Welcome Baby Monkey

Welcome my new nephew who has yet to be named - I'm pushing for Prince Phillip. Anyway, just wanted to share how cute he is. You can't see his hair in this pic, but it's about 1" long and has a bit of curl! And I got to listen to him cry - oh so cute right now.

oh, and scroll a little bit because my background on the blog makes him look like he has splotches, but he doesn't - he's perfect.

This is me

I am so proud of my class. They totally rock!

Our school participated in the Utah Jazz reading competition. When it comes to competition, well...I really like competition. So, I decided to compete against my class. I told them that recently I hadn't been reading a lot and that I would like to start reading again. I told them anyone who read more minutes than me would get a king-sized candy bar of their choice. The school goal was to have each student read 1000 minutes, any student who read at least 1000 mins got to wear their hair crazy, so I told my kids that if the class average per student was 1000 mins that I would do my hair crazy - try to get it in a mohawk.

Well, that was 5 weeks ago and my students totally rocked the contest!!! My class read over 36,000 minutes!!! I only had 3 who didn't participate. The class average ended up being about 1600 mins/student. So, I knew what I had to do. I called my little sister up, who does hair, and asked her if she would get up early yesterday to do my hair. (When it comes to doing hair, I'm not good at it). She agreed - awesome sis! She tried to get my hair to stand up straight like a mohawk so she improvised and this is what she came up with.

in 2 months...

...the world will stop turning
...life as I know it will stand still
...I will actually enjoy watching Qubo with Jenna
...I will not allow the calories on a very good looking Snickers bother me (but I won't eat 2)
...I will appreciate what I look like
...I will laugh when Jason's snoring wakes me up instead of grumble that I lost 2 hours of sleep
...I will stop and smell the flowers that will hopefully start blooming by then
...I will no longer stress the small stuff
...I will be

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• * Reassure me that I am interesting to you.


• * Reassure me often that you love me.


• * Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

• * being able to relate easily to people and to make friends


• * knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better


• * being generous, caring, and warm


• * being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings


• * being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

• * not being able to say no


• * having low self-esteem


• * feeling drained from overdoing for others


• * not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish


• * criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should


• * being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them


• * working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often

• * are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism


• * try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding


• * are outwardly compliant


• * are popular or try to be popular with other children


• * act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention


• * are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

• * are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)


• * are often playful with their children


• * wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"


• * can become fiercely protective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

my new addiction

Jenna got these from Santa for Christmas and well, as a good mom, I help her quite a bit to accrue more Kinzcash. I love playing Cash Cow and making her webkinz going potty (don't know why that is but I find it amusing).

Christmas was great, we got to relax and play with our family. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll post some of our pictures.

my next house will be a rambler

In one weeks time two separate set of stairs have attacked me. yes, both times I was holding onto the railing I've learned that it hurts less if you attempt to pull the railing down with you.
My mom suggests I scoot up and down the stairs on my butt.

For all of you

I love my job!!!

Yes, it is the week before Christmas break. And yes, I did have to threaten my students today with extra work. But, I can honestly say that I still love my job! My kids are so awesome and they make me smile everyday. I love to see them when they really want to succeed and they are so proud to show me their scores when they do well on the computer math and reading. I love seeing at one moment how grown up they can be and when the recess bell rings they are out on the snow pile playing king of the mountain. I can see some of myself at that age in everyone of them.

On Monday I was having a really bad day. I was stressed, my kids were out of control and I was so overwhelmed. I called my mentor and she brought me the simplest thing...6 Dove chocolates!!! It made such a difference. Even on that horrible day though, I knew I still finally chose the right profession.

Another thing that makes me smile is when I'm walking down the hall and so many children know me and will call me out by name and want to give me a hug.

Even though I am excited for 2 weeks off, I am going to miss them.

In the spirit of me being goofy...

I'm doing my first ever blog contest. The first person who can tell me how many surgeries I've had will get a prize from me. We were talking about this last night and my brother-in-law told me I've taken all the good excuses for not going to certain family functions. So, it got me thinking...how many surgeries have I really had in my life?

So, go ahead and guess while I try to remember. I'll keep this open until after Christmas

Christmas last year

I wanted to share with you all again how gorgeous Jenna is and what a wonderful photographer Jason is. This picture was taken last year for our Christmas card. Jason took Jenna out to the Great Salt Lake shores. It was freezing outside and about every 3 or 4 minutes Jason would put Jenna in the car to warm up for a minute. She was such a sport. You can't even tell that she was cold. You can see the snow on the ground, that kind of gives you an idea.

Anyway, I love this picture. Jason entered it into a contest online with Circuit City and he won 3rd place with this awesome picture. He didn't photoshop it at all. He did digitally develop it using Lightroom - that will mean something to you photo people out there.

The reason for the season

I almost teared up today as Jenna and I were driving to dance. She was telling me that her two friends were telling her that Christmas was all about presents. A normal 4 and 7 year old response, in my opinion. This is wear the proud mama moment comes in. She said, "but mom, Christmas really isn't about presents, it's all about Jesus, isn't it?"

I hope she always remembers this. Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season. What a wonderful example she is to me. She reminded me what I really should be thinking about.

ok, I'm going to admit it...

I bought the new Miley Cyrus CD for me, not Jenna. And I'm not ashamed to say right now I am rocking out to it. It's actually pretty good.

A really grateful thanks

To my cyber-friend, Kristi, for this awesome header for my blog! You rock! Thank you so much

Notice Anything Different?

Little Miss Jenna lost her first tooth today!!!

Here's the story I just found out...
I asked Jenna where her tooth was and she said that it was in the office (at school) and that she was going to go on a tooth hunt tomorrow. I thought, that's cute, her teacher does a tooth hunt when a kid loses their first tooth. So, I went to my mom's - who is the school secretary - figured she would know about this. My mom had no idea, and Jenna sees her before she leaves from school.
So, we start asking questions. Apparently Jenna lost her tooth right when the bell rang in the AM - she was with my mom in the office. So, instead of telling g-ma Mary that her tooth fell on the floor and ask G-ma to help find it she runs to class without telling anyone. Why? Because the bell rang, she had to get in line or she'd get in trouble
My mom said she'll look tomorrow, but more than likely it'll be vacuumed up. There goes scrapbooking that tooth, huh?
So, we just wrote the tooth fairy a note to tell her where to go to pick up the tooth. I'll have that to scrapbook and the picture she's drawing because she heard that when you draw a good picture you get $5 (it is down to $5 now).
She is worried that the tooth fairy won't come because she won't know the tooth is missing since it's not under her pillow. Thankfully, after explaining, she knows that the tooth fairy hears everyone including the people who speak Chinese.

