Glimpses of Me . . .

Come FLY with me!!!!!

2010-02-13T07:55:00.003-07:00

I had a huge realization the other day! Since I got sick a couple of years ago, I have had a hard time keeping my house clean. It has been very frustrating. Lately I have been in a vicious cycle. I take a day or two and clean my house top to bottom. It is clean and I feel great, but at the same time I burn myself out. I spent so much time and energy getting put back together that then I didn't want to do anything. And with 3 young kids, a hubby, a dog, and a very small house, things very quickly get out of hand again. So I am not only frustrated that my house is a mess again, but I am also very discouraged that I could not keep it clean. I go in a downward spiral, until I hit my breaking point. The mess is too much for me to handle and I start the cycle all over again. If any of this sounds familiar, you know where I am coming from.

So I wanted to share something that I just found the other day. I stumbled over some notes I took several years ago at an MK event. In there was a website for an organizational website. I thought well what does it hurt to go take a look. I was shocked. I fell in love with the system that had been put in place to get your home and life out of chaos. Then and there I committed to myself to try this program for a month and see what can happen. The best part is that it is completely FREE!

So here is my challenge to you, whether your house is out of control, a little cluttered, or you think you have it covered, come join me on this 30 day adventure. There is always something for us to learn. Check it out at www.flylady.net Then, enter your commitment on my facebook wall . We will use my wall as a daily accountability and source of encouragement. I am so excited to take this journey and I would love for you to come along with me! Are you in????

Abe's apple

2009-02-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of my favorite things that happened today. Abe absolutely loves apples!!!!! Anytime I say it is snack time, he runs to the fridge saying bapple, bapple. He does not however, like the peel right now. He eats all the apple around it and then spits it out. Today, he finally got to the core of an apple. What came next was rather funny.

Be mine

2009-02-12T23:45:00.006-07:00

Today Brayden and Carly had Valentine's Day celebrations at school. These are the boxes they made. It is so much fun to see their excitement and remember doing the same thing.

Special Experience

2009-02-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may not be aware, Boise is hosting the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Well, I decided that this was not an every day event (duh!), so Scott and I took them to take part in some of the festivities on Wednesday. I was hoping to get a picture of us in front of the Olympic Cauldron. However, much to my dismay, we found out that they had moved it to Sun Valley that morning. So after my moment or two of disappointment,we saw this ice sculpture. The kids thought it was great and so I decided that it would be okay and could heal my disappointment. I did try to talk myself and Scott into driving to Sun Valley to see the cauldron. And although it was very tempting, I finally came to the conclusion that is just was not practical right now.

There was a "Sports Experience" area set up at one of the venues. Brayden had a lot of fun playing floor hockey. We almost couldn't get him away from it. He did a great job at it too.

One thing that I thought was great, was that all of the events were free admission. It gave us the opportunity to take the kids to see some of the competitions, as well as support the wonderful athletes competing. The event that we when to see was Figure Skating. The kids had a great time, although their attention span was not very long. They also got to see the Zamboni. It was one of their favorite parts.

All in all, we had a great time and i am glad we were able to take part in these great events.

Where have you gone . . . .

2009-02-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! I think it has been awhile since I have posted. For those of you who may have wondered, I am still alive. It has been a trying several of months, but I think I made it through. I am making a new resolve to put forth more of an effort to keep my blog up to date. We will see how it goes. Wish me luck!

My baby is 1 year old!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-23T22:37:00.010-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ABEY BABY

After many attempts . . .

2008-06-23T22:22:00.004-06:00

Here is what Brayden's tooth looked

like just before it was so gently removed.

This was his "I'm not so sure about this Mom" look.

I was trying to tie a string around it to shut a door on it.

This method was not so effective.

And finally after much anguish and
trying, we were finally successful!!!

Brayden's Surprise

2008-06-23T21:26:00.002-06:00

Well, we had some excitement happen today!

But I don't want to ruin it. I will let this video talk for itself!

The Pier and Pike Street

2008-05-21T13:19:00.002-06:00

We took a walk around the pier and Pike Street after our Underground tour.

