Election Time!

At my kids' school they are doing mock elections. William was driving with Ben today and out of the blue he asks,

"Dad, when are you going to vote?"

"I already did. I did early voting. Why?"

"Well, today in school we voted and I was just wondering if you had and who you are voting for."

So of course Ben is now curious and asks him,

"Who did you vote for then?"

"Well, I chose McCain. Because he looks old and just more mature. I think he would be a better boss."

So then Amanda pipes up and says that she too voted for McCain. Of course I am now curious to see what Christian did. So I asked him.

"Well, I voted for Obama because he was mainly in the video that they showed me. I never really saw anything about the McCain man. So I chose Obama."

So moral of the story - be the man most seen in the video and people will vote for you. Who needs advisors when you have kids?

Seriously???

First of all, I am a slacker in the blogging sense. It has taken forever to get my house unpacked and somewhat organized. My office is still a joke, but everything else is ok now.

I have set a goal. I AM going to lose this baby weight that little Alex left me with. So I am at the gym this morning doing my morning workout. Just so you know, I wake up at 5 am in order to fit my new ritual in before my daycare kiddos get dropped off at 7:15. I am on the treadmill at 6:30 next to this crazy superwoman. She is doing a speed of 4.5 at an incline of 7. If you know treadmills you know she is booking it and burning. Out of my peripheral vision I notice that she suddenly yanks off her headset and reaches for something on her console. It is a freakin cell phone! Who on earth needs to take a call at 6:30 am in the middle of an intense workout? Is it really that important? She went on to have a 3 minute conversation while maintaining her current speed and intensity.

I was just thinking how sad is it that we cannot even have one simple hour to get our cardio in without the insane interuption of phones.

Just so you know- if you try contacting me between 5:45-6:45 am you will be out of luck.

I love my kids

Seriously, sometimes my kids say things that amaze me. I forget how young I was when I started pondering about topics beyond how I should do my hair or what to wear. So it surprises me when my kids talk to me like the way William did yesterday.

I was in the kitchen and he was watching me pack boxes when he asked me where do seeds come from. Then he corrects himself before I can answer and says, "I know they come from trees or plants, but where did the first seed start? It had to have a beginning, right?" Then later as we were driving to our new house he asks about water. He has asked before how to create water and we explained that you can't, there is no way to make water. So he is quiet for a while then says, "Well then how come we never run out? We all drink it, flush toilets, and shower and yet we still don't run out. How come?" I left that one to Ben to answer. I hate to break it to the kid how it has all been recycled through a person at some point or another.

I guess you also have to know William to understand why his questions sometimes surprise me. He has always been the more, shall we say "active" of my kids. At some points I even wondered if he did not have ADD. But I have to say he has been such a quick learner and is definitely a deep thinker, more than I have given him credit for.

I love watching our kids grow and learn and discover the world around them. To raise them from the age that Alex is and see how they develop is so much fun. I just cannot believe how fast the time flies. Enjoy it while we can.

They grow up so fast!

It is unbelivable how quickly time flies when you are raising children. Let me explain.

Christian has been coming home these past few days talking about a girl in his class named Hunter. Apparently he overheard Hunter and her friend Linda talking about how Hunter has a crush on Christian. He confronted them about it and she admitted to his face that, "she likes him." So he comes home and tells me all about his day. Well later on I see him writing a note with a picture drawn on it. I ask him what it is about, so he shows me. In a nutshell he tells Hunter he has a "crush" on her too. He tells me he plans to leave this note on the corner of her desk so when she comes back from gym she will see it.

Ben drove the boys to school today and he called me after he dropped them off. He said the entire way Christian was so nervous about leaving this note for Hunter. William, the ever practical one, says to him,

"Christian, why don't you just walk up to her and give it to her. She knows it is from you anyway because you signed it!"

"No way! That would be embarrasing!"

So now I await the results of this dramatic day for my son and to hear if his heart will be broken. William had some questions for me yesterday on the way home from school about this whole developing "love" relationship between his brother and Hunter. It went something like this.

"Now that Christian and Hunter like each other what happens next?"

"Well, nothing happens. What would happen?"

"You know, when people fall in love, don't they get married or something? What happens?"

"Christian is not in love. He just likes Hunter a little more than the other girls. That is not love."

Christian says, "I do too, Mom! She is perfect!"

And so it begins. Bring on third grade.

I was talking about this situation with Ben and wondering aloud if this isn't a bit too young to start having crushes. Ben said he can remember his first crush and playing kissing tag in kindergarten. Of course, anyone who knows Ben will not find that hard to believe at all.

