Delight in the little things

pinewood derby

2012-01-30T11:30:00.000-06:00

Last week was Ethan’s first pinewood derby. In planning for the car, Ethan knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted a Star Wars ship of some kind. He drew a few sketches and figured out how they were going to make it happen. Then Ryan and Ethan cut, sanded, painted, painted, and painted. The car turned out great. It was exactly what Ethan wanted. Unfortunately, it was not the fastest car. Not even close. But it was a fun first experience.

Happy 12th birthday, Abby!

2012-01-29T19:15:00.001-06:00

We spent the weekend celebrating Abby’s 12th birthday. I cannot believe she is 12 already. This week she graduated from primary and attending Young Women’s for the first time. She was beyond excited. I am so amazed at the growth and changes in Abby that have taken place over the past year. She has really matured and growth physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Of course there have also been those pre-teen challenges... but overall she is a joy and a blessing.

last day of primary

birthday breakfast

ice skating birthday party

Abby with one of her friends at the party

a new semester

2012-01-19T13:32:00.001-06:00

Right now I am sitting in a lounge in the student center on campus. I have a couple hour break in between classes that I will use for studying and working on assignments. But since this is the first week of class (and we got out of my first class 2 hours early) there’s not much to work on yet. So I’m killing time.

This semester I am taking classes during the day on Tuesday and Thursday. (Plus one class in the evening on Thursday and one online.) I am thrilled that I will only be gone one night a week. That’s a major improvement from previous semesters. But wow. Campus is sure different during the day and outside of education classes! Totally different demographics.

Anyway, for those who have asked, here are the classes I am taking:

The Arts in Elementary Education (music, art, and theatre)
Family Literacy and Second Language Acquisition
Foundations of Elementary Education (3rd – 6th grade)
Literacy Learning for PK-6th Students: Reading and Writing

I think it’s going to be a great semester.

My husband is awesome.

2012-01-14T16:38:00.001-06:00

holiday picture catch-up

2012-01-14T16:34:00.001-06:00

Apparently it’s been a while since I uploaded the pictures from my camera. I might have missed a few holidays. You know, like Halloween… Thanksgiving… Christmas. I really don’t have very many pictures, and some are from my phone - but it’s better than nothing. So here is a brief summary/catch-up:
HALLOWEEN

Ethan the Jedi Master and Witchy Abby [pics from my phone]
-------------------------
THANKSGIVING

[This picture is all I have. Sad. Not sure what was up with Abby and Ryan. Or why I didn’t notice it and take another picture. Do you like the kitchen table in the living room? Yep. That was the kids’ idea. It made things *extra special*.]
This year we had Thanksgiving with just the four of us at our house. It was fun planning and preparing the food. But the afternoon/evening after dinner just felt kind of lonely. But we enjoyed spending the time together and having a break from school/work.
________________________________________
CHRISTMAS

The kids had a tradition with my parents decorating gingerbread houses every year. Since they moved far, far away… we carried on the tradition through pictures.

We let the kids decorate the Christmas tree all by themselves this year. (And I didn’t even go back and move things around.)

Ethan and Daddy putting together the first Lego set of the day. (In my opinion, the best Lego set we have ever bought. It’s from the Lego Education line – which I had never heard of. This particular set is all community minifigures. It makes a bunch of little scenes. I found it randomly on Amazon was day in October and it was on sale. You can see it here.)

Abby and her new CAMERA! She was SO surprised and excited!

This was another favorite gift. It is a book called Lego Ideas Book. As you might guess, it is a book full of ideas of things to build with Legos. I love it because it gives so many ideas for things to build with bricks you already have. Ethan has spent countless hours reading and studying this book. Plus, it has helped him venture outside of Star Wars scenes, ships, and battles. Which makes me happy.

Abby and Zoey chillin’
I really loved having Christmas on a Sunday. We got up and the kids each opened one gift. Then we ate breakfast, got ready, and went to church. Having Christmas on a Sunday really helped keep the focus on the Savior. Then when we came home we opened more gifts and just spent the day at home together.

another one done!

2012-01-11T19:24:00.001-06:00

Today I finished my winter-mester class (Assessments in Literacy)! I am SO glad that I did it. It is so great to finish 3 credit hours in 3 weeks. Awesome. The work load wasn’t unreasonable. And I LOVED the class. This is the first class that I have been really sad that it was over. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that it was only 3 weeks long. But it also has something to do with the fact that I feel like I learned so much. I learned more in this class that will benefit me in teaching than all my other classes combined. My professor is very passionate about education and has had a very wide variety of experiences that have helped shape her very strong opinions. But I loved it. I will not, however, miss sitting in those horribly uncomfortable desks for 4 hours at a time.

Now I have a 5 day BREAK! Woo hoo! I seriously need it.

Oh happy day!

2012-01-07T11:38:00.001-06:00

Nasty carpet out.
Wood floors coming soon!

WOO HOO!
I am one happy girl.

dog love

2011-12-30T17:13:00.001-06:00

It's no secret that my kids love dogs. You don't have to be around them long to figure that out. They know the name of nearly every dog in our neighborhood. They know the names of all their friends dogs, teachers' dogs, etc. So you can imagine how thrilled they were to have a dog stay with us for a week over Christmas break.

They loved on Zoe every minute of the day. They played with her, chased her, walked her, fed her, pet her... They just could not get enough.

hat

2011-12-29T19:25:00.001-06:00

Ethan has never been much of a hat wearer. But for the past 3 weeks he wore a Santa hat day and night (except for school and church). We ended up having to throw the hat away yesterday. It was completely worn out. So now Ethan wants a new hat. I asked him what kind of hat he wants and this was his reply:

"You know those Abraham Lincoln hats that are black but shorter like a half rest? One of those."

Ok... So not like a Ranger hat or something?

projects

2011-12-18T20:02:00.001-06:00

I’ve had some requests to share a couple of my projects from school this last semester. So… here they are. These are both from my Technology in Education class:

Photo Story – We had a create a Photo Story (using software that is a free download from Microsoft) about a person we admired.

website – We had a create a website pretending that we were a teacher. The audience of the website is supposed to be the parents/students in our class. There were 14 specific projects we had to complete and include on the website.

thoughts on subbing

2011-12-16T17:06:00.001-06:00

I really enjoy subbing – most of the time. Of course, there are certain grades and classes that I enjoy more than others. I only sub in elementary (and about 95% at my kids’ school). I love the wide variety of experiences that I get by doing it. I get to see a lot of different types of teaching styles, classroom management, etc. I really feel that my experience subbing is going to help me be a better teacher.
But there is something about subbing that really bugs me. It goes back to my teenager years…
I spent a lot of time babysitting when I was a teenager. I remember babysitting my cousins a lot. When Melissa got a little older she would babysit, too. So sometimes I would babysit them, and sometimes Melissa would. I remember one time distinctly when I went to babysit and Shanna (one of my cousins) starting crying because she wanted Melissa to babysit and not me. Because, you see, when Melissa babysat they got to do whatever they wanted. Right, Mel?
For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a rule follower. That was no different when I was babysitting. If the parents wanted the kids to clean their rooms, take a bath and be in bed by 8 o’clock – that’s what happened. I would play games with them and read to them, but we took care of business.
It used to irritate me so much when all the kids loved Melissa more because they didn’t have to do all those BORING things. She was so much more fun!
Well, the same thing happens with subbing! I know the rules and expectations that the teachers have, and I know what needs to be done. So that is what happens. But you know what that makes me? The MEAN sub! (This does not apply to the little ones. They love me.) I don’t let them do whatever they want all day, so…
I’m the mean sub. Just like I used to be the mean babysitter.
Great.
Oh, well. I’m going to call it RESPONSIBLE.

Break!

2011-12-16T10:14:00.001-06:00

I am blogging from a crazy long line to return my textbooks, because I am finished with another semester! Woo hoo! I'm still waiting on grades for two classes, but the other two I ended up with a 99 average. Sweet.

So I've got a break from school. For 3 days. (I'm taking a class during the winter mini semester that starts Monday, but I'll still have off between Christmas and New Years.)

The kids have early dismissal next Monday and Tuesday, then they'll be off until after New Years. We are all looking forward to enjoying family time during the break!

gratitude: health

2011-11-23T06:36:00.000-06:00

I don’t want to let Thanksgiving pass without publically expressing my gratitude. I have a couple friends who have been making daily posts this month writing things they are thankful that I have loved reading. So I thought I’d write a few posts over the next couple days about some of the things I am especially grateful for this year.

_________________________

I took the kids to their well check appointments at the doctor last Friday. I have changed doctors for the kids and took them to my regular doctor (with a family practice) instead of their pediatrician. After his exam and lots and lots of questions the doctor said, “Well, they look great. Still a little on the small side. But they look very healthy.”

We spent about 45 minutes reviewing their medical histories with him. We went through every hospital visit, every complication, every major illness… and there were a lot. Fast forward to now… Ethan still requires meds for his chronic lung disease. But the medication works well for him. Other than that – I have two very healthy, happy children. No one looking at them would ever know what they went through for the first several years of their lives. I left that appointment feeling completely overcome with gratitude for the incredible blessing of health.

We’re goin’ solo…

2011-11-22T22:32:00.000-06:00

These past couple weeks have been really busy. I have been absolutely swamped with school. But things are good. We are really looking forward to tomorrow and spending a day together as a family with no work, no school, no school work… just cooking, baking, eating, and playing together. We are doing Thanksgiving dinner by ourselves this year. We did it a couple years ago when both kids had chicken pox on Thanksgiving. This year all our family is far away and we chose not to travel. Ryan will most likely be working Friday morning and I have lots of school work to get done before next week. So… we’re on our own.

We’ve doing some this differently – excluding or replacing some of the typical Thanksgiving food and just making the things we love. And doing a little experimenting with the main dish – which will not be turkey. We went to Central Market on Saturday and got several things for the meal. The kids and I are headed to the store this morning to get a few more things. So excited!

wishes

2011-11-13T19:19:00.001-06:00

Ryan asked the kids to write a Christmas list. Here’s what they came up with:

Ethan

- Lego set 8014 (x2)

- Lego Death Star

- Lego Millenium Falcon

- Lego watch with Lego figure

- Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace DVD

- Lego Republic Ventar class ship set

- Reeses

- clothes

- a robot

Abby

- Bop-It

- makeup

- earrings

- a camera

- Nintendo 3DS

- a dog folder, spiral, etc.

- a pet from Build-a-Bear

- shoes

- boots

- magazines

- a dog (adult – not a puppy)

____________________________________

If we actually bought everything on their lists (which we absolutely won’t…), Ethan’s list would cost probably a third of Ethan’s…

Keep dreaming, dude.

Why are you doing that?

2011-10-25T21:08:00.001-05:00

Today while I was subbing I had a conversation with an employee in the building that I haven't talked to in while. She was asking about me being in school. She asked what I was going to school for. I told her early childhood education (I'll be certified EC-6). Her response was, "Why are you doing that? That's what everyone does." The thing is, I had an easy answer. Because it is something I have spent a long time thinking about.
I told her, "Because it is my passion... and what I'm supposed to do."

When I first went to college, I was very vocal about the fact that I was NOT going into elementary ed. Because that's what everyone did. And I did not want to be like everyone else. I was a business finance major. I loved my accounting classes. I was going to get a job in the business world. [Side note: I also was very vocal about the fact that I was NOT going to get married before I graduated and certainly wasn't going to have any kids until I was at least 25.] Turns out that I've eaten a whole lot of my very loud words.

Through many humbling, heart-breaking, and wonderful experiences... I have changed.

When Ethan started kindergarten, I was devastated. I was not ready to be done with that part of my life. I wanted more kids, but that was not an option. I could not stand being at home by myself in our quiet house. So I started substitute teaching. And through that I discovered my love for teaching children. Through it I have been able to fill that void that I felt. Through many prayers, I KNOW that this is what I am supposed to be doing. Even if it is what "everyone else" does. Who is that "everyone else," anyway?

library

2011-10-19T16:37:00.001-05:00

Today after school we went to the public library. It is one of Abby and Ethan’s favorite things to do. Almost every time we go, Abby goes straight for the non-fiction section to look at the books about dogs. Ethan goes straight to the computer to see which Star Wars books they have.

Every time.

trying.

2011-10-18T19:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was one of those days. One of those days where by the end you are absolutely mentally and emotionally drained. So today I’m trying to focus on gratitude.

Today I am thankful for the extra day to study for midterms. (Ethan woke up sobbing because his head hurt so bad – and he had a fever. So we both stayed home today.)
Today I am thankful for the fact that Ryan came home from work healthy and unharmed. (Two of his guys had [unrelated] accidents/injuries today at work.)
Today I am thankful for the wonderful FALL weather! We had a *cold* front come through last night, so the high today was in the 60s. It was great. So in honor of our fall weather, I made soup for dinner. And I made my mom’s pumpkin cake for dessert.

(Click on the picture for the recipe.)

investigation

2011-10-12T17:16:00.001-05:00

Apparently today there was a problem in Ethan’s classroom with someone (or more than one someone) throwing erasers. So this is what Ethan did this afternoon to give to his teacher in the morning. I just thought it was hilarious. Not that I can tell him that.

front:

And in case you were worried, the names are in alphabetical order.

Cause ya know. That’s important for investigative purposes.

back:

P.S. It is inapropriat to do that in school.

riding

2011-10-12T09:14:00.001-05:00

This is one of Abby and Ethan’s favorite thing to do. They would be happy to ride their bikes (and play with the neighborhood kids) all day.

(Someone needs their helmet tightened, huh?)

typical

2011-10-11T10:39:00.001-05:00

This is my corner of our kitchen table. And this is what it typically looks like. I have a desk in our bedroom, but I do most of my school work sitting at the kitchen table. This way, I am in the middle of things. (Sometimes I do put in headphones if I need to drown out the commotion.) From where I sit, I can see the kitchen, most of the living room, and out the front windows to see the kids riding their bikes.

