Shhhhh....I've Got A Secret....

Well, look at this!  My Iris looks like it is gonna bloom this year!  I am so excited!!!  These Iris bulbs are the ones my dad sent me from his yard!  The leaves grow every year, but I have not gotten any flowers since I planted the bulbs!  I am so excited! There are three buds that have escaped the snails so far!

I love tulips....and I just happened to glance inside this one...I love the bright purple in the center!

Ok...wanna know my secret???   Arrielle does not read my blog..so it is ok to post it here.  I am sneaking up there to attend her baby shower!  They have crazy schedules and are having their baby shower on a weekday...kind of different, but ok.  When Arrielle asked if I could come up for the shower, I was honest and said it was really expensive and I did not think I could.  Up until this past Monday I did not think I could either.  But...Lee ate frugally on his Chicago trip...and when we filed his travel claim, we made money.  As fate would have it...we made enough to cover the cost of the rental car to drive up!!!  So, I crunched some numbers...my dad always gives me a mothers day gift (a tradition my mom started)...so, this year I asked for gas money.  I can take what Lee and Elliott would have used for a mothers day gift and add that in too, and we are having the big annual Coast Guard  garage sale the weekend before..so I should make a little money then too.   There will hopefully not be too much out of pocket...and I still get the gift of seeing both my boys on Mother's Day weekend!!  

I am 90% sure this plan will work!  Mason knows and has sworn not to tell Arrielle.  I am hoping that Elliott can come with me..but he has finals that week...the baby shower is on the 10th of May.  It will be good for him, since he cannot come up with us in July.

My plan is to drive up the day before and hide out until her baby shower the next afternoon.  I will be her shower gift.  As much as I want to surprise her and be there on this special day, I will admit that there are some selfish reasons too...everyone on her side of the family has been able to feel Mahoney move in Arrielle's belly...and I admit to getting a little teary and jealous...I want to put my hands on her belly and feel Mahoney move.

So, cross your fingers and toes...let's hope this plan works!!

My Every Other Month Date With Elliott...

 Elliott donating blood, on Friday afternoon.

At first, it was Elliott's way to get community service hours for graduation last year...then we were determined to get the coveted "gallon donor" award, or maybe it was all the goodies and soda you can drink when you are all done...but in the end, we do it because we feel it is important.  Elliott and I donate blood together every two months.  

The needle looks huge, and it kinda is...because I can donate my pint pretty rapidly.  Actually, what hurts more is when they prick your finger to test you for anemia..ouch, I hate that part.  When you first get there, you have to answer all these questions...some about diseases I cannot even pronounce, if you have lived outside of the United States (Lee cannot donate blood for a while longer because of this) and the usual ones about drug use and such.  Elliott and I kinda race to fill ours our...he always wins...turns out he has less questions than I do...the race was rigged from the start.

Here is the first little pouch that gets filled before the bigger ones.....I am intrigued by the color of the blood when it comes out..it is not red like the movies it is more of a dark brick color.  It only takes about 20 minutes to do our donation, it takes longer to fill out the questionnaire and go through the quick screening...then you are supposed to relax for 4 hours afterwards.  I like that part.  I do not like taking off the weird tape they use to hold down the gauze they put on you after they remove the  needle...I am bad and remove it earlier than I am supposed to.

So, they always tell us we helped save a life when we are done donating...as we leave a little tired, but deep down we kinda feel like superheroes!!! 

Pictures From Lee's Trip To Chicago...

I cannot get over how the streets look like the bottom of a canyon!

I love the mix of modern skyscrapers with older traditional buildings.

See the reflection of the other buildings in the mirrored one!

The downtown reminds me of kids playing with Lego's, a mix of tall and even taller buildings!

Chicago's "L" train.

The view from Lee's hotel window.

Walking up to the train platform...check it out, the walkway is wooden! Interesting.

Very tall buildings!

More tall buildings!

