Hawaii trip

One of the things that we did during the time I last wrote and now is go to Hawaii. Kent and I went with another couple, and we had a blast. We took a cruise so we could see the islands. We were on the Pride of Aloha and left from Honolulu. We were able to visit Kauai, the Big Island (both sides- Hilo and Kona), Maui and Oahu. We took some awesome excursions, and just loved it. I think I want to retire there. It is so beautiful!

This first picture is of us at the luau we went to in Kauai.

This picture is from when we were in Maui. We were on our way up to the top of Haleakala (one of the volcanoes), and we were able to stop and have our pictures taken. We were up so high that we went through the clouds, and then kept driving up for about another 20 minutes. It was pretty chilly at the top, which is why we were dressed in layers and had jeans on.

This picture is of me trying to act like Tarzan.

Kent and I when we were in Oahu at Pearl Harbor.

It's been awhile...

It's been a while... a lot longer than I thought! Almost 3 months have passed since my last posting. Things have been absolutely crazy during this time. The kids finished school last week. It seems like just yesterday they were starting school, and now it's summer, and they're out and having a very busy summer so far. I'd like to say it's all been fun, but the boys are giving me an ulcer! I think it has something to do with them being close in age, but I don't know. Maybe it's just a case of testosterone! I have one brother, and he was 8 years younger than me, so I didn't deal with him the same way my 2 oldest boys have to deal with each other. Everything is a competition between them. It's enough to do me in!

Yesterday things were going well. There was no fighting, no bickering, just the sweet sounds of children playing nicely with each other. So when there was screaming coming from the game room around 8:30 p.m. I wasn't expecting it. I figured since they had gone all day without fighting that it would be a great day. I was wrong. They were punching each other and yelling. All because of a little misunderstanding! I decided that my goal for the summer is this: They are going to learn to get along with each other this summer.

As a punishment for this latest round of fighting they are supposed to be grounded from their friends for a week so they can learn to get along with each other. I made Justin cancel a sleepover that he was going to go to tonight. (I say supposed to be grounded because he got an invitation to another sleepover, and Kent let him go while I was taking a nap! Kent and I clarified what was and wasn't supposed to happen while grounded so when Justin comes home tomorrow morning the grounding will start anew, and he won't go to another party!) They are good boys, but for some reason they just nettle each other until one of them gets angry and they start fighting. Why can't they just get along?!

Anyway, despite the frustration with their fighting, we have been doing other things. Natalie is turning 4 on Wednesday, and she is so excited about it. She and Drew have been planning out a little party for her birthday for weeks now. She lets Drew know that he doesn't get to have a birthday party because it's "her" birthday party, NOT his. This gets him upset because he just doesn't understand why he doesn't get to have a party too. So she's working on being nice to her little brother.

He has already decided that he's going to have a Buzz Lightyear party. Drew's birthday isn't until January 13, but at least he has plans! 2 weeks before his birthday this year I had another set of injections in my back so I didn't do anything with our extended family to celebrate. Only my mom, Kent's mom and one of my sisters remembered his birthday. I feel bad that I didn't do more, but I know that he didn't realize that we didn't have a party for him. So, my goal for next year is to make sure we do something to celebrate!

Besides that they have been playing with each other a ton, and have even gotten in the water when we've gone to Grandma's house to swim. Last summer if I took Natalie in the water at all she would scream bloody murder and dig her fingernails and toenails into my arms and back just so she wouldn't fall. She was absolutely terrified. Drew was a little frightened, but he did okay. We just had to be mindful of his ear tubes not getting too wet. Recently, though, they have both let me put them in the water and walk with them in the pool. They now use the floaties and pool noodles to kick and try to swim. They have had so much fun, and I'm so excited to see the progress they're making. Trevor and Justin are also swimming well, and both try to encourage Natalie and Drew as much as they can.

