I'd Rather Be Cold than Hot

Okay, so that's my saying...like for reals! (Gee, I'm reverting back to my kindergarten days!) Lately it's been REALLY, super, FREAKIN' cold! Like yesterday, I took Cam to school, and walked with him to the toys while he played until the bell rang. The principal (UGH!) came over the loud speaker and announced that according to the weather service it was -5 degrees, and that all students needed to line up and go inside IMMEDIATELY. Kids with blue faces didn't disagree, and lined up FAST!

After getting inside, I found out that I wasn't really needed in class to help, so I walked home. I guess I had been inside just long enough that I had started to warm up, because my face was KILLING me! It hurt so bad, I walked home faster than I had ever done before.

After getting home, I curled up on my couch with one of my warm quilts and tried to get myself warm again. This is why I'd rather be cold than hot! If you're cold, you can ALWAYS find a way to warm up, but if you're hot you can't always take enough off to keep cool!

Anyway, after warming up for an hour I finally was able to feel my face again! YES! AN HOUR!

I decided to take my time getting Cam from school, because I didn't want to freeze outside waiting for the kids to come out. Even with leaving my house later than normal, I still had to wait 10 minutes. As I waited I looked at the snowflakes falling on my big, floofy coat. I pondered the saying that no two snowflakes are alike, and watched as many similar ones landed on me.

When Cam finally got to me, he wasn't wearing his gloves, so I made him put them on (since he was crying that his hands hurt, and the fact that they were BRIGHT red.) As I was shoving his hands into his gloves one of his little friends was trying to be funny, and made a snowball. Now, as anyone who lives in snowy weather knows, when it's THAT cold outside, the snow is just fluff...there's no substance to it, really. Anyway, this little boy didn't know that (he had earlier in the day stuck his tongue to a metal pole!) and he tried to throw a snowball at Cam. The snow plastered his face! It went behind his glasses, and down his hood. I was NOT happy with this.

His friend immediately started to apologize, but I knew I needed to get him home as FAST as I could! We ran home, with Cam crying the whole way about how his face hurt, while his little friend was screaming his name over and over.

I got him in our door, and looked at his face...it was blue and purple! Yes, people, it was STINKIN' cold! I then grabbed a washcloth and ran it under lukewarm water and pressed it to his face and hands. As soon as I had him warmed up a bit, I grabbed the kid and cuddled with him under that warm quilt I had laying on my couch.

I wanted to kick that kid in the shin! I'm not the kind of person to actually DO that, but that's what I wanted to do. I couldn't believe he'd do that. I guess he learned a couple of important lessons yesterday: 1) NEVER stick your tongue to a freezing metal pole, and 2) Never throw snow at your friend's face on a FREAKIN' cold day!

All Is Well

I don't know what it is! Maybe it's the freezing temperatures. Maybe it's the freak snow storm we got today. Maybe I'm just busy with other things, but I'm NOT neglecting my blog! REALLY!

My weekend was filled with many interesting...lazy days! Then yesterday was crazy busy...back to normal life! Then today I had my cousin's baby to babysit, and driving around town on the slick roads, nearly doing a cookie in the middle of a busy street!

Yes, my life is busy, but it's been fairly normal! And for that, I'm very grateful! Maybe another day I'll actually put down some of the more mundane things going on in my life, but for now, it's good enough for me to say: "I'm good, and everyone is healthy!"

Next Year's Theme for Primary

My new excitement! I got the new pamphlet for our theme in Primary for next year! I'm so excited for these new songs, I can't even tell you! I LOVE them ALL! I just did a little bit of searching online and found some AWESOME sites!

I found this one for viewing the sign language to some favorite Primary songs! (We're going to be learning the sign for "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus!") And then I found this one for a song we're going to be learning instead of "Listen, Listen." It's called "I Know that Jesus Lives." It's really pretty, and I'm excited to learn it!

I think getting this new book is as exciting for me as some would compare to getting a new reading book. I get all sorts of great ideas just looking at the songs! My absolute favorite Primary song of ALL time is one of the ones we'll be learning next year! "Love is Spoken Here!" LOVE IT! I'm sure next year I'll be wallowing in frustration, but for now, the future looks bright, and I'm just excited! YAY!

