A Moment of Silence

It's a sad day here.  After 3y8m3d, a trip to India and another one on a ship to Mexico, and spending almost it's entire life in my hands or my purse....my Kindle has died.  It didn't deserve it's death.  I loaned it to Matthew so he could do some school reading and he didn't make sure it was all the way on his desk when he jumped up to answer the phone and it fell screen first on to the floor.  The screen is completely busted and at this point, there is nothing anyone can do to bring it back.

The only good news from this tragedy is that I called Amazon just to see what would happen and I was offered a new one at a discounted price plus a credit to help with accessories (cover, screen protector, etc). I'm getting the Kindle Touch I've been coveting but unwilling to replace a perfectly good working Kindle with.  Same screen size but so much smaller than mine.

And Matthew is not getting near it for a looooooong time to come.



As for the rest of life, I haven't been updating because this whole buying/selling a house thing is sooooo much more stressful than I could have imagined.  To make a long story short, we are supposed to close escrow on Friday but we have yet to sign loan docs because they keep coming up with more paperwork to ask for and we are now down to the wire.  It's a truly stupid process because every time they find one thing that they need verified or more documentation on or whatever, they kick it back to the loan broker and stop the entire process.  Then you go to the bottom of the queue once you turn that in.  Then they find something else that needs more documentation and the entire process if halted again and kicked back to the loan broker.  This has been going on 45 days now.   I'm nauseous and stressed out after dealing with all of this and sick to think that they may kick it back to us yet again for some other stupid piddly thing which will mean we won't be able to make our escrow close date.  Even after we sign the loan docs, there will be more of this crap before they will actually fund the loan which needs to take place the day before escrow closes.  That would be Thursday, you know 4 days away.  Yeah, it's been a whole lot of fun with all this and to top it off, we still don't even have a solid offer on our current place.  I think it will sell faster once we are out and it looks more spacious without what 6 people need to survive comfortable but it's yet another stress at this point.

It's Official!!!

Ok, I've been meaning to update for ages first with pictures and a diary of our trip and then just general stuff but the last few months have been crazy trying to get ready for the school year (which started Aug 13 and I still have yet to actually take First Day of School pictures) and trying to keep up with our house trying to get it sold and researching and looking at houses for sale trying to find one we liked and could actually get into.

Well, it's been crazy but I can announce that we just signed the last of the paperwork to buy our new house! No, this one hasn't sold yet but hopefully it will soon since there isn't much in the area and I do think it might sell faster when we aren't living here.  I keep cleaning but unfortunately, there are these children who keep messing.

But back to the whole new house thing.  It's amazing.  5 bedrooms!  Oldest two plan on sharing which is great since we need one for an office but the younger two can be separated which will do wonders for everyone's sanity.  3 bathrooms!  Maybe now we can eliminate the potty lines!  A HUGE yard!  Seriously, it's amazingly huge and so wonderful for Nick to have running room!  We'll be able to really take a stab at growing our own fruits and vegetables.  Jon is really keen to have an apple tree so that's a definite.  There's room for chickens too which is another thing the kids have been wanting and I can finally have a big dog like I've been wanting!

So now the countdown is officially on.  This is Day 0 and on Day 60 we get the keys to our new home!

(Oh yeah, and because we're crazy, Mark starts his new job on the 17th.  He's been miserable so it's a good thing but this new job also requires monthly travel to NY or China...Good times!)

Crazy Storage Locker Happenings

Ok, I was going to start doing posts about our vacation but last night's craziness was just too much not to get down for all time.  It started innocently enough, as these things usually do, at around 8p.  I had just served dinner when my friend called to say she was on her way over to grab our extra food processor after she grabbed a bite and I told her to just come over as I had plenty leftover.  As I went to sit down I figured, hey, why not head over to the storage locker and grab the food processor so we don't have to do that when she's here.  Save some time, right?

Or not.

I got there and now I admit, I can never remember if we are unit 5 or 6 so I usually look at the locks.  Well, huh, neither one looks right.  The one on 6 is the big round one they sell here which I didn't buy and the one on 5 is covered in black rubber and I'm pretty sure that ours was just straight metal.  Well, I'll go try the key on 5 since maybe I'm just misremembering.  Nope, doesn't work.  I try a few more times. Still doesn't work.  I call Mark to check with him and get told that yep, it's unit 5 and no our lock is not covered in black rubber.

WTF?!?!?!  Someone has broken our lock off and replaced it!  This is not the lock the storage company uses when you are in default, nor the way they put it on, plus we are totally current in our payments and the only letter I've had from them in ages is telling me that the rent goes up next month.

Ok, I'm totally freaking out at this point.  Since we are in the process of showing our house the vast majority of our possessions are in that locker including baby clothes and blankets knit by my late grandmother, baby pictures, all our artwork, my books.  None of it is really worth much to anyone else but it's our world and someone else has access to it and I don't!

