Toy hairballs and the trip to the ER

Monday was our first official day of Summer vacation. I decided that we really need to have some sort of framework for our day, otherwise it will be complete chaos all summer. The only problem is I'm not really all that good with structure. So I started small. Lunch, all together. Then story time. Then 10 minute tidy. OK, this was a good start and I was happy with that. I figure as the summer goes on, we can add a little more structure until school starts and it will be structured enough for us.

Monday and Tuesday were great. The girls played peacefully in the house or outside until lunch. They LOVE story time and they were actually quite cooperative when it came to the 10 minute tidy. The rule, by the way, is you either clean for 10 minutes and then you can go outside and play, or you stay in for 30 minutes.

Day 3. I'm busy cutting coupons, procrastinating about going to the grocery story (as I was proofreading this, I realized that I had written story instead of store. But that's what my girls call it, so I'm leaving it like that!) and trying to get organized. Oh and I'm also throwing in some laundry every now and again. The girls are busy playing inside...although not always peacefully. Rachel falls asleep...of course. Rena and Riley are playing upstair in their bedroom. Lunch is postponed due to an overconsumption of frozen gogurts and early nap. So already, my structured day is failing. So anyway, I walk upstairs to change a load of laundry and this is what greets me at the top of the steps.

It looks like the girls bedroom has coughed out a giant toy hairball! All this random stuff hawked up from the depths of the bedroom floor. Oh, the humanity!

But the fun doesn't stop there on this first Wednesday. Eventually, I give up on any hope of the grocery store and/or a 10 minute tidy...although by this point, the kitchen needs a 60 minute tidy. One of my neighbors calls and says "are you busy?" ehhh, NO. So we go sit outside for about an hour or so and socialize. These have become known as happy hours. And other neighbors join in.

But now it's dinnertime and I have porkchops that have to be cooked. So I bid my neighbors goodnight....they have other stuff they need to do too...and head inside to Shake and Bake. The twins are watching TV and Rena was sitting outside coloring with sidewalk chalk when I walked in. Well, not 5 minutes later, Rena comes in crying. And I know immediately that we will be taking a trip to the ER tonight.

Rena has fallen off her bike and split her chin open. OUCH. Poor things. She's really hurt. So, I slap a wad of paper towels on her chin to stop the bleeding. I tell the twins "Go to Miss Cheryl's house" (this is not something I need to say twice. They LOVE going to Miss Cheryl's house and playing with her and her 2 children. So, off they went without another word.) I start trying to call the pediatrician. Of course it's after hours so I have to wade through voice mail hell. I finally leave a callback number. Then I call the Children's Immediate healthcare center....and also get stuck in voice mail hell. But I need to start heading that way, because it will take me at least 25 minutes to get to the emergency room, which is my closest option. Then I call Miss Cheryl. She doesn't answer the house phone. Doesn't answer her cell phone. By this point I am cussing all phones in general.

So, I load Rena into the car with a red washcloth now controlling the bleeding (fyi, I picked a red washcloth so the blood wouldn't show and freak her out even more than she was already.) and head over to Miss Cheryl's. I park and go to the front door and knock. Eventually, I see my girls upstairs where the playroom is. They scream 'Mommy!' and head downstairs to let me in, the family dog in tandem. They unlock the door and the first thing they say is "nobody's here!" "What do you mean no one is here?" Turns out, my neighbors aren't home! The twins had crawled under the garage door and let themselves in! Yikes! 'Alright, come on', I tell them and shuffle them off to the car. But now I can't lock my neighbor's house back and I really don't have time to explain to the twins all that was wrong with what they did.

Luckily, one of the neighbors that had been at my house earlier had been watching the whole scene unfold, so she took the twins without question and fed them dinner. I have GREAT neighbors. And now Rena and I are off. We immediately pass my neighbor who's house the twins just broke into. So I flag him down and explain the situation. Turns out he doesn't get what I'm saying and thinks I've left the twins at his house (his wife was suppose to be watching them for me a little later this day). So he gets home, their bikes are their, but he can't find them OR his wife and he's totally confused! Poor guy.

Finally the doctor's office calls me back and directs me to the emergency room instead of the Immediate care center. Of course, I've already passed the exit, so I have to backtrack and head back to the ER. So an hour after Rena fell off the bike, we finally arrive at the ER. Rena was a real trooper. She was scared, but she did great. The PA comes in and says 'we can glue that'. Let me just say, Dermabond ROCKS! It's quick and painless and we were out of there in no time.

