Busy January

(Thought I would post a picture of my Maddy Kitty Catty, in case I hadn't done that yet)

I remember January being really boring as a kid. Probably because I hate the cold and was never really adventurous enough to go out and play in. Well, all these years later I still hate the cold, but January is anything but boring!!

I have really been trying to focus on working less, being a better time manager, being more "in tune" with my kids and spending more quality time with friends and family. It is going well.

I tried an acupuncture session on monday afternoon to see if it could help with my chronic shoulder pain. Believe it or not, it is very relaxing. The needles don't hurt (me) at all. I suppose some people might be a little more sensitive to them. Anyway, you "Soak" for 20 minutes during the session. My ears and face were so warm and RED. Anyway, yesterday, I had more energy than I have had in a long time, so much so, that it almost worried me! I exercised and just couldn't get enough cardio. It felt so good! My shoulder pain has been alleviated for now, so I think I will continue to try acupuncture. I love that I enjoyed exercising again.

My sister has been great about staying in shape and has lost some weight this last year, and when I told her it was hard to get motivated to exercise, she told me that if I worked through that I would get the point where I had a hard time going without exercise. I'm sure she's right, and I look forward to it.

Caleb's Party

We decided to have Caleb's birthday party after school was back in session so he didn't get ROBBED for his birthday :) We had it on MLK day since I figured it would be a little easier to get more kids there, and it didn't take up everybody's weekend plans. Yes, I know it looks SO plain, but, it had be, 'cuz we were painting!! They had just taken off their "paint shirts" and put clean white paper down on the table before we took the photo above. I know, I know, little girls have ribbons and bows and pink stuff, but we had MOTORCYCLES AND HUMMERS AND ATVS and other cool stuff.

It worked out pretty well, we had a fun little group, and you guessed it, we went to "The Mud Room" where the kids painted some sort of motor vehicle they chose. They were all SO QUIET and concentrated so hard! (except for Collin).



Caleb got to put his handprint on a plate and his friends put their thumbprints all around the edge, and the store owner was going to turn the little thumbprints into cardinals. The parents really liked it 'cuz it was low key and quieter than most birthday parties. I decided not to give away little party favors since they get to take home their awesome artwork. I knew Caleb would dig this kind of party 'cuz he is so creative, but was pleasantly suprised at how much his little friends liked it, too.

He invited a 4th grader. . . . . . . yeah . . . .that's what I was thinkin', too. Huh? a 4th grader, how do you even know a 4th grader?? But, his friend Chad from his class has an older brother named Nick who is in 4th grade and they are all in scouts together through the school and as it turns out, Nick is quite a good friend to my Caleb. He has a very funny and interesting mix of friends. His friend Isaiah is a few months younger and no kidding, he is a foot taller!!! Kinda funny when they are standing next to each other.



Collin did pretty well, considering he couldn't open his brother's presents. He just enjoyed being around Caleb. They are pretty good little friends sometimes. It is pretty sweet to watch.

Free Weekend

(Okay, I was just gonna post a note, but turns out I decided to vent and ramble, Enjoy!)

Well, Grandma has the kids this weekend since it's her last weekend off before she starts working lots and lots of overtime. I have been so excited about having alone time I don't know which project to work on first. Some of that has been determined for me though, since my bank lost all my bill pay info and I have to redo that. The house is mostly clean since we had a little get together last night and had cleaned to prepare for it.

I will probably start training my "Dragonspeak" a little more so I can get it to transcribe all my hours of interviewing my Grandma. I have homework to do for nutrition. Seems like the teacher is taking a while to grade it, but I guess that's the way it goes in an online class that is mostly short answer or essay.

We had to run around a little to take care of errands before Grandma picked up the boys yesterday and the boys were so excited all day they couldn't contain themselves. SO HYPER!! She came in and sat down and Collin wouldn't leave her side for her to go to the bathroom (which is normal for him now). Caleb has grown out of his fascination with Grandma which is hard for her, but Collin still clearly worships her, so that helps.

I gotta tell ya I have felt like we should have more kids, but of course we'd have to wait till I am done with this program, but then I think I have forgotten how much time babies take up. I used to prefer babies to children, but now I really enjoy being able to have sweet little conversations with Collin and how excited Caleb gets about the most innocent little things.

