Donor Truck

After sitting in our current garage for 17+ years, Chris is finally going to restore his '66 Chevy half ton, four wheel drive, short box, step side pick up truck.  He has always wanted to fix it up, but he didn't have any time...we didn't have any money...there was always some reason for it to just sit in our garages as we towed it from one city to the next.  With Trevor getting to drive soon, coincidentally, he decided now was the time to fix the truck.

Chris found a "donor truck" on Craig's list which has most of the parts that he needs to get his truck running.  The donor truck even has a gun rack, but I'm vetoing that donation.  They donor truck even ran--until Darryl and Darren stopped to fill up with gas and get something to eat when someone stole the battery out of it---in Compton!  Darryl and Darren, twins from Texas, towed the truck to our house on Saturday. Apparently, they have a bunch of old trucks, truck parts, etc., but they've decided they need to start getting rid of them so that they can each "get themselves a wife." 

My favorite thing about the donor truck is the bird's nest that resides in one of the headlights.  Classic.

I now have these two old trucks sitting in my driveway.   I feel like white trash.  Trevor says we look Mexican.  Surprisingly to me, most of the neighbors come over and look at them and think they're pretty cool.  (Or maybe they're just being supportive and are in shock to see the truck FINALLY out of the garage.)

Tomorrow Chris is towing them to Ojai where he found a guy who will fix it up for us.  The sad thing is I'm pretty sure the truck will be up and running before my kitchen will be up and running.

Happy Halloween

Our ward has a trunk or treat activity every year, but this year Kelsie had a choir concert the same night, and Trevor had volleyball practice, so I only had one costume to worry about.  On halloween night, Kelsie and Trevor took off with some friends to go to Fright Fest at Magic Mountain, so I had one lone trick or treater.  Branden (aka Spock) quickly covered the neighborhood and scored a whole bunch of candy.  It was really weird only having one child going trick or treating, but it was nice to only have one costume to deal with.

One little hole...

It was just one little hole in one little pipe which happened to leak a little water under my kitchen floor.

Of course, the insurance company found asbestos in the damp drywall and so my kitchen is now being "abated" of all hazardous materials.

The cabinets were removed from two walls.  Drywall was removed.  The granite countertops which we spent many evenings and Saturdays tiling was destroyed in less than three hours.   My kitchen sink and dishwasher are sitting on my dining room floor.  I don't know where my oven is.

Through all the mess, though, I am living one of my lifelong dreams--eating out breakfast, lunch, and dinner and having someone else pay for it!  You wont catch me complaining.

Kings of Narnia

When I heard that Trevor's band would be playing a song that Trevor had written,  I must say I felt a little proud.  When I heard the name of the song was "Shut Up and Die" I was a little concerned.  It didn't sound like the type of song I would even want him to listen to, let alone compose.  I must say, when I heard his friend Matt sing the song I thought it was pretty good.

Way to go Kings of Narnia.

My New BFF

Last weekend our stake was involved in a 21 stake women's auxiliary training meeting.  Our stake happened to be the "host" stake which meant that the meetings were held in the Simi stake center and that the church leaders visiting were staying overnight in Simi and had a few hours to spend in Simi before their meetings.  Apparently they had spent the prior two days visiting other areas in southern California so that all of the stake leaders in southern california had been trained in a matter of three days. 

Before their meetings, the church leaders wanted to make one one one visits to people "who could benefit" from their visits.  As a young women's presidency we prayed about young women who could benefit from a visit from Sister Elaine Dalton, the YW General President, in their home.  Some young women didn't want a visit, some young women never answerd their phones, some young women never called back, but the day before we finally had three names.

I begged my way into accompanying our stake YW president and Sister Dalton on their visits. (Actually, I earned my spot, since I found one of the YW to visit.)

I was first impressed with Sister Dalton because she came out of the hotel with just a small purse and her scriptures.  We picked her up at four and I knew she wasn't going back to the hotel room until about 10:00, but that's all she needed.  As we started going to the first home it was really cute because Sis. Dalton wasn't sure what was going on.  She had been so busy the past two days she wasn't sure if she was going to do focus groups, one on one visits, or what time her next meeting started.  She was searching through her purse when we told her we were doing one on one visits, she was looking for something to give to the girls.  She felt bad she didn't have anything, and she felt a little flustered  as she asked us to say a prayer together before the first house.

When we started with our first visit, she just talked with the young woman we were visiting, trying to get to know her, and just kept telling her how remarkable she was and was impressed with everything this girl was doing in her life.  The spirit was very strong as Sis. Dalton told her she didn't have anything to leave her with except for the most important thing that she had, her testimony.  Sis. Dalton bore her testimony and asked the young woman to bear her testimony.  Then she asked the mom to bear her testimony.  I was getting a little stressed because we were on a pretty tight schedule and we were spending way too long at the first house, but after we left Sis. Dalton said "we couldn't leave that house until the mother bore her testimony and said what she needed to say."  

The second house was a totally different experience.  It turned out that in the second house the dad needed the visit more than the young woman.  Sis. Dalton listened to the spirit and reached out to the father.   It was amazing to see the spirit work and to see someone so in tune with the spirit to know exactly how to direct her words so that he was reached.  She invited the family to come and visit her if they're ever in Salt Lake. How cool!

