Twas Merry, As They Say

Christmas came. It was fun. Now it's over. Enjoy these grainy cell phone pics, because I totally forgot to charge my camera the night before. Yep, again, mother of the year right here.

All the girls showing off their matchy matchy jammies they get from Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve.


Gretta opened her first gift, promptly took the wrapping paper to the garbage, and sat down waiting for permission to open the rest of the gifts. It didn't take her long to get the hang of just ripping into them after that, though.


Maggie enjoying the the Easy Bake Oven she received. Oh joy. Plasticy tasting mini cookies and cakes that take teeny tiny parts to use.


Emma in the throes of gift unwrapping. She got a sewing machine, and she is actually pretty good at it!

So that was Christmas. I'm glad it's over. Now it's time to get the house in order and get on with things.

Merry Christmas Letter

Hello friends and family,

Instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, I've decided to write a letter detailing every minute detail of our mundane lives. That sounds like so much fun, right? Right. Here we go.

Beginning in January, we found ourselves back home in the Motherland, also known as Utah. Sean was beginning school at LDS Business College, and the girls were going to school with Grandma at Eastlake Elementary. We were living with Sean's parents, and plugging along with our new lives.

February met us with crazy cold and snow, unlike anything I've seen in Utah, and a lot more like what I was used to in Illinois. I got a little homesick for my life there, but I was also very glad to be back with family. School continued, and life was good. I also found out I was going to be an aunt again with Jill expecting her 5th baby! I was thrilled!

March was a welcome month, bringing the prospect of Spring, and warmer weather. Sean was wrapping up school, and hoping for a 4.0. The girls were off track, and thought that was pretty neat to have a long vacation from school.

April brought more changes, still. Sean was home from school, having just missed his 4.0 by this much. We moved into my Dad's old house, and I pulled Maggie out of school to begin homeschooling her. I also started a business doing hair again, and things were trying to get off the ground.

May was a great month to enjoy Spring weather. Emma was looking forward to Summer since Maggie was already enjoying some serious time off, and Gretta was enjoying having a friend around to play with. I was working here and there, and it was nice to be back behind the chair. We enjoyed a long weekend vacation with Meg and Josh to Lake Mead, which was a lot of fun. I could literally feel the winter melting off me while we were there.

June was the official beginning of Summer, and we started it off by getting annual passes to Lagoon. We had originally intended to buy passes to Six Flags again, but good thing we procrastinated, because those would have done us no good here in Utah. Lagoon was a great distraction for us throughout the summer, since Sean was going a little stir crazy being at home and not working or going to school, and I was only working a couple of days a week.

July was spent enjoying family and friends. Sean's brother and his family returned to Utah after living in Brazil for 2 years, and we loved having their kids around. My sister came up from Vegas and stayed with us several times, and we always love having her. We also found out that Meg was expecting, and I was thrilled to have a new niece or nephew coming to our family.

August was hot and long. My birthday came and went, and now I'm another year older, yet no wiser. Sean was looking forward to school beginning again, and I was working hard. I also ran 26 miles that month, and I was loving the running life.

September brought our summer adventures to a close. We certainly made the most of it, though. I think we counted at least 20 visits to Lagoon. Those passes were worth every penny. The kids really got brave there toward the end of the season, going on upside-downy rides, and learning to wait in line without mom or dad there to help them. We were all nice and tan from our times at Lagoon-A-Beach, and tired from a lot of walking. I also became an Aunt again; Jill had her baby girl, named Elsie, and she is fat and yummy and it takes all my self control to not eat her.

October was a fun month for all of us. Sean was back in school and working hard, and I was working very hard, and thinking of making a change in my work situation. I was ready to grow the business more, and I needed more room. By the end of the month, I was officially moving into a new building, and renting a space all my own. I was thrilled. Unfortunately, during the month, I also had to have my appendix out, which really threw me for a loop. Trying to move things while recovering from surgery can be tricky. Luckily, I recovered just fine, and the move to the new place went off without a hitch.

November brought thoughts of Thanksgiving and other family adventures. One good thing we had happen was my Dad and Noma getting sealed in the temple. We were all there, and it was nice to see them so happy. We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Jill in Vegas, and it was a nice new tradition. We did major Black Friday shopping, and even though it was colder than normal, it was still warmer than Utah! Emma was in 6th grade and loving it, and Sean was in the throes of schoolwork, wrapping up the finishing touches for his business transfer degree. Maggie and I were doing homeschool, and she was thriving, just like I knew she would.

