Antietam Sunrise

Life has proven extraordinarily busy lately, but when a sunrise like this presents itself, I'd be a fool not to slow down for a moment to take a shot.  I took this on our way to Hagerstown one morning last week during our usual hectic routine.  This is looking east (obviously) off Rt. 65 just north of the Battleview Market.

Anymore

Sometimes I hear something, see something, feel something,

and wonder why I'm not part of that - 

not doing that - 

not that

anymore.

It's a Girl Scout Thing

We have recently learned more about a Girl Scout tradition called SWAPS (Special Whatchamacallit Affectionately Pinned Somewhere).  They are simply little somethings, often symbolic of an event, with a small identifying tag that Girl Scouts swap with each other and pin on a hat, t-shirt, rope, etc. 

Coming up in February is a special Girl Scout holiday called World Thinking Day.  It's a day when scouts and guides around the world get together to learn and think more about their sister scouts in different countries.  Our county's service unit is having a special day where each troop picks a country to represent.  Our troop chose China/Hong Kong!  We are responsible for making a display, 150 SWAPS, and a snack.  Our SWAPS are a combination of little pictures (dragons, Wall of China, etc.) and fortune cookies that we've made.  Here are some pictures of how to make the fortune cookie SWAPS (I think they're adorable!).

Cut out a circle of paper (I used a scrapbooking circle punch tool).  Pinch it in half (colored side out) - do not crease the fold.  I had to use my other hand to take the photo, but usually my other hand is holding that left side closed while my right hand is pushing in middle and pulling the ends down and together.  I used little glue dots (Zots) to put in the crease to keep the fold together permanently.  You could use regular glue, but you have to hold it closed for a bit. 

We printed out tags for the "fortune," which we glued into the cookie.

After adding the ubiquitous safety pin, we'll display our SWAPS in Chinese take-out containers (bought at Walmart in the party supplies section) on our table for the other Girl Scout troops to visit and swap. 

I Got Born There, Mama

After the construction and grand opening of Meritus Medical Center off Robinwood, the demolition of the old Washington County Hospital has picked up speed and a few complaints.

Both of our girls were born at the old hospital.  It has been bittersweet to drive past recently and see the utter destruction of twisting metal, dust, and busted block.  SG said it best: "I'm kind of sad about that.  I got born there, Mama."

George can attest to the fact that the basement cafe used to make great BLT's and chocolate milkshakes.  That's all he ate when we stayed there.

Frog Hollow Skies

We finally have the first measurable snow on the ground since Halloween.  Now, the sky is spitting icy rain, and the lane looks treacherous.  The girls have birthday parties this afternoon, and we're hoping we can make them.

At least we have had some beautiful sunrises lately.  The two pictures below (in no way edited!) were taken about two weeks ago from our deck.  You can't beat this view!

Post-Christmas/Post-Strep

I had every intention of posting each day of Christmas, but got hung up around Day 10.  You may have thought it was a result of our going back to school and work, and certainly that fact played a part.  But mainly my attention suddenly got diverted to the toilet - yes, the toilet - on the eve of our return to reality.  If you get grossed out easily, stop reading.  No, I'm not talking poop here.  Just blood.  The youngest one, just a few days from her sixth birthday, called me to the bathroom that night because her "pee look[ed] all brown."  Completely freaked out, I googled and realized I should call her doc immediately, which I did, and they wanted to see her pronto.  We high-tailed it to Frederick for a late Monday evening appointment; urine analysis, once-over, no other symptoms, no weird kid injuries, nothing in the urine but blood and protein (no infection obvious) -- so, "come back in two days to see what the lab says."  We go back; labs say nothing - another, more comprehensive once-over - "go to Robinwood now - get an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder and get a blood sample.  STAT."  Done.  Wait.  Wait.  Wait.
Finally, Thursday afternoon I got the call that the only thing they could find was that such-and-such levels indicated that she "recently" (within a couple of months) had strep.  ("Do you remember her having strep?"  "No.  Bad stomach-bug before Thanksgiving?  But no strep - throat or skin - that we can remember.  Wait a minute - she did have a little fever one day.  She did have itchy hands one afternoon.  Does that count??")
So, they think she had/has something called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (GN) - "a disorder of the kidneys that occurs after infection with certain strains of Streptococcus bacteria"  - according to this website.
Dr. Crowder, one of the very talented doctors at The Pediatric Center in Frederick and surrounding areas, told me that they see about ONE of these cases a YEAR!  How crazy is that?!  That MY kid would be so unique . . . Another doctor who worked with us, Dr. Chaitovitz, explained to me in terms that even I could understand how this little disorder works:  kid gets strep somehow (usually the skin-brand), strep goes untreated, strep hangs out in the body for a while, strep finally finds kidneys and "attacks," kidneys create an antibody to defend the kidneys, the antibody makes the kidneys "leak" blood and protein (therefore, the cola-colored urine).  They treated her with an antibiotic to be certain that the strep is gone, but they are continuing to keep a close eye on her blood pressure and weight to be sure she's not going into kidney failure, which can and does happen with some of these affected kids.
So far, SG has had impeccable blood pressure and she's not taking on any "water weight," so they are convinced that her kidneys are working fine.  But just to be sure, we get to go back often to see our nurse and pee in a cup!  She's not had ANY pain or discomfort and her urine is looking normal (although the doc says there are still blood and protein there - we just can't see it.  It'll be like that for up to a year!).
So, if your kids are feeling "streppy," go and get that culture and make them take their Amoxicillin!  Brown pee is SCARYYYYYYYY! 

