Big Fat BUMMER!!!

So I just found out today that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.  This will be my one and only post about it, and after this, I am going to hold my head up and stop complaining.  

It all started back in May.  My feet and knees began aching, and I thought it was an injury from running.  I stopped running for a few weeks, hoping it would heal itself up.  After it spread to my shoulders, elbows, hips, neck and hands, I decided it was time to see a doctor.  He ran several tests, but was unable to find anything.  I was referred to a Rheumatoid Specialist, but had to wait five months to see him.  My pain has been so intense, I am unable to walk without my tennis shoes on.  Some nights, I even sleep in them.  It has been especially frustrating for me not to be able to do anything..... run (I was almost ready to run my first half marathon), get on the floor and play with my kids, and even take Kate out of her crib.  I'm just not content sitting around.

I saw the doctor last week, and just got my results back today.  I'm really not sure why I am so disappointed, because this was the result that I have been expecting.  Luckily, there is some help available.  I have been taking steroids to help with the pain and swelling, but the side effects are a KILLER.  They make me a little moody (OK... a LOT moody), so I take them at night, but when I take them at night, I can't sleep.  It's really a no win situation.  When I'm irritable, the kids don't hesitate to tell me that my steroids are working ;)  I will start Methotrexate (a drug used for Chemotherapy) and Folic Acid (to minimize the side effects of the Chemo drug) tomorrow.  

On the bright side... the doctor is really optimistic.  He thinks that we will be able to get this under control and that I will be able to run and play soccer again.  

Here's hoping..........

Choir Concert/Geography Bee

There's been lots keeping up busy at the school the last couple of weeks. First, Emily  joined the school choir and had her first concert.  She was really excited, maybe a little nervous too?  The jitters didn't last long with her friend Megan standing next to her.  They were funny to watch.  Megan was really singing, and I think Emily was trying to compete to see who could sing louder.  She did a great job and was really proud of herself (as were her parents!)

Tyler was one of twenty four students (out of 700+) chosen to participate in the school's Geography Bee.  He was given a list of questions (very hard ones too, I must add.  There are countries out there that I didn't even know existed!) and told that these were the questions he would be given.  He studied HARD.  Every night for at least an hour, for about a month.  He knew the questions front, back, up and down. Imagine what a disappointment when he got there and NOT ONE QUESTION off the list was used.  He lasted three rounds before he was eliminated.  He was frustrated.  I felt so sad for him.  Regardless, he did a fantastic job.  We were proud of him, the dedication he showed and the great kid that he is!

I love to see the kids anxious to be involved.  

We are so proud of the both of you :)

Happy Birthday Kate!

We celebrated Kate's birthday yesterday.  I cannot believe how fast this year has passed.  She had a great day!  

She wasn't interested in opening the presents, but once they were opened, she loved everything. She got a piggy bank (and money in her savings account), a couple of outfits, and a toy blender shape sorter from her family.  A scrapbook, a Cabbage Patch Doll, and a dress from Grandma and Grandpa Shorty, money from Grandma and Grandpa Paul, a beautiful quilt from Ty and Jess, a snuggly outfit and an electronic storybook from Cari and Guy, and a outfit and a ball from Aunt Sandra.  She was definitely spoiled.

She loved the birthday cake (the frosting looks blue in the picture, but it was purple.)  

It took her a few minutes to dig in, but when she did, there was no stopping her!  

She was such a mess afterwards.  Nobody (but her mom, of course), wanted to touch her!  I scooped her up and put her in the kitchen sink to clean her up a little!

The kids and I thought it would be fun to come up with a top ten list of the things we love about Kate (in no particular order).....

1. She really enjoys her food.  When she tastes something she likes, she says "MMMMMMM."
2. She is a thumb sucker.  We especially love when she is snuggling and rubs your face with her fingers while sucking on her thumb.  I know I shouldn't love this, and will probably struggle to break her of the habit, but for now, it's pretty darn cute!
3. She love to play peek-a-boo.  Sometimes she gets so excited that she covers one eye and one ear.  So funny!
4. She's a dancer!  She loves music.  She dances and bounces whenever there's music.
5. She's only as big as a minute.  There have been times when she's pulled herself up to my leg and I have to look and see if she's standing or kneeling.
6. Her outie.  She's fascinated with it.  Whenever she's in the tub, she pokes it with her finger.
7. Her giggle.  She loves to be tickled and her laugh is adorable.  There's nothing in the world like a baby's laugh!
8. She HATES socks.  Whenever I put them on, she immediately pulls them off and throws them.  I decided that with the cold weather, I would put some shoes on her, just so her feet will stay warm.  She cried for 1/2 hour, until I took the shoes off.
9. When asked a question, she'll respond with "Ya!"  I got her out of bed a few mornings ago and said, "Good morning Kate.  Would you like a pancake?"  She responded with an enthusiastic "YA!"
10. She brings so much love to our family.  Tyler adores her, Emily mothers her, and Gavin... hmmm, pesters her?  She is very tolerant and it's easy to see how much she loves her brothers and sisters.

Happy Birthday Kate!  

