A Big Difference

As my house gets cleaner, I have noticed a big difference in my moods. I am not a slob by nature, but my house has getting worse and worse since I started working. It has been mostly the kids stuff, and I just had given up on trying to get them (especially Noel) to pick up after themselves.

Last week my good friend, Melissa, introduced me to Chore Wars. At first, I thought it would just be a fun way for her and I to compete. As I looked at it more, I found it would be great to motivate my kids help out around the house. My boys spent a lot of the morning running around cleaning today. I woke up to a clean dining room (they even cleared my decorations off the table to make sure it was clean), the back door was free of dog prints, the front of the oven was clean, and the entertainment center dusted. The best part is, the boys are cleaning up the dog poo in the back yard (YAY)!

I don't know if my better mood is because my body is starting to get used to my meds or the house being cleaner or just the fact that they kids are letting me sleep (they are just too busy cleaning to bug me). No matter what it is, I am glad that I am feeling better the last few days.

A Decision Made

Eric has had a big decision to make the last few months. He had to choose who would be baptizing him. This was not a decision that he took lightly. At first, he was afraid that if he picked one person over another it would hurt someone's feelings. After all, only one person could be picked. Then, he took inventory on how many people the candidates had baptized. Finally, a few weeks ago, he had narrowed it down to two of his favorites, Grandpa and Uncle Asher. Today, while leaving church, I let him know that the decision needed to be made soon. He will be baptized in about a month and a half. That means not much more time. Also, I will be meeting with the bishop next week to talk about the event to make sure that everything can be taken care of properly and at a time when I can attend without having to run off at the end. Again, he considered the number of people that I knew the candidates had baptized (not counting in the temple). In the end he chose Uncle Asher because Grandpa had plenty of chances already. I am so proud of him for making such a big decision on his own!

Chore Wars

Want experience points for doing house work?  Join me:


http://www.chorewars.com/invite.php?id=ec2ab374ef21

Struggles

I have been having a hard time metally lately.  I was put on some new medications about a month and a half ago that totally screw with my hormones.  The wacky hormones have put me into a depression most days.  According to the doctor everything should even out after being on these meds for about three months (only a month and a half to go).  I honestly have days where I just don't think I can live like this for that long.  Luckily, John and I are in a good spot in our relationship and I am able to just tell him that I am having a bad day and he will let me just snuggle up to him for a little while.  Sometimes it is just good to know someone cares. I hope to be back to normal soon.  Until then, I will try to do my best at blogging at least once a week, but I won't be doing any kind of exercise challenges (in case you hadn't guessed that already).

Awards

Ok.  I honestly have to give John credit for both awards.  He takes Eric to school every morning and gets me out the door at night.  It is cool that we both got an award for the same thing though...right?

Lochbuie Snowplow

The town of Lochbuie has waited for days without plowing the streets.  Today, they sent out the...um...plow? (Sorry about the quality of the pictures.  I took them from my back door and cropped out the swing set the best I could.)

A Bit of Catching Up

I know it has been a long time since I have written, but I have had a busy couple of weeks.  There have been things here and there that I have thought would make good blog enties, but time escaped me, so am going to do my best at condensing them into one post.  Please bear with me.

First off, Tanksgiving week was pure torture for the mom who works all night.  The boys were out of school all week, and Eric is not used to the rules of the morning since he really only has to deal with them on Satudays when John is home to help keep them quiet and busy so that I can sleep.  That means that the mornings were loud.  The afternoon was filled with friends because that is what the did all summer and expected to be able to do again.  The good news is that the kids rooms got cleaner.  The bad news is that I got in trouble at work for sounding tired on the phone.  I will have to figure out something else for Christmas break.

The next thing I wanted to write about was something I saw that was actually quite sweet.  A few days  ago, I had been having a difficult day with the kids.  The last thing I wanted to do was go to the school to bring my almost 8 year old clean pants.  I was at the end of my rope.  Then I witnessed a simple sweet act of kindness:  a little girl in Eric's was given a hand made hat with mittens to match.  She was so excited.  After she left the office and went back to class, I heard the explainations.  The little girl lives in a home with a large family and all of the kids come to school in handed down coats with no hats of gloves every winter. There were bags of hats and mittens donated by a local grandma for the kids at the school who needed them.  Just seeing the look on that little girl's face made me have to hold back my tears.  Hearing about the generousity of the annonymous grandma made it even sweeter.

