CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Monday, May 12, 2008

Finals, Date Night, and Allergies...



OK, so I thought I would have more time once school was over with! It's been a crazy week, but hopefully this week will go better. Finals are done and over with-yeah! I am still waiting on grades and such, but I really don't care at this point. Whatever will be, will be!

My date night with Greg went well. I feel like I should explain why we haven't been out in so long, as we are not complete losers :) It's just been difficult-for one, we couldn't go out to eat due to all the restrictions I have been on while nursing Mara. Movies are out, as my husband cannot stay awake if he isn't moving. Going out for drinks is out because of the being pregnant/nursing thing again. Plus...it's hard to find a babysitter! We live at least an hour away from all family members, and most would rather us drop the kids off with them then drive all the way out here. This honestly makes me a bit nervous with Mara-I would rather have someone here so that only her food is here. Our close friends all have kids younger then ours, so its hard for them to come to the house (although a few friends and I have been working on a babysitting coop among the three of us)Plus-there's the added bonus that the girls bedtime routine is very fixed, so having someone else put them to bed would subject them to too much stress (for the babysitter AND the girls).

So that's why we haven't been out. But I will say that we have had many "dates" at home after the girls go to bed. We play games, eat a late dinner, watch a movie (OK-I watch, Greg sleeps). The connection is there, and that's the most important thing. We both know that this is only one short moment in our lives-we have plenty of time for dates out when the girls get older.

OK-so anyway....the wedding was beautiful. Has anyone watched "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network? They are the one's that made the wedding cake, and it was beautiful! They filmed the bride and groom seeing it for the first time, but that was before any guests were there (so no tv appearance from us!) I was so tired, and ready to leave around 9. My feet were so swollen-I had no ankles and my shoes suddenly looked so tiny as my feet were pouring out of them. People were shocked to see them, I just had to laugh. As much as I had wanted to leave, I hung in there a bit longer as the groom was a childhood friend of Greg's and so there were many people there that he hadn't seen in awhile. We began to leave around 10:15 and actually got out the door around 11. We got to Greg's parent's house around 11:30 to pick up the girls and they both greeted us at the door :) We told Katie not to worry about sleep-if they do great, but if they didn't, that was fine too (did I mention the fixed bedtime routine?)

Last Sunday I took the girls outside and we played for several hours. The pollen count in our area is crazy high right now-I think NPR said it was 2000% higher then normal right now! I was brushing the pollen off the swings just so the girls could sit down and not be covered in yellow. Anyway- after we went inside, Analese and I started having lots of sinus pressure, nose and eyes watering, etc. Analese developed a yucky cough-I felt like her lungs were filled with pollen. We were miserable most of the week-I kept the girls home from school and everything Tuesday just to give Analese a break. Every time we went outside, she started coughing again. I hate that everything goes right to her lungs. Anyone with some natural ways to minimize outdoor allergies, please give them to me! I hate the thought of medicating her, but we cannot stay inside all summer!

So that was our week! For Mother's Day we took the girls down to the D.C. Zoo-even though the weather was supposed to be rainy and highs were only in the 60s. We lasted almost 4 hours before the rain turned into a downpour and we had to leave. The girls got to get right up close to the Giant Panda-it was literally on the other side of the plexi-glass eating bamboo ("making a mess" as Analese has been telling everyone)

Here are some photos of our week! We were busy-playdates, a trip to the Aquarium, art class, and some free time outside (the highlights were puddle jumping and playing with clay) Enjoy-and I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

I will update again soon, as I have "new and improved" belly shots to post :)


6 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

Beautiful pictures!

I wish that I could offer something helpful for the allergies. We're having a rough time here, too.

Kaylyn said...

Happy Belated Mother's Day!!

Oh, and I am so jealous you went to a wedding where Ace of Cakes did the cake!! We are the biggest fans of that show. We are going to MAryland tommorrow, I am hoping we can go take a picture by the shop sometime... :)

My Lifesong said...

Sorry i missed your call, Jul. It seems Dad didn't turn off the phone(he thought it automatically turned off), and I didn't discover it til after 8:00pm. Sounds like a very busy week.

Lorrie said...

Love all the pictures! No idea on how to help your allergies, we've been lucky and don't have any (:

Peace is every step said...

Beautiful pictures! I'm anxiously awaiting more belly photos. :)

Chris said...

Hey Jules...the best natural thing to do for your allergies is to do nasal washes every night before bed. My kids would be snotty messes if we didn't do those. They have so many different kinds, you'll have to see which kind your girls would let you use on them. The most gentle kind, I think, is the Nette pot (sp?). We have a squeeze bottle from our allergist that you squeeze the water up your nose, but I'm always so scared that I'm going to squeeze too hard, sending too much water up there, and hurt his sinuses. At first he didn't like it,but now he doesn't mind it...even asks me to do it some nights.
These nasal washes have stopped a sinus infection in it's tracks. Other things the allergist told us to do: take a bath/shower before getting in bed, always undress outside of your room at the end of the day. Don't have the clothes you wore that day anywhere near your bed. Don't open your windows at this time of year, and DON'T hang your laundry outside to dry--especially your sheets.

Just a few ideas that don't involve meds. The hard thing about outdoor allergies is, you can never escape them. A person just can't hide in their houses at this time of year, especially when it's so beautiful outside! Our trees are just budding now, so our allergy story is just beginning. :(
Hope some of these ideas helped a little.

Oh yeah...you can get a recipe for nasal washes on-line. It's a mixture of water, baking soda and salt.