Also, the day before we went to Hawaii, Trevor got baptized. It was very exciting for him, and he feels like such a big kid now. He got baptized with one of his good friends! Kent baptized him, and Duane (Kent's dad), Gavin (Trevor's uncle) and a few friends were in the circle when he was confirmed. Allan (my brother) moved to CA the day before Trevor's baptism so he wasn't able to attend. We came to the house afterwards for brunch. We got a 6' sub from Subway to feed everyone. Trevor ate 5 subs. He was pretty proud of himself. Needless to say we had no leftovers! Until recently, Trevor took great pride in being thin and being able to eat very little. That changed a couple of months ago when he suddenly developed an appetite for the first time in his life! He is starting to grow like crazy, and hopes to be taller than Justin soon. He still prides himself on being thin, and doing exercises to stay that way!

Here are Kent and Trevor just before the baptism. Trevor was so excited!

Here is Trevor with Justin, Natalie and me after he was baptized and confirmed. He beamed for the rest of the day. He had so much fun.

Office photos...

I finally finished it last night. Things are organized, and put away. I would like to find some matching baskets so things are not clear, but this works for now.

Here are the two bookcases and the hutch with all the storage boxes and baskets. I LOVE my label maker!

Here is my desk/workspace table. I made the metallic frame above the table. Right now I have a page that I need to put in an album, but it will be used to hold project ideas/inspiration. I have my phone, my computer and office supplies here. I also keep all the tools I normally use to my right in the baskets which are labelled! My acrylic stamps are in the baskets at the back of the table. I also have storage under the table with less commonly used tools. The paper holders are to the right. Paper is assorted by color and theme.

This is my portable storage area. The Close to my Heart bag is a rolling tote that holds everything I need to take to a crop. The rolling storage container has a clear lid so I can see all the paper in there. The paper is divided with folders, by type again. It has pockets on the sides to hold other papers. I keep projects in those.

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....

Christmas is Coming!

I love this time of year. People seem to be a little nicer, and you can actually talk about Christ and Christmas. He is, afterall, the reason that we have Christmas. The Spanish word for more is mas. So Christmas could mean more Christ. What a neat concept. When we put Him first, we can put things in perspective.
That said... Can you believe Christmas will be here in 2 weeks? How does time go by so fast? I still have so much to do! I finished my shopping, but I need to wrap the gifts. That's always the hard part. Natalie and Drew would open them if I put anything under the tree at this point, so I have to keep everything hidden. I have my cards, and all I need to do is stuff them in the envelopes and mail them. I will try to get that done today so that they'll go out in tomorrow's mail. I still need to make the treats that I'm taking to my neighbors, but I have all of the ingredients. That's a start! I will make tags to go with the treats tonight.

Mom, I telling da troof...

So here's Natalie's new thing. She likes to fib. It's usually just small things, but still.. she does it, and she does it frequently. It's the age so I try to not get too upset, but sometimes it gets frustrating. Her usual thing is getting a snack from the fridge or freezer- sometimes the pantry- and then she brings it to me and expects me to give it to her. Even if she's just had one she'll say "I didn't get one wast night. I need to have one for my belly can feel better." And, of course, Drew wants whatever she has. And if she doesn't get one then she pitches a royal fit. But she's my third child so I'm used to it. It's not a big deal.

So last night I'm sitting downstairs watching a show with Kent. I had tucked her in about 20 minutes before and things are relatively quiet. She really likes to sneak down at least 2 or 3 times a night to spend more time with me. One Tuesday night she came downstairs and told us that there was "something nasty, really nasty" on the stairs. Usually when she says that it's a diaper that didn't make it to the trash can (or that Drew took out to carry something around), and we pick it up and throw it away. Sometimes it's a bug that is so small we have to get down on the floor to see it. Well we didn't really think much of it, but it was past her bedtime so we finally went to look. It was a pile of something kind of coarse. It looked like sand or something... We really couldn't figure out what it was. We just knew it started at the top of the landing and came down to the bottom of the stairs, most of it in a pile on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stair. We tried to get her to tell us what it was. It wasn't there when we put her to bed, and all of the other kids were in bed. She just kept saying that it was something really nasty and she didn't know what it was. Kent got the vacuum and cleaned it up. I interrogated her and asked her to tell me what it was or at least show me where it came from. She said that it was nasty so she threw it in the trash. That wasn't possible because she didn't come to the kitchen to throw anything away, but she took me to that trash can to show it to me. So Kent finishes, and as he get to the top of the stairs he sees the source of the mess. An empty salt and an empty pepper shaker. They had just been refilled, so were quite full. I'm not sure why she did it, but she adamantly denied making the mess, and didn't know where it came from. But when I said she shouldn't tell Mom and Dad lies, that she should tell us what really happened, she simply replied, "Mom, I telling da troof..."

