Reconnecting

I finally got around to calling an old friend of mine today. Her name is Rusti. We went to high school together, and lost track with each other about 5 years ago. A while back, my mom had mentioned how she ran into her at the clinic. Her little boy (which I didn't know she had) had broken his leg. So I called her today. I had her cell number but I didn't know if it was still the right one. Luckily it was! It was fun to talk to her again. Her little girl is 4 now, and her boy is almost 2. I found out some things about another friend of mine, Jen, who I haven't seen or talked to in even longer. Probably somewhere around 6 or 7 years. She has 2 boys now! Last I'd heard of her she was still pregnant with her first. I guess she's been moving around a lot too. Between her and her husband, they have quite a bit of money, and enjoy buying and selling new houses. Even building them and selling in less then a few years. How would that be? I think I'd enjoy being able to buy new houses that often, but I wouldn't want to. I HATE moving! Plus, how would you ever get to know your neighbors long enough to build good friendships? It would be nice to have the money for it, but not to actually do it.
Anyway, Rusti invited me to call Jen and talk to her about getting together with her and Rusti sometime for lunch this next week I think. That would be nice to meet up with old friends again. We'll see how it goes. Connor is a lot younger then their kids, and unless he's asleep, may not last long just sitting with me.

Too Early

You know when something happens in the morning, some loud noise or something that wakes you up and you just hope and pray that it doesn't wake the baby? That was me this morning. Our stupid dog decided it would be fun to howl outside our door at 5:45 AM!! She gets lonely sometimes and that's how she responds to it. Anyway, it woke me up. I had brought the baby down into our room at about 4am. I usually do that in the morning so I can go back to sleep and if he doesn't, I don't have to keep going up and down the stairs all morning. Well, the dog woke me up but luckily not the baby. What woke him up is me opening the door to tell the dog to shut up. He probably would have slept til 7:30 had the dog not done that. That's what time he's been waking up lately. But no. He woke up which means I woke up at 5:45am. After I was already up at 4 until about 4:45. So I'm not diggin' this whole morning thing today. Have you guys had this happen a lot too?

Christmas Wishes Come True

Well, the stockings were hung, the treats left out, and another Christmas turned out to be a success. Alex loved everything she got (even though she didn't get a lot of what she asked for since it cost so much). She got a Gamboy Advance, art stuff, a new scooter, and a new bed set to name a few. Connor was more interested in tearing the paper and hearing it crinkle then what was inside of it. He got some good stuff too. Some new clothes, a cute riding toy, and some other things. I got some AWESOME things! Among my favorites a vibrating back massager, a spiraling neck massager, an ipod, and a bubbling foot sauna. Ahhhh.. heaven! So now I can sit back with my music while enjoying a neck rub, a back massage, and stick my feet in a nice foot jacuzzi. Things couldn't get sweeter! John got some good things too of course. I can't forget about him! Among some of his things were some x Box 360 games, a quilt which I made for him (with the help of my mom), some new shirts (that I'm not thrilled with, they make him look OLD), and some cute trinkets from Alex. We got our family portrait from my parents. It turned out great! I had seen it already before Christmas but John hadn't. He loves it! I think he was surprised at how nice it turned out. The photographer really did a good job! Pricey, but good job!
It was a wonderful Christmas! We spent the morning at home, and John's brother came over around 10:30 for a few hours. Then we spent the evening at my parents house. We had a delicious dinner with prime rib. MMMMMM!!!! It was FABULOUS!! I do have some pictures. I'll post a few probably tomorrow.
Well, I hope everyone's Christmas was enjoyable and long lasting! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

I'll post pictures later!

Merry Christmas Eve! Just 1 more day!

"Still, still, still, tis' the eve of our Saviour's birth"

2 more days!

"The night was still, and all was quiet, the star led the way to Jesus. The wise men traveled far to see Him, the shepherds came as well. Under a tiny stable with hay and dirt, the baby shared his bed. The animals in reverenced awe lay still beside His head."

3 more days!

"Joy to the world! Our Lord has come!" (almost)

4 more days!

"Beneath your tree lay presents and toys, but don't forget that once beneath the roof of a stable lay our Lord and Saviour."

"Deck The Halls" (Not Literally)

I'm starting a Christmas count down starting today.

Only 5 more days!

"Let Christmas bells ring, and children sing. For Christ will be born to man"

When Will It Stop?

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing this, but Connor has yet another ear infection. It seems like that's all I talk about anymore. The poor little guy has been suffering for so long with this problem. We need to take him to an E.N.T (ear, nose, throat) and I really want them to just say "Yeah, he needs tubes in his ears". It would make all the difference at this point. The doctor that looked at him tonight said that his ear canals were so tiny, this problem would just keep continuing until he either grows out of it, or he gets tubes put in. I don't want him to be miserable for that much longer. It's just not right. My mom said that there are a lot of nurses she works with that said there are a lot of E.N.T's that will do it before they have 6 consecutive ear infections in 6 months. Well, he's half way there now and it's not going to get any better. So I want the tubes put in. I'm sure if Connor could talk, he'd say the same thing. I'm just glad he's such a sweet boy even when he feels like crap!

Taking In Some Culture

John and I were lucky enough to have a nice evening out last night, and we went to the symphony. It was really nice. It wasn't Christmas songs like I'd thought it would be, but still good. It was relaxing (there was a whole row of people who actually fell asleep) and nice to be able to spend some good time with John. I forgot my camera again... of course! But it kind of didn't matter anyway because they weren't allowing cameras in there and there was nothing but TRAFFIC everywhere we went to take a picture of. So, you're not really missing out on much picture-wise. Thanks again mom for taking Connor! Alex was with her mom over night so we didn't have to worry about a babysitter for her. It was a nice outing though. VERY much needed! Since it wasn't Christmas songs though, now we need to go to something that is. We went to a Kurt Bestor concert on Thursday that John wasn't able to go to since he was at work. The symphony was supposed to be his Christmas concert. We'll just find something else. The Nutcracker is performing at the Capitol Theatre until the 22nd I think. Maybe we'll look into that.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!

Is Connor sick with ANOTHER ear infection?? That's the question that's on all our minds. The answer? I don't know. But I am going to have to find out. So I'll make yet another appointment to see the doctor, and hopefully, HOPEFULLY he won't have one! He's showing some of the tell-tale signs of having them again though. I don't know what to do with him. I hate this! How did you prevent your kids from being sick constantly? Is there a trick to not getting ear infections? HELP ME!!

Merry Christmas

This email was sent to me by Kortney. I thought it was a good message to get out there. It's sad what's happening, so please read.

'Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

Why the PC Police
had taken away,
The reason for Christmas -
no one could say.

The children were told
by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men
and Angels and things .

It might hurt people's feelings,
the teachers would say
December 25th is
just a 'Holiday.'

Yet the shoppers were ready
with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to
the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna,
an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing,
something quite odd!

Retailers promoted
Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books
by Franken &Fonda.

As Targets were hanging
their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas
was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples
and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas;
it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive,
Di-ver-si-ty Are
words that were used
to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden,
Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather,
on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate,
there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus,
in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word,
as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of
salvation and grace.

The true Gift of Christmas
was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season,
stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate
'Winter Break' under your
'Dream Tree' Sipping your Starbucks,
listen to me.

Choose your words carefully,
choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,
not Happy Holiday!

