Natalie's hair cut- done by herself!

Here is a before shot, taken maybe 1-2 hours before she decided to cut her hair.

I don't think I posted about the other 2 haircuts that she's given herself since last summer. But this one was probably the worst. It happened on Sunday, Feb. 10, in the afternoon, after church. I didn't notice anything initially. Then I went to use the restroom, and there was long blonde hair in the sink, on the counter, and as a top layer in the trash. That's when I realized that the reason Natalie's hair had looked a little different earlier. And it had something to do with all of that hair. She and the boys had been playing outside earlier, and she had some grass in her hair. So instead of washing it, naturally, she decided to trim it! Yikes! This is a picture of a small portion of the hair from the trash can. There was hair all throughout my downstairs.

We have a neighbor who does hair so we were able to take her there to get it fixed. I was sure she was going to have to have a bob, but we ended up being able to keep some of the length. But now she has bangs, and many, many layers. I guess it could have been worse, but now she doesn't look like my little girl. She looks like an older version of herself. Why, oh, why does my daughter love scissors so much?!

Blue and Gold Pictures

Trevor got his awards for the banquet. He has taken them so I can't tell you what the awards were for!

As you can probably see by the smirk on his face, he's not exactly comfortable having his mother take his picture in front of everyone! I thought it was pretty funny, though!

Fun events

Tonight is Trevor's first Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. He is so excited. He can hardly wait to go and get some awards. Then next month he gets to participate in his first Pinewood Derby. He missed last year's derby by 3 1/2 weeks and he was so bummed. Tonight after the B&G he will get to have his car. Kent and another dad in the ward have a little friendly competition with the race every year so we'll see what happens this year. Anyway I will post pictures of the banquet tonight or tomorrow.
Last night Natalie and I went on our first official girls' night out. We went to dinner at Some Burros, and then met up with about 70 other women and girls from our ward and area to see Hannah Montana. I'll be honest... I was dreading the thought of having to listen to a theater full of screaming girls. I tried talking Kent into going in place of me (didn't work). But the girls were relatively mellow and the show was pretty cute. Natalie loved it. It's 3-D so we got to wear super cool 3-D glasses. Aftewards Natalie remembered that I promised to take her to get ice cream afterwards. (This was news to me.) Since Amy and her girls came we walked down to DQ and got the girls ice cream cones. They were all so excited.

So... it's been awhile!

Yeah, I know, I know... It's been quite a while. If you got my Christmas card (some came back 2-3 weeks ago and I need to resend them still....) you know that I finally had my back surgery on October 29, and that it was a success. Dr. Thomas had to remove a moderate amount of arthritic bone from L5-S1. He removed it from the disc and from the spinal column. He said there was a lot more than he expected, but that I'm doing well. I had to go to PT 3x/week for a little over a month, but that helped. And we found a gym 5 minutes from our house that has an indoor pool so I go to the gym 4-5 days a week and work out in the pool. It's helped a lot. I still have quite a bit of back pain, and it's usually bearable (only a 4 or 5 out of 10). The surgery got rid of all of the nerve pain, and I am so grateful for that. It nearly cost me my sanity because it was constant terrible pain. I'm so glad that it's gone!
Okay... so other things...
Kent is busy as ever with work. He's been trying to make time with the kids to do fun things. Last month he and my brother-in-law Gavin took Justin and Trevor and headed up to his mom's cabin and went skiing. The kids had a fun time, and they were completely exhausted by the time they rolled in. They have gone to the track to race their ATVs and motorcycles. He gives Natalie and Drew rides around the neighborhood when he's done cleaning them up, and they think that's the best.
Justin is keeping busy with 11 year old scouts, and is always off with his friends riding bikes. He has also started to like girls... NOT a fun point for his parents, let me assure you. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff, and is working out frequently to get a 6-pack and big muscles.
Trevor is getting ready for the Blue and Gold Banquet on Friday night. He has worked hard to get requirements passed off so that he can get some awards.
Natalie is finally getting how to write her name forward. I'm so glad. She was doing really well, and then it seemed like she just forgot everything that she had learned. She's got the hang of it now and writes all sorts of things for everyone. She is also in cheer with her cousins Mikaya and Taylor (Amy's daughters). She thinks it's pretty awesome to have the silver and red pon poms to play with.
Drew just turned 3, and is suddenly shy. He's still funny as ever when you can catch him in a non-shy moment. He is also in a class. It's a tots class with football, basketball, baseball and soccer with some tumbling mixed in. It's really geared towards helping the kids become more dexterous and adept at several different sports. He LOVES it, and goes every week for 1 hour. (I've even been able to leave him like all the other moms do with their kids.)
Well, I think I've written a mini novel, and I have so many other things to say so I'll post more later... or should I try for sooner? Anyway, I'll try to write again soon!

More waiting....

I finally was able to meet with my neurosurgeon today. It took me about 2 weeks to get in to see him this time. I had previously been meeting with the PA. He had me get a new MRI, a disco gram (not fun- look at WebMD.com for a description), and then after reviewing the results at my last appointment finally concluded that I was a good candidate for surgery, so I was able to meet with the doctor. He seems very nice, and doesn't seem like he's a slice and dice doctor who is only interested in a payday. I felt very comfortable talking to him. (And once again, I was the youngest patient there by at least 30 years. Not the way I want to feel young.)

