Talk About Change!

For a little over a year I have talked a lot about change, mostly in terms of our country and its politics, little did I know how prophetic it would be for the change that would come into our life. I am proud to announce that the Avramov's will be welcoming yet another new addition, only this one will not have four legs and fur (or at least we hope not!). At the beginning of February we found out that we are expecting! The littlest Avramov will arrive around September 29th unless he/she is anything like his/her sister and wants to greet the world a little sooner. By the way Isabella is very excited about being a big sister, we just told her the news this past Friday. She told us she cannot wait to read to the baby and teach it to walk. She even volunteered to help feed the baby, so Teddy and I told her she could have the night shift. She said "no thanks, I'd rather not."

We found out the news and I started experiencing the lovely return of afternoon and evening sickness (which I had with Bella) right before Teddy's parents arrived for a visit. Even though it was still very early we decided to share the news with them because it was just easier than trying to come up with an explanation as to why I couldn't ski but I could run 12 to 15 miles a week and why I couldn't drink wine with dinner or eat feta cheese. They, of course, were thrilled. It did put a slight kink in the cooking and eating plans. Dinner has been very difficult for me to prepare and then eat (it has not gotten better at dinnertime, but I feel better the majority of the day especially on the days I run, which is strange I think). Since my sense of smell is super acute, Maria helping with the cooking was unfortunately not a solution. No one starved and we all had a very nice visit. Dad got to ski with Bella and Teddy. Mom enjoyed watching Bella ski and take Karate while taking tons of pictures. We also got to celebrate Dad's birthday while they were here and of course catch up on all the family happenings.

During Mom and Dad's visit we also hosted our 1st Annual Mardi Gras Party (no children allowed!). Thank god I had one of my better days and was able to cook seafood gumbo, jambalaya and corn bread. I even ordered a King's Cake from Haydels bakery in New Orleans ( I couldn't find one up here). It arrived the day before and was awesome. Teddy quickly became an expert at making Hurricanes (I really missed that part of Mardi Gras), everyone kept it clean (no boobies were seen) and all seemed to have a great time. We decided we would like to make this an annual thing, it was a great break during our long winter! Next year I'm all over those Hurricanes!

March has been crazy, hectic for me. This is the month for everyone's dental visits, vet appointments and doctor appointments for both Teddy and I. It has also been busy at Jamesville Elementary with lots of volunteer duties, and I have been trying to get a start on the spring cleaning. I am really looking forward to our vacation! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we're going to Disney World! Bella and I are sooo excited! Although I can't ride half the rides now, so I made Teddy promise last night that we'll go back in 5 or 6 years, because I really wanted to ride space mountain! We got one of those great deals in January, buy 4 nights, get 3 free. We couldn't beat the price and we thought this is an ideal time to take Isabella. We decided to go for her birhtday so I don't have to plan a party (Yeah!!). The poor kid probably can't handle any more surprises, we told her about the trip this month too.

Isabella is still enjoying school and loves taking Karate. As you can see she has earned a new belt and can make a very serious Karate face. She is learning to read and can't wait to start reading chapter books. She really enjoyed skiing this year and was as sad as her Dad when the season ended. Teddy has had an equally hectic month. there have been some changes for him at work. Walgreens did some restructuring and gave some his district to the newer Rochester District and they gave him Albany. So, now he has a lot more driving to look forward too and some more messes tobe straighten out. If anyone can make a success out of it he can! Even though the next few months will be stressful, we are very grateful he has a job!

Daisy, our rebellious child, has gone from curious energetic toddler pup to crazy, sometimes pain in ass teenage dog. She has decided, like her human sister, that listening to me is optional, barking at everything is mandatory and she loves to ring that damn bell a million times a day whether she has to go out or not and my favorite, she has picked up the habit of digging, but only if its real good and muddy. Like all children, I can't wait for her to mature and grow out of these annoying phases ( It makes me appreciate Seamus more and more everyday!) Although I have to admit she has grown into a beautiful dog and is especially cute when she wants to cuddle up or she excitedly wags that little nubbin' for you.

I am still running, for anyone who's wondering. My doctor has been really supportive. I have had to cut back on my mileage (12-14 miles per week instead 18-21) and no long runs are in my short term future, but I'm still at my average speed. I definately anticipate having to slow down at some point and I'm sure I will have to trim back on mileage too, but I'm just going to go with what my body tells me. The truth is I have never had so many runs where I consistantly feel so good and like I said is does help with the evening sickness. Hopefully I can get outside more soon and that will help with the insomnia. My biggest problem right now is getting in enough calories with the nausea, but its getting better. I, of course, am still following politics and even though I haven't agreed with everything our new President and his administration has done ( it would be so boring if we all agreed all the time) I think he's doing a pretty good job considering the circumstances and he's definately an improvement! Now if only congress would just straighten out! By the way did anyone see the interview by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart of Jim Cramer. It was beautiful! I haven't seem that good of an interview since we lost Tim Russert! It is a sad day in journalism when a comedian and "fake" news show outshines the real journalists! Jon Stewart, your my hero! I also love how he still manages to work in that brilliant Bush imitation.

That's it from here, hopefully I be able to keep everyone updated a little more often. Since there is no more countdown I decided to do something different. As many of you know I love quotes and in college we had the Green Scabbie quote board, where we wrote down any crazy quote we heard that made us laugh or touched us in some way. I saved that quote board and still get a chuckle when I come across it. So I thought, each update I'll end with a quote, some funny, some poignant. If you have one you like, send to me maybe I'll put it on.

By the way a big Congratulations to my girl Mandi for her hard work and acceptance into Nursing School (her 3rd degree)! I am soooo proud of you! Also Congrats to my cousin Sue for the same accomplishment! You are both amazing examples to all us mom's but especially to your daughters!!! Way to Go! Good Luck!

The Shenanigan's Quote Board:

"Life is mostly froth and bubbles, but two things stand firm as stone: kindness in another's troubles and courage in your own." - Irish Proverb

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

My personal favorite and one used fequently in our house:

"If it weren't for my horse I would have never gotten into college." - Lewis Black, comedian

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