Then on Wednesday night we put her to bed. After a few minutes we knew that we had heard her moving around upstairs, but she didn't come down. We were just going to ignore it, but Kent needed something so he ran upstairs to grab it. Then he started yelling. Natalie got some toothpaste, lip moisturizer and ointment and put them all over the floor. Again, we questioned her as we cleaned it up and I said she should tell Mom what really happened, she simply replied, "Mom, I telling da troof..."

Face of an angel... mind of a stinker...

So here's my cute baby Drew. He looks so cute, so innocent. You might have a hard time believing that this kid has caused so many problems lately.

We'll start with the small things. First off, he started coloring. He uses pencils, pens, crayons and markers to paint the walls, floors, furniture and toilet lid. Most of those things come off with my handy, dandy Mr. Clean Eraser. However, Drew just found a new medium that doesn't come off so easily... my lipstick. He colored as much as he could color with a brand new tube of lipstick. Then he got mad at me when I discovered him coloring.

So I think I can deal with this. He's only 1. He won't be 2 until next month. Right? Of course. Well he decided to start eating the dog food. And when Justin caught him and told him to stop, he started yelling (baby words), I mean really yelling, at Justin. Justin went to move the dog food and Drew tried to tackle him as he punched and yelled at Justin. Justin comes in to tell me so that I can take care of it, and I get about the same reaction from Drew. However, I have Justin get the food while I'm talking to Drew and he moves it. Drew is pretty perturbed, but he no longer has access to the food.

Now, I've dealt with my kids trying to push the limits before, but Drew is having a little too much fun with this next item. (He really is his father's son...) His new favorite thing to do is to have me hold him. Well, really it's always been one of his favorite things, but especially lately. And if Natalie or Trevor tries to get near me while I'm holding him watch out. He gets so angry! Well now when I hold him and he has no competition, he looks up at me and smiles, then "innocently" moves his hand onto my breast. Then he looks back up- innocently, of course, and smiles. When I move his hand he tries to do this again. Real funny. NOT! Well to him it's a game. He loves to play it in front of Kent. He usually just likes me to hold him and then give me kisses, but this is a new game that he thinks is so entertaining. I have go to get control of this kid!!!

The final bit tonight is about his obsession with toilet paper. He has a great time pulling off the toilet paper. Okay, all kids do it... nothing new here... right? Well, he started with the TP coming off the roll. He found the most enjoyment from pulling it off a new roll and letting it all come down to his feet. After a few days that got boring, so he started opening the lid to the toilet and putting it all in there. Over the weekend he did that with 3 rolls in a 24-hour span. (We've had to start locking the door to the bathroom.) Well, he got in on Monday night and did his little trick with the TP. This time, however, after we cleaned it up, he went back in and put the toilet paper holder down the toilet. And he flushed. And Natalie said it went down. We didn't really think it was possible so we ignored her. So the toilet doesn't flush very well. We think that someone has used a little too much TP and we need to just help it on its way. So on Tuesday Kent spent 30 minutes plunging the toilet. It didn't fix it. On Wednesday I spent 5 minutes plunging the toilet. It didn't fix it. Today, Thursday, Trevor thought we had fixed it so he sat down and used it... really used it. Only it didn't flush. And there was a HUGE mess in the toilet now... Well, Kent and I thought that we needed to pull the toilet up to see what was causing the blockage, and so he went to Home Depot, got a new seal. Then tonight he and the 2 older boys went to work. They cleaned it out, and pulled the toilet up. Guess what they found? The toilet paper roll holder. Stuck down at the bottom of the toilet. Natalie was telling the truth. Needless to say, we are going to buy a new toilet paper holder.