So I got to thinking back when I was young and I remembered my very first crush. Jeffrey McMillan. His dad was a dentist and they lived in our ward in South Jordan, UT. I used to stand outside in the front yard waiting for him to pass by our house on his way home from school. I was seven. Each day I tried to think of something different and unique to get him to notice me. One day I set up a tee-pee in the front yard in the hope that he would find it too cool to resist and want to come and see it. Didn't work. The next day I was blowing up a balloon and acting like I did not know how to do it in hopes that he would offer his seven-year-old experience. I was ignored. Day after day I tried for his attention and was heartbroken when his affections went to my best friend Lisa. They played kick ball without me. Devastating.

Just in case you were wondering how on earth I remember all of that, I was a very avid journal keeper as a child and teenager. I made sure to document all of the major events such as Jeffrey McMillan for future prosperity to enjoy. You can thank me now for sharing with you. :-)

My Diagnosis

OK, I went to the ER night before last, but due to my computer being taken over by some text eating virus, and then me subsequently throwing it off the roof out of frustration, I was unable to post my results. OK, not really. But that is absolutely what I felt like doing.

The Doctor took x-rays and came back saying that I have a deep tissue contusion. Basically a really bad bruise. They said to take Ibuprofen and prescribed pain pills for the severe discomfort. My leg looks like someone took a bat to the back of it. If I can figure out a way of taking a picture that does not display all of my ass-ets I may post it for your viewing pleasure. I don't think I have ever had a bruise quite like this one.

In addition to my leg injury, I jarred my arm and neck pretty good, but other than some discomfort nothing is permanently damaged. It would have probably been easier and less painful had I actually broken something, because this whole tissue damage thing is going to take quite a while to heal according to the doctor.

So the lesson learned here - don't be ADD like I am and change course at the last minute before descending the stairs. Tragedy may ensue.

The End.

I am such a clutz

I cannot believe myself sometimes. I am on my way down the stairs to do some laundry when just as I begin to descend I remember that I need to get something out of my room. Well apparently my brain did not communicate this to my feet because they decided to keep on going. The result? My right foot slipped out from underneath me. I tried to turn my body to catch the railing but failed. I landed with all 150 pounds of me on my right femur sideways. I felt something snap. Could have been my neck, my back, my leg. I am not sure. But it is quite swollen and I am on my way to the ER now. Will post my results later. Wish me well.

Time to blog finally...

OK, I have time to myself finally! Ben has taken the kids camping to Glen Rose/Lake Whitney for the weekend and I am home alone with the baby. I had initially planned to go but Alex came down with fever, cough, snot nose, etc three days ago. He was put on breathing treatments 3 times a day with a follow-up scheduled for yesterday to see how his lungs were doing. Well he is still sick and now is vomiting everything he eats and has a double ear infection. So we are staying home while the others go out for a fun weekend. At least I will get to watch all of the movies I have wanted to see but have waited since there is always something more pressing going on. The remote is MINE!

On to my anniversary that I thought was so great. Ben always asks me "what do you want for (insert event here)." I am not too big on gifts since I can never think of what I want/need the most so I usually reply, "surprise me." Things that mean the most to me are sentimental ideas. Write a letter, take the kids out for the day, just do something along those lines, ideas like that are the best gifts in my opinion.

So our anniversary comes and he gets up, gets the kids ready for school and leaves for work/school. I actually figured he had forgotten what the day was since he usually does forget little details like that until I remind him later on. I had planned to make him his favorite dinner for when he got home that night. I am not big on cooking as everyone who knows me knows this to be true, so that was going to be quite the gift as far as I am concerned.

I get a text from him saying he is working on a project and will likely be home late. No big deal to me, I know how things go. So I am on the treadmill running my bum off when I hear Daisy freaking out barking. Around the corner comes Ben with a little gift bag. So I pause my workout, wipe off my attractive sweat and greet him with a little kiss.

Inside the gift bag was a card that I will absolutely treasure forever. I won't say exactly what it said, but in a nutshell it talked about how much he values the last nine years we have spent together and he would not have changed a single moment of it. How much he is looking forward to the rest of our lives together and all of the experiences we have yet to share with each other. There was more, but it may bore you and I want to keep my little love note personal, or at least somewhat personal.

Then I opened the gift. I absolutely love the Willow Tree figurines. So Ben picked out the absolute perfect one. The card that comes with it says, “For those who have found their true partner in love and life.” Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I love my husband. He also arranged for his mom to get the kids from school so we went on a real date! How long has it been? Lunch, a movie, my day was perfect.