Not so Shaggy

Sorry, this pic is off my PhotoBooth on my computer - so it's not the best quality, but you can tell that Shaggy cleans up nicely. I swear when I picked him up from the groomers that they had given me the wrong dog.  He is adjusting quite nicely to our home and even starting to cuddle. He seems to have good manners, he dropped a toy when asked to. He is really mild - the yorkie side. But, he doesn't allow Bear, my parents dog, to beat him up. He has a great personality and I love getting to know him more.

pure begging

I need a header for my blog - I know someone out there is dying to make me one. This is me down on my knees begging for a header...

Fibromyalgia

I don't think I've mentioned this here before, so I thought I would let you all know...

some of you know that I was finally officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 5 or 6 months ago - I've known for about 2 years. I always thought that everyone felt like their nerves were "on end". Whenever I mentioned it to my dad, (who always understands the feeling of being in constant pain) he sounded like he understood. A while ago he mentioned that he had never had that type of feeling. So, it made me wonder.

Now, I have found a couple new explanations to explain how the nerves being on end feels.  You know how you feel right before you get the flu, how your body just aches?  That's it. Or the feeling of a ponytail headache.  That's it.  Thanks other fibro-friends for giving me those definitions - they are much more understandable than my previous explanation.

I also always wondered why I was so tired, I thought that it was due to the depression, which runs in my family. Again, I ignored symptoms. I knew I wasn't lazy, but just figured I didn't have the gusto to do all those fun things that so many of my friends do. 

I seriously just thought that I was crazy and that the symptoms were in my head and that I somewhere, subconsciously, was just really lazy. Does that make sense?

Well, I was talking to a daughter of a neighbor/friend. I went to a class with her at a women's conference that talked about dealing with depression. So, we started talking about meds and things of that nature. I was mentioning all these weird symptoms and she looked at me and told me that I needed to have my dr check trigger points for fibromyalgia. I went home and did some research of my own - thank you internet and WebMD. I also found a fibromyalgia site. As I started talking to people, I realized that I wasn't alone. There are people out there in this constant pain and it felt good to know that I wasn't alone.

Why am I sharing this now? Well, part to inform people about fibromyalgia, because some don't believe in it. They think it's in our heads. I won't go on about that, but suffice to say that IT IS NOT IN OUR HEADS!!! IT'S NOT JUST IN MY HEAD. 

Another reason is because I wanted to say how grateful I am for friends who are so understanding, even though they may not know what's going on. I'm grateful for friends who don't become bitter because I missed their baby shower (I really, really wanted to go - I'm so sorry Kerst). I'm grateful for friends who understand when I can't commit to anything, because honestly, I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow or the next day. I feel bad if I commit to something and then have to say I can't go and end up sleeping all day (which I totally hate - I have so many things I'd rather be doing.)  I'm grateful for family who is understanding and supportive. Who stand by me when they don't understand what's going on. They just know that I don't feel good.  They take Jenna for me when Jason is at school and I'm not feeling well. I am so blessed.

I am also thankful for a doctor and his staff who believe in me when I say that I'm in need of pain medication. They understand the pain and know that I'm not an addict. They understand that just like a diabetic needs their insulin to function normally and survive, there are days that the daily medicines are not enough.  I'm thankful for the new technology that brings daily meds that I have the hope will help me and make me the me I know I am inside. 

Here's a link that kind of gives you more information about Fibromyalgia.

And last but not least, thank you Jason for understanding and letting me sleep. It means the world to me.

por favor

If any of you have a link to my blog from yours and have it linked with my last name, will you please change it to something else? Thanks so much

p.s.  If I don't have you on my links, remind me to to add you...I've lost my mind and don't know what it's going to return (I'm thinking about Christmas break time)

Happy Halloween!!!

Just thought I'd share my pic with you all! Jenna has been trick-or-treating for 3 hours now - she should sleep well tonight. I took her out for a little over an hour and a half, then DH did, and now my sister-in-law aka Hannah Montana has her.  Don't you just love our little Toto?  

In other news, Jenna has her first loose tooth!!! My baby girl says that the tooth fairy will leave her $10 if she draws a picture and leaves it with her tooth. I'd like to know who this tooth fairy is because she must be rich!

I couldn't wait

Yes, I said I was going to wait until Christmas break to get a new dog. And I really was trying to do it, but when Jason came upstairs today with the internet open to a picture of  a dog, I realized I wasn't the only one missing Fez. 

Meet Shaggy. He is a yorkie/shih tzu mix and 4 years old. We got him from a local rescue. He's quite different than Fez, personality wise.  Hopefully he'll open up some when he gets comfortable with us. He rode the whole 1 1/2 hours quietly after we picked him up. I still haven't heard him bark. He hasn't wanted to play with the toys yet. But, he is a wonderful, cuddly dog - just like Fez. 

Hopefully next week we'll get him in to get his hair cut. He's pretty matted. We'll probably keep his hair short if he looks ok. Yes, it defeats the purpose of his name, Shaggy - but Jenna wanted to name him and it wasn't a completely silly name, so we said ok.

And I would be bad if I didn't mention

Jason, you are so wonderful! You put up with me...and I couldn't ask for more!  You put up with the fibro flare ups and all the sleeping I have to do. You put up with my non-house-wife-ed-ness (my own new word). You aren't to manly to do the dishes or the laundry and yet you still take out the garbage every Weds night.

I know we joke that I came to you already broken since I had kidney stones before we were married. But, you still keep me even though I'm broken. 

You did the most wonderful thing for me two days ago, it was small, but means the world to me...you went to Petsmart and bought a small dog tag (shaped as a dog bone) that says "Fez, Fezzie, Fezzie Mutt". And you had it given to me in the most sweetest way possible. I had to hold back my tears when I opened my eyes to see what Jenna had "found under her bed". It is a beautiful reminder and the only piece of anything that I will purposely carry that is the gold color.  (I would take a picture of it, but I can't get the camera to focus)

Did I mention I love you? Can I keep you forever?

The cutest kindergartener

I have neglected in posting any pics of Jenna lately. And I know that all of you cannot get enough of her cuteness...so here is her kindergarten picture. And I know that you aren't going to believe this, but yes, I did her hair. No, aunt Crystal and Grandma Mary were not there when I did her hair, but I did get help from some awesome curlers! They are more comfortable than the foam ones I had in my hair growing up.

Now, Jenna is a very lucky little girl...not only does she have an awesome teacher. Mrs. Thurgood - who also happens to have been my kindergarten teacher! But, she is down the hall from the best school secretary ever. This school secretary gives her a hug everyday, lets Jenna go through her drawers, and gives Jenna just about anything she wants. Who could be this most wonderful secretary? Her Grandma Mary! 