I called the storage locker company and got the answering machine as I expected.  I called my friend and begged her to pick up another lock so I could double-lock it at least so the other people couldn't easily get back in. She was almost to my house but like a true friend turned around and headed back into town to grab one for me and her only question was "combo or key".  She was here with me when the Sheriff arrived.  He listened to my incoherent story and confirmed that I had the legal right to cut that lock off since I pay the rent for the locker and the storage facility didn't put the lock on it.  He offered to be there when we cut it off if we could find a pair of bolt cutters.

Then began the search for bolt cutters.  My friend's parents had some so we went there first and searched the garage but to no avail.  Then it was time for me, her, and her parents to start calling people we knew who might possibly have such a thing.  It took some time but finally my friend remembered one friend who was close enough that might have access to a pair and we hit paydirt.  In the meantime, another friend with a hacksaw had stopped by the house, grabbed Matt, and was waiting at the storage locker for us as well.

I called the Sheriff back and about 30min later he finally joined us and we all went in.  He was asking if I was sure this was the right locker since, oh, boy would that be the biggest joke on us all if I was wrong.  I assured him I was right and my friend cut the lock.  I was terrified of what I might find but thankfully it opened up to all our stuff right there filled almost to the brim.  I admit I haven't been there lately but it sure didn't look like it had been picked over.  I was almost ready to collapse from relief at that point as I'd been a complete nervous wreck.

Oh, and the food processor was right there in the front where it should be and I was able to give it to my friend so all's well that ends well but tomorrow I'm going to the storage company and getting one of their big, uncuttable locks because I never want to go through that again.

Ummmm...Whoops?!

Yeah, wow, um almost 7mos since I last posted.  I kept meaning to and really, I have no good reason why not except I just didn't and I'm ending it now with a recap of what has happened since my last post:

• I managed an incredible sprain of my left ankle in the beginning of Dec which had me first in a roboboot (which we decorated for the holiday season) and eventually in a cast (my first ever and just in time for Easter).  It's still not 100% healed and I'm still cranky about it (which may or may not have something to do with my long absence here).
• We finally put our house on the market.  Things were slow at first but we had a couple of showings while we were on vacation a few weeks ago and another 2 last week right after we got back.  Hoping that this means moving is in our future.
• Christopher graduated high school, Matt graduated 8th grade, Jon graduated 5th, and Nick graduated K!  Hard to believe I now have one in college (full time), one in high school, one in junior high, one in elementary and no more babies!  
• Mark got a promotion at work but so far all that has meant is more work and no raise, no one listening any better to him, and more frustration.  We are both hoping that things start changing around soon.
• We went on an extreme vacation!  A 7-day Disney Cruise through the Western Caribbean and then a week in Orlando.  Lots of rain but lots of fun and I will be doing longer posts about that with some pictures in the coming days.
• Matthew was promoted to 1st Degree Black Belt in Kuk Sool Won back in February.
• I chopped off my hair and donated it to Locks of Love.

I think that's the main stuff that went down.  It wasn't super busy, we were just going along living life and I forgot to write any of it down.  I really want to have this record tho so I'm committing to posting here 3xs a week so if anyone is still reading this, you've been warned.  LOL

Matthew Jamming

Yeah, I totally need to find some time to catch up on life here but in the meantime, here's a video of Matthew playing the song he's working on writing.

We have another reader!

Hard to believe it but the "baby" is reading:

We started his Pre-K year working on the alphabet and basic phonics.  By the end of Pre-K he was well into the first box of Hooked on Phonics and reading simple 3 letter words with short vowel sounds.  He has now finished the 3rd box of Hooked on Phonics which concludes the "1st grade" material and we'll be starting box 4 soon.  Everywhere we go, he is reading signs and if he can't figure it out asking what they say or mean.  It's so incredible to watch as the reading switch has definitely been flipped on!

"I'm a Professional"

We had a work day at Mori Point today to do habitat restoration.  It was rainy and drizzly and I had forgotten jackets because the weather had been nice at home when we left.  Whoops.  Thankfully, we earned our fleece jackets last visit and they had brought them so we were able to use those.  They kept us nice and warm despite the rain and wind.  We were the only ones of our group to show up today and I'm so glad we did.  Jon and Nick made me proud with their willingness to stay and help plant despite the weather.  Nick complained only once when the weather turned really nasty for a few minutes that he wanted to go home and not be there but once he started planting I only ever heard "Let's plant another one" or my favorite from the day (out of Nick, of course) was "Let me do that, I'm a professional".  ROTFL

Afterward, we were covered with mud and our pants were soaked so I took the boys to Starbucks for hot cocoa and a treat.  I figured they more than earned it.

