Pampered Scrapmaker

Karate Success

2010-11-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn and Drake got their first promotion belts tonight. They both received their orange belts. And Jocelyn was a star in class when she demonstrated a perfect kick.

The slacker returns!

2010-11-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Life......moves fast. I stay so busy and have not taken the time for the blog. I do have brand new pictures so I will share a few here and now.

Prom time

2010-04-25T17:31:00.001-07:00

My baby is not a baby!

Is this a hint?

2010-03-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

I received this twice today. Maybe it is a hint? No matter what, I got a HUGE kick out of it so I am sharing with all my friends.

13 Things PMS Stands For:

1. Pass My Shotgun

2. Psychotic Mood Shift

3. Perpetual Munching Spree

4. Puffy Mid-Section

5. People Make me Sick

6. Provide Me Sweets

7. Pardon My Sobbing

8. Pimples May Surface

9. Pass My Sweatpants

10. Pissy Mood Syndrome

11. Plainly, Men Suck

12. Pack My Stuff

... and my favorite:

13. Potential Murder Suspect

Bet you wish you were visiting my house sometimes!!!!

Highlights of January and February

2010-02-28T08:56:00.001-08:00

Hello New Van.
Bye, bye old van.
Amanda!
Chris has finished about a third of the instruction manual for the Millennium Falcon. I'd say he has spent at least 20 hours so far on this project this year.
Doesn't she look excited? She likes to play at the park when she is done with her Soccer Games.
He's just cute, doncha think?
Rebecca playing offense. She scored a goal this day! Yeah, Rebecca!
He was so sad with big ole gator tears. Had to snap the shot of course!
You can see he is so done with mommy and her camera!
More Rebecca, she was exhausted after this game to the point of feeling sick.
Pinewood Derby! Had a great time!

BLAH!

2010-02-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

Life is just kinda plodding along right now. We are kind of breaking even with taxes which is at least tolerable. We start soccer on Saturday so life should get interesting.

I'm not special, but pitty party anyway!!!!

2010-01-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

So my van is done. Not sure what is wrong but it is not running in a manner which is safe. We were hoping to be able to replace it with a tax refund but unfortunately we are going to owe taxes this year. First time ever. Not sure what our plan is at this point because I can't add new daycare kids without buying a car but we can't buy a new car without replacing the kids I lost. Gotta love them double edged swords. I told Chris I should get an additional job besides the daycare but he says that he won't allow that because we would not see each other enough. I understand that and I am not dying to get a new job, but I am trying to be realistic. If this were all happening in April, it might be doable. Sorry to be dumping all this on everyone but I can't function without getting this off my chest and Chris is convinced we will be able to fix the van for $1000. And my gut is telling me it is going to be more. Not that it matters either way. I am feeling really kicked in the teeth right now.

We had hoped that 2010 was going to be a better year and it is off to a bad start. I am sure we will figure it out, but not sure exactly how. Chris has talked about borrowing out his 401 K and trying to pay cash for a vehicle but at the same time that means we lose $440 a month income (basically the car payment)

I know I am not special and that everyone has challenges. I guess in spite of our best efforts, we are still living beyond our means. And unfortunately I'm not sure where to trim. I find it funny that when we are being responsible and careful, and not indulging whims that we seem to do worse. Oh well off to finish taxes and see if I can at least make them break even. I found a couple of more receipts and I am going to clean out a couple of boxes and see if there are any I have missed.

I know that everyone else has so much going on but I feel better just getting it out. And if I didn't tell you what was going on, you'd feel left out! And now I am going to referee a fight between 4 year olds, life is glamorous.

Wow is it WET!

2010-01-22T08:51:00.001-08:00

In case you are wondering....yes it is raining. And the water creeps closer. Seriously! I need a boat!

Weight Loss

2010-01-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say exciting things about the subject. Right now in my family, it seems to be the number 1 topic. My mom has to do it, my sis wants to do it, my hubby is being my support while we both do it. And I must say it rather SUCKS!!!!! Watching every morsel of food you eat, going to the store to decide what food you can eat. The good news is that I have almost come down 10 pounds. The bad news is I AM HUNGRY!!!! We are strictly counting calories right now and trying to pick good food choices, like lots of veggies. I like veggies, I really do! But I miss chocolate, ALOT! And bagels and donuts! Of course now we know why I have to be on a diet for a while. I need to reestablish a baseline and remind myself of moderation. But I have to be strict now. But since Chris is torturing himself too, it is less hard. If we could just get exercise squeezed in!

Anyway, I am trying to be better about adding blurbs in 2010. And maybe a couple of pictures or something entertaining. We'll see.

I also read two books that made me feel awesome by Emily Watts. She was someone I had heard speak many years ago at timeout for women. I'll have to tell you about them sometime.

And a flashback

2010-01-02T11:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

I am feeling like it is a Muppet day. Enjoy!

And the number one 2009 moment.....................

2009-12-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Was there any doubt that a 10 day trip to California had to be the top moment for the family? We had very few glitches on the trip which basically means a perfect trip! We hit many theme parks, namely Disneyland/California Adventure (4 days) Legoland (1 day) and Knotts Berry Farm (1 day). The kids were really good! The crowds were still too much for our tastes but after 13 years of planning to go back, we did. And Chris's mom did get to come and that was a lot of fun too.

Amanda and Jocelyn were the biggest thrill seekers. They liked the roller coasters. Rebecca was loving all the rides until Tower of Terror terrorized her. Drake got brave once, for the Ghost Rider and that ride scared the pants off him and gave me a run for my money too. After that he was all for the tamer rides. Corwin flat out liked the Rocker Ships. If you said the word ride, he'd exclaim "Rocket Chips!!!!"

Anyway, Happy New Year!!!!

I think that we actually enjoyed Legoland more than Disneyland, although every day had fun moments.

The Best of 2009

2009-12-29T14:50:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn graduated from Kindergarten! That is quite a milestone in her life.
Rebecca was in a play. SHe was one of the leads and she was AWESOME!!!!
Amanda played church Volleyball and she was very good!
Soccer on Saturdays, but only until Spring was finished.

Guitar Hero Junkies live at our house. It is a rather fun and addictive past time.
Pinewood Derby. This was Drake's first yeat and he placed 4th. Not bad!

Swinging at the Park. Jocelyn taught Corwin to swing, sort of.
Birthday girl blowing out 6 candles.
Spelling Bee Champion for Harmon Elementary.
Swimming fun!
Corwin's first Hockey Game. Too bad the Coyotes lost in a very boring game.
Chicago with no kids!!!! Great for the parents.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Except for getting sick and spreading it to all the other family members, Christmas was pretty good this year. Santa brought a few sensible gifts, like new bath towels. This caused a few near tears to a certain little sweetie (Jocelyn) Corwin got up at 5:30 am and was not keen on going back to sleep. So I decided to get everyone up just after 6 because I was worried that he might go back to sleep, and then we'd have to wait until noon or something for Christmas.

So quick run down:

My entire family now has an Alabama Shirt. Very important. I can't believe it too a title to remind me that they were deprived. And I thought it was an appropriate gift for their Papa to give. My parents also bought our family tickets to a hockey game tomorrow. The kids are so excited!!!!

Corwin refused to open anything and spent most of the time putting Christmas candy into his new toy castle which wasn't wrapped. When we helped him unwrap, he would cry and try to close the gift back up!

Jocelyn had a very boy Christmas. Remote control cars and video games. But that was good to her, No princesses at this house. She did get an MP3 player too.