I am so lucky that Jenna gets this opportunity to get even closer to her Grandma Mary. I am also lucky to have Grandma Mary there to watch over my baby - because she is still my baby no matter what she'll tell anyone.

I have also been looking at my pics from when I was that same age and guess what??? Yup, she's definitely my little girl, she looks so much like me when I was her age. Maybe I can get Jason to scan a pic of me from when I was 5 so you can compare.

Lastly, I want to say that I am so lucky to have the best friend in the whole wide world! She texted me earlier this week and said she was kidnapping me on Friday (tomorrow) and to be ready at 6. She's as busy, if not busier, than I am and yet she takes the time to make sure I get out, especially right now with so much going on. I can't even tell you how much that means to me. We are going to scrapbook - which I haven't done forever. Her work is having a crop night and she invited me to come. Did I mention that I'm excited? So, tomorrow I'm going to come home from work, pack up my scrapbook stuff, get Jenna ready for her dance and go scrapbooking. I'm going to sneak out for a few minutes because Jenna is performing at her dance studio's Halloween Carnival (they all are, it's an evil way to get parents to pay $6 for a chili cookoff dinner - you have to in order to get in, she gets in free).  So, I've gotta say...Misty, we take  pics of everything...when we gonna finally get a picture of us together? Just sayin' I keep my camera in my purse, remind me and be prepared and all pertied up for me!  You com-plete me!

I'm sorry to report

that at noon today we had Fez put to sleep. He was showing signs of permanent brain injury and we felt it was the best thing we could possibly do for him.

How much would you pay?

This is Fez. Fez has been our family pet for about 8 years, I think. After we got our house, but before Jenna was born.

I was walking through Petsmart one Saturday that many years ago and there was a male ShihTzu up for adoption. The dog was skin and bones, looked pretty worn for his age. Didn't look like he had been loved. I petted him for a minute and then went back to buy what I came for and left. I told my dad about this dog and he told me to go back and get it. I thought he wanted the dog for him, so I did. I got there and the dog was gone. So, I got the other thing my dad wanted me to get, a dog bed for his dog, and left again. Well, the dog bed I got was the wrong size and so back I went to the pet store. Guess what was back? The grey and white shihtzu. His name was Zack II. I called my dad and told him and he told me to get him. So I did. 

I brought "Zack II" home and found out my dad had got the dog for me. Jason wasn't home, he was out with some friends "jamming".  "Zack" didn't seem an appropriate name for this dog and we started to search our minds for names. For a few days he was called "Flanders", but this name didn't fit and it was hard to yell without laughing. We were watching "That 70s Show" and decided that the name Fez was perfect. So, Fez it was.

Fez had a lot going against him. Like I said, he wasn't much to look at. When we got him he needed a good haircut and actually ran into a chair or table leg and hurt his eye before we could get him to the groomers.  He was also recovering from surgery to remove a herniated umbilical something or other. Half his ear was missing and he had a large scar on his neck. But, he was so lovable.

So, fast forward to a few days ago. For some reason I was thinking about how much I would be willing to pay if something were to happen to Fez. I always thought it odd how people would pay to have an ACL fixed on their dog (yup, you Mindurs - but I still love ya). Or my sister who paid over $700 to find out her dog was really not pregnant, just getting fat.  It was a passing thought, didn't think much of it.

Then, Wednesday I got paged to call the school office. I called and told them I was in the middle of a 5th grade assembly and asked if I could call whoever it was back. They said no, it was an emergency and I needed to come to the office to get the call. As I'm walking up to the office everything horrible is going through my mind. My sister was going to the dr today to find out why she is so sick already (pregnancy), and of course there's always the fear of something going wrong with Alia, and then Jenna or anything else.  I pick up the phone and my dad is crying. I don't see my dad cry often. I think I can count the amount of times I've seen him cry on 1 hand. Each involved a death or extreme family emergency.

He tells me that Fez has been hit by a car and "it's all his fault". He said the vet is busy trying to make him comfortable and that he is breathing, but they are trying to find out more. My dad had taken Fez and his dog, Bear, out for a ride for a while earlier in the day and had just brought him home. He put Fez and Bear in his yard and ran to do a couple errands that would be easier without 2 hyper dogs. We know that Fez can get out of my parent's yard, but he usually doesn't and when he does he just sits in front of their house waiting for them to come home. Well, that day he must've wandered because he was found in front of my parents house. My dad thought he was dead.

Up until today Fez has been in an induced coma, trying to get the swelling in his brain to go down. He would move around weirdly and they were afraid he would damage his spine. Yesterday they started him on a high dose of cortizone and the finished it up last night. Today they turned the morphine drip down by 25% to see how he would react. We should know more by tomorrow. We hope and pray that we will have our Fezzy back, but it's hard to know. We're hoping to see some improvement tomorrow.  I've spent hours at the vet hospital sitting on a rolling stool petting and holding him. Today I even got peed on. (He has no control of his bladder b/c of the coma and he's getting lots of fluid). Fez spent Weds and Thurs night at a wonderful vet tech Christy's home. Tonight is the first night he will have spent alone and it's driving me nuts.

So, the question comes back to...how much would you pay? For the health of a non-human family member? Sure, the amount we've accrued in pet bills so far could pay for 3 new ShihTzu pure breds that are in perfect shape. But none have the half ear and scar on their neck. Each day the vet goes over where we're at on the bill and what we're looking at for care and each day I ask the vet what they think and what would they do if this were their dog. I ask if he's comfortable. Each day I get the somewhat same answer so I continue to accrue this bill. 

I miss hearing his collar (though sometimes I swear I hear it). I miss his sighs and I miss trying to push his body over when he's behind my legs while I'm laying down. I miss him going nuts when someone comes to the door. I even miss having to pick up the torn up tissues and toilet paper after he's gotten into the garbage can. I miss letting him out every morning and watching him shake when Jason goes to put him in bad at night.

If I fall off the blog-o-sphere...

know that I am alive. 

I am undergoing a huge amount of self-inflicted work. Yes, the outcome will be awesome and I am really excited about it...but man, I'm worn out and I still haven't completely started.

Starting next week I will be...

a. mommy to Jenna

b. loving wife to Jason

c. 5th grade school teacher

d. graduate student

e. ESL (English as a Second Language) student

f. and if I have time...myself.

I don't know if it's complete insanity, but I'm excited about my new undertaking of c, d, and e. I was assigned to also be in charge of our school enrichment committee - meaning I was in charge of assemblies, etc - but I talked to the principal and I'm now a member of the committee and not the chair. I didn't think I could give it even close to 100%.

So, starting Monday I will not only be teaching in my own classroom - how cool is it that I'm going to be a teacher? I'm thrilled to meet all my students and to get to know them next week. 