Uh Oh....What Was I Thinking??

Arrielle at 27 weeks!!!  

I am letting Lee take my laptop with him to Chicago...for a week!  He leaves tomorrow, bright and early, before the Easter Bunny will even get here!!  He has a course, that will help him in the Coast Guard and on his resume, but he also has his college course to keep up with.  So, he is taking my "baby" with him.  It is gonna be a long week, my laptop gone and my coffee maker has broken as well!!  I hope I survive.  Elliott and I are still looking forward to Easter tacos for dinner tomorrow!!  

More next weekend, hopefully with a couple pics from Lee's trip!

It's All Happening At The Zoo.....

 Flamingos in the rain!

So, my cousin Mary and her son, Ben came for a really quick 24 hour visit.  Thankfully they are true Washingtonian's and are not hindered by a little rain!  We headed to the Sequoia Park Zoo, it is tucked into a nice neighborhood about 2 miles from our house.  I had not gone there since the boys were very little....it was similar to what I remembered...minus the very naughty monkeys!!!  It is small, but the animals they have are very interesting.

 Even my Dad will tell you...I have always wanted a goat and this one was just too cute!!

 Because of the rain, many animals took to their shelters, but this monkey came out and swung on the ropes for us, but did not want his picture taken...I am thinking he was having a bad hair day!

This was the highlight...the zoo acquired a pair Red Tail Pandas.  This one came out and posed, he is kinda like a fox with a panda face...very cute!

This zoo is a treasure for this area...a fun place to take your kids..old and young!  They have taken under their wing wounded animals, that other wise make not have lived...and taken care of them and allowed them to be ambassadors for their species.  I especially like the barnyard exhibit...with the chickens roaming around free, llamas, goats and sheep.  A big black pig that kind of acted like he would be thrilled if we opened the gate to his pen...he would hit the lock for the gate with his snout.  I liked the donkeys as well!!   They have a Golden Pheasant in their aviary....probably the most beautiful bird I have ever seen.  So bright, I was not able to get a picture of him!

It made me think of little Mahoney....I cannot wait to share stuff like this with her.  We took Mason to Point Defiance Zoo (Tacoma, WA) before he was even two weeks old....I wonder if Mason and Arrielle would want to do that when we are up there.  Less than three months and I will be somebody's grandma...I can hardly wait.

I Have Been Possessed!!!!

This is the back of my neck on Thursday!!!  The "cross" of welts kinda freaks me out!

Check this out...its like a jelly fish!

My body has been possessed...FOR REAL!!!  Oh...and it is miserable!  On Wednesday I woke up with what felt like a bug bite on my bootie....and I scratched it.  Within an hour I had hives all over my neck and chest.  I think it freaked Lee out!  That day I got them on my arms, chest, back of my neck and head (those were the worst)...it was awful, you feel itchy and like your skin is on fire.  Thursday was the same, what I thought was a bug bite had reduced in swelling, but the hives remained....that night I slept with ice packs because my skin felt so hot.  Benedryl and cortisone cream were helping, but not a lot.  Friday...I could not take it, so I called the doctor hoping they could get me in...they did.  I was so itchy in the waiting room, the nurse said "Jeanine!  What happened???"  Of course, they stick me in the room, and I had to wait forever...just enough time for the hives to play hide and seek...they hid from the doctor.  Ugh!  She did prescribe a stronger cream.  That night I took an extra benedryl so I could sleep, with my new friend the ice pack!  Saturday and today have been better...so far.  I can sense a hive about to "erupt", my skin tingles, gets hot to the touch and poof, there it is.  I have spent way too much time watching them come and go the last few days.   We are not totally sure what is causing them, they can be brought on by stress...but I have been feeling ok.   Most likely they are an allergic reaction to something.  Mike and I used to swell up like the Michelin Man every summer due to mosquito bites.

So cross your fingers that they go away....before I give in and go buy a bamboo back scratcher!!!