Black Friday, Christmas Grinch, and My New Hobby

I've been cowering in my home for the day. I admit that I'm afraid of this day more than most others. I don't like shopping (much) and I HATE crowds. Oh, last year I braved my fears and got THE best deal at Walmart for Cameron, but that was LAST year. When what he wanted wasn't only found in ONE store! But I no longer find the horrors of this day that I used to. After my 3 A.M. excursion last year I know what die-hard shoppers find in those wee hours. THE RUSH! Yes, it's such a good feeling to know you've gotten the best possible deal on any item that you wanted. The weirdest sensation I had experienced last year was the sound of 5:00. Now, mind you, the store I was at is open 24 hours a day, so we could go around and find our items early, but we couldn't touch them until that magic minute of 5:00. So I camped out in the middle of the aisle for an hour and a half. Pointing out to other shoppers which box was mine, once the shrink wrap was removed. Then the sound of hundreds of hands...maybe thousands just grabbing boxes filled my ears. That was THE weirdest/coolest sound I have ever heard!
This year, I found no such deals that tickled my fancy enough to leave my warm bed at 3:30 in the morning. In fact, I woke up after my turkey induced coma at 5:55 A.M. I looked at my clock, while stumbling to my bathroom and thought to myself, "Hey, I would have been done shopping if I had gone out at 5!" The odd thoughts that come to me in my stupor!
Anyway, being cooped up here has been pretty good for me! I've been cleaning and re-arranging my closets and home. It's nice to have an organized home!
Our family Thanksgiving tradition is to put up our Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving night. We do it ALL! The tree, lights, window clings, little knick-knacks...THE WHOLE SHE-BANG! Last night as we were shivering out front, trying to figure out our net lights on our bush, a neighbor man came home. I don't know the man, but all I wanted to say to him was, "BAH-HUMBUG!" The guy was commenting to us that Thanksgiving isn't even done yet, and we're putting up our Christmas stuff? Some people just don't understand that it's RESTRAINT that keeps me from putting up my decor the day after Halloween! We have a radio station around here that starts playing Christmas music ALL day long until Christmas day beginning the day after Halloween. I sneak in my holiday listening when I can. Steve loves Christmas, and all that goes with it, but he only loves it between Thanksgiving dinner and shortly after Christmas. Now I'm allowed to listen to my music, and decorate my house with the things of the season! And some random stranger comments to me about being too early!? WHATEVER!
There's one more thing I've discovered I have a love for. I've actually known that I've had a love for this particular kind of thing, but I didn't know it could be useful until now. I've always loved organizing things on paper. I love filing things (when I was a secretary, it was a good thing!) and making sure things are in order! Now I've started doing some good things for my Church called Family Search Indexing. It's SO fun! It's a volunteer program where you try to decipher handwriting from over a hundred years ago. It's hard, but so much fun. Since I got started on Tuesday I've completed 3 projects and started on my fourth! Steve now fears that he'll NEVER get his computer time, and I'm afraid he's probably right! It's just a blast to try to figure these things out for a good cause! If anyone wants to sign up (you don't have to be a member of my Church to do this) you will NOT be disappointed!

Giving Thanks

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share a list of things I'm grateful for:

My husband

My son

My extended family

My home

A working car

Clocks

Toilets

Toilet paper

Feminine products

Computers

Internet

Medical advancements

The Gospel

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The priesthood

My Savior

My Heavenly Father

My testimony

The scriptures

Vacations

Mountains

Flowers

Smiles

Good Friends

Memories

Health

Music

Warm Blankets

Hope

After writing straight, I've come to a halt. My brain just doesn't want to think any further. But I am grateful for this time of year, and all of my many friends I've made through out this last year. What are you grateful for? Make a list, and share it with your family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Feel Pretty

Is it normal to feel pretty only on certain days? The other day I just took a shower, yes, that's all it took, threw on a little make-up and fixed my hair and POOF! I was pretty! And I felt pretty! I LOVED IT!

I couldn't get enough of myself in the mirror. I was constantly trying to find my reflection, only to marvel at what a little bit of work does for my countenance.

My husband constantly tells me how cute I am, but I rarely believe him, but when I feel pretty, I expect him to tell me...ALL THE TIME! I know it's gotta be hard for him to know when to tell me and I believe him, or when I'll roll my eyes and say, "Yeah, thanks." I guess I should be grateful that my husband thinks I'm cute, and maybe dress myself up a bit more for him! Couldn't hurt the baby-making endeavor, right!? ;)

What's in a Name?

Is it normal to come up with names for kids who aren't even born yet? For a while now, Steve and I have had names for our children WHO AREN'T EVEN BORN YET! We know what we are going to name our next little boy and our next little girl. Now our chore is to get THEM here!

I had a doctors appointment today and he said all is going well. I do need to work on my diet and exercise (my main downfall) but otherwise, I'm doing great. The thing that surprised me was my weight. Now I mentioned that I don't diet and exercise like I should, but thankfully, I'm losing weight. Not a LOT, mind you, but just enough that I'm not GAINING! :) YAY! My doctor did tell me that if I lose MORE weight I'll be more likely to get pregnant. So here's to my new "holiday" diet!

So tell me, is it normal to come up with names for unborn babies? Is it bad luck? What's your take on it?

It's OVER! Why Did I Even Worry?

Brilliant! That's all I can say! The kids did MARVELOUSLY! (That saying about the practices MUST be true!)

The kids sat reverently in the over flow, I did have ONE little girl who has latched onto me since we moved into this ward, and she did NOT want to participate. She ended up sitting next to me for most of the meeting. She's a funny kid, she kissed my hand, and licked my shirt...yup, we've got some interesting kids!

Anyway, the kids did SUCH a good job. I was bawling during the first two songs. I had to regain my composure before I was to turn and lead the entire congregation, but they did great. And my son even did a fantastic job singing and with his part. ("I.....will.....follow......the prophet.") I shouldn't have worried. It was so spiritual and wonderful!