Connor's Update

Well there's good news and bad news. The good news is his ear infections cleared up finally and that's not what's bothering him. The bad news is that he's sick again. How you might ask would that happen again so soon? Well allow me to share. I'm really mad about this mainly because it's plain common sense..if you're sick, you don't get close to babies. Right? You'd think. Pam has apparently not learned that lesson. Here's the kicker.. SHE WORKS IN CHILD CARE!! Uh..hello??? Grrr!! When she came over to pick up Alex to take her back to Wyoming with her, she was sick. I didn't know this or I would have stopped her from kissing and rubbing her face all over the baby, and letting him touch all over hers. I found out after she left that she was sick. Pam said to John as she was walking out the door "oh I hope this sickness of mine gets better soon". What sickness? "Well I've been sick". So here is a person who works in child care with babies no less, but she doesn't have enough common sense to think huh..I'm sick. I probably shouldn't get too close to Connor. Well now Connor is paying the price for it. I can't believe Pam is that selfish and ignorant. She's known that he's already been sick with a different illness, then ear infections, and now this. That is so rude! But I have to admit sadly, and maybe I'm out of place for saying it, but from what I've seen in many different cases with her typical. It's always about her, and what she wants.
Ok, I shouldn't be so hard on her. She's my mother-in-law, and I need to love and get along with her. It's just that because of her, Connor is now miserable. He's in pain, he's irritable, and it's not only effecting him. I have lost 2 nights of sleep now because he's too sick to sleep. It just makes me sick to think that had she just obeyed common sense, everything could be fine and back to normal now. But instead, we're back on this horrible roller coaster. He can't stop taking medicine yet still, and I'm getting really tired of having a sick baby for more then a month now. Wouldn't you guys get stressed out if this happened to you? If you were this close to things finally getting better and then someone screwed it all up? The doctor said this could last for a couple more weeks. It breaks my heart to know and see the kind of misery he's in. So maybe I am a little harsh on Pam. But I think she should have known better.

Ear Infections GO AWAY Quit Coming Back Every Day!!!

It's been close to a month since Connor got the first ear infections, and he STILL has them! I think he needs tubes in his ears. I don't want to keep giving him antibiotics that don't do anything. The last time he got checked the day after Thanksgiving, the doctor (not his doctor but a lady I don't really like and I'll tell you why) said his infection hadn't cleared up, but it hadn't worsened at least. I said "well, what about putting tubes in his ears? I'm worried about giving him so much medicine". She said "oh we really don't do that until they've had ear infections for at least 6 months continuously and they're a year old". You're kidding me right?? He has to suffer with ear infections for 6 months before you'll fix him?? I don't think so. She kept telling me I had to just keep trying different antibiotics. I said that's not good for him to keep taking them for so long. She goes well yeah, but that's what we have to do. That's why I don't like her. She seems more concerned with pumping him full of meds then actually fixing the problem. I'm taking him to his doctor today to see if I get a different answer. I really like his doctor. He is very attentive and seems more concerned with how to fix it, not just band aid it. But bottom line is I think I need to take him to an E.N.T. for a final opinion. I really think tubes is the answer this time. He's tried 2 different kinds of antibiotics now and neither one worked. In fact this time I think they have worsened. He's been waking up every 2 hours in the night, he won't nap, and he won't eat. Before he'd at least nap, and sleep half decent. Now even sitting up he won't nap for more then a half hour. I feel bad for him. Poor guy! Well, we'll see what the doctor says. I'll let you all know the verdict later.

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas everyone! Are you all decked out and holly jolly? I don't really have much to post about which is lame but I'll get some news up soon. Just wanted to wish y'all a Merry Christmas!!

And Then It Was Done!

This is a machine.

This is a machine that John built.

This is a machine that John built that I know absolutely nothing about.

....but he's very proud of it. :)

*He asked me to post this so you all could see a little bit of what he does.

Get a load of this! Thanks mom and dad!!

I'm Finally Getting To It....

It has taken me forever it seems to update this. Thanksgiving was wonderful! Except that Connor was still sick. His ear infections didn't clear up. What really made me mad too was we were trying to take him to an instacare because we were afraid something really bad was wrong with him. (Anyone at Aunt Lola's can attest to that) So we called all over trying to find one that was open. We found ONE in Taylorsville. Well...long story short, they were supposed to be open until 5pm. We had to drive all the way from Springville in less than an hour. We got there at 4:55 and they wouldn't let us in! NOT COOL!! They are not supposed to close the doors early! There were still people in the lobby, people walking around, but nobody would let us in. I was so mad! I called Human Resources on that one. They shouldn't be allowed to do that. Especially when we called to ask when they closed. Sorry, but 4:55 is not 5. Yeah, it was a holiday and it was cutting it pretty close. I can understand people wanting to get home to their families. But a sick baby is no joke. We needed to see a doctor, and they told us they closed at 5 not before. So we should have been able to get in. And THANK YOU Shana for all your help with him!! I know how hard it is to not be able to settle a screaming baby, but you took him on and did a great job!!
Ok, so that's my little rant and rave about it. Other than that, things were great. I was the only one who forgot my camera though. I really should stop doing that!

7 Things You Didn't Know About Me.. And Maybe Wish You Still Didn't :)

1. I HATE fish!!! They are so disgusting to eat, touch, smell, look at, swim with, etc. They GROSS ME OUT!!! I have a phobia of the big nasty ones too. I'm scared of them!

2. Once when I was little (like maybe 5 or 6 I think) and we were on vacation, I thought I was being clever while we were at a park. I said to my mom "I can go out and close my eyes, spin around, and still find your hand" RIGHT! I found a hand alright..an old guys. I grabbed it and was swinging hands with him walking. Then I opened my eyes. OOPS! He thought it was funny at least. (Thanks for not stopping me mom! :p)

3. I ate ice cream and ketchup with a pickle once because my dad dared me to.

4. I have to be in the mood to really be creative. I love to paint, and draw, but if I'm not feeling creative I can't do it.

5. One time I had a call from an Army recruiter and the conversation went like this: "Hello" "Hi! can I speak with Kameron please?" "this is she" "she??" "yeah" "oh...uh.. I thought you were a guy." "nope, I'm not." "well... uh... do you think you would want to join the Army?" "nope! Bye."

6. I used to be able to fold my tongue into 3 loops.

7. I don't think there's any kind of food (except fish) that I really don't like. I think that's part of my weight problem!

Family To The Rescue!!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! to Kortney, my mom, and John for all their help today, and over the weekend!! Kortney was a life saver and took Connor for me all day until she had to go work. Then my mom picked him up after she got off work and took him to spend the night at her house. I'm still sick today. John has been so helpful and has taken time off to come and help me all weekend and a lot of today. I don't feel as bad as I did yesterday, but I'm down for the count. Thank goodness for family! Thank you so much!! I'm going to get some really good rest tonight and hopefully be better in the morning. Or at least be able to function! I can tell what I had is turning into a cold. Good thing there's Dayquil! I'm not happy about being sick on thanksgiving though. I hope I don't lose my appetite!

Worst Feeling Ever!!

I have been SOOOOO sick today! I don't know if I have the stomach flu or food poisoning, but whatever it is, it's kicking my butt!! I have been throwing up among other symptoms all day. I get dizzy and nauseous when I stand up, and I'm dehydrated from all the loss of everything, but drinking water just makes me want to throw up again. I am completely MISERABLE!! John has had to take care of the baby all by himself today. I put him to bed for him, but even that was a challenge. I became really dizzy and collapsed by the door when I was done. Luckily not while holding the baby!!! But I just sat there on the floor waiting for it to pass so I could go back to bed. John had taken Alex over to his brother's for a quick visit so he wasn't there to help me. I'm kind of worried guys. I don't know how I'm going to take care of Connor tomorrow. My mom has to work, and I haven't asked if Kortney can help. Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll be better in the morning. Right now though, I feel like I need to throw up again. This is really gross, but almost every time I do it feels like I'm throwing up half my body weight. I throw up ALOT! I didn't think I had that much left in my stomach...guess I do. YUCK!!!!! Oh, and I can't take any medicine either. I've tried taking Pepto but it makes me gag and throw up again. I hate this!!

They're Off!!!