Brayden got caught up in all the fun, but it was just too much for our little Abe.

Brayden had fun walking with the pigeons. When they saw this pig, Brayden and Carly knew they had to take a ride.

This was a huge piece of driftwood which found a home in a small plaza. It was just too tempting to keep the kids away. While looking at the pictures today, Brayden found a whale hiding in the wood. Can you find it too???

The Great Crapper ? ? ? ?

2008-05-21T12:59:00.003-06:00

Okay, so call me crazy but while in the museum at the end of the Underground tour I discovered something that caught my fancy. Please let me explain . . . Carly decided that it was time to go potty. So we took the great adventure of finding the restroom in a new place. (At times this can be something of a challenge.) Upon entering the above mentioned room, I came upon my great discovery . . . . . . . . . the TOILET!!!! Yes, that is right their porcelain throne. Now I am sure you are wondering why a toilet? What can be so incredible about a toilet? Well take a look for yourself

I have never seen such a "pretty"toilet before. So yes, this very unexpected sight (as strange as it may seem) caught my eye. And I was compelled to capture it to share with all who will read this post.

Adventures Under Seattle

2008-05-21T12:51:00.002-06:00

After Scott got done with all the job interview stuff, we had some sightseeing fun. We went on a tour underneath the sidewalks of Seattle. Yes you read right. UNDERNEATH the sidewalks.

For those of you who are a little shocked right now, there is a "secret underground sidewalk" in downtown Seattle. Okay, so it really is not all that secret, but it is really cool. When Seattle was first settled, there were many problems with . . . yes you guessed it . . . their toilets. The problem being that they would back up when the tide came in and the would have raw sewage coming out of their toilets. Sorry, I know it's not such a pleasant thought, and I'm sure not very pleasant to live with. They also had a huge fire that destroyed most of the city.

To help solve the toilet problem, after rebuilding, they raised the streets of Seattle and incorporated a new drainage system inside the streets. This created a new problem however. The sidewalks were about 12 feet below the street, so then they extended the sidewalks as well. They left the original sidewalks intact so that they people of Seattle could still easily access all the buildings 1st floors. If you would like to read the story in a little more detail, and better than I can say it, you can follow this link Seattle Underground History or this link Seattle Underground.

Anyway, here are some pictures from our underground adventures. Brayden did not want to go down at first, but by the end, we almost couldn't drag him away.

Tucked away

2008-05-21T12:49:00.000-06:00

While we were waiting for Scott to get done with his oral board with the Seattle PD, we found this really cute little park. Since none of the pictures below show the park very well, I will tell you a little about it. It was at the top of a hill and layed out along the top of this hill. There wasn't a lot of grassy spots, but some nice walkways and flower gardens. It was mainly for the 50+ apartments and Japanese apartments built next to it (yes there were apartments specified for Japanese occupants). There was also a community garden for any of the apartment residents who wanted to care for a small plot. It had a nice serene feel to it. And best of all the kids had fun playing while we waited.

This last picture was the view from the top of the hill and entrance to the park.

On Top of the World

2008-05-21T12:47:00.008-06:00

Okay, maybe not the world, but the Seattle Space Needle . . . yes.

This is the first thing we did in Seattle.
The kids were so excited to go all the way up.
And I have to admit, I was excited too.
I had never seen the Space Needle in person and
have wanted to for awhile now.
The view from way up there is pretty fantastic.

This video was Brayden's favorite part of the whole Space Needle experience.

Sooo Close . . . . . .

2008-05-21T11:43:00.004-06:00

We pulled into Seattle late and the kids were already asleep. We put them in their beds and made what we thought would work for Abe's bed. However, he was not on it long before he rolled off! The bump jolted him slightly, and he very groggily tried to climb back on to the cushions. He didn't get very far. After several attempts he fell back asleep, never quite getting to his destination.

King of the Castle

2008-05-21T11:34:00.003-06:00

Mom had some huge boxes that she had saved for the kids to play with. They had so much fun converting them into a fort. The big one for Brayden with a sign that said "No Girls" and the small one for Carly with a sign that says "No Boys".

And yes, it even came complete with DirectTV.

