Vegas- Sunday

So, Sunday morning Todd slept a bit later, which was nice! We had to check out that morning, so we hung out in the room for a while and then decided to walk around the casino downstairs and spend some money! We each put a dollar in a penny machine ( I know, big spenders!!!), and I actually won $5!!!!! And on a penny slot, that is a BIG winner! Too bad that wasn't a dollar slot :) Then we walked over to the Bellagio and I won another $3 on video poker!! Todd wanted to play Blackjack but the cheapest table he could find was $10 and he didn't want to lose a lot, so we just watched!

Then we went back to the room and checked out and headed to Serendipity for lunch and a FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That I had been waiting the whole time to have....and it was wonderful!!!!

We took a cab to the hotel near the airport since we had an early flight and needed to get out of Caesars, and chnaged into our suits and spent the afternoon at the pool! It wasn't super warm, but warm enough to sit out and we went in the hot tub.

That evening we headed back to the strip and walked a little more! We saw the Sirens of TI Show at Treasure Island, which was hokey but fun and walked around the Mirage a bit, which was pretty cool. Then we headed down to Cabo Wabo, Sammy Hagar's (from Van Halen) bar and had margaritas and beer and mexican food and watched the fountain at Bellagio and all of the weird people on the strip!!! Fun! We watched a little bit of a live band and karoke and then headed back to Harrahs to get a cab back to the hotel.

And that is it, really....we had an early flight home on Monday morning and I was so excited to come home and see my babies.....I missed them so, so much....that was the longest I had EVER been away and it was fun, but hard, too....but I knew that they were well cared for and probbaly had a MUCH better time with Grams and Gramps than they would have had I been home anyway :)

Here are a few more pics:

Shaquille O'Neil's hands

Harrahs

Cabo Wabo

Vince Neil Ink- think it killed Todd not to get a new tatoo

The the Mirage

O.M.G.....YUM

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Catching up

A few updates on the girls:

1. Riley had strep throat the week before we left for Vegas. We went to Jamboread with Grams on Saturday and then she and I went to see the Wizard of Oz at the movies and when we got home she started complaining about a sore throat. By the next morning she was pretty sick- really high fever and sore throat so we headed over to the Minute Clinic at C.V.S. and sat there and waited for 3 hours before we were seen. She was really sick and slept on top of me on the floor the whole time, which was not easy for the rapidly getting old mama! The NP took one look at her throat and drew back and said it was classic strep. Her fever by this point was over 103 and I thought they were going to send us to the ER, but luckily she talked with the MD and he said it was fine to just give her the antibiotics. She was better by the next day but needed to stay home so I got another day off :) Her fever did come back at one point after the round of anitibiotics, but she didn't need anything else.

2. Annie has discovered how to open doors! Yikes!

3. Riley has three loose teeth- we discovered them right before I left for Vegas and I was so upset because I thought I would miss them falling out, but they are all still there! The two on the bottom are pretty loose now!

4. I visited Annie's school this week for lunch and had a fun time. She was so surprised to see me there, and was so happy to have me. She showed me all around her classroom and I sat while she ate and then read her and a few friends a few books. She had a FIT when I left, but she was going to nap so I hope she didn't give them to much trouble!

5. Riley is on spring break this week- lucky her!! I took Monday off to spend with her- she has a dentist appt in Greenville in the morning and then we are going to spend the day doing something fun- not sure what yet- maybe lunch and a movie? She is spending a few days with Ms Donna and then I have Friday off b/c my students are on break this week, too....should be a nice easy week, hopefully :)

Vegas- Saturday

On Saturday, Todd woke really, really early (he does not do well with any sort of time change), so he left the room around 6ish, I think, and did some exploring on his own. He didn't go too far, and came back for me around 8 so we could go to eat. And eat we did...we went to the buffet at the Bellagio because we were told it was one of the best- they had so much food and it was wonderful!

After that we decided we needed to walk it off....and O.M.G. did we walk....all the way down and then all the way back and down the other way (Caesar's Palace is somewhere in the middle of the strip). We saw all of the sites and did a few things, too...

The M & M store- 4 floors of M&M stuff....very cool- Riley would have loved it!

The lion at MGM....the male was pretty laid back but the female was playing with the trainers and a ball

The lion statue at MGM


New York New York- one of my favorites to see

Todd and Indiana Jones at Madame Tussards- we didn't go in- maybe next time

Me at the indoor fountain at the Venetian....another of my favorites. The gondola ride was so cool- we didn't buy the pic because it was $26!! But, we kissed under each bridge and our gondoleer sang us two songs!

The ceiling at the Venetian

Outdoor canal at the Venetian- so pretty

One of the fountains at Caesars- there are a LOT of fountains and they are all so pretty

The ceiling inside of the Bellagio- they are all umbrellas

We didn't really do too much that night- we were both pretty tired from walking so much and once we got back to the room, even though we had intentions of going back out- we were pooped! So, I ran down to the casino and picked up some food and we went to bed pretty early! Lame, I know....but we did go out the next night :)

Vegas- Friday

So, I went out to to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, but the first few days were pretty much all work, so no fun and no pictures!

Todd came out on Friday afternoon. He made his way from the airport to the hotel ok, and I came down from my meetings to let him in the room and then went back to work! After I was finished for the day, we walked around a bit to look for a place to eat since Todd was starving at that point.

We decided to eat at Mesa which just happened to be in Caesar's Palace, where we were staying, which was convienient! We were there early and had no reservation, so we sat at the bar, which was fine, and had some yummy margarita (mine was white pear and Todd's was cactus fruit, I think), and he had duck and I had pork tenderloin (yummy, but SPICY)!