The third house she called her "joyous" visit.   She met a beautiful family with three generations of women.  Turns out that everyone in the family heard and learned something different from her visit, especially the less active grandmother who just happened to fly in that morning. The grandmother said she had never felt the spirit so strong in her whole life as she did during that visit.

I learned how important it is to stay close to the spirit so that we can hear the Lord tell us what to do, and how to do it. I learned that true teaching and learning comes from ministering one on one.  It was an amazing experience, and I'm so grateful for the chance I had to spend with Sis. Dalton (my new BFF).  It has changed me. 

Mononucleosis

WARNING: Photo at the bottom of post may be disturbing to some.

According to google health, "Mononucleosis is a viral infection causing fever, sore throat, swollen lymph glands, especially in the neck."  But according to someone who has  had mono, I would like to define it as "Mono is a horrendous virus causing extreme fatigue, a throbbing sore throat covered with hideous while scaley stuff that causes such intense pain you don't even know what your other symptoms are (except for the extreme fatigue)."

I had mono a few months before I got married.  I remember the extreme fatigue and the horrendous sore throat.  The only energy I could muster would be to take a shower each day. My throat was so painful, I couldn't eat or sleep.  I remember eating popsicles just to try and ease the pain for a second. (I did lose ten pounds...but that's not the point).  In other words, it was the sickest I have ever been in my entire life.

When Kelsie first complained of a sore throat and said she had white stuff on her tonsils, I took her to the doctor for a strep test.  She didn't have the fever that she usually gets with strep, but since she usually gets strep once a year I took her in to get her started on antibiotics as soon as possible.  The doctor did a rapid strep test which came back negative and decided to do some blood work for mono just in case the other strep test was also negative.  A few days later the doctor called back and said all the lab tests were negative and that it must be a virus and to just rest and get lots of fluids.

A week later, she was still sick and her throat was worse.  I took her back in and they did another strep test and more blood work.  The next day they called back and said that this time she had tested positive for mono. At least we knew why she was so sick!

The worst thing about mono is you really can't do anything about it.  There is no antibiotic, no special pill, nothing.  You just have to wait it out.  Her worst symptom, like mine, is the sore throat.  It is terrible to be hungry but not be able to eat because it hurts too bad.  I took her to the store and let her pick out anything she thought she would be able to eat.  She picked out ice cream, popsicles, mac and cheese, raviolis, soup and mashed potatoes.  That's my girl, ice cream and carbs!

Amazingly, she's still been able to go to school and keep up with teaching piano lessons.  As long as she gets her nap when she comes home from school she can get most of the things done that she needs to do.  Now...if only the sore throat would go away.

Big Boy

There was a salesman who came to our door today.  He was a nice guy from Idaho Falls who our bishop (who lives a couple of houses away) sent down to our house.  Just because it's a mormon salesman does that mean I'm supposed to buy something?  The only salespeople I really buy things from are those selling girlscout cookies or candybars.

So the guy is giving me his schpeel about home security systems when Trevor came up behind me to see who was at the door.  Trevor was kind of bending over drying his hair and then he stood up to see the salesmen.  When he stood up the salesman completely lost his train of thought and said "Wow, that's a big boy."  I started cracking up and told him I didn't need a home security system.  I have a dog (a killer dog) and Trevor.  He left without even trying to persuade me anymore.  

Walkin' To School

Branden has decided he wants to walk to school this year.  His middle school is only a mile away and he walks with one of his friends who lives across the street.  I'm kind of at a loss without driving him in the mornings since I have been driving kids to school every morning for the past twelve years.  I don't mind driving him because it's so close, and I'm usually heading to the gym around then, but he keeps wanting to walk. It's a little odd since Kelsie and Trevor would only walk if they absolutely had to. I was wondering how long this walking idea would last--maybe a week--maybe a month--until I learned the true reason why he likes to walk to school.  He stops at the donut shop and buys himself a donut every morning.  I think I'll start walking him to school.

Time to Change Pharmacies

I had to pick up several prescriptions at the pharmacy last week.  One of the prescriptions they said was "on hold" because they were waiting to hear back from the doctor about a refill.  I very kindly reminded them that I had brought in a new prescription for that medication last month.  They looked up my info and low and behold I was right!  They said it would be ready in about ten minutes.  The pharmacy I like to use is in a grocery store, so I did some shopping while I waited.

About ten minutes later, I picked up the prescriptions and went home.  After I had been home for about fifteen minutes, Trevor said that one of the prescriptions wasn't in the bag (the prescription Trevor was waiting for).  Ironically, it was the one that they said wasn't ready.  I assumed that they gave me the ones that were ready (although I did notice they charged me for all of them) and didn't realize that they were still filling the last one.

I went back to the pharmacy and explained that I didn't have one of the prescriptions in the bag. They looked through the prescriptions they had just filled.  It wasn't there.  They looked through all of the prescriptions that were waiting to be filled.  It wasn't there.  They asked me if it could have fallen out in the car (No--the bag was stapled shut).  They called up Trevor to make sure that he hadn't seen the prescription.  They looked through every single prescription that was waiting to be picked up in case it had been put in the wrong place.  The prescription was missing.