You are such a sweet baby and you have blessed your family immensely!

Sweet Dreams

Emily had a bad dream about a witch with skinny legs last night, so as she was saying her prayers tonight, she said, "please bless that I will have good dreams.... about rabbits."  I had to start fake coughing to cover up my laugh!!!!!!  What a little darlin'!

O Christmas Tree....

It all started with putting lights on the tree.....

I like to string colored and clear lights on the tree.  I tested every single strand before putting them on, of course.  I got 3/4 of the way done, and ran out of lights.  No problem, I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart, and finished the top of the tree with brand new lights. 

After I finished, we stood back to light it up, and what do you know? The bottom 1/4 of the tree wouldn't light.  

UGH!  I HATE STRINGING THE LIGHTS!  

So back to Wal-Mart I went.  Took the bottom part of the lights off and re-did them.  Drum roll..... Now the TOP didn't light up!  Brand new lights!  So I am getting REALLY frustrated at this point.  Travis made another trip to Wal-Mart ($40 later) and after the third attempt, the lights were looking fantastic.

I decided to stand back and let the kids decorate the tree by themselves.  After all, isn't that what it's all about?  (Not to mention, I was exhausted after spending 8 hours putting lights on the tree.)  It turned out surprisingly good!  They were all so proud of themselves!

With Gavin's help, I wrapped a few presents.  His job was to place the presents under the tree after they were wrapped.  When I noticed what he had done, it made me smile (and giggle a little).  Instead of putting the presents UNDER the tree, he put them ON the tree.  

* I regret to inform you that now NONE of the lights on the tree light up.  Travis said that I had too many plugged into one outlet without a surge protector.  If HE doesn't fix them, there will be no lights on the tree this year!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am coming to appreciate the holidays more and more.  Maturity in my old age?  Maybe.  We had a great Thanksgiving this year!  I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my family.  We went to Cari and Guy's house for our feast and it was fabulous!

The turkey sculpted butter was a big hit!

After dinner, the boy's relaxed and watched football...

and Tyler challenged me to a match of ping-pong!

9 PIES!!!  Unbelievable!  Of course I had to have just a small bite of several ;)

Kate enjoyed her very first piece of blueberry cheesecake.  She was a happy baby!

Thanksgiving this year was a great opportunity for me to reflect on the past year and all of the blessings that we enjoy.  I am truly grateful for my wonderful family, a nice warm house, and full tummies!  We are truly blessed :)

Take it like a Man!

Gavin was playing with Kate today, and decided that he wanted to hold her.  She protested very loudly and started crying.  I heard Gavin tell her,

 "Ah, Kate.  Just take it like a man!"  

Very funny :)

I was going through some pictures to find one that went along with this post and came across these pictures of Kate's first swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Look at Gavin's face.  You can just see that he is up to no good ;)

Dear Mom....

Travis had been out of town all week, and I was starting to feel a little bit edgy and frustrated.  I banished the kids from my room for a few minutes in order to pull myself together.  Emily quietly knocked on my door and told me that she had a note for me.  I opened the door, and this is what she handed me:

Interpretation:

Dear Mom,

I was wondering if you could be nicer?

Gavin's Breakfast

This is why a mother should NEVER, under any circumstances, leave her children alone while showering, going to the bathroom or for any other reason.

While I was showering today, Gavin decided that he was hungry and that it would be really easy to make breakfast for himself.  When I got out of the shower, this is what I found:

The toaster was crammed full of bread.

Then he tried to make it into cinnamon and sugar toast (forget the toasted bread, he couldn't figure out how to do that).  There was at least 1/4" of cinnamon on the piece of bread, and a few sprinkles of powdered sugar. (No, I don't make my cinnamon and sugar toasts with powdered sugar.  I have no idea where he got that idea.)  Notice the finger prints in it.

I asked him how it tasted, and he said "I had to go pew pew (spitting noises) to get it out of my mouth".

I was so grateful that more damage wasn't done.  All I could do was smile :)

PG-13

We are going to plant some daffodils today, and I asked Gavin if he wanted to help me.  He was very enthusiastic.  I explained to him that the flowers would grow in the spring, after the snow melted.  He told me that Heavenly Father sends the snow and that He makes everything.  I told him that he was right.  He said "one day, He'll make me a dad".  I replied, "yes, someday you will be a dad", to which he exclaimed, "YES!!! Then I can watch PG-13!"

Halloween

We had lots of fun on Halloween this year.  Lots of parties, and opportunities to wear their costumes.  On Halloween night, we had some friends over for pizza, and then headed out trick or treating.  The kids surprised me with a record 2 hour trick or treat!  They all got quite a stash of candy.  They came home and sorted through their candy and went to bed.  They were EXHAUSTED!

Tyler decided he wanted to be a hippie.  I was surprised that he actually wanted to dress up at all.  He usually doesn't get into Halloween much.  He enjoyed Trunk or Treating with his friend, Preston, the night before Halloween, and then trick or treating on Halloween night. 