Anyway, we discussed my MRI, the results of my disco gram, and then talked about treatment options. At L5-S1 the disc is bulging, leaking, and degenerative with a pinched nerve and arthritis. Fun, fun. This shouldn't happen until you're at least in your 70's or 80's, and I have been dealing with it since I was 19. Yikes! I also have similar problems at L4-L5, but they aren't as severe. At this point Dr. Thomas recommends that we do a less invasive surgery. It's called decompressive laminectomy (again, see WebMD.com for a description). He said this surgery is a lot easier to recover from, and it should relieve enough of the pressure and pain running down my left leg for me to be able to fix my back through exercise. If I can get the pain to a 4 out of 10 I can live my life normally again.

However, because I did not have Kent with me Dr. Thomas wouldn't schedule surgery. He wants to have a face-to-face with Kent before he proceeds. So, I scheduled my next appointment... for October 9th!!!! That was the next available appointment, so I also had my name put on the cancellation list. Hopefully we can get in there sooner so that I can get it over with, and feel better by Christmas.

Anyway, that's what's new with the back issues now. I'll update again when I have some exciting news! (Not back related this time, I hope!)

Kent's birthday!

Kent's birthday is today. We're excited to help him celebrate, although he's not really excited about it. He won't even let us have everyone over for cake. (Party pooper!) I did make him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and he'll get his gift from us after we eat breakfast. The kids are really excited to do something fun. Julie is coming over in the morning (I think he's allowing this because only she is his mother... He really hates birthdays!) The kids will play with her for a while, and then we'll go to lunch.

Okay... I have to post this. Trevor likes to stay up late every night. I guess he's going to be a night owl like his mother! Anyway, I just had him fill out the card that the kids are going to give to Kent tomorrow. Guess what he wrote? Happy birthday Dad. You are a very nice person, you need to get a little bit nicer. Love, Trevor. How's that for love? What a stinker!

Oh, also I had my MRI yesterday morning. I almost couldn't do it. I am so claustrophobic that I had to calm myself down before we could start. And when we were halfway through the exam, I really thought I was going to panic, and almost had the technician pull me out. I managed to pull myself together and finish it. I was able to take the films with me, so I'll have them ready when I go in for my follow-up on August 2. (First available, can you believe it?!)

A whole lotta nothin'

Today I finally got to meet with the surgeon. He assessed my condition, looked at my old MRI, and decided that he needed to have a new MRI before we can discuss treatment options. They have to get preapproval from the insurance company for the MRI, and then they'll hopefully call me on Monday to set up that appointment and my follow-up appointment with the doctor. All in all it was a frustrating appointment because although he confirmed that I have pain and disc problems, we didn't discuss treatment options. I'll just have to keep busy so the waiting game won't seem so long!

Cute baby

Kent has been hard at work on HUGE project, and on Wednesday he wasn't sure when he could leave the office. I decided that the kids and I would go do something fun, and since it's so dang hot an indoor activity was preferred. I gave the kids a choice between a few different movies- Fantastic 4, Nancy Drew and Spider-Man 3. Justin wanted to see SM3, Trevor wanted to see F4, and Natalie wanted to see Nancy Drew. So it came down to Drew to break the tie. Each kid pitched their movie choice to him, hoping to get him to choose the movie they wanted to see. As he considered them he said, "Spy-man free," "Fankasik Poor" and "Nancy Me". The kids all started roaring with laughter as they tried to get him to say "Nancy Drew." He wouldn't, which made them laugh even more. If you ask him to say it he'll probably still say Nancy Me. He is so cute!

(We ended up seeing F4, and they all really liked it.)

The boys' new toys

I think I mentioned in a previous post that Santa brought an ATV and motorcycle to our boys. They were totally excited, and loved having Kent take them out to ride. He wouldn't let them venture very far because he wanted to be able to see them in case of an accident. About a month ago, he began searching for an ATV to rent because he and his buddies from high school were going to go on a guys' trip, and they all needed an ATV. Kent tried to rent one, but was unable to find one suitable for his trip so he started looking to buy one. He found one that was a great offer, "too good to pass up" according to him, so he got it. The boys were absolutely thrilled because they were going to be able to go on longer rides.
Not wanting me to feel left out they made sure that I got something too. Just before Mother's Day I was able to get my MINIVAN retrofitted for a hitch. And, to sweeten the deal, I also got a trailer to haul the toys! I am such a lucky woman. Who needs diamonds when you can have those things?! No, I'm just teasing. I really don't want a bunch of diamonds. I wouldn't have any place to wear them!
I just want them to be safe and have fun with their dad. I think this will be something fun for them to do together. And as long as no one gets hurt I'm fine with this activity. Now we just need to find something for Natalie and Drew to do. They totally want to go on these rides with the boys. Maybe I'll just give them a Popsicle!

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....