I finally got my pay it forward gifts out (with the help of my mom, thanks mom)! Phew! I'm glad that's done! So be watching for them!

Poor Baby :(

Connor has 2 ear infections again, congestion (which caused the ear infections), a nasty cough, fevers, and a sore throat. He has to take 3 different kinds of medicine, some twice a day. He hates it. I feel so bad for him! I hate seeing him miserable. I was up with him a lot last night just trying to comfort him as he kept choking and gagging from what he was trying to cough up. It just rips you apart feeling so helpless for one so little. But even though he feels like crap and he's loaded up with meds, he still manages to smile and be happy. Even if it's just for a minute anyway. He is such a good boy! He's a lot braver then me and he's only 6 months old! If I were sick like that I wouldn't be so good about it. What an angel!!

Yay! I'm On Veggies!

Can't you tell how much he LOVES his solids? LOL

How Sweet She Is!

I received the cutest gift from Shana! A gratitude journal. This was such a great idea! The object is to write something you're thankful for every day. I love this! For my winners, yes, I know I've been slacking. But I PROMISE I will be getting them out by the end of this week! Things have been just a little crazy lately. I think the baby might be sick again, and I think he gave it to me. I broke out in 3 fevers last night. Argh.... I hate being sick! But I will get them out don't worry! Thank you all for being so patient with me! Hey! I can write that as one of the things in my new journal! :) So thank you Shana for the wonderful gift!! I love all you guys!!

Better Than Ever!!

Introducing the new and improved Miss Shelby! I took her to the groomers yesterday. (I love when they come home with little bows in their hair) They got rid of all her mats, gave her a good bath (I've never seen her fur so white!), took care of her major shedding problem, and made her look like a totally new dog! She knows she's pretty now too and wants CONSTANT loves! You can tell she's a TON happier. She has a whole new attitude that's so good to see. She's been sick just like the rest of us only her sickness was a parasite. We got that taken care of too. But the last few weeks she hadn't been herself and you could tell she wasn't feeling good. Now she's acting happy and energetic again. She's such a good dog!!

Halloween Pics

Connor was a hot dog. We went to see my mom at work, so that is where this picture was taken.
Nana and Connor. Notice his little trick-or-treat bag. :)

Alex was Cleopatra. For some reason, every time John uses the camera his pictures come out blurry. This was the best one out of all of them. It's blurry, but less blurry then the others. It's also the only one where she's actually smiling. She looks depressed in all the others.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
*PICTURES TO COME LATER

"TT" Takes Care Of Me :)

My sister is the coolest and BEST sister ever!! She's always there to take care of me. Connor has been sick, and we hadn't gotten around to getting a humidifier yet. Well, Kortney came over the other day and gave us one! How nice is she?! It's the cutest thing too. It looks like an aquarium and has little fish that "swim" in this tank with bubbles, and color changing lights. It's darling! Connor has slept better since he got it. (Except tonight because he's being a snot and doesn't want to go to sleep). I love my "TT", "Ninners", "Kort-short", just my big sis!! Thanks Kortney!! I love you!!

Update

I wanted to update on my last blog. Things have gotten a little better. I tried talking to John about how I felt and how his response made me feel. After a short rebuttal from him, he calmed down and said "you're right. I'm sorry." Ahh, that was so nice to hear. Then he took the garbage out without me asking and put a load of laundry in the dryer. Hopefully it'll last! But I feel better about it anyway!

Why Only Me???

I'm having a really bad week. I got sick, the baby is sick, the house looks terrible, but NOBODY will help me clean it or do anything. I asked John for a little extra help which shouldn't be a big deal since he lives here too. It's not only MY responsibility to do anything around here. But guess what he said... "You're home all day why should I have to help you do laundry, or do dishes? That's YOUR job." EXCUSE ME???? Uh... how about because I'm sick, I'm taking care of a sick baby, and I'm not freakin' Cinderella!! I can not believe he said that! When we lived in the apartment, he was great about helping me do everything. He helped with dishes, laundry, vacuuming, garbage.. he was great. We moved into the house and he has not helped me once with the laundry. He only does the dishes when I ask, and now I'm usually the one taking out the trash unless I ask him to do it. I asked him to help me during the night with the baby. Just getting up once so I can get a little extra rest because I'm sick. This was my response. "I can't get up with him I have work, school, and everything else. I'm sorry but you're just going to have to do it." I'm about in tears. Seriously. Why won't he help me?? I feel like I have to hire someone just to get anything done. Yeah, he's busy, but so are a lot of other people and I bet they still help out at home. I'm sorry to be such a killjoy. But this is weighing down on me and I needed to get it off my chest.

AND THE WINNER IS.......

Brynnley!!
Congrats! K, so all my winners (Shana, Kim, Kortney, and Brynnley) I need your addresses so I can get your prizes sent out. Kortney, I have yours already so you don't have to get me yours. But everyone else email me them...
Kami831@hotmail.com

I'll have them sent out in a few days! Now don't forget to pay it forward on your blogs if you haven't already!

One More Day!!

K, Everyone has until tonight to get entered into the drawing if you haven't already! I'll announce the winner tomorrow! Shana and Kim, email me your addresses so I can get your prizes out to you! Kami831@hotmail.com

Here Kam, You're Missing The Knife In Your Back.. There 'Ya Go!

Today in the mail, John and Alex got a package from Pam (my mother-in-law). She sent a nice note telling John, Alex, and Connor hi and she loves them. Then hoped that they were well. Not one mention of me, or to say hi to me or anything. She sent pictures of everyone in our family BUT me. Ok... I think I get the picture. True Pam and I have never been the best of friends. But I have been trying to be nice to her and accommodating whenever she's here. I offer up our home for them to stay for dinner (which she never accepts) I try and find positive things to say to her. I've just been trying to fix what was damaged from when the baby was born. Well.. looks like I'm the only one trying. That really makes me mad. Poor John too who has to be stuck in the middle of it. He tried to not let me see the note because he knew I'd get offended that she put no mention of me. He tries so hard to make the best of things between us. And I've been trying hard too. But now what do you do when they won't? Pam and I are going to be family for the rest of our lives now. I'm not going anywhere, and I'd like some acceptance.

Pay It Forward Gift Exchange

I'm doing this too after I saw Shana's.

The first 3 people to comment on my blog will receive a special gift from me! And since I like the drawing idea, If you comment after the first 3, I'll enter you into a drawing for a 4th prize!

The first 3 winners should email me their address at Kami831@hotmail.com. Then, you need to have a blog so you can Pay It Forward yourself! This is a great idea so let's all do it!

TOO CUUUTE!

I wish that stupid laptop wasn't in the picture. Oh well. I love this picture. I want to blow it up and frame it but somehow crop out the laptop. (John did it) ;) Alex is 8, Connor is 5 months.

Goodbye? Hopefully!

Yesterday I got a call from a guy named Scott about the cats. He and his wife were looking for a new cat and were interested in coming to see mine. He explained to me that he had a disability and the companionship from a cat was something he felt really helped him. He stays home, so they would always have someone there. I was thrilled! We have been battling the thought and action of taking them to the shelter. They are such sweet animals I couldn't stand the thought of them not having a good home. But we knew they couldn't stay with us anymore, so this was such perfect timing! They came over around 5:00 and spent about an hour with them. They seemed like really nice people. They were younger, and I could tell they would be excellent care givers for both of them. The cats were very loving towards them and affectionate, as they always are with everyone. Mini layed on his lap and demonstrated how playful she is with Daisy; trying to grab her tail as she walked by. They were a bit hesitant about taking them only because she is pregnant and I guess cats carry some sort of illness or disease that can effect the fetus. But they don't always have it. I'm guessing mine don't because my baby came out ok. But they wanted to have them checked anyway. So what they've done is they have taken them home, but only for a trial run for a few days to see how they do. If it doesn't work out, they'll call me back and I'll take them again. Hopefully it will work out!! I will have to take them to the shelter for sure if they can't keep them. Cross your fingers! My babies need a good home!!