These are a few of the things you will almost always see:

my laptop – My most important school supply. I have an online class, plus UTA is a paperless university, so nearly everything is done online. Assignments are not turned in on paper, we upload them to a website, where the professor grades them, leaves comments, and then posts to our online grade book.
my books – That’s a LOT of reading. (And none of those are from my literature class. Go figure. Everything for that class is online – even the reading materials.)
my phone – Cause you know… can’t be without it.
my cup – usually filled with ice water, sometimes with Diet Coke
an office chair – Yep. I replaced a kitchen chair with an office chair. Because I just cannot sit in a hard wooden chair for hours and hours on end.

Today I am working on a learning environment design project. We have to design a kindergarten classroom with 8 centers including 2 activities at each center. Then we have to back each center up with theories of child development and show how they are in line with the Texas state requirements for kindergarten education.

Despite the endless loads of work to do and occasional overwhelming stress… have I mentioned how much I love being in school? I really do. (Especially now that I’m in education classes.)

And now I really better get back to work.

Hope you have a great day!

2011-10-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

Ahh...
Homemade bread.
How I have missed you.
Mmmm...

I made bread this afternoon for the first time in a couple years. Sad. Whole wheat bread from the store is just not even close to the same. I don't know if it's the freshly ground wheat, the simple ingredient list, or the delicious smell as it bakes. But there is just nothing like it.

dum dum dum, dum da-dum, dum da-dum...

2011-10-08T18:35:00.001-05:00

Did you get that?
_________________________

We went to the music store today to get Abby's new piano books. Ethan LOVED the store. They had about 15 pianos, and he had to play every single one of them. And every time it was the same song.

As we were checking out, one of the employees said, "Is he playing... the Imperial March?"
Yep. He was. (That's Star Wars for those of you who do not live lives surrounded by Star Wars like we do.)

The guy laughed and said, "I thought I felt an ominous feeling..."

_____________________

Ethan loves playing the piano. He frequently sits down and just plays and plays. He often makes up his own music, but it always morphs into some kind of Star Wars song. I'll have to take a video of it and share.

2011-10-07T21:13:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I wonder what I would do without my sweet, responsible, prepared girl. Ryan had to work late tonight, and I had to get some errands run before tomorrow morning. So the kids and I went a few places. As we were leaving a store, this is the *conservation* that occurred.

[*NOTE: conversation is not the right word. It was more like an internal monologue that was not internal.*]

Woah! Mom, do you know how late it is?! It's 8:30! Actually that was rounding. It's 8:28. PM. Do you think it's a good idea for us to be out so late? I guess its okay since it's a weekend. Well, it's a 3-day weekend. We'll just have to go to bed right when we get home. Then we should sleep until 8:30 in morning. It's 8:29 now.

Ok, Abby. Sounds like a plan.

random pictures

2011-10-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

Here are some random pictures from the past couple months that were on my phone:

left: daddy & Abby

center: Ethan playing with his new Lego pack for the trip before we even got out of our neighborhood (on the way to Tennessee)

right: how Abby spent a lot her time in TN – taking care of and playing with Hailey (we had walked to the bus stop to get Kate & Cloey)

left: Ethan on the first day of 3rd grade

center: Ethan’s favorite day of the month – when his Lego Club magazine comes in the mail. He reads it over and over and over. (It’s a free thing you can sign up for on Lego.com)

right: We got to spend a weekend with Dave, Leah, Jake, and Steven before they moved to Utah. Steven is absolutely hilarious. So much personality in that little body!

left: Jake and Ethan had a lot of fun playing Legos together all weekend

center: goofy boys

right: saying goodbye

Jake, Abby, Steven, Ethan – We were trying to get a picture of all four of them. Not sure how it ended up here – like this.

left: Abby texting – one of her favorite things in the world

center: Abby’s favorite hat and shirt. Lots of sequins. (The shirt has a cupcake made of sequins.)

Ethan’s first Cub Scout pack meeting. And this momma forgot her camera. So I snapped a few with my phone.

left: the back of Ethan with his cub master (I think, I’m new to this stuff) explaining some things to him

center: my taking my parent oath (Abby took about 45 pictures of this scene in case you’re interested in a moment by moment timeline of the excitement) – daddy was home REALLY SICK

right: Ethan with his Bobcat award

today I am thankful for...

2011-10-01T14:19:00.002-05:00

...the fact that it's not too hot for the kids to spend hours riding their bikes outside. We had the longest, hottest summer. It was ridiculous. (I'm pretending like it's over. Two days ago it was 101. But today it's only 84. So we're pretending like it's actually fall. I mean, it is OCTOBER!)

...General Conference. I love how so many millions of people can listen to the same talks, but we can each feel answers to our own prayers and the strength and inspiration to keep going. [I absolutely LOVED President Uchtdorf's talk at the Women's conference. I think every woman who heard it felt like he was talking specifically to her. It was beautiful.]

...my insightful boy. Ethan and I ran to the pharmacy today and I let him get a candy bar (he tried something different - he usually ALWAYS gets Reese's if he gets candy, this time he got a Take 5). As we were driving home, he was telling me how good it was and asked if I wanted to try it. I said, "No, thank you." He said quietly for a minute and then said, "I know how you can eat sugar and still diet! You can eat the sugar, then eat LOTS and LOTS of vegetables!" Good thinking, dude. :) [Side note: I've been doing the South Beach Diet for 4 months. So far I've lost 32 pounds!]

...the opportunity Abby is having to strengthen her relationships with her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We got her a cell phone last month. We were going to wait until she was 12 and started babysitting, but because of some other circumstances, we got it a bit sooner. The phone has a lot of restrictions, and she can only call/text the people I have put in her phone. Which are pretty much all family members. And boy has she been loving it! I have heard lots of funny stories about her and her texts. Plus, I've known a lot more about what's going on in my family's lives because of her! :)

However... when she's outside riding her bike and texts, "Can I come inside to go to the bathroom?" - then I don't love her phone so much. (True story. That happened about 30 minutes ago.)

...reminders of how fragile life is. I found out this morning that the dad of neighborhood family (who have 2 kids that go to our school) was in a serious accident last night. He is in a medically induced coma in serious condition. We are praying for this sweet family. And hugging each other a little more today.

quick trip

2011-08-25T19:14:00.003-05:00

I finished my last final on Tuesday night, and at 4:30 Wednesday morning the kids and I got up and headed to Tennessee to visit my sister (Melissa) and her family. We had 5 days until the kids started school and I REALLY wanted to go. We drove all the way on Wednesday (12 hours). I was nervous about driving that far by myself in one day, but it was easier than I thought it would be. I had lots of entertainment for the kids, and I had downloaded the audiobook of The Help to listen to. (I LOVED it!) We were lucky enough to be able to see both my parents while we were there, too! I am so glad we went. It was definitely worth it. It was so fun for the kids to have time with their cousins, and it was so good to be able to spend time with my sister and mom. Getting in lots of baby loving didn't hurt, either. Especially since there were two babies to choose from - a newborn and an 18 month old! :) Loved it.

I just absolutely LOVE Hailey. She has so much personality. Abby spent a LOT of time playing with and taking care of Hailey. Just look at this face! Oh my. Love, love, love.

And then there was baby Makayla. I just have to say... pictures do not do her justice. She is just beautiful. We wanted to get some good pictures of her, but it just didn't happen. The first several days we were there I didn't enough get out my camera. We were too busy having fun. Saturday morning we had a very short window of time where we tried, but it just didn't work. She was fussy... and then she had a major blowout. And then we were out of time. I did get a few here and there. But nothing that captures just how beautiful she is in person.

I am so thankful for the quality time we were able to spend with family that I miss so much.

Grandpa watching Cloey and Ethan play Angry Birds.

Grandma loving on the babies.

Such a cute family!

The cousins!

Fun at the pool

P.S. Don't worry, Melissa. I promise I deleted *that picture* right after I showed it to Ryan. Just like I promised. :)

Result...

2011-08-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

Here is my favorite result of the boys' project. Love those two.

right now...

2011-08-05T18:58:00.002-05:00

*Abby is creating a new playlist for her ipod. She's really into Taio Cruz, Jason Derulo, Lady Antebellum. She is taking off all the High School Musical music and most of the Miley Cirus songs.

* I am writing a paper for my political science class that has to be posted by midnight. (Well, technically I'm taking a 10 minute break. I was feeling stuck.) I have one more week of summer classes and then finals! Woo hoo! This will involve reading 13 textbook chapters (from 3 different textbooks), a 200 page book about how rock 'n roll changed America, writing another paper for PoliSci, taking 5 tests/quizzes and then studying for and taking 2 finals. Not overwhelming at all. Anybody want to play? I've got loads of free time this week. :P

* Ryan and Ethan are building a special Lego project with the Ranger game in the background. Ethan has the plans in his head. He's assigned Ryan the job of "finder." Lucky Ryan.

Hope your Friday night is as awesome as ours. :)

multi-tasking

2011-07-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have sat down many times to write a post, but have just never finished for one reason or another. There have been many little things I’ve wanted to post, but haven’t. I kept feeling like I needed to catch up on the past couple months first. So I decided to just start posting here and there when I can. I’ll catch up on what I’ve missed sometime – hopefully soon. Talking to my sister (Melissa) this morning I realized that I just need to do it.

This week I started two more summer classes (so I have three now). My mother-in-law is wonderful and is keeping the kids while I have a two hour class during the day four days a week. Another class is in the evening two nights a week, and the third is an online class. Tuesday was the first day and I came home feeling very overwhelmed. These classes are only 5 weeks – and they are VERY heavy load. When I was telling Ryan about it he said, “Well… we’ll see you in 5 weeks!” I will be spending a LOT of time reading for these classes. But it’s only 5 weeks.

Monday was Ethan’s 8^th birthday. He was very specific about what he wanted for a cake – a giant lego that was green with one layer chocolate and one layer vanilla. And he wanted Star Wars guys on top. So that’s what he got! I asked him what he wanted for dinner (told him I would cook anything he wanted – or we could go anywhere he wanted). He chose McDonalds. Because they have Star Wars toys right now. Grandma Trow, Grandpa Trow, and Maren came over to visit that night. We’ve having his party tomorrow (Friday). We’re going to the new Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine. We’re taking his two best {Lego-loving} friends. We’re really looking forward to it.

We are also looking forward to Saturday when Ethan will be baptized. My parents are flying in and will be here for one day. I wish they were going to be here longer, but am looking forward to spending time with them.

Confession: I wrote this during my class. There is this woman in my class who SERIOUSLY BUGS ME. She is constantly making comments or asking questions. [I know. I can hear Melissa now. She’s one of “those” people. J But Melissa does it to learn. But this woman does not do it in a constructive way. I think she does it to hear herself talk and prove how smart she is!] And it gets the professor way off track. So she’ll spending 10 minutes discussing it, then make a comment about how she needs to get back to the lecture. AHH! So every time that woman raised her hand, I scrolled down to the bottom of my notes and worked on this post. Then when she got back on track, I went back to my notes. Multi-tasking at it’s finest. J

let it free!

2011-06-10T20:03:00.004-05:00

I'm working on uploading pictures from the past couple months to get caught up. There have been several things lately that I've wanted to blog, but just haven't gotten it done. So I had to get on and record this while it was fresh.

Tonight we had family movie and pizza night. We watched Up. Such a great movie. After the movie was over, Abby noticed that I had teared up. She asked what part I was crying about. I just told her it was a really good movie with great life lessons. She looked at me like I was crazy.

Ethan said, "Yeah! Like, 'If you love something you've got to let it free!' "

Ethan's other loves...

2011-04-17T19:50:00.010-05:00

As I've mentioned before, two of Ethan's favorite things in the world are Star Wars and Legos. Although those two definitely top the list, he does have some other loves.

♥ Meat (in any form) is still his favorite food. Especially lunch meat. He also loves peanut butter sandwiches and frozen Gogurt.

♥ Riding his bike.

♥ School. One day last week, Ethan's teacher told me a story from that day in class. She was assigning the homework for that night and most of the class starting moaning and groaning. She said that Ethan stood up and said,
"Come on, guys! It's school! Sometimes you just gotta do what you've gotta do!"
[Ethan just has a way with words. He frequently says things that just blow us away - from words of wisdom to just hilarious comments.]

This is Ethan's spelling test from this week. Note the top right-hand corner.

In case you can't read it, it says I ♥ Mrs. Stone. (That's his teacher.)

♥ If Ethan is not playing Legos, Star Wars, or outside... you'll find him drawing. Here are some recent drawings (with some attempts at clarifying):

Technical support: If you click on the picture, it will open a larger version of it.

This is an alien in a car with a floating store. At the top is the moon and "Mustfar" (a planet from Star Wars - it shows up frequently in his artwork) with a bridge between them.

The rabbit is saying: "I wanna carrot! P.S. with ranch!" And what rabbit doesn't have a light saber, glasses, and a piece of paper with a password on it?

Labels: my house, my car, blue bonnet fields, location: Arlington, Texas. The caption says, "Aw. We're going to Las Vegas!" I asked him what is in Las Vegas. He said, "I don't know. I just heard it's really cool."

This sounds exactly like a conversation with Ethan. It says: "This is my house. Do you like it? Say yes or else. Oh, you don't wanna know what I'm gonna do!! Nothing. By the way do you know that I have two fish insteaded of my dog. She, my dog, got sold because of her behavior. She is sold to someone that my dad knows."

I'm not sure about this. The butterfly, the flowers, the moon AND sun, the fire breathing dragon with purple wings... I'll have to ask Ethan for an explanation (he's in bed now).

The robot thing is saying, "I sad. Hi!"

Kroger, CVS, and the bank.

"guy made a 'skatebone!' skateboard" [It's a caveman who invented the first skateboard - made with a really big bone and rocks for wheels.]

Tons of arms

(my dad) white guy

(my robot) Robot

(my friend) black guy

(my Lego) Lego

[I have no explanation for this. It just made me laugh out loud.]

