2009.....Good bye my dear...not quite sure I"ll miss ya!!!!!

Well I wish I could say that 2009 was a great year and I am sad to see it pass but the truth is it pretty much sucked!!!! The reason I say "pretty much" and not "totally" is because it DID finish out on a good note. January 25,2009 started our catapult into suckishness with Kelley losing his job.

We had enjoyed some 14 years in copper mining with not much worry of unemployment and with the crash of the economy came the crash of the price of copper and the crash of Kelley's job!! This was not cool, as the entire country was feeling the same thing and other jobs were very very few. Luckily I was working and was able to supplement a little. We were on unemployment for a few months, we lost basically everything from house to vehicles, not fun at all!!!

We were comfy in Tucson, the kids were having a good time in school, we loved our neighborhood and we were close to family but those things cannot supplement an income which we had NONE!!!
 Kelley went to a job fair and was recruited by a company in Wyoming. This company was not copper, but coal which is much more stable than copper. After some discussion, prayer and sacrifice we decided that Wyoming would be "the place". Soooo we said our goodbyes and loaded up. This was mid 2009,

The "good finish"started in September when we got here to Casper and settled!!! What a fantastic place we are in! I freakin love this place. There is wildlife everywhere, our house is fantastic, we have a great ward,school, four seasons and tons of outdoor activities from lakes in the summer to hunting in the fall and skiing in the winter!!!
So though the year started out on a really really rotten note, we did end much better than we could have ever anticipated!!!

So without further adieu here is my top five list or crap and coolness for my 2009

Crap
Layoff
lost cars
left family&friends
uprooted our kids
gained 15 pounds


Coolness
moved to Casper Wyoming
Had our first white Christmas
Awesome much more stable job
way way good school for the kids
fnished 2 semesters of school!!!

I am thinking that we pretty much evened out the year as a whole but I have much greater hopes for 2010 and that is my next blog.....

Christmas Pictures 2009.....Narrated by Madalyn Nicolds

                                                    Our TREE!!!!!

Christmas shopping, we ran into Santa!!!

Christmas morning was a blast Kelley and I were the ones up early this year surprisingly!

Connor you would think would get up around five, instead he had to be woken up at eight.

Tyler, with his dinosaur pillow and cars sheets woke up late as well. Yeah, he's fifteen :)Don't you just love Megan's face! And Madalyn with her AE jammies aren't they just STYLISH!!! Need I say more??Megan got a standing jewelry box from Santa Clause, it is wayyyyyy cool!

Tyler again!He should be busy over break.Madalyn got an American Eagle pea coat from Santa. She can't wait to wear it to a fancy place!

One of Madalyn's friends gave her a silver rubber duck for christmas, a different friend stole it. So Tyler got her two new ones!!

 Connor and all his presents!!

An official Red Rider

I dreamed of a white Christmas thats what i got!!! :) The family went out to play in the snow after the opening of the presents, here is Megan taking a break from the action.

December 23

Well we officially made it!! Since our little identity theft fiasco we had to wait till today to go shopping. My plan was to take Kelley to his drop off and then go shopping around 4 this morning.
Well his direct deposit went into his old account which meant I had to sleep in... darn! Our bank has a lock on that old account so they can monitor it for a few weeks to see if there is any more activity on it which means I cannot transfer, withdraw or debit anything until I sit down with a banker which means today started a littl later.
Snow started falling around 7am and hasn't stopped since so we got to do our shopping in the snow which, i think, made everything more Christmasy and made Hellmart,Target and the mall alot more bearable. We finished up all out shopping in about 3 hours whoo hoo!!! I have everything bought and the kids are wrapping it and I am enjoying the funness knowing that I have finished before Christmas Eve....
Sooooo excited to see faces on Christmas Morning!!!!!!

Next year......

So tonight begins a 3 week break for the kids which means I can catch up to myself!!I am sure I will be wishing for a shorter break by the fourth day of picking up half drank Capri suns off my basement floor!!

 My classes end on Saturday yay!! They could be done now but I am the worlds worst procrastinator which brings me to my next thought.....

.....I plan on having all my Christmas shopping done by Christmas EVE!!!!Can you say slacker!!!

 I have no idea where the month has gone and each year at this time I find myself saying "next year I will have it together for Christmas...." Clearly that has not happened this year..bummer!! Sooo Next year.....

Dear Santa.....

I realize this list may be a little late for you to fill but I decided to post it anyway since maybe you still have some things to buy!!! Most of my stuff is big ticket so feel free to spread it out from now till,say, my anniversary? Besides world peace and a brand new Denali I would like.....

An ed hardy shirt(just so I can say I have one)

 something from bath and body works(not that I stink..its just time for a new scent)

 the level 2 kettlebell CD from ironcore(level one is,dare i say it, getting easy)

 sirius radio(i miss wake up with Cosmo!)

 a fun ring or necklace form Tiffany and co.(don't freak out!!there are some cheap things there)

 uggs(not the old ones, the cute newly designed ones from the website)

a good book(really don't have specs on this one)

 A new running outfit(self explanitory)


So now you have it! My list.. yes I realize it is a big one but if you could pass it along once you are done with it I would appreciate it!!!

Merry freakin Christmas!!

So when Kelley is home on his days off I get to sleep in and I SLEEP!!! I'm talkin ugly sleep, the kind where you are so checked out that you are drooling and snoring and completely out of it!! Till like 930!! Its fantastic!! He loves getting up with the kids and making them a big breakfast and goofing off with them. It's a magical time. Which is why what happened the other day was an all around bad thing!!

Kelley was up and I was nowhere to be found. He has this obsessive compulsion where he is constantly checking his bank balance through his Blackberry(thankful for that now!) He came into the room and shut the door and flipped on the light which made me wake up unaware of who I was or what I was doing(I told you I sleep hard when I sleep in!!) He was white as a sheet and looked at me and said,"there is 6 dollars in our account" normally that would not bother me at all because on any given day that is the typical balance in my bank account after bills and groceries and such. But this was the day after payday!!! Needless to say I was wide awake!!

Anyway after some searching we found that someone online had gotten a hold of our checking account number as well as our routing number and completely drained our account of all our money!!! RUDE!!!!!!

We talked to the bank and they are able to investigate in but investigations take 7 to 10 business days which means our Christmas money is like that candy bar on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, it is in the air in a million little pieces until it finally settles back into our bank account.

