Bookworm

Jenna has really started to love reading! She has always liked looking at books, but she loves trying to read all the words now. This week her class has been reading Dr Seuss books, so she pulled out her Dr Seuss books at home too. This is how I found her on Wednesday when we were home from school for snow. After she heard my camera click, she turned to me and said "Dr Seuss worked really hard on his books." Yes, he did!

SLEDDING!!

We decided it was the perfect day for sledding, so we made plans with some friends and hit the slopes (otherwise known as the hills of the reservoirs). Our neighbors - Amy, Landrie, and Karlyn - went with us and we met our friends Nate and Mark, Drew, and Maria at the reservoir. It was beautiful outside - not too cold and really sunny - and we were the only people on that side of the reservoir. I have been feeling really good the past 2 days, so I decided not to push my luck and stayed at the bottom and snapped photos instead. (I did venture down the hill twice at the end when my camera battery died). Afterwards everyone came back here for hot chocolate and pizza. I got some really fun photos! Here is a sneak peek. You can see the rest here.


Yes....he is sledding down the steps! They were so snow and ice covered that they made the perfect sled track!

Day #9....

Cancelled AGAIN!! Anyone want to come visit us on 4th of July since we'll probably STILL be in school then? HA HA

And the hits just keep on coming.....

We're home early from school. All the area schools dimissed the students early because of the "impending ice storm" (as the radio put it). I spent an hour an a half in the office answering the phone as frantic parents called. We had to call the parent of every child at school so we knew for sure where they were supposed to go at 1:30 when school let out. Fun stuff. The good news is that we handled it pretty well and at 1:45 (15 minutes after dismissing) we only had 1 stray child left. Not bad! I quickly went to vote and then came home.

Now we're in our warm, cozy house listening to the ice hit the windows...and waiting to see what lovely Ohio weather will come our way next. Of course, I had to venture outside and try to take a couple photos of the ice. There are teeny ice pellets every where! The first photo is my attempt at a close up of the little ice pellets on our sidewalk. The second photo shows our sidewalk - everything "white" on the sidewalk is ice. I think we'll stay home for the night.

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

Once again we are under a WINTER STORM WARNING for the night. Enough is enough! I can't take it anymore!! Bring on summer!!!!