And those little chocolate medals were BRILLIANT! We ended up sending home some pretty hyper children today, but they deserved it! Oh, I'm SO glad it's all over! Now we just have to start our Christmas songs! That should be fun!

Primary Program Stress

I'm stressing! AAAAAAAAAH! I know everything will be fine, but I can't help myself...I'm a worrier! Our Primary Program is tomorrow! We had our usual Saturday practice today and it was a nightmare! (Isn't there a saying somewhere that if the practices are horrible, the actual performance will be magnificent?? If not, then I'm going to assume there is one, otherwise, we have NO hope!)

All night long I dreamed of the program. The different things that I have to do for it, the things that could go wrong, the things that my imagination thinks could go wrong (but most likely WON'T go wrong) and waking up every few minutes to see if it's actually time to wake up and get ready.

What is WRONG with me? I NEVER stress over the program like this! NEVER! And I've been a Primary chorister for as long as I've been married (practically!) After SEVEN separate programs you'd THINK I'd have a brilliant system worked out, but each year the kids are different, and respond to different things. For example: My first year as a chorister I got the kids to stand up for the songs by making my fingers wiggle (making them move to the front of their chairs) and then slowly raising my arms up for them to stand. For the most part, that system worked...so I used it every year, including this one! But now I'm stressing, because it's NOT working anymore! I'm going to find SOMETHING else NEXT year, but for now, it's TOO late! Someone suggested using flags. I can just imagine me being a kid-air traffic-controller! "Right this way...no, that aisle is filled, you have to use the OTHER one..."

Then our Primary Prez put me in charge of our Follow the Prophet song. The kids I have singing the verses DON'T know their verses!! So they have my little cheat-sheet with the words in front of them...and it looks DUMB! SO, as a solution, I'm printing off the words (HUGE) and I'm going to hold up the words for them. Hopefully this will all work out. I'm just stressing over the little things (which is my normal type of stress) and I know I shouldn't. The program is GREAT every year, and hey, this year the kids know ALL of the songs! *patting myself on the back*
On top of the program stress, I've been making little gold medals for the kids all week. At first I was going to use the metal lids off of frozen concentrated juice, but I didn't get enough lids...so I figured I'd just glue ribbon to chocolate gold coins. Then I didn't want to wait for the glue to dry, so I bought tape. I've been cutting, taping, and putting those things together forever! I hope it goes over well!

Until noon tomorrow I'm going to have this stress, but after that...it's all going to be GRAVY! I can't wait!

Re-Explaining the Situation

Maybe I should explain my dilemma a little bit better!

Cameron is getting in-school occupational therapy, physical therapy, and is pulled out every day for 15-30 minutes to go to the special ed room where they work on his reading and other essential skills. Cameron IS in the regular classroom the majority of the time, but the problem comes in when he doesn't have his aide right next to him. The teacher pulls him out to his little reading group during the centers (they have a TON of stuff to do while in those little centers!) And when he's just with his teacher, she can't get him to grasp many reading concepts. He knows his letters (one of the few in his class who does) but he doesn't understand that when you put letters together in a certain way that it makes words.

The benefit of putting him in the DACC program is the speed at which they work. They do the exact same program, but at a much slower rate. In Cam's current class they only have an hour to do a center: social studies, math, word work, art, and listening and reading. There are four centers, and usually at each one there are TWO projects to complete. For example, this week I ended up doing the same center twice. We had to copy words in our best handwriting and then color and cut and glue an Indian boy into a canoe. Doesn't sound that hard, right? Well, when you're a frustrated little kid it takes FOREVER. Not only do they have limited time to complete these projects, but they're constantly being called out for reading groups and to work on the computers. There are times when I'm working with my little group of 6 kids that I only have ONE with me. I know it sounds chaotic, but it works...for the most part.

Now, my dilemma comes when I think about taking him out of his current situation. He's doing well! I know that he'd do SO good in the DACC program...he would continue to learn and grow, but I worry that he'd lose his social skills. The principal, when she first pitched this idea to me, assured me that the kids do have times when they interact with their peers, but it's only on a small amount of time. Right now Cam is making friends left and right, and LOVES it! He does fine when he has someone who can explain things to him in a one-on-one setting, but he can't have that ALL of the time! He's getting many special programs working and vying for his time, but he's in the regular classroom for the majority of the time, and that's how I prefer it.

Okay, do you think I've made my case? I don't know if it makes ANY sense, but I do feel like for now, we'll continue doing what we're doing.

On a positive note, Cam is actually thriving here at home. I can't even begin to explain the difference I'm seeing in my little boy since I stopped babysitting those kids last week. He's been SO well behaved, and has been talking like a normal 6-year-old! When I was watching L and E he'd talk to me like he was a baby. It drove me bonkers. Now, he's funny and I LOVE it! Even when I'm babysitting baby J, he's better behaved for me! I didn't realize what kind of strain my babysitting was having on him until this week. The change in him is dramatic! I'm so glad that I followed my gut (and the advice of all of you and my family) and stopped the craziness! Life is VERY good!