 Luckily I am the worlds biggest procrastinator and I never do my Christmas shopping until the week before anyway, but that is because I choose to, not because someone makes it so I can't whether I want to or not!!!SOOO I will be out with all the crazies on December 23 doing my Christmas shopping. I DID make a small dent on black Friday but only on stocking stuffers...What A fun fun time!!!
Actually it is not as bad as it sounds! I mean yes i am way pissed, but I know we will get out money back! Luckily we deal mostly in cash anyway so we took most of Kelleys paycheck out of our account the day before so it could have been much worse and our bank is way amazing! They issued us all new account numbers and debit cards so we don't have to worry about anything happening again.
But for now our poor tree is blank and like I said before, I will be out with the crazies!!!ooh maybe I'll run into Santa!!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Well Thanksgiving this year was held on Friday instead of Thursday this year because of Kelleys work schedule. It actually worked out quite well! We did black Friday shopping in the morning and Thanksgiving feast in the evening.
We had all the normal stuff.....with a little twist of course!!!

Turkey- Only found one bag of guts pre-bake and found the other one later after we ate!(this wouldn't be so bad because I know everyone does it once, but this is, I think the 3rd year for us)

 Green Bean casserole- done with fresh green beans, who knew they were supposed to be cooked BEFORE they were supposed to be "casseroled".

4 pies- 1 pumpkin,1pecan(i think I single handedly ate the entire thing),1 chocolate cream, and one apple(this one was an afterthought and suffered 3rd degree burns so was not eated)

Megan, of course, does not eat a normal human being diet so she had a Thanksgiving 12 inch pizza. (Connor was not a huge fan, he felt this was totally unfair)

Kelley and I fought over what time the bird was gonna be ready(shocker I know!!) I was right by the way!!

Other than that the holiday was a success!!! We had a great time with eachother here all alone in Casper!! We watched some football, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, had Starbucks on black Friday while putting a significant dent in our Christmas shopping lists. I loved it!!!!!

Children's Miracle Music Official Site | Chores Done... Kids On Time... House Clean... And No Nagging. Guaranteed.

 Children's Miracle Music Official Site Chores Done... Kids On Time... House Clean... And No Nagging. Guaranteed.                                                                                             


I don't know If I have blogged this before but it is amazing!! I use it with my kiddos and it works great!!!

34= the cryptkeeper

So today I am 34 years old. Very interesting, I am almost closer to 40 than to 30. Every year I make little resolutions for myself that I plan on doing for that particular year. I figure I should probably write it down so I will hold myself a little bit accountable

 In my 34th year I plan to


                    Run another half-marathon(any takers??)

                    Get up at 5am to work out & get my bearings

                    Dress more like a mom instead of a bum

                     wear accessories(earings,necklaces,etc)

                     Use snail mail more

                    make my house look like a house in a magazine


That should keep me pretty busy for the year and will give my a sense of accomplishment as well as enjoyment!!

Connor

Connor is at that age where he says some real gems!!! When he does I try to save them in my blackberry here are a few....


"Mom, when I grow up and get married will you still be my parents??" "yes Connor". "GOOD"

When we drive home from church I usually ask the kids what they learned. They usually say Jesus or the Commandments.... Yesterday Connor said," I learned about eating fast" I asked for clarification. Connor said" the first Sunday of every month if you are over 8 you eat fast for 2 meals and it helps out the sick people in the hospital."


I LOVE THAT KID!!!

wierdness!!

Ok so I was looking at my friends blog yesterday and noticed that my blog was stuck on my update 5 weeks ago. Well that is not the case!! I have been updating I promise.. so I went onto my friendly little blog helper and it said that all I had to do was add my blog to the blogs that I stalk and it would fix!!! Well I did, and it did!!! Figured I would put this out there for anyone else who has some issues!!!!

Motherhood------

Why is it that there is so much angst with motherhood?

 My thoughts and concerns with where I should be and what I should be doing with regards to my children and my family is ever changing.

On the one hand I know that I need an education and that it is a good thing. I know that I need a degree to fall back on in case something happens but how quickly do i need to do it? This semester I am taking a full load of classes. On the other hand I know I need to be, and I would much rather be, spending my time doing things with and for my family. Should i just do one class at a time so that I can make sure that my children have all my attention on them?? There is so much that needs to be done to ensure a family runs smoothly and that each person has what they need physically, emotionally,spiritually,etc...

I love being a stay at home mom and I plan on doing it forever with no regrets!! So is it necessary to even have a degree in mind or is it just as good to just gain knowledge and maybe make sure that life insurance is taken care of and savings is there so ensure I am prepared FINANCIALLY just in case. Whats funny is that I talk to Kelley about it and he says "i hope you don't want me to agree or disagree because that puts me in a really bad situation... I don't want to be responsible  for that decision"

UGH!!  what a dilemma! Do I achieve a goal of getting a degree,which is just something that I want?? or do I do what I am supposed to do and be a mommy first and foremost???

madalyn is cool!!!!!!!!!

hi i am madalyn and i am wayyyyyy cool haha

A welfare check that was fun but not really needed~~~

one of my dearest friends dropped of the face of the blogging world and I was freaking out!!! I called her a couple weeks ago to see what was up and she was just not blogging much but said she would be back soon.... well, I felt, today was soon!!! So I called her today to do some more prodding because she hadn't commented on any of my blogs OR updated hers for 5 WEEKS. Well come to find out... she went private!! She has been updating her blog  lots and lots and here I sat watching and waiting for some sign of life from the Saline Family. Did you know that when a person sets their blog to private it doesn't notify you that they have updated it!!!!???? RUDE!!!!!  Just wanted to give a little FYI to those of you who are checking and checking for those notifications from friends of yours who have gone private.... ur missin out!! They ARE updating!!!!

Sleep Deprivation part deux!!

Ok so I blogged about my girlies being sleep deprived last time and now it is my turn to whine...I'M SOOO TIRED!!!!!! Not your normal "i'm stressed out and my kids are making me insane tired" the kind where your body is in breakdown mode. I lay down at night to sleep and I can't! I replay everything over and over in my head,I just cannot settle myself down to go to sleep. This has created a horrible habit for me in that I get up to get my kids ready for school half alive, get them to school and then,instead of coming home and doing homework or housework or anything I go back to bed. This has been my life for about a month now and I have had enough!!!!!All I want to do is, when it is bedtime, lay down, close my eyes, and SLEEP!!!So I called Mary and she gave me all kinds of good advice! Lavender essential oils,cammomile tea, and shocking my body back into a routine. Wish me luck Mary, I am doing this tomorrow and you may receive another phone call only this time I won't be so cheerful!!! I am at my wits end so I really hope this helps... any other ideas cuz i got nothing left!!!

Neuro-cardiogenic syncope.....weight gain...and sleep deprivation...tongue clipping= GOOD GRIEF!!!