What Do You Do?

I think it's time I tell you guys a little about the relationship between Alex and I. I also would love to hear feedback on the problems I'm having with her and what I should do. Alex is a smart kid. She's incredible at math, and reading, and she has always gotten really good grades in school. But she knows how to argue, and she does it every single day with me. That is not an exaggeration by far. I have at least an hour with her every day after school, except friday when she's out early, every tuesday and wednesday night, and all day saturday by myself while John is at school. It's when John isn't home that she acts up. She fights me on every little possible thing she can. I feel like I'm in a debate class with her. Then, when she doesn't get her way it's nothing but attitude from her. Tonight for example, she found John's math ruler in a folder he gave her and forgot it was in there. I told her he still needed it and she couldn't keep it so she needed to put it back with his school things. "NO" she said. "I want it". I said Alex, it's not yours, put it back. "It was in my folder he gave it to me". Again I said no Alex. He still needs that for school you can't keep it put it back. She continued to argue with me until I got mad and just yelled DO IT. At which point she rolled her eyes at me and with a nasty tone said fine. How do you handle a kid that refuses to listen to you? And that's not even all I've had to deal with tonight. We've sat her down and talked to her about how she needs to treat me with the same respect she treats John. We've taken away privileges and even grounded her for the way she treats me and doesn't listen. She has even gotten a spanking for one time in particular that was truly horrible. I mean.. I'm trying to love her and be her friend. But how on earth do you do that when she gives you this much grief?? We have tried everything to make her understand that she needs to be more respectful to me. It just goes in one ear and out the other. John's mom has had a lot of the same problems with her also. The only person she is truly good for is John. She'll behave most of the time at friends' houses and when she's visiting family, but at home it's like flipping on a switch. She's a completely different person. I'm at a loss you guys. I really am. I don't know what to do and I'm stressed out all the time by it. Which doesn't help how I interact with her. But I seriously can't go one day without having some sort of problem with her. She is CONSTANTLY pushing her boundaries with me and I'll admit I have no more ideas on how to handle it. John has tried everything I have tried everything. Nothing so far has worked. If any of you know what I should try PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! Let me know!!!

Fun Halloween Treats

Anyone want to know how to make these cute "ghosts on broomsticks"? I'm going to make them and thought I'd share how. :)
You'll need:
1 Fruit by the Foot fruit snack (any flavor)
14 pretzel sticks (2-3 inches long)
2/3 c. white vanilla chips, melted
1 1/2 tsp. mini semisweet chocolate chips (52 chips)

Line a large cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Unroll fruit snack. With kitchen scissors cut 3/4 inch long fringe on one long side of the snack roll. Cut fringed roll into 2 inch pieces.
To make each broomstick, wrap a piece of fringe around one end of pretzel; press to seal. Place broomsticks on waxed paper lined cookie sheet.
Drop rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls of melted white vanilla chips crosswise onto pretzels and shape to resemble ghosts on broomsticks. Press 3 mini chocolate chips into each ghost for eyes and mouth. Let stand at room temp. for 45 minutes or in the freezer for 5 minutes or until set. Peel off wax paper.

Oven-Fried Ranch Chicken

This chicken is AWESOME!! I thought I'd post the recipe for anyone who'd like to try it!

Yields: 4-6

Chicken:
2 c. buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can pour 2 tbs. vinegar or lemon juice into a 2 c. measuring cup and add regular milk to the 2 c. mark. Stir, and let stand for 5 minutes)
1 twin-package (2 oz. total) Ranch dressing mix
3 1/2 lb. cut-up whole chicken
cooking spray

Breading:
1 pouch (6.5 oz.) cornbread and muffin mix
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)

In a large resealable food-storage bag, mix buttermilk, dressing mix, and chicken. Seal bag; turn bag over several times to coat chicken. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan with cooking spray. In shallow dish, mix breading ingredients. Remove chicken pieces one at a time from buttermilk mixture. Dip chicken in breading, turn to coat completely and shake off excess. Place chicken, bone side down,
in pan. Lightly spray top of chicken with cooking spray. Bake 35-40 minutes or until juice of chicken runs clear when cut to the bone.

Poor Shelby :(

Shelby has not been spayed yet. And since she's a girl, she does bleed. So... she's wearing a diaper. We cut a hole out for the tail, and now we hear the swishy sounds of her diaper whenever she walks by. Funny, but sad. We're going to see if we can get her spayed now. I wanted to put a picture of her on but John won't let me. He said it's too mean. (I might sneak one on later)

Where Did The Time Go?

I realized today that it's been over a week since I blogged last. I guess it's not too big of a deal. A lot us get busy and just don't find the time to do it. Here's a little update on what's been going on the past week.
Connor for some reason doesn't want to sleep anymore. During the day he absolutely refuses to take naps. You'd think then at night he'd sleep good since he hadn't slept all day. Not really. He wakes up at least 3 times during the night. He'll go back to sleep a lot of the time, but not without a little persuasion. Usually just rolling him back over on his side. I don't know why he doesn't want to sleep anymore. The poor guy is just exhausted all the time now which just makes him miserable, which in turn is hard on me. I don't understand it. I did get him to fall asleep this morning luckily. I need to actually go check on him though to make sure he hasn't woke up again. When he did nap yesterday, he only slept for two half hour naps. He was not a happy baby yesterday as you can imagine.
Alex has actually been grounded for the last week. She got in trouble twice at school in less then a week. She has been reading most of the day when she comes home to pass the time. Right now she's reading the book "Matilda" and hasn't been able to put it down. Her school actually does a type of contest for reading. If she reads 100 hours in a month, she gets a pizza party and some prizes. I think that's a ridiculous amount to have an 8 year old read. Most adults don't read that much in a month. But Alex wants to try for it. They do it every month, so if she doesn't get it this month, she can try next month. Being grounded she has a lot of time on her hands, and she's been reading pretty much all day. Maybe she'll get it.
John has still been keeping busy with work and school. He's finally finished his resumes and he's going to start handing them out at places so he can quit his job. They have been wanting him to work more overtime the last 2 weeks but he keeps telling them no. That's making them kind of mad, but he doesn't care. His thinking is if they threaten to fire him for not wanting to give up his family time and work instead, then oh well. I have been pressuring him to get his resumes done for a while so he could get out of that place. They treat him like crap and I don't like the management he works with. Even the receptionist thinks she's the boss of him and treats him like crap. I don't like her. Mostly because she insulted the intelligence of my son though on top of it. Not cool!
So that's pretty much been the past week. I'll see if this next week maybe I can update sooner. :)

I Need Some Advice..

Ok guys, I'm feeling really mad right now. Jessica (Alex's mom) has always had rules to how she may and may not deal with Alex. But John doesn't seem to care about those rules. Minor as they may be, they are there for a reason. She has never been allowed to pick Alex up any earlier then 10am. For the reason that Alex needs time in the morning to get ready, eat breakfast, and have some time with us before she leaves. Jessica didn't ask, but just told John she'll be here at 9. John didn't say anything. It's not up to her to change the rules. She screwed up that part and that's why she lost all custody rights. Am I wrong to feel like she's out of line? This happens ALL THE TIME with her. John won't say anything only because he doesn't want to fight. So he just lets her do whatever she wants. Tell me what you think?

Proud Mama!

Yesterday Connor reached on of his milestones. He sat up all by himself!! I was so proud of him! He still gets a little wobbly and falls after a minute, but he sat there without me holding him! What a big boy!!

*5 Months Old*

My little man is getting big! Here's some things he's been doing.

