Coming Up For Air ... Briefly

Matt has been on his 2nd R&R for almost two weeks now, and I can safely say that when he's here there's NEVER a dull moment. Of course, I can also admit there's never a dull moment when he isn't here either. Go figure, eh?

As we've been so busy during his time home, I've neglected to fill you in on all the fun we've been having. Here's the latest from Casa de Chaos ...

* This past weekend we celebrated Riley's 8th birthday on our first ever snow ski trip to Mammoth Mountain. It was no Singapore trip ... but it was definitely a memorable vacation! Why? Because not only did we ... caravan with our cousins on the 7+ hour car ride, endure complete and utter frustration when trying to outfit our kids with skis and boots on our first day, spend an absolute fortune purchasing tickets, rentals, and enrolling kids in private ski lessons ...
BUT ... we also had the unfortunate Perlman Family illness finally catch up with Matt on the second day, which left him hugging the porcelain gawd for several hours, and kept him hotel-bound instead of snow-bound on our last day. (Which really sucked for him because the second day of skiing rocked!)

* What Perlman Family illness do I speak of? The one that in a matter of hours hits like a ton of bricks. Where you find yourself dizzy. Nauseous. And you lay on the couch all day, because you've puked your guts out all night, kind of illness. It started with Grady and Riley on Superbowl Sunday. You know, the second day after Matt arrived in town? The next day I got it... and it knocked me on my tush. Two days later, Sheridan got it. And we thought we were all in the clear. Until three days later when Matt got it in Mammoth.

* Matt also came down with a cold. A "Man-Cold". Need I say more?

* I coerced Matt into a few doctor's appointments this trip. First, I took him to see the ophthalmologist to get a new pair of glasses ... but he left there with contacts. A different one for each eye. One contact corrects his near sightedness, while the other contact corrects his astigmatism. Then I took him to the dermatologist. To fry laser the blood vessels on his nose. Like wife ... like husband. We're both trying to look our Sunday best.

* Libby went to the vet for a check-up and did not leave with the clean bill of health we expected. After a complete once-over and blood test, the vet told me that not only is she geriatric ... but she's showing signs of losing her vision, she has awful arthritis, she has bad allergies, she has a yeast infection on her skin ... AND her blood results came back showing that she has a parasite and a thyroid disease. Just like me. The thyroid disease, not the parasite. Maybe it's hereditary? Several hundred dollars, and five medications later we left. Though not for long I'm sure...

* On top of all the illnesses and appointments, we've also been to every single Target, REI, Sports Authority and Sears all over the Orange County area ... I'm almost to the point where I'm shopped out. Almost.

* Oh and don't forget the Girl Scout Cookies that we've been boxing up and shipping out on a daily basis. Hundreds and hundreds of boxes of cookies. We really need to sell a few more, because keeping this many cookies at the house is not good for my thighs. I. Just. Can't. Turn. Down. Peanut. Butter. Patties...

But in spite or despite all the craziness that continues to follow us around, dealing with the frustrating California tax issue, working on our mortgage information on our new house, filing our tax return, schlepping to and from every after school activity, and everything else that has come our way ... we're having a blast with Matt in town and will be so sad to see him leave next week.

Let's just hope his "Man-Cold" goes away before he does. *Ahem*

Please forgive my absence on email, facebook, the blogosphere these past few weeks. With Matt in town, I have little time online ... Catch up with y'all later next week ~ after the kids school break!