I had other things, but I will leave it on a sweet note.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Noel Is 4

Noel turned 4 yesterday!  Is it really fair for my baby to be 4 already?

Cold Medicine?

I have a cold.  It is something that is going around at work.  I knew that I would get it because all he germs at the call center seem to get to me since I have been home sheltered from such germs for so long.  This particular cold is the kind where my head feels like it is going to explode.  Last night it felt even worse while I was at work because I had a headache from my lack of sleep from yesterday.  I didn't have any cold medicine, but I usually carry some Advil in my backpack to work for the days when I get these headaches.  I reached in my backpack to find there was nothing in that pill bottle.  There was, however, one more pill bottle in there.  It had been in there since I started work basically.  I had some Pamprin.  Yes, I know what it is supposed to be used for, but since I couldn't ask around to see if anyone else had something I could take because we were all on the phone (I know...strange in a call center).  Desperate, I took two of the pink pills from my bag.  The amazing thing was, IT WORKED!  Who knew that a medicine meant to calm those female problems would work so well for a congested head?

Glow-In-The-Dark

Last night, I sat down with the kids to help them make their wish lists for Christmas (I know it is not Thanksgiving yet, but we have to start now).  They had no problems coming up with ideas.  At one point, Sean said, "I want a glow-in-the-dark fishing pole.  Then I actually want to go fishing someday." Ok.  A bit random, but Sean is my most random child.  I wrote it down.  Then, Noel had a turn to name something.  "A swimming pool that is Sleeping Beauty and glows in the dark."  I write down her made up item calmly while trying not to laugh.  She then turns to Sean and says, in a way only a little girl can, "You're not the only one getting something glow-in-the-dark."  I had to laugh at that one.

Exercise...Really?

It is that time.  Time for everyone to check in.  I am going to have to admit that I didn't do so good.  I got the jumping jacks done 3 times and the push ups twice.  I guess I should go hide in a corner now... How did you do?  If you don't want to admit it on here, just say so in your comment and I won't publish it.

Now for the new challenge...50 jumping jacks (because lets face it, I was winded after that) and 20 squats.  If you do some other kind of exercise, I may give you extra credit... Who's in with me for this week?

Bragging Moment

I know I am usually bragging about Eric's writing, but today it is about my own. I wrote an essay for school about my mom's and brother's death and how it affected my life. The assignment was to write a narrative essay about a significant even that change me in some way. I turned it in November 7, and just hoped that it was good enough (I have never seen myself as a good writer). This is the comment that I saw from my teacher when I went to check my grade today:

"Your paper is the only one in our class that earned a perfect score. Your essay is just wonderful, Rosa. The writing is clear, precise, and well-constructed. The paragraphs are focused. And the paper as whole is seriously deep and engaging. I'm sorry for your loss; your brother and mom would be proud of how well you write, I guarantee. Take care, and keep up the great work."

So, I guess I need to share my essay to really finish my bragging. Before you read it I want to warn you that it is a bit sad. I didn't write it to get sympathy. It is the easiest topic for me to talk about considering the assignment.

"I had always identified myself as the second child in my family. I had a mom and a dad like most kids. My brother, my sister, and I often talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up. We laughed together. We fought with each other. We protected each other. One day my happy bubble burst. My mom and brother were suddenly gone. I could no longer call my mom to ask her to call me in for this class or that class at school. I could no longer joke with my brother about my boyfriend being better than his girlfriend. That was all taken away from me the day my mom’s roommate fell asleep at the wheel.

I had said upon starting my senior year of high school that it was going to be a year I would never forget. That became true only a week later. August 30, 1996, was the day half of my family was killed in a tragic car accident. I will never forget that day or the impact it has had on my life. I have lived my life doing normal things that most women look forward to sharing with their mom alone or with my sister. I have given birth, gotten married, and celebrated 13 birthdays since then.

August 30 started off as a typical school day with one exception; my brother’s obnoxious dog was at our house until my brother and my mom were to return from their fateful trip to Arizona. I went to school complaining about how loud that dog was and how I didn’t get any sleep. I proceeded with the mundane task of going to my first three classes of the day. Then, I was called down to the office to see my dad. I could never have even imagined what happened next. I walked in and saw the heavyhearted look on my dad’s face. He took me into a small room with my sister and told us the news. “Mom and Anthony have been killed in a car accident.” My heart fell into my stomach. I was beyond feeling. Wasn’t I just talking to my mom the night before?