Thankfully Monday is an early out because it is also the first day of school for my university classes. I was only going to take 2 graduate classes, but then I found out I could get my ESL endorsement through the same university and get college credit instead of going through the school district. It'll take longer - an additional 18 credit hours, but it means that I'll get a huge raise and it fit better with my other schedule.

I also have awesome family who is going to help take care of Jenna when Jason and I are in school at night. Also, thankfully I have an awesome guard dog in Fez.

Did I mention that I'm exhausted? 

Disney totally rocks!!!

When Alia first got really sick she was on vacation in Florida - visiting Disney World and Sea World. In the past couple of months, she has fallen head over heels for Prince Phillip (from Sleeping Beauty). Now I don't know if you have ever searched for Prince Phillip merchandise, but it's pretty much non-existent. Alia smothers the case of the Sleeping Beauty DVD with kisses and hugs. Whenyou want her to give you a big hug, you ask for a Prince Phillip hug. When we went to Baskin Robbins, she wants Prince Phillip ice cream (it's the sherbet with blue, green, etc in it in case you're wondering).

So, I figured one night in my boredom, why not email Disney directly and see if they have something they could send me - a picture or anything. I didn't know if I'd hear back from them, but figured it was worth a try. I even asked for his autograph (we never ask for autographs when we go to Disney) A fewdays later I received an email stating they didn't have a picture of just Prince Phillip, but one with him and Aurora dancing. Of course I was ecstatic that they responded and were willing to send a picture. I emailed them back and said that would work.

That was a couple weeks ago...well, guess what arrived in the mail today? An 8x10 picture with 2 messages for Alia. The first says,
"To: Alia, Have we met before. Prince Phillip" in gold marker

the second says:
"once upon a dream! Princess Aurora" in silver marker

I forever will appreciate this kind gesture from them and will continue to spend a ton of money on anything Disney related (you should see our movie collection). I can't wait to take it up to her. I showed my dad and he volunteered to run up to the copy store and have a couple color copies made so that when Alia mauls (aka kisses and hugs) the picture we will have extra copies. I, of course, will have my camera with me when I give it to her to unwrap.

Here's a pic of it, it's kinda blurry, but oh well.

Our own little rodeo

we are so blessed to have awesome neighbors! We were invited over to visit them and ride their horse. Jenna, Alia, Landon, and then 2 other cousins came to ride the horse - a little shetland pony that they have been working with. All the kids were so excited and so were we. Alia was scared at first as she and the horse were scared of each others noises, etc - but after Alia watched the other kids ride she got on and enjoyed it.
Jenna and Landon got to take the reigns and guide the horse around (with the help of the owner who pretty much has the horse following him). Landon got really excited when the horse stopped to take a dump - he loved it! Silly boy. It was really cute b/c Jenna would pull her cowgirl hat down really tight and her ears would poke out. We got a kick out of that b/c that's what the bullriders do before they ride to try to keep their hat on.
Then, the kids saw the sheep and decided that they wanted to see the sheep. The neighbors were so great and were able to corral their sheep. Jenna has had this dream of mutton bustin' (aka riding sheep for those non-cowboy types). She was really scared, but she did it and fell off with grace and then went crying to mom and g-ma as any normal 5 year old girl would.
I swear, after today, I would so love to have a horse for Jenna - she loved it. But, alas, we will resort to the neighbors who have horses. One of the horses was actually used for queening (a rodeo pageant with horse and rider).

Are you tough enough to wear pink?

I love living in Utah - there are so many fun things to do and we love going to the Pioneer Days Rodeo. Every year they have a tough enough to wear pink night. We try to make it to that night because some of the $ raised goes to breast cancer patients in Utah. It's also fun to see all the tough cowboys dressed in pink shirts and the clown all decked out in pink.

Jenna looked so cute in her cowgirl hat and loved watching all the cowboys and cowgirls doing their thing. Here's some pics from the night we went.

My new home

I got a text on Thursday from my friend/co-worker saying that my new "home" had arrived. I don't think I've ever thought I would be so excited to see a portable in my life, but here I am. For those of you who don't know - I will be teaching 5th grade next year and I volunteered to be out in the portable...problem is, the portable hadn't arrived yet. Yes, the work order had been put in quite a long time ago, but as with all things school related - it takes forever for anything to be done. So, I summoned my online friends to do a chant for me saying that my portable would arrive before August...and darn they're good - that day I found out it arrived! So thank you friends who have the gift of chanting!

So now to catch you up on where I've been...

I have been working at my favorite clothing store, New York and Company and have been keeping very busy with that and other summer odds and ends. On June 30 I hurt my arm doing some stuff in the backroom. I tried to work for the next week, but it hurt so bad that I was put on leave. I found out I have loose ligaments that are causing my rotator cuff to be strained. So, back on the strong anti-inflammatories and back to my favorite physical therapist, Sheldon. (Great guy, I've known him for 6 years now - I see him about once a year). I went back to work yesterday and needless to say, I was ready for the percocet when I got home. I'm still recovering from it today.

I love the people I work with there and the store manager and I are pretty good friends, she and I are very much alike. We're both shopaholics that really shouldn't be working at a clothing store...but alas, there we are. At least I'm getting some awesome clothes, meeting great people, and getting some adult conversation. I'm still planning on fitting in working at NY&Co at least once a month or so and then working more during breaks.

I am also in the midst of applying for my masters. Insane...yup, pretty much, but I love education. I found out that my local University, where I got my bachelor's, is offering the masters in education program and I can earn my teaching license while I do it. (In Ut we have a teaching shortage and after a long grueling process I was authorized to teach while earning my license.) I have about 2 1/2 years of college ahead of me, but I'll finish with my masters, teaching license, and a good raise. I've always wanted to get my masters so this is a great opportunity for me. I'll also be getting home pretty early as my classes start at 4 and end by 7. So, I'll still get my Jenna and Jason time in.

So, that's what's been going on lately

What? I have a blog?

Sorry...life has been pretty boring lately.
I hurt my arm at work on June 30th and have been off work since July 7th trying to get it figured out so while I spend time doing nothing, piddling around on the internet, I haven't done much interesting.
I'm in the process of trying to get accepted in to the Masters of Education Program so that's been fun and stressful. And I'm starting to get nervous about teaching an actual classroom of kids and being responsible for their fifth grade experience. I also heard that the girls this year are complete drama queens...so I'm a little scared of that.