December brought the one year anniversary of Sean getting laid off, his 35th birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary. A busy month for sure. We didn't celebrate his lay-off day, of course, but we did celebrate his birthday with a nice dinner out, and a stay at Little America for the night. This is also known as our North Pole trip, since we wrap up our Christmas shopping at the same time. Sean finished up school, and although he could be done at LDSBC, he has chosen to stay one more semester to gain his accounting degree, rather than a transfer degree. I think he will fare better in the future with 2 solid degrees beneath him. Christmas is upon us, and I'm looking forward to being here this year to celebrate with our families. On December 3oth, we'll celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. My how time has flown!

I hope you aren't too terribly bored, I tried to keep it to the bare minimum. And let's face it, my life just isn't that exciting. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Props

I'm exhausted. My feet hurt, my ribs hurt, and my back is sore. I had to work (dramatic tone, here) all day.

Insert tiny violins here.

Don't get me wrong, I love working. I love my job so much! I look forward to each and every day. Knowing that I have a talent to make people feel good about themselves really gets me going.

But how do you full time working moms do it?

Because I'm exhausted.

I did have the pleasure of coming home to a prepared dinner and a clean house and folded laundry and even clean sheets. So I didn't have to do much except load the dishwasher. How spoiled am I? I know I couldn't do it alone.

So to all you working moms out there, props to you. You have my respect for sure.

I Don't Want Your Address

I've been on the fence this year about Christmas cards. I ordered a whole slew of them last year, and then with the job loss and impending move, I managed to send out 2. 2. That is just sad. It made me feel like a failure, to be honest.

So in order to avoid the failure feeling this year, I'm just giving up on the Christmas card idea. We all pretty much look the same, maybe a little older, but not anything super. I just don't have the energy, 0r the time, or the money, to buy us all matchy matchy outfits and accessories, and then force my kids to look all lovely and sweet. They aren't lovely and sweet. My life is crazy and they are messy.

If you really want a true to life card, you can stop by any day and see my messy table covered in crafts and the TV set on Disney, and kids with crazy hair and morning breath. That is my Christmas card.

So I don't want you address. Sorry. You can check this here blog for any sort of joyous sweet moment that probably won't happen. And in the meantime, at least I don't feel like a failure. I'm awesome.

When It's Cold, We'll Skate

We went ice skating at the Olympic Oval on Saturday. It was a pretty good time. I'm still a little sore. Apparently ice skating uses muscles that bowling and blogging don't. Go figure. My left butt cheek is getting pretty rock hard from bowling, and now my right cheek is sore and stiff from ice skating. My rear end is pretty much a mess. Now I know how J-Lo feels.

Enjoy the rare glimpse into my life with these adorable videos (just a few seconds each) of my kids "ice skating". More like ice walking, but whatever.

A Lot Can Happen When You Let It

It's been a year since this post. A year that has flown by. So much has changed since I wrote that post. So much around me, and so much inside me. I shudder to think what my life would be like now, had things not taken such a drastic turn.

Sean has a year and a half of school under his belt, and a scholarship awaiting him at the U. We started a business, and have been plugging away at actually making it work. It is. I started homeschooling Maggie, probably one of the best decisions I've made as a parent. We have a whole new appreciation for all types of assistance; family, church, government, and so on. The sacrifices we are making now are for a bigger pay off in the end, and I know we have the gumption to do it.

I see how smart Sean is, and I see how his mind wasn't being put to its full potential at his job. I see how he can excel at anything he chooses, and I know in my heart of hearts that he will be very successful and happy with whatever road he chooses. I'm content to be a working mom, a homeschooling mom, and a crazy mom, for a while, because I know my family is benefiting more than they would if we were just to be mediocre at something else.

I'm not gonna lie, I miss the money. It's still hard to not buy the kids something they want, or to not go out to eat because we can't afford it. Saying "we can't afford it" still tastes like vinegar when it comes out, but it's getting easier. I miss the perks. The Cubs games, the Bulls games, the trailer, the big house, the vacations, and the ease of not worrying about where the next paycheck was coming from. But I feel far more fulfilled now, so I guess that's saying something. I know this is part of the plan for us, and I know it will work. Sometimes life is hard, but sometimes it's easy. Either way, it keeps coming around.

I'm so glad we were given this trial. We have had a lot happen that would never have happened otherwise, and we're better people for it. I guess that's a good thing.

It's Really No Excuse

I understand it's the Holidays, and all, but this eating thing has seriously got to stop. Let me be clear. I'm not eating too much. I physically can't. But I can eat crap. Loads and loads of sugary sweetness and calorie laden crap.

People, I'm being honest here. I cannot remember the last time I ate fruit. Wait, yes I can. I had one raspberry off the top of my creme brulee the other night. Does that even count? I don't like fruit, therefore, I have a hard time eating it. See how that works?

