For those of you married you know those words all too well and you try hard to live them - although sometimes (at least for me) the "in sickness" part means quarantining Bill to the basement guest room to try to keep myself and the kids in the "in health" part. :-)
Now in all honesty I think these vows are even more applicable to when you become a parent. I talk to my friends and they all concur, when you become a mom there really isn't such a thing as a sick day. So you care for your kids regardless of the condition you are in. I guess a small price to pay for being a parent.
This weekend was a great example. I started feeling under the weather on Thursday night so started popping Zycam. Friday morning I awoke feeling worse and achy all over, but work was waiting and with it several important deadlines I needed to help my clients meet. I set off to the office with intentions of leaving after lunch. Well for me that amounted to 5:30. Do you already see where this is going? And when I finally arrived home I was staring at a jam packed weekend from start to finish complete with house guests (mom, dad and Aunt Marg).
Friday night: Check in and practice runs for Ryan's annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. What we thought would be a quick check in and practice run turned into over an hour of fiddling and tweaking his car to try to get it under .35. It was to no avail -- we had wobbly wheels this year so we left with hopes of a miracle on Saturday.
Saturday: Ryan's race started at 11 so we were off by about 10:45. I woke up and actually felt better and was actually dumb enough to laugh in the face of this illness attempting to invade my body. I continued to pop Zycam thinking smartly "take that you illness bug." Oh how could I be so foolish?? (Bill was faring worse. He woke up looking and sounding horrible. I told him to call in sick to work, put him back to bed and told him not to leave our room -- he didn't protest.) Ryan raced and consistently came in third in every heat but one. He took it in stride but he and grandpa are already plotting for next year. Then it was off to Target to buy a birthday present for Ryan's friend, home for a quick lunch and then off to drop Ryan at his party. Dad went to the boat show and the girls headed out on errands. I was determined to make a good dinner complete with pumpkin pie so we ventured to the new Super Target in Maple Grove (gosh I LOVE those stores). We enjoyed a great dinner and pie, caught the ladies figure skating championships on TV (live from our own Excel Center) and then it was off to bed.
Sunday: I awoke with a scratchy throat and the feeling like something was sitting on my chest. A quick check and I discovered there was nothing there. Ugh - so much for Zycam. Bill woke back to the land of the living and declared himself "much better." Plans had been to head to Twins Fest with the kids and we both felt like we couldn't disappoint so we headed downtown to the Metrodome. After about two hours I warned Bill he could be carrying me to the car if we didn't leave. It worked and we left. One thrown together dinner and five loads of laundry later I collapsed into bed feeling like I was hit by a truck. Bill was faring worse - he was sure two had hit him. So much for feeling "better."
And so it goes, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health - marriages and parenting -- the vows are pretty darn similar.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Vacation Planning - Lambert Style
Last night Bill and I took a trip -- via the world wide web - you know Internet style. You see we are excitedly(?) and anxiously(again ??) trying to plan our annual family summer vacation. Past years have taken us to Duluth (several times), the Wisconsin Dells and in 2006 to a "resort" (this term is used very loosely but that deserves another post of its own) in Chetek, WI. We usually travel with Bill's sister and her family but they have other plans this year so Bill and I thought it time to expand our horizons and travel a bit further -- maybe even fly somewhere. We learned quickly that our travels via the Internet where much more economical shall we say, than the real deal. :-)
Our first plan was Boston and Cape Cod. Many years ago I nannied there for two years and have remained in contact with both families. Both have extended invitations in the past to bring my family for a visit so we thought maybe this summer was the time to accept and travel East. I envisioned taking the kids to the New England Aquarium, walking the Freedom Trail taking in the history along the way, going for a ride in the infamous Swan Boats in Boston Common park and to see a ball game and the Green Monster at the ever-popular Fenway Park. We then thought we would rent a car for a few days and drive to the Cape and spend a night or two near the ocean. Can't you just close your eyes and imagine it? We can too so it is still at the top of our list.