So we went back to the doctor this week for Madalyns follow up. Her cardiac stress test came back normal so we don't have to worry about her croaking on the basketball court. We do have to worry about her passing out if she locks her knees in band or anything, which is what Neuro-cardiogenic syncope is. It sounds horrible but really is not too bad (unless she smacks her head goin down) and is not treatable so no more meds for her. Which brings me to the next "whatever you want to call it", Maddi has to go back on her ADHD meds but she is underweight which is worrysome because these meds act as an appetite suppressant. She eats like a freakin ELEPHANT!!! How do you make someone like that gain weight??We will basically be feeding her straight fat 24/7. This particular doctors visit was a blast because he also notified us that she was sleep deprived.. Let me put it how he did," she looks exhausted and too thin!" Yea I feel like a rockstar mom!! But I swear she is eating and sleeping!! she turns into a freakin pumpkin around 7 and is asleep by 8 at the latest!!! But he is right both my girls look like refugees!!! So we are on a mission to gain weight and sleep more( the dream of every teenager)
Speaking of Megan, we finally had her IEP and it looks like she will be having her tongue clipped to help out her speech..this should be funn!!! Looks like this will happen over Christmas break, but first we have to bulk her up because she really has no meat to share!!! What a crazy health conundrum we have going on up here!! Thankfully we have not be able to partake of the piggy flu....yet

This Week....

I feel so bad I haven't written anything this week! My goal is 2 times a week so that I can use it as journal entries!What a slacker I am! Soooo I am gonna make up for it now!

Sunday-got everyone to church ontime! woo hoo!!! got settled in our row and looked at my beautiful family and noticed that Connor had a goopy red eye!!OMGosh! Pink eye!! left said beautiful family and an almost sprint and took Connor home to administer the "liquid gold"(leftover drops i kept from last year) and washed everything he had touched!! NAPS!!!

Monday- Kids to school, had to make sure they were not smuggling Halloween candy! Read for my classes, tons of cool stuff but lots to read! Took a couple quizes, not too bad! Window shopped for furniture, we have a whole other room to fill now! Connor had his first indoor soccer practice! What an excited boy!!

Tuesday- Kids to school, back to bed till noon! for some reason my clock is way off! We havent had to partake in the time change of daylight savings and it left a mark on me!

Wednsday- Kids to school, something fishy up with Tyler so we stalked him at lunch to make sure he wasn't going off campus...turns out he lost his PE shirt and needed to pay for it which is why he was asking for more money for lunch than usual!Felt a little crunchy!!In my defense he DID tell a lie!! Got a call from Madalyn, she was in trouble at school. She was supposed to call me on Wednesday to tell me she had to stay after to complete an assignment but instead called HER cell phone and left a fake message to me on HER voice mail..BUSTED!!!!Mutal, more indoor soccer, late night to bed!!Thats a Wednesday at our house though

Thursday-Learned of the idoit Muslim that shot up the building at Fort Hood!! Hated political correctness!!!!Yea that basically lasted all day!!

Friday-read a ton of history and Holocaust!!! Had Madison(Madalyns friend) over, saw the missionaries on the way and told her about them. She was shocked that we have missionaries and that they were away from home for 2 years! too funny! Made some yummy semi-homemade tortillas(found a mix in the flour section of Wal Mart).Finally had it with the Halloween candy wrappers and threw the rest of the candy away!!

Which brings us to today... Madalyn wants to go to the mall  so she will be cleaning the entire house today,noone else has much going on which means lots of Disney and Nick which is totally fine with me! I have a hundred pages to read in History so I don't have to do it tomorrow!

The weather has been fabulous in the mid fifties and lower sixties,perfect fall days!!The deer are just beginning the be in the RUT so they are out all over the place! There were about half a dozen in our front yard the other day and a couple across the street as well eating out of the ladies BIRD FEEDER!!! It was so cool!!! I saw my first Grouse(i guess that is how you spell it) at the Starbucks drive through the other day. They are these big fat game birds that make the craziest sounds! We tried to take some pics with our phones but they wouldn't move into the sun. We have seen so many cool animals up here its crazy!! I love it!!!

Oh by the way speaking of Starbucks they have their new Christmas cups out and all their signature hot chocolates are back!!! I recommend a Peppermint Hot Chocolate!!!

Halloween 2009

Ok so last night was Halloween and we had sooo much fun! The kids hung out all day watching movies while Kelley and I made our last minute trek around town trying to find last minute touches for costumes. Everyone looked so way awesome!!! The pitiful thing about this blog is that it is lacking pictures!! My memory stick in my camera chipped and now it won't insert into my computer so now I have to wait till tomorrow to go try and get it fixed so hopefully there will be pictures but in the event that there are not I will try my best to paint mental ones........
Madalyn and her friend Madison went as Thing 1 and Thing 2 which was so dang cute! We did her hair all up and painted it blue! She looked great! They met up at the churchhouse and went trick or treating in the neighborhood around it. They seemed to make out quite well and they found a haunted house along the way which was a good addition.
Tyler was a pirate which was so much fun to put together. We even got a fake bird from Hobby Lobby( the best store EVER!!!) He stuck around the churchhouse and helped out with the carnival for a few hours, then went back to our neighborhood to hit a few houses before they came home and had some hot chocolate and visited about the night( my favorite part!)
Megan was a banana. It was fun, we stuffed her with quilt batting and painted her face yellow. She also stayed at the church for a few then went off with her friend and her mom and dad to go trick or treating for an hour or so.
Which brings us to our little caboose...Connor was Bumblebee from Transformers. This little turkey changes his mind mid week from being a penguin! Luckily Target saved me! He stuck with Kelley and I for the night. We made our rounds at the carnival and then went home to our neighborhood where I dropped he and Kelley off and they made their way back to the house. He had so much fun just he and Kelley trick or treating!!!
Everyone got home from their fun around 8 or so. Tyler a little later and he showed up with a few friends. We all sat around,Kelley built a nice fire and had some hot chocolate and carmel apples and talked about the best houses and the best costumes. Friends went home, candy got hidden and we all washed the make up off our faces and went to bed..... It was so much fun! I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again!! I love being a mom!!! My kids are a blast and I love watching what they do and who they are each and every day!!!

What is important at our house???

Just a little glimpse into what is important in my house... My online classes started on Wednesday. They are going to be lots of fun and hard work too. I am taking twelve credit hours which means lots of reading and lots of writing.

I told you that to tell you this.

 Because my classes started in the middle of the week we only had 3 days to read our material and write it up. Today was the day I wanted to turn in all my papers. So I sat down at ten a.m. to finish up my paper on the Holocaust.

Well today is also the day that the U of A plays UCLA at 4. We just got our dish hooked up last week, we got our big TV in the basement, everyone was wearing their fan clothes and pajamas. We made Philly Cheese Steaks They were ready! Everyone settled down to watch the earlier games which I was thankful for! This left the upstairs to me and my computer....
...... When... Up comes Madalyn, up comes Connor, up comes Kelley! Nobody made sure we had FOXAZ! How could this happen?? How could nobody check! Mom why didn't you make sure!!?? Of course I looked up shocked and confused.. This was of course my fault, I am the "nobody" that they are talking about..its always the mothers fault!!
 I stopped what I was doing. Called dish, stayed on the phone for half hour and low and behold we got FXAZ! My paper is gonna be finished tonight because now we HAVE to watch the Cats play!!!