We walked down through the Forum Shoppes and saw an animated show with Atlantis, which was kind of weird, and then we walked around a bit outside- saw a small water show at the Bellagio right next door, but Todd was tired and my feet were sore from wearing heels for days and walking back and forth to the meeting, so we pooped out and went back to the room for the night!

Paris- the Eiffel Tower outside of Bellagio

Fountains at the Bellagio

The Aquarium at the Forum Shoppes before the Atlantis Show

Caesar's Fountain- see him at the top? :)

Mesa Grille by Bobby Flay from Food Network

Mama's girl

Annie is a mama's girl, at least, right now she is! I don't remember Riley going through this phase, although I know she did and that all kids do, but, oh, boy....all Annie wants and needs right now is her mama, otherwise known as...ME! She is slowly driving me nuts....she wants nothing to do with anyone else when I am around. And gives Todd a really hard time when I am not around, which is unfortunate. Last weekend, Riley and I went to see the Wizard of Oz at the cultural center on the big screen (and we had a great time), but it meant that Todd was on his own with the littlest one. I put her down for her nap, which in hindsight maybe was a bad idea. When Todd got her up when she awoke, she had what he described as a holy tantrum....she would not get out of her crib and screamed and cried for a while until she realized I was not coming. Then, she did it again today while I was at work (yes, on a Saturday...a beautiful, sunny Saturday and I was working).

I really, really hope this is a phase she will outgrow soon. My arms are sore from carrying her around and I need a break. Timing, though, on this slightly sucks because I leave on Wednesday this week for a work trip (TO VEGAS!!!!), and so Todd is on his own for a few days, and then both girls go to Grams and Gramps house for a few days....someone is going to be miserable, but maybe she will forget about Mama for a little while and let someone else into her life...at least until I get back!

Randomness

So, I totally jinxed myself with the last post about sleep. I always do that- I guess I will never learn! Really, though, it wasn't too bad. I could hear her moving around and moaning and tossing and turning, and then a bit later, heard her cry Mama...Mama...and then she was crying. I went in there and she was standing in her bed and crying a little bit. I picked her up and rocked her for a while and she didn't go back to sleep, so I put her back down and she cried a few times and then was back out. Of course, then I was awake and freaked out about her crying again or being sick (yes, my vomit-phobia kicked in and I layed awake half the night worrying about her getting sick in her bed)...but she slept through and was a little grumpy the next morning but fine. Oh, well...NO.MORE.POSTING.ABOUT.SLEEP.HABITS!!!!!!!!

Riley had an ice cream party this week for selling 7 boxes of chocolates- 7 boxes of chocolates that Todd and I bought so that she could go to the party. I told her to enjoy that ice cream sundae because it costs us $35!!!! She reported to me that Ronald McDonald visited their school today and talked to them about books- weird! She enjoyed it, though!

Annie is currently obsessed with Elmo! We watch Sesame Street every morning while we get dressed, and she was an Elmo DVD that she likes to watch while I make dinner at night. As soon as I picked her up at school, the first thing out of her mouth is "Mo" (Elmo) and she continues to say it 50 million times on the way home. It mesmerized her...she stands there watching it with her mouth open, gaping. Very cute. Not so cute is the fit she throws when we have to shut it off for dinner. Not cute at all.

Hmmm...can't think of anything else to say. Good night!

She sleeps!

Sleep. It is so very important to me. I always knew this, and was really one of my biggest worries about becoming a mother- the lack of sleep. I do not function well on no sleep. Not at all.

After a year of Annie not sleeping, I think I am still amazed- in utter shock really- every time she naps well and sleeps through the night. Seriously, at this point I believe she is sleeping better than even Riley ever did. It is impossible to even consider....but it is true. She goes to bed between 7 and 7:30 every night. She is thrilled to go to bed. She knows when it is time, sometimes even puts her head down on a pillow on the floor....guess that is my cue! On the weekends, she sleeps until about 8am. Sometimes 8:30.

She naps for 2 hours. I think she would sleep later if I let her. Today she napped for 2 1/2 hours. She gets so grumpy and then I know it is time. We have our little ritual, and off she goes.

She goes down awake now every single time. I haven't had to rock her to sleep in ages.

It is crazy. But I LOVE it! :)

Snow, again

It snowed again today. Actually, it is still snowing now- it is almost 8pm. But, there is very little on the ground, so I guess that is a good thing.

If you are following my Twitter feed, you know it started snowing sometime in the late morning, and minutes after that, we started getting the calls from students and faculty and staff about cancellations! Then, the school districts started cancelling. I kept watching the news websites, and sure enough, shortly after that (before anything was even close to accumulating), Riley's school announced that they would be releasing at 11:30. I started scrambling- called Todd to see if he could pick up Riley so that I could go and get Annie before her nap. This was very important because if she even slept a little at school, chances were slim that I would be able to get her back down at home.

Unfortunately, he couldn't pick up Riley because he didn't have her school tag, so I left work early and went and sat in the pick up line, hoping that I would make it to Annie's school before nap time! While I was sitting in line, Riley's teacher called my cell- evidently she (Riley) was all upset because she thought I wasn't coming for her :( No matter how many times I tell that girl I would never, never forget her, she still worries...can't complain too much because, once again, she is EXACTLY like me!!

So, things moved along and Riley came out, we ran to Annie's school and got her just in time- her mat was out and some of the kiddos were already asleep, but I had called ahead to let them know I was coming so they held her off!

She napped when we got home- for 2 1/2 hours- and Riley watched a movie and it was actually a really nice afternoon. The funny part is- it stopped snowing! And it must have warmed up some, too, because all of the snow was gone....started back up shortly after and is still snowing now, but I think it is melting as it hits the ground! Oh, well....just another story to remember about the snow in South Carolina!!!