All Tied Up

2008-05-21T11:27:00.005-06:00

Scott and I came home from church after mom and the kids. This is the scene we came home too . . .

Brayden loves to tie things up. He ties up just about anything he can get his hands on, including Carly!

But as you can see, she doesn't seem to mind it much. She is use to it, and in fact many times asks him to tie her up.

And this time, although not always, she was able to free herself.

Travels

2008-05-07T12:17:00.003-06:00

The last few weeks have been loaded with car time. First we took a trip to Mom and Dad's because Scott had a job interview with the Bonneville Sherrif's department. Of course we spent several days there. My mom would have it no other way, and neither would my kids. Then the next weekend we took a trip with Scott's dad to Seattle, for a job interview with the Seattle Police Department. Yes there is a reoccuring theme here. . . Scott is on a job hunt and he has decided to pursue it in law enforcement. I am still not totally sure how I feel about it. Anyway, so the next several post will be about our travels. Enjoy!!!

It's Spring!

2008-04-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

I was outside with the kids today and was so excited to discover that my lilacs are starting to bloom! I noticed the buds last week, but didn't think that they would be blooming already.

I always look forward to my lilacs blooming. Even growing up, this was the sign I looked for. (Although, it occured much later than it does here in Boise.) For some reason, this tells me that spring is really here. And today is shouting spring! The sun is out and it is finally warming up after our last few days of below normal temperature. I'm talking about 20+ degrees below normal! BURRRRR!!!!

It's clean . . .

2008-04-22T00:34:00.001-06:00

Carly just came down tonight to go potty. (Yes I am still up.) She came down the stairs, and into the living room. Still half a sleep and very groggy, the first thing she said was, "It's clean." She was of course referring to the living room. I'm not sure which way to take this. I did of course chuckle to myself, because she noticed. But then another part of me was saying, "That's pretty bad Cole. For her to notice how clean the room was, says that that this is not the norm." And it hasn't been. It has been hard for me to keep up on the clutter the last few months. Now that I am starting to feel a little better, I have a new resolve to clean up the toys and put things away so that we can wake up to a clean house. So even though this has not been my strong suit lately, I am still laughing to myself because she noticed.

Wow! What a shiner!

2008-04-21T23:14:00.000-06:00

Brayden was at a friend's house playing the other day and was hit in the face with a swing. Now he has a beautifully colored eye. I really wish the accident fairy would take a vacation for awhile!

Abe's new crawl

2008-04-21T22:10:00.004-06:00

Abe has adapted a new type of crawling when he gets on hard floors.

Unfortunately, Darby took advantage of the situation and stole the Cheerios which were enticing Abe into the kitchen. So, I was forced to try the experiment again. And I just loved Abe's reaction when he was finally able to enjoy the sweet flavor of success!

Abe's discovery

2008-04-21T22:04:00.001-06:00

Abe has discovered the dog's water and food dish. It is one of his favorite places to be, coming in just behind the stairs. When we can't find him, this is one of the first places I check. I'll bring him back in to the living room and within seconds (no exaggeration) he is headed right back. I will call to him, and he will turn back with a huge smile. As soon as I stand up to retrieve him again, he turns, and with a squeal, starts crawling as fast as he can to the desired location. This whole game was only complicated for me when I encouraged him to play with the dish to get this little clipping. Now he knows it is a must to do.

April Snow in Boise!!!

2008-04-21T21:01:00.000-06:00

Well, I woke up on my birthday (April 9) to a nice dusting of snow!!! It was kind of a fun surprise! That is until I slipped and fell when I took Brayden to preschool due to wearing the absolutely wrong shoes! Okay, so it really wasn't that bad, and I am still loving the snow. It stuck around until after noon.

100 Days!!!

2008-04-02T22:44:00.002-06:00

Sunday Carly and I were talking and she asked me if her birthday was in 100 days. We counted it out on the calendar and to my amazement, it was exactly 100 days to her birthday. I was shocked. She is so excited for this day to come that every day she now asks if it is 100 days. Or she makes the comment that she wants it to be 100 days. She doesn't quiet get the concept that now she has less than 100 days.