Eating rice cereal 3 times a day. (unless he doesn't drink his bottle good)

Sleeps a little better through the night most nights now.

"Talks" CONSTANTLY!

Fits into 9 months old clothes!!! (Some of them anyway, but a lot of 6 month old ones)

He's such a sweetheart and we love him!

Sunday Drive

We went for a drive up Milcreek Canyon today to see the leaves.
There was some snow up there too, so I'm glad we went when we did or we might have missed all the color.
I think I want to try and get into photography.
I told Alex to smile cute, but this is the best expression I could get out her.

Tonight is also Chris's veiwing. We're going to that later.

This Is Chris

I must be a horrible friend to not have any recent pictures of Chris. But I did find this one from 8 years ago while we were in Denmark. He was on his mission, and his companion (who wasn't looking at the camera) was Elder Anderson. The funny thing is that even after 8 years, he really didn't look that different from now. So I guess it doesn't matter that it's old. Sorry it's kind of fuzzy.

I thought I'd let you know that Chris passed away tonight at about 5:00 pm. I can't believe he's gone. He was a good friend and I'll miss him.

In Memory Of Chris

I just received a phone call from my good friend Chris's brother-in-law. He told me that the cancer in Chris's lungs has gotten worse, and he's going to die today or tomorrow. Immediately I started crying. Chris has been battling cancer for as long as I've known him. He's had numerous surgeries to remove tumors from his arm, back, and for the last few months, tons of kemo to try and kill the tumors in his lungs. When I last spoke to him, he said things were looking promising. I don't know now if he was lieing to me to make me feel better. But now I know the truth. They have only gotten bigger, and the doctors say there's nothing more they can do. He's at his home now on a morphine drip. Shane (his brother-in-law) said that he's delusional and drifting in and out of consciousness. I can't believe this is happening to him! Chris is such a good guy with a huge heart! Ever since I've known him, I've known that he could do great things in life.
I met Chris when I was in Denmark. We became good friends there, and have kept in touch ever since. He lives in Provo, so we were able to see each other often. He used to "translate" for me in church. But I have to confess, we played more hangman than translating. I'll never forget the thing that made us truly friends though. It's kind of weird the way it happened, but it was the funniest thing I'd seen in a long time. Even thinking about it now makes me laugh. We (the Fredriksens and I) had taken a trip to Stockholm, Sweden to visit the temple there and do baptisms for the dead. It was an AMAZING experience! On the way there we stopped at a candy cart along the road to pick up some treats. Keep in mind Danish and Swedish candy is ALOT different from American candy. I bought this thing in a little bottle that the kids told me was like Pixi Stix. WRONG! It was NOTHING like that! This stuff was NASTY!!! It was this type of hot and sour salt. Danish kids love this stuff. I thought I was going to die when I tried it! Well, you can imagine I thought this was a great opportunity to prank Chris. Since I bought it in Sweden, Chris had never seen or tasted it before. So when I got back I told him, hey you should try this stuff I bought it's soooooo good! Of course I dumped a huge bunch of it in his hand and no sooner had he licked it up he was running to the bathroom dry heaving! HAHAHA!! I laughed SO hard which was really hard for me to conceal because we were in church! He was in the bathroom for about 15 minutes. When he came back he said what was that CRAP you gave me?! I've never tasted anything so gross! Then he tried to get me back for the rest of the time I was there until I left. He never did though. Hahaha. We were friends ever since.
It breaks my heart to hear that he will no longer be with us. I'll miss him and his friendship! To Chris, Du er smokt og dijlig og jeg vel inske til himlen. Jeg elsket dig mine fyorde!

Cry Baby Titi Mouse

Connor just wants to throw fits today. He just cries and cries if he's not being held. It reminds me of what Kortney's kids say when someones being a ball baby. Cry baby titi mouse. I'm not sure where they came up with it, but Connor is definitely being one.

Update On Alex

Kortney mentioned Alex needed an update. She's right. I don't not talk about her much because I don't want to, she just never does anything new. But here's the scoop on her. She's off track still. She'll be going back next week October 1st. She isn't at all enthusiastic about going back, but I have to confess I'm looking forward to it. 3 weeks of trying to entertain her all day isn't easy when she gets bored as easily as she does. But we've been making the best of it. She spends her days mostly hanging around the house doing little projects. Then I make her go play with her friends if she stays inside too long looking like she has absolutely nothing to do. We were planning on trying to get her into an activity, but so far just haven't gotten around to it. Don't worry though.. she's off track for another 3 weeks in November. I don't like her track schedule. Every other month for 3 weeks at a time. It makes it impossible for me to ever go back to work if I was going to. Good thing we weren't planning on me going back any time soon.
Anyway, so Alex is fine, and there's not really much else new. I've been trying to find out what she wants to be for Halloween, but the only idea she's come up with is a cat which she was last year. We'll figure it out. :)

Too Cute For Words..

He's Gettting Married When??

So on Monday we all found out that my cousin Paul was getting married Saturday. A week is a little short notice to suddenly decide to get married isn't it? They just sort of sprung this on everyone like, oh by the way... Even his parents didn't get a lot of notice. I was told that the reason they did it like that is so they could save money on having to decorate and send out a million invitations and things. I guess that's smart? Personally I liked having to plan it out and make it nice. All they're doing is the ceremony in the temple, and a pot luck family dinner tonight. Pot luck? They could at least plan that couldn't they? Oh well. I'm kind of stressing on what I should bring though. I don't know of any simple cheap side dishes. All the ones I have are a bit more complex and require a little more skill. I'm leaning towards lemon-butter seasoned vegetables, or a strawberry spinach salad though. These last few days I've had to really plan out my cooking. Yesterday just because I wanted to make it, I made pork chops with apple cherry stuffing. MMMMM!! Then today I have to plan a side dish, and tomorrow I have to make something for John's brother for his birthday. Who knows what I'll do for that. He's a very picky eater. Well, back to wedding, at least we don't have to bring a gift. They said they require our presence not presents. That's nice. Both of them have been living on their own for a while so I guess there's not a whole lot they really need. Like me when I got married. I'd had my own apartment for a while and pretty much had all the basics already. I know they did get some stuff from Grandpa. Anyway, I've got some planning to do. If you think of any last minute quick suggestions, feel free to let me know!

My Family

I wanted to talk about my family today and let them know how thankful I am to have them in my life. I don't have any pictures like I should, but I'll try and fix that.

My mom Elaine-
I don't know what I'd do without my mom right now! She has been there to help me with the baby so much, and I'm so thankful for that! Everyone who has kids knows how hard no sleep can be! She is a very loving and attentive "nana", and the kids love her. Connor gets a little nervous at first because he hasn't quite figured out who she is yet, but once he spends a little time with her, he loves her. My mom has been there to help us out with so many other things too. We wouldn't have a lot of our furniture if it weren't for her. Thank you for all your help and support mom, I love you!

My dad Morris-
My dad I think is the best dad anyone could ask for! He's very loving, generous, smart, funny, and always willing to lend a hand. He's always asking me if I'm ok, or if I need anything. I appreciate that so much! I appreciate him in general. When we first moved in to our house, there were some problems that couldn't be ignored. Like the swamp cooler leaking, the sprinklers not working right (or at all), and then our sink sprung a leak. He was there through it all helping us get everything fixed and under control. Thank you dad! Because of you, John has learned how to do sprinklers by himself. You're a great teacher! I love you!



My sister Kortney-
My "little" big sister. I can't remember the last time she was bigger than me. Hahaha! But she's always been there for me. She's looked after me my whole life. Protecting me from mean kids when we were younger, and even though we fought constantly as kids, she's always been one of my best friends. I have so many memories with my sister that I love and cherish. Some worse than others, but still special. Like when we were in the basement and I had a lose front tooth but it wasn't ready to come out yet. Then Kortney punched it out when we were play boxing. I didn't think it was funny at the time, I was actually pretty mad. But looking back on it it was a fun time. I love my sister and I am thankful for her and all she does for me!

