The Never-Ending Winter

Apparently, like everyone else in the USA, Erie is never going to have spring.  Seems like there is way too much cold all over the place!  I'm needing some new ideas on how to entertain inside, this was supposed to be my Zoo month.  We should have visited it everyday! Maybe April...

We are going out of turn this month, I uploaded photos first 

and this was the order they appeared in on my screen!

Audrey: becoming quite the chatterbox.  She's able to repeat almost everything she hears - for better or worse.  But she is more clear than her sister was at this ago, so it's nice to not have to translate everything she says for other people.  She loves puzzles and has an affinity for finding any puddle that may have formed outside.  When she wakes up, she always asks for her sister which is so charming (even when they are fighting over toys)!  Next up is her big birthday month... we are ready for the 2s!

Anna: I can't believe I have a 5 year old, and that she's Kindergarten bound.  It is quite strange, but I'm really enjoying this age.  I can talk to her about things associated with the move and she really gets it.  The YMCA seems to be my saving grace these days.  I still get plenty of workouts in each week - read, time away from the girls - which helps in everything I do.  Caroline attends all kinds of classes which have really helped us get through these months.  I'm all finished packing for now, the 'For Sale' sign is in the yard and we've had a few showings.  I really can't do much more until the 'Sold' sign is up!  I did manage to survive the installation of new carpet.  It really does look nice, and you can't beat the fresh carpet smell when you open the doors.  I'm just sorry for all of the Moms whose children crawled around on our previous carpet... what a mess!

Caroline: Birthday Girl!  She's wearing a shirt made by Becky Copple.  You can find her shop "Sew Ro" on etsy... hint hint!  She loves ballet and continues to practice all over the house.  Caroline loves her Barbie dolls which is new for me.  I wasn't into them as a kid, but I'm doing a great job of corralling  all of those little plastic shoes.  In the evenings, she's able to stay up later than her sister - sh, don't tell Audrey!  It's nice to have some alone time with her in the evenings, and she respects our space when I need to work.  She's always available to watch another episode of "Electric Company!"  Next week we head to EVV for a house hunt.  Caroline (and the rest of us) are very excited to see her new school and learn all about the wonderful world of Kindergarten!

Ryan:  Does this guy look tired?  Well he survived a night at Chuck E Cheese, Caroline's choice for birthday dinner.  Call has been a little nuts lately and trying to keep up with studying and house projects, the poor guy needs a 28 hour day just to get a little extra sleep!  He was doing great at working out in the AM until last week, when he found himself shoveling more than not.  He's doing great and trying to keep his nose to the grindstone until boards arrive in May.  We are all looking forward to our Evansville trip, he gets a few days off and we get to show his Mom around our new city!

I Think The Groundhog Was Wrong....

Okay since my favorites in KC have experienced an Erie sort of snow week, I'm thinking that Groundhog did see his shadow.  Will this winter thing ever end?  The zoo opens up here on Friday, best late-afternoon time killer around... and more snow heading our way.  Not the easiest way to navigate the zoo with snow on the ground, but I'm getting close to desperate so I might just bundle up the kids and go!

We did have a marvelous 5 days on Anna Maria Island (outside of Tampa) with Dad and Allison.  It started off cool, but that didn't stop the sandcastle builders from staying busy.  There was plenty of time for swimming in the "warm pool" i.e. hot tub and tons of seafood for the adults.  It warmed up perfectly by the end, and except for taking a little longer to arrive back in Erie than originally planned, the girls were fabulous travelers.  It was so nice to hear the ocean and really have a chance to catch up with my family.

Bring on March.  Bring on warm.  Bring the sunshine consistently back.  Bring on a major snow melt.  Bring on a birthday girl....

Ryan - sitting across from me studying.   He has two exams coming up and is studying in most of his spare time.  Last weekend, while the girls and I were in FL, he managed to rip up all of our upstairs carpet.  He is dedicated!  It is looking great, now if we can just get it finished off this house can go on the market.

Myself - trying to juggle kid activities and bid visits on carpeting/hardwood floors.  We've hit a snag (a usual with the Palmer household) and the upstairs can't be refinished.  Now the big question, laminate over the existing floors or just carpet it all once again.  I've heard pros and cons on both sides.  I really don't care.  I'm just hoping not to spend a fortune and I am ready to have my house back!

Caroline - gearing up for her birthday month.  The invitations are printed and will be mailed soon.  She's just so excited for her party and the multiple celebrations that will ensue, wonder where she learned that one from?  She's into reading more and more.  We will go over sight words in books and she helps me "read" books.  She's also great at keeping Audrey occupied by "reading" to her.