Drake was surprisingly mellow considering that his first 4 gifts were clothes, towels, underwear and socks. He did get some video games and a remote control car and an MP3 player.

Rebecca got the first taste of creative wrapping by Santa. Lots and lots of duct taped gifts. She got some DS games and clothes. She finally got a Larry Fitzgerald jersey.

Amanda was surprised that Christmas had any good gifts. She knew we are spending big bucks on her Senior Trip to Europe. Her most favorite surprise beside a Coyote Jersey was her class ring. She had left it out where little kids could get it and I rescued it. She didn't ask me about it so I wrapped it up as a gift. She was pleased and annoyed.

I got a new comforter for my bed and new shoes. Plus some Baby Blues Collections. ANd what Christmas would be complete without Mayhem and gore so I got Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz!!! And a Wii game called Boom Blox -- not that I will get to touch the Wii to play it! Of course the 3 hour nap today was awesome too. Darn head cold came on fast and furious and is thankfully exiting in a hurry.

Now Chris had some items on his Amazon list. The biggest being the Lego Millennium Falcon. This is a very non sensible gift and he didn't think he was getting it. However I noticed the box that it came in had the words Millennium Falcon Shipper on the bottom of the box. And I was worried that he had seen it, so of course I had to devise a plan so he would be surprised.

So this story is long, you might need a snack. I'll wait...........................

Okay so last week I noticed that the box was advertising his gift so I decided I should have a dummy box and then the real thing. Not sneaky but kind of fun. So I filled the box with random legos and heavy bags of macaroni and put a book in there for him. I was all pleased and I took the new brown box to my office and hid it. It had the word lego on it, but no mention to the type. So I am thinking I'm AWESOME!

So last Friday, I am running kids up to their mom. I am trying to get out the door and gather bags and phones and my purse, etc. And I kept having to run in and out. I had left the keys dangling out of the car door, I was sure of it but could not find them. Now I had noticed some teenage boys loitering in the street but didn't think too much of it. Searched for keys when I got home for hours. And my mind kept thining, those punk (not as in punk but as in buttheads) kids stole my keys. So Amanda being possessive of her truck decided to hide her truck away from the house in case. SO 10:30 at night we get this loud pounding on the door. It is the Sheriff's department thinking someone had stolen and abandoned the truck. Mentioned my dilemma to the Sheriff and he said that punk kids are stealing cars and wrecking them or trashing in general. SIGH!!!!! He gave us ideas like kill switches and rekeying the car. We decided to go get the club for the 2 cars that live in the driveway in the hopes of deterring them. So far so good but I get up in the night and check. And we had to rekey the house too. That was surprisingly easy. Got a kit from Hone Depot and replaced the pins. Cars though, we are down to one working key per vehicle. Not cool. ANYWAY!!!!!!! The searching for keys brought Chris into my office and I was sure that he saw the big box that said Lego on it. CRAP!!!!!!

So...........................I decided to make yet another dummy gift and hide the actual gift under a HUGE pile of blankets in the cornor of the room. He opened the 2 dummy gifts and his other gifts and I am sure he was thinking that he was supposed to have Legos. He had a look on his face that was definitely confused. So I give him a teeny tiny present with a note in it, and pull out the lego set for him to open. The kids are just laughing because they knew what was up.

Later when we talking, `he said he hadn't noticed the boxes ever and he was genuinely surprised when the big boxes didn't contain any legos. He never associated the boxes with anything specific. He was so clueless because I use the box stamped Millennium Falcon Shipper an the bottom. He didn't NOTICE!!!! I pointed it out to hime later. I could have put a spotlight on the box and it would not have occured to him that there might be writing on the box!!! So I guess I was creative for my own amusement. OH WELL!!!!!

See I told you that you needed a snack. Maybe pictures of our day later, but for now....Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Christmas Countdown

2009-12-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

I am busily trying to get ready for Christmas. I have wrapping to do but my last gifts came in yesterday. Yeah!All the way from the Bama Store, ROLL TIDE!

And yes I have been running around wearing lots of Bama Gear lately. My winter coat is my Bama sweatshirt (We don't get that cold so it works.). And it is funny how many people have commented on it. Like in Disneyland in October where an Iowa fan said that the title game would be Iowa vs Alabama. He was half right. And then just last week I went to order Pizza and the guy behind the counter is a Long Horns fan. He said I couldn't be served! And he said he'd spit in my Pizza. And we have an old daycare parent who was rooting for Bama to go because she wants to see her Longhorns beat up on the tide. Apparently, it isn't fun to root for your team unless there is someone to gloat over afterwards. Whatever!!!!!!

Anyway, in case I don't get around to another post this year:

Merry Christmas!!!! May there be Peace in your home and love in your hearts. And may you be blesses in the New Year.

No news is good news

2009-12-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to stop and post when there is really nothing going on. Thus I usually facebook that random boring thoughts. For some reason on the blog, I feel like I need to be posting with pictures and elegant thoughts. Seriously, that is so not me. I should get over that.

Random thoughts I am having right now:

Eek! Christmas is close!
Eek! Tax time is coming!
Why didn't I sleep in?
If I get the books done today, will they get here in time to send for Christmas?
If I win the lottery, will I quit my job?
Marshmellow mateys are yummy.

That's it! Maybe I won't be gone so long this time.

Men and Women

2009-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Men Are Just Happier People:
NICKNAMES

If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.

None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS

A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, go to the gym, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods,

secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house..

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

SO, send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it ... and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

Summary of Life

2009-09-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional..
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . Not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . Having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . .having money
At age 50 success is . . . Having money..
At age 70 success is . . . Having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . .. . Having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . Not piddling in your pants.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

Have a wonderful day with many ! *smiles*

Take the time to live!!!
Life is too short.
Dance naked. Woo-hoo!

Frazzled Inspiration!!!

2009-09-21T12:44:00.001-07:00

If you need more inspiration or details on Close to My Heart, here.

I am just days away from posting an order. And I am so excited to share the Stamping Month Deal. So if you need some stamps or ideas, frazzledinspiration.blogspot.com

And my blogs are in desperate need of some revamping. Many friends and family and various talented people have accidentally been excluded and I am working to fix that. If you want to be included or excluded, let me know. I don't get tons of traffic, but I love being able to link up with my friends and family easily.

SHREDDING

2009-09-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

I have killed my poor shredder. I have been desperately trying to create order in my house. And I had boxes of financial stuff from the past 8 years stashed in various spots through my house. I have been trying to consolidate and purge. I have 6 black garbage bags of shredded documents (I put poopy diapers in the bags too to discourage children from playing with the confetti). I have at least 3 more document boxes full, but my shredder has decided no more! Maybe after a rest.

Why, oh why????

2009-09-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what the laptop did to deserve such abuse. But Corwin find offense in keys being attached to the keyboard. Daily we have reattached buttons. Alas they have started to disappear. So if you notice extra typos, have mercy because my laptop is no longer convenient. SIGH!!!!!

Amanda is a licensed Driver

2009-09-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

So Amanda has gotten her license and we repaired a truck for her to drive. She in turn is on our insurance policy so our rates doubled plus $20. Yeah teenagers! And Corwin still tells me he needs a binky for his mouth but he is surviving and so are the rest of us.

bINKY bLUES

2009-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

So we are on day 2 minus the Binky. I know where 3 are right this minute, but have not wimped out yet. Even though it took Corwin 5 full hours to go to sleep last night. And he is tantruming in a very impressive way. And if I sit still for more than 3 minutes, I will go to sleep. Still if I break him off it, I can quick searching for them all the time. At least he is doing better than Amanda did.