Parent Trauma

Doing double duty at school is exhausting! I mentioned to Cameron's teacher on Monday (when I was there helping) that if she needed I could help out on Wednesdays, now that I'm not babysitting on them anymore. She was thrilled beyond words. Up to that day (mind you, it's the end of the first trimester) no one had volunteered to help out with the centers on Wednesdays. So she quickly switched me from Mondays to Wednesdays and asked that I start this week, if possible.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE working in my son's classroom...I feel way more connected to what's going on than anytime before. BUT, working with little kids who don't really want to do what they're supposed to is hard! There was one little boy who was SO distracted by the workers who are putting brick on the building I was sorely tempted to move him to the other side of the table where he couldn't see what was happening outside. Another little boy wouldn't do anything unless I was sitting RIGHT next to him. On top of these uncooperative kids we have the chatty little girls, who have to tell you a MILLION things before they do their work, those who would rather joke around and play, and then the fact that today was a short day. Every Wednesday is a short day in this school, makes both teachers and students hurry, hurry, hurry!

As all of the kids left to go to recess and then the library I sat and just vegged. Mrs. K came in and talked with me about how Cam has been doing in her class. He's a smart kid, but he is HIGHLY distracted. She was telling me that most of what they're learning in reading is going OVER his head. I figured that much, but then she said that maybe he would benefit from going to the DACC program. Everything in my body refused to allow this thought to process. I don't want him to fall behind socially, and that's the main reason I keep him in his regular class, but when his aide, Amber, isn't around he doesn't learn anything.

So here's my dilemma, should I keep him where he is (I feel he's doing just fine) and maybe tutor him more at home, or should I put him where I know he's learn more, but may suffer socially. Oh, the trauma of being a parent! I have a feeling that I need to get the kid tested for ADHD (just a recent thing that one of the many doctors he's seen recommended...) and I don't really know where to go for THAT, but oh, I'm just frustrated right now!

Missing In Action? NO, I've Just Been Living My REAL Life!

I didn't realize how much I could enjoy REAL life as compared to my online life. (Okay, so I STILL love my online life, but I needed this break!)

This last weekend was fun. I dropped my hubby off at the matinee performance of Oliver! and then I was off for an hour long drive to pick up his parents. Here's a BIT of background information about my in-laws:

When I first met my future mother-in-law I was put in a VERY awkward situation. She sat me in the middle of the living room with the television directly behind me...STILL on. I thought she'd ask me questions about who I was, what I loved about her son, maybe trying to get to know me a bit. Not what happened. She talked about her growing up and how horrible her life had been. I left that house feeling very unaccepted.

For many years I felt like she didn't like me. I don't know what I had done to offend her, but she just DID NOT like me. I felt awkward around her for a VERY long time.

Recently things have changed in a GOOD direction. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but she finally accepted me and I feel that she now loves me like her own. It's been a VERY rough road, but we're in a good place.

My father-in-law is a sweetie who loves to tell stories and sometimes misses the point of many conversations. He's really a nice guy and I have loved that man from the INSTANT that I met him (in the Temple on my wedding day!)

So I went to their house on Saturday to pick them up. We had a pleasant drive, telling what we had been doing and just having a good time. We got into town and decided to go shopping for food. (I hadn't had time to shop...I was too busy cleaning my house!) As soon as we were done, we hurried to my house where I turned on a movie for them, and cleaned up my kitchen. (I'm such a bad hostess!)

Anyway, we had a fun time talking and catching up, then it was time for us to hurry to the theater for the evening show. We got there early enough to get FRONT ROW PARKING! We were SO excited! I heard many cool family history-type stories and learned a lot about these people who had raised my sweet husband. Soon, maybe TOO soon, the doors opened and we were allowed inside. Our seats were in different areas of the theater, so we separated.

The show was nice. It didn't seem like it was as COOL as some of the other performances had been, but I think the little kids they had in the show detracted from the whole mood. My husband did an AMAZING job on his parts...he was the knife grinder (for those of you who know the show...) and he was the citizen who took matters into his own hands by killing Bill Sykes. The show was fun, and I enjoyed it.

That night as we went to the car to leave we found that the van was covered by 2 INCHES of snow! It wasn't snowing when we went inside! It was crazy! I tried to clean off the windows, but I couldn't find the window scraper. I had to reach under both of my in-laws, and had an awkward time of it, but finally I just used my coat to clear the windows. The storm was CRAZY. I could barely see the road! Luckily nothing serious happened!

We went to Stake Conference the next morning and I totally LOVED it! The talks were amazing, and the things they said seemed more personal to me than when they speak to us at general conference, although I know that they REALLY do speak to us! Anyway, I loved it and feel like I have been lifted to a higher spiritual plain. So GOOD!

We ate dinner afterward, and we drove his parents home. We quickly said good-bye and then we left...trying to make it home before it got dark. Minutes after getting home we got a call from his mom. We had missed seeing one of his uncles who lives in Boise by mere minutes! She told us what was going on with them (long story about their house, and the cruddy city they live in...) and that this uncle was going to help them out! We're STILL waiting to hear what exactly is going to happen, but we're hopeful they'll get what they deserve! :)

Then for the last few days I've been relaxing, and enjoying my family. I've been amazed at the transformation my son has been going through. It happens SO fast it's scary!