Apparently, the prescription without insurance is normally about $500, so they couldn't just give me another prescription.  They kept explaining to me how expensive it is and it seemed to me they were a little accusatory of me losing the prescription.  I kept assuring them that I was not trying to commit insurance fraud, but I just simply wanted my prescription.  OK...so I might not have been very calm because by now it had been half an hour of me trying to convince them that I didn' t have the dang prescription.

After I pleaded with them to call the insurance company to see if they could replace it I kind of stormed out of the store.  I was soooo frustrated!   I got into my car and within 5 seconds my phone rang.  It was Trevor telling me that he had found the prescription.  It was at home.  He had put it away and forgot that he had put it away.  It seems the prescription was in a different bottle than it normally comes in so he didn't think it was the one he was looking for.  I made him call the pharmacy and apologize for his stupidity.  

I am so embarassed for making the poor pharmacy clerks spend so much time looking for the prescription that was in my cupboard at home.  When I went to the store this week I couldn't even go down the aisle near the pharmacy because I didn't want them to remember me.  I think I'm switching all my prescriptions to mail order...or at least a different pharmacy.

Best Vacation EVER

I had the best vacation ever last weekend.  Well, maybe not the BEST vacation, but the most relaxing vacation I have EVER had!  Our ward had youth conference and since Branden is now twelve, he was able to go with Kelsie and Trevor.  Since Chris is young men's president, he had to go, too.  That meant I was going to be alone--completely alone in my house for 24 hours.  

I am often alone at home.  I'm alone when the kids go to school, but that is only for a few hours. Every now and then Chris goes out of town and leaves me home, but the kids are always with me.  I don't think I have ever been home all by myself overnight since I've had children, and that's 17 1/2 years.

So how did I spend my time?  First I went to a movie and then out to dessert with a friend of mine.  Then I came home and surfed the internet for a while.  The next day I cleaned the house. Cleaning is not normally an activity I look forward to or even choose to do in my free time, but I was able to clean and have it stay clean for more than 20 minutes which, I have to say, was quite rewarding.  After cleaning for a while I watched a movie and then I cleaned some more.

It was so quite and peaceful. It was more relaxing than I ever dreamed 24 hours could be.

  

I have to say I was a little bummed when everyone came home.  I put on my happy face and told them how much I had missed them, but secretly I knew that if I had one more day I wouldn't have minded.  

HAWAII 2009

Wisdom Teeth

I'll admit it. Although I try to mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those in need of comforting, I'm not very sympathetic when it comes to getting wisdom teeth extracted. I think this stems from two main reasons.

1. I never had my wisdom teeth out. Although I am no stranger to pain (can you say natural childbirth?), I have endured two major surgeries and given birth to three large children. The thought of a 30 minute outpatient procedure leading to days of coddling doesn't seem right.

2. I think I have unresolved resentment of a childhood issue. When I was 8 or 9 (everything happened to me then) I had to have EIGHT teeth removed. Four were baby teeth, but four were permanent ones that were waiting to come in underneath the baby ones. So, just like wisdom teeth, they had to cut open the gum, remove the teeth, and stitch it up. The same time I had my EIGHT teeth removed, my older sister had four wisdom teeth removed. Even my young eight year old brain knew that eight teeth was more than four teeth. Yet, I remember (this is the resentment part) sitting on the couch for the first day with my sister and we both had ice and ice cream. But, the second day, she got to stay on the couch and continue to do nothing and have milkshakes and I had to get up and do her chores. What's up with that? I had twice as many teeth pulled but she got to have twice as many milkshakes as I did. Not fair!

I was not looking forward to the day when my children would need their wisdom teeth out. After seventeen years of denial, Kelsie's turn finally arrived. I had to schedule it during the one time of the year that Chris goes out of town to see his dad, but with our weird summer schedule, it was really the only time we could do it over the summer. I was a little nervous about the procedure because I don't do well with health issues; bleeding, needles, vomit, etc. I usually let Chris take care of all that, but I was VERY brave and did quite well. I didn't faint when I went back to see her in recovery (yes, I have done that) and I only had a little headache from the stress of the situation which a couple of Advils took care of quite rapidly.

Kelsie sailed through with flying colors. She was a little cranky and angry the first couple of hours...but that was it. She was quickly back to her normal self except for the fact that she couldn't eat much and kept putting bags of frozen peas on her cheeks. After twenty-four hours, she is just using Advil to take care of the pain.

I know there are more serious cases that require more care (and sympathy) but I am SO glad that Kelsie's was an easy case and an easy recovery. I like to hope that I would rise to the occassion if she really needed my help and sympathy...but for now, I'll continue to live in denial of the pain of losing one's wisdom teeth.

HOW TO GET PAINT OUT OF CARPET

Yep. "HOW TO GET PAINT OUT OF CARPET" was my google question for about five minutes until I realized there was no quick cure for the puddle of sapphire blue paint on the carpet in Trevor's room. I was finally finishing up Trevor's room last week. I had installed the baseboards and was just doing some touchup painting before the room was complete (besides adding a closet door, but it's a weird size and I just haven't made it to the Special Order desk). Since I was just doing some touchup work I thought it would be easier if I just put paint in a paper cup instead of lugging around the big gallon of paint. Worked great. There were a few areas that needed a second coat since Suddenly Sapphire is such a dark and vibrant color, so I had the paper cup on the floor (I know, stupid mistake) while I was cleaning some stuff in Trevor's room. He was at EFY so I thought I'd have the room all finished and clean when he came home--I was trying to be such a nice mom. Next thing I know, I look around the corner and the paper cup had somehow fallen and there was a nice puddle of blue paint on the tan carpet.