And of course a Star Wars picture. With Mustfar, Qui Jon Jinn (saying "Yes, Master") and Yoda (saying "Fear not Jedi").

ridiculous, stupid story

2011-04-13T19:14:00.002-05:00

Wednesday during the week mom, Melissa, and her girls were here was a very busy day. The kids went swimming and the moms sat out by the pool. We made a copycat version of Cafe Rio's pork salad (SOOOO GOOD!). We went and took pictures at the park. Etc. Busy day. That night when I got home I noticed that I had gotten a bit of a sunburn on my face. Not bad at all. I had probably only been in the sun for 45 minutes total. But I also noticed some red marks on my hands. It looked like a light sunburn, but it was in a weird pattern. I couldn't figure out how I had gotten it.

Two days later... Friday morning I woke up in horrible pain. I couldn't move my fingers because those red marks felt like they were on fire. Any movement of the skin was SO painful. As the morning went on, it started blistering. One of my co-workers was worried it was shingles. So I called and made an appointment to see the doctor.

So I went to the doctor that afternoon. I showed him my hands and explained what I knew. Which wasn't much. He said, "Well... that's unusual...." He thought it was a severe 2nd degree burn. (But there was a small chance it was a rare skin disorder where you get patches of blisters all over your body. So if it spread over the weekend, I had to go back.) He gave me a tetnus shot, steroid shot, antibiotic cream, oral steroids and pain pills. He told me to keep it bandaged while it was blistering. It didn't spread beyond the original red marks, but the blisters got much worse. I had to keep both hands wrapped for several days.

Fast forward a couple weeks... my hands are much better. There is no more pain. All the areas that blistered have peeled and now have pink skin. The areas that were red but didn't blistered are a brown color. I am really hoping they don't scar like this. But we'll see.

So, here's my best guess as to what happened. When I was making dinner that Wednesday night, I made cilantro-lime rice. With the recipe, after the rice is cooking you lift the lid and pour in a mixture with lime juice and stir. I guess that I got a steam burn that reacted with the lime juice? Maybe there was a reaction with a medication I'm on? I have no idea. I'm a little concerned that I was burned that badly and didn't notice. But what can I say. I'm special.

It has been embarrassing. I sound like an idiot not knowing what happened! And lots of people ask what happened because it's quite noticeable (especially when I had to have them wrapped)! But thankfully they are getting better.

So there's my ridiculous, stupid story. And here's a picture of my hands now. (Sorry it's blurry. But you get the point.) This is 20 days after it happened.

A funny story to go with the stupid one: After the skin finished peeling, I was left with really pink skin in those areas. One of our kindergartners was looking at it and said (with lots of enthusiasm and excitement):
"Oooh, Mrs. Trowbridge! I really like your pink skin!"
Pink is her favorite color. She's jealous. :)

{spring break} grandkids

2011-04-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

One of the things we wanted to get done while Melissa and her girls was here was to get a picture of all the grandkids together. And mom really wanted bluebonnet pictures. It was kind of early for bluebonnets, but we found a small patch at a local park and did the best we could. It is SO HARD getting a good picture of that many kids. Callie was not happy. Cloey and Ethan weren't feeling well (Cloey had been sick earlier in the week and Ethan woke up with a fever and throwing up the next morning). Another child {who shall remain nameless because she likes to read my blog} was having attitude. It was itchy. Etc. Etc. Anyway, here are some of the attempts...

And then we gave up. Katie and Jason took Callie home to put her to bed. We stayed around the park for a little while longer and took some of the older kids. Here are Mel's girls (Hailey, Katelund, Cloey):

Abby and Ethan

This was the kid's pose. The picked the spot and the pose.

It was so fun watching them skip off together.

Love that tongue!

Looking back through these pictures makes me miss everyone so much! Just a few weeks ago everyone was here. And now everyone is gone. I don't like it.

{spring break} cousins!

2011-04-10T18:44:00.002-05:00

It was so fun having all the cousins together!

These first pictures were taken in one of our hotel rooms in San Antonio during our Sea World trip.

Ethan thinks bunny ears are hilarious. He does them ALL. THE. TIME.

The kids went for the first swim of the year. It was in the upper 80s that day. But it was March. The water was COLD!

Callie's first "swim"

Hailey eating grandma's yummy chocolate chip cookies

{spring break} Sea World

2011-04-09T17:40:00.005-05:00

On Friday and Saturday of spring break the kids and I went with Grandma Black, Katie, Jason, and Callie to Sea World. It was great. Until about 4 o'clock when you could hardly move because there were SO MANY PEOPLE.

We started the day by going to the Shamu show. The kids really wanted to sit in the splash zone. So the three of us did. Mom, Katie, Jason, and Callie sat far from the splash zone. :) We ended up sitting really close. I really wanted to take pictures, but was nervous about my camera. But I came prepared (after reading some tips online). I had brought a poncho and a gallon-size ziploc for my camera. So I kept it in the bag and would sneak pictures when I felt like it was safe we weren't going to get drenched. Thankfully, we ended up leaving dry - despite the fact that we were 5 feet from Shamu.

waiting for the show to start

we were REALLY close...

thankfully this was a close as the splash got to us

I loved watching the whales. They are amazing. But watching the kids was definitely the best part!

After the shamu show, the kids were dead set on going on this roller coaster. Now, my kids have never been on a roller coaster. I didn't think it would be an enjoyable experience for Abby. With her... personality. But they were so set on riding on this roller coaster. So we walked over to check it out. Ethan was right at the height required to ride (maybe 1/2" too short, but the attendant let him go). There were only two people per seat, so their awesome grandma agreed to ride with us. :) They were excited and nervous the whole time in line. Once the ride started, however, Abby dropped down in her seat (almost to the floor) - and Ethan was hunched over the safety bar. Not one of them smiled once. Ethan never even looked up! They did not enjoy one second of it. But... several hours later when we were walking to the car Ethan said, "I pranked you! I was faking! I wasn't scared on the Steel Eeel!" Yeah. Right.

loved the penguins

Jason, Katie and Callie

exhaustion + hunger + over-heated = a pouty boy
{I probably shouldn't love this picture. But I do. It cracks me up when he does this. Because he's done it since he was two. He hunches over, tucks his chin to his chest, puts his hands on the side of his face and (usually) pulls his ears down... and POUTS.}

This was Abby's favorite show of the day. It had dolphins, acrobats, macaws, etc.

{spring break} Fossil Rim

2011-04-09T17:20:00.004-05:00

On Thursday of spring break the kids and I went with Grandma and Grandpa Trow to Fossil Rim. We had a great time. The kids loved feeding and petting the animals. {But if anyone asks, we dropped the food on the ground. We did NOT feed them from our hands.}

P.S. - After looking at these pictures on the way home that afternoon, I decided Ethan needed a hair cut IMMEDIATELY. We went that afternoon. :)

P.P.S. - It was St. Patrick's Day. Could you tell? Spending the day with a 7 year old boy required green attire.

Abby's birthday

2011-02-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

Abby turned ELEVEN!

birthday visitors

For her party, Abby had three friends from school spend the night.
They spent most of the night playing Just Dance 2. (So fun!)

they spent LOTS of time giggling and screaming

they gave each other makeovers

they decorated cupcakes

the next morning we had our traditional birthday pancakes
(with whipped cream and bananas)

The girls had a lot of fun.
They did not waste much party time sleeping.
Abby spent the next 3 days trying to catch up on sleep
(taking 3-4 hour naps during the day on Saturday and Sunday
and sleeping 14ish hours at night).
We will not be having another sleepover anytime soon.
Or ever.
Next time we'll party, then send everybody home to sleep. :)

choir concert

2011-02-09T19:36:00.002-06:00

During January Abby had a cluster choir concert (elementary, junior high and high school show choir). She loved being in choir. And was lucky to have Grandma Black, Katie, Jason, and Callie come to her concert. (Mom, dad, and Ethan were there, too - even though we're not in the pictures!)

the elementary choirs singing together
(Abby is in the middle on the front row - not sure what she was looking at...)

all the choirs singing together

Abby and her friend Maddie after the concert

Ethan and Mitchell (the boys wanted their picture taken, too)

Grandma Black, Jason, Katie, Callie, Abby & Ethan

Save Texas Schools

2011-02-09T14:52:00.005-06:00

(this information is taken from the Save Texas Schools website - click on the logo above to go there)

Why Are Texas Schools in Financial Crisis Now?

"Texas schools are in financial crisis due to a projected $27 billion hole in the state budget. In short, the state simply does not have enough money to continue funding public education at current levels without increasing taxes, which many elected officials have sworn they will not do.

Why is the state budget shortfall so big? A key factor is an ongoing structural problem created in 2005 when the Texas Legislature reduced property taxes by one-third. State legislators increased the business tax and cigarette tax at the same time, but these changes did not produce enough money to offset funds lost due to property tax cuts. (This is known as a “structural deficit” because it does not depend on how well the economy is doing. Though the size of the gap may fluctuate, it will persist in boom or bust because of the way the tax law is structured.)

In addition, the national economic downtown caused a drop in state sales tax collections, which are only now starting to rebound. And one-time general revenue funds and federal stimulus funds – both of which were used to help balance the previous state budget – are no longer available.

Finally, enrollment in Texas schools and community colleges continues to grow, while at same time, declining property values have resulted in falling local property tax revenues. Together, these factors amount to a perfect budget storm – and a perfect mess for Texas schools.

On the plus side, the state does have a Rainy Day Fund with over $9 billion, and money has also been accumulating in the Permanent School Fund. It is crucial that legislators use these resources to help our schools until state and local revenues can rebound. The Legislature could also choose to reduce some of the costly state mandates it has placed on Texas schools, to allow more local control and greater fiscal flexibility during the current crisis.

In short, there are tools that could help Texas schools in the current budget crisis. But it will take strong public pressure to give our leaders courage to use them."

And finally, here is the action you can take to Save our Texas Schools.....

Our Schools, Our Kids, Our Future

"Texas students are tough, but they’ve never faced a crisis like this. In every school district across the Lone Star State, the same grim headlines repeat: campus closures, teacher layoffs, drastic cuts to core academic programs.

The culprit is a $27 billion state budget hole, which some say could have been avoided. But casting blame now doesn’t help. The challenge is to keep our schools open for all students.

There is help for Texas students if our leaders have the courage to use it.

Tell your elected officials to:

Keep Texas smart – make education a top priority!
Use the $9.3 Billion Texas “Rainy Day” Fund to support schools
Sign the paperwork for $830 Million in federal aid for teachers
Fix school funding laws to be fair to all districts and to our growing student population.

These tools can save our schools. Call, write or email today!

Find your elected representatives here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Contact Governor Rick Perry here: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/

Additionally, there will be a "Save Texas Schools" Rally at the capitol in Austin on Saturday, March 12. More detailed information can be found on the Save Texas Schools website.

In hard times, we must invest in Texas students…our future depends on it!"

----------------------------------------------------

I am going to the rally and am going to contact my state representatives. Please consider what you can do to help fight for education.

shock.

2011-02-09T10:08:00.002-06:00

I don't normally talk about politics on my blog. Intentionally. But... this issue is something that has hit home. And it is something I am going to talk about. It is something that I am going to contact my state representatives about. It is something I want to spread the word about.

Our state is currently facing a huge deficit. Rick Perry (our governor) has put public and higher education at the top of the list of cuts to be made. And unfortunately he has a legislature that is willing to support him. They are currently recommending that $10 BILLION be cut from education (public education and higher education). It is estimated that these cuts will lead to school districts eliminating 100,000 teacher job statewide. Which will also result in cuts to support staff (teaching assistants, administrative positions, security, custodians, transportation, etc.).

On Monday, our district Superintendent announced the first round of cuts that our district is making. I was called into my principal's office and told that as of the end of the school year, I will no longer have a job. (They are laying off the 100 most recent kindergarten teaching assistants hired - among MANY other things.)

I was shocked. We've been hearing rumors of cutbacks for a while. And I guess I knew in the back of my mind that it was a possibility. But I was shocked. And devastated. Because I'm one of those rare people who absolutely LOVES my job. Then the implications of what that meant hit me. I have been able to go back to college because of my teaching assistant job (I am part of a program called the Educational Aide Exemption). I was devastated. Then angry. Then just really sad.

I am much better now. I know that it will all work out. I don't know how yet. There are some possibilities for next year that I am looking into. But I will be patient and pray that the Lord will lead me where I need to be. I will trust Him.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

new recipes...

2011-01-17T16:54:00.002-06:00

I tried a couple new recipes this past week and loved them, so I thought I'd share! Both are from Our Best Bites (and so are the pictures below).

Sweet & Spicy Cucumbers (find the recipe here)

Asian Cabbage Salad (find the recipe here)

school . kids . Callie

2011-01-16T19:25:00.010-06:00

* We are back to school and getting back in the swing of things. (Although we have a long weekend this weekend because of Martin Luther King Day.) Tomorrow I'll start my next semester at UTA. I've really enjoyed the break, but am ready to get back to work and start my new classes.

* Abby has added another extracurricular activity this semester - she's in drama club. She's really excited about it. She has been spending most of her time this month planning her birthday.

* Ethan, well... when he's not at school he is playing with his Legos while humming Star Wars.

* We have been trying to fit in lots of time with Katie, Jason, and Callie. We watched Callie on Friday night so Katie and Jason could go on a date. It was lots of fun. I don't think the kids were ever more than a foot away from her. I took advantage of having a new subject to experiment on with my camera. :)

Trow family time

2011-01-03T18:04:00.008-06:00

We got lots of family time with the Trowbridges over Christmas break. Kari and Braden came to visit (sadly, I don't have any pictures of them - I didn't have my camera yet). And Matt was here, too. We had some great times.

Things get crazy when Uncle Matt is around...

Ahh... brothers

Brotherly love?

I have a sister living close to me!

2011-01-03T17:58:00.005-06:00

OK. Really it's just for a few months. But I'll take what I can get. :)

My sister Katie, her husband (Jason), and their baby (Callie) have moved here while Jason does an internship with an accounting firm in Dallas. We are SO EXCITED to have them near - even if it's just a few months.

Isn't Callie PRECIOUS?!? I just want to squish those cheeks.

playing

2011-01-03T17:42:00.002-06:00

We spent the days after Christmas playing and being creative. I loved it. It had been a long time...

Abby spent lots of time playing with Play-Doh.