Today I took Cam with me to the store to buy some food, and when we got to the check-out he begged to get some candy. I'll admit it, Cam is spoiled ROTTEN! Being an only lonely on BOTH sides of the family tends to do that to a kid. And whenever he shops with Grandma she'll buy him ANYTHING he asks for. So he thinks it's normal to get candy EVERYTIME we go to the store. Anyway, he was eyeing the candy and asked me for one. I looked at him, and he had behaved VERY well (actually, his behavior has been MUCH better since I stopped babysitting L and E!) so I told him if he could choose quickly he could have ONE piece of candy. There were 2 people in front of me at the line, so I thought he'd be fast. Not the case! I got all of my purchases rung up and paid for before he chose. As soon as I had the bags in the cart ready to go, he pops out with a candy bar. I told him it was too late, he was too slow, and now it was time for us to go. The kid threw a HUGE temper tantrum in the middle of the store. People were STARING! I was horrified! I tried not to show my horror, and I grabbed him by the hand and pretty much dragged him out of the store. He screamed the whole way out that he wanted candy...I heard people behind me making fun of the tantrum. I put him in the van and we left. I was so upset with him, and I told him that what he had done was unacceptable.

When we got home it was like someone else had taken over my son's body. He was polite, witty, and even funny! I had a GOOD time with my kid! He was such a good kid tonight I had to tell him so, and I rewarded him with those good behavior stickers. It was like I had a two year old in the store, and my six year old was at home with me. It was nice!

All in all, everything is good. So far no AF, but I'm still worried to check myself out! I'm not worried so much about the pain I had last week. I think it was just a fluke. I KNOW it wasn't a gall bladder attack (I've had many attacks over the years, I KNOW what those are like...) and I don't think I'm pregnant (unfortunately...) so I think it was just something odd, but life is good now!

Final Friday Babysitting

Today was my FINAL day babysitting for my friend L. I can't tell you the gamut of emotions that are raging through my mind. I feel guilty about having to stop. I feel happy that I will get the peaceful feeling I've been missing for a while. I feel elated that I only have to babysit 2 days a week now, and I can TOTALLY handle that kid. I feel sad that I won't be experiencing baby E's huge grins on a daily basis. I feel peace with my decision.

And as a "fun" farewell, we spent the day indulging Cam and little L's obsession with Spongebob Squarepants. We watched the Spongebob marathon that Nick had ALL day long. (I think it helps things to say that I enjoy the humor of Spongebob too!) They loved it, and napped through it. The day wasn't complete until Cam led L on a run from one end of our apartment to the other...over and over and over again. This led to much laughing, and screams heard from the stressed out father. I'd have to say, it was a good day and I'm THRILLED that I don't have to make mac 'n' cheese EVERYDAY for lunch any more! YAY!

Steve has his opening night of Oliver! tonight and was completely stressed over it. It doesn't help that he's coming down with the crud I've had all week long! I'm sure he'll be fine. Tomorrow is my night to go and watch. I'm even driving to pick up his parents for the weekend. They'll be staying at our house and then going to stake conference with us on Sunday. I'm starting to stress about having the in-laws over, but I'm sure it will be good!

I've been in some major pain lately. Last night while trying to enjoy the new ER, I had a sharp pain that felt similar to a contraction. I fretted and tried to get comfy for the next 10 minutes. I prayed hard! I don't know exactly what it was, but I'm doing better now...just a little residual back pain, but I think I'm doing better. My worry was that I had actually managed to get preggo, without knowing it, and was about to miscarry. I don't think that was the case, THANK GOODNESS, but I still worry about what that pain meant. Hopefully nothing more will come from it, but to be safe, I've stopped taking my medication that you AREN'T supposed to take if you're pregnant. Here's hoping! *crossing fingers and eyes*

My Boat

I had a few things happen today to remind me of some fun times years back.

We watched Cars and laughed and really just enjoyed the movie. Seeing those older cars reminded me of my old car, a.k.a. "the boat."

When I was going to Ricks College (back when it WAS Ricks) my parents bought me a car. Earlier that year I had a friend die in a bad car accident. (Her birthday would have been today...) And my parents were paranoid about me commuting back and forth all week in a small car. As a way of easing their minds they bought me a 1971 Pontiac Bonneville. It was a bluish color, and HUGE. The car seemed like it was about 16 feet long. Whenever I drove it anywhere I felt like I was floating on the road...hence, the boat.

I LOVED this car. It may seem weird that someone could feel that way about a car, but if you had seen me driving it, you would have seen a happy kid. I loved just the feeling I had of being free. There are MANY good memories I have of this car.

One such memory involves my cousins. I was the oldest in the group, and therefore, the designated driver (since the rest of them were 12...) Anyway, the boat had a fun feature that I loved to try out on unsuspecting riders, it had a tendency to do "howdy" stops. If I pressed on the brakes just a bit too fast, the car would lurch to a halt, giving anyone inside a major case of whiplash...and I LOVED it!

