Flowers in the Attic

Years ago, I read a book titled Flowers in the Attic. It disturbed me and I have never been a fan of investigating attics. In my mind, an attic is just a rodent infested hotel with pink fluff, wires, and air conditioning ducts.

However, I had to face my fears recently. We now have two vehicles that fit in the garage. But, we have so much crap in the garage....I mean treasures in the garage, that we have room for only one vehicle to park in there. This was never a big deal because Troy's monster truck was too long to fit in a standard garage. It's freezing cold here and it takes a while for the ice to melt off the windshields. So, I decided to tackle the treasures and store them in the attic. (I was reminded by a certain man in the house that he ALREADY has gotten rid of enough treasures and he could not part with anything else.)

I went to Home Depot and got plywood and had them cut it in half lengthwise.
I went into the dreaded attic.
I scared away the rodents (at least I never saw any!)
I raked that pink fluff all over to even out the insulation.
I hauled that plywood up to the attic.
I screwed the plywood onto the trusses and made a storage platform.

I did all this while teetering on the beams so I didn't fall through the drywall ceiling and land on my butt inside the house. I even have a blister!!!

The attic is now ready for our treasures to be stored up there.

I did not, however, consider how I would get those treasures up into the attic by myself. It turns out you cannot carry a box up the little attic ladder safely.

Now, I am left in limbo.
I can't park in the garage because there are boxes all over.
I can't carry those boxes up to the attic alone.
Troy and Megan are both unable to help with lifting.

Megan's swim coach is going to send over a few boys from the team to help me finish moving those boxes up to the attic. If they don't show up........

Maybe I should have just planted flowers in the attic?

Merry Christmas

I didn't realize how long it has been since I last posted. We are getting ready to head to Abilene to see Steven for a few days and spend Christmas with him. It will be so nice to have all 4 of us together.

We've been keeping busy with the medical issues for Troy and Megan. Every day is a new adventure, but we are hopeful 2011 will be a much easier year for our family. Troy's next surgery (and hopefully the last!) is scheduled for 12/29. The recovery for this one is really rough so he will be out of commission for at least two weeks.

Megan and I are enjoying our school break. It gives me time to get caught up on things around the house that never get done when I'm teaching....exciting stuff like cleaning out the pantry, organizing the garage, cleaning out closets. I enjoy doing those things when I have the time.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! We'll post pictures after we return from our trip!

Love,
The Fishgods

The Gift of Time

Today, my principal surprised me. She does that a lot. She is an amazing administrator who truly has the best interests of her teachers and the students at the forefront of every decision she makes. I've never had a principal who I respect so much and admire professionally.

Kindergarten teachers were given our Christmas gifts early today.....we got "the gift of time". This means that we were free to leave campus at 12:25 instead of 3:30. Another teacher on our campus covered our classes and we were kicked out. She said it's time for us to do something fun. Go shopping. Get our nails done. Take a nap. She didn't care as long as we left campus!

I left campus, had lunch with my wonderful husband, then ran a bunch of errands. It was truly a gift to have that extra time to run errands, grocery shop, get the car washed, and do a little holiday shopping.

I might catch that holiday spirit yet this year!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. There are so many people and things to be thankful for this year. We are thankful for our friends and family who care about us (and us them!). Enjoy your day!

Can anyone say MRSA?

Troy's infection on the back of his neck isn't cleared up yet. He has had IV antibiotics and has had a 10 day run of Keflex. The surgeon sent us to a dermatologist. She did a culture and a biopsy. Troy now has 3 stitches in the back of his neck and will have those for two weeks. She started him on antiobiotics for MRSA. That is what they are testing for but she wants to get a head start on it so surgery can happen as soon as the stitches come out in two weeks.

So, another dismal doctor visit. Troy is really getting depressed. Send good thoughts his way please.

B

10 Things You're dying to know

1. Troy's surgery put off yet again. Still has infection. Follow up in another two weeks.

2. We're not going to Scottsdale for Christmas. Based on the surgery scheduling, there is no way Troy will be well enough to travel. So, we will enjoy a quiet Christmas at home.

3. Thanksgiving plans include cooking turkey and all the trimmings at home.

4. We are all off this upcoming week and looking forward to some fun times like movies, holiday shopping, and naps!

5. I am taking a hiatus from my master's courses and will not be graduating in July as planned. Cancel the party.

6. Steven has grown another inch, made progress in so many areas, and recently broke a staff member's glasses. Ugh.

7. Megan has been sick with ear infection and sinus infection. She has been a sick girly and barely chokes down her antibiotic horse pills.

8. We are so looking forward to Chris and Melanie's upcoming visit!

9. It's starting to get really cold in the DFW area. Fortunately, we all own jackets, scarves, mittens and umbrellas. We are ready for it this year. Bring it on Mother Nature!

10. I forgot to post about our new doggy, Brody. We got him at the end of September. He's a 5 year old black lab and perfect for our family. We are so excited we didn't have to endure the puppy phase to get such a great pet!

And, that is the top 10 list of things you were dying to know.

B

Megan's Swim Meet

Megan had a blast at the swim meet this weekend! The team left school on a charter bus at 2pm on Friday. They rode down to the Houston area, had dinner at a hotel, and did a few activities before calling it a night at 9:30pm. Megan was assigned to a hotel room with 3 of her closest friends.....Lily, Gabby, and Katie. Turns out Gabby has only stayed in a hotel once. She spent the entire night awake listening to people in the hall, convinced they were trying to come into the girls' room. Megan said the door kept opening as Gabby would open the door to see who was outside. (I didn't even try to explain the safety issues with this decision since it was after the fact.)

They woke everyone up at 5:00 AM.......ate breakfast at the hotel and were in the water at 7am. The water at swim meets are kept especially cold because it supposedly helps swimmers swim faster. The meet ended at 3:00 and the team was back on the bus and headed to "Dave & Buster's". They ate dinner at the buffet, played a while, then boarded bus and got back about midnight. Coach said it was hysterical to watch these starving swimmers attack the buffet. The employees were scrambling around trying to keep the buffet filled!

Megan did great in her two events. She placed third in her first event and shaved 1.5 seconds off her personal best time. She didn't place in her second event, but did shave 3 seconds off her best time in that one. She's really becoming such a great swimmer!

We picked her up at midnight last night and she came right home and fell asleep. I imagine she will sleep until noon!