Next we thought "hey we bet summer is the best time to take the kids to Disney World." Um wrong. It seems it is one of the busiest most costly times. For some reason we thought with it being in Florida that the winter months were "high time." It doesn't appear that way. However there are some weeks earlier in August said to be good visiting time (but I haven't yet checked the weather to see what the average temps are at that time of year -- surely they rival those of MN). They also seem to have some fairly reasonably priced packages on Disney property and they even have some with a meal plan. However we learned that the designer of the meal plans must also be a diet enthusiast as they include 2 meals and 1 snack. Obviously whoever came up with this plan does not have children who tend to eat not twice but about five times a day. Never the less we added it to our list as our second choice. Just don't tell the kids -- Anna's concept of time isn't so good yet and I am not sure how much of "when are we going to Disney World" I can take for the next seven months.
Our last choice (and this one the funniest for me) was Chicago. Bill is thinking "hey we can drive to Chicago and then we don't incur airfare" and I am thinking "yeah the kids will like this -- they can bring the DVD player for the car and other things to entertain them." We both conclude this is a great option and there is so much to do in Chicago with the kids -- we could easily spend five or six days there. The Cubs are in town so Bill already starts to plan a game for he and Ryan while Anna and I would while away the hours at the infamous American Girl Place store enjoying lunch, a show and a little girl's dream shopping excursion. Oh yes, this is going to be a great trip. Bill says since we are driving we will stay in the heart of downtown so we are in close proximity to everything. This is sounding better by the minute. So we start searching for hotels. We find a Chicago Hilton and type in our dates and room preferences, etc. -- we don't need anything too fancy -- just two beds and a bit of space. O.K. maybe a lake view would be fun to splurge on -- on second thought no we don't need it. We even deduce we can bring our Aero Bed for Ryan to sleep on so the kids each have their own sleeping space - no night time squabbles. Oh we are such smart parents. The computer chugs away and finally spits out some room option and pricing for us. The "disclaimer" reads that this price is only valid for the dates specified. I take that to mean it is the entire price and am a bit surprised at the bargain it is for $485. I look at Bill and quickly declare, "we can do this," to which he nods enthusiastically. So then I press the button that says "make a reservation." A little more chugging by the computer and voila -- there is the registration page saying our stay total will be nearly $2500 NOT including tax. That is when it hits us that the $485 is PER NIGHT. Good grief are we dumb!!!
Needless to say nothing was decided last night for our trip. I am starting to think the backyard with a tent and our pool are looking pretty good. Well not really because that would mean I would have to cook and do laundry and I sure don't want to do that on vacation. Surely we will go around (the Internet) on this a bit more before deciding where summer will take us. Stay tuned for future updates .....
Our first plan was Boston and Cape Cod. Many years ago I nannied there for two years and have remained in contact with both families. Both have extended invitations in the past to bring my family for a visit so we thought maybe this summer was the time to accept and travel East. I envisioned taking the kids to the New England Aquarium, walking the Freedom Trail taking in the history along the way, going for a ride in the infamous Swan Boats in Boston Common park and to see a ball game and the Green Monster at the ever-popular Fenway Park. We then thought we would rent a car for a few days and drive to the Cape and spend a night or two near the ocean. Can't you just close your eyes and imagine it? We can too so it is still at the top of our list.
Next we thought "hey we bet summer is the best time to take the kids to Disney World." Um wrong. It seems it is one of the busiest most costly times. For some reason we thought with it being in Florida that the winter months were "high time." It doesn't appear that way. However there are some weeks earlier in August said to be good visiting time (but I haven't yet checked the weather to see what the average temps are at that time of year -- surely they rival those of MN). They also seem to have some fairly reasonably priced packages on Disney property and they even have some with a meal plan. However we learned that the designer of the meal plans must also be a diet enthusiast as they include 2 meals and 1 snack. Obviously whoever came up with this plan does not have children who tend to eat not twice but about five times a day. Never the less we added it to our list as our second choice. Just don't tell the kids -- Anna's concept of time isn't so good yet and I am not sure how much of "when are we going to Disney World" I can take for the next seven months.