Crazy, crazy week

• We had yet another snow day on Tuesday...day #8...so we are officially going to school into June now.
• On our snow day, I had to be at the ENT in Ft Wayne at 8:15, so we had to leave home at 7:00 to get to my appointment on time since the roads were still pretty slick. The kids got to spend the day at Becca's with Grandma, Grandpa, Becca and Ryan.
• My ENT appointment was intense. I went through over 3 hours of balance testing. YUCK! I won't go into all the details, but they make you feel dizzy and then immediately make you do another test that makes you feel dizzy...and so on...and so on. The worst two were the rotary chair and the test where they put warm and then cold water into my ears it sounds calm, but it's not!). I was spinning like I've never spun before. Fun stuff! The good news is that they did not detect anything serious. Phew! After my balance testing I had a hearing test - much, much easier!
• After my balance testing, we met with the balance center director and later the ENT doctor who specializes in dizziness. They basically diagnosed me with migraine associated vertigo (migraine headaches causing my dizziness). My instructions were to change my diet (low sodium, no caffeine, etc), stop taking pain relievers like tylenol, advil, etc, chart my headaches/dizziness, and start taking migraine medication. In addition they saw some concern with my sinuses and put my on 2 nasal sprays and an anti-biotic and then scheduled a cat scan of my sinuses and allergy testing in 3 weeks.
• After 2 days on the migraine meds I started feeling really, really weird. At school yesterday I felt like my head was floating, did not feel "with it" at all, could not concentrate, could not answer questions, etc. By the time I got home from school my face was tingling and later was numb.
• I went to see my regular doctor last night to talk about everything I learned at the ENT plus the weird things I was experiencing. To make a long story short, he said he does not agree with the migraine diagnosis and that everything I was feeling was a side effect of the migraine meds. He basically had me stop everything the ENT had set up. My new official diagnosis (and one I feel much, much better about) is occipital neuralgia, which is basically an inflammation of the occipital nerve/area which causes intense headaches to that area (which is exactly where my headaches are) and can then in turn cause dizziness.
• I am starting physical therapy for the occipital neuralgia next week. It will consist of massage, ultrasound, etc to that area of my head. Sounds good to me!!
• Wednesday night the VW basketball team played in the district semi-final tournament game in BG against Toledo Libbey. Jenna and I chose not to make the trip for several reasons. They ended up losing, but had a good season!
• As a ball boy, Jacob is always out on the floor shooting while they are waiting for the team to come out and warm up. He was so excited to be on a college basketball court (even though BGs court isn't the greatest) and couldn't wait to tell me that he made the first basket he shot.
• Wed. night, while Chris and Jacob were at the bb tournament game, the power went out in our neighborhood. Nothing like being home in the pitch dark with a 6 year old...especially when you aren't too fond of the dark yourself. By morning the power still wasn't on and we were freezing!!!! No power=no heat! I had to take a quick shower and finish getting ready at school - fun! Our power didn't end up coming back on until 1:45 pm.
• Another 2 hour delay this morning for slick roads...our 15th delay this year. Crazy, crazy Ohio weather!
• Today Jacob woke up sick. I'm not surprised. There have been so many kids absent from school and he's had some late nights for basketball games. Hopefully it's short lived and no one else catches whatever he has.
• We are supposed to go to Stow tonite to visit Mom/Dad. Mom and I have plans to go to "Mega Stamp Camp" tomorrow morning. Now we have to wait and see how Jacob is feeling.
• I actually took some photos this week, but haven't had time to upload them to the computer. Hopefully I'll have some time later....so check back.
• Are you still reading this far??? Have a good weekend!

Weekend update....

-Friday night Van Wert won their sectional tournament game against Celina. They play in BG on Wednesday against Toledo Libbey. I think Jenna and I may stay home. It's a tough call...but probably the right decision considering it's an 8:00pm game in BG. Plus, sometimes my "dizziness" occurs after driving longer distances. Hopefully I can talk someone into bringing me some garlic cheese bread from Myle's though.

-Yesterday was Jacob's last basketball game. He had a good season...but I think he's ready to move on to baseball season now.

-We finally made it to Ft Wayne yesterday and had a successful trip. We ordered new bedroom furniture for Jacob (thanks to our tax return), found a dress for the Peony pageant for Jenna (I couldn't find a photo of it online), I spent my gift card at Archivers, and Chris even managed to get a few new golf shirts. We ended our trip with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings - YUMMY!

Jacob is getting this bed.....

but with this headboard (no footboard and no drawers).....

And this dresser and nightstand.
-Chris and I finished watching the last DVD of season 3 of The Office last night. Now what will we watch? We need to get caught up on season 4 on TV I guess.

-I had a good week health-wise last week, except for Friday. It was nice to actually feel good and get some things accomplished! My appointment with the ENT specialist is on Tuesday. I'm ready for it to be over and hopefully get some answers!

-REALLY getting tired of snow, cold, and 2 hour delays! We have had 13 2 hour delays so far this year and have missed 7 days of school. Craziness!

-I got 2 requests this week to take photos - a 2nd round of senior photos for a co-teachers daughter (she already had senior photos taken in the fall, but wants some fun photos taken now) and 1 year photos for a friend's nephew. Made me feel good. :)

-I got a sweet thinking of you letter in the mail from my Grandma L. yesterday. It made me smile when I opened the mail box and saw her handwriting on the envelope. I love email, text messaging, cell phones, and blogs...but there is nothing like getting real mail in your mail box from someone who cares about you.

-We made plans for Spring Break this week. We're going to spend 2 nights at Kalahari - an indoor water park/hotel in Sandusky - with our friends. I know it's just Sandusky...but I'm excited to go away and do nothing for 2 days!