To get back to my rambling...we were driving down the road and a dog ran in front of us. I slammed on the brakes and gave all of us a major "howdy!" My cousins all laughed so hard, that they begged me to do it again. We spent a fun half hour driving down back roads doing "howdy" stops. We laughed so hard and had so much fun! To this day I've heard stories about my cousins being reminded of that afternoon. Ah, good times!

I know there are many stories I could tell, but the highlights are: getting stuck off the side of the road my first night driving it, living in it while driving to college, sleeping in the back seat in between classes, getting the window stuck half-way unrolled...making for a miserable winter, taking my former crush on a drive in the foothills: getting stuck in a HUGE snowbank (I still feel bad about that one...), driving it over a HUGE boulder...getting stuck...and MANY MANY more good memories.

The day that the car died was a sad time for me. I was very nostalgic, and almost cried...Steve on the other hand was more than happy to get rid of it. We gave it to a wrecking yard, not getting any money out of it because they said it was so old that they'd just take it directly to the crushing machine anyway. And what a surprise we had when we went to Walmart one night to see that VERY car parked in the parking lot. Someone had fixed it up...even putting tiger printed seatcovers in it. I knew it was the same car thanks to the boulder incident...and a precisely placed paintball mark.

Long story short, the people DID pay back the money for it...making us happier about the whole situation.

I just loved that car, and was thinking about it tonight as I was "racing" cars going down the main street in town. The other cars didn't know I was racing...but thanks to that small fact, I won nearly EVERY race! :)

MRI Trip

Our trip was LONG and not really very informative.
I'll try to summarize my day, again, it was LONG!
Sunday night we informed Cameron that he couldn't eat ANYTHING when he woke up the next morning, so we spent the entire evening feeding the boy anything his heart desired. Then we put him to bed...hoping for the best.
Early the Monday morning I woke up...feeling like I should get up, even though the alarm wasn't set to go off for another 10 minutes. As soon as I stepped off of my bed, I heard Cam running, full speed, up the stairs. I saw his face was covered with chocolate. NO! HE DIDN'T! But he had! He'd eaten some of his left-over Halloween chocolate, and after some coaxing, he admitted to eating some. I was so furious with the child! I put him in the tub for his bath and went into my room to cool off.
I was SO mad! Every once in a while I'd hear him call out for me. Then after about 10 minutes he called out, "Mama? Am I having time-out in the tub?"
I had to admit, that broke me down...I couldn't stop laughing! So I allowed him to get out!
We left town about 8:00, and drove and drove and drove. We arrived at the hospital with 20 minutes to spare. We checked in with the medical imaging place, and watched as Cam bounced from toy to toy in the waiting room. (Have I mentioned my LOVE of this hospital?)
We were finally called back, did all of the usual mumbo-jumbo, and told the nurses that if they wanted a semi-happy patient, they should do the IV at the last possible moment. (And they listened! I SOOOOO love this hospital!) They had him restrained while they attempted to put the IV into his hand. The first attempt wasn't working, so they had to do it a second time! The second time was successful! And they instantly administered the sleeping medicine to him. It didn't even take a full minute for him to fall asleep. As they took him away I commented to my mom that I wouldn't mind giving him that stuff EVERY night when it was bedtime. (OF COURSE, I was joking...really...I mean it!)
Then the nurse told us that we'd have to wait in the waiting room. We told her that we wanted to eat lunch, and she said that was fine. The procedure was going to take 30 minutes, and they'd let him sleep an additional 2 hours after that, so we had plenty of time.
We ate in Primary's cafeteria (the better of the two hospital cafeterias that we'd eaten in!) and went into the waiting room for the next 3 hours! After a while I worried about what was taking them so long to call us back, so I asked the receptionist. She called back to the recovery room and apparently they had called us back over the loud speaker...but we hadn't heard ANYTHING! So we gathered our stuff (I had been reading a book, and my mom was crocheting a baby dress, plus we had Cam's shoes, glasses, and stuff...) and hurried to see how he was doing.
The nurses told us that he didn't have anything wrong happen with regards to the anesthesia, but now that we were there, we could wake him up.
We took blankets off of him, shook him, called his name and after nothing happened we then looked to the nurses. They had gotten a hold of Dr. S in the meantime, and he wanted to talk with me on the phone. He told me that he hadn't gotten a tech to look at the results, but he'd get right on it. As I was walking back to his bed my mom and the nurse were pressing a cool, wet washcloth to his face. It made him SO mad it finally woke him up.
The medicine they gave him was so strong that the poor kid couldn't control his body at all! They told us it could stay in his system for 24 hours! He was just like a rag doll! I asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom and he did, but I had to carry him there. I sat him down on the toilet, and he was so out of it with the drugs he was laughing at ODD things! When we came out, the doctor was on the phone for me AGAIN. I was still holding Cam, so the nurses pushed out a chair for me to sit on and I tried to hold Cam and talk at the same time.
It was one of the hardest things...trying to carry on a civilized conversation and holding a floppy 50-pound baby! The jist of the conversation was that there are a FEW things that they want to take a closer look at: fatty area around the tip of his spine, and a few lymph nodes of interest...but the GOOD thing was NO BAD TUMORS!! *doing a dance of joy!* They weren't "official" results, but they're fairly certain that he's fine! They recommended another scan, either MRI or CT, within the next 3 to 6 months. The thing about what they saw was that there really isn't anyway to know whether the things of interest are causing problems, growing, or just fine...because this was the FIRST MRI he's had. But Dr. S told me that there really isn't anything to worry about. I was SO relieved!
Then after we FINALLY got Cam more awake we were able to check-out and leave for home. By this time it was after 5:00, and Cam hadn't eaten much all day! So we caught a "McGonalds" on the way out of town, and a Wendy's for me and my mom, and drove home.
I was so exhausted and ready to be home! My mom carried Cam inside my house for me, and he tried to get up to get something, and he fell over backwards...he was STILL dizzy and walking like a drunk. I decided that I would keep him home today, just to make sure he didn't have any problems and I knew all was well.
He probably SHOULD have gone to school today, but he stayed home and pushed his mama's buttons ALL day long!
The other nice news is that I'll most likely be DONE babysitting those kids that drive me crazy by Thursday! I'm so excited! But now, all I want to do is SLEEP! So forgive me for not visiting you lately, but I WILL catch up soon! (I hope!)

