Speaking of the office...

...I am almost done putting it back together. I had a collection of odds and ends in here and things were just not working. Quite simply I needed to have better organization, which I couldn't achieve without bigger and better storage. I went searching at different stores trying to get cabinets with a work space, and after seeing how expensive furniture was, I decided to go to Home Depot or Lowe's because I was sure to find a better price- NOT! I just about fell over when I saw how much they wanted for basic cabinets. And then the installation and counter tops were several thousand additional dollars. Yikes! I was definitely not ready to fork out that kind of cash, especially considering that I wouldn't be able to move those things with me.

I ran into one of my friends who directed me to a local store called Potato Barn. I had heard of it, and even tried to go a few times, but they have limited hours so I hadn't ever actually been inside. I was fortunate to be able to go this time when they were open. As soon as I walked in, I could tell that I was in the right place. They had beautiful hard wood furniture for a fraction of the cost of cabinets. It was exactly what I was looking for, and after seeing how much the other stuff would cost, I realized that I was getting a smokin' deal.

I have spent several hours organizing, finding things to throw away and donate in the process. I still have a couple of hours of work to do, but it looks so good already. I have been getting quite a bit of use out of my favorite tool- my label maker. I think this new style of organization will be very conducive to a smooth working atmosphere. It has renewed my interest in being a personal organizer. I have taught classes on organization before, and even consulted with a few people in their homes. I really think that I could do this as a profession and enjoy it quite a bit. So, maybe that will be something I can pursue when the kids are a little older and I wouldn't have to pay for day care...

Anyway, when I am totally done I will post pictures of what it looks like now. I was going to take pictures before I started, but then I thought I would die if anyone saw it like it was before. I am probably not finished with the organization, and will probably change a few things as time goes on, but for now I think this will work tremendously. (And since I have people coming over to scrapbook on Friday night, that will be a good motivator to get things done this week!

Life...

You know the saying "Your actions affect those around you." I always tend to think of that in terms of family and close friends. It turns out the actions of those around you, even if they're not someone you actually interact with can affect you.

A couple of weeks ago I took Natalie and Andrew to Razzmatazz to find some new furniture to go with the other new furniture that I bought for my office. When I was turning the corner to go from one store to the next, a worker from another store was taking one last, long drag from his cigarette and placing it in the outdoor ash tray thing. (I'm sure that there is a proper name for them!) It just so happened that I walked right into that cloud of smoke and got a lung-full of 2nd hand smoke. I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face to get the rest of the smoke out of my path, but the damage was done. For the next week and a half I had to do multiple breathing treatments and really be careful so my asthma wouldn't turn into something more serious. It didn't help that both Natalie and Drew had coughs, and wanted to snuggle with me.

On Monday, the kids had a day off of school, so Kent's mom Julie came out and we went to eat lunch. After that we took the kids to see The Bridge to Teribithia, and then we came home. I went on my walk, and my lungs were a little tight, but I managed to keep up. 20 minutes or so after I got home, though, my lungs were on fire. I just was dying. I had a hot shower, did a couple of breathing treatments, and went to bed, hoping for the best.

Kent was working from home on Tuesday so I planned to sleep in, hoping that the extra sleep would pay dividends for my asthma problem. It was not to be. I don't remember being especially sick or anything that day, but Kent took one look at me, left the room and came back letting me know that I had a doctor's appointment at 2:00 that afternoon. I saw the same guy I saw the last time, and he started me on antibiotics (which make my mouth taste metallic- yuck!) and advised me on breathing treatments and the cough syrup with codeine. I was a little put off that they didn't have the SVN machine hooked up with the steroids in it, but whatever. I just wanted to get better.

In the meantime, I try to get better. When she was over on Monday, Julie mentioned that she would really like to have all of the kids over to spend the night on Friday, and I really was looking forward to that. I wanted to take advantage of the kids being gone and not having to pay for a sitter, I had to get better. They were so excited to go, and truthfully, I was looking forward to a break. By Friday afternoon I realized that my fun night was just not going to happen. I had been coughing and coughing and just not getting better. I called my regular health care provider and told her that I was not feeling any better, and I had officially started my 4th day of antibiotics. She called in a prescription for the steroids, and told me up do a couple of other things that would help. And although I felt terrible, after we dropped the kids off we went to eat and see a movie. When we got home, I realized what a mistake it had been to go out, and spent one of the longest nights of my life trying to decide whether or not to wake Kent up and have him take me to the ER. I was up until at least 3:30, and just struggling for every breath. Not fun....