Oh boy, are we in trouble!!!

2008-03-24T22:01:00.003-06:00

Abe figured out he could maneuver his way up the stairs today! He is rather proud of this accomplishment. And knowing from past experience, I think I am going to have a hard time keeping him away from this new found talent!!! When he finds something new or that I don't want him to do (climbing the stairs falls into both of those categories), he goes back to it many times! With the number of times we encouraged him to climb up the stairs to get this small clip, the stairs will be his favorite place to be.

Post Updated

2008-03-24T21:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally figured out how to edit my video clips!!!! I have posted the video of Abe attempting to crawl for anyone who is interested. You can find it under Abe is Crawling!

Ouch! That's gotta hurt!

2008-03-24T21:27:00.000-06:00

Brayden was running around outside at the beginning of this month and caught his toenail. He ripped it most of the way up. And well, let's just say he was not very excited about it. Although he did handle the situation and the pain much better than I thought he would. He is not one to tolerate pain very well. He absolutely falls apart when he steps on a toy, and this was much worse than that.

It took his nail almost 2 weeks to finally fall off. Brayd thought that it was so cool! We still have the nail because he doesn't want it thrown away yet. The things we keep for our children.

*note* To really get the full effect of these pictures click on them to blow them up. But I do have to warn you, you will definitely feel his pain when you do.

Happy Hunting

2008-03-22T21:25:00.000-06:00

The Easter Bunny visited our house this afternoon. Brayden and Carly asked all morning when He was going to come. Unfortunately, they missed seeing Him. And they were heart broken until they noticed the eggs. They had so much fun finding what He left. They are really starting to understand what an Easter Egg Hunt is and get into the hunt. I love watching their excitement.

Sorry for the not so great camera work. ;)

Dying Easter Eggs

2008-03-21T22:21:00.000-06:00

This is the first time we dyed eggs with the kids. They had sooooo much fun!

Crying baby update

2008-03-21T12:38:00.000-06:00

Yeah!!! Abe only cried for about 25 minutes last night. We are definately on the right track!

Stuck in a great tightness.

2008-03-20T23:00:00.006-06:00

Well, Abe for the most part is rather enjoying his new found freedom of moving. He is becoming much faster, and he loves to explore. There are a few places, namely the bathroom, the dog's food dish, and the dog's kennel (while inhabited by the dog), of which we general discourage him to go. Abe has caught on to this fact and tries to go there as much a possible. It's like he can sense when the bathroom door is open. And he laughs at us when we try to call him away from these places and then speeds up trying to get there before we can get to him. He is becoming a huge tease. The other day, he discovered behind the couch. There is just enough space for him to get through. And amid the obstacle of toys that Brayden and Carly have stashed back there, he made his way through. That is until he couldn't. He ran into a pile of toys and could not go anymore. Needless to say, he was not so happy. He was stuck. He couldn't go forward, and he couldn't figure out how to turn around and go back. Soon he was very vocal about his situation, and was not so happy at mom, who was taking way too many pictures :) and not rescuing him from his predicament.

Lions, Tigers and . . . . . Crying Baby?

2008-03-20T11:12:00.002-06:00

Yes, crying baby! Yesterday Scott and I resolved to "encourage" Abe to sleep through the night. He has not been doing so well with this task since he started cutting teeth, and has progressively gotten worse. Last night we left him in his crib (which we had to put in the hall because Brayden is not so fond of all the noise) and let him cry himself back to sleep. He cried and complained for an hour early this morning, but he did go back to sleep and slept for several more hours. Hopefully he will do better tonight. I am shooting for only 15 minutes of crying. Cross your fingers! :)

WOW!!! How time can fly!

2008-03-19T23:16:00.002-06:00

It is absolutely amazing to me how fast time can fly. It has been over a week since I last posted, which is a long time when I am wanting post daily (or close to it). My mom has also reminded me of the fact that I have not posted lately. I really do have the best intentions. However, I get an idea in my head about something I want to post. I go surfing, trying to figure out how to do it and it takes me all night. I am up til 1:00 or 2:00 and never get it figured out. By that time, I am so tired I can't think straight, so I go to bed without posting anything. And of course, it starts all over again the next night.