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

I had THE yummiest cookies the other day, and I have to share here! You ready? Here goes:

Pumpkin Cookies

1 large can pumpkin

1 boxed spice cake mix

chocolate chip cookies (as many as YOU want)

Mix together (yeah, no eggs, oil, water...nothing else!) and drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are SERIOUSLY the easiest, yummiest, pumpkin cookies that I've had in a LONG time!

**************

And we're off to see the doctor. It's going to be a long day. When we started it was going to be a big deal, my dad was going to come, Steve was going to come and, of course, me and my mom, but now the guys have dropped off now that we know it's nothing serious. I just hate driving to Salt Lake and back home in the same day. I guess if we get desperate we could stay with my sister in Logan, but who wants to do that!? :P

Anyway, I'll let all of you know what, if anything, we find on this adventure!

Musical Frustrations

Things are going better. I'm a bit worried that my friend L is STILL mad at me, but I can't stew over it too long! (Although I do anyway...)

Today was my husband's mostly day-off. (He doesn't work until 10:00 tonight...) so we slept in and then did some of his "musical" stuff. This year's musical is "Oliver!"

I normally don't say too much about my husband's musical, but I'm SO frustrated with it! It seems like whenever he does one of these plays I never see the man, and I really miss him! If I DO see him, all he talks about is the play, practice, or what he's doing in it. I really don't care! Does this make me a bad wife? I only ask that he do one play a year, because it's so hard on me, and he, for the most part, sticks with that agreement. But when I'm in the midst of the practices I get frustrated!

Today the kids from the play were singing in the mall. Now here's where TWO things I dislike clashed in a bad way! I don't like the mall...avoid it if I can...but I especially hate going there on a Saturday! UGH! I can't think of anything I hate more than that! But add the fact that the whole reason for going to the mall in the first place is to hear more of the musical....Don't even get me started! I went with Steve...humoring him...planning to watch just the FIRST performance (they had 2 planned) and then leave and do our other things. What really happened was we stood around while they were organizing everything...and just looking really dumb. So I figured that while they were doing that I'd go to the jewelry store and get our rings inspected, so I didn't just stand there doing nothing. Once Cam and I got back to where they were, the singing had started. Steve wasn't really doing ANY of the performing...mainly because they wanted the kids from the play to do most of the singing. They went through almost ALL of the songs that the kids sing in the play! It was cute, but it got boring really fast! But my husband was in the back of the crowd snapping pictures all over the place.

Once it was all over I looked at Steve and said, "Okay, we can go now, right?" Then he said that he was going to Barnes and Noble where the second performance was. I was NOT a happy person after that!

See, here's where I draw the line! I dislike the mall, on a Saturday, and with singing kids, but I refuse to go into Barnes and Noble...I DON'T like that store...at ALL! I told Steve that I thought we had just planned to watch the first performance...NOT the second. Then he looked at me with those big eyes of his and nearly begged to do this one thing. I sighed, and said, "Fine, but Cam and I are waiting in the van." Then I grabbed Cam's hand and left Steve to do whatever he wanted.

Now I don't want to sound like I'm a party pooper, but I can't handle Cam running all over the place in the mall. It's too crowded for my tastes anyway, and to be in Barnes and Noble? I hate the prices of books there...and I hate, hate, HATE the smell! They have a Starbucks in there, so the whole store smells like coffee. And that is one smell that just turns my stomach! ICK! So I didn't want to be the mom who chases her kid around the expensive store the whole while trying not to puke.

Cam and I entertained ourselves in the van doing magic tricks, and singing Primary songs at the top of our lungs. It was a fun time. Then Steve came out, and we left.