Better Blogging, I hope

2009-08-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking I need to get back to blogging. So hard when my office is under lock and key 12 hours a day to keep the daycare kids out. So my dear hubby has refurbished an old work laptop for me. So that means I can be out with the kids, making sure they aren't killing each other and also talk to the cyber world.

Quick run down.

Amanda has passed her driving test with her driver's ed instructor. She will be getting her license any day now. Just have to find time to go to the DMV! Scary!!!

Rebecca loves middle school. She is so old!!! Changing classes, prioritizing homework, etc. She has a new love of jogging. Thinks it is fun. She is contemplating cross country and saying goodbye to soccer.

Drake had a nasty virus the second week of school which caused him to miss 3 days. He was covered in a rash from head to toe and he had his mouth so swollen he couldn't eat for 3 days. He is a carrier of HSV-1 which decided to make it's presence known with a vengeance. The rash was an allergic reaction to the virus activating in his body. That was a fun weekend, let me tell you. To get a diagnosis, there were 2 trips to the doctor and a blood draw. To have had a camera!!!

Jocelyn is exceptional in 1st grade. Doing all kinds of work, starting to read. She just loves to learn, loves homework. Really into basketball right now. How Chris and I could have an athletically inclined child is beyond us, but it may have happened by accident.

Corwin loves that we are home more. Has a very loud temper when he is ticked. Glass shattering screams are fun!

Anyway, fingers croseed for better blogging!

Toothless Joce

2009-07-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Pics speak for themselves! I "heart" my hillbilly. :)

Happy Birthday Amanda -- late!!!!

2009-07-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

So I am posting a day late. Blogger was not letting me load images. And then I was so busy trying to get 16 scrapbook pages of Amanda into her album I forgot to come back and post for her HUGE day here. I can't believe that she is 16 already. I can't believe how old that makes me! Now to get her bday pages posted!

Mini Vacation

2009-07-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in Havasu enjoying unlimited access to a pool and playmates for all the kids. We are having a nice, relaxing 4th of July weekend with our dear friends. Sleeping on an air mattress with kiddos not so much fun but better than the full bed, only because we know that the kids will join us.

We used to come to Lake Havasu City every year but it has been about 4 years since we have been here. And although the drive can be hard on us, we always feel at home when we get there.

Hope everyone has a fabulous fourth. And God bless to our military members whether abroad, at home, or retired. We are so blessed because you have chosen to serve for us.

Happy Birthday, Corwin!

2009-06-21T13:40:00.001-07:00

So today is Father's Day and today is the first day of summer. And today, Corwin is a big ole 2 years old! Hard to believe it, the time went by fast. I'm sure that it is redundant to say so. But I can't help but feel that the time flew by. Happy Birthday, little Bubba!

New Blog Addy

2009-06-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

So I have set it up, now to maintain!

frazzledinspiration.blogspot.com

In theory, all my challenges, classes, and creative creations will end up there, while family matters will stay here. Let's see how it goes.

Any one still out there?

2009-06-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I am going to try and get this going again. Thanks to a crop with Shanna, I have rediscovered my love of scrapbooking. I am cropping tomorrow night and will then try to show off my little stash of recent projects.

In the meantime, if any of my scrapper buddies want to order Close to My Heart, I am placing an order on June 25th. If it has been a while since you have ordered, When you order $100 or more, you get the stamp of the month free and you get an additional gift from me for free. I have some catalogs left too, so if you want them, even if it is just for the inspiration. I have some older ones to. E-mail me and I can hook you up with your needs.

I am thinking of adding a new blog. One will be concentrating on family and the other will be my scrappy endeavors. I decided to segregate because I want to print my blogs into book form and I thought it would be kind a cool to have a creative book and a history book. So if all goes well, I will be changing everything around but I will let y'all know.

So anyway, I hope you will forgive me for being a boring bad blogger and hope to be delightful in the future.

Bad Blogger

2009-05-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Life comes at you fast! And the last few weeks have given me no time to pause. So to catch anyone up who still swings by for a visit.

Work:
Crazy busy, between kids needs, cleaning, and trying to keep up with the grocery shopping. And potty training! Although there are good days/weeks and bad.

Home:
Messy, messy, messy! Chris has tried to keep up with laundry and meals. I have tried to keep the mess to an inch deep or less, and steam out the goo when I get a chance. I have hired out the yard work twice in the past 8 weeks and we still seem to have weeds everywhere. I am going to be home this next weekend for the whole weekend, for the first time in 5 months!!! Maybe we will get to the half inch deep or less mark.

Hobby:
Scrapping, sewing, reading, photography, message boards, blog, HA!!!! No time at all. I check status of people on facebook or via e-mail.

Children:
The reason I have no time to sleep or breathe!

Amanda has had 2 ceremonies. One for being a Gilbert Scholar with a 3.8 or better GPA, every semester. Then she was also inducted into the National Honor Society. She has continued with Academic Decathalon this semester as well as done Volunteer work at the Phoenix Zoo. Not to mention parties, church activities and learning to drive.

Rebecca has been working on a drama production most of the year and had 2 preformances in the past week. We thought she did brilliantly! She also has friends to see and piano. And for whatever reason, she has has 3 major projects to do. Plus I wanted to be a part of her education and have been teachiing art every so often. This ends this week with the Science Fair/Art Show.

Drake is trying to be a good Scout while also continuing with Piano lessons. He has also had homework and parties. Not as busy as the girls, but still busy.

Jocelyn is busy too. She just finished with a busy round of Sunshine Generation. She has also been a party girl with many invitations. She has had lots of homework (some she has invented for herself!) She is busy anyway!

Corwin hasn't had activities, thank goodness, not that I could squueze them in if I did.

Medical/Dental:

Chris is recovering from Shingles. This has been a horrible illness. It is hard to see him in so much pain. We hope that he is finally on the mend. Pain is almost gone and only a lingering of rash.

Melissa had some dental work done. She was trying to help a friend at church and so she was a mock board patient for a dental student. My dental work was amazing. But the time spent in the chair, not so fun. Especially for Chris who had to run daycare for me -- 4 hours to be exact. And we all know how much he loves children. Especiall unruly ones who love to cry.

Amanda has been blissfully healthy.

Rebecca had no cavities when she went to the dentist, and only mild illnesses that have not needed medical attention.

Drake has popped his spacer out and I need to get him back into the dentist. He is cavity free for now. Give him a couple of months though. He too has only had mild illness with no trips to the doctor.

Jocelyn has a dental mess to fix, but medical problems have not been around. Of course we need to get 2 checkups this summer, but she has not been ill, which is so nice.

Corwin has a dental mess coming. We are going to try and premptive strike what we can, but he is following the path of Drake and Joce. He is banned from sippy cups unless they have water or crystal light. Milk and Juice are strictly at mealtime and with a straw. So fun with a toddler. He is getting over a wicked ear infection which sent me to Urgent Care AT 4:30am about a week ago. They suspected he might have strep too, so we have been dosing him with lots of antibiotics. And his sleeping has been horrible.

The only truly fun thing on our agenda of late was a trip to PIR to see the NASCAR races. I think I will need to dig some pics out for that soon. It was an interesting experience and I had fun, although Chris has not gotten in touch with his redneck side yet. I apparently am heading to the trailer park.

Anyway, I hope to do better in the blogging department. This sucker is getting printed soon too.

Something to look forward to

2009-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a personal history class for Enrichment. I have been brainstorming and writing alot recently. I have been trying to get my personal history in order because I have been meaning to get it done for the past few years. I have been trying to write more and will at some point print out my blog so my kids will have a copy of this part of my life.