But fo realz, what do I do? I feel like I can't make improvements in my eating habits because I'm so scared. That is just silly, I know. But it's true. There are a couple of variables to this problem. One, my kids. They complain about everything they eat. Unless it's macaroni and cheese. I might just drop kick one of them if they ask for mac and cheese one more time this week. And it's only Wednesday. Two, physically I'm not able to eat a lot of foods. Rice, out. Bread, out. Anything with a tortilla, iffy. Those things make me barf, and that's not good.

So where do I even begin? I know the best way to start off the day is with a good breakfast, but I can't physically eat breakfast, so I usually pop a couple of tums and have a glass of Ovaltine. Lunch is hit and miss, if I feel like it, I'll eat whatever the kids are eating (usually mac and cheese). Dinner time is the worst. My kids complain no matter what it is, and hubby will pretty much eat anything, so I usually defrost something and call it good. I can eat pretty well at dinner time, but sometimes I can't. If I still seem hungry later, I'll drown my sorrows with some Ben and Jerry's or some Milano cookies.

See? Bad. I need help. This is my rock bottom, I think.

Today is Sean's birthday. Lets all yell a big happy birthday to him. On 3. Ready? 1, 2, 3, Happy Birthday!

Thanks.

So remember last year on Sean's birthday? My sisters showed up at our restaurant in Illinois and totally shocked me. You can read the story here.

This year I hope there are no surprises in store. I will be content with a nice quiet birthday celebration this weekend.

But happy birthday, Sean. I love you, I really do. I hope you have a great year ahead.

Giggle Words

While doing school today, one of Maggie's lesson books was teaching the -unk sound. It was used repeatedly in different words, you know, to enforce the correct usage. We came across one sentence that used the -unk sound in the word form of Junk.

She giggled.

Yep. My sweet 7 year old giggles at the word junk. Just like her daddy. I'm totally mother of the year here.

Thanks Was Given

We had Thanksgiving. It was so nice. I mean, nice in that we had to leave for Las Vegas earlier than expected to outrun the Blizzard Of 2010, and nice in that I had to find out on Facebook the day before we left that Sean's brother had smashed our van, and nice in that my poor pregnant sister had to stop in at the ER in Beaver of all places because her congestion was so bad she couldn't breathe. Yeah, that was nice.

But once we all got there, it wasn't nice. It was wonderful.

We had sort of promised my mom before she died that we would keep all the traditions going. Well, we have, for the most part, but as our family changes, it only makes sense that things change a little too. So we decided to have Thanksgiving at Jill's house, and we decided that every person would be in charge of something for the big dinner. Every person. Kids included. And we also decided to try new recipes and ideas. And it worked. Every kid and adult did something fun, even my dad contributed with a stop in to the Dutch Store before they came to Vegas, and he brought our favorite; Marzipan and windmill cookies.

As we spent the morning cooking and laughing and eating bits and pieces of tasty treats, we realized all at once that our family is amazing. We are so blessed. It isn't a mystery that I've had a hard time since my mom died, but looking around at all the kids playing together, us girls and Noma cooking our little hearts out, and it all happening like a well oiled machine made an distinct impression on my heart that family is absolutely the most important thing in the world. I honestly don't know what I would do without them.

I know my mom was thankful to see us all there together.

There are so many things to be thankful for at this time of year, but family is my number one, for sure. My mom taught us from a very young age that although we might not always like each other (especially as quarreling siblings), we would grow to love each other more than we ever imagined. And guess what? She was right.

Thanks be given for lessons learned.

Dusty Muffins

I made blueberry muffins today. They are delicious. The best part is smearing a huge portion of butter across the split I make in the middle, and watching it melt as I shove the whole thing in my mouth. It's very ladylike, don't worry.

But it does make me think of this video, which is hilarious, and also very ladylike.

Little Things

You know, I've been homeschooling for 3 months now. I can't believe it. In those 3 short months, Maggie and I have both learned a lot.

She has learned to read rather well. I have learned to let her take her time in sounding out words, rather than jump right in and tell her what they are.

She has learned that she can do a lot of work on her own now, without me telling he specifically what to do. I've learned that she can be a self starter if I let her take the lead.

It's funny what we can learn about our kids when we are actually engaged in the learning process with them. I find Maggie's humor to be spot on, something I hadn't noticed before this adventure began. I also know that I need to make special concessions for Maggie. She needs things to be stable and smooth, no major bumps in the road, or it throws her whole mojo off.

My previous parenting skills included lots of threats and "if you don't"s, but now I know I need to take the time to see what her perspective is like, and then adjust my own reactions to her needs. She tends to be an organizer, so I let her make math problems in a line up and down, instead of across. She likes to find patterns, so I let her do the sentences out of the order they are written in her book. These are all little things, things that take no time at all to do, things that make her life so easy, and things that I know make her happier.

It's funny how the little things can mean so much. I only hope she appreciates it as much as I appreciate her.

