Two girls

So we had the big 20 week ultrasound today and found out we have two girls on the way. Everything looked good on both babies. No cleft lip, no club feet, and both babies are growing at the same rate which is key for twins.

My work trip was good but the 13 hour days really wore me out so I am glad to be done with that. Greyson and I came down to mom and dad's house today for the weekend. I think mother and I may go look for cribs tomorrow. I am feeling pretty good but am definitely looking pregnant at this point and am in need of some maternity shorts and capris for spring. Hopefully I can find some of those during our shopping trip tomorrow as well. Well I think I am going to go spend the evening reading in bed.

-Melanie

Dean family update

Well I’ve safely returned from Philadelphia.  I enjoyed the company of the other teachers that went- and getting to visit some of the historical sites.  The workshops were not earth shattering- nor even real informative.  I guess after attending the NSTA conferences- I expected more.  I’m headed to St. Louis in a few weeks- that conference I should get lots of new information.  I’m working on a binder and some hand-outs to have for my part of the deal- sitting at a table to share my project with other teachers at the conference (Share-A-Thon).  I rode in more forms of transportation in two days there than in my whole life- airplane, train, subway, taxi cab, …I guess I could have even taken one of the horse drawn carriage rides.  The subway was kind of scary and stinky.  Susie and I smelled pot from some guys in front of us- and had to make a run for it to get upwind.  Susie is pregnant- and we didn’t want to be inhaling any of that second hand smoke.  As far as my children- all four will be visiting- Brian will bring them Wednesday evening or afternoon.  My two main concerns are that the boys work on their school work that I will send with them or e-mail to my mother as I get it from their teachers….and that Kalena is kept away from that stream.  Kalena has absolutely no fear and loves water.  I don’t know what happened to Emma- she used to be that way- I still blame the show Jaws and Gabe dropping her in the pool when she was young.  Food preferences for my children- hmmm- I think they will eat whatever is served if they are hungry.  Kalena and Emma love to try to snack on goodies- otherwise they are good at eating regular meals.  Nicholas of course has a huge appetite but doesn’t like cheese.  Gabe is probably the pickiest- but he likes to cook- so maybe you can put him to work being the chef.  He really likes playing the recorder, I brought him back a fife from Philadelphia- he’s worked on playing it all morning and is taking it to show his music teacher this morning.  So maybe grandma could have a music lesson at her house?  Both boys have started baseball- why in the world does baseball for 4^th/5^th graders need to have 3 hour practices?  At the high school our practices aren’t even that long.    I’m also excited to hear about the sexes of my nieces/nephews- haven’t heard from Melanie in awhile.  I’m taking the boys to see the new movie- something like Bridge to Terabithia?? I’m sure that’s not spelled right- but I know you probably can figure it out.  Tomorrow I’m going to a town hall meeting our congressman is holding to discuss science, math and technology learning at our schools.  Saturday I’m helping with Science Olympiad- a regional tournament.  But Sunday I will get to stay home- I hope.  I don’t think I could ever do year round school- I would burn out.  Well I need to get ready for class- this is our last day for our statewide writing test.  Next week is our reading test, then we test math and science in April.

Sniffling Along (from Mom/Janice)

Yes, I have caught a spring cold. It sniffled along for about 3 days but now is getting steadily worse. I am going to ignore it and see if it will go away. Actually, Dad set up the humidifier for me so I will dilute it from moisture.

I've been training on that fancy data analyzer program again. At this age, I have to do whatever it takes to stave off the Alzheimers. Was away from school almost entirely on Monday & Tuesday. Staff dealt with a behavior problem while I was gone without input from me -- had my cell phone in my jacket pocket on vibrate but felt nothing so missed the call (I think that is also a symptom of menopause). Anyway, I've spent a couple of hours since trying to get it untangled.

I know there is some big news out there some of you are not sharing on the blog. Cough it up. Also, I will be looking for pictures of fetuses on Friday. Boys? Girls? One of each.

What's the news from Califnoria? Just one month to grandparenthood there. And how is the car shopping going? I'm still rooting for the Passat if she'd just give it a test drive. Ruby would also look pretty cute in a little BMW.