Our last choice (and this one the funniest for me) was Chicago. Bill is thinking "hey we can drive to Chicago and then we don't incur airfare" and I am thinking "yeah the kids will like this -- they can bring the DVD player for the car and other things to entertain them." We both conclude this is a great option and there is so much to do in Chicago with the kids -- we could easily spend five or six days there. The Cubs are in town so Bill already starts to plan a game for he and Ryan while Anna and I would while away the hours at the infamous American Girl Place store enjoying lunch, a show and a little girl's dream shopping excursion. Oh yes, this is going to be a great trip. Bill says since we are driving we will stay in the heart of downtown so we are in close proximity to everything. This is sounding better by the minute. So we start searching for hotels. We find a Chicago Hilton and type in our dates and room preferences, etc. -- we don't need anything too fancy -- just two beds and a bit of space. O.K. maybe a lake view would be fun to splurge on -- on second thought no we don't need it. We even deduce we can bring our Aero Bed for Ryan to sleep on so the kids each have their own sleeping space - no night time squabbles. Oh we are such smart parents. The computer chugs away and finally spits out some room option and pricing for us. The "disclaimer" reads that this price is only valid for the dates specified. I take that to mean it is the entire price and am a bit surprised at the bargain it is for $485. I look at Bill and quickly declare, "we can do this," to which he nods enthusiastically. So then I press the button that says "make a reservation." A little more chugging by the computer and voila -- there is the registration page saying our stay total will be nearly $2500 NOT including tax. That is when it hits us that the $485 is PER NIGHT. Good grief are we dumb!!!
Needless to say nothing was decided last night for our trip. I am starting to think the backyard with a tent and our pool are looking pretty good. Well not really because that would mean I would have to cook and do laundry and I sure don't want to do that on vacation. Surely we will go around (the Internet) on this a bit more before deciding where summer will take us. Stay tuned for future updates .....
Monday, January 7, 2008
Happy New Year!
Today is January 7, 2008 and I THINK I have finally caught my breath from the crazy hecticness that was Christmas this year as well as the post-Christmas cleanup also known as New Year's weekend. I truly believe I was in perpetual motion from December 21st (well actually technically even before that but it kicked into high gear on the 21st) until yesterday. I vowed to have a more relaxed holiday; I vowed to enjoy each moment and to not get stressed. I didn't do a very good job in the least on any of those accounts. :-( And in all honesty last week I (as well as some of my friends) was in a post-holiday funk -- a let down of sorts that it was all over and I hardly got to enjoy it. Ugh. I guess I have quite a few days, weeks, months to think this over and figure out for Christmas 2008 how to avoid these feelings from happening.
I hope for all of you that the new year has kicked off on a high note. I know in the Lambert house resolutions have been made -- now whether they will be kept is to be seen. I am vowing to lose the weight I keep battling and work out 2-3 times a week (how cliche' are those resolutions????). Bill vows to work out and run more. Together we vow to eat healthier AND spruce up the house. The sprucing up has begun -- we have installed a wireless network in the house so now we can access the Internet from anywhere in the house -- this is AWESOME! Bill began the mammoth task of stripping the wallpaper and painting our entire basement. The first two walls look so awesome he says it is only inspiring him. I just hope that enthusiasm continues. I am shopping for new bedding for the master bedroom so we can finally make this room our own (the yellow painted walls just are NOT Bill and I) and paint it as well and Ryan is planning the completions of his space themed bedroom. I will have to post pictures to keep you all apprised of the progress.
I hope for all of you that the new year has kicked off on a high note. I know in the Lambert house resolutions have been made -- now whether they will be kept is to be seen. I am vowing to lose the weight I keep battling and work out 2-3 times a week (how cliche' are those resolutions????). Bill vows to work out and run more. Together we vow to eat healthier AND spruce up the house. The sprucing up has begun -- we have installed a wireless network in the house so now we can access the Internet from anywhere in the house -- this is AWESOME! Bill began the mammoth task of stripping the wallpaper and painting our entire basement. The first two walls look so awesome he says it is only inspiring him. I just hope that enthusiasm continues. I am shopping for new bedding for the master bedroom so we can finally make this room our own (the yellow painted walls just are NOT Bill and I) and paint it as well and Ryan is planning the completions of his space themed bedroom. I will have to post pictures to keep you all apprised of the progress.
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