Anyway, I did get a few scrapbook/personal history things done, so I hope to post some pics sometime soon. Right now Corwin is hacking his lungs up and wiping his runny noise on my scrap table. Off to rescue things and make him take a nap.

Can you believe it, 11 years.

2009-03-22T12:30:00.001-07:00

We got Married on March 21st, 1998. And here we are 11 years later. And we can still smile. Here's to the next 11 plus!

Thinking of mugging a leprechaun!!!!

2009-03-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn has told me that on St Patty's day, you go out and beat up Leprechauns and take their gold. So apparently my dear little one is a mugger at heart. Of course given this economy, there will be mobs out looking for them. I once again feel handcuffed by our lack of income. We took our car in for an oil change and it is going to cost us $1400. Since we have no car payt on the vehicle and the last repairs of any magnitude was last summer, we are sucking it up. We have decided not to investigate the reason why the other car has had the check engine light has been on for 4 straight months. We don't have the available credit or the money to investigate that little delight. And of course my brilliant high schooler has been nominated and now has been invited to attend medical leadership camp (which costs like $3000) that would pretty much guarantee her acceptance to medical school when it is time and we are not going to be send her. We just can't scrape the cash.

I try really hard not to make life all about money. But at this point, everything that pops up, is about money. Chris did get a raise but I think it was spent before it hits the account next week. So I think I may have to start mugging leprechauns with Joce!

Can you survive on Popcorn and diet coke?

2009-03-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

So in a vane atttempt to kick start my weight down again, I have been trying to really watch what I eat. Especially around daycare where there is always nasty evil snacks about. My sis has had great luck with WW but i am just cursed with lack of willpower. This week I tried to do as close to flex as I can muster without causing myself stress. So I have been living on Progresso soup and 94% fat free popcorn and diet coke and water. ( For those who know about WW this translates to 2 points.) Breakfast is a toughy because I am not prepped enough to manage a good breakfast and have resorted to toast or the french toast sticks or whatever the daycare breakfast of the day. That can be as many as 7 nasty points. My hubby has been grilling our food and making the veggies for us (no carrots though!). This has been about 7 points. I am allowed like 26 points a day and I have been fluxuating between 18 and 21. This translates into weight loss right? Nope! I am ready to chocolate binge!

Could I get lucky????

2009-03-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

So I have been potty training 4 kids or so right now. Hard to keep track, I am always in the bathroom wiping and changing someone. Well my little guy who is 20 months old has decided he needs to sit on the potty if I am changing him. Which is fine by me -- especially when he has peed in the potty-- not once, not twice, but 3 times in the past 2 days! I figure as long as he is interested and enthusiastic, I am going to see what he will do. Maybe he will beat Jocelyn to the potty training finish line!!! Or if nothing else, maybe his success will encourage Jocelyn to do better. Yeah she had some medical but she's a whole lot stubborn too. I am really done with diapers. maybe someday!!!!

Need a laugh?

2009-02-28T06:33:00.000-08:00

Housework was a woman's job, but one evening, Jenny arrived home from work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the table set. She was astonished!

It turns out that Ralph had read an article that said, 'Wives who work full-time and had to do their own housework were too tired to have sex'.

The night went very well. The next day, she told her office friends all about it. 'We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.'

'But what about afterward?' asked her friends.

'Oh, that........Ralph was too tired.'

Cleaning Poem

2009-02-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

My aunt sent me this and I had to share, with a minor adjustment.

Cleaning Poem

I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been 'computering',
And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny
And tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work.
I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops I found
A real absorbing site.
That I got SO way into it.
I was into it all night.

Nothing's changed except my mouse
It's very, very shiny.
I guess my house will stay a mess...
While I sit here on my hiney.

Thank you for being my blogging buddy and friend!

Potty HELL!!!!!

2009-02-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am trying to potty train 4 kids at once. And 3 more are in the wings to start. I have been elbow deep in poo for days. Kids peeing in their clothes in the bathroom and all other unmetionable disasters. I HATE POTTY TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!! If I were really good at it, it might be different. I get sidetracked with stuff too easily. Let's hope Corwin is trained in a reasonable amount of time. I'm still waiting for Joce!

Race season begins and driving..........

2009-02-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

So it is a little teeny pic but it represents the start of Race season. My scrapping Mojo should come roaring in too! So Daytona, Sunday afternoon, yeah!!!!

And I will warn all you AZ drivers, my dd ot her permit yet which means we are supposed to teach her to navigate through traffic. Should be interesting!

I have no time!!!

2009-02-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking of all the cool things I need to share. Pictures, scrapbooking, children's cute stories, scholastic achievements, etc. But when I have the opportunity, I am minus pictures or brain cells. So I took my camera to the school today and snapped a couple of random shots of my cute little buggers. It is a little cold for us outside if you can't tell.

Happy Bday Drake

2009-01-18T17:40:00.003-08:00

The years pass so quickly and today Drake is 9 years old! Happy Birthday Drake!

HOLY FREAKING HECK!!!!!!!

2009-01-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Can you believe the CARDINALS are going to the Super Bowl?????

I'm watching the weather to see if it is time for a parka.

Girlie Wisdom

2009-01-16T07:59:00.001-08:00

My sis in law sent me this and I thought I'd share.

Girlie Wisdom!
1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... She has 14 kids but doesn't really care.
2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.
6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.
7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.
8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.
9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my knicker's.
10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!
11. Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' ....Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!
12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him.
13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!

Spelling Bee Champion for Harmon Elementary

2009-01-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Rebecca was declared the Spelling Bee Champion!

She spelled chocolate, safari, diatribe, and feldspar. So next week will be district. We will see how that goes!

Come play with us!

2009-01-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

You have no idea how excited I am about my message board being back. We have tried to find other homes and tried a yahoo group, but it just was not working for us. So a group of my best scrapping buddies have pooled resources together and created:

Scrappincoast2coast

This is going to be the best place for inspiration and hanging with some amazing scrappers. And they are very generous with sharing information and they make you feel good about your own scrapping. Kind of like cheerleaders but no mini outfits and pom poms. Many of us have been migrating board to board and honestly, this board feels like home and it has been up maybe 3 days? So come hang with us -- whether you are a digi scrapper, traditional, newbie, or just need some awesome new friends. See you at the coast!

CHristmas ACK!!!!!!

2008-12-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

How many of you are having Christmas panic attacks. Raise your hand nice and high if you are me. I have been trying to coordinate Christmas with my ex for my dd for a MONTH. And now found out that they plan to get her the 23rd. So that means we will be having to e-mail Santa with the date of our Christmas so we can get early delivery. Yes, Christmas is too close already and I get to have it early!!! As in 12 days! Panic attack begins..............................NOW!!!!!

These pics are awesome!

2008-12-06T06:05:00.001-08:00

Tee Hee!

2008-12-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/VideoPage.aspx

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer

2008-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

So you like my title? For those who don't know the whole thing -- it is in honor of Alabama football. A proud traditon in our home/homes is the Iron Bowl. As in Rivalry weekend -- Alabama versus Auburn.

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer. Give 'em Hell - Alabama!
And we did! 36-0!

Order has been restored!

Another picture link -- sneak peak!

2008-11-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

http://kayleapphotography.blogspot.com/

My other pics were okay but these make me much happier. I will post them here once I have the disc in hand. But if you want to sneak peak, you can.