My heart started pounding and I started panicking. I tried googling for help...but no easy and sure fire ideas came to me. I thought about taking a picture for the blog--really--but I did not want to waste any time at all in my feeble rescue attempt.

I started blotting and blotting. I went through one roll of paper towels. I started dabbing with water and blotting. I went through another roll of paper towels. I did this for four hours until I needed a dinner break. I was starving, exhausted, and my shoulders were killing me. I told Chris "We're going to In and Out and I'm getting fries and a shake and I'm not sharing with anybody." Hunger and stress had clearly taken it's toll.

I came back from dinner and dabbed and blotted for a couple more hours. I thought it was looking pretty good before I went to bed. Not perfect, but better. The next morning it didn't look as good as it seemed to the night before it so I contined my blotting, scrubbing, and stressing. I went through at least four rolls of paper towels (thank goodness I had bought some from Costco) and all my white hand towels.

And now? There's still a very slight blue tint to the area of carpet, but it looks so much better than I ever dreamed it would. I thought for sure the room would need new carpet or a permanent rug over the area, but it's not too noticeable. I'm still going to work on it a little bit more...I think I can get it looking even better. And yes, I've learned my lesson.

Reunited...and it feels so good!

My little family is finally all back home together.

Branden graduated from 6th grade on a Wednesday and Saturday morning he left for his first ever week long Boy Scout camp. I was a little more secure sending Branden to camp than Trevor, since Branden is a little more cautious. But, a week is a very long time for a 12 year old! However, he loved it! He only called me on the last day to see when Chris was coming up (Chris was driving up to bring back scouts). He earned six merit badges (woo-hoo!). His favorite was wilderness survival where he had to build his own shelter outside and actually sleep in it. SCARY...for me...but he did it! He least favorite was pioneering...too many knots for him. He also earned swimming, enviromental science, photography, and orienteering.

Two days after he came back Kelsie and Trevor left for EFY in Santa Barbara. They had a fantastic time and can't wait to go again.
They came home today...so now we're finally ready to start our summer with everyone home.

While they were gone I learned some things:
1. Branden entertains himself pretty well. The house was extemely quite while he was home. I would see him read for a couple of hours, watch TV, read some more, play video games, read some more. He was perfectly content staying home and keeping his pajamas on all day.

2. The bathroom stays much cleaner with Trevor and Kelsie gone.

3. The living room and kitchen stays much cleaner with Branden gone.

4. And...I finally figured out which son keeps peeing on the seat!

I missed each one of them when they were gone and I am so glad everyone is back home!

Birthmonth

Yesterday was my birthday, but I'm still celebrating birthmonth. I'm not sure when I started celebrating birthmonth, I know it began after I was married and had kids. I think I kind of invented it when I felt I was being jipped out of my birthday one too many times. My birthday always falls close to end of school celebrations, graduations, Father's Day (sometimes it's actually ON Father's Day...I don't reallly like that one), the beginning of summer madness, and my wedding anniversary (that was my own fault to plan a wedding so close to my birthday, but I was dumb and in love). Little by little I realized I wasn't getting to celebrate my birthday because of all the other things that tended to happen the same week as my birthday. I ended up having to celebrate my birthday a little bit earlier because something else was scheduled on my birthday, or postpone my birthday celebration until things calmed down...hence birthmonth was born.

I REALLY love birthmonth. I go out to eat A LOT. I take advantage of celebrating my birthday in any way possible for the entire month. I wanted to get a pedicure for my birthday yesterday but I ran out of time and I was kind of bummed until Trevor reminded me, "Mom, it's birthmonth, you can just go Monday...or Tuesday...or Wednesday." Then I wasn't sad anymore after I realized he was right, I didn't miss my birthday pedicure because I don't celebrate just one day. The kids want birthmonths...but I tell them they're not old enough. Sometimes they get birthweeks if I'm really busy, but I reserve birthmonth just for me.

End of an Era

Branden graduated (promoted?) from 6th grade on Wednesday. It was your typical 6th grade graduation...parents lining up at 6:30 in the morning to get a "good" seat...6th graders walking in one at a time...awards being given out for various accomplishments. Branden received a presidential academic award for having a 3.5 GPA or higher from 3rd-6th grade and receiving advanced scores on his star testing. About twenty 6th graders received that award, but Branden thinks it's cool that Obama signed it. Someone had prepared a video of all the students morphing from their kindergarten school picture to their 6th grade school picture. It was nice to see that Branden grew into his kindergarten ears.

Since Kelsie and Trevor were done with their finals, they went to support their little brother at graduation. Trevor had made a sign that said "I 'heart' Brande(o)n" in honor of his brother and the other Brandon's that were his friends. Trevor made sure to yell and hold up his sign whenever Branden's name was mentioned. It was pretty funny.