Back home. Picked up the girls who were back at Miss Cheryl's house. Everyone was tired. Especially Riley, who fell asleep in this position watching Southpark.

Fear not. I don't really let the kids watch Southpark. That's why I have the TV positioned so that I can see it.

Rachel just pretended to be asleep so that I would take a picture of her too.

Rena wasn't in the mood to mug for the camera last night, but she's feeling better this morning and is willing to show off her battle scar.

She had been talking about what she did wrong on her bike that caused the accident, so I'm glad she learned from her mistake. I'm just so sorry it hurt so much.

One eventful day of summer behind us already. And now we're off to the Georgia Aquarium!

Trike-a-thon and the IRS

Ok, those two don't really have anything to do with each other. But I'll get to both.

Our preschool does a fund-raiser called a Trike-a-Thon. How cute is that? The parents bring the tricycles and bikes to school and the kids ride them around in a circle until they get bored and then they go get their faces painted

and then jump in a bouncy.

Ok, I probably shouldn't be the one writing the advertisement for the event, but it is really fun...and funny to watch. The day of Rachel and Riley's event, I was one of the volunteers. We said GO and they all started off. 2 little boys (also twins) headed straight...to the road! Everyone else made the turn and were furiously pedaling in a circle, but these two! They were on a mission. Volunteers and teachers alike took off running after them and finally caught them at what I can only imagine that they thought was the finish line! Too funny.

These kids take if very seriously. They ride with a mission. It's really interesting to me to see the difference in the ability level of these kids. Some are naturals, zooming around and weaving in and out of the less confident. Some seem like they have never been on a bike before. I must admit, that made me a little sad for them. My girls are out on their bikes almost every day. And Rena's been riding a two-wheeler for about a year. Some of these 4 and 5 year olds were just not very coordinated. Come on parents! Get your kids OUTSIDE!

It was interesting to watch my own kids too. In keeping with their personalities, Riley rode very carefully and deliberately.

Rachel rode with complete abandon. She also waved at me each time she passed!

And Rena did what was expected...rode in a circle and didn't interfer with anyone else.

Rachel and Riley got to watch Rena's race because they weren't in school that day. It's so nice that they support each other.

I'm glad that the twins have 2 more years here. Such a great preschool. I love it and so do they!

Now, on to the IRS. Thanks to the crappy economy, we are getting a big fat refund this year. The lion's share is coming from the federal government. I'm really looking forward to getting this return, because it will allow me to plan out the rest of this year financially. But of course, there was a glitch. Somehow we got Rena's social security number wrong on the form. I called and fixed that over the phone and was told I could expect my return within 30 days. Yippie! So, a week or so later, there's an envelop waiting for me in the mailbox from the IRS. Silly me thinks it's the return. Nope. It's a bill for $67,000+ dollars. Not kidding. According to them, we failed to pay and/or file in 2006. What?! How come Kroger can keep up with what I buy sporatically at their store and send me coupons to match, but the IRS can't keep up with my 2006 taxes that were filed and were paid. Good googley-moogley. Not only that, but they're keeping my 2008 return. Oh, they GOT that one. Idiots. Now I know it's some minor thing. Maybe they filed it under N not M, or got OUR ss# off by a digit...but seriously people, I don't remember much about 2006. I had two 1year olds and a 3 year old. Taxes schmaxes.

So, I started digging though my well-maintained records...ok, they're really just all stuffed in a really big purple box. And lo and behold, I found a cancelled check to the IRS for 2006 taxes. Now we do have a little problem because our taxes were done on my computer which just so happened to get a really nasty virus this winter. So I took my computer to the local high school computer teacher where he used it as an example of what not to do. He had to take EVERTHING off my computer. And despite the fact that I told him the only important things on it were pictures and quicken, he saved everything. I love you Mr. Decker!!!! So once we download the software...again...and open the tax return, we should be able to get this thing resolved. But what a pain in the ass. Seriously, I think I'm the only one who's not stressing about it. I'm just pissed that the government can do things like this. It's THEIR fault, not mine. And trying to talk to someone about it IS frustrating. I know they have it and they won't even look. Arghh. Ok, maybe I'm a little frustrated. Anyway, I'll keep you posted...or blog from the pauper's jail!

I will leave you with this lovely sign of spring.