WHATEVER!!after all that drama, I'm takin a nap!!!! Go CATS zzzzzzzzz

A way cool site and blog for modest dresses!!!YAY!!!

Ok so I know I just just posted a little "my favorites" blog but I really have had alot of time on my hands this past week and I have found some new ones!! Thankfully my classes start on Monday so I wont be spending so much time online now! Most of the links are on my blog page, actually all of them are, but this morning I found an awesome one!!! I have such a hard time finding modest dresses that don't look homely for myself and my girls but I stumbled across this site this morning and I think I am gonna be a big fan!!!The dresses are kinds pricey but they are also timeless looking!! I, for one, really like them!!!


here is the site    http://www.shabbyapple.com/ they also have a blog!!!

Miss Maddi

So I know that a lot of people will read this in my notes on facebook because my blog is connected and that's just fine, but I am keeping this blog as more of a journal for myself. I can print these pages off and have them bound and voila! My journal(of sorts). It is for that reason I write lots of these things.

My miss Madalyn is 13 years old and she is a freakin fireball!!! Oh goodness its nuts! And honestly she is so way much fun to be with! She is one of my dearest friends!We laugh, cry, yell, fight, and all of those other things great friends do! We can talk about pretty much anything and make a joke about anything! Its great to have that bond with her.
 Well since we lived in Tucson she started getting migraines. Which noone in our family has ever been diagnosed with. What a hard thing to see happening to my child! To see her hurting and to not be able to "fix it"! Rough! Since Tucson she has also been known to have a few semi fainting spells. I say semi because I am not sure she ever fully blacks out. These episodes do effect her body so much that she has to lay down wherever she is. They have become more frequent and intense in the past few months. Again, nothing prepares you for walking downstairs and seeing your child on the floor weak and unable to even hold up her head, with that helpless look in her eyes.
We decided after the second whatever you want to call this in as many months we would have it checked out by her doctor.
 He recommended that we do a cardiac stress test because of certain family history, and until then she was to sit out all physical activity due to the odd chance that she could collapse and die! Yea he said die! GULP! My kid!? My baby?My best friend?? Oh no no no! Filed THAT statement in that hidden part of the back of my brain real quick! Until today...
 We took Madalyn to the cardiologist this afternoon. Everyone joined us in the waiting room because school had already been dismissed(way nuts!) After about a half hour they called Madalyn back to the room where we would do the test. They got her all prepped with her electrodes and took her baseline vitals which were fine. And we waited some more..
The doctor came in and explained what was going to happen.
For those of you who do not know what a stress test is let me put it in my rawest Jenn term. This is the stupidest ass procedure I think exists! They basically stick you on a treadmill and hook you up to monitors while they watch you exercise and see if your heart can hack it! And if it cant?? well that is a good thing!  But don't worry the freakin doctor is there if you code! Come on people!!
So there I sat with full knowledge of everything that monitor was saying, as well as every vital taken, watching my daughter running on this treadmill, waiting for something to happen. Waiting, waiting waiting.

 Her stress test came back fine and they gave us a list of others we will have to run. And I know that with each test we run I will sit there just like I did today. Waiting and waiting for something to happen. Knowing that something is wrong, knowing that I can't fix this right now. I hate it when my children are sick or when my children hurt but most of all I hate it when I feel this helpless!I am sure things will turn out fine. I know it is probably some wacked out electrolyte imbalance or something tht can be fixed. But, in the meantime???
What a freakin year!!! Can we start January tomorrow??????

ROOM!!!!!

We are just about settled in our new house and we are sooo enjoying all the room! The kids all have their own bedrooms now and I never want to go back to the sharing thing! Oh the harmony that comes with ones personal space and do not even get me started on the fact that we have 3 bathrooms!!!! Yes its the little things ,like the number of bathrooms in a house ,that excite me!

Our First Canadian Cold Front!!

Well we have officially been initiated! A cold front came down from Canada this last week and it was so so fun! The temps dropped into the single digits and we got about 10 inches of beautiful white powdery snow. I have never seen powdery snow! You could blow on it and it would fly through the air! It was amazing!
It snowed pretty much non stop from Thursday till Sunday.We prepared by buying everyone snow boots and good gloves and other cloths, we bought a snow shovel which the kids took turns using to shovel our sidewalk( wonder how long the newness will last!)
I slip slided all over the road the first day because I have never driven in snow but by Sunday I was pretty good at it. I am thinking that by springtime I should definately be a pro!!
 They don't cancel school here for snow at least now that I know of. In fact Tyler travelled 2 and a half hours for an away football game. He said it was a pretty cold game but the host school took good care of them, putting heat fans and tents up for the players that weren't playing. At Connors school I thought for sure they would keep them inside but nope, we drove by and saw all the kiddos playing in the snow! It was hilarious! The girls school is all inside so they have to walk the fifty feet to the school from the car and they are set for the day.
It is for sure a different way of life and I am loving every minute of it! Our house has two fireplaces, one on the main level and one in the basement, so I have ordered my wood for the winter! Maybe next year I will learn to split it.... or not!! I have figured that the key to living here is good quality snow clothes(sorry Wal Mart, not you), an electric garage door, and spikey tires( they make these funky tires that have these little metal spikes which help grab the road)..... if a person is prepared with these things then this kind of weather is totally doable and even fun!
I have one last week of freedom before my classes start( all online though so it shouldn't be THAT terminal!) so I have been cooking all kinds of cold weather food, mostly soups and stews, which is soo much fun! Today I made some apple cider in the crock pot which was way yummy! Gonna do some sweets and some breads while the kids are at school this week... can't wait! I'm thinking more apples...
So our first test of Casper,i think, we passed with flying colors!!Temps are due to come back up by the middle of this week so we will be back in the Fall kind of weather which we all know is the best(until Christmas time is closer, that is)....

QUIET!!

This week was General Conference and we missed it! We were packing and unpacking. Plus there was no TV or internet hooked up at our new house. It was a total bummer. We finally got everything going and watched some of it tonight with the kids and a large pizza!(definitely gonna make the pizza thing a Saturday afternoon tradition!) We got through most of the first session from Saturday. The talks that I heard were great! They really have given me something to work on and that is QUIET. Lots of what I heard had to do with listening to the spirit. Mine is a crazy household We have so many things going on, so much outside noise whether it be from TV, ipod, computer, and so on that there is really no way have many quiet moments to listen for guidance from the spirit , ponder things of life and just be still. I really want to work on cultivating this environment in my house. I am thinking some new comPuter, cell phone, ipod, etc. rules need to be put in place so that we as a family can enjoy the QUIET and peace a little bit more. It may be tough at first, our farmville and farmtown crops may die and our texting buddies may wonder what the heck happened to us, but I know that it will strengthen us and our ability to know that still small voice a little better. It should be a very interesting change at our house!