After graduation I realized that that was my last elementary school event. I have had kids at that school for 10 years. It's weird to think that I wont be driving there every day next year...but yet I'm not sad. Since I've already had kids at the junior high and high school I'm ready for it. And besides, Branden can walk to school next year so I wont have to drive. Now, that's something to look forward to.

After the graduation we rushed home, changed our clothes and hit the beach! The sun came out and the weather was beautiful. I'm SOOOOO glad it's summer!

Trevor's 15!

It's not really Trevor's birthday, his birthday was last month. He had a really crummy birthday so I didn't get around to blogging about it. First of all, he had procrastinated a HUGE English paper that he had to spend ALL weekend finishing up. Secondly, his birthday was on a Sunday. Sometimes that's a bummer because we always let the kids choose a restaurant for their birthday dinner, so since his birthday was on a Sunday we had to postpone that. Not only was his birthday on a Sunday, but since our Stake conference was the first Sunday in May, they switched Fast Sunday to April 26th which, of course, is Trevor's birthday. For Trevor, fasting on his birthday was not his favorite thing to do. We tried to make it up to him by fixing his favorite things for dinner on Sunday, so dinner consisted of pancakes AND waffles. On Monday we were planning on going out to eat for his birthday, but Monday was the Swine Flu and Stitches day (see next post). He still wanted to go out to eat after the Urgent Care visit so we went to Red Robin with chin swollen and stitched up, but Kelsie was too sick to go.

Being a middle child and loving attention, Trevor missed a birthday blog about him, so I'm making it up to him now. Here are 15 things I love about Trevor.

1. He loves me. He is not embarrassed of giving me a huge hug whenever he sees me...even when he's with his friends. When he's on the basketball or volleyball court he'll make a heart shape with his hands and point to me. Gotta love it!
2. He loves his curly hair--and so do I!
3. His room is the cleanest of all my children.
4. He likes nice long baths.
5. He can make me laugh. He's really funny.
6. He likes to be unique. He taught himself to ride a unicycle...and juggle...and do magic tricks.
7. He is incredibly athletic. Whatever sport he plays he has such natural athletic ability that it's really fun to watch.
9. He LOVES attention. Sometimes it's annoying, but the things he does to get attention are often pretty funny.
10. He truly thinks outside of the box. He is extremely creative in his thinking.
11. He doesn't succumb to peer pressure. He really doesn't care what anyone else thinks probably because he doesn't mind being different.
12. Not only does he want to have fun, but he likes to make sure that everyone around him is having fun!
13. He is almost always in an good mood.
14. He's pretty musical. He never wanted piano lessons when he was younger, but he's taught himself to play the guitar and even some songs on the piano.
15. He talks/sings in his sleep....it's always good for a laugh!

Swine Flu and Stitches

Kelsie came home from school on Friday not feeling very well. By Saturday morning, she had a fever of 102.5 and she pretty much stayed in bed all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with a fever, body aches, cough, runny nose, sore throat, etc. I kept hearing all the information on the news about Swine Flu and so I called her doctor to see what I should be watching for since we had been in Mexico a week before she started feeling sick. I didn't really think she had Swine Flu and besides, is Ensenada REALLY Mexico? But, I thought I'd be a responsible parent and check with the doctor after three days.

By the time I got around to calling the doctor at about 3:30 in the afternoon, the doctor said "She has the flu and she was in Mexico??? We're booked this afternoon but you must get her to Urgent Care at once" and she gave me a phone number of the Urgent Care place. I really wasn't too concerned about it really being Swine Flu, because Trevor had a really high fever type flu about three weeks earlier, so I just ignored taking her to Urgent Care. I had too many other things to do and I figured she was more likely to get Swine Flu by going to Urgent Care than she was on our little stop in Ensenada on our cruise.

Then...I get a phone call from Trevor at about 4:30. He split his chin open at volleyball practice and needs stitches. I figured as long as I had to take Trevor to Urgent Care to get stitches, I might as well take Kelsie for Swine Flu. I called the Urgent Care place to see how long of a wait it was, since I had never been there before, and I told them what I was bringing the kids in for. They said to let them know when I got there and they would open the side door for me and get me right into a room.

I was pretty excited about that. I figured this Swine Flu thing might get me faster service. They greeted us with masks and gloves. They whisked us into an unused room and everyone that came in had masks and gloves. Trevor, Kelsie, and I had to put on masks, too. The prompt service ended there, while we had to wait for the doctor. Trevor kept us entertained using the "Magic 8 Ball" application on his Ipod and asking questions like "Is Kelsie going to die from Swine Flu?" He'd shake the Magic 8 Ball and he kept getting answers like "Ask Again Later," and "It's Possible." We were having so much fun I grabbed my cell phone for a picture.
After the doctor came in and asked questions about Kelsie's illness I started to get a little worried. All of her comments of "that fits the symptoms..." and "very interesting..." and "that just adds to the list..." started to stress me out a little. I began to worry that Kelsie really did have Swine Flu and we were going to start our own little pandemic in Simi Valley. The doctor worried about cross-contamination with Trevor's stitches and the Swine Flu girl.

The good news...Kelsie doesn't have swine flu. The bad news...Trevor needed three stitches.
Too much fun for a Monday afternoon.

My Baby is 12!