-I'm off to scrapbook for a little while before eating pizza with our neighbors for dinner.

PS Lisa U......my email is: cacovey@embarqmail.com Try sending your email again to that address. :)

Miss Jenna...

-finally has a loose tooth (actually 2)!!
-is starting to become a really good reader
-LOVES dance and can't wait for her recital...especially now that she has her costumes.
-just started tumbling at the Y and LOVES it, too!
-loves to draw and color...and is always making us pictures and cards
-knows every word to every Hannah Montana song
-wants to be a cheerleader and a dance teacher when she grows up
-can't wait to participate in the Peony Pageant as a flowergirl (Just for the record...she is not competing ...it's for HS seniors. She was picked to be a "flower girl" by one of the contestants she knows...whose name also happens to be Jenna Nicole)
-is growing up WAY too fast!!

-

The theme for the weekend.....

It seems like our weekend has definitely had a common theme.... PLAN B! For whatever reason, it seemed like PLAN B had to be initiated a lot over the last couple days.

FRIDAY: PLAN A: After an all day teacher inservice, I decided I felt good enough to make a trip to Ft Wayne to do some shopping. I haven't been to Ft Wayne or been shopping for a long time because I just haven't felt well...or there has been a basketball game! Chris and Jacob would be at the basketball game in Kenton, so I planned for Jenna and I to have girl's night shopping in Ft Wayne. PLAN B: When I picked Jenna up from day care, she didn't feel good and later got sick. My trip to Ft Wayne was traded for a night taking care of her (complete with LOTS of whining) and doing laundry.

SATURDAY: PLAN A: We have had tickets since early November to see the Racal Flatts concert with three other couples. Our sitter arrived and we headed to Ft Wayne to eat dinner. Part way through dinner one the couples got a call from home letting them know the concert had been postponed at the last minute due to a sick band member!! We were shocked considering it was less than 2 hours until the concert was supposed to begin. PLAN B: We all decided we were not ready to go home since we actually had a night away without kids. We ended up going to a dueling pianos bar....not quite the same as Racal Flatts though.

SUNDAY: PLAN A: After church, we were going to have a family outing to Ft Wayne - shop for jeans for Jacob, a dress for Jenna, scrapbook store for me, and then dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We were excited to just get out of the house and do something non-basketball related! PLAN B: 20 minutes after we got home last night, Jacob woke up sick and proceeded to keep getting sick all night and into today! Now he is resting and watching TV, Jenna is playing, Chris is at school, and I'm trying to figure out how I should spend my Sunday afternoon (and feeling very bitter because the mall is too far away to just make a quick trip!!).

The ones that didn't make the cut....

After yesterday's adorable Valentine's Day greeting, I thought I should give you a peek into my world....the world of a MWAC (mom with a camera). Although yesterday's photo greeting was pretty cute, it wasn't an easy task. Jenna is usually extra cooperative and more than willing to pose and smile for a photo. In fact, most of the time she wants to keep taking photos even after I want to quit. Sure, she makes the occasional silly face...but it's usually just so she can see herself on the display screen after I take the photo.

Then there is Jacob....10 year old, all boy, who has inherited his father's dislike of the camera. Usually I can bribe and/or guilt him into cooperating for a few photos ...but he quickly reaches his limit and is done.

PS I promised Jacob these wouldn't show up on my blog...but I just couldn't resist. Just don't let him know I shared them!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

MORE basketball photos

Finally....some photos!! I took these at Jacob's game 2 weeks ago, but never got around to editting or sharing them. I ventured to a new spot on the sidelines instead of under the basket. It was harder to get close up shots, but I still managed to get some decent full court action shots.

Brrrrr.....and some updates

Another freezing cold, wind chill advisory day (it's currently a balmy -13 degrees!). Seriously...I am really getting tired of the cold. Bring on summer!! Sorry for the lack of updates this week...it's been quite a week with a lot of activity, appointments, and emotions. Here's just a quick recap:

Monday: 2 hour delay, school, doctor appointment with doctor #1, blood work, take Jenna to tumbling and then dance...only to find out it was cancelled due to some CRAZY fog!

