - the only person who ever calls me that early is my mother, and she was snoring in the room next to mine....so I dragged my way out of bed.
These are my cousins. They are truly an amazing family. Thursday was my Aunt's funeral. It was tough, but it was also beautiful. It was great to see and meet several of my cousin's spouses and children. They were all so gracious and kind and "together," unbelievably together for such a shock. All of the children stood and told a teaching moment, a humorous moment, and a memorable moment about their mother at the service. I laughed, I cried, and I was touched. I don't have words adequate enough to express all that I felt that day, so I am not even going to try. I will really miss my Aunt, though. 
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day??? It was supposed to be a happy outing for mom and Cade.....being a holiday we left Dad and David at home and went to a Preschool Program at the Ogden Nature Center. It was supposed to be a discovery program about snowflakes and ice complete with stories, hot chocolate, and a craft. After driving 30 minutes and running in the snow to try to get there on time, we found out that you were supposed to preregister (not mentioned in the paper) and since we were the only people to show up....they weren't going to have it. Grr. So - Cade was very sad as you can see in the pictures. We did get to see Wild Turkeys (in the top picture) and unique birdhouses (like the Rubix Cube Birdhouse pictured below.) It worked for me, but I think Cade was a little disappointed.
Earlier this week on our library trip Cade picked out a video about natural disasters, and books on volcanoes, tornados....etc. So he has been watching this video nonstop all week. Here is a recap of what he has learned. He is sitting next to me and he wants me to say all of this to you.... and I quote: "Hurritans, Floods, Tornadoes, Blizzards, does that start with B? Epstunami, -also known as a tiger wave, meteors that hit the earth. These are all the natural disasters that I know of. The cold air gets trapped in the hot air and the hot air wants it to not get out and says no I don't want you to get out. This is how tornadoes get made. A volcano can trigger evil landslides. I have a movie all about tornadoes and you must like it. It's from the library. This is me Cade. Eptsunami is a biggest wave, and eptsunamis can break through the door in the house and get in the house, eptsunamis are so big they can almost reach the top of the Statue of Liberty. All the statue of liberty has when an eptsunami reaches it is the head. It almost reaches all the way up to the top. You could only see a part of the neck, and an eyes, and a nose, and a mouth, and ears. Eptsunamis would cover the toes and the whole of the tummy. Okay? This is me Cade. This is some things about natural disasters. I am tired. I have to go to bed." I tried to tell him about the recent earthquake in Haiti. He didn't understand. "How can an earthquake be in just one place? An earthquake is when the whole earth shakes, so how can just one place shake?" Are all 4 year old this literal? Yikes! Also....he is very concerned that a tornado is going to hit the barn down the street from us, because tornadoes go to farms. Maybe I'll go back to Curious George books next week! 
This is the a sign from yesterday's YIP pic as seen going the opposite direction. If you couldn't tell, I haven't been taking very many pics as of late.....so this slew of sign pictures were ones that I took on a Sunday drive I took trying to keep David from dismantling the Wii any farther.
........A Sign from across the street from the Jose's Burritos that are "comming soon." Spelling is contagious.
Jose's Burritos are "COMMING" Soon at the shopping center by my home! Yahoo! (...delivered in a tone dripping with sarcasm.) I can't wait for yet ANOTHER fast food Mexicana place in my neighborhood. The perks....this new one really knows how to spell check before making two large banners to hang on their restauraunt. (Okay, I'm absoutely the wurst at spell-checkin, and I mess up and forget all the time before I post junk on my blog, not to mention my complete lack of educated!!!! use, of, punctuation, and........overabundance........ of.......... ellipses, and to brazenly use split infinitives, and run on sentences.....but I can still poke fun of businesses, because heck, they are trying to make money off of their endeavors, and I am most certainly not going to make money off this babbling blog......)
Cade is now in the CTR 4 class at church. He was ecstatic to get his first CTR ring. He decided that one CTR ring just wasn't enough....so he made one for each finger. (Not all of them are pictured here.) So - he wants to keep them all on the elephant ring holder Eric got for Christmas. (Who knew something like that existed? I didn't until I bought it for free, and actually....it has come in quite handy. The usable junk out there just boggles the mind sometimes.)
Today I spent the bulk of the day at a Super Saturday rehearsal for my next show at the Village Green. We are doing a repeat of last year's Pirate of Penzance Sing Along, but it is different on three counts this year. First, we renamed it the Pirates of Penzance Interactive Experience in hopes of getting more of an audience. Second, there is an almost entirely new cast so I am meeting lots of new crazy musicians which is fun. Third, no pay this year.....not that it was much last year, but at least this year I don't have to practice a wink for it. Hooray for finger memory!
We had such a fun night last night. My college roomate and great friend Brittany came over with her husband Dan. We talked the piano talk for a loooong time while our husbands sat probably bored to tears, and then we played Raving Rabids on the Wii. I really like that game. David fell asleep watching us play. Score! I was rocking out to Born to Be Wild, and laughing while striking myself with the nunchuck cord. Good times indeed! The pic above is from my college days. We played name that roommate one night. We all swapped clothes and tried to imitate each other. 
For lack of anything interesting on Thursday....here is a status update from Eric on Facebook:
I am emotionally drained. So bear with me! Today's images are of my boys as newborns. Cade is the 1st pic and David is the 2nd. I am SOOOO blessed that I have my little miracles with me today. 
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.....a .........not a whisk. This is a pic of me with my favorite Christmas present, and a pic of me taking it away from David. What is it? Okay, I guess I'll tell you, it is a head massager. Eric's little sister gave us this head massager for Christmas, and as funny as it looks, it feels great. We have been inseperable since our introduction. I wish it were electronic, but then again, I might look a little funny going to church with a pink whisky head contraption superglued to my staticky hair.......
No more David's jumping off the bed....hopefully. I didn't even know David could climb the bunkbeds in his room, let alone fling himself off. I found out yesterday. I was teaching piano, the babysitter was getting the phone, and Cade was trying to convince David not to do it.....when.....thud....silence......waaa.....bloody nose......freaked out mom. Cade had this great idea to make a sign that "will stop David next time, with uppercase letters because David only knows those ones. " I'm so used to Cade who got my scaredy-bug gene that I forget I must be vigilant with Davy the Daredevil. No goose egg, no concussion, not too much blood, but certainly not enough sleep. I was up most the night trying to wake David to make sure no injury developed as advised by the fount of all knowledge the net, (and his pediatrician via phone call.) I need a nap!