My brother-in-law Cody-
Cody is one of a kind. I wasn't sure what to think of him when I first met him. He was so different from the kind of guys I was used to seeing Kortney date. But as I got to know him better I really liked him more and more. He's a very sweet guy who takes excellent care of his family. Don't let him fool you, he's a teddy bear! Hahaha...he'll probably be mad I said that. But really, he's one of the nicest guys I know. He loves hunting and fishing, and being outdoors. He's a guys' guy for sure. :) Cody, you're a great brother-in-law, and I couldn't ask for a better one! Thank you for everything you've done for me!

My husband John-
Last but not least, my hubby. I couldn't write about my family without taking a minute to talk about him too. He is the foundation to my world, and I owe my happiness to him. There is nothing he won't do for his family. I can't tell you how grateful I am for him. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile. He makes sure I have everything I need. I am so thankful to have him in my life as a part of my family! Honey, thank you! I love you, and I always will!

13? Yeah, You're Old Enough...

I was just reading an article about a website called Marryourdaughter.com. People actually put their daughters up for auction to suitable wannabe husbands. They price them between 24,500 to 47,000! One woman commented "we price our daughter so high, because we see her as an investment". Makes you sick doesn't it? Well, luckily this is a hoax. It was created by a guy in Brooklyn to create awareness of a very real problem. Many women he knows were married off in just this type of fashion. Some married and having kids as young as 13. Warren Jeffs comes to mind I'm sure. This guy who created it is trying to do something very noble. He said "this is an issue that people are extremely complacent about, and I said, 'I think I can find a way to get people to care, or at least start talking about it." He hopes that it will create controversy and spur outraged readers to pressure the local legislators to elevate the marriage age. I think that's a great idea. These poor women who are robbed of their childhoods to become under aged wives and mothers. At the age of 15 for most girls, it's basically enslavement. Well.. I hope he succeeds in what he's trying to do. I know it made me want to change things!

Bad Luck Monday!

Have any of you ever had one of those days where everything keeps going wrong? I'm sure you have. Well, today is that day! I don't know if it's because it's Monday, or we just have some bad luck. First, I should tell you about some of the things we've had to do in the past week.. my car needed to be registered. But before we could do that, we had to replace the windshield. It got nailed by a rock on the freeway and had a huge crack in it. So that cost a nice chunk to fix. Then my brake light was out, so we had to fix that too. Today, I discovered that my phone was broken. It still lets me call people, but that's it. I can't get my messages, texts, anything like that. The lady who tried to help me fix it over the phone said she couldn't fix it and I had to wait 3-5 days for someone else to call me and try to fix it then. But it doesn't stop there! Oh no, then I had to get my oil changed today too. When I got there they told me my air filter was shot, and my brake light was out again! *Sigh*. Then on the way home I needed to stop for gas. But guess what! My gas latch wouldn't open when I pulled on the lever! So I couldn't get gas. So I'm kind of feeling like nothing else could possibly go wrong right? Wrong! I get home and the house smelled like burned rubber. Alex blew up the vacuum by sucking up plastic! Now we get to fix the belt on that. It's been a rough day so far. But it's not over yet! I hope nothing else goes wrong!

Some Tid-Bits About Me

I've seen a few of you do this now and I wanted to do it too. It looked fun!

My roommate and I once: drove all the way to Wendover just to get an ice cream cone.

Never in my live have I: sky dived.

High School was: Fun! But not until my junior year. That's when I got into Pep Club. Then my senior year was fun because I was in A'capella, girls ensemble, and I didn't have any hard classes.

When I am nervous: I play with my fingers. But I do that when I'm bored too.

My hair: is long and dry. I need to deep condition it.

When I was 5: I was ALWAYS getting hurt.

When I turn my head to the left: I see my kitchen.

I should be: taking my car in for an overdue oil change. (oops!)

By this time next year: Connor will be 16 months old!

I have a hard time understanding: Math. For those of you who don't know, I can NOT do math!

My ideal breakfast: that's tough. Probably pancakes and eggs. Or maybe just going to IHOP!

If you visit my hometown: Well, if you visit Salt Lake, you can go to the Gateway mall which is cool. If you go to Biloxi, you'll see everything still being rebuilt from Katrina.

If you spend the night at my house: You'll get to stay on a blow up mattress in the baby's room.

I shouldn't have been: so unmotivated to work out more when I was pregnant. Maybe I wouldn't have so much weight to lose.

Last night I: watched tv with John after the kids were in bed and it was nice.

A better name for me would be: Slambam, boomslammer, Kam slam... take your pick! :)

I have been told I look like: Alecia Silverstone, Drew Barrymore, or Olivia Newton-john

"Shhh... be vewy vewy quiet"

John's mom and Jim were just here. It's always nice to have family visit, but when you run out of things to say, that can be a problem. There were a lot of long pauses in the conversation. She mainly came to see the baby. When he fell asleep after they were here for a half hour though, things started to get quiet. At least there's always small talk right?

Up In The Night

I thought after 4 months things were supposed to get better, not worse when it comes to the baby sleeping better. He's up ALL NIGHT!! Here's how his schedule has been lately... he goes to bed between 7:30 and 8, wakes up around 12, I roll him over and he goes back to sleep until around 1 or 1:30 usually. Then he gets his bottle. Let's say he goes back to bed at 2, he wakes up at 2:15, 2:30, and again at 3. Keep in mind I'm having to get up and turn him over every time or he starts to ball, then John doesn't get any sleep and he has to get up between 4 and 5. So he's up again at 3 and I turn him over yet again. He sleeps until 4 or 4:45, then decides he's up for the day. That is just not going to work. So by then John is usually up anyway, so I just let him cry in his crib at that point. Then sometime around 6 he might go back to sleep. In which case, he'll wake up again at about 7:30. Now tell me... is that a complete nightmare or what?! What do I do with him? Drug him at night so he'll actually sleep? I'm exhausted and I don't know what his problem is. Have any of you had this happen to you before? How do you fix it?

It's F F F FREEEEZING!!

I am so freakin' cold! Where did summer go?! I'm sitting here bundled up in a big sweatshirt, furry warm socks, and long warm pants, and I'm still cold! I've been this way the past few nights now. It just feels so darn cold to me! John absolutely LOVES it. He's a human furnace, so this kind of weather is his favorite. Cool, crisp, and me freezing my butt off so when I curl up with him, my cold feet and hands feel like heaven to him. He's really warm in return so it's nice to me. I love fall and the changing of the leaves and everything. But does it have to get so cold so fast? I know... I'm just a wuss. It's not that cold during the day. It's at night when I start to freeze. It's funny, with as much body fat as I have, you'd think I'd be roasting non stop! Hahaha! Seriously though.. thank goodness for electric blankets, warm husbands, and heaters! Without them, I'd never survive!

Cast Your Vote

Ok, here's what's going on. John's boss is a jerk. He doesn't get any respect at work, or credit for what he does. On top of that, his normal work week is 60 hours. Then he's been putting in 20 hours of over time a week because his boss keeps throwing projects at him that needed to be done yesterday. So now he's pushing 80-90 hour weeks, and his boss told him today that he needs to work MORE hours! Plus if he didn't work more, it could cost him his job! What is his problem?! He knows John goes to school and has a family, and yet he asks more of him? So I'm taking a vote. On one hand, he makes decent money (but not what he's worth by far). On the other, he's worked to death with no appreciation, and his injuries are due to work. Who thinks he should stay and put up with it until he gets his degree, and who thinks he should just quit before it kills him and find something else temporarily until he gets his degree? We're torn on this one for sure. Any inputs?