... and even more time baking with her Easy Bake oven. (FYI: If you ever buy an Easy Bake oven, DO NOT buy the packaged cake mixes they sell specifically for the oven. They are a rip-off and don't taste very good. You can use any type of boxed cake mix - just use 3 Tbsp cake mix and 1 Tbsp milk per cake. Works perfectly, is WAY cheaper, and tastes better.)

Ethan made countless Lego creations.

And I made myself a necklace. Thanks for the inspiration, Ashley! :)

closer view of the pictures (the circles are 2-sided)

Christmas... in pictures

2011-01-03T17:11:00.005-06:00

Yes, that's right folks. I said PICTURES. It's been awhile. But... I got a new camera for Christmas (my first digital SLR - yay!), so I'm trying to make up for the ridiculous LACK of pictures from the past 2 years.

This is pretty much what Ethan looked like all day.

I did get him to look up from his Lego and/or Star Wars stuff for a minute while I was playing with my camera trying to figure it out.

It didn't last long...

We Skyped with Grandpa and Grandma Black (and Great Grandma Black) on Christmas morning. We really missed them not being here at Christmas.

Abby showing daddy her new DS game (Pets Nursery 2). That was the main thing she wanted for Christmas. Easy enough!

Abby really wanted to shower so she could use her new robe.

Ryan playing his new guitar. I love when he plays and had missed it (his old one had been broken for quite a while).

And that was Christmas day. We spent the day at home enjoying each other, playing games, watching movies, and playing with our new toys. All of us. :)

break!

2010-12-23T16:56:00.002-06:00

Well... I did it! I finished my first semester back at school. And you know? I really enjoyed being back in school. I love learning. I love the challenge of trying to get the best grade possible (although Ryan thinks it's insanity - considering everything I have on my plate). The classes I took were kind of blah - core requirements. But I still loved it. Don't get me wrong - there were definitely times when I felt very overwhelmed and stressed. But overall, it was good. I'm really looking forward to my classes for next semester. I'm taking developmental psychology, social psychology, and geometrical inference/reasoning (a core/content requirement, but it's by the same math professor from last semester that I loved). I feel like we have found a good balance of how to function. The house may not ever be as clean as I would like it, but... the important things are getting done. It's been a learning experience for all of us. But now... IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK! WOO HOO!

I spent the first day of the break getting the house cleaned and laundry done. I've also done some baking (which I hadn't done in months). We've done lots of shopping - some replacing stolen items and finishing Christmas shopping. We've spent lots of time as a family playing and enjoying having nothing to do (well, nothing required). Yesterday was our 12th anniversary. The kids spent the evening/night with Trowbridges and we went and saw Harry Potter. We hadn't been on a date in a really long time - it was nice.

I'm getting a new camera for Christmas, so I'll post some pictures later in the week. It's been a while...

Hope you're having a very
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !
Love you all!

getting over the hump...

2010-12-07T18:40:00.002-06:00

I can't even tell you how many times I've started a blog post in the past month. But every time, I quit or delete it. I have had some difficult times over the past couple months and there are some things that I wanted to say and record. But... I just can't do it. I don't know why. Part of it is that I not taken the time to really process and feel the emotions of it. I feel like I don't have time, so it is put on a "back burner" in my mind to deal with later. And this is not the later. But I want to get past the hump so I can get back to blogging. So... you're getting a list. Because that's what I do.

* Thanksgiving was good and bad. We spent the day with the Trowbridge side of the family. I love Thanksgiving. I love cooking and baking the food. And I love the opportunity and reminder it is to give thanks. It was a good day. But...

* That night we went and said goodbye to my parents. Early the next morning they moved to Idaho. (My feelings about that are on the "back burner." Hopefully to be written at a later date.)

* I have officially finished one of my classes. I have a final in my other two next week. And then I will have finished my first semester. Yay! (My feelings about being back in school will be addressed at a future date.)

* The effects of the robbery have been a big pain in the rear. We have not heard anything from the police. (That's something I'm asked often.) We finally got our list of lost items submitted to the insurance company. A co-worker whose house was robbed a few weeks before ours advised that we wait a few weeks because we would keep finding missing things. Boy was she right. Even a month later we are still finding things. We got an alarm system which has helped immensely with peace of mind. That and a lot of prayer...

* Christmas season is in full swing. We got the house decorated (except outside lights - I'm still hoping to get that done soon). There are lots of parties, concerts, etc. coming up. I think we have something every night for the next two weeks. I ordered the book A Christ-Centered Christmas a couple days ago. I've heard it's great and am looking forward to reading it after my finals are over.

* Abby's first orchestra and choir concert are next week. There has been lots of violin squaking... I mean PRACTICING... going on. And lots of singing. It will be interesting to see what she ends up sticking with. She loves them both.

* Ethan... lives in Star Wars and/or Lego world. As soon as his homework is done, that's what he does. Every. Day. As I'm typing he's got a Lego Star Wars battle going on on the side table next to me. I wonder how long this obsession will last.

* I asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. Abby couldn't really think of much. She finally decided on Pets Nursery 2 (DS game), a Barbie vacation jet (really?!?), a robe, slippers, and gum. Ethan immediately answered LEGOS! Then added a new DS (his was stolen) and a sketch pad.

So... that's what's up. Busy, busy, busy. But I have to say... life is good. We are extremely blessed. I am so thankful to be feeling better and to have a loving, supportive husband who has helped pick up the slack for the things I cannot get done.

So... anybody who might still be reading this neglected blog... HOW ARE YOU? :)

violated... and lessons learned

2010-11-06T16:56:00.003-05:00

This week our world was shaken. On Tuesday, our house was broken into and robbed. Thankfully no one was home. Thankfully they did not touch the kids' rooms. Thankfully we have insurance.

They took a lot of stuff - some very valuable (including my wedding ring, electronics), some sentimental (again - my wedding ring, several CDs of older photos that we don't have anywhere else), some just really irritating (my basket of medications, a bag I had made that I use frequently, the comforter off our bed, a box of electronic chargers and cords, my binding machine, etc.). They destroyed our master bedroom - emptying nearly every shelf, drawer, cupboard, etc. (All my craft/scrapbook/office stuff is also in our bedroom.)

But that has not been the worst part. The worst part has been the psychological and emotional trauma on all of us - some more than others. We have been through a wide range of emotions (sometimes all in one day!) - fear, feeling violated, insecurity, anger, sadness, irritation, anxiety, etc.

Sadly, a good friend of mine (who also lives in my neighborhood) was robbed a few weeks ago. After that happened, I took pictures of our valuables (and uploaded them to a private online album) and wrote down product information and serial numbers for the most expensive things. We have not yet heard from the claim adjuster assigned to our case, so I don't know what will be required for reimbursement/payment yet.

But just as a few words of advice:

1. DO NOT hide your valuables in the master bedroom. (They spent so much time in our room and took a lot from it - including a lot of things that are not "valuable" and I will have no proof of ownership for.)

2. Write down the product information and serial numbers of your valuables. Do not store that info on your computer(s) - because you probably won't have them if you get robbed! Store it somewhere outside of your home or in a "safe" place.

3. Find out now from your insurance company what "proof of ownership" you will be required to provide if you were robbed. Make sure you have that (receipts, the box the item came in, owner's manuals, pictures, etc.).

4. Make sure your photos are uploaded to the web as a back-up. That way if something happens (your computer crashes, your computer is stolen, natural disaster, etc.) you will not lose them.

in other news...

2010-11-01T20:26:00.003-05:00

Even though it hasn't felt like it some days, there are other things going on in our lives. I have been working to stay current on my school work. We just had midterms and got midterm progress reports. School is going really well. :)

The kids got their report cards recently. Ethan was really upset by his. This is the first year that he get number grades (and only in 3 classes). He got a 97, 97, and a 99. And I quote, "It's 3 away!" He was not happy about those 97s. He has NEVER heard anything like that from anyone in this house. (I have the same issue, which drives Ryan crazy, but we've never talked about it in front of the kids!) It was just so funny. Partly because it's SO opposite from Abby. She would NEVER be upset about a 97. Ever. And partly because he is so my kid. Funny how things like that are passed onto your kids whether you like it or not. It's just naturally how he is.

We have really been enjoying watching the Rangers post season games. Growing up going to countless Ranger games, it's so fun having them doing so well! (I've only actually made it through the end of one game, but still...)

Ethan taught himself how to whistle. And he does it NON-STOP. While playing Star Wars Legos, of course.

Abby decided to join the choir club at school (in addition to playing the violin). She's really enjoying both.

Abby dressed up as a witch for Halloween and Ethan was Qui-Gon Jinn (a Jedi). We didn't go trick-or-treating last night, and yet somehow we still have way too much candy. (They went to the church party with my in-laws Friday night and got a bucket of candy from Grandma yesterday.)

some news...

2010-11-01T20:12:00.002-05:00

I heard from my neurologist's office today. She said that my MRI looked pretty good. (There was moderate sinus congestion, but I already knew that. Nothing I can do about that.) But that was a big relief. It ruled out any bleeding and a brain tumor. Both really good things to rule out. :)

As for my blood work... there were "non-specific markers of inflammation." That could mean a whole lot of things. They'll take my blood again in a couple weeks and see if those levels have increased. Also, the blood work indicated that I was having a reaction to the preventative medication I was on (Topamax). However, if that was the only problem, I should not be having the symptoms anymore. But I am. Last night was bad. So... she is going to take that information back to the doctor and see if she can find out anything more specific about the inflammation markers.

I asked if she had the EEG results, too. She said those were not in the computer. There is a chance the neurologist could have the EEG, but he hasn't entered his analysis or whatever in the computer. So she was going to check on that, too.

So I'm waiting for a call back. Today I am thankful to have gotten a call - and for some good news.

you never know...

2010-10-30T18:46:00.002-05:00

That's kind of been the theme for the past month for me. It's been a month of shock, grief, pain, fear, and uncertainty.

The vice principal at our school is my age, with a wife and two young children (2 and 4). About a month ago, during the night, his wife passed away unexpectedly. It was SHOCKING and devastating. We have had a lot of tragedy at our school over the past couple years - and this hit everyone really hard. It hit me really hard. I hugged my kids a little tighter. It gave me a greater appreciation for each day. Because each day is a gift. It made me even more grateful.

A couple weeks later, I was driving to my parent's house to pick up my kids. The kids had the day off school, but it was a staff development day. (We had meetings all day, so the kids spent the day with my parents.) I hadn't been feeling very well that day, but nothing major. Just didn't feel right. As I was driving, my eyes started twitching. Not my eyelids, my eyeballs. My face started tingling, then my head started tingling. I didn't know what was happening, but knew that I shouldn't keep driving. So I pulled over and called Ryan. He came and picked me up. When I got out of the car, I was very weak and had to have his help to walk. He took me home and we tried to decide what to do. I called my neurologist's office, but their answering service picked up. (This was late Friday afternoon.) So I called my regular doctor's office and spoke to the nurse. She told me to come in and be checked. Regular office hours were over, but they have an after-hours care that is rotated through the doctors. So I saw a doctor who checked my eyes and said there was no pressure behind them, so that was a good thing. I just wanted to be checked and make sure I wasn't having a stroke or something. The doctor said he had no idea what was causing it, then started making crap up. He started talking about how a lot of people have really bad allergies right now, so I should go home and take a Benadryl and go to sleep. if things got worse, to go in and been seen. I knew that was crap. I don't have allergies, and I'm quite sure allergies don't cause any of that. But he didn't seem too concerned, didn't tell me to go to the emergency room or anything. So we went home and I tried to sleep. My eyes continued twitching/shaking for about 8 hours. The next morning the twitching was gone. But by later that night I had developed a headache that was worse than my migraines (and in a different part of my head). Over the next several days, I had the headache and the twitching and tingling came and went. Sometimes the twitching was my eyeball(s), sometimes it was my eyelids, sometimes my lips.

Eventually, I was able to be seen by my neurologist. (Several days later.) He did a thorough exam and asked a LOT of questions. And needed to do several tests. They scheduled me for an MRI, EEG and blood work. He said there were four most likely possibilities of what was going on. First, I could have developed a new (to me) type of migraine - complex migraine. It can mimmick the symptoms of a stroke, come and go over a period of several days, etc. Second, I could be having an idiocratic reaction to the preventative migraine medication I am on which could have reversed the pH levels in my blood and caused lots of problems. (He had me stop the medication immediately while they tested for that, even though it's not something you're supposed to stop cold turkey. You're supposed to step down from it gradually, but if I was having that reaction the risk of staying on it was so much greater that I had to stop.) Third, I could have had a type of seizure. And fourth, there could be bleeding on my brain stem. He put me on Valium to try and stop the twitching and help me sleep.

Over the next few days I had all the tests done. And now we're just waiting for the results. I called their office earlier this week and she said they had the MRI and blood work results, but the doctor hadn't read them yet. (The neurologist had been on call at the hospital all weekend, so he wasn't in the office that day.) She said they would not have the EEG results for another week or two. So I have been waiting every day for a call with the results. But it has not come. I suspect that he is waiting on the EEG results. And they must have not found anything significant on the MRI or blood work or I'm sure I would have heard something. I regret not going to the emergency room that first weekend. But there's nothing I can do about that now. But wait for results.

Thankfully, I am feeling better. I am definitely NOT at my normal level, but I am able to function. Which I was not able to do for many, many days. I missed a lot of days of work. Then when I started going back to work I came home and slept during my lunch and then came home and got in bed after school. The headache is still there, but it's just a bad headache - not debilitating. The twitching has mostly stopped. But I have been very weak and had a lot of problems with being lightheaded and dizzy. That's been better the past couple days, though.

I know something is wrong. I just don't know what. I am praying for an answer. But for now, I am very thankful that I am able to function and be out of bed.

During this time, there was another tragedy close to home. A six year old girl who attends a neighboring elementary school (a good friend of mine is the office clerk at the school and the girl is a member of a ward in our stake) was crossing the street on the way to school and was hit by a truck and died. Her mother was standing on the other side of the street watching. I cannot imagine the pain and grief that mother is feeling.

