Sortof spring

It's still quite cold (hence the new fingerless gloves I am knitting) and you know what that means--cold and flu season! Both the kids have had runny noses and an overall "gunk" for a few weeks off an on but this past week proved the most taxing. Gubby came home Monday with a fever to return Thursday and still end up going home early-his fever hadn't quite retreated. Emmy got sick on Wednesday and is just now recovering, as well. Thankfully, spring break is upon us so the kids can recuperate completely.

That did not stop us from helping Daddy and Bruce lay the concrete for Daddy's renovated shed (and hopeful processing area for the business) and from having a small hike and picnic at Tom Brown Park. We saw lots of neat plants including ferns, mushrooms, and wild flowers. I am off to Seattle to visit my dearest friend, Christa, and am hopeful to be fully recovered from my cold, as well.

Regardless of my nasal congestion and general malaise, however, I received wonderful news for my dissertation. The medical and mental health director at the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LADOC) has accepted my proposal for my dissertation and has agreed to provide me access to five supermax prisons in the state that have an on-site, peer-to-peer hospice program. LADOC has truly led the way when it comes to these unique programs and the overall results point to a win-win-win for inmates at the end-of-life, their inmate volunteer caregivers, and the prison/community as a whole. Furthermore, they do it at very little cost! I am hopeful that I can support their efforts by exploring a few unique facets of the peer-to-peer relationship as well as several mental health variables--it is my goal to promote this model in both Florida and nationwide as a cost-effective, low impact, humane alternative to standard medical care within our correction facilities. What's not to love? I must note, however, that Mr. Jamey Boudreaux at the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization was most instrumental in this process and urge everyone to check out their work here

New Beginnings

It is quite clear that I have lapsed in my responsibilities as a blogger; however, that does not mean that nothing has been going on! It's been a year and a half since my last post and there are so many new things happening in the Prost Haus.

Emily is soon to be turning four and has officially made her talents known: she is a lover of music and dance. In fact, her favorite songs to dance to are "Lucky Strike" by Maroon 5 and "Loose yourself to Dance" by Daft Punk-a woman after my own heart.

Gabriel is turning into quite the video game expert. He loves playing both the PS2 (vintage hipster sorts, of course) and the Wii. He is particularly fond of Pokemon, DC comics, and Marvel, as well. He will be starting kindergarten this fall and we are excited to join the Trinity family.

 

Mike's business is steadily expanding with a formidable online presence and multi-site mobile storefront. Our home has become a warehouse of sorts with many really neat vintage films and music coming through each day. In fact, the kids have really enjoyed listening to many of the records that have joined the collection including the Pet Shop Boys, Goldfrapp, and DJ Icey.

Summer is over and school is nearly in!

We had a lovely summer vacation between the two semesters. First, we packed our bags and headed to Newnan to see Nonna, Opa, and Aunt Ruthie for a week. The weather was hot, hot, hot but we spent most afternoons at the community pool. Gubby even had a chance to go fishing with Opa in the backyard lake before we left. Aunt Ruthie was busy working on her classroom at her new job and was able to fill her room with bright colors and warmth. We had to leave after a few days but the kids had a great time!

Once we returned to Tallahassee, we relaxed for a few days and then repacked the car to head to Port Orange to see Memere and Pawpaw. This time, my friend Eunyoung joined us. Eunyoung is another PhD student in my Social Work program-we were long overdue for a vacation! We surprised Mere at work a day early and were able to spend three sunny mornings at the world's most famous beach. Gubby and Emmy played in the toddler pool in the front yard, enjoyed popsicles, and played with Eric building train tracks. Gubby and Emmy even got to see Aunt Christa, Aunt Dona, and Aunt Molly. Despite the long journey, we had a nice time and returned home with a few days remaining before the fall semester kicks into full swing.

It's been a year

Well, almost. I must apologize for my slacking off with my blog posts. I have been busy with school and Mike has been expanding Mike's CDs & DVDs online (and throughout the house!). I have a few new pictures and plan to take a few videos over the next few weeks but wanted to make sure I didn't leave this blog to rot! I never posted pictures from our trip to Disney this past Christmas and have been sifting through them. Some of the expressions on Emmy are priceless.

What a Wonderful World

Don't give me any grief for not having posted in  four months-we've been working hard!

1. Mike's Amazon store is busier than ever-our whole house is full of inventory!
2. I got into the Ph.D. program at FSU in the College of Social Work
3. Kiddos started full-time daycare and are loving it!

Initially the transition was difficult but Gabriel only took about four days to become acclimated and Emmy was good to go about two weeks later. Granted, this summary is so very brief (as I should be reading the textbook in front of me) but I wanted to assure to everyone we are still alive and doing great!

Movie time!

Ok-I'm a bit lagging but here is Easter, Emmy's fascination with Gubby's hat, Emmy and Gubby playing hide and seek, and Emmy walking :)

Welcome to the Lake...and then some.

We recently returned from a fun-filled week near Atlanta at Nonna and Opa's house and are just barely regaining normalcy. Here's a tiny tidbit of what we did when we were there...

Plus-Emmy has been walking since 5/9/12 with increasing regularity and she had her first bowl of pasta with marinara sauce (a la face) that same night!

Here's a few of our crafting accomplishments as well, a lovely wreath for Mere and a gorgeous addition for Rudi's bathroom, too! Plus, a few shots of Baldwin the bathroom monster...he's been tough to track, but sightings increase near bedtime...or so the toilet paper trail leads us to believe.