Caleb got in trouble in school last week for talking in the line twice, so he had fill in a "think sheet" where he had to write about consequences. He had to ask what consequences were by definition so he could complete his sheet, and as I tried to give him examples he hadn't heard of the "just say no to drugs" thing and didn't know what they were, or any other behavior I would think of off the top of my head that comes with consequences. I feel bad for having lost touch with how innocent he still really is.

Since I have turned nearly everything over to Lee for the business (I answer no phone, make no calls, and am treated as a contract laborer) I have to say that my stress level has gone down tremendously. School and kids and a house are WAY EASIER than working with that business stuff anymore, and I have really been able to enjoy my baby's personalities. I have really wanted to focus on KNOWING WHO THEY ARE while they are young, because if you don't know before they hit middle school, you never will. [Gospel according to me ;)]

OH! And to change the subject, lots of people have looked at our spec house to lease. WHICH, we thought would be great, but it turns out that our realtors have only asked for one month's rent?????? as a deposit on our $355,000 house????? HUH???? Now we have people interested and begging to lease it, and our realtors act as though we should be happy that these people want to lease with an option to purchase in 15 months. I'm not sure how they didn't expect that this would be a REQUIREMENT because once anyone lives in that house it becomes USED, and therefore worth less money. I am completely confused by their reasoning and expectations.

AND, when people want to lease it is because they don't know if they will like the school or want to stay in Columbia because of a work transfer, which I get. The others have BAD credit and need to repair it. So, I think we decided to just change the listing to purchase only. Shouldn't you live well below your means in a very modest home to fix those things instead of trying to lease all the home you can afford? Especially in this situation where the lease money gets you nowhere and it's money you are tossing out the window to have a roof over your head? Again my realtors think I'm nuts because one of them is $112,000 in credit card debt that her husband DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT. Can you imagine???? I am realizing how guilty I must be in believing that most people are like us. Guess they aren't huh? We know the gospel does amazing thingvfor people. I just forget those things that have been burned into my skull about what's important. In some ways it's good though, because I realize I must have a better grasp of what's important than I give myself credit for. Any other Moms out there worry about making sure they only focus on the eternal, or at least focus on that first?

Got my test results back from blood sugar and isulin. I am the absolute opposite of normal (add canned laughter here :) My blood sugar DROPS when I eat. What??? That would explain that even though eating should make me feel better it SO doesn't. And justs so y'all know, but Blood Sugar was on the low side of NORMAL at the 2 hour mark which is usually all they check. But I KNEW something was wrong and asked for a 5 hour test in which you see absolutely no reasonable pattern.

I had expected to to insulin resistance. You know, you drink sugar, your insulin spikes and your blood sugar doesn't respond. BUT, I drank sugar and my insulin went up a little, still stayed well below a normal, diabetic or otherwise spike, and my blood sugar DROPPED. I will see a endocrinologist soon. But if any of y'all have any ideas please advise.

So, I guess there is a lot more going on here than I realized. Hope all is well with you, that you are enjoying your family members, are in good health, and that you will keep in touch!

I got IN!!!! I got my letter of acceptance today!!!

I have been welcomed into the profession of nursing. Classes start at 9 am may 16 2008. I will be a nurse (except for my boards) a year from this august. I am very excited.

Nutrition has already started, it is online through the University of North Dakota. I imagine it will be pretty simple since I have had all the other classes first. I expect pharmacology will demand a large amount of my time. BUT, it says that the first day of class I will need my stethoscope, a penlight and a blood pressure cuff (amongst other things). I get to have my head in the clouds for a little while now.

I voluntarily had a 5 hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test and an Insulin Test yesterday. I believe I am at the beginning of having problems with insulin resisitance due to some vague and other not so vague symptoms. Confirmation of this will just call for a change in diet, but I am hoping to finally get someone to take a look at the other hormones that this involves. Ultimately, I did this so I could be done with my night sweats. There also appears to be a link to cortisol production which helps you to gain weight.

I realize it won't be easy, and know that I must also work on this myself, so I am back to the "weight watchers" way of living. I still have my calorie (point) counting calculator and it seems pretty easy. I don't feel like I am starving. Hopefully this will help. I used to be able to lose a lb a day, but at this point I would be satisfied with a pound a week. I just don't want to get hypoglycemia, or type 2 diabetes by not paying attention. Usually people have problems with insulin resistance for a very long time before they get a diagnosis.

We are doing Caleb's birthday party very late this year. Martin Luther King day. We are going to "The Mud Room" to paint pottery with little boys. I know it's not something you'd figure most little 7 year old boys would like to do, but as you know, Caleb is an artist. He is quite excited about his party.