the birthday girl at her party ~ the guests had no idea about her wee issue . . .

9th Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me -- a morning to myself!  He and the kids are off to my sister's house, and I'm here alone left to be sure that we are ready to face the world again tomorrow.  Yes, Winter Break officially ends today.  So, on this day of cleaning, organizing, preparing, and planning, I will reflect a bit on how I can aspire to what are called the nine "Fruits of the Holy Spirit," from Paul's letter to the Galatians:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ 5:22-23

I could certainly use a lot more of each of these, especially as I face 2012.  Couldn't we all?

Here's the view off our deck this morning ~ beauty in a twisted, tangled mess of Mother Nature ~

8th Day of Christmas A.K.A. New Year's Day 2012

Here's your heart attack!  Tonight we ate our good luck pork in the form of barbeque ribs.  We had green beans (green to bring money!) and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes (I don't know what they symbolize).

These are my oven-roasted ribs ~ they melt in your mouth!

Sylv's on your fourth rib!  She's decided that, in fact, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce is better than the Almighty A1.  

Everybody seems to have their New Year's Day traditions, and my German family always always always had pork and sauerkraut, usually slowed cooked in the Crock Pot all day and eaten at the Taneytown Activities Building to celebrate my great-grandparents' anniversary.  George and the girls hate the smell of kraut, so I don't even bother with that anymore although I used to.  My stepdad is Pennsylvanian Dutch, and his mom always made a hog maw for the occasion.  As a kid I couldn't stomach the stuff (yeah, pig's internals stuffed with potatoes, pork, etc.), but now that our friends the Mullers have us down for their wonderful version, I hate to miss it!  Next week we hope to get our hog on again!

7th Day of Christmas - A.K.A. New Year's Eve

Have a beautiful New Year's Eve ~ Be safe and happy!

6th Day of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas, Mama gave to us . . . a trip to Hanover, PA!  We met up with my dad and headed north to the hometown of our favorite Utz Potato Chips.  We ate a nice lunch at Dutch Country Restaurant, shopped a bit at Big Lots, and then headed a tad south of town for a quick visit to the Hanover Shoe Farms.  Anyone can visit the barns as they are open to the public during all daylight hours.  One of the handlers told us to come back in two weeks when the mamas we saw would start having their foals.  Since they have over three hundred mares, they start early!

On the way home, we were treated to some beautiful skies ~

glowing Harpers Ferry

4th & 5th Days of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas, poor SG got a trip to the dentist.  Apparently, the kid is "high risk" due to her infant issues with GERD.  According to Dr. Newman, the acid caused deep grooves in her molars, which are now filling very easily with little cavities.  So, yesterday she got another filling.  In any case, we highly recommend Dr. Newman's practice in the North End of Hagerstown for all your pediatric dentistry needs.

On the fifth day of Christmas, we spent over an hour with Grandma's gift to Sylvie making snap circuits!  Fun!  