Anyway, last week left me with some good news. I went to an opthamologist because my sarcoidosis can effect my eyes. Everything looked really good so I won't have to get them checked for another year. I also had to have a breathing test to measure my lung capacity. It was a rather interesting processes. I was put in a small chamber and had to breathe through a tube. There were three separate tests that I had to preform, and each one had to be done three times each. I was surprised how much just doing different breathing test could take so much out of you. My resting heart rate is usually in the mid 60's to 70, but during these tests it was in the mid to high 90's. Thankfully, the tests all came out normal to better than normal except for one small part which measured the amount of air that is always in my lungs. That was low. But the technician said that this is expected because of the enlarged lymph nodes. My next adventure in this saga is to see a rheumatologist. I will keep you all updated on how that goes.

Also last week, to my dismay, we took Brayden to register for kindergarten. He was so excited and he can't wait for Fall to come. Also to my dismay, Carly is now talking about when she will go to kindergarten. Which by the way is the next year. Why do they have to grow up so fast??? Time really does fly.

Daylight Savings

2008-03-09T16:50:00.002-06:00

Well, Daylight Savings got the best of us this year!!! I remembered that it was coming up until yesterday afternoon. However, life happened. Carly has been sick the last day or so and I got so absorbed in helping her that I totally spaced it. It didn't help matters that Scott and I watched a movie last night instead of the news, which is our normal practice. Okay, to make things short, we forgot!!!! We forgot all about setting our clocks forward. Then this morning, I was again involved with my poor sick girl. I thought we were doing good to remember Scott's ward council meeting this morning (he is the Sunday School president) because it usually isn't until the end of the month. I was feeling rather comfortable with myself until Scott walked in the door 15 minutes later. I gave him a puzzled look, and all he could say was "Daylight Savings" in a rather forlorn tone. Yes, you guested it. He was very late for his meeting. He walked in just as they were about to end the meeting. And too make matters just a little worse, we had Ward Conference today. So, all of the Stake leaders were there as well. Poor Scott, I bet he won't forget next time. :)

Life's unfortunate events

2008-03-07T15:06:00.004-07:00

For the past month, I have been trying to endure some health challenges. I feel like my body is falling apart. It all started while I was at my mom & dad's. On Friday, Feb. 1st I had what I thought were bruises on both shins. The only catch was that I couldn't remember hitting myself hard enough to get these bruises. By the end of the day, they had grown larger, looked like a small ball was under my skin, turned bright red, and were very hot to the touch. They were also slightly painful to the touch, and it hurt to walk. In the morning, I had a hard time getting out of bed because my legs were so tender. As the day worn on, I started to feel worse. It was almost like I had the flu; I was achy & tired, and I would get chilled very easily and not be able to warm up. Sunday, the pain was worse. I could hardly get around. My legs were in constant pain. Just resting, they burned, and if anything touched them it hurt. I was also developing more nodules on both legs. My lungs were also having a hard time. If I did very much, I would feel pain and tightness in my chest. And for no reason, I would get sharp stabbing pains in my lungs. Monday morning the pain was even worse. It took everything I had to just move. Not only were my legs in incredible pain, but my joints were also feeling the effects. I took some Tylenol so that I was able to make it back to Boise. Thankfully, my Aunt Elyse came with me. I don't know if I could have made it without her help. That night my ankles and feet were extremely swollen. I went to the Dr. and he diagnosed me with what is called Erythema Nodosum. Here is a site that has a lot of good information if you are interested in learning a little bit more http://www.geocities.com/erythema_nodosum/ .

Here is what my legs looked like in the 13th of February.

EN is caused by an underlying condition, and so I had some blood tests done, and a chest X-ray. My blood work came back normal, but I had swollen lymph nodes in my lungs. My dr. sent me for a CT and referred me to a pulmonologist. After having a bronchoscopy (a small fiberoptic tube is put down into my lung to take a biopsy and fluid sample), I have been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis . Here is another link for those interested http://groups.msn.com/SarcoidBuddies/. Basically my immune system is overreacting. It is producing immune cells that are collecting in the lymph nodes in my lungs. I am also suspicious that it is affecting my eyes as well, but I will not know until next week when I see an opthamologist. Hopefully, this will work itself through in about 3 yrs, but only time will tell.