I managed to make it to church today. I still am not feeling great. I am just afraid to go back to the doctor and have her say that it's gone from bronchitis to pneumonia. For the first time in days, though, the coughs are starting to slow down in frequency and duration, so I think if I can get a good night's sleep tonight I might actually turn a corner with this thing and start to feel better. It's just an absolutely terrifying thing to feel that you have absolutely no control over your body... that at any moment you might not be able to catch your breath, and if you do happen to be left alone and find yourself in that predicament, you might not be able to get help. And all of this because some guy was out on his smoking break.......

Pinewood Derby

Justin wanted me to let you all know that he will be participating in the Pinewood Derby next Saturday, March 3 at 8 a.m. He won every race last year, and he hopes to do it again this year. We have to defend that Noorda family name! (LOL!) This will be his last race as he will move onto Boy Scouts in September. Trevor will miss this PD by 25 days. He's a little bummed out by that, but he'll get to compete next year. When he and Kent finish his car, I will post pictures so you can all see it.

My most recent projects

I never posted the ho, ho, ho sign so here it is. I also finished 2 LOVE signs for Valentine's Day. One was mine, and the other one was for my mom.

I forgot the picture of kids with Santa!

Here is the annual picture of the kids with Santa. We went to our ward breakfast, and he came after we were all done eating.

Drew is Famous!

My brother, Allan, served his mission in Brazil. He got home right before Drew was born. Over Christmas, he had a couple of friends that he met while he was there. When they got here, they were fascinated with Drew. They would laugh at all of his antics, and took tons of pictures of him. Apparently, they really like people with blonde hair and blue eyes. Here are a couple of the pictures they had with Drew.

Drew's 2nd birthday

Drew turned 2 last month. I couldn't believe it! It's gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday he was a little baby. For his birthday we went out to eat with Grandma Julie. She always remembers the kids' birthdays. Here's Drew with his cake. He wasn't quite sure where to start! After I cut it up for him, though, he dug right in!

On Drew's actual birthday we went as a family to eat at Serrano's. The kids loved seeing Drew wearing a sombrero!

Well, it's been a while...

What can I say? It's been a while since the last post. Our lives have been so busy lately, and we have had some changes.
I'll start with Kent. He felt really strongly last year that he needed to get some tests out of the way so he could get more Cicso certifications. At the end of December, he posted his resume on Monster for about 4 days. Then he decided that things weren't so bad at Qwest, and he could just stick it out. Several days later he got a call from a recruiter, and he set up an interview with another company for Kent. Kent researched the company, and then met with them mid-January. He was offered the job on the spot, and he started with them on Jan. 29. So far things are good, and he only has to wear one hat, whereas with Kent he had to wear about 8. So he really enjoys the change, and it's making his life a lot easier. He hasn't had a lot of time to work in the garage, but he has found time to spend with the boys. Santa brought them a motorcycle, and then Kent got a kids' quad about a week later. He has taken the 2 older boys out riding several times, and he is thinking about getting a bike for himself.
As for me, I had more injections right after Christmas. This time I had Z-Joint injections. They were horrible. I don't have to repeat them. My doctor has done pretty much everything for my back that he can, so I am just doing what I can do to minimize the pain. I am so busy with my church calling and running this household that I don't know when/if I'll ever be able to catch up!
Justin is staying busy with school, friends, scouts and riding his bike and/or scooter. He doesn't really like to have downtime. He prefers to stay busy. He loves riding the new motorcycle that he got for Christmas, and wants to ride it without parental supervision. (Like that's going to happen!)
Trevor did not like riding the motorcycle, so Kent bought a quad from his brother. Trevor loves to ride that. He becomes quite brave when he's on it. He has been busy with reading, playing X-Box and entertaining Drew when he gets home from school. He wants to ride the quad as much as possible.
Natalie has been going to preschool 2 days a week, and really enjoys it. She recently got to go to a birthday party. All of her friends were there without their moms. Natalie, however, was not about to let me leave. I had to stay the entire time, and within 10 feet of her. Maybe we'll be able to let her go alone next time! She also started Sunbeams in January, and she loves that. I was worried that she would try to get my attention when I conduct or have sharing time, but she's been so good.
Drew finally got his 2 bottom eye teeth. He still doesn't have the upper 2, but we're hoping that those will come in soon. He turned 2 last month. He has been really clingy to me, and is now at the stage that he becomes extremely jealous if any of the other kids try to get hugs or kisses from me. In fact, he's sitting on my lap right now! That's just about his favorite spot!
More later....