 

It's hard to see, but the fifth day of Christmas brought us some snow flurries, too!  I think this is first snow we've seen since the freak Halloween storm.  

Innies and Outies

Since it's the end of the year, I'm seeing these annual In and Out lists.  I hardly get any of the WashPo's, so I thought I'd make my own -- ha!

Out                                                                               In
Junie B. Jones or Captain Underpants books       Poison Apple books or Teen Bop mags

Soccer                                                               Guitar and Violin lessons

Complaining about Stink Bugs                            Killing Stink Bugs

Basketball shorts                                                Jeans

Brushing teeth                                                    Complaining about brushing teeth

Silly Bandz                                                         Homemade braided/macrame bracelets

Shoes                                                                 Boots

Spongebob, iCarly                                              So Random, ANT Farm, Jessie

Vacation plans                                                     Pool plans

Chicken nuggets                                                  Steamed Mussels/Clams

Being a housewife                                               Being an engineer

Drawing pictures                                                 Keeping a diary

Wanting an iPad                                                   Loving a Xoom

Blackberries                                                        Any other smart phone

Job stability                                                         New superintendents

Kidz Bop                                                             Taylor Swift, Adele

Cartoons                                                              Latch hook

Nursery Rhyme pictures                                       Posters of Justin Bieber

School lunch                                                        Packing

Voddy                                                                 SoCo

Driving to work                                                   Riding the Canal to work

3rd Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . a trip to West Virginia . . .

Yah, this is where blogging seems a bit, well, boring.  Not for me - I love to write about whatever - but for you, poor reader.  Alas, all we really did today was go out as a family (for once), eat, do an errand, and then grocery shop at Walmart, of all godforsaken places.  And then we came home, put away the groceries, made drinks (because we're on vacation - duh!), made dinner, and attempted to entertain our kids without too much effort on our parts . . .

So, the eating part -- we ate at Martinsburg's La Trattoria - the highest rated restaurant for that fair city on Tripadvisor.  Our young waiter Sebastian was a gracious gentleman, who catered to our every need -- want a meatball instead of meat sauce?  Sure, kid - not a problem.  Want french fries instead of salad or the yummy house Italian Marriage Soup?  Sure, sir - I'd be happy to.  Want me to heat up half that cake to make your girls happy while you get your cold cake and eat it, too?  No problem.  Seriously, the best little before-dinner rolls EVER.  We threw down two baskets-full before our steak-n-cheese paninis and spaghettis came.  The decor was - um, very peachy and Kelly green - but its location (on Rt. 9 just off Rt. 81 around the corner from the Girl Scout shop) and easy parking made up for that.  I think we'll do that joint again.

And the shopping part -- I thought G had made a wrong turn toward Hagerstown's Walmart instead of Martinsburg's, but, no, he was headed to Spring Mills.  I know - Walmart-talk on a blog.  Geez.  But seriously, of all Walmarts, this one is worth the chatter.  It's very new and very convenient and I always forget about it.  Apparently, so do a lot of people because it's never busy.  Love it.

And, finally, the child entertainment part:

They are making their "goal posters" -- SG hopes to sell at least 175 boxes and Sylvie hopes to sell 250 boxes . . . eeek!  Want to help??  Just let me know - Go, Girl Scout Cookies!  :)  (Latch hook work can be seen in the background . . . no, we haven't finished yet!)

On the 1st & 2nd Days of Christmas

 Truly He taught us to love one another, 

His law is love and His gospel is peace. 

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.    
And in his name all oppression shall cease. 

O Holy Night, 1847  

On the first day of Christmas, Santa gave us . . . wayyyyyy too much stuff . . .

 and a visit from the Bussards and Grandma!

On the second day of Christmas, Santa gave to me a latch-hooking session with Mom.

Christmastime in Sandy Hook

These bikes (and a third unseen on the left) are an annual feature in downvillage Sandy Hook ~ yes, they are suspended with lights enveloping them

 While Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown get all the Yuletide attention, quiet Sandy Hook sits across the Potomac with her own festive appeal.  On my drive through today, I couldn't resist  getting a couple of shots of the fun.

The Sandy Hook Grocery's Tasmanian Tire ensemble - precious!