Jocelyn on TV

2008-11-11T10:29:00.001-08:00

She's a Star!!! And she will be on TV again.... Christmas Day! Such a cool experience. Channel 3 ROCKS! To see the performance: http://www.azfamily.com/video/index.html?nvid=302298&shu=1

My birthday

2008-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

So for my birthday, I had an exciting night of coupon clipping and TV planned. My hubby however scored through work, some luxury box seats for the Suns. And the luxury box is definitely the way to watch a game. So much fun. I also got a dozen roses. I am so spoiled.

My baby is going to be on TV!

2008-11-06T16:46:00.001-08:00

Jocelyn is performing with Sunshine Generation on Tuesday, November 11, for the GMAZ show on Channel 3 in Phoenix. For those who want to see cute, little and big patriotic kiddos on the TV....

I'm excited, I get to play at the TV studio with my camera!

Photobooks

2008-11-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

I am sure you all know that I am addicted to these right now. I've made about a dozen already and have plans for some more. If anyone else is looking for an easy gift, here is the link.

http://www.artscow.com/?Ref=360490

Happy November!

Election Day

2008-11-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone else has reminded you and you are sick of all the ads. But as Americans we at least have the opportunity to cast a vote. And even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it counts, it does. If we vote for the third party or fourth party, we are telling everyone that we want change. As much as we don't always love politicians, they are people who in most cases want to make good for us. Granted some are still nutcases that should be banned to a desert island, but we don't have to vote for them!

Anyway, vote! It is your priveledge and we don't want to take that forgranted.

A treat for Halloween

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

So I was blog stalking and ran across something on Amie's blog that I had to share. Hope that is okay with Amie. Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

No pics yet, obviously! It is only 10 am here. But I thought I'd offer a quick Happy Halloween. We will have all 5 kids going out with us this year. Yes even Amanda! (with her best friend, Jasmine, in tow!) It should be fun. We are going to wrap up the daycare with pizza and then we will get dressed and head out. We have 3 daycare families joining us as well. Should be a fab time. I am wearing my Alabama Scrubs -- comfy and costume like. Amanda is going to be a wicked fairt. Rebecca is going to be a CSI investigator. Drake is Captain Rex (A stormtrooper type of character from the Star Wars Clone Wars movie). Jocelyn is being Scooby Doo with Corwin being her best pal, Shaggy. The Scooby costume is a favorite of mine. I paid $35 for it 10 years ago when Amanda wore it. She wore it 2 years. Then Rebecca wore it one year. Drake was supposed to wear it but wore something else instead at the last minute. I have pics of him wearing it though. So Corwin will be forced to wear it at least once before it is retired. And I will have it available for my next generation of trick or treaters. Pics soon, I hope!

Some of you may have read about her

2008-10-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

I haven't followed this as much as others but I was reading an article in the paper yesterday about Stephanie Nielson -- she is a blogger and she and her hubby had a horrible plane crash about 10 weeks ago. And they are telling her story -- focusing on sisterhood. And let me tell you, I hope my kids love each other this much when they are adults.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2008/10/26/20081026sisters1026a1.html

If you are interested in reading. There is a link to the Sunday story plus there is the Monday story. Very inspiring.

I am huge on family for those who don't know. And I feel inadequate as a sister when reading this. So lesson learned, gotta try to do better.

Some pictures!

2008-10-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

Pictures of my babies.Jocelyn was not in the mood to cooperate but this is a pretty cool pic of her.
Corwin is always cute.

Loved this one of Rebecca.

Amanda insisted upon the hat.

Drake being goofy for me.

A link to some photos

2008-10-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my kids had their primary program at church. 3 kids were participating and it was so beautiful, I cried. Jocelyn had a small speaking part and spoke clearly into the microphone. No mistakes -just perfect. Drake and Rebecca sang with the croup and you could tell they knew all the words. I think it is such a blessing to have children learn to speak in public from a young age and allow them to share their knowledge and joy. And to have a consistant church service no matter where you are in the world is such a comfort and joy.

Anyway, I promised a link to pictures. See if you recognize any of these lovelies.

http://kayleapphotography.blogspot.com

I hope to have my disk in a few days and then the picture party will begin!

Don't you wish you were me????

2008-10-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I am an idiot! (Unlucky is maybe it) Y'all have always been polite enough not to point it out. So why am I announcing this juicy tidbit. Well......Yesterday I was out running errands and taking care of all these things before I have to be at work today. All went reasonably well until I went grocery shopping. I went to Safeway -- that was okay...Spent $32 saved $24. And then went to Fry's. Still was doing okay -- bought $335 of groceries for $179. Feeling pretty good about life still. Went out to my car, unlocked the trunk. Pull keys out and the trunk lid arm doesn't quite lock so it recoils down and smacks me on the head. I drop the keys (into the trunk of course!) and the trunk slams shut. Fortunately, I have my cell phone in my pocket and not in my purse which is also in the trunk. My husband comes to rescue me, trying not to laugh. But I had to sit with my groceries for like 20 minutes waiting for him to get there. At least I didn't end up with a concussion or locking myself in the trunk!

I swear this stuff only happens to me.

Saving the big Bucks!

2008-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to save some money so I can indulge in scrappy supplies again someday. Last night was a good one. I spent $40 and saved $40. I had 8 pounds of ground beef, 2 gallons of milk, 6 boxes of Crispy Rice Cereal, Bananas, and some random garbage for the kids (Girls craving chocolate!) Not to bad for not trying to hard. Today I am making my list and taking a big ole fistful of coupons and hope to stock up on some needed food.

Howdy world!!!

2008-10-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Betcha thought I dropped off the planet. Not so. I have been busy dealing with sleep deprivation. Corwin is not liking our current schedule of getting out the door about 4:45 am. Like any of us do. He chose last night to be up screaming for 2 hours, followed by throwing up all over me. He has a nasty lump surrounding a molar that has barely cracked through and oragel and puking put him right to sleep. And I nodded off just in time to get up again!

So what else is going on....... I am starting up my CTMH club again if anyone needs to throw their money away on cool supplies. This club is a $30 for 6 with a project kit each month. I actually did 6 layouts with only CTMH product. I forgot how cool it is to distress cardstock with just a couple of rubs of sandpaper. Those pics will be posted once I Photo them.

Another fun thing is that we are having our pics done by the photographer on Wednesday. So excited to do it. My hubby, not so much.

Oh and I will post some pics of photo books because the (3) I just got are so awesome. Nothing scrapped -- just straight photos and a touch of journaling. I will have to check into Heritage Makers or something once I run out of free credits at Artscow. Some scrapped books would be good too.

Finally (and I will have to post the pics later for this too) jecelyn is now 5 years old. We had cupcakes at school, and cake for daycare, and a day at Schnepf Farm with Grandma Karen and her niece Emily plus 6 of our 7. (Amanda claimed homework and a church activity to get out of going) Beautiful weather, a Sunshine Generation performance which as usual made me cry! and family fun. Boy i wish there were more weekend days than work days.

Life is so crazy!!!!

2008-09-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have zippo time these days. Daycare has gone into overdrive since my sister "quit". She is teaching math online from her home and I am still running daycare from her house and in charge of the purchasing and her son as well. So far it is exhausting. And today is my first time with internet access so I am taking advantage of it. I have some scrappy stuff done, but no pics yet. Just stopping in!

Finally some scrapping to share.

2008-09-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

I am taking an online scrapping class. The class is called Product Playground 2 and the whole purpose of it is to get you using those things in your scrap room. If you did not have an item on the supply list, you were encouraged to improvise. Me being the junkie I am, had everything already. A lot comes in my monthly kit (yes! I am down to just 1 and am debating whether it is time to let it go too). Anyway the cool thing is that I was so inspired, I have 7 new layouts to share. There are 6 sections to this class

This first set was called the softer side. I was encouraged to use things like the ric rack, hand stitching, buttons, and rub ons. I even pulled out my sewing machine for these.