Here's to another perfect nine years. Bring it on. I love you baby!

Happy Anniversary to ME!!!

Wow, against all odds we made it to nine years! It is late, so I won't write about what a perfect husband I have just now. But stay tuned for one heck of a story. I love my man.

See you tomorrow!

What a weekend

Sometimes it feels like the work will never be done. We have been spending the weekend cleaning out the kids' rooms, closets, the garage, etc. in our house in preparation for moving. It feels awesome to actually clean things out and feel like we are making a dent in the cleaning. It stinks as well when you look around and see all of the items we have and they have to be packed and dealt with. Overwhelming...

We are still waiting to hear back on a home in Keller that we made an offer on. It is by far my favorite, but the current owner had some unrealistic expectations which we had to negotiate on and we wait to hear. We are still planning on moving the first week of June after school lets out. It is absolutely bittersweet. I hate the idea of leaving Decatur. I love it here! But with Ben working in Fort Worth the gas is killing us. There are other issues that take too long to go into, but it will be a great move for our family at this point in time. Let's just hope we enjoy Keller as much as we have loved Decatur. I do not look forward to the traffic again. Definitely have not missed that.

We have had Chase and Austin with us this weekend as well. The kids love having their cousins come over and play. They spent the entire day out hunting for "cougars" and building a dam in Terabithea. They were filthy dirty but had loads of fun so it is hard to fault them for their mess. One thing is for certain though, I don't think that Ben will ever convince me to have more children like he wants. I am good with four. Plenty good.

I have started running again. I am pathetically out of shape. I did a 5k and it took me 50 minutes to complete. That is insane. I used to do it between 20-30 minutes. Oh well, I will get back to it. At least I am making the effort again.

Love her or leave her?

Not Amanda - the dog is who I am talking about. Why on earth did I ever pad train my dog? I thought it would be so much simpler to do it this way rather than have to take her out in the weather, or leave her kenneled all day when we are gone, but I am really, really second guessing this decision. Case in point, last night we forgot to lock Daisy up in her bed so when Ben came downstairs this morning he looked around to see if she had got into anything while we slept. He saw nothing immediately. He leaves for work and thinks nothing more of it. Well when I came down an hour later after my shower she has left some really disgusting, questionable remains on her pad. It is obvious that she has eaten a diaper from somewhere- - it is sad that I can tell this just by looking at her little poopies. So I go on my quest through the house to find what I know I will find. Sure enough, upstairs in the kids bathroom is the remnants of a diaper all shredded and eaten on the floor. So I get to clean up this disgusting mess. I then proceed downstairs to clean up her pad and mop the floor where she is. I fold the pad all up and ask William to carry it carefully to the garbage can. As my luck would have it one of the corners slips from his fingers and he spills the contents all over the kitchen floor. My patience is all but gone now. Don't worry, I did not blow up at him - - it was not his fault- - I just counted to ten, finished laying out a new pad, went to the kitchen to clean up yet ANOTHER mess from this lovely dog of ours. What stinks (no pun intended) is that this is a daily occurrence here at my house. Cleaning up her pad that it is. I love our dog. The kids love her. She is fun and energetic and it really is not her fault that she has to defecate and void and we just so happened to train her how to do it on those stupid puppy pads for our convenience. I just don't know what to do to save my sanity.

She is really quite amusing at times. In fact, at this precise moment while I type she is attacking the window with her little paws because there are bees flying around just outside of it and she is desperately trying to get at them. Kind of cute.

Perhaps when we move we will just have to install a doggie door and re-train her on where she needs to do her business and my nerves will then get a break. My kids make enough messes for me to deal with without having to add a dog to the mix.

SNOW!!!

This is unbelievable. I don't think I have ever seen this much snow in Texas! I started heading home from Fort Worth at 12pm today and did not pull into my driveway until 6pm! Crazy! The DOT shut down almost every highway in Wise County it seems.

We could not pull into the driveway for all of the snow that was here. My van is stuck down at the base of the drive for however long it takes for this stuff to melt.

William was so proud of his first snow angel.

Here is the road that goes between Mom and Dad's house and ours. Or better known to the kids as "The road to Terabithia."

This was at 4pm this afternoon. Unbelievable.

Erikah's battle...