Tuesday: school cancelled for fog, blood work results (one level was up...so they put me on some meds and want to recheck it Monday...not what I wanted to hear), worried all day about my MRI, took some "mellow" meds to help me relax before my MRI, go to the MRI at 9:30PM...FREAK OUT, have the MRI tech and Chris try to reason with me and try to convince me to go back in that scary, teeny tiny tube with some crazy contraption holding my head down...but I just couldn't do it. Time for plan B

Wednesday: worked half day (the "mellow" meds kicked in and I just couldn't come out of my fog in the morning!), call the doctor and make an afternoon appointment to discuss "plan B", doctor #2 listens to my whole story and decides an open view MRI with stronger "mellow" meds are the best option - so the nurse schedules it for the following day. Then he kindly offers me the option of 2 injections into the back of my head to help with the headaches/dizziness. After slightly freaking out, I kindly decline the offer. Needles and my head just didn't sound like a good mix.

Thursday: Leave for my open view MRI at 7:30am, after taking my "very mellow" pill, spend 2 hours at the MRI office and finally succeed in having my MRI done. Not a fun experience - even with the mellow pill. I really hope that was a one time deal. The tech let Chris sit by me the whole time and hold my hand. Chris drops me off at Becca's so his parents can "watch" me for the rest of the day...which really only consisted of them watching me sleep. By the way, I now own 15 "films" of my brain and ear if anyone is interested in viewing them. :)

Friday: normal day at school, called doctor at noon and talked to the nurse - my MRI didn't show anything alarming (THANK GOODNESS!), basketball game

Saturday: Jacob's basketball game, lay around all day watching episodes of the Office since it was another dizzy day, go to "Ohio's Got Talent" at the PAC center with the kids and my neighbors - luckily the dizziness went away.

Sunday: church, more Office viewing, WalMart trip...and later pizza with the neighbors as long as today's dizziness doesn't get any worse

Tomorrow I have round 2 of my bloodwork to recheck the levels that were elevated. I'm really hoping the levels have gone down so I don't have to go through with any further testing. I know it's just blood work, but it still makes me nervous. I should know the results by Tuesday...trying not to be too anxious and nervous.

I've begun to write down my episodes of dizziness and headaches. WOW - I knew I didn't feel like myself most of the time, but had no idea how often it was really happening. I wish I would have started documenting when all this first started.

I know I promised photos...and they are coming. I just thought laundry, grocery shopping, and paying bills should come first.

Maybe it was a sign....

Unbelievable....another day at home. Day #7...this time for thick fog. I have a feeling we're going to be in school until July 4th at this rate!! Chris and I missed the first day of school - the teacher inservice day - due to major flooding in our basement. I think maybe that was a sign of things to come!!

The good news....now I have yet another day to try to catch up on things around here, get groceries, finish laundry, etc. I also was feeling dizzy this morning, so a day at home to rest is probably good for me. The bad news....I have all day to sit around and think about my MRI tonite (see post below).

Another update without photos....

Yep, yet another update without any photos. What is wrong with me?? (we'll get to that later) The good news is...I did take some photos this weekend to share. The bad news is....they are still sitting in my photo folder on my computer...not quite ready to be shared. Hopefully I'll get to them in the next few days. Until then...another photo-less update from our house.

-Crazy, crazy weekend! We had no school on Friday and I truly laid around most of the day trying to fight my sinus infection. I did end up going to the bb game Friday night at Ottawa (for the record...I HATE when we play at Ottawa!), but was pretty miserable through most of the game....and both JV and Varsity lost. I think I should have just stayed home.

-Saturday I finally felt a little better after sleeping in. We went to Jacob's game and then came back and tried to get some things done at home. We went to the bb game at home on Saturday night. It was a much better night all around - I felt better AND both JV and Varsity won their games.