If you hear any strange noises coming from my house it's probably him. I'm sure he will find something else to do. It's only a matter of time.

Christmas Decorations

Here is this year's Christmas tree. I left the bottom third pretty bare because of Andrew. He was trying to pull down the ornaments from my sister's tree, so I decided to avoid that as much as possible.

Weekly Update

So, it's been a while since I last updated, I know... I've been getting calls about it. So I have a little time today to sit down and type so I'm updating now. It's good to know that people care enough to ask about it!
Let's see. New changes? Well, last week was Thanksgiving. It was a nice day. However, the days leading up to it weren't so good. I started having problems with my asthma the week before, and on Sunday right after church I came home so exhausted that I could hardly make it upstairs to sleep. I made it upstairs and slept for several hours. When I woke up I felt so much worse than I had before. I was coughing a lot more than I had been, and ached everywhere. I went to the doctor the next day and he confirmed that I had bronchitis. So last Monday and Tuesday were supposed to be restful days so I could get better. Supposed to be... only they weren't. Natalie started barfing on Monday, Justin started in on Tuesday, Wednesday was all clear for the kids, and then on Thursday Drew got me and several places on Amy's floor right after dinner. Nice... So Kent took Drew home after we cleaned that up, and I went home to change. Almost everyone else went to see the movies. I took Justin, Trevor and Natalie and saw Happy Feet with Amy, Mikaya and Taylor. Trevor laughed so hard. It's always nice when he's in a good mood. It really makes my day. On Friday I made my annual early morning pilgrimage to do my Christmas shopping. I got some great deals and got just about everything taken care of.
I didn't get the tree up until last night. I am missing a few Christmas decorations that I put on the railing leading up the stairs, the stockings and my big wreath. Hopefully I'll be able to find them today. I want to be able to put all of the boxes away today and not have to think about them again until it's time for everything to come down.
On a final note, this morning I had to go to my spine doctor for a follow-up. I was unable to complete physical therapy at the recommendation of my therapist- and also the fact that after the last appointment I could hardly sit, stand or walk. She wanted me to meet with my doctor and get another round of cortisone shots before coming back to her. I am going to go in again tomorrow afternoon to have my second round. After the experience the last time, I am not totally sold on them being all that effective. However, the pain is bad enough and the duration has been long enough that I need to do something. A girl in my ward has had 2 back surgeries and done just about every other treatment as well. She highly recommended that I give the shots one more try, so I am. If I have another bad reaction I will at least be able to say that I gave that treatment a fair shot... no pun intended. If this doesn't work I'm not sure what we'll do. My doctor doesn't feel that my problem is serious enough for surgery but he's not sure what to do if this doesn't work. That will be something we discuss in the future if this doesn't work. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.
Allright. It's time to go. The kiddos want to have an early lunch.

Natalie and her thumb!

Natalie loves to suck her thumb. She didn't discover her thumb until she was a few months old, but ever since she did, she has loved it. She really has no interest in stopping anytime soon. She sucks her thumb when she's sad, sick or bored. She sucks her thumb when she sleeps, when she's awake or whenever. There is even a permanent indentation that is discolored on the top of her thumb from her teeth but she doesn't mind. What's a girl to do without her thumb? The doctor and dentist both want her to stop sucking her thumb, but she doesn't care for any of the incentives that they offer. So... what I have done lately is hold her, but only if she doesn't suck her thumb. She looks at me to see if I'm being serious. When she decides that I am, she puts the thumb away and decieds that she can leave it alone for a few minutes. HOWEVER, as soon as she needs to suck her thumb, she slides off of my lap and sucks it- sometimes for just a few seconds- and then she returns. I told her that I am going to get a marker and paint it black, but she doesn't like that idea. What do you do when bribery doesn't work?! 

Drew

Drew just cracks me up. He has this "cheese" smile. Whenever the camera comes out, he starts saying, "Cheese! Cheese! Cheese, Mama, cheese!" He does this all while smiling with the big, cheesy smile and the squinted eyes... because it's just not complete without that, right? Here are a few of my favorite recent "cheese" pictures.