Audrey - loves having all of the torn up carpet in the sunroom.  It's a perfect climbing mechanism and she embraces it with every chance she gets.  Today I found her splashing in puddles, just as happy as a clam.  Guess I need to get that kid some rain boots for the spring!  She is really talking now, two word sentences but still can't manage to say "please".  She's a rock star at "Thank You" so I'm not sure what the issue is... but we will get her figured out.  She also loves singing her own song "Mir, Mir Mir" to her own tune.   What a great kid!

Moving into the 4 month countdown!

Happy New Year!

I don't know why this is so hard for me to keep updated.... my time has become a little more flexible, so maybe this is the year - one post a month, or more!  We'll see, only time will tell.

Ryan - he is on the major residency countdown!  A zillion dollars later, and a zillion photos/phone calls/fingerprints later I think he finally has both his KY and IN physician licenses.  Now he will turn those over to his office to get hospital privileges in Evansville (EVV is the airport code and much easier to write, get used to it!)  Also he fills his evenings with reading in preparation for his board exams in May.

Anna - in December our sitter called the office and informed me the girls were safe, but I needed to come pick them up immediately.  She had had an anynomous phone call placed with the state informing them she had too many children in her home daycare setting.  She is working to get properly zoned and certified to continue to the day care service, but it forced me into an early retirement!  I'm okay with the change and it decreases my feeling of constantly rushing around trying to get the girls to the sitter then back to the office.  I do miss my ENT friends and the adult interaction it provided.  But in the end, it is great to have more time with my girls, and we are having all kinds of fun trying to keep ourselves entertained on these cold, snowy days!

Caroline - is now in school 5 days a week.  She goes M, W, F in the morning and T/Th afternoons.  The afternoon session is a pre-K preparation program with a small class and only one teacher.  I think she's really enjoying the more focused learning and is able to work on some really cool projects.  She's also started back dancing at Lake Erie Ballet each week with her best neighborhood buddy, Ellie.  They dance 1.5 hours on Tuesdays and seem to be loving it!  Between school, dancing and a few fun classes at the YMCA she's growing up quickly before our eyes.  She's also wanting to write more often and is very curious about letters/numbers.  The teacher side of me is really enjoying this new learning that she's creating.  We are trying to read chapter books together, and best of all - she's trying to give up sucking her thumb while listening to a story!  And New Year's Eve, she was running thru the house and perfectly rammed her head into a corner.  Ryan and Mark Steehler got to practice their sewing skills on her forehead... not the exact New Year's Eve we were planning.  At least we all survived, kind of!

Audrey - is more chatty everyday.  When she is spoken to, she usually tries to repeat a word or two expanding her vocabulary more each day!  She and Caroline are doing a better job of playing together, and when a war erupts over a toy I simply pack it away in a box... they can play with it again in EVV! :) She does love her baby dolls and books!  We are reading more each day.  And she's even starting to recognize Elmo, therefore I can leave her to watch the show while I get a shower!  Yeah!  She's still the happy go lucky kid and just has such a cheery disposition.

Charlotte is tolerating the cold weather, but misses her daily visits from our dog friends that live close by.  We are all ready for the warmer weather to arrive, but I think Charlotte is counting down the hours!    She doesn't get as many naps anymore now that we are home all day, we are wearing her out!

I Hate Cancer

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I love that there is pink in every window, on every sports player and in all of the magazines.  It is amazing the support that is shown in every imaginable way.  But still, why do we have to celebrate it?  It is time for this nasty disease to be gone.

I lost my Mom to cancer.  A college friend passed away last month from a reoccurring brain tumor.  Ryan's cousin lost her second round battle to breast cancer earlier this week.  It's just too much!  Too many people are being taken away unnecessarily by such a horrific disease.  These patients battle in such a graceful way and are put through so many terrible treatments.  I'm just ready for it to be gone.  Polio, small pox, they've been eradicated.  I hope in my lifetime this is as well.

Okay, enough of a soap box.  I wanted to let the Blog world know that we have made our choice for careers... Evansville, IN here we come!  Ryan has joined a private practice and will be one of four ENTs.  The group has hired another fellowship trained Facial Plastics guy that will begin the same time as Ryan.  We are pleased with the opportunity for growth, the location of Evansville in relation to family and our happiness with the city itself.

We have been getting our house ready for the market in the spring.  Amazing how you get the energy to fix all of those little things you keep walking past, but never stop to fix until you know it is time to sell!