This second set was called on the edge which used lots of edge card stock, punches and deco scissors.

Life without a computer

2008-08-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am sneaking a quick post on my sister's computer because mine is inpieces all over my hubby's office. He has it narrowed down to 2 possible pasrts that will need to be fixed. But he has to order both to know which is the culprit. The good news is that once the repair is made, my computer should be faster. The bad news is that I won't have a computer for 2-3 more weeks! Anyway, a quick hi until the next time I have a moment to post.

Life smiled today

2008-08-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Okay so I was having a pity party last week and felt like I wasn't being heard, when in actuality I was. (Also female hormones are brutal sometimes!) My sis and her hubby were talking after I mentioned my concerns and did decide I had some points and she did some adjusting. Then of course we lost 4 daycare kids due to various things (layoffs, moves,etc). And now we are both taking a huge hit to our bottom line. I swear if I could discover another marketable skill to help out I would! Turns out that I am not qualified to do things that would allow a steady source of income. And I know -- it is tough on everyone these days. I sometimes wish I were more special that I am.

Anyway, I had to buy gasoline this morning and my kids needed lunch tickets. So I have a $10 bill and need to give them each $2. So to make change I had to make a purchase -- so I figured, what the heck -- I'll buy a lottery ticket and solve the financial problems for everyone I know. So I ask the lady behind the bullet proof glass and she CARDS me!!!! I have never been someone who buys items that I need to be carded for and never in my life have I ever been carded for a lottery ticket. Apparently I look under 25 or 30 but really she said she thought I looked like the age of her teenage daughter. Okay I have been told I look young but wow!!! I am closer to 40 than that. Now it would have perfect if she said I was skinny too!

Happy Birthday Chris

2008-08-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am sure he is so terribly excited to have his birthday mentioned. I reminded him that he was a year older and he says he is already ancient, so what is one more year??? I'm older than him so I have no idea why he is griping! Anyway, today we have such exciting plans too. Money is tight these days so we are celebrating with a trip to the grocery store and a trip to the gym. I don't even have a present for him. That's nice of me, don't you think. We went to Vegas in June and a second vacation in June so that will have to be enough.

I still have some scrapping and stuff to show off, maybe by tomorrow. Depends on the amount of work I get done today.

Jocelyn started School!

2008-08-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the sweet comments and thoughts you sent about my pity party. Just had a rock bottom moment and hope that all is going up!

And if I hadn't shot pics in raw footage, I could show off the pics of kids starting school. Jocelyn waved by and not a tear when I dropped her off. Guess she is big afterall. Anyway, hopefully I will be posting 10 pages of scrapping soon. I am trying to recharge my battery and dive into the new school year with a smile.

Welcome to my Pity Party

2008-08-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

So this week has been hard and I keep thinking I need to do stuff to get out of my funk. Finally I decided to blog it in the hopes that I would be able to let this all go.

So to start my week, well last Saturday, was Drake's baptism. Which was supposed to be a wonderful, happy day, which as far as he was concerned -- it was. I'm so glad for that. Chris did come but his attitude and coldness toward me as well as the others in attendance (excepting his kids) was needless to say unpleasant. I was embarrassed in front of my bishop, friends, and family. I thanked him for being there and for being a good father when I really wanted to smack him and ask why he couldn't at least have been polite. We all knew why he was there and it wasn't anything to do with religion. Anyway, I was trying to be polite and not have my feelings hurt because I didn't want to be petty back. He made some snotty comments that usually I can banter back and it doesn't bother me but today they cut me instead. Still, I refused to cry. So then we headed off to Ochoa's with my family and his family and maybe you don't know that this was a snub but he sat by his mom and not me. For any of you who know Chris, that is not his norm behavior. On the one hand, he is having a great relationship with his mom and we all want that. So maybe that is enough said. We visited with his Papa and Donna, then headed home for more not so witty banter. And then he high tailed it up the stairs to ignore us all for the rest of the night.

Sunday, he barely associated with us. Usually he gives me 2 or 3 hours to recharge for the week by being in charge of Corwin. So I went to church and wrestled kids.

Monday hits and I am feeling pretty bad and it gets work only now it is my sister. We were discussing our back to school schedule and I commented on how many hours I am there and what I do and maybe we should adjust the money split. We set it up 2 years ago when I was there about 80% of daycare hours where as now I am there about 92% to 95% of the time. I believe her exact words were, "No I don't think so. I spend extra money each week for supplies and besides there is wear and tear on my house." Both are true statements. However, while I am there she does her laundry and prepares for Scout meeting and disappears for a half hour or more at a time to do stuff in her house. She says that is an expected perk because it is her house. Fine but don't I deserve some kind off equal compensation since she says we are partners and I am not her employee. Oh and the tax write offs? I don't get those either. No arguing with her because she is always right. I didn't run the dish washer because I thought she could squeeze in 5dinner plates (she has a family of 5) and 10 cups (there were only 5 daycare cups left on the counter) after dinner and only have to run the dishwasher once that day. I was told that that was it was ridiculous to assume that she could squeeze all her dinner dishes in and that I needed to run it that second unless I planned to make her wash all the cups by hand. So I can't win on that front either.

So I applied for a second job at Fry's to help make our ends meet a bit better and help us replace the truck and to pay off a big surgery bill, but was informed that my availability was such that they had nothing for me. So that was a big kick in the stomach. They are raising the price of school lunches this year, JOY!!!! I can't afford groceries as it is but Cassie's family goes to the movie once a week and she bought new clothes 3 times last week. Okay maybe this last part is a bit petty. I am just frustrated that if I am not really careful, we won't have a house to live in next year. But that's okay because Cassie thinks that we are too busy at daycare and she is making way more than she needs, so we should cut back and maybe she won't even do daycare next year.

So my frustration -- no control over my own life right now. But that's okay because good old Melissa always takes it.

Home again!

2008-07-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy week with Jocelyn's surgery. I have been so blessed to have so many people helping and trying to make this surgery go well.

My mother in law took the kids for the weekend to make sure Jocelyn got a good dose of swimming before she was restricted from the activity for a couple of weeks. Then on Monday, she and my husband's favorite aunt, Becky, did some deep cleaning at my house to ensure I came home to a clean house. Grandma Karen also made sure she spoiled her with activities and goodies and 2 visits at the hospital.

My aunt and uncle, Lucy and Bob, came down to assist with daycare so I could concentrate on Jocelyn. And my parents came down to be caretakers for the rest of my kids (including scouts and various requirements for the kids achievement awards)and also assist with daycare duties. I am so blessed.

Jocelyn is doing amazing. 4 hours ago she refused to even walk, and now I am telling her to CALM DOWN -- she won't stop moving! Her procedure was straight forward and done with expert precision and speed. They were going to let us go home yesterday but Jocelyn was just emotional not ready. We had to convince her today that she was ready. Once she realized we could watch DVD's in the car, we were good to go. So the plan for Jocelyn now is, a follow up visit in 3 weeks, then again at 2 months and a last one at 6 months post op. If they are all a-ok, there will be no need to see the Urologist again -- at least for this condition.

Again thanks for all the thoughts and prayers and wonderful things that were done to make this go so smoothly. We are so blessed.

Happy July

2008-07-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

So a year ago, July was a bit bumpy. New baby in our house was a good thing, but very tired momma made. A year ago today I was just thinking how it was the worst day ever because I had lost my cell phone and my keys at the mall. In the coming days, it would have been banished the minor events.