I'm looking forward to grandchildren at the end of spring break. I've reserved the pool for Thursday and again Saturday. Will daughters #1 and#2 let me know if the older type kids are coming or not? I don't think Kalena and Emma would be much interested in that, at least not water phobic Emma. I'm baking cookies this weekend so as to be well stocked in that department. Any other culinary requests? Allergies?

Gotta go to bed.

happy birthday Jan!

I found out it was yesterday. I hope you celebrate it well and get a chance to spend some time away from the bureaucrats.

stuff

So I kick a Siamese at lest 3 times daily while walking around, assuming I let one or two in. Louie attaches himself to my ankle, in spite of my being able to fall down the stairs just fine on my own. I put my shoes on, Louie and Parker meow, and rub against my hands, making things impossible. I pour my coffee, Louie and Parker meow and act as though I'm opening the biggest can of decaying tuna on the planet. And God forbid I want to type a blog entry with Louie and Parker in the house (they are outside right now, and I must get this done before they figure out a way in). See. I already have twins. And these, I can put outside. It's effective that way.
Not a lot going on in this part of the world. I've been studying object oriented programming, which allows you to create modular bits of code that are self-contained. And that's all I have to say about that. I'm doing this in the hopes that I'll be able to code something to make this looming deadline (interactive map). I'm stressing out about it. I might continue my own learning on this, but subcontract to get the programming drudgery out of the way. Well, it's not really drudgery, but it is when you don't have enough time to learn it.
As I side note, I'm putting together a team of locals to bid on the chamber of commerce website, which is a larger project, and I'll be looking at doing some logo work per a discussion I had last night.
I'm headed to Salem to see some buddies this evening. Mel's gone, and when she is, I tend to climb out of the cocoon occasionally. I went to another business after hours event last night, and gave out a few cards, but sometimes you find (esp. when you're late) that people have already started grouping up and speaking about whatever, and it's challenging to make your way into their conversations without becoming some sort of eavesdropping chump. Eventually people I knew wandered in, and I had a clique of my own. I tell you what, creating mathematical operations on the computer at home with re-runs of star trek in the background does nothing for your social skills. And here I thought I'd go to last night's event with an arsenal of things to talk about. Well, there was the one topic--the non-Siamese twins. That seemed to keep me in touch with the ladies.
I've been getting into the gym on a regular basis and cutting down on all things caloric. Lost 3 pounds so far. I have a long way before I get to my spring weight. I really haven't addressed my holiday weight until now, and if there was any semblance in my life of restraint and healthy living, I left it in Louisiana.

a song we recorded
I played the drums on this tune, and I provided a couple of lyrical lines in there about love landmines. I cannot take the credit for the singing however.
this one I use the new cymbals a lot on (which I love). The lyrics kick in about a 1/3 in. Until then, it's pretty sloppy. Keep in mind that both of these are after a LOT of wine.

These guys are one set of folks that I jam with. Another group that plays with me features some seriously talented guitar players and singers. We have some of that recorded, but not to a link that I can provide yet.

Larry, you still working out? No mustache eh? That should be interesting.

Sounds like San Fran was fun. I love that city. No shortage of things to do.

Home Sweet Home (from Mom/Janice)

The blog has been eerily quiet recently. Hmmm . . .

The High School principal called me yesterday about an applicant they had by the name of Tim Porter. I told her I thought I recognized the name.

Tensions are rising at work with the Oregon Dept. of Ed monitors coming to check all our records, do interviews, etc. on March 20 and 21. They have the power to take away a lot of money if they think we haven't done things right. Albany lost $180,000. They have our notebooks right now going over them with a fine tooth comb. We are expecting phone calls with questions but nothing so far.

I'm looking forward to my grandchildren coming over spring break. Haven't heard yet if the Porters are going to show up, too. I talked with Christian last weekend and asked him to give his mother a message, but I'm not really counting on that.