On a more personal note, I was actually able to jog and basically keep up with Nick on the path from the parking lot to the work site and then back again afterward.  Having always hated running, this was totally surprising that I was able to do this.  No problems with my feet and while I was getting tired at the end of each job, I still did it!  Hmmmm....maybe my dream of being able to do a 5K will happen sooner rather than later.

NaBloPoMo

Well, I missed yesterday but I'm going to try to blog for the rest of the month.  Things got incredibly crazy after my surgery and I've almost completely stopped all blogging (I only have 4 blogs to maintain) and I find that I'm missing it so here's to jumping back in.

Why have things been so crazy?  Mostly because I'm an idiot and tried jumping fully back into my normal schedule just 11 days after having my gallbladder removed.  Turns out, yes, you can do most things you were doing before but not ALL of them in one day.  The body is still recovering and knocks you on your a$$ when you try to do that.  Even now, basically a month later, I still find that I tire more easily than I did before and breaks are definitely required.  For those that say it's because I'm out of shape or overweight...Yeah, you obviously don't know me.  I do Turbo Jam 5xs/wk and have since 8 days after the operation.  I walk several miles a week and am training for my black belt in Kuk Sool Won.  I've lost over 15lbs in the last 3mos with 10 of those coming after having the stupid thing out.  Apparently, this crap just takes time to heal and nothing else is going to cut it.  I can do more now without tiring than I could a few weeks ago but at the end of the day of running all over the place with the kids, I'm wiped in a big way.

In house news, well, that's another crazy story.  With all the medical crap going on, things have not been moving along here which has been incredibly frustrating on a number of levels, the biggest one being we are so dang close to listing but not there yet.  One last hurdle is just about done and that is the outside of the house is just about painted.  A little more trim to be done and our Realtor can put us up on the pre-listing sites (I had no idea these even existed).  My big regret tho is the color choice.  I wanted something springy, earthy, welcoming.  Unfortunately, our painter (and a good friend who was doing this on his off time to help us out) said that color wouldn't work and I left it to him and Mark to pick something.  We didn't get a big sample of the color until it was being painted and that's when I started to worry.  Then it went on the house and well, I HATE it!  Seriously, I'm in tears or wanting to vomit every time I see it.  I asked several friends and our Realtor if it was really as bad as all that or if it was just me.  The consensus was...it was just me.  Sh*t!  Everyone else sees it as a nice neutral creamy yellow.  Honestly, it is the exact shade of snot that leaks out of child's nose when they are really sick.  Just a touch more brown and it's the shade of crap you cough up out of your lungs when you feel like death warmed over.  I've seen terminally ill people with skintones that match my house.  So um, yeah, it reminds me of illness and death.  Unfortunately I seem to be the only one so I'm sucking it up and trying to avoid seeing the outside of my house as much as possible.  I've also told Mark that he needs to move his a$$ since it's pretty much all down to what he needs to get done to get us out of here and I need out of here NOW with that paintjob.  It's a shame because the paintjob itself is fantastic and would look incredible...if it were just about any other color.  Once it's done I'll post pictures so everyone else on the planet can assure me that it's all in my head and it will sell just fine to some whackjob who doesn't mind living inside mucus.

Feels like it was too easy

Ok, so here I sit 10 days post gallbaldder removal and I can not believe the difference in how I feel from before.  I have more energy, no more icky feeling all day simply because I ate anything, no more fear of horrid pain, and no more heartburn medicine for something that wasn't heartburn.  Seriously, the recovery has been a breeze.  I started on Tuesday barely able to go around the block. Wednesday I went around the mobile home park.  Thursday I walked up on the bluffs and back on a short hike of 2.5mi.

I talked to the surgeon on Thursday for my follow-up and he cleared me for most things.  I was told to hold off a little longer on jumping and falling at KSW and to wait the full month for weight lifting and eating fried/greasy foods.

So I celebrated by starting Turbo Jam.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  It doesn't sound like much of a celebration but it felt good to get some serious moving going again.  I can't do Tony Horton until I can start weight lifting again because my normal weight amounts are higher than what it is recommended.  I may start a little sooner than that if I'm getting bored with TJ but I know there is still stuff healing inside where I can't see and I don't want to push it.

Friday I took another 2.5mi hike and then Saturday morning I biked into town with Jon to drop him off at the Haunted House for the Pumpkin Festival.  I can tell you for a fact, you use your abdominal muscles when you bike.  I was so sore and achy after that trip since it was 13.5mi and my first time back on a bike since the surgery.  Today I took it easy and just did a 3.5mi hike.

So the answer is yes, I'm feeling much better and healed enough to get back on track with life.  I do find that I tire a little more easily still so I do know when I overdo it so I'm trying hard to push a little bit to see continued improvement but not so hard as to cause set-backs.  Getting more sleep at night might help with this as well.  Pretty sure they told me to get more than 5hrs a night but that's what I'm back to.  *sigh*  Really need to figure out how to get more.