Emily wanted to be a princess.  At first she wanted to wear the Snow White costume that she wore when she was three or four, in order to match Kate.  Luckily we were able to talk her into being Jasmine, because her costume was way to small.  I loved that she chose to be a princess one last time.  I never thought she would outgrow the princess stage, but she has :(

Gavin wore several costumes this year.  He was Buzz Lightyear, a Knight, Stitch, and Mr. "Increbidle".  He chose Mr. Increbidle on Halloween night.

Kate made a darling Snow White.  She didn't care much for her costume, or Halloween for that matter.  She was in bed, asleep, by 7:15.  I love the look on her face in the second picture.  It really makes you wonder what she's thinking.

Carving Pumpkins

What a fun Halloween we had this year.  Probably the best I can remember for a long time.  Usually Halloween isn't really very exciting for me, but I really enjoyed it this year.  We had lots of fun parties, and did some really fun stuff, like...

CARVING THE PUMPKINS!

We get together each year with my family to carve the pumpkins.  This year we went to my mom and dads and had a blast!  

Guy showed up dressed like the clown that he is.  My dad is afraid of clowns, and when he opened the garage door, Guy was standing there with a big balloon with his name on it.  I'm not sure if my dad was afraid or not, but Gavin was a bit nervous.   There is never a dull moment with Guy around.  He is a fun brother in law!

Emily and Bree always enjoy their time together.  Emily often calls Bree her very best friend.  I never had close cousins growing up, so I am very grateful that my kids do.

Ty was the master of removing the tops of the pumpkins.  Literally.  He pulled the stems right off of two pumpkins.

I thought Emily would be a little grossed out when gutting the pumpkin, but I was wrong.  She did her pumpkin all by herself! 

Gavin wanted to do everything all by himself.  Including the carving.  Call me crazy, but I don't trust him with ANY sharp object.

Good food.  You can tell that Kate enjoyed it. We ate vegetable soup, corn chowder, chili, breadsticks and yummy cookies from Cutlers. MMMMM. 

Cari and Gracie.  Why is it that the kids always pick the toughest patterns?

Em was a little trooper.  She never stopped until her pumpkin was finished.

Gavin and grandpa working on Buzz Lightyear.

Tyler and Travis are missing from most of the pictures because they were at the Ute's game.  

Lexie, Gracie, Gavin, Emily and Bree

The kids showing off their hard work!

Here's the end results.  Not bad for a bunch of amateurs!

Cracky Eyes

Gavin:  Mom,  why do you have cracky eyes?

Mom:  Cracky eyes?  What?  Where?  (Terrified that he was talking about wrinkles around my eyes)

Gavin:  Right there.

Mom:  Point to them.  What color are they?

Gavin:  They are on your eyeball.  They are orange.

Mom:  Whew.  

Thank goodness he was just talking about my bloodshot eyeballs.  I can handle the bloodshot eyes.  I was really afraid that the wrinkles were shining through.  Don't you just love the brutal honesty of a three year old?

Pumpkin Walk

After Em's birthday party, we went to the pumpkin walk.

There were TONS of fun pumpkins. 

Silly kids!

This is my niece, Bree.  She is a huge Michael Jackson fan!

Emily's favorite.  Out of thousands of pumpkins.  Go figure ;)

Buzz Lightyear (AKA Gavin)

Tyler couldn't decide which one he like better.....

What a perfect end to Em's special day :)

Emily's Birthday

Emily turned 7 on October 23.  I cannot believe she is 7 years old already.  My how time flies.  

The day started off with her favorite breakfast.  Scrambled eggs with ketchup, sausage, grapes and pineapple.  I even let her eat her breakfast on the heater vent, her favorite thing to do :) 

 I took her a Happy Meal to school for lunch, and she thought that was wonderful!  After school I took her to get her hair done.  Doesn't she look cute?  She enjoyed every minute of it!

She got a new bike, so when she got home, she wanted to ride it.  She rode for a couple of hours before family came over for cake and ice cream.

Grandma Paulette was the first to arrive.  She gave her a bunch of Little Pet Shops and a Princess coloring book.  She has been playing with them every day since.

Our Neighbors, Gary and Tina Bowers came and brought her a Webkin, Willy the Walrus, which she claims is her favorite gift.  Gary just got back from Afghanistan.  When I asked Emily what she wanted for her birthday, she told me she just wanted Gary to come home.  He got home four days before her birthday, so she was very excited to have him there!

Ty and Jess took Emily birthday shopping and to dinner the day before her birthday.  She looks forward to her annual birthday shopping and dinner trip all year long!  She picked out a swimming baby boy.  She soon discovered that he is anatomically correct, and it freaks her out/intrigues her.  I have to admit, it freaks me out a little bit too! 

Cari and Guy gave her some PJs from Justice and a peace necklace.  She has worn the jammies to bed every night since her birthday.  They are so soft and snuggly.  I think I need some too :)

Grandma and Grandpa Shorty brought a Hannah Montana movie and book, an alarm clock, and an outfit.

She wanted a Hannah Montana guitar for her birthday cake and was very pleased with it.  

Happy birthday angel :)  I hope you had a great day!