Sunday Is Family Day

Today was such a nice relaxing day. Sundays are always nice days to be with family. We played games, and read, and just enjoyed each other's company. Then we had my parents over for dinner. I made a homemade chicken pot pie. It turned out soo good! It was so nice to have them over and just visit and spend time together. Mom played with the dog which was funny, and the kids loved all the attention Nana and Poppy gave them. Next we need to have Kortney and Cody and the kids over again! We don't do enough as a family I don't think. I remember when we'd go to Grandpa and Grandma's every sunday. I loved going because not only would I see Grandpa and Grandma, but most of the time there were cousins, and aunts, and uncles there too. Now it's like the only time I see family, and not just extended but sometimes immediate too, is on special occasions. Well, in that case, I'm going to try and make regular days into more special occasions! I miss having everyone around. So.. mom and dad, thanks again for coming over tonight! Kortney and Cody, you're next! And everyone else, we need to see more of each other too!

We're All Connected

I just received an email about a boy who went missing in Texas. I was asked to forward it on to people, and I did. But it made me think of something.. we are all connected. It's mind blowing to me to think that someone in Texas knew someone else, who knew someone else, who knew someone in Utah, who knew someone who knew my sister, who then knows me and I know more people. Doesn't that just seem incredible? If you think of things in that perspective, we're linked to nearly everyone in the world by association. How CRAZY is that! Anyway, I hope this boy is found! If any of you would like to be able to forward his picture on to anyone you know, I'm sure the family of this poor kid would appreciate any help they can get. Just give me your email address, and I'll send it along. Otherwise, I sent it to Shana, it might reach you anyway.

With Pain Comes Bills

John has had a "busted" hand for several months now. Since before we moved out of our apartment he had injured his hand, and up until a few days ago never knew exactly what was wrong with it. Then about a month or so ago, his leg started to hurt really bad. He went to a sports injury specialist who so far has been the only doctor who could diagnose his injuries. Turns out he'll most likely need surgery for both. He's torn a ligament in his hand, and they suspect a pinched nerve in his back causing pain in his leg. I knew he'd torn something... John is so accident prone, how could he not have? Well, now we've got to figure out what we should do. Obviously he needs them fixed. But how will we afford it, and when does it need to be done? The insurance will cover a lot of it thank goodness, but we're still paying on my hospital bills. We can't afford to get another one right now. This is going to take some careful planing. After surgery who knows how long he'll be out of work for. Maybe I'll need to get a job to compensate for a while? But he most likely won't be able to take care of the baby by himself, so I'll either need to be there with him, or we need to find someone who can come and help out while I work. Anyone up for some possible babysitting? We'll see how things go over the next little while I guess.

Oh Vena...

I need to get a little irritation issue out of the way. I'm sure all of you know I can't read music. I'm OK with that. Seriously.. I've been dealing with it for 20 years, I don't mind it. Well, I finally got my music proofed (the one I managed to print and will try to publish) and the lady I got to do it was my mom's friend Vena. Don't get me wrong, Vena is a nice lady. She was very willing to help me and was very nice about it. Here's where the irritation comes in though... she is insisting that I learn how to read music. Rather than work on making sure my song was right, she spent most of the time trying to find ways that I could learn to read the music. I DON'T CARE! Reading music is as big of a deal to me as finding a penny on the ground. Anyway, she called me to ask if I was practicing my [her] technique. I tried to explain to her as I had done at her house, that reading music just doesn't come to me. I have tried. While I was taking lessons for 6 years my teacher couldn't make me learn. I've never been able to teach myself, I just can't do it. I've developed a way to play the piano that doesn't require me to read music, and I'm HAPPY. I don't mean to boast, but I can play better than a lot of people who can read music. This is what works for me. But Vena being the kind of person she is, refused to accept that and just said, ok well keep trying it and let me know how you're progressing. Sigh... have any of you ever had someone like this who just can't take no for an answer? I know I shouldn't complain, she's just trying to help. But I just don't need (or want) another piano teacher.

Cry, Cry Again

Connor had his first taste of cereal last night. (except for the little bit my mom fed him before) He loved it! Well, up until he was done and supposed to finish a bottle anyway. He SCREAMED and SCREAMED!! I think something about the cereal made his tummy hurt. He was so sad! I tried everything to calm him down. Nothing worked. I mean how do you help a baby with a sore tummy? You can't give him medicine, he wouldn't take his bottle, or anything else to suck on, he wasn't happy just being held... I felt awful and completely helpless! Poor baby! I didn't know if I needed to take him to InstaCare. I decided to take him for a drive around the neighborhood. If he still wouldn't stop crying after that, I'd take him in. So I put him in his car seat.. still crying. But no joke, as soon as I picked up his car seat and carried him out, not one peep! He fell asleep in the car and became the perfect little angel he usually is. Then when we got home, he woke up just long enough to take a bottle and went right back to sleep. But here's the best part.. he slept until 4!! I can't tell you how much of a relief that was to me! Lately he's been getting up every 2-3 hours in the night. I can't even remember the last time when he slept for more than 4! Then last night he slept for 7!! HOORAY!!! I have a feeling though that we're in for a struggle to get him to sleep for a while. He's been putting up another fuss today. I know he was tired, but he just would NOT sleep. Finally I put him in the car seat, and what do you know... he was asleep before we even got out to the car. Tired boy! So I guess I'll be driving around a lot for a while. Hopefully this stage won't last long though!

CRAP!!!

I could kill our dog right now! She has a thing for chewing diapers. That's so gross! Well, I left with my mom for a while today and the door to the nursery didn't get closed. I came home to poopy diapers ripped to shreds all over my carpet!!! There was POO rubbed into my carpet!! ARGH!! Then I get a look at the dog....COVERED IN POO!!! She had it all over her face and paws! I am so mad at her right now!! So I've been trying to scrub the carpet and my mom cleaned the dog a bit, but there's still so much more that needs to be done. I'm grossed out! Does anyone know of some good ways to clean poo out of the carpet? I've been using a carpet cleaner and a sponge, but it doesn't seem to be working that great.

Happy Birthday Kortney!!

Today is Kortney's birthday! She's 29!! She has to work today which is really stupid, so I'm taking her out sometime this weekend when she has a day off. That's one thing I HATED about serving. You can't get time off easy for even your birthday! How LAME!! Well, we'll make up for it! So Happy Birthday to my "little" big sis!

Love,
Your "big" little sis

Is It Hereditary?

I'm sitting here watching Connor try to devour the sleeve of his shirt. Mmmm...tasty! It's funny because I pull it back so he can suck on his hand instead (that's his new favorite thing to do. He even prefers his hand over his binki) and he gets this disgusted look on his face like "ahh mom! What did you just give me?! That is GROSS!" Then he manages to pull his sleeve back over his hand and he goes at it again. Hahaha...who would have thought that his shirt would taste better? He must get it from John! John will eat anything! I bet Connor is just practicing for when he can too! I hope he doesn't want to try things like cat and horse though! YUCK!...don't ask..

Blah Blah Blah Blah.. it's a lazy day. :)

Oh No! LICE!!

I found out that Sierra had head lice today. EWW! Well, since Alex had been around her last weekend, we didn't know if Alex had gotten them too. So, we did a treatment on her. Just in case. It's always better to be safe then sorry, right? I don't think she had them. I didn't see anything anyway. But then again, I've never seen lice before. I don't really know what they look like. I'm assuming I'd know though if I saw them. It's kind of hard to miss bugs crawling through your hair. I'm kind of paranoid that maybe she did have it, and I didn't do a good enough job getting rid of them. I guess if I didn't, we'll know in a few days. She's going with her mom tomorrow until sunday, so I'll check again when she gets back.
I almost want to check my scalp really good. Ever since I heard about it, my scalp has been itchy and I'm freaking out! I'm sure it's just me getting the creeps, but what if it wasn't? EEEEWWWWWWWW!!!! I don't want them!!!