Branden's birthday was Tuesday, March 31st. He is now a twelve year old. I had forgotten what an important birthday 12 is. There are a lot of 12 year old milestones. Of course, he graduates from primary and becomes a deacon. He gets to go to "big boy" scouts. Movie theaters and sporting events now charge an adult price for him, and yet he's not really even a teenager.

To celebrate Branden's 12th birthday I thought I would list my 12 favorite things about Branden:
1. He has a sweet tooth that's even worse than mine. This is great because I can always count on his vote when it comes to getting dessert.
2. He loves to read. I love this! He has even developed my childhood habit of spending hours in his room reading in order to get out of work. You know, out of sight out of mind. Yesterday he was reading in the living room for a couple of hours and I was so jealous I got a book and sat on the couch by him and started reading. It was great.
3. I love his nose. Check it out sometime. It has a great shape to it.
4. He has a great vocabulary...incomparable to all of us.
5. He is competitve...don't know where he gets that from but at least he's fun to play games with.
6. He has a great sense of humor. He tells very intelligent jokes and makes intelligent comments that are way beyond his years.
7. He doesn't bite his fingernails. A great trait for a 12 year old boy.
8. He is an early riser. I am not. I greatly admire and respect this quality in him.
9. He is very intense. Sometimes this is good, sometimes this is bad. But, if he really wants something he will give 200% and wont stop until he has it.
10. He shares. This is great especially when put with #1 above. He will always share skittles, gum, candy, ice cream etc. when I ask him to AND he doesn't complain very much about it.
11. He is very independent. I am often gone all afternoon running other kids around and I know that he will get all his homework done and anything else he needs to get done without me reminding him.
12. He is tall. Come on, admit it. Everyone wants their son to be tall.
Happy birthday, Branden! I love you!

You know it's a recession when...

We were getting toilet papered last night...again. It seems as if we're getting toilet papered a couple time a month, but I guess that's what happens when hou have two and half teenagers.

It wasn't too late, only about 11:00 at night. I was in the kitchen (a little late night snack) and I heard Kali start barking. I heard a couple of thumps, some running, and a car screeching away. I immediately thought "Oh, @!#! we're getting toilet papered again."

I flipped on the lights outside and ran out. It wasn't too bad because Kali scared them away soon enough. I know she usually barks at the toilet paperers, but we're usually asleep and don't always here her because she likes to bark on the opposite end of the house.

I was so happy this time I heard her because when I ran out I found so many barely used rolls of toilet paper. I quickly scooped them up hoping that the three second rule applies to toilet paper as well--doesn't it? After all, toilet paper seems to be getting more and more expensive and I now have about 8 barely used rolls that were left in my yard.

Every 15 Minutes

There's a pretty good video of the Every 15 Minutes program that Kelsie was in at her school. You can watch it and see how "real" everything seems to be. Kelsie is one of the "Living Dead," you can see her at the beginning and the end of the video--as well as her cute baby picture and current picture.
Check out http://www.vimeo.com/3606083

Kelsie's Untimely Death

Kelsie died today. We knew it was going to happen...but it's still a strange feeling. She was chosen to participate in the school's Every 15 Minutes program, which is an education "experience" to remind students of the dangerous consequences from drinking alcohol.

In this program a drunk driving accident is staged behind the school with real cars that have been in real accidents. Several students are "victims" who are actually in the car and the Jaws of Life have to get them out, another student is the "drunk driver" and other students represent the Living Dead--others who have been killed in alcohol related accidents.

I didn't really want Kelsie to be one of the victims because then I would either have to go to the morgue and identify her body, or go to the hospital and see her on life support or suffering from other injuries. I don't like hospitals(I don't think I would like a morgue either) and I really didn't want to willingly go through the emotions that accompany such an experience, so we asked the director to have her be one of the "Living Dead." I actually wouldn't have minded if she was the drunk driver--I would have had to go to "court" and watch her trial, but I think I could have removed myself more from that experience than that of being an accident victim.

As it was, two policeman and a chaplain went to Chris's work this morning to tell him that his daughter had been killed in a drunk driving accident. Why did they go to Chris's work? Because they videotape the experience and show it at an assembly tomorrow for the school. We saw the video from last year and all the parents are crying and I didn't want to be on video for an assembly--I'm not a pretty crier-- so Chris volunteered for that part. He said it was very surreal. He knew they were coming. He knew what they were coming for. He had warned the "counter people" so that they could send the officers in, but he said it still felt very real. He felt such a range of emotions; what if it had really happened, knowing that it could possibly happen, and empathy for families that have had to go through this trial.

Meanwhile, Kelsie gets to miss two days of school (no wonder she wanted to do this). She even had to leave her cell phone at home! She was at the accident scene this morning, went to the hospital, went out to lunch, went to the morgue, then she goes and watches the "trial" of the drunk driver. Police officers drive the students everywhere they go. They have dinner tonight with guest speakers, stay the night at the Brandies-Bardin Institute, go out to breakfast in the morning, and then tomorrow there's an assembly where their obituaries are read.

The parents "get" to go to the assembly tomorrow. We also get dinner tonight and attend a luncheon tomorrow...so it's not all bad. It's an interesting experience. When I first learned of this I thought it might benefit someone else more than Kelsie--perhaps someone who may be more inclined to drink and drive. But as I've experienced this, I've realized it's a lesson all of us need to remember. The importance of life. The blessings of family. The importance of faith.