-Sunday we went to church and then came home to get ready to go to the Hannah Montana Concert movie. The longer I sat at home, the worse I felt (I'll explain more in a bit). At the last minute, Chris stepped up and took the kids to the movie for me. I just couldn't do it. Believe it or not, I was really upset about missing the movie. I had learned all the words to the songs and everything (pathetic - I know!). When they got home we had a Superbowl party to go to...and again I decided at the last minute not to go. I was okay with not going...except I missed out on all the food (Chris did bring me some leftovers though!).

-So basically...I can sum up my weekend in 2 activities - basketball and laying around on the couch. Fun times!

-Today was one of the foggiest days I've ever seen. We started with a 2 hr delay for slippery roads and then went to school. It was a little foggy early in the morning...and got worse by the time I drove to school...and then just kept getting worse...and worse...and worse...and worse. Jenna's dance class was even cancelled tonite because of the fog. Usually it gets less dense and lifts, but today was just weird. It seriously just made me tired looking at the fog all day long!

-Today I had a doctor appointment to try to get some things figured out. I have been dealing with some "issues" since July....and it's getting very frustrating. It's nothing serious - just episodes of dizziness, headaches, and lack of energy. I am so tired of not feeling well, having no energy, and being moody as a result of being tired and not feeling well. The appointment went really well. In fact, he was extra thorough because he had a med student with him. It's a very long story...but the next steps are blood work (did that right after the appointment...and didn't even flinch at the needle...I'm getting better!), an MRI (scheduled for tomorrow night...weird time for an MRI if you ask me), and an appointment with an ENT who specializes in dizziness (Feb. 26th). I should know the results of the blood test tomorrow or Wednesday and the MRI results later this week. It's very frustrating not knowing for sure why I feel this way and I'm ready for some answers so I can start feeling better!

-Very cool moment at the doctor today....at the end of the appointment he asked the standard "any other questions or anything else I can do for you?" , so I asked a few questions about the upcoming procedures and next steps. And then he said "I do have something else to ask you...can I pray with you?" It was truly one of the neatest moments. I just sat there trying not to cry too hard while my doctor prayed for me, for my family, and for guidance for himself and the other doctors. Amazing.

-If you are a praying person...please say a quick prayer for me tomorrow night. I am not looking forward to the MRI because I don't know what to expect. The doctor offered to give me something to help me relax and I think I'm going to take him up on it. I have been experiencing some anxiety along with not feeling well (mainly b/c I don't ever know when it's going to hit....so I'm always nervous about not feeling well), so I think relaxing before the procedure will be a good thing. I really am not real worried about the results...just the procedure.

-Check back in the next few days for pictures. I promise!! :)

Good bye President's Day

We were supposed to have President's Day off.....until we cancelled school today for bad weather. This is day #6 that we've missed, so now we will be making it up on President's Day. I'm sure I'll miss it when President's Day rolls around, but I was okay with cancelling today. They originally called for 5-6 inches of snow along with some ice. I'm not sure how much snow we actually got, but it looks more like 2-3 inches with an ice coating. The storm must have fizzled out somewhere along the way. Regardless, all the area schools were cancelled today and the news went on and on about how slick the roads were. Now we just wait around all day to see if tonite's basketball game is cancelled or not.

A few more updates from the Covey's:
-I have the beginnings of a sinus infection. I'm hoping it's short lived. I just hate how wiped out I feel when I have colds or sinus infections. I've been taking Tylenol Sinus religiously and drinking lots of liquids. In the meantime, I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode from all the sinus pressure I feel!

-3 basketball games this weekend - Tonite VW plays at Ottawa and I'm planning to go as long as the weather cooperates. Tomorrow morning Jacob has a game and then tomorrow night VW plays at home. It has officially reached the point in basketball season where I've had my fill and I'm ready for it to be over. It happens every year at this time.

-Sunday the kids and I have tickets to go see the Hannah Montana 3D concert movie. Should be fun. I just have this vision of lots of little girls singing along. We'll see.

-Sunday night we have a Superbowl party to go to for Chris' fantasy football league. I won't watch one bit of the game - but it's fun to go eat and talk.