Tanorexia

I have a confession to make. I've been tanning lately. Like, not a ton, but I'll visit the old cancer bed every week or so, mostly just to get warm. I know, it's bad, but I can't help it.

I'm freezing. All. The. Time.

And it's only November.

I'm not going to handle this winter well, I can tell, and I should be so grateful, since it's not the bone chilling sub zero kind of winter you get in Illinois. But still, I'm so cold! I've had my thyroid checked, and yeah, it's off, but I can only take so many pills each day, so those are usually the ones that get left behind. I know if I took them more regularly, I wouldn't be so cold all the time, but they don't help that much, so it's not a big deal.

Also, I like the little bronze sheen I'm getting as a bonus from the tanning bed. I can't complain about that.

One thing I don't like, is the biotch that works at the tanning salon. She's there every time I go in. I'm very pleasant with her. She is not. She won't make eye contact, and she acts like I'm totally putting her out when I show up. She has the requisite bleachy blond hair, and super leathery skin, along with what I can only assume are collagen fillers in her lips, because you think Lisa Rinna's old lip was bad? This girl puts her to shame. I call her a typical Tanorexic.

I'm not turning into one those, I assure you, I'm merely seeking warmth, but I can certainly see how the tanorexia can take over, and before you know it, your jonesing for a hit of UV, and getting the withdrawals from artificial face plumper.

Fun For Friday

At least we know it's a Gentile. And a genital.


Now, in all seriousness, this potato was grown in my in-laws garden. They are the sweetest people I know, so that makes this even more funny. I just think it's hilarious, despite the risk I'm taking offending so many followers. So I apologize for my crassness. But I am who I am, I can't help it.

Turns Out, I'm Not That Smart

You know, my perspective on a lot of things has changed over the last year. I have a whole new appreciation for so many things I always took for granted before. One thing I've really found myself pondering on lately is how easy other people make things look.

Other people make being full time students look easy.

It's not. Sean is doing a lot of homework these days, and by a lot I mean an hour or so a week, which for him is a lot. Trust me, it is. I know it will get more difficult and time consuming as he advances the ranks of education, but for now it's a weird transition to see him home at 2:00 in the afternoon.

Other people make running a business look easy.

It's not. I've been learning QuickBooks, of which I'm not really a fan. I like the idea of QB, but it's really quite cumbersome. And by cumbersome, I mean it doesn't translate information directly from my brain to a neat, user-friendly spreadsheet, with nary a keystroke. See? Cumbersome.

Other people make being smart look easy.

It's not. I've always thought I'm pretty smart. I know a lot of crap. Useless, brain space hogging, annoying to most people kind of crap. I do a lot of stuff. Mostly half-assed, but stuff nonetheless. I can write a coherent sentence, do basic math, carry on a decent conversation, and even make people laugh. Although maybe that's not smarts. Hmm.

I think as my perspective on life has changed, my perspective on myself is changing. I guess that would seem a natural conversion. But as I go on about this little life of mine, I'm realizing I still have so much to learn. It's a little frustrating, but if I can keep a good attitude it makes it a little easier. I just need to keep myself from sabotaging myself. Be more optimistic instead of a pessimist so much of the time. Understand that things come gradually, not all at once. I hope I can be smart enough to wait it out.

Edumacation

Yesterday I attended a cutting class. I know, normally I was the one cutting class, and now I'm deliberately attending a class on cutting.

It's sad to say that over the years of doing hair, I've picked up some bad habits. Some out of shear (ha ha!) laziness, some out of necessity, but bad nonetheless. I tend to have a limp wrist when I cut. I tend to hunch my shoulders. I tend to crane my neck. All bad things. But as the years have worn on, they have become natural to me, and therefore they seem normal.

I was smacked with a terrible reality yesterday. As I stood in line to make sections and cuts on our Mannequins head, my wrist started hurting terribly. When I mentioned this to the instructor, she said I have been doing things wrong for so long, my ergonomics were all screwed up. Makes sense. Luckily it wasn't anything lasting, so I can go back to my lazy limp wristedness today, and things will feel much better.

But I also learned something else at my cutting class yesterday. I have been out of the loop for so long, I forgot how important education is. It's amazing what a little shift in texture here, or a snip at a different angle there will change in the look of a cut. I needed a little refresher course, and I got one. It was fun to see stylists from all ages and experience levels learning new things together. I never thought a beauty school student would ever teach me anything, but some of them really have a lot on the ball, and really know what's up in the hair doin' world.

So now I'm all edumacated. I feel smarter, and I think what I've learned will serve me well. At least until next season.

Fun For Friday

This makes me smile. And not just because it's hot chocolate.


I love those cute squinty little eyes and that cute button nose.

Thanks, McDonalds, for making me smile.

Happy Friday!