Just like me

I'm always looking for good qualities and characteristics in my children so I can quickly claim "They got that from me." Of course, all their negative traits come from their father. Kelsie surprised me yesterday with our startling similar characteristics.

The youth went on a temple baptism trip and Kelsie kept asking me when they would be home. She wanted to make sure they would be home before 8:00 PM since she had signed up for a blood drive (NOT like me...I don't give blood). I was surprised she had signed up for the blood drive since she had never done anything like that, but she assured me it was because they got a free Marie Callender's pie if they gave blood. (Like me...the only time I even signed up to give blood was for a pie...but I chickened out.) She made it back in time for the blood drive and when I asked her how it went she said that she had chickened out, it was too scary. (Like me) Instead, she went to Taco Bell. (Like me...although I probably would have just gone and bought a pie...)

Trevor's Braces

February 19th, 2009 at 2:00 PM

February 19th, 2009 at 3:15 PM

As one can probably tell, Trevor was not in a "Picture" mood when he got his braces off. What is it about teenagers not wanting their picture taken? It can be so annoying. In fact, that was the only glimpse I've even had of his pearly whites since he got his braces off. Money well spent? We'll have to see...only if he smiles.

So Close...and yet so far

Since November 15th I have been crossing out each day on the basketball schedule. A nice two page schedule that has controlled my life and my family's life for the past three months. The last day on the schedule was February 15th. I have been anticipating that day for quite a while. That was to be the last day of the basketball season, a day I could cross off and throw the schedule away and realize I have a little bit of my life back.

I forgot about the possibility of basketball playoffs.

The season is still not over.

Kelsie's team made it to CIF and so they have a CIF game Thursday night (and I REALLY wanted to go to a Scrabble party...but I would have major mom guilt). Branden's team has a playoff game on Saturday morning for his basketball team (he wasn't even on my two-page schedule.) Trevor was the only one who ended his basketball season on time, but he started playing volleyball on Monday, so I didn't get a break there.

So, our schedule is STILL hectic, but this week REALLY should be the last week of basketball.

Bryan's baptism

Our sweet friend Bryan was baptized yesterday. He is a sixteen year old boy who has been taking the missionary discussions at our house since August. His older sister joined the church several years ago and he started asking her a bunch of questions during the summer. We kind of got involved because Chris is the YM President, so the missionaries would have the discussions at our house. After we had met Bryan, we realized that he and Trevor had played soccer on a couple of teams together, and so we actually knew him and knew his parents a little.

At first I just liked the discussions because the missionaries would come over on Sunday night's and I liked that because then I didn't have to worry about a Family Home Evening lesson (we have FHE on Sunday night's since it's the only night we are all home.) After a few weeks I forgot about the FHE lessons I was getting out of and really enjoyed the spirit the missionaries brought into our home. It was an amazing experience for the boys (and me) to sit in on the missionary lessons and to watch Bryan's learn about the gospel and develop a testimony.

Chris was such a great help in teaching Bryan. Chris joined the church when he was seventeen, so he was able to really relate to everything Bryan was going through; all of the questions and trials and feelings...it brought back a lot of memories for Chris.

I was really amazed at how supportive Bryan's family was of his baptism. His sister and her husband came down from Utah and his brother-in law baptized him. His parents were there along with another brother he has. His grandparents and some close family friends came to support him. I thought it was really nice that they were all at his baptism, but then his parents also came to church today for his confirmation. It was really cool.

I remember when he came over a few weeks ago and he had finally decided he wanted to get baptized. He was SO happy. There was such a change in him. After the baptism I asked how he felt and he said "I just can't wait for tomorrow to get the Holy Ghost." How cool is that? Chris was able to confirm him in church today but then I had to go to another ward for ward conference, so I haven't been able to get the "Holy Ghost" update from him.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that our family has had to go through this process with Bryan. Watching him learn about the gospel has been an unforgettable opportunity. Since I haven't been on a mission...yet...I feel like I finally had a "missionary moment," even though I really didn't have to do anything except sometimes read a few scriptures, make sure the house was suitable for company and occassionally share my desserts--but I'll still take it as a missionary experience.

Trevor's Bowl

Trevor had a woodshop class last semester in school. His counselor messed up his schedule so he ended up taking this class even though he didn't want to. He was very nervous about being in the class since he was the only one without a moustache. In the end, though, I think he was kind of glad he took it. He made some really cool things. He made a carving of his name, a jewelry box and a bowl which is my very favorite. I even share my mitre saw with him now and let him help me cut my casings and baseboards.

Abnormal Cravings

I've been doing amazingly well with my Don't Eat Crap diet and went for almost two whole weeks without any sugar at all. Since then, I've really cut down on my sugar intake since I was able to slow my insane sugar cravings. I almost feel like a normal person--someone who doesn't have to be constantly eating sugar.

