Sunday, May 22, 2011

My Big Fat Greek Sunday

I pulled up my blog page tonight..not sure if I was gonna write anything or not...but felt like if I had it up then I might want to...if the mood struck.  I was just about to shut it down, when my daughter saw it up and said "Mom, what are you gonna write about tonight?  Are you gonna write about our carnival rides too?" 

Earlier today, we took an impromptu drive down to the Greek festival in Bridgeport...we had nothing for lunch and I am always a sucker for Greek food...so I convinced my hubby to interrupt our normal lazy Sunday to leave our home..for just an hour.  We all enjoyed a yummy lunch and then we decided to check out the carnival rides.  Jos and I rode the "Scrambler" and some other flying ride that I don't know the name of.  At some point during the flying ride...my daughter says to me.."I'm def going to write about this in my weekend news!"  Her school teacher has them write about their weekend events on every Monday...I was so shocked/happy that she wanted to write about this because she had a very fun filled weekend....from her new haircut on Friday afternoon...pizza party that same evening...our always fun "Victoria Day" on Saturday....trust me....there was a LOT for her to write about.  But there she said it, in the middle of our insane giggling...when we were trying to spin the ride as fast as we could! 

So...of course, then I had to write my blog about it too.  So funny how a quick hour of your life can be so powerful to your children and to yourself.  Owen just stared at us with this look of like "what the hell are you two doing!"  while in the safety of his father's arms.  But to see his face with that expression was priceless.  I am so thrilled we went down on a whim to basically get a yummy lunch and it ended up turning into a very memorable experience! 

Monday, May 16, 2011

Princess...not all it's cracked up to be

I just finished watching the Oprah episode with Sarah Ferguson that aired last week...wow!...that woman has been through a lot.  In her own words... "I had it all, and I blew it all."  I did not know that her mom left her when she was 12 yrs old....what a tough age to be abandoned by your mother.  I have always been annoyed with Fergie and wished she would just be the princess that we all want to be....until I saw this interview.  She has made many mistakes, but she is human and regrets all of them.  I def saw her in a different light tonight.

So this brings me to a subject I've been wanting to write about, but been having a hard time to put into words.  I've been doing a lot of my own soul searching and finding my place in this world as a momma and a wife.  A little bit of therapy, some time just taking a big deep breath, yes...a little medication, and a lot of running has helped me get further in my search.  And I feel like I have come a long way.  And not just in getting through this spell of post-baby blues or whatever it was...but in getting to know myself.  And that's why I loved the Sarah Ferguson interview...she said that she is trying to find herself...not the Duchess of York...or Pork...or the "Fergie"...but getting to know Sarah...as herself. 

We all have our demons to overcome....even if you do marry a prince and live in Buckingham Palace.  I have a wonderful life with a gorgeous, loving husband...two beautiful children....and a lovely home that I adore.  But I still want to continue this journey of finding who Steph is...and I am def going in the right direction as I am learning more about myself every single day.....and this is the reason why I named this blog....My Life as Steph.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ummm...can I say lice?

Lice..such an ugly word and brings up such ugly thoughts of bugs crawling all over your head.  I know right now your head is starting to itch.  Sorry..........wasn't what I planned for my second blog to be about, but when you have kids you never know what the next day will hold...or for that matter....the next hour. 

So here's my long annoying story of our drama with these tiny bugs...thus far.  We were happily enjoying Easter weekend without a care in the world of what might be growing deep within.  Then I took Josie down to the bus stop on Monday morning after Easter and standing there in the bright morning light noticed she either had an extreme case of dandruff or we had bigger problems.  After working at a dermatology office, I had always started to worry about the possible infestation of lice into our home.  As I parted her hair to get a closer to look....something flew out of her hair.  I laugh now...because everything I have read online has said that lice do not "jump or fly"....well something flew out of her hair that morning and I have witnesses! 