Anyway, here's a fun tag I stole from Misty

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you have of me. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Jenna bowling

this is the one of Jenna bowling

Bowling

We went bowling today, well technically my dad and I didn't bowl, but we were the moral support of the bowlers. Jenna really loves to go bowling and we have gone twice now this summer. Hopefully we'll go a few more times before the summer is over. We met g-ma Mary and papa at the bowling alley and then Suzanne, Landon, and Alia came. Now, of course, you have to have funny bowling names and you'll never guess what my Dancing Queen chose as her name.... ABBA - no joking.
Alia was Prince Phillip (she's in love with him)
Landon was Donkey
My mom was Granny
and Suzanne was Mom Is Crazy

Anyway, here are some videos from my new camera. The first one is Alia. She's such a strong girl she had to hold the bowling ball herself. This first video at the end she is signing "aw shucks" because she didn't do very well.

I think the playdoh has it right

Jenna decided to get out her playdoh today and create a family. In this family there is a mom, brother, and sister. Jenna said that only the mom had ears so I asked her why. Her answer..."because the brother and sister don't want to have to hear their loud mom's singing, but it's not you mom."

Boy I love this girl - she cracks me up on a daily basis. In my opinion, true comedy comes from the most innocent of places.

tagged by Misty

so she says she doesn't think I'll do this...little does she know I'm at home with Jenna and I'm not in the mood to do the dishes.

Two names you go by:
Michelle
Shell (only my family can call me that though)

Two things I'm wearing right now:
PJ bottoms
a big t-shirt

2 longest car rides:
probably to Disneyland and Mexico

2 of my favorite things to do:
sleep
play with Jenna

2 things you want to do badly right now:
sleep
get rid of my headache

2 animals you have or have had
Fez - our Shihtzu
Bo - my family's Shihtzu who died last year

2 people who will fill this out:
dunno - Evonne and Kerstin

2 things you ate today:
Fruit loops
dark chocolate chex mix

2 people you last talked to:
my mom
Jenna

2 things you are doing tomorrow:
working
playing with Jenna

2 favorite holidays:
Christmas
4th of July

2 favorite beverages:
water
hot chocolate from Starbucks

now I tag: Evonne, Kerstin, Julie S, Mindurs

My amazing friend Misty

Many of you know my friend Misty, or at least know of her. She is awesome! She always cheers me up and makes me laugh. I consider her one of my best friends.

Anyway, I went on a short trip to Michigan and I went to a lot of scrapbook stores. I walked into a really cool store and was met by this...



this line was designed by Misty for BoBunny! She has amazing talent and I am so proud of her for doing so well and doing what she really loves. I went and grabbed a bunch of my scrapbooking friends and pointed out that my very own friend designed the line - they all think the line rocks too.

Knowing an awesome designer is just the icing on the cake for knowing such a great person.

picture tag

so, I thought I would take the challenge- since I've never done this before and I'm trying to keep myself occupied

my first job...

my favorite place...

my favorite food...

my favorite color...

nickname of mine...

a place I will visit...

what age I will be on my next b-day...

It's summer time!

Jenna is loving the warm temperatures and wakes up everyday and asks if it's going to be warm outside. She has been playing a lot with her cousin, Landon, and they are definitely a goofy duo. The two of them together can annoy any person with their never-ending silliness and jibberish. But, ah, what it would be like to be young and to enjoy summer like that again.

I also can't believe that in a few short months Jenna will be a kindergartener and I will be an actual teacher! Wow! Life really changes fast doesn't it? I have found out that I can take classes through WSU and get my masters in education at the same time I am getting my license! So, I'm pretty excited. Yes, I'll be crazy busy, but it'll be so worth it. Especially since Jason's work will pay for 6 credit hours each semester for my education and 50% after that. All of the classes are at night and I won't have to drive to Salt Lake 3 or 4 times a week for classes.

Today is also an anniversary of sorts - I have been at New York and Company for 2 months. What does that mean, you may ask? Well, I get my better discount starting today! And yes, I have some stuff on hold to buy - bad, I know - but when there's a 60% off sale and I get my discount on top of that...can't pass it up, right?

And, Misty - sorry, no pics of anything - I know how annoying a blog without pics can be, but, well...I haven't taken any. ;) - maybe I should take some of the hat we made.

One of my all-time favorite movies

I finally bought this movie. I remember watching it when I was younger and loving it. It has all the classic concepts: 80s clothes, cheesy ending song, a mad scientist who changes his heart, and of course a young Tom Hanks.

If you haven't seen it - go rent it, if you have - go rent it again!

A little information: Disney created Touchstone studios because of this movie - they didn't want to be putting a PG film on the Disney studio name - oh how things have changed.

my baby's got lungs

I'll miss you Greg

Greg A. Wynn
(December 22, 1964 - June 2, 2008)

Send Private Condolences

Morgan- Greg A. Wynn, age 43, passed away after a short and courageous battle with cancer surrounded by his loving family on June 2, 2008.
He was born on December 22, 1964 to Bob and Sue Wynn. He was raised in Morgan and graduated from Morgan High School.

Greg married Stacy Sessions on June 8, 1984 in Morgan. Greg had a very tender heart. He cared and loved his family and friends, and he is loved and cherished by them all. Greg did many things; he retired from Hill Air Force Base where he worked as a sheet metal mechanic. He then attended Salt Lake Community College and graduated from the Police Academy. He became a police officer for Morgan County where he was instrumental in starting the K-9 program. At the time of his death he was employed with Rhodes Excavation.

Greg enjoyed camping and riding ATV's with his family, watching NASCAR, Dallas Cowboys and the Utah Jazz.

Greg is survived by his wife, Stacy; three children: Trista (T.J. O'Leary), Kiley and Trevor of Morgan; Sisters: Doreen Wynn, Salt Lake City; and Noreen Wynn, Ogden. Brother: Robert (Kathy) Wynn, Honeyville. Mother-in-law, Pat Ericksen, West Point; Father-in-law, Gary Sessions, Peterson; Brother-in-laws: Kelly (Chris) Sessions and Dustin Sessions, Clearfield; Sister-in-Law: Sacha (Greg) Despain, Salt Lake City. He is also survived by many family and friends.

We would like to acknowledge Greg’s special friends, Kim Green and Brett Ertmann.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and mother-in-law Karen Sessions. The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the Enterprise Ward, Dr. Carl Gray and his staff, Dr. Robert Harris and the staff at Ogden Regional Cancer Treatment Center; and the staff at Ogden Regional Medical Center for their kindness and loving care.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, June 6, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. at the Enterprise Ward, 2755 W. Old Highway Road, Morgan, Utah. Friends may call on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Walker Mortuary in Morgan and Friday from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at the church.

Interment, Peterson Cemetery.

Send condolences to the family at www.walker-mortuary.com

In lieu of flowers please make donations to Bank of Utah in Greg Wynn’s name.