The projects

Here are the projects so far...
BOO was for Halloween
THANKS is for Thanksgiving
HO HO HO is for Christmas. Those are not done yet. I am finishing them on Tuesday with my friends. It's gonna be a blast, and they will look so cute when I'm done!

Halloween and more...

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post. Things around here have been crazy as usual. It seems that just when I think I have a handle on my life, something else comes my way that I'm not always ready for.
The back is still an issue. My doctor has me going to physical therapy 3 times a week. I'm not entirely sure that I really want to go back. I went on Thursday, and on Friday night I felt so sore. I couldn't figure out what was going on. So when I got home I looked in the mirror. My lower back and left hip have large bruises. Who knew? I wasn't expecting that. Hopefully they'll be more gentle when I return on Monday. I'm really trying to be a trooper, but some days it's not as easy as others.
Justin is done with piano for now. He has been getting a lot more homework that he wants, so we've had to modify his schedule a bit. He will take at least November and December off, and then we'll see how he's doing come January. He seems to be enjoying the break so far.
Trevor is Trevor. What can I say? The boy is his own person. He likes to wax philisophical with a myriad of subjects. His latest has been how he's going to make movies with dinosaurs (pronounced dinoswars by Trev), and all the battles that they'll face. He's going to star in it, and so am I. The dinosaurs are going to chase us and try to eat us. (FYI- I'll survive because he'll protect me. I also get to move into his mansion when he's rich.)
Natalie gets to be VIP at preschool this week. She thinks it will be so neat. She can hardly wait. She keeps telling me that she wants to take crackers and brownies to share with everyone in her class (3 other kids). I told her I'll have to see how she behaves. She has been feeling a little sick all weekend. She caught a cough from Drew, but she decided to jump on the trampoline yesterday afternoon. She started caughing and then she threw up. It was very dramatic, and she needed lots of attention. She's been fine today, but she has wanted me to hold her. I have had such a hard time holding her because she wants to sit on my left leg, and I just can't let her do that because it hurts too much. So now she will sit thisclose to me and eventually end up almost underneath me. I have been trying to show her extra attention this weekend, so hopefully she'll feel better soon.
Drew Dog has had a cough for almost 2 weeks. Last night while in his bed he coughed and coughed and coughed until he threw up. It was everywhere. Kent got him out of bed, cleaned up and brought him to me. He hasn't coughed since last night, so the gunk got out of his lungs. All day today, though, he has been really sleepy and quiet- which, as you know, is quite unlike him. Tonight he went to bed without a problem, but he's a little feverish. I hope he sleeps realliy well tonight and wakes up feeling better in the morning. He's my baby, so I can't stand for him to feel sick or sad.
Kent is still busy with work. He's got a big test coming up with Cisco. He studies all the time, and I can't wait until he passes it so that he can have some free time. I would love for him to be able to get back to working in the garage on his projects. He seems a lot happier when he has accomplished one of those tasks. He makes every effort to teach the kids a good work ethic, and then how to have fun afterwards. The boys aren't digging the learning of a good work ethic so much, but they love to have fun. This will be an ongoing lesson for many years, so I'm glad we have some time.
I have all my usual stuff. I have had workshops, taught classes, worked on home decor projects with my friends, visited with family and friends, gone to my doctors way too many times, gone shopping, cooked, cleaned, played, carpooled, been a taxi service and still had many other things going on... So things are pretty much status quo for me. I keep hearing that it's not always like this, but for now, I'm going to try to enjoy the business of being a wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend and try to make life easier for those around me.
Okay... on to other stuff. On Halloween Justin and Trevor thought I was too slow, so they went with my mom and 2 friends and hit all the houses that they could. I think they had a lot of fun. Drew fell asleep within 10 minutes of leaving the house so I took him home to Kent, who was passing out candy, and put Natalie in the stroller. I went with my friends and their kids and had a blast. The pictures below are the kids in their Halloween costumes. Drew was Dracula; Natalie was Cinderella; Trevor was Harry Potter; Justin was a punk rocker. He was determined not to crack a smile for his picture because "punks are tough." (Hopefully this is just a stage that he'll pass through quickly.)