That's about all the exciting news from our house. Apparently no one else has very exciting news this week either....it's been pretty quiet in Bloggerville!

I'm off to go figure out what I should do with my day. Sitting on the couch with a blanket sounds very inviting right now!

Basketball photos - part 2

I'm slowly getting the hang of taking basketball photos. These were all from last Saturday's game. I sat right under the basket again...which is a great place to take photos. Luckily Jacob doesn't even seem to notice that I'm there. I plan to keep practicing over the next few weeks of games, so I'm sure you'll be seeing even more basketball photos in the weeks to come.

A Photo-less Update

I figured I'd better update since I haven't posted a new entry for a while. No photos today though. I have some on my computer...ready to be shared...but no time today....just a quick update.

-I'm tired of the FREEZING cold! Today was one of those days that hurt when you breathed! It was 10 degrees when I came to school. The weather TV at school says -5....which actually warmer than last weekend when it said -29!! My classroom is way too cold for me. I'm ready for a little warmer weather. I'm so glad Mom and Dad got us new flannel sheets for Christmas. We've definitely used them!!

-I have decided to have a basketball-free weekend. Chris has games tonite and tomorrow night and Jacob has a game tomorrow. Jenna and I are headed to Columbus tonite to stay with Mom and Dad (Dad has to judge in Columbus tomorrow). Tomorrow Mom, Jenna and I are shopping. I'm ready for a basketball break.

-This morning Jacob and I downloaded an 80s song for him to take to enrichment class. They are studying different composers and last week they learned about Mozart. So...we downloaded "Rock Me Amadeus" (please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers or knows that song) for him. We listened to it on the way to school this morning and I've been singing it all day!

-I have more basketball photos of Jacob to share...but I've just been too lazy and/or busy to put them on my blog. I'll try to do that on Sunday after our Columbus trip. I was excited with how these turned out. I'm slowly getting it!

-Jacob had a great game last weekend. He really had fun playing! He had some great passes and scored 10 points. It was fun to watch!!

-I'm so glad American Idol is back on so I have something to watch. It's definitely time for the writer's strike to end. The first episodes are my favorites. Is it wrong that we laugh at people because they are such horrible, horrible singers? If anyone else is watching...I think my favorite bad singer so far was the "Let my people go..." guy that sang on the first night. He was BAD!!

HAPPY WEEKEND! Stay warm!

A Jenna-ism...

As Jenna would say.... "Happy Martha Luthen King Day".

We're staying home...inside where it is warm! I'm going to scrapbook....the kids are having friends over to play....Chris is going to catch up on basketball/school work ....supper is in the crock pot....It should be a good day!

The best show and tell ever....

Jenna loves the boys across the street. Craig is a grad student at OU and Bret is a college freshman at Methodist College in NC. They are so good to Jenna and Jacob...and so patient with them. They always make sure they come and say hi when they get home from college...and always come over before they leave. Jacob likes both boys...but Jenna truly adores them. Craig and Bret were both home for Christmas, so the kids got to spend some time with them. Craig even made them banana pancakes on one of our snow days!

Right before Craig came home at Thanksgiving time, Jenna was trying to decide what to take for show and tell...and then said she wished she could take Craig or Bret. I later told Craig and Bret that story. On the night before Craig left to go back to school, he stopped over and visited. At one point he asked Jenna what she was taking for show and tell the next day...and then said he would be her show and tell. SO...the next morning Craig came to school (which happens to be the same elementary school he attended) and went to kindergarten to be Jenna's show and tell. She explained who he was, where he went to school, and why she brought him in. He even took time to answer some questions and talk to the kids. Of course, I snuck down to take some photos. She was so excited!!!

Later, Jenna wrote Craig a thank you letter to send to him at OU. It said:
Dear Craig,
Thank you for being my show and tell. I am glad you could make it. You were the best show and tell ever. I wish you were still in Van Wert. I miss you.
From, Jenna

Here are some photos of the best show and tell ever.....can you tell she's nervous???