My little Maddy Kitty Catty is getting fat. But she is beautiful!!! Let's face it, I like my animals to be a little chunky anyway. They are softer that way. All for now!!

We love our Wii and we love our family!

We got a wii for Christmas and we love it!! I am not much of a gamer but this is great!!

Lee and I have been working lots on geneology. I got back to 1190 on one of my Dad's limbs and Lee has been making exciting headway, too. I got an email from my maternal great grandmother's sister's great grandson. (Follow)? My GG Olga had a sister Alma, and he (Jason) is her descendant and has pictures I don't have. I'm very excited about getting those.

Talking with my grandma about a trip to Arkansas so she can see her half sister one more time and hopefully I will have more luck down there actually getting past my great grandma. This has been the most interesting yet most difficult limb to climb up, funny how that works. More later.

Gingerbread (Graham Cracker) Houses

In keeping with our holiday tradition, we made faux gingerbread houses. The kids have been looking forward to it for days. Mark and Stephanie were able to join us.

The mess we made. The houses we built, mostly the memories are the important
part, but we did have some cool houses.

This is Mark's house. Outhouse with plumbing problem on left. Broken down truck in right side of front yard. Tires against the "Bait Shop"

The little gingerbread men on the roof are actually "roofers". Poor Collin's little house kept falling in, so we covered it in glue (icing) and put multiple layers of roofing on.

Yes, this is one of the areas where Lee acts like a kid. He had a
great time, making a "slate roof" with candy.

Front of Caleb's "reindeer house"

Caleb was pretty interested in arranging and eating the candy.
But he had fun, it's all that matters!

Get the perfect angle!! Will it work?

The master creates his roof while supporting the sides.

I am eating candy and I love it!! I refuse to eat the icing, though,
. . . . .you aren't supposed to eat "glue"

"I wanna know what love is"

An email I got from a friend about love that I think is awesome and sums it all up for the day:

Children were asked to give the definition of love. The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5 "

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6 "

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka 's on this planet)

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybodyYou don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)-Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8



And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said , "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Snow Days

Collin, did you bloody your lip when you fell down? No? Are you sure?



Don't hit that tree! Watch out for the dog doo!



He went down the other side to avoid dog doo and almost went over the retaining wall. Ouch! That would have really hurt!

Okay, let me try backwards down the hill, that way I won't see the trees till I actually hit them.

A sneak peak!

Okay, not much new going on here. BUT Lee HAS been working on the house. Here is the fireplace that is almost finished. Just need to add the mantle.



Oh, and I caught the boys after a slumber party (apparently)

That's NOT what the garage is for!

So, Lee cleaned out the garage this weekend so I would be able to put my car inside. Today we went out to get in the car, and Collin was very confused about why I had parked by car in the garage. I tried explaining that a garage is made for parking in, but he doesn't buy it. So, that's life when discussing logic with a 3 year old.

Took another physiology test tonight. Seemed easy. If I aced this one, I don't have to take the next one.

My office manager is gonna take time off for minor surgery that she really needs, so I will be without her for a month. I think it'll turn out alright though. Doug has a funeral wednesday, so he'll be gone. A friend of his who's a little older than us had a brain tumor that spread very quickly. Really sad.

'Bout done with Christmas shopping. Buying very little for the boys this year. They always get too much anyway, and I am trying to get them more books, since interest in those lasts way longer than toys.

Collin is counting and doing ABCs really well, and Caleb is doing subtracting in word problems which is amazing to me. He's so smart. They both are. What a blessing. Next is to just help them direct that potential, right? Only got 15 years or so to work on it. Not sure if that's enough time.

Collin is looking more and more like Lee which is cool. Both boys looked so handsome last sunday. I had gotten them new sweaters for church on sale at The Children's Place. Should take pix and post them, right?

Not much else going on here, but things are going really well. Miss y'all. Love y'all.

-Later y'all

Update

Had a lot going on lately, as usual. Been meaning to catch everyone up, as usual.

Let's see, um, have the flu, so does Caleb. Collin had it last week.

Caleb took 2nd place in the Raingutter Regatta lasst week for the Tiger Cubs.

3 weeks left of physiology and I aced my last test.

Adopted a cat from second chance. Her name is Madison and she is about 10 months old.

Had Thanksgiving Dinner at our new house, even though it isn't completely done yet.