Blogging

Blogs are the super coolest! Not only  do I love love to see what friends and family are up to, I have recently found some really really cute ones that are just fun and some others that are very inspirational! Thought I would share my fav's.. Some are blogs some are not but all are fabulous!

http://www.thisweekfordinner.com/   -------- way way fun! She puts her weekly menu up each Sunday and wants you to leave yours in the comment section. I have a blast doing it and looking to see what everyone else is cooking!

http://www.beckymcarthur.com/---- this chic-a-dee used to babysit for me and is now a spectacular photographer! I could look at her pics all day( I AM a little partial to all the family pics) If I lived closer Becky I would hire you for everything!!

RunSickBoyRun@blogspot.com---- This is an amazing story of courage and inspiration! This guy has CF and makes himself run because he is tired of being sick! Talk about motivation! I cant think of any excuses now!!! Just way awesome!!!

http://piggiesnponies.blogspot.com/ ---- I dont really do my girls hair anymore but when we do have the time I try these out! They are way cool!


Ok thats about all I have to share.The other ones I stalk are just friends of mine who I admire and am curious about. I have been known to check in several times a day just to see if I have missed anything. I love to read about life and the latest! I have decided I also love to write in my blog! I didn't at first but I am finding now that It is a fun fun hobby of mine!!  I love the whole blogging thing!! Check these few out! You will have fun!!!

Fall Family Pictures

We headed up the mountain in search of fall and found it!!!

My Rut

I figured that since I have been writing alot about the fun times we are having here in Casper I would bring it down a few notches, because,after all, it can't ALWAYS be perfect...
So i am in a rut!
A bigtime one!

• For the past few months I have not done a whole heck of a lot in the way of taking care of myself.
• I cant remember the last time I ran 2 days in a row.
• I dont remember the last vegetable I ate or the last time I drank the amount of water that I am supposed to.I have resorted to DP, Starbucks hot chocolate, fast food in just about any variety and lets not even attempt to venture into the insane amounts of sweet stuff I am injesting on a daily basis.
• I get up in the morning with the kids but never get out of my jammies. I take them to school and then come home and want to sleep till noon!! And some days I DO!!!
• I havent gone to get my hair done in almost six months(i know! hideous!!)

So that is me in a nutshell these days.... I sit at the table in the afternoon with the kids and swear that "tomorrow I will be different" .....yea, doesn't happen.

So I figured that I would write this little note to myself in the hopes that I read it and snap out of these shananagans!! Will it work??? Not too sure.

I'm sure Tracy and Jacquie will tell me to get a job, but nope! Not gonna happen! I am where I want/need to be! There has to be more to it. There has to be another solution! Any ideas on how to get out of this RUT I would love to hear!!

OIL BOWL 2009

There are sooo many reasons that I love living in America!! There are so many reasons I love fall! One of the biggest?? FOOTBALL! Not really talking NFL, sorry. Love Saturday College games! TOTALLLY LOVE LOVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL and after the game we had last night???? WOW!

Ok so in Casper there are two High Schools, Natrona County High School and Kelly Walsh High School. These are great schools both academically and athletically. Being as there are only 2 schools in this town, there is obviously a fierce fierce rivalry. This rivalry is never more evident than during the Oil Bowl. The Oil Bowl is the football game between KW and NC.

I am telling you this game is the epitomy of high school football! For the week leading up to the big game there are late practices for the football team, the dance team, the cheerleaders, the band, and anyone who has the slightest involvement in this game. This is the chance they have to show one another why it is that their school is the BEST!

We spent the entire week surrounded by seas of orange and black(NC), as well as green and gold(KW)...depending on the side of town we happened to be on. We decorated bandanas, bought commemorative OIL BOWL t-shirts, bought Mardi Gras beads in our school colors, we were prepared come Friday!

Friday Morning-OIL BOWL DAY

Madalyn and Megan happen to go to school across town so their school primarily supports Kelly Walsh , (K-dub,for short), but Tyler goes to NC and they are going to be attending NC as well. Needless to say they were completely decked out and ready to support their team regardless of the trash talk that awaited them.

Tyler is on the Sophomore team so he wore his jersey, and his black & orange mardi gra beads, his big orange glasses and anything else he could find that would prove he had his share of school spirit!

The students had a pep rally, and a tailgate party, and decorations throughout the school. Again, they did anything they could to show that their school was the best, while across town KW was doing the same thing!!

Friday evening- Game time!

The school, aware of the pending tremendous turnout, brought in portable bleachers for the other side of the field. This gave a new life to Dick Cheney Stadium! One side was flooded with green and gold worn by past,present and future KW Trojans while the other was equally represented with their tribute to the NC Mustangs.

The weather was perfect! Cool enough to make the HS Football experience just like the ones that are portrayed in books!

THE GAME ITSELF-

If there was ever a game for the history books this was it! The first half was completely dominated by Natrona County! Putting 21 points up on the score board!

The end of the first half Kelly Walsh put up 7. A fantastic halftime show ensued with a great preformance by the Fighting Mustang Marching Band!

The second half was dominated by KW which brought the football game to a tie at 21,sending the game into a sudden death OT! First NC stopped KW. Second KW stopped NC. Another coin toss--- KW scores and gets the extra point-----NC scores and calls a time out. NC opts for the 2 point conversion.......by this time everyone is on their feet, voices are crackling from the amount of screaming taking place. In the end the 2 point conversion would be blocked, causing a win for Kelly Walsh.

Though I am sad that NC did not win, we still had a fantastic time participating is such an amazing experience! What a fun fun time from the beginning to the end! Friday Night Football rivalries are alive and well here in Wyoming!

September 11

I figured that since I am using this blog as a journal of sorts I should write some things down about that day.....

September 11,2001

At 6:50 am I was climbing out of the shower at Station 33 after a 24 hour clinical for my Paramedic School. At the fire station there is an overhead intercom system that sends out tones to alert firefighters of incoming calls. The tones went off and the dispatchers voice came on. Instead of dispatching the intended unit to a call the voice said" Per your batallion chief please turn on your television" I had no idea what was going on but i figured it was no big deal so I got dressed and headed out into the common area. Where the fire captain was sitting in the recliner watching the news. I asked what happened and he said " a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center". I thought he was just messing around with me so I went and stood behind the recliner and watched as the fires were burning. About 5 minutes later I stood there in disbelief as the first tower collapsed. It was unreal what was going on. I left the station and headed to my moms house.The next days would be horrible horrible moments both seen and heard both on radio and tv.