So... I have been reminded that you just never know. Life is short and precious. We have so much to be grateful for, even when things seem difficult and uncertain. We have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for each of us. Sometimes (a lot of times!) that plan does not match up with our plan. But there is a reason - even if we can't see it. We just need to remember to ENJOY LIFE, BE GRATEFUL & SAVOR EVERY MOMENT.

this week...

2010-08-21T19:52:00.003-05:00

... I went back to work. Just for 3 days - getting ready for the kids. School starts Monday. Can't wait to meet the new kindergartners!

... my kids went to Tennessee. With my parents. As a surprise to visit to my sister Melissa and her family. They had a BLAST. They left Tuesday morning and got home last night They have two days to recuperate and rest before school. (Abby is fighting something - hopefully it's just really bad allergies and not the start of something more.) Ryan and I really enjoyed some quiet time before the craziness starts -with me going back to work, the kids in school and me starting school.

... we finished back to school shopping - and even braved the tax-free weekend shopping (starting at 7:30 this morning). I usually avoid it. But you know? It wasn't as bad as I expected. We got everything done and are all ready for school. All of us. I got my books and everything, too. (My classes start Thursday.)

____________________________________________

I think this is going to be a great school year. I couldn't be happier about Ethan's teacher. I love her. And I think she is going to be great for him. He will not be in the same class as Mitchell (his best friend), but their teachers do a lot together so they will see each other often. So they will survive. Despite what they think.

This is going to be a really different year for Abby. She will be changing teachers for every subject. Plus she is going to be in strings this year - learning how to play the violin. I really hope and pray that Abby will be able to find a good friend or two this year. Many of the girls in her grade that have been in her class the past couple of years are just really mean girls. I'm hoping that being around so many more people will help her be able to find girls she connects with - good, nice girls.

I'm looking forward to the new opportunities to learn and grow for each of us. I'm thankful for another year together at school with both my kids (there are not many left). I'm a little apprehensive. But mostly I'm excited.

a little different...

2010-08-17T18:56:00.000-05:00

We went to a second family reunion in Hinckley and Delta - which are very small towns in the middle of the desert in the middle of Utah. While we were there, there was a parade. Now, the only parade my kids have been to is the Arlington 4th of July parade. This parade was a little different...

1st: There were almost as many horses in the parade as there were people watching the parade.
(That horse behind Ethan was the beginning. There were many, many more to come.)

2nd: There were more tractors than there were floats.

(I'm not sure you can tell by this picture, but this is a line of about 10 tractors.)

3rd: The participants in the parade threw candy to the people watching. Not only did they throw candy, they threw a year supply of salt water taffy to each child.
(Here's Ethan with his stash. It was early in the parade. He was feeling the need to protect it. He didn't yet realize the ridiculous amount of candy he was going to end up with.)

And you know?
That was the best parade I have ever been to.

fish rodeo

2010-08-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

One of the days we were there we went to the Spanish Fork community celebration day. (I don't remember exactly what it was called - every city has one and they all have a specific name.) They had all kinds of events and activities for the kids. But this was the highlights. It was called a "fish rodeo." The kids got into this giant wading pool with a helper while the parents stood on the outside and took pictures. . They were given a gallon sized ziploc bag (and some of the older kids were also given a net). The pool was stocked with rainbow trout. This is my kind of fishing!

(Ethan did not enjoy the feel of the fish swimming around his feet!)

Abby showing off her catch.

Ethan showing off his catch.

My cousin Adam showed the kids how to gut and clean the fish. (Thank goodness. Cause I was OUT on that part.)

Abby was really enjoying the process.

Then Adam and my other cousin Ryan prepared the fish to be cooked. (And they did an awesome job - the fish was SO good!)

Here is it ready to go on the grill.

Abby with her cooked fish.

Ethan with his cooked fish.

Braithwaite family reunion

2010-08-16T15:21:00.003-05:00

We spent the day at Dear Creek with my mom's side of the family (her parents, siblings, their kids and their kids). It was so beautiful - surrounded by mountains. My grandpa brought his boat and a couple of my uncles took turns pulling the kids on a tube. Abby loved this. She spent most of the day out there. Ethan and I went out in the beginning, but he did not want to go out on the tube. (That really surprised me.) So Ethan and I spent the rest the day on the shore. He played in the water, in the sand and on the rocks. He played with (or alongside) my cousin Jen's little boy, Edgar. It was a great day.

my mom and her mom

Abby and my cousins getting ready to be pulled on the tube

Ethan with my cousin Jen and her son, Edgar

Ethan playing in the lake

my grandma trying to stay cool while watching the great grandkids play

my grandpa

Abby with the girls she played with all day (my cousin and a friend of the family)

the group shot

Sheri and Richard (Sheri is my aunt who did all the work to put the reunion together)

my cousin Jen and her little boy, Edgar (she is the cousin who is closest to me in age)

Abby at the beach (photo via Sheri)

Ethan on the boat (photo via Sheri)

family

2010-08-14T15:01:00.006-05:00

Although we saw some incredible sights, there were many more we did not see. Many other things I wanted to do that we just didn't have time to do. But that's not why we went. We went to spend time with family.

We stayed at my Grandma Black's house while we were there. I loved spending so much time with her. I worried that having the kids there for so long might be difficult on her, but we had so many good experiences together that I hope it wasn't. I loved spending evenings together playing games, being spoiled with incredible breakfasts made for us before our busy days, seeing The Music Man, taking a trip to Hinckley/Delta (where Grandma is from) for a very extended family reunion, and just being with my grandma who I don't get to be with often enough.

And then there was Callie. Oh how we miss Callie. And Katie and Jason, too, of course. :) There is just nothing like newborn babies. And we loved every minute we got to spend with Katie and Callie.

Another one of the reasons we made the trip to Utah was for the Braithwaite family reunion. It was so fun to spend time with my cousins as grown ups. I don't think I've seen any of them in at least 10 years. And I really had a lot of fun with them. We didn't get much time together - I wish there had been much more. But my kids had so much fun with my cousins and their kids.

My kids both found new best friends while we were there. Both of them are my cousins (my dad's youngest brother's kids). See that boy two pictures up with Ethan? His name is Gage. He's my 15 year old cousin. He's Ethan's new best friend. At least Ethan thinks so. He followed him around like a shadow. He thought he was the coolest thing ever.

And the girl in the picture above with Abby is Zoie. She's my 9 year old cousin. Her and Abby were two peas in a pod. They had so much fun together. I really wish we had had more time with them. They were out of town most of the time we were there, so we only go to see them for a couple days. I know that if we lived close they would be great friends. Well, Abby and Zoie would. Probably not Ethan and Gage. :)

Ryan's sister Kari and her husband Braden are living in Utah right now so we got to see them a couple times. We spent a really fun night at their apartment eating dinner and playing games (the Pop-Its were my kids favorite part). Then we spent a day in Salt Lake together with Ryan's grammy Trowbridge. We went up into the mountains and had a picnic lunch, went through temple square and then went back to Grammy's for dinner with some of his aunts, uncle, and cousins. (Unfortunately there were several who were sick and not there that we were not able to see.)

It was so great seeing family that we don't get to see often enough. We are definitely not going to let so much time pass before we go back again.

2010-08-13T21:48:00.005-05:00

While on our trip we saw some incredible places.

Wilson Arch (That's Abby and Ethan standing at the top - and I was taking the picture from the bottom. My blood pressure had dropped crazy LOW the night before and I could not climb up. So Nicole - being the great friend that she is - climbed up with all the kids and took pictures. And then it started pouring down rain while they were at the top. And you know what happens to those beautiful red rocks when the get wet? They get really, really slippery! So most the kids slid down on the rear ends.)

Squaw Peak (The kids had not concept of the fact that you could go up onto mountains. So one of the first days we were there my mom and I drove the kids up to a popular lookout - hoping it wouldn't be filled with making out teenagers since it was the middle of the day. We found another form of entertainment...

...these two men were up there with the hang gliders getting ready to jump off the mountain. So we stayed around and waited and watched them to it. They told us all about it - how they do it, why they do it, etc. It was pretty crazy watching them suit up, track the wind systems, and then run and jump off the side of the mountain.)

Bear Creek (This is where we had our Braithwaite Family Reunion. We spent the day at the lake. It was a great day with beautiful scenery enjoying family we don't get to see very often. I'll post more on that later.)

Salt Lake City (We did make a very short trip through Temple Square while we were in Salt Lake visiting Grammy Trowbridge. it was beautiful, of course.)

Dead Horse Point (One last scenic stop on our way out of Utah.)

So...

2010-08-11T17:33:00.003-05:00

... it's kind of been a while, huh? Whoops. Let's see. I'm sure I have some really good excuses. After my last post, I started working on the PTA books but I wasn't getting a whole lot done. I wasn't feeling very well and I kept getting migraines. A few days later my friends and I went to see the midnight showing of Eclipse. It was so fun. But when I got home that night (well, morning... about 3 something) I could not sleep. Something was wrong. I just didn't really know what. So I laid there trying to relax. I said a prayer. I laid there trying to decide what I should do - if anything. But I was scared. I was having a pain in my chest. And I just felt like something wasn't right. After about an hour I decided to wake Ryan up and have him take my blood pressure. It was high. Not the dangerously ridiculously scary high it gets sometimes. But too high. So we debated what to do. Should we wake the kids up and go to the hospital? Should we wait and call the doctor's office? We prayed together and then decided to wait a while and then re-evaluate.

We ended up not going to the hospital. We went to my doctor's office and saw a different doctor than I normally see, but I really liked him. He had an EKG done and said everything looked ok. He gave me some pills to bring my BP down and had me get some blood work. He sent me to a cardiologist to have an echo and a stress test done to try and figure out what was going on.

So... very long, ridiculous story later... after lots of tests, three doctors, 6 new medications and hearing how very "rare" I am over and over, they have no idea what is wrong with me. They know something is wrong. But they don't know what. My heart is healthy. They have no idea why my blood pressure does what it does. I also ended up being sent to a neurologist for the migraines (he wanted to make sure I didn't have a brain tumor - I don't) and he has put me on a preventative medication. It seems to have helped. I had 9 migraines in the 3 weeks before being put on the med and have only had 2 in the 5 weeks since I went on it. So things are better.

In July the kids and I went to Utah for 2 1/2 weeks. We had a great time. It was a VERY busy trip. We had so many people we wanted to see and spent time with. So I've got lots of pictures and stories to post to get caught up. I'll be working on that over the next couple days.

Since we got home I've been working on re-organizing the kids rooms and other closets, the kitchen, etc. getting ready for school to start. I go back to work next Wednesday and the kids start on the 23rd. So our summer is almost over...

A word of advice...

2010-06-20T20:15:00.002-05:00

... BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!

After spending a week re-organizing my bedroom and craft area, this past week I did something different. I really needed to work on finishing out the books for PTA - since I will no longer be treasurer in a couple weeks! :). I need to work on re-organizing the kid's rooms. But instead, for some reason I felt like I needed to transfer all my pictures, music, files, etc. to our external hard drive. It had been quite a while since I had done it. So I spent several days transferring files (it took a LONG time), then doing other things while it worked. Saturday night I went out with my friends for my birthday. (More about all that later...) Before I left, I started the transfer of the last batch of files.

When I got home later that night, I went in to shut down my computer and found 20 something pop-up windows saying that my computer was being attacked, etc. I turned off the network connection and tried running a scan with my virus software - which was quite difficult when windows were popping up every few seconds. After a couple hours of frustration trying to fix the problem, I went to bed. But I was seriously stressed about it. I rely on my computer for SO MUCH! Not to mention the fact that I'm supposed to be taking 2 online classes in the fall! And I was really needing it for the kids to watch movies on our 20 hour road trip in a few weeks!

The next morning we woke up and spent several hours trying to fix the problem. We tried doing system restore, virus scans, etc. Nothing was working. We left for a bbq/pool party with friends for several hours (more about that later, too), then came back home and tried more.

We ended up having to do system recovery - which basically wipes your computer clean and restores it to the factory settings. So my computer is like I just took it out of the box. Thankfully I had had that feeling that I needed to backup files onto our external hard drive. That was a blessing - definitely not a coincidence. There are several things that I have lost - and I have not been able to connect to our wireless network. (The security key for the network was saved in a file on my computer. Which somehow did not end up on the external hard drive. Smart, huh?) And I have been working on re-installing all the software I need.

But I am definitely feeling blessed.

So please learn from my experience and BACK YOUR COMPUTER UP. NOW! Ok? :)

family weekend

2010-06-10T07:15:00.008-05:00

Last weekend was great. Ryan's brother Matt graduated from high school, so we had a bunch of family come to town. And I LOVE when that happens!

Friday night we met up for a pizza party and games.

Saturday morning we went to graduation. Always a good time. I love going to graduations! Can you read the sarcasm? :)

His name was just called in this picture. Not that you can tell. You'll just have to trust me on that. CONGRATS, MATT!

That afternoon we had an "Ultimate Texas Barbecue." Mmm... Then we drove to Uncle Chris' to go swimmming.

Matt, Kari, Bekah with Ryan, Abby and Ethan

Uncle Chris

This was when Matt had put in his family time and was leaving for graduation parties with friends. :) We've all been there...

Great Grandpa and Grandma Otte

Great Grammy Trowbridge with Grandpa and Grandma Trowbridge

Maren and Isaac on the drive home (I'm sure they're going to LOVE this picture. But it's the only one I have with them in it!)

Sunday evening we gathered again to eat leftovers and take pictures. All five of the kids in Ryan's family were together (which doesn't happen often). So we took pictures of Barry and Kathy with their five kids, then with the daughter- and son-in-laws and grandkids, with Grammy, etc. I spent so much time taking pictures on everyone else's camera, that this was the only one on mine. (I'll post the others when I get them.) This was the attempt to get a picture of Barry and Kathy with all their grandkids.

Steven (1), Abby (10), Jake (4), Ethan (6)

SUM*MER

2010-06-04T16:54:00.002-05:00

It's finally here! I have not been this excited about summer vacation since I was a kid in school. SO HAPPY! These past few weeks have been crazy - but May always is. I am very much looking forward to a relaxing, playful June.