Cancer sucks

Late last night my cousin, Greg, lost his fight with lung cancer. It wasn't that long ago that he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer - by the time they found it, it was too late. Greg was like an uncle to me because he was a lot older than me. In high school he let me borrow is Eddie Bower edition Expedition to drive. I remember how cool that was because he trusted me, a teenager, with his really cool car.
Greg was always giving and willing to help out. When I had major knee surgery, I borrowed his CD collection so that I wouldn't be so bored. He had a love of country music, just like me.
I'm going to miss seeing him at our family parties - but I know that I will see him again. I am thankful for that knowledge. Families Can Be Together Forever!

Our adventures under the sea

Jenna's dance recital was last night...and as an unbiased parent - she was the best of them all. And the cutest too. She danced to Under the Sea, Much More Friendly With Pooh (Winnie the Pooh), and then a finale with everyone called Girls on Minnie Street.

Here are a couple pics from the night. Jenna is the 4th from the right

Thoughts for Thursday

I've seen a couple shows about the new group of employees entering the work force for the first time. What bothers me is that they expect their bosses and others to let them come in late, wear what they want - they expect praise and rewards and you aren't allowed to tell them when they are doing something wrong. I don't get this - I'm not that much older than these people - by just a few years (5 or so years). I was trained to come in when your are assigned to come in, follow the rules, accept criticism and do what I need to do to correct any problems. Call me crazy - but isn't this how it is supposed to be?

Sure, I would love to be able to come into work in my pj's, listen to my ipod, and do what I want when I want - and expect to get paid not only monetarily, but also with prizes - like a new ipod or a wii.

They talked about the reason for this - every child, they say, expects a trophy and only words of encouragement. They say that adults are building this society...not this adult.

I don't expect Jenna's teachers to only say positive things to her, I want her to learn and grow - to become a responsible adult (not that I'm looking forward for her to grow up).

I have taken classes in communication techniques in the workplace - and yes, when I started working 10 years ago - things had changed from the time when my parents started working, but there has to be a stop or the American economy, in my opinion, will continue to fail.

What do you think? Are children being babied too much? Would you only want your child to be praised and rewards?

Thoughts for Thursday

I don't really have any deep thoughts today, but I do have a lot of friends who don't know the full extend of what is going on in my family's life right now - so I am going to talk about that instead.

Many of you know about my niece, Alia, and all of her medical problems. She was released from the hospital earlier this week, only to have to return again last night. She has a very fast moving "cousin" of tuberculosis growing inside what is left of her left lung. Today she is going to have surgery to have a port put in where they can directly administer antibiotics and draw blood. They are hoping this will help and will make it so that they will not have to remove the remainder of her left lung. The incision from the surgery over a month ago reopened and the doctors have called it "interesting" and "amazing" - coming from dr's who have people coming from across the US for their help, it's not quite what you want to hear.

Poor Landon, Alia's 8 year old brother, gets shuttled back and forth from grandma's, aunts, neighbors as Suzanne, my sister is living in a 1979 winnebago in the parking lot of the hospital. My brother-in-law tries to divide his time between Landon, the hospital, and work. Thankfully the hospital is only about a 40 min drive away.

Needless to say, it's been quite hard on our whole family.

Then, about the same time as Alia's major surgery (a little over a month ago) - my cousin was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer has spread throughout his body and they are treating him as much as they can but of course, that's a lot of setbacks. His blood sugar went screwy and he was hospitalized for that. Now, my cousin is about 15 years older than me, and he's always been so good to me. He let me borrow his car when I was still in HS so that we could get up on base to go shopping. He's always a happy cheerful guy.

My dad is also going to be going in for neck surgery this summer because of an accident that happened over 20 years ago. He's had different surgeries to help as things come up, and this one is no exception. He keeps losing feeling because his nerves get pinched and other times he hurts so bad.

If I could only stay in a little bubble that only included Jason, Jenna and I - life would be great. But, I would miss out on all of my family. We are close knit and love each other so much. When one family member hurts, we all do. I am truly thankful for the family I have - with all the chaos that it brings and wouldn't change our relationships.

The question has been asked - how much can 1 family take - I guess the only answer comes from the scriptures where it says that our Heavenly Father will only give us as much as we can handle. Guess He has more faith in us than we do of ourselves.

Thank you for all your kind words and support - it means the world to me and to my family.

My preschool graduation

I can't believe Jenna is now a preschool graduate! I'm not one of those crying moms, but seriously, I was almost in tears. Here are some pictures from graduation. The one of her on the playground is of her and her boyfriend, Davis. She said that he would run away if she went by him. She cracks me up

Taking it from her daddy

now where do you suppose Jenna got this artistic side from?

yet another blog quiz

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

my name

What Michelle Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I'd say for me it's 75% accurate

Jenna says....

ok, here are some of my favorite things Jenna has said recently.

"mom, I drew you a picture. It's on the TV in the dust"

"did you ask to work there (New York and Company) or did they say that you looked pretty and they wanted you to work there?"

"Just be patient" said in her most stern voice.

I love my little girl - she brings me such happiness and reminds me what life is really about.

My future unfolding!!!

I have officially been hired at my current elementary school as a 5th grade teacher next year!!! I am so excited!

Thoughts for Thursday - insurance companies

It's Thursday, right? I'm so confused on my days right now...yeah, I'm pretty sure I have tomorrow off from school - so that would mean today is Thursday. OK.

Guess what? My ditziness is directly related to my TfT today - I have been playing, "yes I do need my medication" with the insurance over the past 3 weeks. They for some odd reason feel that heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and blacking out is not a good enough reason for me to switch medicines. There are only 2 medicines on the market that can deal with depression and also work as a pain reliever. Option 1 - the cheaper one - has caused all of the above symptoms. I tried it, but I just don't want to black out while I'm driving or to have a heart attack. Call me weird.
So, option #2 is the other choice and I got some samples from the dr while they got the preapproval for the medication. I was denied - they say that I should be on option #1. In the meantime I have run out of samples and my whole body is reacting. I'm sick, can't think, getting migraines. Good ole withdrawal. I did get another month's worth of samples picked up today...but here's my question....shouldn't doctors get to say what is best for their patients, they are the ones that see the tests, sit down and talk with the patients, etc.

I understand the insurance is there to make money, they are a business - but at what expense? I'm not at a life or death point here, but it is a matter of a good quality of life. I believe that doctors should have the say. I understand that insurance companies need to ask questions, but when the pharmacy says, oh this insurance pretty much denies all medicine at first. That concerns me. They are making money at the expense of peoples health. They would rather treat a heart attack than to treat the precursers. They will put a pregnant woman on bedrest, but will not pay for disability if the baby ends up going full-term, only if the baby still comes early.

Do I make sense? If not, I guess there is just one more casualty in my war on the health insurance company.

9 years, 4 months, 13 days.

Nine years ago today I married my soul mate. Yes, 9 years ago! I can't believe it's been that long. I thought I would share our story with all of you out there who may not know it...