My mom had looked forward to many things about the future. The December before she died, she had come to a choir concert for my sister and me. Since it was a December concert, naturally it was very Christmas oriented. At the end the highest choir in the school invited all alumni and parents of the students in that choir to come on stage and join them in the Hallelujah Chorus. My mom loved that song. It may have been her favorite, but she wasn’t able to go up that year because I wasn’t a good enough singer to be in that choir. The good news was that my sister, who was a sophomore at the time, was on track to be in that choir when she was a senior. My mom was so excited that in two years she would be able to not only go up and sing that song with my sister, she would be able to sing alto with her. When my sister was a senior and they invited the alumni and parents up, I went in my mom’s place and we stood there and tried to sing, but mostly cried, as we remembered my mom’s simple dream of singing this special song with her youngest daughter.

My brother and I were friends growing up. Even as teenagers, we had some of the same friends and enjoyed being around each other. My junior year of high school he was in the group that I went to prom with. We had planned for three or couples to get a limo together and go to a nice restaurant together and then head over to prom. The limo reservations didn’t work out, so we all showed up separately in the nicest cars that our parents’ had; me in my dad’s, him in my mom’s. We had fun laughing and joking with each other. We had planned that the next year we would get a limo with another company and go together again. The next year, I still went in a group with my best friend. We both had different dates. There was still no limo. There was also no Anthony.

I grew up expecting that my mom and brother would be a part of my life for a long time including my wedding, the births of my children, my milestone birthdays, my joys and my sorrows. They died when I was the tender age of 18. They didn’t get to share these things with me. It is amazing how one day can change so much."

Good for Something

I have a really good friend who is posting something she is thankful for every day this month on her blog. For those of you who remember, I followed her in doing so last year (not this year do to time constraints).

Yesterday, I was so honored when I read her blog. Her entry was titled, "You've got a friend...well, I do, anyway." I was totally expecting another post about how her husband had done something wonderful for her (admit it, Jami, you do that quite often). Instead, it was an entry about ME. Yes, you read that right. I have a friend! lol She even gave me an award.

I am not writing about this to brag, but because it made me feel so special!

Exercise Challenge

Ok. Here it goes. My first challenge. I am going to start of easy because I am so out of shape again, and I know that so are the people that may join me. (hint, hint)

Let me start with the rules. Since some of you live in another state, you can check in with me through my email or the comments on my blog. I need you to check in by noon every Thursday. I get to decide on the challenges and prizes (it won't be anything big because of things hopefully needing to go through the mail). If you want to sign up, you can do so on a weekly basis. If you sign up one week, you do not have to sign up the next. If you didn't sign up one week you can sign up for the next. Once you say you are in for the week, you have to do the challenge. The person who complete the challenge the most is the winner. The person who does the least is the loser (we are all old enough to handle that word...right).

Now for the challenge:

50 Jumping Jacks

10 Push-ups

REMEMBER: These are to be done daily (between 12am and 11:59pm). Try to get them done more days than anyone else that would sign up.

Fundraisers

I HATE school fundraisers with a passion! Basically what they do is bring all the kids into a room, show them all the cool prises they can get, and send them home with stuff to sell. In all reality, it is the parents that have to sell the stuff. It is the parents that have to feel like crap when the kid comes home upset that they didn't get the prizes that they expected.

Offering kids a pig race is a cool idea, if they were the ones that actually earned it. I forked out a lot of money this year so that Sean could get the opportunity to be in the pig race since Eric was able to do it when he was in Kindergarten. I couldn't bring the fundraiser to work like a "good" parent because there are rules about such things. John only works with a few people, so bringing fundraisers stuff for two kids and expecting people to buy isn't all that fair either. My parents live in Indiana and John's parents were in Oklahoma for a funeral when the fundraiser was going on. My sister bought some stuff from Sean feeling the same as I did, Eric already got his chance for very similar prizes. I had to buy the rest of the crap to qualify Sean to get a pig for the race (a pig they got to bring home after the race was done).