My dad was in the middle of a business trip and was at LAX. Standing there with his partner in Military uniforms as this was unfolding, they decided it would be best to get out. They rented a car and headed back home.

My brother Kyle was stationed in Washington DC. We tried for some time to get in touch with him to make sure all was ok there. It would be a few days as when the plane crashed he was called back to his quarters and issued a rifle and instructed to stand guard in front of the State Department. He was later walking past an American Red Cross station and a lady told him to call his mother. He called us to let us know he was alive and well but he would be busy for a while. For my brother this would turn out to be one of the hardest periods of his life. His unit was responsible for the clean up of the wreckage at the Pentagon. They would clean until they came across a body part, it was then that they would clear out and let the FBI come in to remove and mark. My brother later recounted to my father that" no 21 year old boy should have to see the things that I have seen"

My mother, my children and myself would spend countless hours in tears in front of the television that day and in the days to come to try and make sense out of the things that had happened. There was no way to even try and comprehend it. All we could do was sit there and cry.

In the weeks to come following the attacks we would find out the depth of the planning and the amount of hatred that was felt towards this country and our beliefs. But BIGGER than that we would see the way our country pulled together and the unity we felt with one another. Our resolve not to be defeated by something so catastrophic. People banded together from all walks of life, religous and political affitiations. I remember a radio station in Tucson organized a human American Flag at Tucson Electric Park. The attendance was overwhelming!!! So much patriotism and caring during such a terrible terrible time.

I am sooooo sooooo proud of those who gave their lives to save and try to save those suffering,dying, and in need. I am sooo sooo proud of those public servants who,today, stand where most people would not even attempt to go. I am grateful for our military who serve their country honorably and, without thought, lay down their lives.

In the end we would have tremendous outpouring of grief and loss from that day. We would begin a debate regarding military action that continues even today. But what I remember most about that time was the way we as a nation banded together and helped one another deal with what happened in a way that makes me so proud to live here, in this country.

Casper

I posted these pictures on Facebook but It has been so long since I put anything other that words on my blog that i figured i may as well put a them on here too!!

Casper sits at the foot of Casper Mountain. It is unlike the mountains of the Southwest, it only takes ten minutes to get to the top. It is wider than it is tall if that makes any sense. The elevation is only about 6 thousand feet I think. It is totally gorgeous!!

This is the school that Tyler goes to! It is even more beautiful in person!!!

The antelope just hang out all over town these pictures were taken while I was sitting at a stop light in the middle of town! They are so awesome! At night the park down he street is filled with an entire herd of Mule Deer and Antelope! It is unreal!

Catching Tadpoles

I am going to try so hard to add to my blog at least a few times a week so that I can take the time out to reflect on and enjoy the goings on of our family life. So much goes on during our week! So many great stories are told and so many cute things are done! I figure I can print off these pages and put them together as a journal because I am so not good at actually journaling.

I talked to my sister in law last week, she just sent her little man off to Kindergarten and said that as she was driving home with an empty car she couldn't help but think that she should have "caught more tadpoles with him."I remember each time I sent my babies off to Kindergarten it broke my heart to know that they had grown so quickly.Now I am taking my oldest out driving and my youngest is just about too big for me to carry to bed. It does go by so fast and it seems like before I know it my babies will all be grown and gone and I do not want to be looking back saying to myself "i should have caught more tadpoles"with my family.

long time no blog!!

ok so lots has happened since my Fort Collins blog, mainly we didn't move there!! Here is the readers digest version. It just didn't work out! No really! It is a beautiful town and i want to visit every chance i get but it was just too far from our dad. Apparently there is a ton of wind and snow between there and Cheyenne which shuts the highway down a lot!! There were just too many obstacles! So while we were up there checking it out we decided to change our minds and head to Casper. Let me just tell you of all the places I have lived I think this might rank up there as one of my favorites. It is green,green! The North Platte River is about a quarter mile from our house. The ski resort is 15 minutes away. There are beautiful trees all over which is such a welcome change from desert life! So am i sad that i left AZ yep, but if I have to relocate this is a way way cool place to relocate to!
The kids started school last Monday.
Tyler is a Sophomore at Natrona County High School which is the same high school that Dick Cheney went to,kinda cool. He is on the football team as a half back, i have no clue what that means! Anyway he totally loves school!
Madalyn and Megan are both at the same school. Madalyn in 8th and Megan in 6th. They are really liking their school as well. Both are on the volleyball, wouldn't expect any less they are both freakin giraffes!!They are loving their school as well!!
I should interject here that one of the biggest reasons that they are so in love with their schools is because they are each in possession of Mac laptops! Pretty cool! And it keeps the noise level at my house almost non existent which i LOVE!
Connor is in first grade this year! My tiny baby boy is a big first grader! He loves his teacher! She has a Cat in The Hat themed room which is adorable!!
I am so excited that school has started it means we are one step closer to the holidays! Yes i said the "H" word.... sorry

Fort Collins.....

.... So it looks like we will be making the big move.... As much as we love Tucson we really want to be close to our dad more.. Kelley is working at the mine in southern Wyoming and doesn't feel like there is much in the way of opportunity for the kiddos there as far as schools and activities so we are looking at Northern Colorado. Talk about BEAUTIFUL!!! The towns are nice sized, the cost of living is half of Tucson which means bigger house!! YAY!! And there is a 4 year university there so i can finally finish my schooling!! Most of the kids are good with the decision but miss Maddi is dead set against it...she has her circle of friends here, not to mention she just had "the best best" week at girls camp! She loves her young womens leaders and the girls she went to camp with! It breaks my heart to have her go through this!! We will go up there next week to look around so hopefully it will make it easier to swallow, gosh i hope so......

Where do i begin......

I can't believe how long it has been since i posted anything on this blog!! So much has happened i feel like such a slacker..... Let see if i can cover everything without boring myself and everyone else to tears!!
Ok so Kelley has his job in Wyoming which he really enjoys! WE on the other hand are spinning crazily out of control down here in the desert, but we are getting by! Thank goodness i have such a good time and great relationship with my children! It makes things so much easier! I did quit my job because I couldn't handle being away from them so much. That whole teenager thing with kids active in everything imaginable was pretty tough with a full time job..... I was missing tons of things!! Not to mention that my house was starting to talk because of all the filth and laundry and dishes and take out and so on and so on!!
Lets see... summer has been kinda crazy so far.... took a trip south to visit... Its so funny i always thought people were dumb for talking about how sacred and special mouintans and stuff like that was until I walked over to the Mississippi while i was in Memphis. It literally choked me up!!! My family grew up along the delta in Louisiana and being there was like saying hello to my grandfather who i miss all the time! It was strange but so comfortable! I spent a couple days there and headed to Fort Benning to see my baby brother who is one of my heros! As a soldier he has had to endure so much that it breaks my heart and makes me proud at the same time! He was there September 11, he was there for the Space Shuttle, and he was in Iraq, so being with him i feel like i am in the presence of my own little celebrity although when i mention it to him he is very quick to point out that he is far from it!! It was a great vacation for me! But i missed my kiddos terribly! They stayed in NM with my inlaws who just absolutely rock!! Everyone had such a great time there! They rode four wheelers, played outside, hunted and just had a very laid back country type of time! As a matter of fact I am still cleaning Luna dirt out of Connors ears!! Hilarious!!They love that place!
I'm guessing that is all i will do for this post, i think i'll break them up so i can follow myself a little easier.......