Working With It

Yesterday was spent shopping at the Beauty Supply, which I love, and hitting Wal-Mart for a pair of cheap black pants and some trouser socks. Does anyone else seem to lose socks during the summer? I do. I'll have a whole bunch of new ones for winter, and by the time the end of summer comes along, after those months of wearing nothing on my feet but flip-flops, the socks have disappeared into thin air. Weird. But I digress. I had to hit the Beauty Supply for last minute supplies for the salon. Which brings me to...

...Yesterday I also went to work. At my new place. Yippee! It was a pretty big deal, at least for me. I like the new place. It's cute and friendly, and I have lots of room to grow. Maggie doesn't like it. She says it's too big, and the necklaces are too expensive. (?) That kid cracks me up.

It did feel pretty good to be back in an upscale salon atmosphere after these last few months of my "Steel Magnolia's" place. I miss the intense one-on-one thing, but I do like the camaraderie of having lots of stylists and clients about the place. I like working, I always have. I think I'll like this new gig. I know I can do great things with it if I keep a good attitude and try not to let the business end get me down. Sometimes it takes a good leap to get you off the ground, right? Right. And I can definitely work with that.

Feel free to click over to the new website (props to Mike for working on it!), and schedule an appointment online. Yes, I have entered the latest century. You can honestly book appointments without even calling or texting. Amazing, I know. Go ahead, try it.

Fun For Friday

I hate carving pumpkins. It ranks right up there with changing a baby that had a blowout and has poop all up its back and down its legs. Yeah, it's like that. Only stinkier. I absolutely despise the smell of pumpkin guts. But nevertheless, we are good parents, and therefore indulge our childrens' desires to have rotting fruit perched precariously on our porch for the neighborhood bullies to smash.

I give you the following:


Emma's toadstools, which I actually think are very very cute. Better Homes and Gardens has some really cute stencils on their website.



Gretta's scary face. I carved this one for her (uh, obviously, since she's 3 and isn't allowed to use knives until she's 4), and I admit, I got a little impatient and may have accidentally cut off half the face. Either way, I think it looks a little like Voldemort, and a lot like Dom Deluise.


Maggie's haunted house. So cute! Sean did this one. He's a master at the teeny knife cutting through thick pumpkin skin. And to think with skills like that, he's still unemployed!


And here they are all together. So darling. We got cute little lights that flicker like real candles, and when we put them inside, and step way way back, they actually look pretty good. I mean, as good as hollowed out fruit can look, right?

Happy Friday! And Happy Halloween!

Fun For Friday

I know it's Monday, but I need something to make me laugh today, and thought I'd share it with all of you as well.

Who knew you could get Eye Pads at Walgreens? And for only $1.99?

Get it? Eye Pads? Like iPads? I crack me up.

Props to Sean for spotting this one.

Changes, Revisited

Well, the time has come to let you all in on my little secret.

Things have indeed changed. You see, I've been so lucky to have been working at a cute little salon in Riverton, a mile from my house. It's been awesome. I can work whenever I want, I've had time to grow my business, and I've been blessed to reconnect with some of the best people I know.

But the time has come to move on. It's sad in a way, but at the same time it's very exciting.

I'm moving to a salon in Draper called Salon Complete. I'll still run my own business from there, so nothing will change as far as scheduling and all that. Pretty much I'll be known as The Back Porch @ Salon Complete. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to grow my business even more now.

I'm sad to leave Suzie and her cute family; that's where I've been located for the last 6 months, but even though I had a hard time telling her I was leaving, I knew it was time. She was very supportive, as I knew she would be.

So it's on to bigger and better things. I'm very excited to get started. I'll be there beginning November 1, so if you need to schedule anything with me, call or text me, or email me, and we'll get you going just as soon as I get set up.

So that's that. Nothing huge like a baby or anything, but still big news to me.

Loungewear

I love the look of cute moms wearing Velour sweat suits and Shape-Ups as they peruse the aisles at the local Wal-Mart. Some moms are all blingy with earrings and bracelets and big sparkly watches and everything. Some are more casual, with just a simple imitation brand name purse and a fake hair ponytail.

But now I've joined their ranks, albeit begrudgingly.

See, it sort of hurts to wear pants. Yeah, I know. Sean is loving that part of it. Not really, not really. But the button to my pants is right at incision level, making the buttoning and subsequent bending over quite painful.

So here I sit, in the only non-buttoning pants I own, bright pink cotton capris. They were $1 at Wal-Mart. How awesome is that? $1. That's like cheaper than Goodwill used ones! And thank goodness I have them. Otherwise I'm afraid what the visitors would think when I answer the door in my G's. Hmmm.

But trust me, as soon as these incisions are healed up and I'm able to do up those buttons again, I'm giving up the bright pink capris. I may just invest in a new pair of jeans. I think 2 pair is essential for winter, don't you? That's a whole nother post, though.