So one year later, my health is okay. That is a blessing. We are facing Jocelyn's issue's this month and hopefully we will be able to look back a year from now with a blessed feeling.

So I have taken a break from the house and jumped into my scrap room. I am sharing only a portion of the items I have done because it would take to much effort to post everything. I did 16 Quikpages (just add pics to a predone page) this weekend. Plus the following. Some of the pics stink, sorry!

Off we go!

2008-06-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is our annual vacation. This year we have opted for the Theme Park Death March. 4 days of Six Flags Fiesta Texas as well as Sea World, San Antonio will be lovely this time of year (NOT!!!!), but we will have lots of family so it will be fun. (Maybe.....)

WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

2008-06-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

Jocelyn is going to Kindergarten!!!!!!!! She took the test on Tuesday and they called us today. So excited for her because she is so excited. She only qualifies for half day, but who cares! She is going to Kindergarten!

Catching up!!!

2008-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been so busy. School got out. Amanda had a fab year -- straight A's including her honors classes. Rebecca had a play which she did absolutely awesome in and she also placed first for Science fair for 4th grade and she had the most AR (accelerated reader) points in the 4th grade (3rd in the entire school). Drake had a great school year as well, honor roll all 4 terms. Jocelyn is growing up so fast. She will take the Kindergarten next week and hopefully she will get to start school in the fall. Corwin is walking along the furniture as well as standing up most of the time. I can't believe that he is turning 1 in just 2 short weeks.

Chris and I went to Vegas to celebrate our 10 year anniversary which was in March. My mom watched the kids for us. It was a nice trip, however, next time I should take scrapbooking with me. I laid around watching my IPOD more than anything. We saw Penn and Teller -- front row center. We saw Indiana Jones as well. And ate out. We had a hot tub in our room, which was nice to soak in after walking around. Apparently I am too old to be walking around Vegas without being crippled by the pain.

Funny though, we got dressed up to go see Penn and Teller. When coming back to the Luxor that night, there was a guy who offered us tickets to get into LAX which is their night club. We had to laugh because we couldn't even picture ourselves in there. Plus we were so tired because it was like 11:30 at night. The next day, the much cooler people rolled into town so no one tried approaching us for any trendy, hip locations.

We discovered that we were prime demographics for time shares. And Vegas is so weird now that they don't have coin slots in the machines. Everything is with a card or a bill and paid by ticket. The casinos sound quieter even. Anyway, it is good to be home.

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Just some stuff. Make sure you check out the Autism album too.

For my sis

2008-05-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is for my sister (well technically sister - in - law) and my brother and his little family (who I never get to see except through blogging). I wanted this project to be bold and different. I used black and white to really make the puzzle pieces the focus. Plus I think it is a contradiction -- Autism is not black and white. I also scuffed it up a bit to represent the fact that we need to keep working to find answers to unlock the potential in each child with Autism. They are already amazing but what more can they do? The words hope, learn. joy and believe were picked because we hope for answers and maybe some cure, we are constantly learning as are the sweet children, we find joy in simple things as well as the many new accomplishments, and we believe in doing the very best to give those Autism the best quality of life and the opportunity to succeed. And don't worry Heather, I will make some pages for the inside. Just need some perfect pics.

Some pages I have done

2008-05-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Just some thing I did for the Secret Scrapper message board!

Time to scrap!!!!!

2008-05-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

May is going to be Scrap month for me so I hope to be posting lots of my layouts, cards, etc. I am feeling a bit stressed so am looking forward to this creative push to get me to the summer vacations. If you'd like to join me for some scrappy fun: Secret Scrapper is turning 1 and so we are celebrating NSD and the month of May -- click here

Jocelyn is having surgery

2008-04-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well we were hoping this would not be the case, but after a 2 hour visit to the urologist, it has been decided that we can either run 2 years of tests and then end up having to do surgery anyway, or we can go ahead and have surgery now and be done with urologist visits next year. She has a level 3 bladder reflux and it is inconclusive as to how much kidney damage she has. We are going to wait until to July so that she might enjoy her vacation. We are going to schedule it so that she can be recovered enough to hopefully start kindergarten in the fall.

They are assuming that she was actually born with a more severe reflux that has inproved, however because it has not resolved itself by age 4, it won't likely. If she was born with the level 3 and it is still a level 3 reflux, then it isn't repairing itself anyway.

So now we are making headway on the encopresis and we have surgery to look forward too. So I am a bit fried today and probably will be for a few more weeks. Off to my day job (daycare for only 12 today)

Hopefully we are done spewing!

2008-04-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time Saturday at Scrapbook convention. Daddy didn't. Corwin decided to be incredibly ill all day. But daddy was a champ and let mommy enjoy the whole day. He was rewarded with being twice as sick as Corwin. Drake got sick as well, just a speed demon case. Rebecca got sick, but only half the symptoms. Jocelyn almost threw up but managed to control it and then never did get sick. (LUCKY!!!!) Amanda had an upset tummy but never ended up with all the really gross symptoms. (Another lucky!) So this was Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday, and now that it is Tuesday, it is my turn. JOY!!!!! And to top it off, I had to go run daycare with my sis. no rest for the self employed. Hopefully we are almost done with all the spewing.

New catalog

2008-04-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was peeking at the new Close to my Heart Catalog. There are a few items that caught my eye. I am placing my catty order this week so if you need 1, let me know. I hope to have them to hand out at scrapbook convention. Also, fingers crossed that this works -- there is a campaign offering freebee's and also the Stamp of the month which you can get at a discount or for free.

https://orders.closetomyheart.com/CTMHConsultants/marketing/pdf/AprCCFlyerUS.pdf

https://orders.closetomyheart.com/CTMHConsultants/marketing/pdf/D1262.pdf

I was trying for images, but links work too!

I have been busy

2008-04-06T17:17:00.001-07:00

I have been so stressed that I dived into my room for a creative recharge. I was watching my NASCAR races and Conference on TV so I was able to really relax!!!!

Mostly Me

2008-04-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just some stuff I did -- 3 are for my Design Team, 1 because it was just inspired.

Jocelyn has a diagnosis Part 2 and 3

2008-04-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Another frustrating day with doctors for us. I went in thinking that we had the single diagnosis. We went to the GI (Gastroenterologist) today and discovered that she has a level 3/4 Bladder Reflux diagnosis as well. Apparently we had some miscommunication with the office staff and they assumed I knew that we had the VCUG info and that I was looking for the stomach film disgnosis, so I was mistaken in thinking that Jocelyn had no bladder problem after all. What is unknown at this time is if the Encopresis caused the reflux, or if the reflux was caused by the Encopresis. So now we have to schedule appointments with the Urologist as well. The level 3/4 Bladder Reflux is often a surgical correction.

To fix her colon, we have to give her Miralax 3 times a for the next week. Our objective is to make her poop everything out and it has to be the consistancy of pea soup. (There's a food I will NEVER eat again!) Then for the next 2 months at least and possibly extending to the next 2 YEARS, we will be controlling her bowels with Miralax. If this works, we can eventually put her on fiber 3 times a day, and go on with life. There is a 50% relapse rate in children, and they told us that realistically, she will have problems of some degree for the rest of her life.