On Saturday we went to the BYU/USC volleyball game and stopped at Diddy Riese afterwards. I love Diddy Riese. Whenever I go I am so sad when I have finished eating my ice cream cookie sandwich and I always wish that Chris would let me order two. I know, I'm a pig. Well, last night I started eating it and it was so sweet and rich that I really could only eat half. I was very disappointed in myself because that never happens to me. I can always eat as much sugar as I want. So I kept eating and eating and forced myself to eat the whole thing. When I was done I felt completely sick to my stomach. It was such a weird feeling. I have NEVER had a sick feeling from eating too much sugar. I have heard that it happens to other people, in face I have seen other people say that they've had enough and can't eat anymore. I have never experienced it. I just thought that they were weak.

I'm not sure if I should be happy that my stomach is finally telling me when too much is too much, or if I am sad that I can't eat two Diddy Riese cookie sandwiches in one sitting. I know this feeling won't last much longer. Now that I'm eating sugar again I'm sure my stomach will quickly adapt to it's normal craving self. I'm just torn between which stomach I like better.

Happy SEVENTEEN!

In the midst of Kelsie's Birth Month I wanted to make sure I posted an official happy birthday blog. Usually, I am the only family member who gets a birthmonth. I allow birthweeks for other family members, but I reserve birthmonth for me. Due to an extremely busy January, I have made an exception to my birthmonth rule and have allowed Kelsie this once in a lifetime birthmonth opportunity, which will come to an end on Saturday (when we actually have our first free night of the month to finally celebrate her birthday dinner.)

Happy Birthday Kelsie! Kelsie's turning (or just turned) seventeen. She is so amazingly talented at everything she does, there really isn't anything she can't do well. She is very smart (except for occassional funny math stories we wont divulge right now). She is beautiful and has perfect hair, even though she straightens it every day which is like putting a knife in my heart every day :(
She's a pretty good kid and hasn't killed her brothers yet, so that's a plus. We love you, Kelsie. Go be seventeen.

Have you seen my....

Chris is always losing things. OK, maybe not losing, but constantly misplacing things and we cannot find them for days, or weeks. He has done this ever since I have known him, in fact I've seen his Mom looking for things she has "misplaced." Chris is constantly losing his keys, wallet, jacket, hat, sweatshirt--basically anything that is not permanently attached to him. (Makes me wonder if he's tried to lose me...hmm.) Things usually turn up within a week or two--except his jackets which he never remembers where he left them. I think it's just so he gets a new jacket every year. Maybe I should try that.

Anyway, it came as no surprise to me around Christmas time when Chris said "Have you seen my cell phone lately?" Obviously, I had not seen it and didn't really think about it too much, figuring it would show up like most other things. (As a sidenote, he lost his cellphone the second day he had it...but it showed up later.) Chris kept insisting it was somewhere in the house amidst all the "Christmas" stuff, but I knew everything was pretty clean, and it wasn't in the house. I thought he left it at work, or in his truck, or at a restaurant, or at the grocery story, or at the post office (common places he finds his misplaced items). The other problem was, he always has his cell phone off, so calling it to try and find where it was isn't always useful, because you don't know if it's in the house, or just off.

Well, the cell phone has finally been located. We don't know exactly where it is, but some Mexican dude (who apparently does not speak English nor do any of his "friends" who he has called around the world while using the lost cell phone for 3 weeks while racking up an extra $200 on our cell phone bill) found the lost phone. If you're going to steal an American cell phone, at least speak English!

So, lesson learned. If you lose your cell phone, call your wireless provider and cancel the phone until the phone is found and in your possession. It may save you hundreds of dollars, a lot of stress, and maybe even a marriage (just kidding, babe!)

The Year of the Ox

Apparently, 2009 is the Year of the Ox on the Chinese calendar. As I was going on-line today, my Yahoo homepage had a link to check out my Chinese horoscope for the year. Since I was born in the Year of the Horse, my horoscope "overview" for 2009 reads :

"The Horse may have a challenging year ahead. You may become frustrated with the lack of progress in your career, but you will have to be patient to see the results of your hard work. Beware of your energy levels, as you tend to swing in accordance to your success. You will have to work hard to steer yourself out of ruts with healthy activities and other projects that keep you active. Take comfort in your loved ones and friends who will provide support for you in times of need. Be open to try new things and heed the advice of others in the year of the Ox."

This "Horse" horoscope was also given 4 neutral and 8 unfavorable months. What? No good months for the whole year? What kind of a horoscope is that? 4 OK months and 8 crappy months? So far this month hasn't been so bad, but I hate to use up one of my OK months this early in the year.

Check out your own Chinese horoscope at http://shine.yahoo.com/page/2009-chinese-horoscope/
Don't worry, I'm sure it will be better than mine!

2009

Time to start 2009. The Christmas decorations are all down--except for the outside lights, but that's Chris' job. The kids go back to school tomorrow (I don't know why they didn't go back today...but they don't seem to mind). We survived all the basketball tournaments during Christmas break and managed to throw in a trip to Knott's Berry Farm and a day trip skiing at Mountain High. Chris brought back some snow and made me a little snowman.
The snowman lasted all night (even surviving the sprinklers). In the morning there was still the base, one nice snowball. As you can see, the dog was not impressed with the snowman.

I started my DON'T EAT CRAP diet today. Chris predicted I could go half a day without sugar...but I've made it almost 3/4 a day so far. We'll see how long it will last. I'm not really craving sugar...but I just can't stop thinking about it--is that craving?