OK Seriously!!!???

I know it I totally bite lately at updating my blog but in my defense lots of craziness is going on here... Superlong story short.. Kelley got a job in Wyoming, now don't freak Melissa, i'm not going anywhere(yet),for those of you who know me I thrive in the heat of the Arizona sun or the Humidity of the South...neither one of those exist in Gillette Wyoming. The kids and I have decided to stay here and tough it out in the desert which will kinda be rough but we are used to having Kelley on crazy shifts and we think we can deal!! Too much is way fun here, most of our family, the kids are doing really well in school and loving their friends so after some serious conferencing with our kiddos we have decided it will be ok. Kelley will be down on his seven days off which is once a month and he will be in Wyoming the remainder of the time. We will stay in Wyoming during most of the summer. The kids can't wait for that part, i actually think it will be a pretty good time myself. So now that I have spilled about that gigantic piece of news i'll give you the lowdown on a little more of the craziness here....
Tyler-- Well he rocks still!! He is doing track, pole vaulting, and running distance. He can't wait till summer of course because he will be able to get back in the pool...Grades are amazing!! Hilarious story---so i decided to go back to school and partake in Medical School(just started saying THAT outloud!!!), anyway all my classes from when i was in college the first time are too old to count, so i had to take placement tests for math and english so i can figure out where i belong. Well, i was pretty pumped to learn that i tested into the Algebra i needed!!That was until Tyler had to do the same placement testing for his Honors Biology class and BEAT ME like it was cool!!!! Yes my 14 year old is officially smarter than his mother!!
Madalyn---- Well she is a rockstar these days. I think she has finally settled down. Her grades are all up! She just got an award for "beating the odds and bringing up her grades"which is just great. She is trying out for Volleyball which is hilarious that she even has to try out she is freakin 8 feet tall, all she has to do is stand in front of the net with her hand in the air!!
Megan is---well, Megan.... she is your typical 11 year old blonde girl! She has a bird named trixie and they are BFFs. She is doing well in school and loving playing the Violin in orchestra, and(now that she has been practicing alot) we just love hearing her.
Connor---Connor is just my baby boy! Right now he is really digging "shooting hoops" he makes Kelley take him to the Basketball Court for hours..

Ok so----SERIOUSLY!!!! Been kinda busy!!

Good Morning

I figured I would give my blog a little TLC since I have been totally cheating on it with my Facebook!! I'm tellin ya it totally sucks you in!!!
Anyway, Kelley leaves for Wyoming today to check out a coal mine up there. Could be interesting. If he decides to take the job he will work there and come home on his days off, since he will be back on shift work and will have so many!! We will go there during the summer and hang with the cowboys. We really don't want to uproot the kiddos because of school and friends and all but we will see how that goes. The fun thing about it all is that I will be able to quit my job and finish up my degree quicker and apply to Med. School which will be way cool!!
We are celebrating the Rodeo this week, pretty funny huh? We in Tucson decide to forgo the whole Presidents Day Holiday and go to school that Monday in exchange for 2 days off the following week to celebrate the Rodeo. So we are way pumped about that!! The parade is tomorrow and Tyler is marching in it! I'm gonna take lots of pictures so maybe I can get them up soon.
Lets see..what else is goin on??? Oh its supposed to be 90 degrees here today!!! i soo way need a new pair of flip flops to usher in the spring weather!!! I love it!
Guess that's it for now. I'm sure i'll be back soon!!!

Just checking in..........

I figured I would just update my blog real quick since that last one was a doozie.I mean wow.... I should be on some sort of "mental health watch"!!!
Things are still goin here!! Kelley is still actively trying to find work. Looks like I am the official bread weiner!! At least for a little while anyway. He has had a couple of good offers but we aren't quite ready to pack up and head for ILLINOIS or NORTH DAKOTA yet!!
Lets see what else.... Oh I am officially addicted to Facebook. Its crazy!! Finding all these people that I haven't seen or heard from since high school!!!Some I have missed horribly and wondered about often!!
UMM Tyler starts track this week. He is such the athlete!! It is sooo much fun!
Miss Maddi turns 13 tomorrow!!! I sooo cannot believe that I officially have 2,count em,2 teenagers. Who'd have thunk!!!Anyway she is a total blast!!! She always makes me laugh, even when I am not supposed to be!!
Megan is just hangin out. Which is cool!I love love hangin out with my kiddos!!
Connus is just a thrill a minute. He is freakin hilarious! Always pops in and asks me if I miss him! Well hello!! Always hon!!
Its freakin cold here right this minute!! but that is all subject to change here in the Arizona desert which keeps us guessing!
I just put a garden in last week, one of those things you do when you are on the 'frugal plan'. I think I am gonna try my hand at growing potatos. My grandpa used to grow them and i think i will carry on the tradition,or try anyway.
So thats whats been up!! All is well in the desert!!!

What do you say???

What do you say when you are bopping around in your nice comfy little world and it all of the sudden comes to a screeching hault?? What do you say when everything worldly you have suddenly is put in question?? What do you say when you have to, by no choice of your own put your pride in your back pocket and ask people, you swore you would never have anything to do with, to help you and your family survive???

I have absolutely no idea!!!

For the past 15 years Kelley and I have enjoyed the comforts of a secure carreer, really good income and, often taken advantage of, fantastic benefits!

Sunday evening everything changed!! Kelley came home mid-shift with news that he had been laid off. I can't say I was surprised because there was no good news coming out of the copper industry, but I can say I was shocked and confused. Shocked because this is something I never expected to happen to ME( but who does) and confused because I had no idea what to do next. Sooo I called my mom, threw up, cried and sat in the corner of my couch twirling my hair(something I do when I am nervous or stressed)

Monday I called off work to figure out which was up and, like I said before, put my pride in my back pocket and get all the assistance the government has semi-readily available for families like mine. Kelley went to the emergency room because his blood sugar was through the roof(I wonder why!!!??)
Tuesday I went back to work....and my husband went about the task of finding another job/career. ..a few job offers in other states
Wednsday.....same thing...some decent feedback
Thursday......same thing, called the bank and told them to come get the second car
Friday......same thing...some possibly good leads!!!