-------------------------------------------------------------
I was able to get in touch with the pediatric urology office yesterday. I talked to the nurse so that she could get some background info from me. What she said is that Jocelyn was born with this defect. The fancy name is Vesicoureteral Reflux and she has a level 3/4 reflux on the left side of her bladder. Coincidentally the colon is on the left side of the body, but it is unknown if the Encopresis (the bowel problem) is caused by the reflux or other events but the GI was mistaken when she said perhaps the Encopresis could cause the reflux. It is unusual for the reflux to be diagnosed at age 4, it is usually caught in utero or within the first year of life. Talking to her did trigger memories -- the fact that Jocelyn has had several unidentified infections with a high fever to which they said that it might be a bladder infection but they didn't know without the cathetor test. And they always said they would err on the side of caution and just give her an antibiotic (which cleared up the symptoms) and we never worried another second. Dr McLaws was the first person to mention that there could be a problem when I took Jocelyn for a third bladder infection in a 2 month span. Still we didn't get the sense of urgency, they attributed to dehydration and potty training. So we have an appointment set and they will decide if this a surgical fix or not. They will run Kidney and bladder ultrasound and possibly a Intravenous Pyelogram (injecting dye in the veins so they can see the urinary track more clearly on an x-ray). So I am sure you will get more info than you ever want. Fortunately, she is still young enough that her kidneys shouldn't be too damaged yet.

There is actually a medical reason that we haven't managed to get Jocelyn trained so hopefully once this is all fixed, we will have less stress and we can claim her as potty trained!!!!

Some pages I have done

2008-03-29T08:39:00.001-07:00

I have done a few pages for challenges on the Secret Scrapper Board and thought I should show them off.

10 years

2008-03-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was trying to find a cute pics to post but that was a tall order today. So to catch up --- Last weekend Chris and I went to a yummy lunch at Papadeaux's. We also went to see a hockey game (which was a bummer in that they lost). Then we stayed at Inn Suites for the night. A quick little diversion trip to hold us until June when we will take our official anniversary trip. Chris's mom volunteered to keep the kids (minus the baby) overnight.

So the official anniversary date was March 21st. I am so lucky to have had 10 wonderful years with my hubby and am excited to see what the next 10 years will bring us.

Randomness for Friday

2008-03-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today is International Disturbed People's Day

Please send an encouraging message to a disturbed friend... just as I've done.
I don't care if you lick windows,
take the special bus
or occasionally pee on yourself.

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin' special.

Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Today's Message of the Day is:
Life is short,
Break the rules,
Forgive quickly,
Kiss slowly,
Love truly,
Laugh uncontrollably,
and never regret anything that made you smile.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.

Check it out!

2008-03-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is now up -- my official DT bio with all the rest of the DT.

http://secretscrapper.com/dt.html

Busy!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy!!!! I have pages to show off if I can get my slide show running. But until then -- Pics of cute kids!

Secret Scrapper Virtual Crop

2008-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am going to be hanging out here. I am going to go feed the family so that I can have some uninterrupted time. Come visit and see what's up!

something to make you smile

2008-02-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

TWENTY NINE LINES TO MAKE YOU SMILE

1 .. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't ..

2 .. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

3.. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

4.. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke .

5.. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

6.. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me

7.. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

8.. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

9.. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.

10.. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

11.. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.

12.. God must love stupid people; He made so many.

13.. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

14.. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

15.. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

16.. Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it!

17.. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.

18 Procrastinate Now!

19.. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?

20.. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

21.. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

22.. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

23..They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.

24 .. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless DEAD.

25.. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.

26.. Ham and eggs...A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

27.. The trouble with life is there's no background music.

28.. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Weston.

29.. I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life is too short and friends are too few!

Jocelyn has a diagnosis

2008-02-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn has been diagnosed with Encopresis which is a fancy word for the inability to control her bowels. Basically her brain is no longer getting the relay that she has pooped and the signals are mixed up so that she has the ability to control it. We are working to get her flushed out and then we will be cautious about her diet and have to retrain her bowels. So at least no surgery for now. The risk to her is having her colon be shot and no bowel control if we don't fix it now. So my big plan is to keep a food/poop diary -- sounds yummy huh? I will just write what she eats, how often she goes, how much liquid, etc so when we go in for her appointment in April, I can show the doctor what is what, etc. Maybe we will find out if a food triggered this or developmentally it was a problem or stress or whatever. Anyway, I always say if you have time to sleep, you must not be a mom (or a wife!)

More info at http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/encopresis.html

Secret Scrapper Design Team

2008-02-03T19:41:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I love to surf the scrapbook websites and I hang out on message boards so I can be inspired by many talented ladies. So I saw the call for this design team and decided it was a great time to go for it! So I found out yesterday that I was picked as a new Design Team member! So I will be posting regularly on the board and I will be posting ad challenges about twice a month. So if you are in the mood to seem some awesome stuff from talented ladies or just see what a message board junkie does in her spare time..... Secret Scrapper.

Hope to see you around.

President Hinckley

2008-01-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

As many of you have heard, President Hinckley passed away last evening in the company of loved ones. I have had a few moments of tears because he was my prophet -- meaning that I have discovered much of myself and found what I know as truth during his time. I know others have "their" prophets, but Hinckley is especially special to me. I think about the fact that he was the prophet when I met Chris and through the birth of our 4 children. Amanda doesn't remember any other prophet as she was so young when Benson and Hunter were presidents.

Now I know that some of you are not members and may not understand the process of significance of this. I am putting a link here for those who are interested. President Hinckley was an amazing man and he will be missed terribly.

Jocelyn Update

2008-01-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

They have decided to pause on bladder tests because they think it is intestinal. We are starting with a high fiber diet to see if that will fix the problem and then we will work from there. So we are all going to be upping our veggies and fruit a bit more. My friend, Mandy, sent me a cheat sheet for IBS and we are incorporating those tips as well. Hopefully this will be enough. We will make an appointment in a month and hopefully we will be on the right track.

Love this!

2008-01-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

I love when talented people share. This sums up my evenings only I get the mom version!

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ab28k5yac4

Bumpy Start to our new Year

2008-01-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

We started the year with sick people. I spent 2 consecutive Sundays at Urgent Care. (Once for Rebecca and the other for Jocelyn) Anyway, most of us had colds/sinus infections. Corwin cut his first 2 teeth.

Jocelyn had a bladder again. So that leads to the rest of a fun filled expensive year. Jocelyn is starting a daily dose of Sulfra which is the antibiotic usually given for bladder infections. She is going to have a stomach x-ray, hopefully tomorrow. The place for the x-ray is a walk in place, and so I have to hope that they can scan her in time for me to get back to Cassie's for daycare stuff. If not, I will see if there is a day next week that Chris can take her. They are looking to see if there is any type of intestinal blockages or any visible abnormalities in the bladder area causing the chronic infections and our potty training issues. Next will be the consult with a pediatric urologist and the test where they fill the bladder and watch to see if it refluxes into the kidneys or any other abnormal way. I think they called the test an ECOPS or a VCUG or something. The test will have to be done at a pediatric hospital -- my guess is PCH or Desert Banner. Unfortunately that means I am going to have to find a sub for me at work because it will be an all day thing, I am sure. If they discover severe reflux, there will be surgery to repair. If not, there may be antibiotics till she outgrows the reflux or some sort of bladder training which who knows what that entails.

I am having a really bad week with my back as well and am in near tears pain much of the time. Can't take anything for it and haven't had time to have it looked at either. I am having a big fat pitty party at my house because I am sooooooo tired and frustrated with the first 12 days of 2008. Here's to hoping for a miracle that involves only some of our money and a diagnosos for Jocelyn that does not involve surgery.

More randomness

2007-12-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia ." ( Charles Schultz )

I liked this! Sometimes I am so worried about tomorrow that I forget to enjoy today. So I am going to enjoy today ---- just as soon as I am finished working.