Anyway...I immediately called my girls (LOVE THEM) at Dr. Cohen's office and they told me to just come in.  Unfortunately for all of us...it was confirmed as lice.  Def full blown on Josie...I had a couple of nits...couldn't really tell on Owen because of his fair skin/hair....and Dr. Smith didn't even bother to check Jason....why should she?  Everyone should be treated! 

So here is where the fun began..........I could write all the details of my new daily activities...but it would take a long time and I guarantee each of you would have either already moved onto the next blog or will be very soon!  Basically, I wash all bed linens and towels after every use...that means stripping each bed every morning....not my idea of fun.  I groom my daughter several times a day with shampoo/lice treatment/lice comb....etc.  I can't even explain on how much time I've spent on her hair in the last three days.  I've looked up videos on YouTube and YES they do have "how to" videos on how to remove lice...very helpful....I'm hoping it will work. 

The last 24 hours have been the BIG day of removing all the lice, nits, etc. We had to pour this nasty smelling alcohol based overnight treatment last night.  I had to wait till Owen was in bed at 7....then Jos and I doused each other with this terrible smelling liquid.  Then we had to wait till our hair was dry enough to go to bed....around 9...so, not too bad....but had to fall asleep with my head on a towel covered pillow.  My alarm was set for 6am so we could wash the solution out of our hair before Owen woke up.  So much fun waking up a 7 yr old who has finally learned to sleep in.....then we did the fun job of fine combing through our hair for the millionth time in 3 days. 

And now two more times today I have fine combed her hair with the lice comb to make sure I have gotten every last nit....which from the sounds of other moms in my situation...I may not be so lucky.  But I will keep trying......my daughter has not complained one bit.  Especially when I am picking and combing through her hair nonstop. And please realize when I say fine comb....I mean FINE COMB...strand by strand!

Tonight she watched "Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice" and was writing down facts about polar bears.  Wow!  She so loves school and never wants to stop learning.  Other things she has done the past 3 days.....organized and cleaned her playroom (she's been asking to clean her bedroom, but I'm still dealing with cleaning other things in her room so I haven't let her do it yet), mastered several wii games, made several food items out of Play-Doh, and watched countless movies. 

My husband has also had a huge part in dealing with our bug issue. He shampooed my hair on Monday and then this afternoon combed through my scalp hair by hair to find any nits. He did not enjoy it....but still did it.  I love him for it! 

We shaved little Owen's head hoping to rid him of this bug - first hair cut!!  He looks so cute....but I cried because I have lost my little baby's hair.  His first tooth finally broke through this week as well.  Very busy week for my little man.

Back to bugs...tonight consisted of spraying our hair with this eucalyptus spray I found that is supposedly safe to use after a chemical treatment...we will see. 

All in all.................my life right now is consumed with getting rid of BUGS!!!!

And I can't wait to get this new book about house cleaning...maybe it will help with my infestation!
http://31daystoclean.com/

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

My First Blog

So...here I am...writing a blog.  Not sure why I am doing it or if I should be doing it.  But here I am......doing it.  I kinda find blogs intriguing...but also a little egocentric.  However since one of my great longtime friends (who is so far from egocentric) has had a blog for many years then I figured I might try.  May only last tonight...or maybe I'll try tomorrow.  We will see.


I started thinking about writing a blog because I started a huge change in my life.  Those of you who know me will be like...  What?  Come on, Steph, you have done several big changes in your life.  But I guess this is the first time I felt like putting something down on paper...or I guess in this case, a laptop. 

Now I know this is no huge monumental thing I started, but in a way it was for me.  I decided to start running back in September.  Saw a friend on FB commenting about this great Couch to 5K program and I got interested.  Just had a baby the June before that and was desperate for a way to get motivated to lose weight.  I have NEVER (never say never) been a runner but thought the program looked like something attainable, so I started.  It wasn't easy and now thinking back, I am embarrassed at how bad I really was in the beginning.  But I started and haven't stopped yet....