Here's the plan:
* swim
* relax
* play with friends
* trips to the library
* free summer movies

Oh, and we'll do a few productive things:
* work on some projects at home (reorganizing)
* close out the PTA books and prepare for audit... then pass the treasurer job on to someone else! Woo hoo! :)

Looking forward to:
* seeing Wicked with my parents next weekend
* preparing for our trip to Utah later in the summer
* having time to be crafty
* throwing a baby shower for a good friend

Happy summer!

family campout

2010-05-28T19:33:00.008-05:00

Last Friday we went camping. At school.

Our school had a family camp out on the property at the back of the school. It had been a crazy week. And when I was finally leaving the school at 5:30 Friday afternoon (not yet packed) and the camp out started at 6:00... I wasn't real excited. But I rushed home, ran to the store, we threw some things in the car and headed back to the school. But you know? It was GREAT. We had so much fun!

Everyone brought tents. We had two tents - a small one for the kids and one for us. We were in a grouping with our good friends (Chavez, Buhrkuhl and Gile). This is what it looked like as everyone was getting their tents set up. There ended up being close to 40 tents.

Here are my kids... and my other kids. (I watch Carson and Kamry every day after school.)

Carson and Ethan

Kamry and Abby

These are my friends, Dawn and Jennifer. (Not pictured: Kristy. Because she was taking all these pictures. Also not pictured: Darla. Because apparently she thinks she doesn't have to do stuff like this since her kids don't go to our school anymore. Whatever...)

We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. Then it was time for family games. There were sack races, 3-legged races, kickball, and (the favorite) capture the flag.

getting ready for the 3-legged race

Carson and Ethan got the hang of it pretty quickly. They did really good!
Abby and Kamry tried. :)

Look at Jen and Dawn go!

I love this picture. I love Ethan's hands - one holding Carson's shirt and one holding his hand. These two have a really sweet relationship. Carson is like a loving, protective, big brother to Ethan.

Ryan was in charge of capture the flag. It was boys/dads against girls/moms. And it was HILARIOUS. Dang those kids can run fast and the dads are vicious! There was a lot of falling by the grown ups. I may or may not have been one of them. (In my defense, the ground was really uneven and there were roots poking up!)

Ryan giving instructions. The kids understood a lot faster than the grown-ups. Go figure.

After the games, they started the camp fires. We were divided among three fires. We roasted marshmallows, had smores, listened to stories and sang.

After the camp fires, we went back to our camp sites and sat and talked and laughed for hours. It was so fun. About 12:30 we decided to wind things down and get the kids to bed. It was really hot and humid outside, so it was difficult to fall asleep. Just as I started to fall asleep...

I heard a sound.

Ryan and I both thought it was our air mattress leaking. But we soon realized it wasn't. Because we were getting SOAKED. And it was not raining.

Let's look at this picture of the campsite again.

In the bottom right corner is the back side of Ryan. He was setting up our kids' tent. It ended up about 6 inches from our tent (which you can see the edge of). Well, you see where that arrow is pointing? It's pointing to a spot that ended up being right between our two tents. And the thing that it's pointing to? It was a sprinkler head.

At 1:20 in the morning, the industrial strength sprinklers behind the school went off.

Once we realized what it was that was soaking us, I called our vice principal who was sleeping in his air conditioned office in the building. (And the very same moment, Jennifer called the principal - who was also sleeping in his air conditioned office in the building.) They strolled down from the building in their pajamas and attempted to turn the sprinklers off. But they couldn't get into the sprinkler control box! So we stood there laughing hysterically and getting soaked. (Eventually they did get it figured out.)

Only about 6 tents ended up getting wet. And somehow most of the campers never woke up. Our tents were flooded. Especially the kids'. So we went home and slept (or tried to) for a few hours then came back for breakfast and to clean up.

It was definitely a memorable camp out. We can't wait to do it again next year! And now they know how to turn off the sprinklers. And now we know where to put our tents next year... just in case.

Ooh you make me smile...

2010-05-26T17:44:00.006-05:00

Abby is ONE HAPPY GIRL today. She finally got her braces off!

Here are the before pictures - just to remember...

Wow. Right?

{And a special thank you to Grandma who sat in the orthodontist's office
for 2 hours since I had Mr. Strep Boy.}

E's drawings

2010-05-25T19:11:00.002-05:00

There are two things Ethan does to wind down to fall asleep. One is to read. The other is to draw. I love going in after he's fallen asleep and seeing what he wrote about or drew that night. There have been some great ones.

This is one of my recent favorites. It's called "Butterfly World in Lego."

I love how everything is in Lego version - with the little knobby things where you could hook more Lego pieces on. Most of his drawings lately have been in Lego form. It cracks me up.

Weasley?

2010-05-25T07:26:00.002-05:00

I'm home today with a sick Ethan. Sad that he is sick. But kind of excited about a day at home to catch up! I feel like I missed the weekend (I'll post about that later) and have lots of laundry, cleaning, etc. to do. I planning on getting a couple posts done, also. But for now, I had to share this.

Yesterday Ryan was messing around with Ethan trying to make him laugh (in his pitiful feverish state). So he was talking to Ethan with a British accent. Ethan said, "Dad - why are you talking to me like Ron Weasley?"

Mother's Day

2010-05-23T19:30:00.006-05:00

We went to church.
The kids sang to the moms. Love that.
We came home and I got lunch in bed.
Then I took a nap.
We went and visited my mom.
We went to Trowbridges to visit my mother-in-law.
The boys made dinner.
The kids gave me some sweet gifts and rubbed my feet.

popsicle stick frame made by Abby

Song and poem by Abby ("My Mother Dear" was the song I taught the primary to sing on Mother's Day). In case you can't read the poem, here's what it says:
Mom,
I love to hear you sing.
It makes a butterfly spread it's wings.
You are so nice.
You smell like sugar and spice!
Love, Abby

So sweet. I think.

Ethan's class had a Mother's Day Tea Party for moms and grandmas. My mom and I were both able to go. The had muffins, donuts, juice and tea. We watched a video his teacher had put together with pictures of the kids throughout the year. They had each written "I love you, mom!" on a piece of paper and took pictures of each kid in various places throughout the school. There may have been a few tears.

Here is the invitation. I loved it. Hopefully you can read Ethan's writing (it's tiny these days). If not, it says:
"You are cordially invited
to a Mother's Day tea
on the 7th day of May
at twenty past eight
in the morning."

At the primary activity where the kids made the popsicle stick frames, they also gave them a paper and told them to draw a picture of what their mom reminded them of. This is Ethan's.
Yep. I remind him of an insect.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

I am so thankful for all the incredible mothers in my life - my mom, mother-in-law, grandmas, sisters, cousins, friends, co-workers, etc.
I am so very thankful for your/their examples of love, patience, kindness and hard work.
Love ya!

school update

2010-05-23T08:37:00.000-05:00

* I took my THEA test a few weeks ago. I was really nervous about it. It had been so long since I had been in that school/testing mode. And there were just so many things I couldn't remember. I studied as much as I could during those two weeks, but it wasn't as much as I would have liked. When I got to the testing location that morning, I was even more nervous. There were SO MANY people there who were taking the test of the 3rd or 4th time. Especially education majors who had to get a high score on the reading section. (Passing is normally 230 - but for education majors it's 270.)

The test took me 4 hours 40 minutes. I had 5 hours. I felt pretty good about it. But really had no clue. Two and a half weeks later I got my results. And... I did better than I expected. I got high enough scores on all sections that I won't have to retake anything. Phew! That was a serious relief.

* I met with my advisor and found out that I'll be able to graduate in December 2012. (As long as I'm approved for the Educational Aide Exemption. Which I should know within the next couple weeks.) I've got some core/content classes to work on for the next year and a half and I'll start the education program in the fall of 2011. But I should be able to finish without ever having to take more than 9 hours at a time. Which is a very good thing.

* We have 8 days left of school. Eight REALLY busy days. We've got field week, end of year parties, award ceremonies, etc.

* This is unrelated to school. But... Abby gets her braces off this week! She is beyond excited. She can't wait to eat really sticky candy, nuts and ice.

end of season pictures

2010-05-09T20:16:00.007-05:00

Dribbling the ball! Go Abby!

Water break.

Daddy giving words of encouragement and advice.

Grandma Black at Abby's last game.

(Grandpa was at nearly every other game - I just didn't have a camera then!)

Uncle Matt, Grandma and Grandpa Trowbridge at Abby's last game... in the rain.

That's Ethan kicking the ball.

Yay! Uncle Matt!

See how a bunch of the boys on the team have green or yellow hair? Funny story about that...
Ethan went to the game with Mitchell and his family. (We were at a funeral and met them there about half way through the game.) Before the game, some of the boys spray painted their hair. But Ethan didn't. After the game he explained why. He said, "I didn't want to mess up my curls!" Daddy was so proud... :)

Ethan and Mitchell. Best buds.

This is a more accurate picture of what they usually look like when they're together.

2010-04-18T20:06:00.004-05:00

This past week has been really difficult. A man who is very dear to our family passed away (he is the father of one of my best friends). It was very sudden and very unexpected. He was one of the most kind, generous, loving men I have ever known. Abby loved him like a grandpa. Her reaction when I told her was excrutiating. I had expected her to tear up a little and nervously start asking a bunch of questions. Instead, she collapsed onto my lap and sobbed. For probably 20 minutes. It took her several hours of thinking and crying before she started asking the questions. We have talked about it many times over the past week.

I have spent a lot of this past week thinking, praying and talking with friends and family.

I am thankful for our Heavenly Father's plan of salvation.

I am thankful for Jesus Christ. He has bourne our burdens and paid the price for our sins.

I am thankful for the knowledge that families can be together forever.

I am thankful for a husband who loves me and takes care of me.

I am thankful for a daughter who loves deeply.

I am thankful for a son whose hugs are healing.

I am thankful for my family - those who are close and those who are far.

I am thankful for good friends who are there for me -
to cry with, to watch my kids, to listen, to talk, to hug, to laugh.

I am thankful to have known Clay Ellis
and to be influenced by his kindness, generosity and love.

invaluable

2010-04-11T17:26:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I had a fortune cookie.
This is what it said:

A FRIEND'S ADVICE IS INVALUABLE.

So...
What do you have to say?
Let me hear it!

last minute - soccer - toothless - studying

2010-04-10T18:58:00.004-05:00

I've been meaning blog several times lately. But I just haven't. So here's a few things that we've been doing lately:

- I went on a retreat at the last minute a couple weekends ago. I got almost nothing done (just a digital birthday invitation for my friend and a baby announcement for my niece). But I laughed more that weekend that I had in the previous 3 months combined. It was wonderful. I seriously ♥ my friends.

- We've had lots of soccer practices and games. One more week until the season is over. I'll have to remember to actually take my camera next week. We found out today that for Ethan's last practice it will be a game of kids versus parents. Ryan is beyond excited. :)

- Ethan lost a tooth. One of the front top ones. I love it. I'll have to take a picture... (Geez, I'm a slacker picture taking mom lately!)

- I mentioned before that I'm going back to school. Well, since it's been so long since I took my ACT, I have to take a test (called THEA) to prove I'm competent enough to be in college. Or something like that. It's later this month. I took a practice test to get a feel for how it's going to be. And. Well. I'm going to have to do some reviewing. See, it's been awhile since I've found the equation of a line, interpreted the graph of a function (including direct and inverse variation), factored polynomials, you get the point... I got my study guide in the mail yesterday and plan on spending my "free" time for the next two weeks trying to remember all that junk I used to know.

I better quit typing and go study...

fulfilling our tourist-y obligations

2010-03-27T09:34:00.007-05:00

Ryan did not understand why we were not out SEEING Tennessee while we were there. I wasn't there to see Tennessee. I was there to see Melissa, Hailey, Katelund, Cloey, Cory, etc... But, we did decide to do a bit of the tourist thing on our last full day there. We ate lunch with Katelund at her school, then drove to downtown Chattanooga to the Tennessee River. There is a "walking bridge" that goes across the river to a riverside park with a carousel, little shops, etc.

Well... when we got there we found out that the walking bridge was closed until May for renovations. So we loaded all the kids back up and drove across the river to the park to let them ride the carousel and play. Well... the carousel didn't open until 3pm on weekdays. And we had to leave by 2:45 to get Kate from school. So... we enjoyed the scenery, walked around the park and went to an ice cream shop.

Of course Ethan found a way to entertain himself - climbing walls.

So Abby followed.

It may not have worked out like we planned, but we got out of the house and did something besides go to Target. I would have to say that we fulfilled our tourist-y obligations.

spring break, baby!

2010-03-21T17:02:00.007-05:00

Sadly, it's over. Tomorrow it's back to reality. But man, we had a great spring break!

Last Friday after school the kids and I jumped in the car, picked up my mom and headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We spent a week at Melissa's house playing with cousins/nieces, hanging out and talking with Melissa, and kissing baby Hailey. It was very laid back and relaxing. Just what I needed. (The two weeks before spring break were rough. It was a much needed break!)

I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple. (I'll work on writing some other details from the trip later in the week.)

Ahh! Look at those cheeks! I just want to kiss them! And that hair... love it.

Little mommy Abby...

This boy was seriously in love with Hailey. I was not expecting that.

Whenever she was crying, he had a special "trick" that he would do to calm her down. He would rub her head. And you know? It worked sometimes!

And this was our pitiful attempt at bedtime the night before we left to get a picture of all the kids together.

I made a promise...

2010-03-09T19:10:00.002-06:00

... that I would update my blog more often. So here it goes - only a week passed this time!

We had a great (busy) weekend. Both kids had their first soccer games of the season. It was Abby's first game ever. She was REALLY nervous. Most everyone on her team has played for 2 seasons together already. So she's the new girl. She was very hesitant to get anywhere near the ball - just kind of followed behind the action. Hopefully she'll get more comfortable as time goes. She was happy after the game, though.

Ethan's on the same team he was last year - with his best friend, Mitchell. He had a great game and was much more aggressive with the ball than he ever was last year. He's definitely improved. His team won and he had a great time.

Grandpa and Grandma Otte were here visiting on Saturday. We all went to dinner at Spring Creek (Trowbridges, Chris and Bekah, Maren and Isaac). It was a lot of fun. I love when the extended family comes to visit.