The end of the worst week i can think of in recent history and this is what I have to say.....

When this is all said and done which is hopefully sooner than later

I will not remember

• how many times I cried,
• how many resumes I compiled, emailed and faxed
• or how I felt the day they came to get my STUFF.
• how many days I went to work on a wing and a prayer

I will, however, remember

• the way the people I care about cared about me
• the way the STUFF did not matter
• the fact that noone let myself or my children go without
• the loving encouragement we got from who we thought were just aquaintances
• gentle reminders of love and encouragement from those around us
• My wise children and their knowledge that their father in heaven would take care of what needed to be taken care of.
• My family(enough said)
• The members of my ward who always managed to see when my heart is heavy and when I need....................
• the caring nature of those I work with

No Kelley hasn't found a job yet and yes I am scared. But at the same time I am OK and we will be too.

Soooo that's what you say

Some 2008 tagging fun

Four Favorite Memories from 2008

1. talking to my kids while driving to and from school
2. Connor(my little caboose) starting Kindergarten(bitter sweet) and my oldest starting high school(also bitter sweet)
3. visiting with mom and dad on some Saturday
4. Taking Madalyn to girls camp for the first time


Four Favorite Movies or T.V. shows Watched

1. The office
2. Bones
3.gilmore girls
4. Greys anatomy


Four Favorite Foods in 2008

1. In n out cheeseburger animal style
2. casa sanchez chimi
3. Cyndi Dip made by dad
4. anything deep fried or fattening!!


Four Places I Loved in 2008

1. Starbucks
2. anything MHS sport related
3. mom and dads
4. My bed on Saturday morning


Four Events I Loved in 2008

1. The first day of school!!
2. New Years with the fam.
3. Black Friday!!!
4. The King and I (Tyler was the star!!!)

Four Things I Liked in 2008

1. spinning class(love hate relationship)
2. Starbucks
3. Hanging out with my kids
4. Blogging (http://www.nicolds6.blogspot.com/)


Things I am Looking Forward to in 2009

1. a half marathon in Nashville in April
2. Summer!!
3. going back to school
4. The chaotic bliss that comes with having 4 busy children!!

If you haven't been tagged yet or need something to write about I am tagging you.

2009 New Years Revolution!!!

Ok so.... Its 2009 and I have made my what I call my New Years Revolutions so I figured I would put them out there so everyone knows what my mind is up to these days.

Now at first glance you may say " whatever!! Just 2?? Thats super easy!!" .. but if you disect these two they can go on for days.

REvOLUTION # 1 ---- Be ready for the "pop in"

Now before I get into the meat of this revolution let me give you a little background. This past year my house was in a constant state of third world type turmoil(meaning it looked like it had been shaken like a snowglobe), as one of my best friends puts it I spent alot of time "resurrecting" the thing. When friends came over it was a gigantic embarrasment to even let them in the house!! To make matters a little worse Madalyn and Tyler are always griping about how uncool our house is compared to "everyone elses". I have to admit, I am sooo not the decorating type and our house has always looked like we just moved in a week ago and still haven't unpacked the house decorations. So my REVOLUTION is to be ready for when people just "pop in" unannounced by not only making sure there is not an eternal pile of laundry on my couch and it somewhat in order, but also working on the "looking cool" aspect of it. I just might have to call in the big guns(Melissa,Mary,Mom,be ready!!)

REVOLUTION #2-----Be ready for the picture!!(this will be a rough one)

During Christmas 2008 my mother put together this Christmas slide show type Christmas card to email to members of our family far away. Well she was able to find pictures of every single family member except me!! I do a wonderful job hiding from the camera, always have. I always find some excuse i.e " my hair isn't done, i don't have make up on, i look chubby, etc." so this year i am going to work on all those things so I will be ready when there is a camera around. I figure whoever is doing my family history work fifty years from now will appreciate this!! This includes not leaving my house without being "ready for the day", making sure I work out and eat right, and all those little things that go with taking care of myself.

Sooooo super long story short?? I resolve to take better care of my house and myself in 2009. Will it work??? Who knows, but at least I have a plan!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!

A PICTURE IS WORTH A GAZILLION WORDS!!

CHRISTMAS 2008

Ok so I have absolutely dreaded this post just because it soooo is a typical Christmas in our family. I have sworn that I will try really hard to "keep it real" on this blog so here goes......First of all let me say that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were absolutely awesome so I expound on that in a minute.
The season itself started out great, the weather was crisp and cool( ok so 72 degrees, but in Tucson thats cool!!) We did our shopping and got most of it taken care of by about the fifteenth,thankfully because that is about when the bottom fell out!!! Most families have wonderful Christmas traditions that include caroling, baking and so on...... Well here in my family our traditions include but are not limited to drama and Emergency room visits. Now I thought that we were safe because of all our illnesses and crud that took place in late November, holy CRAP was I wrong!!!

About the tenth of December Kelley's company decided that "due to the recent economic downturn" they were going to cut their workforce by 5 percent. They missed Kelley by one person, but as a consolation prize they moved him to being a Supervisor on straight nights. Well anyone who knows me knows how much I hate night shifts. Not because I don't like sleeping alone,but because I hate knowing Kelley is in the other room sleeping while I am awake and want to play!! While we are way thankful that he HAS a job we are still bummed that he has to be on this shift for the time being.
Thought that was enough?????
On about the fourteenth of December I get a phone call from Kelley at around noon. He says he is having some chest pain. Well super long story, and a fire department visit later we ended up in the Emergency room for the next 7 hours.

The outcome?? Chronic Hypertention,Type II Diabetes andHypothyroidism.... Boy do I know how to pick em!!

We now have a slew of new meds and directions to enjoy for the new year.He has lost 12 pounds in the last 2 weeks which I think is way sexy!!!



But wait there's more!!!!!!!!!
Three days before Christmas I get a phone call at 630 am. My father has been up all night with upper abdominal pain and my mother is frantically driving him to the emergency room. Diagnosis- Gallbladder-----Treatment- Emergency surgery. So a 3 day hospital stay later and we headed home to spend Christmas recovering in our PJ's. I am soo thankful I live here in the same town as my parents though! I was able to be the mom to them for a change.
Which brings us to Christmas itself. We had an absolute blast. We stayed home on Christmas eve, ate like champs and went to bed early. My kids were up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa had been able to find for them(Santa does not shop well last minute!!) He was actually very generous if I do say so myself. We lounged till about 1 and headed over to my moms for another celebration which was pretty slow moving because my dad was still trying to recover but we all scored!!!
So there you have it. If you made it all the way through this post congrats and Happy New Year!!