I moved home from college after Fall semester 1998. I had been praying and felt that even though I hadn't quite finished my associates I needed to move home. I had many different reasons as to why I thought I was being prompted to move home, but none of them included Jason. In fact, I didn't even know Jason.

I didn't want to go back to my regular ward and found that a returned missionary I really liked was going to a singles ward. So, I went there. Jason says he came up and introduced himself the first time I was there - I don't remember that. Sorry, but he didn't make any kind of impression on me - and really, I was there to follow the returned missionary. I didn't need a guy, right?

On December 31st I received a phone call, a guy named Jason was wanting me to go on a date with him. I've been taught by my oldest sister that free food is free food, so go and enjoy it even if you don't end up liking the guy. He had left me a message saying he met me in the singles ward and since he worked with the records he got my phone number. I asked my sister if she knew who he was, since he graduated the same year she did. She said she didn't know him that well, but knew he was a good guy. Apparently he was really close friends with our next door neighbor. So, I called him back and said yes.

We went on our first date on January 1, 1999. When he came to pick me up he had a bouquet of wild flowers - not roses. So right there, I was impressed. He later told me his mom always told them to take flowers to their dates on their first date. Good thinking mom! We went to Hard Rock - my first time ever. I don't remember what I ate, but I do remember what I wore. I still have the fleece sweater - wish I still fit in the pants. After we went mini golfing and talked about Murphy's law. We talked about how we were both believers in it. Odd, I know - but hey.

After the date I knew I liked him, and he was cute - but there weren't any "love" feelings. He asked me out again and we went and rented movies to watch at his house. We had digiorno pizza - another first for me (how sheltered am I?). I remember when we were renting the movies we ran into someone he knew - a girl - and he introduced me. We also held hands for the first time that night too.

between a few days of talking on the phone and him coming over one night to share poetry, I fell in love. Seems like a long time, but in all actuality, it was only about a week since our first date. He invited me to come to his house while his brother was having a b-day party - I said sure. I was friends with a lot of his brother's friends. I also found out that Jason gave the best bear hugs in the history of man kind.

We talked about marriage and decided to pray about it. We both got the same answer, but I told him to wait until my parents got back from a cruise they had been planning. Especially since we'd only known each other a week.

We started taking a religion class together at the local University and the first night we went early and walked around campus and talked. Then as he was driving over to the class he stopped at a parking lot that over looks the Ogden valley - there he proposed. He had flowers in the backseat the whole time and I didn't know it! This was January 13th. Do the math - 13 days is all!

After class we went to our ward skating party where we told a couple people, before we knew it it was announced over the loud speaker - so we had to book it home before someone called my parents.

I woke up my mom and dad while Jason was downstairs and told them the news. They acted happy for me, but I could tell they were concerned, afterall I had only known the guy for 13 days. They came downstairs and I went up stairs to tell Crystal, who had become my best friend since I had been home. She screamed, "no, you can't marry him" of course Jason heard this. I also told my little brother, who said, "what about Nick?" (the missionary I had send off a few months earlier). Yeah, my family was pretty funny about it.

I'm sure my dad did a background check and I'm guessing Jason passed. My parents did have some sit down talks with me about if I was sure he was the one, I know they were worried, but it sure annoyed me then.

4 months and 13 days after we first met we were married for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple. It hasn't been the easiest 9 years, but we have worked together and he has been so understanding of all my medical issues and schooling. I love him with all of my heart and can't imagine life without him. He has given me such strength and hope. He is my best friend.

I love you Jason and always will. I'm glad you agreed that I could keep you forever.

What good is a college degree when you can't pick out the right shoes?

I think somewhere along the line there should be a course required for all men and women about appropriate wear for all types of jobs. Sure, I learned what to wear to interviews and what is considered professional attire, but whatever happened to the real-lief lessons such as "shoes you should wear for your first day of standing and walking around up for 8 hours straight"
Either I missed this class - totally possible since I did miss some class, ok a lot - or they never taught it. I tend to think they never taught it.
OK, now rewind to Saturday morning. I have 3 outfits layed out on my bed. What outfit shall I wear for my first real day at my new job? I have some cute business-looking type shorts with a nice white top - something I could wear some reasonable shoes with, some pants with a nice button up shirt - again something I could wear good shoes with. Or wait, I have an idea - I have a cute dress that if I put a white shirt under it I can wear these:



yup, you guessed it - know what won? The cute outfit with the way cute shoes. I wanna look cute for my first day at work. What's the worst that could happen? Again, had I had the above mentioned class, I would've known. I was taught crisis management, not how to avert a crisis.

Walking into the mall I get the first sign that I look cute and therefore chose the right outfit. A car of teenage boys drives by and they whistle at me!!! Wahoo!

I get in and I'm assigned to the dressing room and I'm thankful, I can check out the clothes and I can handle it.

Well, by hour 4 my feet are asking my brain what it was thinking and why brain didn't ask feet about this grand idea. Of course brain was trying to ignore feet. So, feet decided if brain wasn't going to listen they may as well go numb. Well, actually only toes decided to go numb.

Fast forward to today - almost 4 days later - toes are still on strike and have yet to communicate with brain that they are still attached.

And the moral to this story...I don't have one because I figure now that feet are going to be used to said shoes and I will probably wear them again - because hey I got a whistle from some teenage boys.

For Misty - my favorite cat lover

I think most know how I feel about cats, not my favorite animal. This cracks me up and if it didn't cost $15 I would so get one for Misty. Since I know you all need a laugh, here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xntzFMzzE

Thoughts for Thursday

ok, my thoughts this Thursday are about stealing from work.

I started a new job today and my favorite clothing store, New York and Company. Most my close friends know that when I get a new outfit, that's where I got it from. They usually just assume that's where I got anything from. So, part of training today was about employee theft and it got me thinking...why would you want to steal and why would you want to steal from the place that is paying your bills?

I've never gotten this. In the name of full disclosure, I have stolen once in my life, but it was an accident and I still feel guilty. I was in elementary school and we had a gas station by us named Big Verns. I walked there one day and picked out my dollar's worth of candy, but then I couldn't find where I put some of it, so I figured I put it down and got some more. Later that day my mom and I were at KMart (you know I feel guilty because I still remember this 20 years later), I reached into my jacket pocket and low and behold, there was the air head that I thought I had put back. When the store closed a few years later, I swore that it was because I accidently stole that 10 cent piece of candy.

OK, now I get back to my point - why do some people ruin it for everyone? I understand why I have to have everything checked at the front of the store whenever I get ready to leave - because someone ruined it for everyone else. Where are the values of these people who think it's ok to steal for one reason or another. I don't see how someone can say that they deserve what they stole.