Again, Eric got his chance two years ago when he was in kindergarten. Now, Sean has a better pig than the one that Eric got, and Eric's doesn't work due to a bath it was given before Eric had had it for even a year. Now I get to feel like the worthless parent that doesn't care about her kids because of one stupid little pig that wouldn't even be an issue in the first place if our schools were funded properly (don't even get me started on my feelings about the fact that the state keeps cutting the K-12 budget while it seems that their salaries aren't even changing).

Thundercats?

As a kid I loved watching Thundercats, but I haven't thought about the show for years. That is until today. I went to pay my water bill, and when I got out of the car I saw this on the hubcaps of the car next to me.

I know. I looks a lot like the Thundercats symbol.

Being a Thundercats fan in my younger years, immediately I figured that the driver of that car must share my love. Upon further inspection of the car, I realized that it was a Mercury Cougar. That really has nothing to do with the beloved show of my youth.

Dr. Visit

Yesterday, I went to the doctor's office for an over due visit. (Yeah! I have insurance again!) I was given some not so great news and some good,but expected, news.

First off the good news. I am not pregnant despite not having a period since July. It turns out the cross-your-fingers method does work in some cases. (Don't worry. I will be getting a more reliable method today.)

Now for the not so good news. OK. Two pieces of not so good news. What is the first thing that they do when at a doctor appointment? Take your weight. Well, I found out that I have gained 20 pounds since John and I were separated. I knew I had gained. I haven't been taking my meds because of not having insurance, and I haven't been exercising much or eating very well since I started working. I know these are my fault, and only I can change them. I will be getting back on my meds today. I am also thinking about trying to start some kind of friendly contest. I haven't decided if it should just be something between John and me, or if I should do it with a friend or two. This is the heaviest I have been not pregnant, and I don't want to see the numbers higher!

The other piece of news that I got is that I may have PCOS along with my thyroid problem. I guess for me this isn't quite as bad as it would be for those of you who are trying to have a baby because I am done having babies. I just don't like that my stupid genetics have possibly caused me to have yet one more problem.

Writing

I have a hard time writing for a grade. Writing for a blog isn't as hard because no on is judging me on my punctuation or how descriptive my words are.

I am taking a composition class right now. It is HARD! The last few weeks my teacher has complimented me on how well I have been writing. This week, however, I am not so sure I will get such compliments. I had to write a descriptive paragraph for my essay. I was very hard. I can vividly picture the day I want to describe in my head, but getting it down on paper is another thing. Hopefully, the paragraph I wrote for his week's assignment is what he is looking for...

August 30 started of as a typical day with one exception; my brother's fluffy, cute, obnoxious dog was at our house until my brother and my mom came home from their fateful trip to Arizona. I went to school complaining about how loud that dog was and how I didn't get any sleep. I proceeded with the mundane task of going to my first three classes of the day. Then, I was called down to the office to see my dad. I could never have even imagined what happened next. I walked in and saw the heavy hearted look on my dad's face. He took me into a small room with my sister and told us the news. "Mom and Anthony have been killed in a car accident." My heart fell into my stomach. I was beyond feeling. Wasn't I just talking to my mom the night before?

What do you think? Does it describe the day or just give a general idea what it may have been like? I already turned it in, but your feed back would be helpful for my revisions for next week.

A Present for Me

Upon arrival of my home this morning, everything seemed nice and peaceful. The dog was in her kennel sleeping. The house was quiet. The lights were off (other than the porch light that John leaves on for me so that I still feel welcome when I get home). The kids were all in their own rooms...sleeping? Maybe not.

I went to my bathroom and got ready for bed. Something seemed off (you know that mom feeling that you get sometimes). I looked around the room before climbing into bed. I looked down the hall to Noel's room. Her door was open. That is not a normal thing because we always close the kids' bedroom doors when they go to bed even if they get up for some reason and have to go back to bed. The kids' bedroom doors are always shut.

I decided to investigate. Who knew, maybe she had gotten up to go to the bathroom or climbed into my bed late at night with out John knowing and didn't close her door. I looked into my bed. No Noel. I went into her room and looked in her bed. No Noel. I was about to go look on the couch when a startled Noel looked up from the floor in front of her dresser...NAKED.

I asked her what was going on. She said that she threw up on my pillow and needed clean jammies. After asking her some questions, I found out that she had only thrown up that one time all night and only on my side of the bed. I felt...loved? Hmmm...I'm not sure how to feel about that.

I can laugh about it now, but I had to sleep on the couch this morning because I was just too tired to deal with it. (I know that is gross, but that is just me.)