Lee sold another custom and a remodel last week. Very proud of him!

Had my interview to get into the accelerated nursing program. Won't hear anything for sure until the 3rd week on January.

Caleb lost one of his front teeth.

Lee and I watched 3 movies today.

Collin refuses to potty train.

Went Christmas shopping with Mom the day after Thanksgiving.

Destin

Okay, so I am moving to Destin, Florida!

I always say that after a fun vacation, but this place was beautiful. White sandy beaches, BLUE crystal clear water. Like nothing I've seen, and I've seen some beaches. Supposed to go to Hawaii with the Builder's Club in January,and I'll tell you how those compare when I get back.

I also LOVED driving through Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, with Alabama being the most beautiful from the interstate. Who needs Colorado or California with Alabama and Florida within reach?

Lee and I are so taking the kids down soon I hope. Rates keep getting cheaper, tourist season is over, and we drove my gas hog suv down and back and it was less than the cost of one ticket. You can drive there in one day. I love all the cool things Heavenly Father made for us to enjoy.

Have an appointment at Sylvan learning center to see if they can help me with my test taking skills, and thank you to Esther for her faith and support in me. Makes me smile.

I will post pictures as soon as Laurie gets them together. All for now.
Love y'all.

From Florida

I have been here for two days and must leave tomorrow. So sucks. Laurie, Heidi and I are having an awesome time. We are all burnt and exhausted, but having a great time. We ate crab omelets on the beach. Had guacamole made at our table as we watched, they cooked for me (spring rolls, salmon pastry puffs, fondue, sticky rice with mango. Yum Yum.

I have gotten a lot more comfortable with the ocean since I have been here. We are mostly on a sandbar so I feel mostly safe from the sharks. We rented a wave runner today and we all 3 rode it. It was so fun. Jerky, but fun. Guys on a jet ski out by us were totally flirting. Weird I tell you.

There has been lots of good conversation and lots of good food and it's great to have good girlfriends. Tomorrow we start the drive home, and that will be really fun, too. Have to figure out how to eat up our food though. Oh yeah, and we went on a dolphin cruise which was way lame until we got to actually see dolphins and they were so close we could almost touch them. All for now. Pray for our safe return.

Tests and Stuff

Well, not doing so hot in my classes. Gotta study a lot more. At least on my chemistry test I know I just screwed up my fractions (got them upside down). Microbiology is another story. He told us in class there was a chart of people in the back of one of the chapters, but that it was'nt necessary to write them all down in our notes, but they were on the test. Probably 8-9 of the questions on the test were not covered until the 20 minutes before we took the test that evening. It is very frustrating because you have a hundred or so pages of text you have to memorize now, because he admits he doesn't talk about all of it in class. Wish me luck. I may be dropping micro if it doesn't get better.

That said, I do hate details, am a big picture person, analyzer as you all know. So I might look into hospital administration some more.

Collin starts his preschool today. that will be really exciting for him. Also, I think I have decided on a vehicle, the Honda CRV.

On Vensdee (Wednesday)

So is it weird that while my microbiology teacher is talking I am reminded of the King of the Fusas from Madagascar? You know, the one who sings "I like to move it move it" and calls the animals from the Zoo "pansies". Maybe it just make class more entertaining.

Well, I have had my first Chem test and tomorrow I have my first Micro test. Wish me luck.

Got to watch Caleb play a little of his game tonight. He is on a team with really skilled kids.

Collin is ORNERY AS EVER. DUMPED gatorade all over the inside of Lee's truck today-on purpose. Wiped Chip fingers on my walls and carpet. Crunch chips on the floor-on purpose. Ugh!

Have another friend suffering from breast cancer to keep in my prayers. Lost a friend a few weeks ago to breast cancer. Another dear friend had to get a breast biopsy friday. Ugh!

I get to write an article for the paper on behalf of the Home Builder's Association about fire sprinklers. (I am excited about it)

All for now.

Class, Work, Kids, Family

Seems like everything is a checklist lately. HOWEVER, I have been really focusing on reading my scriptures in the morning. It has made MONUMENTAL difference, down to way more patience with my kids. I am reading Alma, who is supposed to be one of the "easy" ones to read, so we'll see what happens next. So, even though everything is a checklist, at least I am able to make a "check" by most things on my list almost every day.