What A Weird Couple Of Days

My Facebook followers already know this story, so if you're one of them, feel free to bag out of this post now. I won't feel bad, I promise. {sniff, sniff} I won't. Go ahead. {wiping nose with back of hand}

For those of you (my real friends) who stayed to read, here it is. What a weird couple of days. Holy cow.

Thursday night we stayed up in Midway. One advantage of having an unemployed husband is taking advantage of killer midweek rates at local resorts. We had a lovely evening of good food and a fireplace. Ahh. But I wasn't feeling great. Boo.

We turned in early, and despite a magic sleeping pill, I tossed and turned all night, not really able to pinpoint what felt bad, I just didn't feel good.

Friday morning we had an early tee time, so we got up, ordered breakfast (free with the midweek deal! Woot!), and started getting ready to get our golf on. Well, I couldn't eat anything for breakfast. Not because I physically couldn't like normal (my lap-band is tight in the mornings, so food is hit or miss early in the morning), but because I was nauseated and achy. I thought maybe I was catching a cold. I worked through the ick, and headed out on the course.

The first few holes were fine. I actually had a great couple of drives, and a pretty good chip on to the green (golf clap here, thankyouverymuch). Then hole 5 came around. We were sandwiched between 2 foursomes, so we had to wait for them to clear the fairway. I teed off, and it was good one. Problem is, I tried to cut the corner, even thought the GPS on the cart specifically said not to. Oopsie. I hit a house. {Head bowed in shame}. Don't worry, though, I had a phone number all ready to give the owners in case they popped out. It may or may not have been 867-5309. (Do you get it? Do you? Ha, now you'll be singing that song all day!) Don't worry, it just hit the roof, and the way this economy is, I'm pretty sure that house was empty.

Right after I hit the house, and I'm talking right after, the aches and pains I had been feeling for the last 12 hours localized in my lower back. That Karma, she's a bitch. So I told Sean I'd have to take a couple of holes off. Since we were still waiting for the foursome in front of us to tee off, we had quite a wait ahead of us. The pain was getting worse. I was pretty sure at this point that I had another kidney infection. We just decided to head home. I didn't argue.

We started driving down Parley's, and at about the Quarry, I could literally feel the pain move from my lower back, around my side, and settle in just under my bellybutton. It was like a hot knife was twisting inside me. It didn't feel nearly as good as it sounds. By the time we got to I-215, I was crying in pain, and told Sean to take me to the ER.

Sure enough, a temperature and elevated white count confirmed the diagnosis, and my appendix came out about an hour later. Luckily for me the surgeon on call was a family friend who has done several surgeries for us. That made me feel better.

I spent that night in the hospital getting the best rest of my life (note the sarcasm), and came home early the next morning. Really, I can't believe all that happened so fast. I still can't believe it's Tuesday. It's like I missed 4 days of my life or something.

So that's that. One adventure after another around here. I swear, if we could just catch a break for a minute it would be a miracle. For now, though, I'm steering clear of Karma. You just never really know when she'll strike.

Ch ch ch ch Changes

Things are gonna change, I can feel it.

Okay, that's 2 song lines in 3 blog lines. I should probably get some of my own material, huh?

So I have some changes coming. Good changes, I think. I hope. I've been marinating this idea around in my head for a while now, and finally it's coming to fruition. I know it will be tricky, but this isn't the first time I've jumped off not really knowing where I'll land. It's probably not a big deal to the rest of you, but it's a pretty big deal to me. It puts me in charge of what I want to do, no more worries about the little annoying things.

I know I couldn't be doing this without Sean around. He's the computer guy, the technical guy, the voice of reason when the business end of things gets to be too much for me. When in doubt, he'll make me up a spreadsheet so I can understand just what the heck I'm actually doing. I'm adding that to the "reasons to not get a divorce" list. There are more reasons on that list, and one day I'll publish it, but for now, that's a little preview into how I'm managing to make it day by day. It's been a rough patch.

Seriously, though. Losing what we've lost, nearly losing our family, and trying to make the best of things is hard enough. Now I have this, and I'm kind of freaking out. But it will work. Or so I'm told. When it's time to tell you what it is, I will. But for now, just keep your fingers crossed for me that it will all come together.

Too Sexy...

... For this bench. Gotta love Lagoon and the fun people watching that comes with it.

*Apologies for the poor picture quality. This was obviously taken on the sly with a cell phone.

Today's Fun For Friday contains the following: A home made cake wreck, an ecstatic Maggie, and a 7 candle, which I'm totally in denial belongs to my middle child. She can't possible be 7. But alas, she is, so here you go. Enjoy.



Please don't post this to Cake Wrecks. Maggie made it herself, and I think it turned out pretty good.

Ta-Da!

Happy Friday!