Sunday we went to my parent's and had dinner. We don't get to see them often anymore. They are spending most of their time in California these days. (My dad is working there.) So we really enjoy being with them when they are in town.

The kids and I are leaving on Friday after school to drive to Tennessee. My mom is going to drive there with us, and my dad is going to fly there and meet us. They'll stay for Hailey's blessing on Sunday and then fly out. The kids and I will spend the week there. I can't wait. I'm spending any spare time I have this week (between work, school, soccer, open house, etc.) getting ready for the trip.

Oh, and one more thing...
I got my acceptance letter today from UTA (University of Texas Arlington).
I'm officially going back to school. Finally!
I've been feeling anxious to do it this past year. I'm ready to finish.
I'll be changing my major - turns out I want to be a teacher.
Despite what I thought 10 years ago when I was in college.

I'm not sure yet how my credits are going to transfer. It's going to take me a while to finish - I'm not going to go full time. I'm planning on doing the first mini summer term - starting in June. And I'm excited to be back in school. I'll definitely appreciate it more now than I did before. Life experience will do that...

I'm still here...

2010-03-02T16:57:00.002-06:00

... just been really busy.

But today is my dad's birthday.
So in honor of him...
I'm updating my blog. :)
Happy birthday, dad! Love you!

9 days until spring break.
Not that I'm counting...
We're going to Tennessee.
Where I'll be spending 6 days holding my new niece.

Soccer season has begun.
Both kids are playing.
Abby's first practice is tonight.
She's very nervous - but excited.

We made it through February with no major illnesses/hospitalizations.
It's a new family record.

Been working on a couple projects:
typing a legacy book for Ryan's grandpa,
making a couple baby quilts.

I read The Hunger Games.
Then I read Catching Fire (the sequel).
Loved them both.
Highly recommend.
Quick reading.
Makes you think...

Had our district chess tournament last Saturday.
Our school got 2nd place.
The kids had a great time.
Now Ethan is teaching me how to play chess.

And I'll leave you with one of the reasons I love kindergarteners.
They sure having a way of making you feel good. :)
This was a conversation from today.

child 1: "I like your shirt, Mrs. Trowbridge."
me: "Thank you!"
child 2: "I like your hair!"
child 3: "I like your shoes!"
child 4: "I like your eyes!"
child 5: "I like your pants!"

Yep. They have a way about them...

today...

2010-01-20T19:36:00.004-06:00

I just realized that my last blog post was a sadly negative and nasty post. So I am posting for the sake of covering that up with something a little more... upbeat...

* Today... I wore tennis shoes! Not a tennis shoe and a hideous "walking boot" thingy. TWO tennis shoes! After 19 days... I was quite excited. I went to the doctor yesterday. He said the toe is healing nicely and I could go ahead and put a shoe back on if it didn't hurt too badly. (I still need to keep the toe wrapped, but don't have to soak and scrub it anymore! Yippee!)

* Today... I went to an all-day training. We spent the morning learning, then in the afternoon we had a test over the material. It's been a long time since I've been in school. But this experience today reminded me of a problem I have. (And it's a problem that Abby has... that we have been working to break her of...) When the teacher handed out the test, I had this almost uncontrollable urge to not only get every answer right - but to be the first one done. I did. And I was. But it was a little disturbing. We've been trying to get Abby to SLOW DOWN on her work and do a better job. But there I was, answering those questions as fast as I could. And after I finished and was sitting there watching everyone else take their test, my own words to Abby came to mind - "There's no prize for being the first one done!" And there was no prize. But it did feel pretty good. How sick is that?!?

* Today... I've been doing some reading about Scott Brown. Awesome.

stupid toe issue update

2010-01-06T18:57:00.002-06:00

Since I've had so many people asking...
Yesterday I did some reading on the internet trying to figure out what to expect from this stupid toe. I did NOT like what I was reading. So... I went to the doctor today. And I liked what he said even less!

He did an x-ray and the toe is not broken. It's just majorly bruised, possibly infected and raw. So here's what he wants me to do:

* take 2 antibiotics
* soak the foot twice a day with water/epsom salt
* Once a day, SCRUB the affected area with gauze soaked in hydrogen peroxide/water - he said we want it looking like "RAW MEAT" for the next month or so. Seriously? That is DISGUSTING AND WRONG. It makes me want to throw up from pain just touching it. How am I going to SCRUB it? I have no idea. Which leads me to the next item...
* he gave me a prescription for Darvocet
* He "recommended" that I use crutches - or at the very least some kind of boot/shoe that does not touch the toe and I have to walk only on the heel of that foot. I got an ugly boot/shoe thing. I am NOT using crutches. This will be for approximately the next month.
* He said that there's a good possibility a new toenail will not grow back because of the amount of trauma done to the place where the toenail grows from.

So... there it is. I was supposed to be walking a 5K this weekend with some friends. That will not be happening. (Which might be a good thing, since it's supposed to be the coldest it's been in 8 years or something.)

And you know? This whole this is just so stupid and embarrassing! I haven't figured out a good (AKA less embarrassing) answer to what happened. And now this beautiful boot/shoe thing is just going to cause so many more questions. Grrr...

Oh well. I do have to say - I am VERY thankful for health insurance right now.

the last weekend of Christmas break...

2010-01-03T19:45:00.004-06:00

Friday afternoon: Ethan starts throwing up. He spent approximately the next 9 hours throwing up every 5-10 minutes. He finally falls asleep for a couple hours. Can't hold ANYTHING down.

EARLY Saturday: Wakes up. Continues throwing up - only every 20-30 minutes. Is too weak to stand. Slightly delirious. Can't hold ANYTHING down. But sleeps off and on in between. This goes on for another 15 hours. We debate how dehydrated he is and whether we need to head to the hospital or not.

Later Saturday: Ethan vomits for the last time around 6pm. Spends the rest of the evening/night sleeping. Around 7pm, Andrea has a freak accident involving a kitchen chair and trying to do too many things at once while exhausted... and crushes her toe. Blood everywhere. Thought it was broken. Turns out the entire toenail was ripped/popped off. Not sure how. But it hurts like ______.

Sunday: Ethan starts eating and drinking. Major relief. Ryan starts throwing up. Violently. Spent a good part of the day curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor. Still vomiting.

To say we're praying for health might be an understatement.

handmade gifts

2010-01-02T07:47:00.007-06:00

P h o t o C u b e P u z z l e s This is one of the things I used the pictures of the kids for. I cut the pictures into 6 squares. Mod Podged them onto wood cubes. Then painted an unfinished wood picture frame to be a "base" for the puzzle.

P e p p e r & O n i o n R e l i s h
I like to have a little something to give friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. So when I saw this copycat recipe on Skip To My Lou, I knew that's what the gift was going to be.

I first had this stuff at Harry & David many years ago. I LOVED it. It is best served as a dip over softened cream cheese with Wheat Thins. SO good.

So one afternoon my mom and I spent several hours making it. Then we spent another few hours a couple Saturdays later making it again because we loved it so much and wanted to have some leftover for us! :)

C u s t o m N o t e p a d s

These are what I made for the kids teachers for Christmas. They are personalized notepads that I made in Photoshop, printed on my printer and then used special adhesives to make them notepads. Here's a better look at the pages:

(This one is tall and skinny with a magnet on the back.
It has the teacher's initial on the circle at the top.)

(This one is the smallest. It is a sticky notepad.
It has the teacher's name on the bottom right side.)

(This is just a "from the desk of" notepad.)

I've also spent some time making bags for a few people (there are lots of birthdays in December, too). But sadly I don't have any pictures of them. I'm working on a few more right now, so I'll post pictures when I get them done.

photo shoot

2010-01-02T07:28:00.004-06:00

I was informed several times during the month before Christmas that new pictures of the kids were needed. Actually I was planning on having pictures taken of our whole family. But every single weekend someone was sick. So... I took the kids to the park one weekend and took a LOT of pictures. This is what we ended up with. Funny kids...

white Christmas

2009-12-30T19:08:00.008-06:00

Here is the proof! This was in the afternoon Christmas Eve. It continued to snow throughout the night and we woke up Christmas morning to everything covered in snow!

The kids spent lots of time playing out in the snow and had some serious snowball fights that night with Uncle Matt. (My camera was having some issues... this is about all I ended up with.)

So much to write...

2009-12-28T21:04:00.002-06:00

... that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and keep putting it off. So here's a random list of what's been happening. I'll work on some pictures and stuff later.

* We are starting week 2 of our Christmas break. And I am THOROUGHLY ENJOYING the time off. It's so nice to have time at home to catch up, get some work done, relax and play.

* Christmas was wonderful. We were surprised with a white Christmas - it snowed most of the day Christmas Eve and was still on the ground Christmas day. It was so fun. We spent time with both sides of the family during those two days. We are blessed to have both of our parents near. But really missed our siblings who were all so far away this Christmas.

* I made several handmade gifts for Christmas this year. Not that I really had time to do it, but it's just not Christmas to me without that. So I made the time. I managed to finish them all the day before Christmas Eve. I was quite happy about that.

* I actually got Christmas cards out this year! And most people even got them before Christmas! Phew! :)

* As part of some of the handmade gifts (and Christmas cards), I took the kids for a little photo shoot at a local park. 181 pictures later... we ended up with a handful of pretty good ones. It is ridiculously hard to get a picture of both kids looking at the camera with a normal looking smile. Maybe someday...

* One of my favorite things to do right after Christmas is to fill in my new calendar and planner. I've been working on that tonight. It makes me happy. :)

* I made my planner again this year. This time I included several pages for meal planning. I'm working on gathering more quick meal ideas. (I'll be talking more about that in a later post...)

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

prayer

2009-12-11T16:25:00.003-06:00

I truly believe in the power of prayer. I have felt the strength that comes from having many people praying for me and my family during difficult times in my life. So today I am asking that you join me in prayer.

I have mentioned that about a month ago my "little friend" at school was moved to another classroom. The teacher of this class is incredible. We have been in there for about a month, and I have grown very close to her. She is just amazing.

Early this morning, her youngest son (21 years old) was killed.

I cannot imagine the grief and pain that she is feeling right now. Please pray for this dear family. Please pray that they will feel peace and find strength during this unimaginably difficult time.

PW!

2009-12-03T17:07:00.007-06:00

A couple nights ago, my friend Kristy and I went to a book signing for The Pioneer Woman. If you don't know who she is... you are seriously missing out. Go to her website right now. You can thank me later. :)

There were a crazy number of people there. Somewhere over 800. And it was a long wait in line. But it was actually a lot of fun. We met a couple girls in line (one of which lives a few miles from us) who were so fun. We laughed and laughed.

And after four hours of waiting in line...

... we got to meet Ree and have our cookbooks signed. And you know? It was totally worth it. She was just as charming in real life as she is online. The cookbook is beautiful. It was a fun experience.

Happy December!

2009-12-02T16:29:00.002-06:00

This morning we woke up to SNOW!
You can't really see it in the picture. But it was there!
The kids got ready for school quickly and then stood at the window watching the snow.
(And of course the Christmas tree lights were on - that's the first thing they do when they wake up.)
It felt very much like Christmas time today.
HAPPY DECEMBER!

In these tough economic times...

2009-11-29T20:39:00.003-06:00

[don't you just LOVE how so many tv and radio commercials start with that phrase?]

... apparently there is something in the water!

There are SO MANY BABIES coming next year. Seriously. Off the top of my head I can name 12 people I know who are pregnant - including both of my sisters. And you know? I don't feel that sad ache that I have had for so many years. I might feel a little irritation that BOTH of my sisters are having babies and BOTH of them live way too far away. But... I'm okay. And it's good. I can't wait to hold some of those new babies...

2009-11-27T21:51:00.004-06:00

This has been such a great weekend. I love Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love the tradition. The time with family. The focus on gratitude. Because even during our hardest times - we are so blessed.

I have really enjoyed the time away from work/school. We have spent most of our time at home - just being together. Cooking, cleaning, playing, decorating, relaxing. It feels like today is Saturday #3 for the week. I love it. We have also spent some time with extended family. Thanksgiving day with my parents and my aunt/uncle/cousins. Last night with Trowbridges and Grandpa and Grandma Otte.

I read a quote last night that I just loved.

I am so blessed to have so many great people in my life:

A husband who takes care of me.
Children who strive to do what's right and to be happy.
Parents who are such a great example to me.
Grandparents who are an inspiration.
Sisters who have become my best friends - despite the distance.
Uncles/aunts/cousins that I love to spend time with.
True friends.
Friends I see regularly and live life with (and have fun with!).
Friends I don't get to see often (but when we do it feels like no time has passed). Friends I haven't seen in years (who I have so many great memories with) but have re-connected with through technology.
Co-workers that teach me, support me and inspire me.

And last, but definitely not least...
A loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers.
An older brother, Jesus Christ, who suffered for me. Who understands my pains and sorrows. Who has made it possible for me to try again on a daily basis - to try to be more like Him.

So to each of you... thank you. I am truly blessed to have you in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

5 reasons I love my job

2009-11-21T08:17:00.005-06:00

1. On Monday afternoon, there was a hostage situation (a domestic dispute) about a half mile from our school - complete with SWAT, road closures, helicopters, etc. The police came to the school and the decision was made to change the dismissal procedure so there would not be 900 people out in front of the school. We have a phone system that can call every household in the school within 1 minute in an emergency. So parents were called and told to pick up their kids. Everything went very smoothly and by the normal time school got out, a great majority of students had been picked up.

We were never in danger. (Have to state that. Right, K? :) It was just a precaution. But as it was all happening, I was thinking about how grateful I am that I was there. I was with my children. If something had happened, I would be there.

2. My little friend has been moved to a new classroom. (And I have moved with him.) This has been a really good thing. This teacher has a very different personality than the last teacher I was with. I love being around people who are generally happy and have fun with life. It has not been a perfectly easy transition. In fact, there were some really tough days. But, it is a major change for him. So that was expected. In the long run, I think it's going to be a great thing.