I'm just excited that the last week of Oliver! is this week. The performances are next weekend, and I can't wait until they're ALL over and I get my husband back! I know he'll be bummed, but he'll be ALL mine again...and for that reason, I can't wait!

Updates and Mindless Chatter

Well, I did it, but I feel HORRIBLE for saying it! The babysitting saga may be coming to an end! My friend's husband dropped the kids off and I acted with him as if nothing was wrong. Then I planned my exact words to my friend L. I planned to tell her that I needed to cut back on babysitting (since I neglected to say to all of YOU that I'm going to continue watching my cousin's baby...) and it was because we would no longer qualify for the kinds of medical benefits for Cameron that he needs. I didn't want to tell her a lie, I mean, she's STILL one of my good friends! So I planned to tell her the truth, and hope she'd understand.

She showed up to pick up her kids and I proceeded to tell her that we had just found out that we make $60 too much to qualify for Cam's Medicaid, and our solution was for me to cut back on babysitting. I then told her that I would have to stop watching her kids, and I was giving her a couple of weeks to find someone else. The look on her face was awful! She looked at me as if I had stabbed her in the back. She sat down in shock, and told me that she understood where I was coming from, but just to double check why exactly were we not watching HER kids. I sighed and told her that mainly, it was the fact that I can ONLY handle one extra child besides my own. I told her how much I would LOVE to continue watching her kids, I told her how I love them like my own, and that I feel bad about it, but it is necessary for my own sanity and that of my family's to cut back. She said she understood, and left my house without her normal chatter.

Now I'm feeling like a major loser! I never meant to hurt her, but it seems that's what I had done! I wish I knew a daycare center that was taking more kids, but I can only think of one place, and it's way out of the way for their drives. I just hope that she understands, and doesn't shun me because of this. She did mention that even without me babysitting I've earned up 2 years worth of massages and to feel free to call her anytime. I don't know whether I will or not, but I'm hoping to feel better about my situation soon.

And on another random note, I called my son's geneticist this week to find out how serious the MRI situation is. I asked him whether we need to plan on staying in Salt Lake for more than one day...what to really expect from the whole thing. He told me that there really isn't anything to worry about. The main thing is to get a good idea of what's really going on with him...to get a baseline scan. He told me that in his opinion they'll find nothing wrong with Cam, there is always the chance that they'll find something, but it's very slim! Then he told me NOT to worry! I wish he had told me this last week when he had called me, but I'm not so worried! It's going to be a long day, but I'm hoping there really isn't anything, or if there is, then it's small and treatable at this point!

Last night we had our crafty enrichment night. It was a ball! We could sign up for a few things and they even had a free craft. I ended up making 9 "be" blocks. It had the 9 be's that President Hinckley has given us on wooden blocks with vinyl words. I spent most of my night at the painting table making them and just talking. I've found I have this thing I do when I craft that could be a bad thing. I just mindlessly chat when I'm painting or crafting. I could spill my WHOLE life story, and not really pay attention to what I'm saying. I only realize what I say to people AFTER the whole night is over. Luckily I didn't say too many stoopid things, but I did say a lot more than I had planned on saying!

The fun thing of the night was a spread with a chocolate fountain. I was in HEAVEN! The nicest discovery was that I absolutely LOVE chocolate covered cinnamon bears! YUMMO! I don't really like cinnamon, but I LOVE those chocolate covered bears! My second favorite was chocolate covered strawberries! Oh, the bliss! I had a fun night...talking with women who totally get where I'm coming from and sympathize with my whining! It was a great time!

End of Babysitting

I think I'm finished babysitting for my friend L. I've been doing a lot of thinking, studying and have come to the conclusion it would be better in the long run for my family, and my own sanity, to stop babysitting these little kids.
Here's the straw that broke the camel's back:
My son has many, many health problems, and we're on Medicaid. (Yes, we're mooching off of the government...but we accept it!) Anyway, with my new babysitting responsibilities we will just miss complete comprehensive coverage on the boy by $60 a month! SIXTY DOLLARS! I thought about maybe just taking a few weeks off and not counting that income...just allowing us to qualify when we reapply, but then I feel like I'd be messing with the whole system, and I don't like that! So I was discussing the options with my husband, mom, and brother and ALL three said I should stop babysitting the kids that drive me crazy. The more I think about it, the better I feel about the situation. It would mean a drop in the amount of money we're currently making, but I think we'll be okay! My only worry now is how to tell my friend that I need to stop.
I think the other thing that has gotten me in the mood to quit was a dream I had the other night. I don't remember all of the details, but I do remember that I was talking with my friend and her husband, and he was BEGGING me to watch their kids while they did something stoopid, and I had enough of his whiny attitude. I lashed into the man and started strangling him! (I was so mean, but WHO can control their dreams??) Anyway, I think that's a good enough sign to me that I need to stop. When you dream about killing someone else's husband it CAN'T be a good thing!

Things Kids Say

Cameron's costume for Halloween was a black knight, and then as we went around for trick-or-treating last night he asked me a question: "Mama, am I a mid-'knight'?"

LOVE IT!!