It IS a little weird right now, though, I must say. Caleb leaves with Daddy at 7:30 and I leave for class (monday through friday) before he gets home from school. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night I am done at 7:30pm and on Tuesday and Thursday not till 10 pm! Ugh! I have SO much studying to do of late, but I REALLY enjoy the challenge and learning new stuff. :)

Caleb has his first game of "coach-pitch" tonight. And, I am so bummed I won't get to see ANY of it. SUCKS. But, next semester it shouldn't be so bad. Sacrifices I guess, huh? At any rate, he has games sometimes tues thurs, sometimes tues wed, so I WILL get to part of some of his games, which is better than nothing. Lee said he was throwing a football around with Caleb last night and Caleb can HURL a football. Lee said he "stepped it out" and Caleb was throwing it 30 FEET!! I am so glad he is athletic and artsy I am just praying that he doesn't starve as an adult!!

Collin is going through a rough patch. He has been in a bad mood for like, a month. I don't know what to do for him except comfort him lots. I think he hit his terrible twos way late!

Lee stays challenged being "Mr. Mom" 5 nights a week. The kids are enjoying it, and they all just have to live through 7 more weeks, and then things will go sort of back to normal a little bit.

I am looking at getting a different vehicle. Originally I wanted a van to haul more people, then I decided gas mileage was an issue and I really want to stay in a vehicle under warranty. SO, I have completely done a 180 and decided a camry or scion might be the way to go? 33 miles to the gallon on the highway. Whereas right now I get almost 18. It is a little strange to think of driving a car again just because of turning being different and stuff. Anyway, off to start my day!

OOPS!

Okay, so I made a blog in the wee hours of the morning, and I went to check on it a few minutes ago and it didn't come up so then I re-wrote and now low and behold there is a redundant blog. I think I will leave them. Why not?

Lost my Kitty Cat

My cat is missing. She is about 10 years old and thinks she is a dog. At my last house, she would go out for a week at a time. We have been in our new house about 8 weeks and knew we would have a battle with keeping her in the house. Needless to say, she finally got out and has been missing about 5 days. I pray she comes back to us. She used to move around a lot at night, but there are so many huge machines and loud noises in my subdivision during the day that I don't think she even feels comfortable moving around at night. Wish me luck.

We have hired a kid I teach sunday school to every week as a laborer. A touch weird, but whatever works i gues..

Have some homeowners who are MIA. Need their input on decisions on their house and can't locate them. They are all in pretty bad health so I hope nothing REALLY bad happened.

Caleb seems to like 1st grade, although I think he is really just interested in being less bored and being surrounded by kids his age.

Bob went back to California yesterday and he and Pat will be back here September 13th with part of a semi load of stuff.

My Mom has recently been diagnosed with diabetis and has supposedly ceased eating sugar although she mysteriously hasn't lost any weight yet.

Looking forward to my "girls trip" to Destin, FL in a few weeks, Heaven knows I NEED A BREAK!! And lots of time with good girlfriends. Wish you all could come with me!

Microbiology is very interesting but my Indian teach from new Zealand is difficult to understand sometimes. Chemistry is sort of interesting but WAY slow and sometimes a bit confusion. I feel like he is hard to hear sometimes, as though someone is turning the volume up and down constantly.

Kids have been getting out of school early for the last 3 days due to heat. That is always quite difficult to deal with since it throws such a monkey wrench in my day.

More Later.

Lost Cat

I lost my kitty! My Zoe always wanted to get outside and we have had a hard time keeping her in the house. We have been at the new place since June 1st and she has finally gotten away from me. I look around for her late at night outside because I think she will feel more comfortable coming to me under the cover of night. She used to take off for a week at a time at our last house, but I don't know for sure now. Pray that she comes back to me. I'm not ready to be without her yet.

Checked on trading in my 4runner for a van today. Still waiting for a better negotiation from them. If I don't get one, I 'll keep what I have. Got to shop when you don't have to have it.

Microbiology has been quite humbling. Identification of things thru a microscope is interesting. I am enjoying learning things about the medical industry, and my Chemistry class actually lends itself to usefulness in Microbiology already. Got a member from the Highlands Ward in my Micro class. She is from Africa and our teacher is from New Zealand. Hope she can understand him better than I can.

Boys are doing okay. Caleb is back to school and I hardly see him. He is gone all day and I am gone every night at school. Don't see Collin much either, but at least most days I get to see him for about 4 hours. He is speaking much more clearly now and getting thinner.

All for now.