3. I get to see Ethan everyday at lunch. He is in the cafeteria right next to where I am for 25 minutes. I get to go talk to him and give him a hug (which he still loves, thankfully :). And then I get to watch him interact with his friends. He is ALWAYS sitting with Mitchell. (The person on the other side of him varies.) And those two are just hilarious together. Mutt and Jeff. That's what people call them.

4. I get to see Abby everyday. But not in the places you would expect - like the halls, the playground, the cafeteria. I see Abby in the workroom, the teachers' lounge, the office, etc. Because Abby is apparently the errand girl. It's a good thing she is getting all As this year. Otherwise, I might have something to say about that!

Abby is a people person. (Duh, huh?) But she especially loves adults. She always has. (This is probably a good thing and a bad thing.) But it has been funny. In the past week, I have had 4 adults at the school who I don't know that well come make comments to me about Abby - how sweet she is, how happy she is, how friendly she is, what a good helper she is, etc. Because when Abby is running all these errands during the school day, she is making "friends" with all the adults in the school.

5. I have met so many incredible people who have had such interesting lives. I have really enjoyed getting to know them better and learning from them and their stories. There are so many different kinds of people - and sometimes lots of drama. And yet, we are all (or at least most of us) there for the same reason - for the children.

2009-11-08T18:15:00.002-06:00

There have been some unexpected challenges with working full time. I knew that it was going to be difficult to get everything done at home after working all day. And it has. I have not done a great job of staying on top of laundry, cooking good meals, cleaning, etc. But I am not really surprised by that. I thought it would take some time to adjust to this new schedule.

What I did not expect was the physical and emotional exhaustion I have felt. A lot of that has to do with my "special assignment." Yes. That is still going on. And while things are improving... it is not easy. I have truly grown to love this child and am very invested in him. But it is absolutely exhausting. And being physically and emotionally exhausted... well, I'll just say I've gone to bed early a LOT instead of cleaning, doing laundry, etc.

The other thing I did not expect was feeling so disconnected. I have felt very alone and have really struggled with that lately. I just don't have the time (and energy) to talk, visit and spend time with my extended family and friends like I used to. And I miss it.

I know without a doubt that I am doing the right thing. I know that I am supposed to be working at this school (and with this student). But I have been really struggling lately.

This weekend was our stake conference. Last night was the adult meeting, and near the end, a video was played. It was from Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "None Were With Him." [If you have not watched this video, you should. You can watch it here.] That talk is one of the most powerful talks I have ever heard. And the video is incredible. And it was just the reminder that I needed.

Because I am not alone.

finally... talk

2009-10-25T17:49:00.005-05:00

I'm feeling like my prayers were answered today. Ethan finally opened up and talked. I feel like we were able to identify and discuss some of the things that are causing his anxiety at school. I feel like we have a plan that will hopefully make a difference. I'm going to figure out something for him to keep in his pocket and squeeze or fiddle with when he's worried or feeling anxious. I'm going to talk to his teacher tomorrow and probably the principal, too. (The problems are not related to his teacher - but with a boy in his class and two other adults he has regular interaction with. Basically it comes down to the fact that he does not handle harsh, yelling adults well. It terrifies him and stresses him.)

[I would still love to hear any ideas, experiences or suggestions any of you have.]

anxiety and fears

2009-10-24T20:20:00.002-05:00

We've always known that Abby has issues with anxiety and fears. She stresses and worries out loud. All the time. It's something that we've struggled with - finding ways to teach her to deal with these feelings so that she will end up a happy, healthy, functioning adult. I don't want her anxiety and fears to overcome her. It has not been easy. And I'm sure this is going to be a life-long struggle for her.

It wasn't until today that I realized that Ethan has the same issues - it has just manifested in different ways. He doesn't vocalize his stress and fears. He has had some issues of his own over the years (hysteria with some things he is afraid of - i.e. storms). But it was this recent issue or sucking/chewing on his shirts that I made the connection. Before the shirt thing started, he was having accidents at school. Frequently. (He hasn't had one since.) As I was talking to Ryan about this last night, he reminded me that he's had this shirt issue before. Ethan's second year of preschool he did the same thing. He was having accidents and started sucking on his shirt. (Not nearly as bad as he is now.)

The thing I can't figure out is what he is stressed or feeling anxious about at school. He LOVES his teacher. His best friend is in his class. School work is easy for him and he does really well. So why? And why didn't it happen last year when he started kindergarten? Maybe something did happen last year and I just don't remember. I guess he did go through a period of time where he had a lot of accidents. Maybe that was it. I've tried talking with him several times. He just doesn't really talk about his feelings. Okay. He doesn't talk about them at all.

I'm just not sure what to do. I've been doing some reading. Some people suggest giving the child a necklace or bracelet to chew/suck on instead of the shirt. Apparently a lot of the cases of kids doing this are tied to other neurological problems. Some say it's just a phase some kids go through - just let them do it and eventually they'll stop. But I don't know.

Ryan and I just don't really struggle with these issues. I mean, we're parents/adults so of course there are things we worry about (like all this!). But not like they do. And we weren't this way as children.

Are our kids this way because of the trauma they experienced in their first months of life? (There are studies about that...) Or is it genetics somehow? I guess it doesn't really matter why.

I just don't know...

today...

2009-10-21T17:57:00.002-05:00

... I am finally starting to feel back to normal. And, despite a scare on Saturday where Ethan threw up, I think we are all finally over being sick.

... I noticed that my calendar in the kitchen is still in September. I lost a few weeks. Whoops.

... was a great day at work. My little friend (my special assignment) has had a great week and has made incredible progress. I am feeling really good about it.

... (well, last night actually...) I made a handmade card for the first time in many, many months. And I remembered how much I love creating things.

... it has been raining non-stop. But it's also quite cool outside. So I am snuggled up on the couch instead of doing the laundry and cleaning that need to be done.

... we had Chinese food delivered for dinner. (see above) Orange chicken and cashew chicken are our favorites.

... I am working on singing time for Sunday. (Did I mention I was called to be the primary music leader? SO excited!)

... I started the process of filing complaints against a nasty store that just opened about a mile from our home (and school). I've never done anything like this before. But it feels good. After being transferred many times, I ended up speaking with someone in the city attorney's office who is starting things on their end. She also gave me some tips on what to do next (file a complaint with the management company who owns the shopping center, our local congressman, and the Mayor's office).

... I have no idea what to do with Ethan. He has started this really irritating habit of chewing/sucking on the collar of his shirts. It's gross. And he's ruining his shirts. I don't know what the deal is! And I don't know how to get him to quit. Everyday after school, he comes to me with a ring of wetness half-way down his shirt. I've been making him take his shirt off when we get home from school. But he can't go shirtless to school! Anyone have a kid that has done this? Any suggestions?

wrong!

2009-10-13T17:28:00.005-05:00

So...
The day I wrote that last post I had gone to the doctor because I just knew I had strep. Well, he did a rapid strep test and it came back negative. He thought it was the swine flu. He told me to rest over the weekend and come back if I got worse. [Looking back, I really should have fought him on it then. But I was so sick and had been there so long I just wanted to go home to my bed! And I had a fever - my brain wasn't exactly in tip-top shape.]

So I rested all weekend (missed the primary program - sad...). I wasn't feeling great. But I wasn't worse. I hadn't had a fever for a couple days. So I went back to work. I could make it through the day, then I would come home and go to bed after school. Ryan did a lot of taking care of meals, kids, homework, etc. When the weekend came I got much worse. On Sunday I went to an urgent care place. (So this was 10 days after my first dr appt and 13 days since I had gotten sick.) And... turns out it was STREP! I knew it... I can't even imagine how many people/kids I exposed in those 2 weeks...

So they gave me a shot and a few other prescriptions and I went home to rest. After I had been on the antibiotic for a day, I went back to work. I wasn't all the way better, but I was ok. I went to bed early every night (but not as soon as I got home from school).

Friday was a school holiday. It's one of the 2 student holidays I actually have to work. So the kids went to a friend's house for the day and I went to work. I woke up feeling pretty awful that morning, but as the morning went I got much worse. I had an awful (barky) cough, I was SO achey and weak... I got a fever and started having a little trouble breathing. So I got another appointment at the doctor and left early. The doctor gave me some pretty heavy drugs to try and kick this and ordered me to stay in bed for the long weekend. So I did. I've been heavily drugged and in bed.

During the weekend, the kids had spent a lot of time just lying around watching movies. Which I was not complaining about (did I mention Ryan is sick, too?). But it was unusual. When they woke up Monday morning I knew they had it. I got them appointments that morning just to have my suspicions confirmed. They both have strep.

So... we all missed school today. We are hoping to be back tomorrow. We'll see if that actually happens. They seem to be doing better as the day goes.

The good side of all this? As of last month, I have health insurance for the first time in years. (The kids have always had it.)

So even though I am SO STINKING TIRED of being sick and being in bed...

I really cannot complain. Because 2 doctor visits, an urgent care visit and 11 prescriptions later (seriously. ELEVEN.) - it was good timing.

[And I've been encouraged by many of my kindergarten co-workers. Apparently everyone gets sick a LOT their first year working full-time in kindergarten. I figure 3 weeks - I've done my time all at once. So I'm good for the rest of the year. Ok?]

I wish I was joking.

2009-09-24T15:55:00.003-05:00

Well... my chanting didn't help. I have felt worse every day this week. Last night I got a fever. I went to the doctor this morning and he thinks I have swine flu.

No. I'm not kidding.

He said he has seen a LOT of cases in the past two weeks, but they're mild cases. So hopefully after a couple days in bed I'll be back to life.

I'm not really that surprised I caught something. Kindergarten is kind of a petri dish for every illness you can imagine. And they're SO touchy-feely. It was probably just a matter of time.

Now I'm just praying my kids don't get it.

I'm going back to sleep now.

love, reassignment... and a fire?

2009-09-22T17:18:00.003-05:00

School:
The kids are both doing well in school. Abby has a lot more homework this year, but she is handling it pretty well. For the most part. Ethan is loving school. And I think he is IN LOVE with his teacher. Last week I found a note that he had written that said, "Dear Jenna, I love you. Love, Ethan" [Jenna is his teacher's first name - he read it on something.]

Work:
Well, work has been... a challenge. Not exactly what I signed up for. For 3 weeks I have been "temporarily" reassigned to shadow a little boy. He is a kindergartener who has many, many struggles. It has been difficult. But it is also rewarding. He is making progress. I'm not sure how long I will be doing this. But I have become very connected to him and care deeply about him. We'll see what happens...

Health:
We have stayed relatively healthy considering the many sicknesses that are going through the school, church and community. We are praying for continued health. [Although as I type this my throat is burning and I'm feeling weak and achy. But I'm sure it's nothing. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. Got it?]

Other:
Summer is over! Yippee!! Today when we walked out of the school Ethan said, "It's so cold! Can we have a fire tonight?" [It was 67 degress. Which is about 30 degrees less than what it was a week ago.]

peaceful. beautiful.

2009-09-07T19:10:00.004-05:00

We spent the weekend at Grandpa and Grandma Otte's ranch. It was wonderful. I'll work on posting more later, but this is what we sat on the porch and looked at (this was about 40 yards from where we sat):

And this is what we woke up to in the mornings:

I feel rested, rejuvenated and ready for a new week.

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend.

we survived!

2009-08-30T18:51:00.002-05:00

Yes. We all survived the first week. Sorry it's taken me so long to write.
If there's one word I could use to describe last week it would be
E X H A U S T I N G.
But it was good.

The kids love their teachers. They have friends in their classes. They are happy to be back at school. They were definitely tired. But happy overall.

I loved meeting all the new kindergarteners. There are so many sweet ones. A few, well... let's just say there were tears, drama and CRAZINESS. It is definitely never boring in kindergarten! I feel like I fit right into the team I'm working with. I had subbed many, many times with the TAs and the teachers. So I knew what to expect and what to do. It was a good week. Other than being completely exhausting. Did I mention that already?

And hey! We made it through 5 days of school without getting sick. But then we got some kind of stomach bug and spent half the weekend in bed. Good times. But we're all doing better now. And I figure we've had our share of sickness for the first six weeks, so we should be good until October. OK?

Have a great week.

[I'll try to actually take some pictures this week. I know. I'm a terrible mom...]

The 6 Keys to a Disorganized, Unproductive Day

2009-08-25T17:09:00.003-05:00

[I read this several months ago, but saw it mentioned today in my Google Reader. I just had to share it. It's from Simple Mom - I love her site. This series is directed more to stay-at-home moms, but really applies to any mom/home manager.]

You can find the whole series here. It's great. But here's a summary:

The top things you should do at home to make sure you end the day feeling exhausted, disorganized, lazy...

6. Neglect yourself
5. Overcommit
4. Don't plan your time
3. Have too much stuff
2. Aim for perfection
1. Don't enjoy your job

Delight in the little things

pinewood derby

Happy 12th birthday, Abby!

a new semester

My husband is awesome.

holiday picture catch-up

another one done!

Oh happy day!

dog love

hat

projects

thoughts on subbing

Break!

gratitude: health

We’re goin’ solo…

wishes

Why are you doing that?

library

trying.

investigation

riding

typical

dum dum dum, dum da-dum, dum da-dum...

random pictures

today I am thankful for...

quick trip

Result...

right now...

multi-tasking

let it free!

Ethan's other loves...

ridiculous, stupid story

{spring break} grandkids

{spring break} cousins!

{spring break} Sea World

{spring break} Fossil Rim

Abby's birthday

choir concert

Save Texas Schools

shock.

new recipes...

school . kids . Callie

Trow family time

I have a sister living close to me!

playing

Christmas... in pictures

break!

getting over the hump...

violated... and lessons learned

in other news...

some news...

you never know...

this week...

a little different...

fish rodeo

Braithwaite family reunion

family

So...

A word of advice...

family weekend

S*U*M*M*E*R

family campout

Ooh you make me smile...

E's drawings

Weasley?

Mother's Day

school update

end of season pictures

invaluable

last minute - soccer - toothless - studying

fulfilling our tourist-y obligations

spring break, baby!

I made a promise...

I'm still here...

today...

stupid toe issue update

the last weekend of Christmas break...

handmade gifts

photo shoot

white Christmas

SUM*MER