Maggie

Today is her birthday. I can't believe she's 7. It seems like just yesterday that I was having a scheduled C-Section, all calm and ready, only to be blindsided by the pain of the incision and the stark realization that the epidural didn't take. Yeah, did I mention this was during a C-Section? Uh huh. Totally was. Ouchy to say the least.

It's kind of a funny simile to Maggie's whole life. She was a great baby. She had a head full of dark hair, and she sucked her thumb, so she hardly every cried. Then she turned 2. Oh boy. Just when I thought I had a perfect baby and could relax and enjoy having 2 kids, the terrible twos hit. Man, that kid could scream. She still can. Her anxiety issues started becoming more and more apparent, and I knew she would be my kid that needed a little extra special attention. We went through 2 years of her only wanting to wear soft pants, and donning a Belle dress over the top of every outfit. She never let me comb her hair, and taking a bath was a battle. Too much stimulation, we later found out.

But as the years have passed, and we've learned more about what makes Maggie Maggie, she has become a very enjoyable loving daughter. She is a joy to have in our family. Some of the things we love about Maggie are:

• Her love of crafting. She got a tape dispenser and 6 rolls of tape for her birthday. She is in heaven.
• The way she sings like no one can hear her.
  
• How she can be a little mother to the little kids, but tries to be a tween for the bigger kids.
  
• She still wears a tutu some days.
  
• She loves to be homeschooled.
  
• She is learning to read, and will devour any book she can get her hands on.
  
• She has great hair.
  
• When she's tired, she's tired. She will ask to please go to bed.
  
• She still hates to take showers, but baths are okay.
  
• She has great tanning skin. She still has tan lines from LAST summer.
  
• She's terrified of mosquitoes, and for good reason. She has major reactions, and have had her legs and face swell up to the size of a dinner plate.
  
• She likes to clean and organize things.
  
• She's very kind and loving.
  

We love our Maggie, and we're so glad she's part of our family!

Lucky Seven

Maggie's birthday is tomorrow. We have a tradition that we go together and pick out a cake. She took it upon herself to design the cake.

Here it is.

I think she may just have a future in cake design, what do you think? I was very proud of her. Stay tuned tomorrow for a list of things we love about Maggie.

Birthday Girl

Today is my moms birthday. Hard day. Instead of posting on this blog, I thought it would be more appropriate to blog on her blog. If you want to see it, you can go there. If not, carry on.

Five Year Blogiversary

Today marks my 5 year blogging anniversary. How crazy is that? 5 years? Wow. I'm just gonna recap some of the things that have happened over the last 5 years. Some have been blogged, some have not. Either way, I need to remember why I do this. In no particular order, other than this is how my memory works, we have the following:

My mom died.

I had Gretta.

Moved to Illinois.

Moved back to Utah.

Attended marriage counseling twice.

Lost 40ish pounds.

Started running.

Been through approximately 3 broken bones and a set of stitches between the kids.

Sean had 2 surgeries.

Traveled to fun parts of the country.

Made awesome friends.

Dad got married.

Meg got married.

Gained 2 1/2 neices on my side, numerous others on Sean's side.

Started a business.

Had some awesome girls' trips.

Made a fool out of myself repeatedly.

Started homeschooling.

Been through a job loss.

Suffered through a major bout of depression.

Tried to find the true meaning of Christmas.

Had my first garage sale.

Hung out on the porch with Kate.

Hid in the basement when the tornadoes came.

Crashed the Vangina twice.

Sean got rear ended 3 times.

Been through the coldest winters I have ever felt.

Realized I need my family.

So many other things have happened. I still go back and read my old blog posts, and though most of the time I remember writing them, sometimes it's like I'm reading someone elses blog. I don't recognize my writing style or my humor. For some reason when I write, the words sound different in my head than they do on paper. I guess it's okay, seeing as it's my blog, and I can read it and write on it however I choose. But still, I can't believe it's been 5 years. I never imagined I would stick with something for this long.

Happy Haunting, Again

My mom is back. She is haunting us for reals now.

Yesterday I was at PT, and Sean was home doing chores. He likes to do chores. It's not because I make him, I swear. He was changing the sheets on our bed, and at that moment, he heard a loud pop! and a hissing noise coming from the master bathroom.

Upon investigation, he found that a can of dry shampoo had ruptured, spraying its contents all over the bathroom, and it spun feverishly around and around in the sink where it had landed.

Now. I have been around hairsprays and cans of product under pressure for years. I think it would be safe to say I have come in contact with thousands of cans of this nature over the years I've done hair. Not one time in my life have I heard of a can rupturing like this without a good reason. It wasn't hot, there were no heated tools near it, in fact, none of my hair tools were even in the bathroom at that time. They were in the car with me, since I had to go to work later that day. It literally burst on its own, with no rhyme or reason.