Sweets 'N Treats

Black Forrest Chocolate Mousse

Occasionally I get the urge to bake a lot. Desserts in particular. I make things like peach cobbler, rhubarb cobbler, black forrest chocolate mousse, baked blueberry pudding, etc. This is really bad. Although they're yummy and everyone loves them, they're not the best thing to have around when you want to lose weight! And I have NO self control to make them but not eat them! I enjoy the "fruits of my labor" a little too much! So what do I do? Do I just stop baking? Or force myself to exercise frantically after I eat it? It almost seems like a losing battle. How do you all stay so thin? Jessi makes yummy lemon scones, and Kortney cooks all the time and weighs about as much as a cotton ball... what are your secrets?

My little sailor :)

Mommy and Connor

He has the biggest cheeks!

One fromn our Vegas trip.. John in front of our hotel

We're Back!

Vegas was so much fun! We had a really good time, and we're so glad we got the chance to do it. Thanks to Kortney and my mom and dad for taking care of the kids for us! Of course the pets too!
We got there friday night, and just wandered around our hotel for a while. Saturday, we got suckered into going to a time share presentation.....BIG mistake! It was the biggest waste of time EVER! The lady who was giving us the shpeal was really mad at us after we told her no too. It took almost 4 hours to do it. We got a free dinner out of it though, and $50 bucks. The only thing was that the money wasn't actual money. I thought I was going to get handed cash I could just stick in my pocket and be on my way. Nope. We got funny money. After we found out that we couldn't even cash it at our hotel like they told us we could, we walked 3 miles (the lady told us it was only 1 1/2) to the Casino Royal to cash it. There the lady gave me chips. I asked her if I could just get cash, but she said no. So I had to use them on a table and I couldn't take them to a different casino. For those of you who have ever been to Casino Royal, it's really small and dinky and it's not very good. So I chose to play blackjack. It's pretty much the only one I know how to play. But I'd never played on a table before, and I didn't know the rules. Like how you're supposed to scratch the cards towards you when you want a hit, or put them under your bet when you stay. So I'm getting yelled at by the dealer (she was a real piece of work) and these nice ladies sitting next to me are trying to help me. I felt so dumb! Finally I just lost my money so I could leave! I wasn't planning on winning anything, I just wanted to get rid of it since they wouldn't give me cash. At our casino, I found a penny machine that I won $20 bucks off of. I couldn't go to Vegas and not even try a penny machine. I mean c'mon, it's a penny. And it payed off!
We did some shopping too. We didn't really buy anything since it's so expensive, but we had fun wandering through the shops.
So that pretty much sums up our trip. We had a lot of fun, and we're hoping we can go again soon!

Viva Las Vegas!

Tomorrow John and I are leaving for the weekend for some much needed R & R. We've really been looking forward to this! John hasn't had a day off work in 3 weeks, which means I have been the only one taking care of the baby and we're both exhausted! So we're driving to Vegas for the weekend. It should be a nice little get-a-way. I can't wait to hit the shops!

He's The Best Husband Ever!

Tonight at school, John got offered a job with the FBI as a special agent. No joke! But he didn't take it. This is why I think he is the BEST husband ever! He has talked about wanting to work for the FBI for a while now. I have always been afraid of this knowing that John has a love of danger (his childhood is proof of that) and I know he would want to be doing the most dangerous thing out there that he could. The FBI made it clear that he would be doing dangerous things too. Anything from storming houses, going to raids, storming the front line, and so on. I have a constant fear that he'd go to work and not come home again. So I've been against him working for them. I know, I'm selfish. But in my mind, I think I have a pretty good reason. Anyway, so he was offered this job, and he turned it down. Mainly because he knew how much I would be worried about it. Plus, they wanted him to go to Louisiana for 6 months straight for training. John is a family man. He knows he can't be away for that long. Then after training they told him that he could be flown out at a moments notice to anywhere in the world on missions. They could last for a few days, or a few weeks. He would be there until the job was done. That's not to mention we could also be relocated to wherever, whenever. But John is so sweet and so considerate, he knew how that would be so hard for me and chose not to do it. I love him so much! He sacrificed this great opportunity for his family. I have never been more proud of him than I am right now! Thank you honey! You are the BEST!!!

EWWWW!!!!

John ate bugs today! He had snails for lunch. I really don't like bugs. Especially nasty slimy ones that look like little congealed snot logs with retractable eyes! Eww! And he put it in his mouth! Yeah, they were cooked, but I still think it's the grossest thing ever. I couldn't ever eat them.

What are your bug stories? Could you eat snails?

Wide Open Spaces

Shelby is proving to be quite the escape artist. She's dug her way out of our back gate now. We've been trying to stop her digging by putting bricks down where she has been, but she still manages to find another way. She wants to be a free range dog. Umm..... no. Not happening.

New Things Coming

When I worked at Famous Dave's I knew this guy Mike who had started in a business pretty much building his own business. I'm sure some if not all of you have heard of Primerica. That's what Mike got involved in, and he's doing extremely well in it for only working 25 hours a week. John hates his job, and is going to school to get out of it, but he's still a long way away from graduation. He doesn't want to wait that long to get out of where he is. We ran into Mike a few weeks ago, and I asked him to come over last night and talk to John about the opportunities at Primerica. John is actually really excited about this! Mike has been working there for a while, but over the last 2 years has recently gotten "back in the game". He's making upwards of 80 thousand a year working PART TIME! That's a nice chunk of change for not doing a lot of work! So, John has decided to let Mike train him and give this a try. I'll be doing it too, but not the business end of it so much. I still need to be home with the kids. So if this takes off, we're going to be pretty happy! We can get out debt, get a lower payment on our mortgage, and consolidate on the time it will take to pay it off. We could end up being completely paid off and debt free in the next 10 years! That's really good considering most american families are well into their 60's, 70's, and 80's before getting out of debt. And that's not including still having money for retirement. The average person needs to earn 1.5 million between the ages of 25 to 60 in order to have enough money to retire with. That's over 6 hundred dollars a month that has to be saved. Well, luckily, there IS a system that can make that happen! I'm not trying to do a sales pitch, but I do think it's cool!

Jail Break!

I discovered this morning that Shelby was no longer in our backyard when I let her out today. Then I saw how. The neighbors have a little mini pin that likes to dig and has managed to break a hole through the fence. Then our dog made it into a bigger hole and got out. I found her trotting around the neighbors backyard. Of course they wouldn't answer their door either so I was stuck with the dilemma of how to get her out without having to go back there without permission. Luckily I was able to get her out through the back gate, and I didn't have to go get her. So now I've got to figure out how to block this hole right? Well, I found some stuff that I think will work until John gets home to fix it. But here's the thing... I locked her inside while I go out to block this hole, and she is so freaking smart, she figured out how to open the door! So here comes Shelby running down the stairs to me with this look like I MADE IT OUT! I MADE IT! It was kind of funny, but bad timing cuz I hadn't blocked the hole yet. Sigh... she is too smart!

Just Like Home

The first day here Shelby took to John like she's known him all her life. It was so cute. He sat down and immediately she came over and plopped down with him. She craves attention from him, and LOVES every minute of it! John didn't want me to put this picture of him up, but I had to. They look so comfy together! Don't mind the sheets on the couches, I know they look horrible but with the cats, we had to have them on.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 1 year anniversary! Happy anniversary hun! We've made it this far so let's keep going! You are such a good husband and I am more than blessed to have you in my life! You are a great friend, father, someone to confide in, and a shoulder when I need one. I don't know what I'd do without you! Thank you for all that you do and sticking with me through the hard times! I love you!

Love, me