I got a call this morning from Susan (my oldest sister). She wanted to let me know that our niece Erikah is back at Dallas Children's Hospital again. She was sent via ambulance last night because she was not breathing and turning an ugly shade of blue. When she got to the ER she had about five doctors surrounding her and working her up. It turns out she has pneumonia in both lungs and the bacteria has spread through her blood stream. Her blood pressure was 60/20 with a heart rate of 185. She has since received a blood transfusion and they are going to sedate her and put her on a ventilator to assist her with her breathing. They have attempted to put a PICC line in, but have had no success due to her severe dehydration. Chalea said they may have to put her under anesthesia to do it. The docs told Chalea that had they not brought her in she likely would not have made it through the night. She is a very sick little baby right now.

What makes this so difficult is that Erikah is a transplant patient. She received a new liver about 5 months ago. She is just over one year old and has had quite a struggle in her short life. She was born with no bile duct in her liver so she was not able to rid the toxins from her body. She was put on the transplant list and was lucky enough to receive one before she got too sick to be able to be considered. Now she will be on suppressants for the rest of her life, thus making it incredibly easy to pick up the simplest of viruses.

I pray for my brother and his wife that the Lord will give them the strength to see them through yet another trial and keep them strong.

And I thought my Monday was a bad one. Count your blessings.

I thought I was going to die!

Well, ok, that may be just a bit dramatic, but oh well.

So tonight I am on the phone with my sister Sarah. We are making plans to get together tomorrow and gossip about all of the people we don't like. (Just kidding. Sort of) I am sitting in my dining room since the kitchen floor is drying after I was a good little housekeeper and mopped it all clean. But I digress. On to why I almost died. All of the kids have been tucked into bed by this time so I am all alone downstairs. From where I am sitting I can see into the kitchen and the living room. I tell you this so you understand that what I am about to explain is not as easy as you may think. So while Sarah is chattering away about what time she will arrive tomorrow I suddenly feel a warm hand on my back. I FREAKED out!!! Somehow Christian snuck downstairs and got behind me without me even being aware of his presence. He was supposed to be in bed and sleeping. I can see the stairs from where I am sitting! He thought it was the absolute funniest thing in the world. And of course, based on my reaction he will be ready and hiding in any remote location he can find to get the same response as soon as he can. Be still my beating heart. My kid may not survive to adulthood. Just warning you.

All dressed up with no place to go...

It always seems to happen this way. I get up with plenty of time to get all of the kids bathed, hair done, dressed, fed, etc. to make it to church by 9:40 so we can actually sit on a pew. Well as luck would have it William cannot find one of his church shoes so we begin the frantic tearing apart of his room to locate it. After searching for 15 minutes through all of the toy bins, closet, under the bed, Amanda says, "Oh, I know where it is." She walks into her room and brings it out of her desk. Of course! Why did I not think of that? That would be the most logical of all places to put it.

So now it is 9:50 and time to go. Amanda's hair is still wet from her bath and Alex is needing to be fed. So I tell Ben to go ahead and save us a seat and we will follow right behind him. So while I am blow drying her hair she starts to say she does not feel so well. I figure it is because she did not eat all of her breakfast. We finally get Alex buckled in to his seat, get the car loaded with our things, and pull into church at 10:30. As we are walking through the parking lot to the building Amanda starts crying, I ask her what is wrong and she says, "I think I am going to throw up!" So much for church now. I check her forehead and sure enough, she is now warm. She was not earlier by the way. So I go in and peek into the chapel and let Ben know we are just going to turn around and go back home. All my rush and work for nothing.

So here we sit on the couch at home. She is running a 101.3 temp and I am on the computer. Like I said, all dressed up with no place to go. :-) What a day.

Copy Cat

I am following in the footsteps of Elisabeth and starting a blog. I have all of these good intentions of keeping family and friends up to date on what is going on, or something the kids will say will make me want to tell others and I never seem to get around to it. Perhaps this will work???

Life is great. Ben is FINALLY finishing up his degree in marketing and logistics. He has to take 9 hours over the summer and will be done. What a relief it will be. Next up for higher learning will be ME! I am going to start my prerequisites for nursing school this fall.

Little Alex is absolutely adorable! I cannot believe three months has already gone by!! I am 100% addicted to my little baby. The kids adore him as well. Amanda is always talking to him or teaching him new songs. She has taken it upon herself to make sure he knows all of his nursery rhymes. Too cute.

Christian was just baptized this last Sunday. I still cannot believe that I have a child that age. Where has the time gone? He was so incredibly mature about the whole thing. He said to Ben after it was over that he felt "really good." He is proud to be called Brother Nibarger now. He beams with pride.

Like I said, life is great.