Except I think my mom was trying to tell us she is still here.

Sean said after it happened, he sat and "chatted" with her for about 5 minutes, telling her we are all doing okay, and that we're happy here, and that if she needed us to do anything, to let us know. I'm not sure what an exploding can of dry shampoo means, but it could mean we need to clean up more? I don't know.

I don't really care what the meaning of it is, I'm just glad that she's around to keep us on our toes.

Let's Get Physical

You know you're singing that song now, huh? I loved that song when I was little. I love ONJ, she's so cute, with that short shaggy hair and that accent. Ahh, young Olivia Newton John. Now she's a cancer survivor and has endured the heartbreak of a lover lost at sea. Weird, no?

None of that has to do with this post.

Today I start Physical Therapy! Can I get a Woop Woop? No? Party poopers. I bet you're thinking I need PT because of my last marathon. You'd be wrong. As hard as it is to run a marathon over the course of one month, that is not the reason.

I dislocated a rib.

I know, right. I didn't even know that was thing. I still sort of have my doubts, except I've seen it on an X-Ray, and my awesome chiropractor says he can feel it pop in and out. And it's pretty painful. My doctor said he sees this a lot in elite athletes. Yeah, totally me. He also sees it in working moms with anxiety and depression and anger management issues. Nope, not me.

Since there's pretty much zero they can do about it, I decided that PT was my best, if not only, option. Actually, the chiropractic adjustments have helped, but still, when I run, it comes back, and it's hard to breathe, and when you're chubby and running, it's already hard to breathe, so there's a good chance my next run won't end well.

I've heard good things about PT. I know lots of people that have had good results from it. I also know lots of people that say they were on the verge of punching their therapist in the face because they hurt you so bad. That may have come from my grandma, she was awesome. And with my anger management issues, he better watch it.

Happy Haunting

Thanks to Spencer, Sean has been on this scary movie kick for the last few weeks. First it was The Crazies. Scary at the beginning, then just got dumber and dumber as it went on. I thought maybe I had grown up a little and could handle a scary movie in my old age. I was wrong.

Friday night brought A Haunting In Connecticut. Holy crap. Seriously? That is some scary stuff. I think the fact that it's based on a true story (or so they say), makes it even more scary. There are glimpses of ghosts that disappear the second you turn to look for them. There is a locked room in the basement that has been sealed off for some unknown reason. There are rainy nights and full moons and creaky floors, you know, the works for scary movies.

I don't mind the creaks and dark basements so much. I mind the men jumping out and the old fashioned mortician appliances that look like tools of torture.

But it makes me think of my mom. I know, creepy, huh? But I'm pretty sure she's haunting us. My kids love it. I love it. And it's not scary at all. I love that she is around this house, bumping things at night and making things fall down. I hope that means she likes having us here since she hasn't done anything to make us scared.

I wonder if I could make a movie about a happy haunting? It probably wouldn't draw much of a crowd, huh?

Pretty Scary Stuff

We went to Lagoon's Frightmares on Saturday. (Sort of like FrightFest for you Six Flags peeps, but with less cool make up and more kiddie themed stuff.) You know, since we have season passes we have to make the most of them! It was the second day of Frightmares, and a Saturday, so I thought it might be crowded. Turns out, no so crowded. It was a perfect day. Cool in the shade, warm in the sun, not a cloud in the sky. The kids were having a blast, and I got some relaxing people watching time in, which I will miss dearly when the park closes.


Shortly after this photo was taken, we decided to go through one of the haunted houses they make specifically for Frightmares. It was a 3 Spider rating on a scale of 1-4. Pretty scary sounding to me. But Maggie and Sean were up for it, so we left Gretta with Emma, and headed in to our doom. The whole haunted house was painted in 3-D paint, and you had to wear 3-D glasses. It was pretty cool. Maggie did well, she didn't put on her glasses, and that helped a lot. As we got toward the end, I commented that it smelled like gas. Just then, a masked man jumped out and pull started a chain saw and chased us down the exit ramp.

I'm pretty sure Maggie pooped her pants. Or maybe that was me. I don't know, but it was pretty darn scary.

I think we'll stick to the kiddie straw maze and the haunted house rides. Those are just up my alley.

Fun For Friday

Today I give you this little gem. (Oh, I totally crack myself up with that one!) Found in Las Vegas, next to our favorite frozen yogurt place, USwirl.


Do you see it? Do you? At least they're "Better Jewelers", and not "Best Jewelers", but I'd hate, or love, to see "Good Jewelers", and the grammatical errors they could come up with.

I'm such a grammar snob. I see errors all the time, especially on professional custom signs. It makes me think that the sign makers should double check all the proposed spelling, otherwise, it makes both companies look stupid.

But it gives me good stuff to blog about.

Happy Friday!