So, needless to say, February has been a difficult month. I have been tired, and in extreme pain at times. Most of my days are spent trying to keep off my feet. There are many times when I start getting shooting pains up my legs if I stand for any length of time, and my feet and ankles get very swollen and more painful if I do very much. It has been a struggle doing this with my three little ones. However, I have been incredibly blessed My ward has really been here for me. There have been meals brought in for the past few weeks, and the kids have been picked up several times a week to give both them and I a break. The time to rest has been much appreciated, and Brayden & Carly welcome the opportunity to get out and play. (Unfortunately they have been doing a lot of TV watching.) I am so thankful for the wonderful ladies who have been willing to do so much for me. I don't know how I would have done it without them. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me through this time.

Carly's Mishap

2008-03-07T13:19:00.003-07:00

While the kids and I were at my mom and dad's in January, Carly had a very unfortunate thing happen to her. We were brushing her teeth, and she was standing on the closed garbage can. (This was the source of all her problems, of which I did warn her about.) It slipped out from under her and she hit her mouth on the bathroom counter. After calming her down and slowing the bleeding, we realized that she had pushed one of her front teeth up into her gums. It went up so far that you almost couldn't see the tooth.

This is what it looked liked right after she did it. We had to keep a cold rag on it for about 2 hours before the bleeding finally stopped.

And this is what it looks like now. The dentist says that it should work it's way back down into place. We don't know if it did any damage to her permanent tooth, and won't until it actually comes in. She goes back to the dentist in May just to make sure that it is still healing properly.

Abe is crawling!!!

2008-03-05T08:03:00.001-07:00

I took this video Sunday, February 24. This was Abe's first attempt at crawling. It was so fun to watch him try.

This is what he started doing yesterday. He can go all the way across the living room. Abe is definately loving his new found mode of travel.

*Note* I am having difficulty editing the first video so it's not so long (i was up until 2:30 last night trying to get it right), I will get it up as soon as I can.

*NOTE* Wow!!! It took me long enough to figure my video editing out. But boy was I excited when I did! (3/24/08)

What cute kids!!!!

2008-03-04T16:14:00.008-07:00

I have the cutest kids EVER!!! And of course I am not biased!!!

Just take a look for yourself.

Brayden is 5, Carly is 3 1/2, and Abe is 8 months. Boy they sure grow up fast. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with Brayden and now I have 3 kids!!!! Wow, where did that time go.

They love spending time together and making up games to play. I am always amazed at what their little minds come up with. They say and do the funniest things. It's incredible how much joy these sweet spirits can bring into your life. And at the same time the frustration they can cause. I am constantly reminding myself that they are just kids, and more often than not it is me that needs the attitude adjustment. I'm the one that needs to let go a little bit, loosen up and let them experience the joy of being a kid. Even if that means a bit more work, or clean up on my part.

Abe loves his brother and sister. He always lights up when he sees them. Brayd and Car love to make him laugh and in return, Abe loves to laugh at them. Brayden is always trying to find new ways to get a reaction, and Carly loves to be the little mother. Whenever Abe is sad, she starts singing to him. More often then not, it takes the tears away.

So, not only do I have the cutest kids, but I also have some of the best kids EVER!!!

Starting a new journey!

2008-03-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I have bitten the bullet and decided to start my own blog. I have had a lot of fun looking at several blog sites from my family and thought I would jump on the band wagon. I can't promise that I will be good at this, but I think it will be fun giving it a try. We are all so busy with our own lives. What a great way to stay connected and see what is going on with those we love and care for. And maybe this will get me into a habit of journaling. Something that I really want to start doing. So, this will be a place where I can share all the fun things that my kids do, how fast they are growing, great family times, the rough times that we all have to experience and the many lessons that my Heavenly Father allows me to learn through them. Because all of these experiences are for my good and for my understanding. And isn't that what life is all about?