I'm trying to think up activities to entertain them while they are here. Also need to get a couple of videos for when they have worn me to a frazzle. I'm praying for good weather. Our HS pool now has a rope swing - I know it sounds very dangerous. Sounds like just the activity for the older ones.

I'm wondering how Grandma Sharp's car shopping is going. She has had the same problem as Grandma Far Away with her car suddenly enlarging and not going in the garage without taking off the side view mirror. I'm voting for her to get a Passat but I hear she isn't interested in VWs. She needs something with a very small turning radius but is still comfortable and has some pep.

My oven has gone out again and will cost $150 to repair. This is ridiculous. What happened to the good old days when appliances lasted 20 to 30 years?

Dad/Larry has a new look. He shaved off his mustache this week, and he looks great. Should have done it a long time ago. His upper lip is a bit pale though.

I got a pretty new flag for the porch with big purple and yellow pansies on it. Now I need to buy some similar real pansies to plant out front.

Katia, Charlie, Will and Mina say "Hi" to all their feline and canine relatives out there.

Melanie - I hope you get home soon.

XOXOXO

Family sounds busy

I also had a great time in San Franciso with Mom. She was a trooper and my sense of direction. I have pictures of her consulting with her trusty map. We survived the cab rides and enoyed four days of awesome weather. Mom treated me to lunch at "The Top," or "The Mark," I can't remember, but the view and the chocolate decadence I had were awesome. Mom excercized two days, but I only made it to the workout room once. The hills and constant sightseeing were enough for me. We ate at some great spots, did all the touristy things, and I got a few of my "musts" at the Writer's conference. I did the open mic one night- went extremely well. We had three minutes - exactly- to read from the start of our novels. Then when the time was done, we got to hear suggestions/comments from our audience of peers. After that, the editor running the whole thing wrapped up what she thought was most important of the comments. I read Circle of Sin and got lots of laughs and and approval. The editor said she liked my "dark humor". I always thought it was just "humor". I may look at changing the title, but lots of people seem to like it. I've decided I should work with Mom on nonfiction - a how to write killer grants- because nonfiction sells like 6:1 or more compared to fiction. I also tried out the title "My supermom cape is unravelling" on an agent and he thought it was not only catchy, but a good subject/market. I hope Mom can go with me next year too. Maybe we'll have our sample chapter and outline to present to agents.

O.K. enough writing junk. I flew home and that weekend went on a snow trip with Tim and a church group. I got to ride a snowmobile and eat lots of great food. A cat had to take our things into the cabin/lodge area.

Then we got home and I had sick kids. I got sick. Recovered, then had a friend lose her son in a an auto accident. Yesterday was the funeral. I slept in and am going to make a checklist of things we have to do to get our house ready to sell. More openings...Elgin, Sweet Home, Gresham, etc. The next few weeks should be interesting. Can't wait to hear about the babies' ultrasound.

Take care,
Traci

Away from home

I am sitting in my hotel room and thought I would write a quick note before I head to the "Panhadler" for dinner. It is not known for great food but you can't be too picky in a town like this. Apperently there is actually a 4 star French resturant but the price apperently matches the quality of food. My room is decent and the wireless internet actually works so I am fairly happy here. Work is starting slow. Apparently there was some miscommunication between the mechanics and the fish people at the dam and between the bickering they didn't get some preliminary work done on the dam that needs to be finished so we can get our testing equipment in. The dam workers are strict union workers and can't be coaxed out to work outside there set schedule, even when a crew of 12 is sitting around waiting on them. Sometimes it is really ridiculous. And yesterday we were blown off the river, which just means it was too windy for the boats to be out in the water. We might have to do "fish watch" again here, which is where we take turns spending the night at the dam "watching" to make sure the power supply doesn't go out and the water to the fish stops. No water, no oxygen, no live fish. It has also been snowing on and off which makes it hard to work. But I have the cushy job this time of working the radio and typing data into the laptop as it comes in. Playing the pregnancy card gets me out of just about every other job out here. I am staying out of the bad chemicals we use when tagging fish, not carrying heavy buckets of fish, not falling overboard..... OK, dinner time. Later.

-Mel