So, here's the question - if you knew that you could steal anything from work and know you wouldn't be caught, would you?

got the proverbial gun out to be polished

No, we don't own a real gun in the house, but even with Jenna only being 5, I think Jason is seriously considering getting one for when she starts to date. This was Jenna's conversation last night with her Grandma Mary. Names have been changed to protect the innocent little boys involoved. I only heard one side of the conversation since she was on the phone.

Grandma, Matt kissed me today....YES, on the lips (she says in her most exhasperated, annoyed voice). I thought he liked Jayci, but then he kissed ME. I don't know why. I guess he likes me. No, Davis is my boyfriend, not Matt. No, he didn't get mad. I said (she's sounding annoyed) I thought he liked Jayci and Jayci is my friend.

So, there you have it, you would think listening to her she was going through the problems of the teenage years, but no, this child does not believe that boys have cooties. She doesn't know where babies come from, but she has apparently had 2. (I must admit she looks really good for a 5 year old who just gave birth to 2 babies). It's only going to be a matter of time before she's playing kissing tag with all the boys and running slow so that they catch up to her. (I don't have an idea where she gets this from).

When I told Jason last night he just laughed, but I could tell, he was nervous about what's going to happen 10 years from now. She's a diva already and she's proud of it.

Our adventurous day!

Wow! I scheduled a day off and well, I still spent half a day at school. I'm in charge of a really cool thing that's going to take place at my school tomorrow. It's called the junior engineering fair and it's a whole day of hand's on projects for the entire school! Last night I had to come in and make sure that the modules arrived and delivered them to the teacher's classrooms. Today, I wanted to go in to make sure that the teachers checked their boxes before Monday morning in case there was anything missing. I also wanted to watch the 6th graders do their Olympics.
So, since I didn't want to pay for day care, I took Jenna with me. She loves going to school and loves my students (and my students love her). We watched the Olympics for a while and then the students went in for lunch. I ate my first school lunch in over 10 years today! It was a chicken sandwich, Trix yogurt, a half an apple, french fries....and kiwi! (oh and of course a chocolate milk). It wasn't too bad. Jenna thought it was cool to get to eat in the cafeteria and the 5th grade students I sat by were so excited that I was going to sit by them for lunch (I love the rewards of being a teacher - especially since right now I'm one of the cool teachers).
After we ate, Jenna went out and played with one of my 5th grade students (one of my favorite students), Elizabeth. They went down the slide so many times and just had fun on the big toy. Jenna was so sad when the bell rang and Elizabeth had to go back to class.

After the adventure at school, we ran home and I took a quick shower. Then, off we went again. I dropped Jenna off at daycare so that she could play with a friend that only comes on Fridays and I had a job interview at my all time favorite store - New York and Company. . I really liked the manager that interviewed me, it didn't really feel like an interview. I'm just looking for a PT job, especially since I won't be working for the school during the summer - we need the income. The manager said I should hear from her today or tomorrow - she just needed to contact my references.

I ran home to change out of the interview clothes and checked the mail and guess what was in there....I was approved for the Alternate Routes to Licensure program!!! What does this mean? You ask...well, in short - I can start working as a full-time teacher in the fall! I just have to take about 6 classes in the next 3 years to get my official teaching license!!! I'm so excited. I now have to send the approval to my school district and then they will interview me to make sure I'll be good (ummmm, they already hired me to be a part-time teacher, so I hope I'm good enough). Then my principal can actually offer me a position. I already talked to him about it - and he couldn't guarantee a spot for me, but I know that there are a lot of teachers leaving this year for different reasons.

So, I quickly called a couple people to share in my excitement and then went and picked up Jenna from daycare. I watched the daycare kids for a few minutes while the babysitter (the best babysitter in the world) ran next door to do something. Then I took Jenna to register for kindergarten. My baby is going to be in kindergarten! So weird.

Well, I believe that is all!
Have a great weekend!

Alia is having a good day!

I figured instead of trying to email my friends Alia's updates, I would just post them here.

April 11, 2008 at 01:29 PM MDT
Alia has had a good day. She has been in pretty good spirits and playing this morning. She is now down for a nap (hopefully we can get her schedule turned around). They are still doing some different tests to try and figure out her lung status. We are letting her rest but she will need to be poked to have some blood drawn when she wakes up. She HATES this!! It takes 3-4 people to get blood out of her.

We were able to pull one of her chest tubes. Hopefully this will help with her comfort level. She hasn't wanted to put on her duck mask this morning so we will try again later when Jared gets here.

Thank you all!

I want to publicly thank everyone who has been keeping me and my family in their prayers and sending good thoughts our way. Alia's surgery went well, but she still has the long recovery ahead. She's been very uncomfortable and has had trouble sleeping.

Thoughts for Thursday- trials

I've always believed that our Heavenly Father knows where are weaknesses and strengths are and He tries us to where he sees we need improvement, but also keeping in mind of where our strengths are. I believe there are 3 types of trials: physical, mental, and spiritual. For me, I've always been strong spiritually, but physically my body is a mess and mentally - I have clinical depression. So, Heavenly Father knows that I can rely on my spiritual strength when trials come that are mental or physical.
With all the trials going on in my family's life, I am so thankful that we are spiritually strong. That peace and comfort helps when nothing else can.

Now, I believe that our strengths and weaknesses can change throughout life. And you grow and at sometimes may be strong in all 3 areas, while other times you feel that you are failing in all 3.

What do you think are your strength and weaknesses are?

Dating and Texting

oh yes, my little Jenna is texting her boyfriend, Davis, right now to see if he wants to go on a date tonight. Yup, she has her princess play cell phone and is quite upset that he isn't answering.
So, I have a talk with her about how she doesn't get to go on a date with anyone but mommy and daddy until she is 16. In her words, "Oh man"
I am in so much trouble with this little princess. She knows too much already and she was quite upset when she lost her cell phone.
What happened to my baby?

Thoughts for Thursday

How thankful are you for being home? What is home to you?

I ask this question because with my niece being in the hospital so much over the past few months she really appreciates being in her own bed and in her home. It's not the things that my sister and brother-in-law buy that make it a home, but the feelings that are there. Alia is allowed to roam free and not be in a sterile environment. One time when they were leaving the hospital, as the wind hit her face, Alia leaned back and put her arms straight out as if to say, "I'm free".

I love my house, it is my home; but for some reason, I love being at my parents house. I love to sit there and just be with them. Especially on nights when Jason isn't home. There's something about watching TV with my parents or reading the newspaper - anything in their home. I wonder if Jenna feels that way about our home. Is there just something about it that makes it comfortable?

Am I just completely rambling? Probably - but I hope that you understand what I mean. What makes a home and home? Where are you most comfortable? Are you truly grateful for your home?