In all tho, a good procedure with successful recovery and I'm a much happier camper!

Recovery update

So I'm on day 4 without a gallbaldder. So far, it's not too bad. I don't feel icky and bleh every time I eat which is nice. I'm still eating super lowfat so not sure how things are going to be once I reintroduce higher fat foods but I'm going to take it easy getting those back in the diet. It's not like I need them anyway, just like being able to have them occasionally. 

I'm off the vidcodin now and just using ibuprofen to deal with the pain so I can get up and move around as much as possible. Hoping to be able to start doing little walks by the end of this week and just slowly build up from there. Just going to listen to my body which is currently saying that walking around the house and spending lots of time sitting completely upright is quite enough, thank you very much. 

I plan to start tracking my food again starting tomorrow. Not sure I'm going to try hard to stay in a certain calorie range as I need to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients to help my body heal but more that I want to just start back on the habit and making sure I'm not sure mindlessly noshing but rather keeping it to 5-6 small meals a day like they recommend, make sure I'm getting enough fiber, stuff like that. 

But in all, I'm glad I did this. I really do think I'll feel much better in the long run.


Tomorrow Mark heads back to work and I'll have to deal with things around the house by myself.  (yet another reason to get off the vicodin)  Between him, my MIL, and a couple of friends, I have rides lined up so the boys can get to all their activities.  So thankful for that extra help as otherwise we would have had to cancel everything for a week because I don't think I should be pushing to drive yet.  Still need to talk to Mark and figure out how we are going to handle meals.  I'm doing better but I'm not too keen on standing up for 30+ min to get dinner prepared.  I'm thinking our crockpot maybe getting a workout this week.  The big thing is to make sure it's either something lowfat so I can eat it or that I have an alternative.  I want to feel a little more healed before I start putting too much fat back into my diet.  Besides, just maybe this means my body will metabolize the fat I already have if I keep it on the super low side.  Hey, a girl can hope!

Good-Bye Gallbladder!

Yep, it's another doctor post.  I'm just going to start off by saying this once...my current "personal physician" is an incompetent ass!  I have continued to have attacks of severe pain on and off since the first one almost 2mos ago.  The prilosec doesn't help.  I've been following the SparkPeople recommendations on fat intake figuring that was probably what was considered low-fat since my stupid doctor gave me zero helpful information.  Apparently that doesn't matter tho and my gallbladder simply doesn't like even lean cuts of beef or pork and every time I eat either, I end up with another attack.  If I eat high-fat even one day, I pay for it.  Even avoiding those foods for the rest of my life and sticking to a very low-fat diet was not going to cure this.  There is no cure for gallstones except removal of the gallbladder and most especially, losing weight wasn't going to do a darn thing for it.

I ended up having 2 bad attacks last week and a couple of minor ones.  At Chris's birthday party (still need to do the write-up on that!), I had another mild attack but couldn't tell if it was going to be a bad one or not so I had my mom drive me to the ER.  We got in there and I made sure everyone knew that this had been going on for a while even tho this attack had passed, the results of my u/s, and my "doctor's" advice.  I was told immediately upon examination by the ER Dr. that it could indeed be my gallbladder causing these problems and after palpitating, she sent for the surgeon to do a consult with me.

The nurses came in to check on me and let me know that the surgeon on call was one of the best and I was lucky to get in with him.  He came to talk to me and had a good bedside manner although I'm pretty sure he thought I was completely nuts wanting to know how quickly I could get back to my exercise and KSW training. *shrug*   He agreed that the gallbladder needed to come out and stated again that losing weight was never going to fix this, surgery was the only cure.  He didn't want to have to do surgery right then if the pain had passed (it had before we even reached the hospital but I wanted to be seen as soon after an episode as possible).  The good news is that my liver is still functioning totally normally and that if I keep to a very bland and low-fat diet and avoid trigger foods, he was confident I could stay out of pain until the surgery to remove it.

When is that?

Thursday!

Yep, he didn't want to wait long to do the procedure because even being cautious it can still be problematic and as I have been figuring out, there are a whole host of foods (pretty much everything) that will cause me some icky feelings even if they don't lead to a full on attack.  It's likely the reason I've spent the last couple of years feeling off and icky in the stomach much of the time.  This just means that yes, we are doing the right thing and I'm totally comfortable with the decision.  After having done research when the pain first started, I had realized it was likely the gallbladder and when I found out yes, mine was filled with stones and I researched that and saw that the only  treatment was surgery to remove it, I knew it was in my future.

So the end result is that I'm spending these last couple of days with my gallbladder eating really bland, boring food and trying to get things in order before the surgery.  It is outpatient and it all goes well, I'll be home the same day.

Where to start????

Really not sure.  There is so much going on here right now and while it's mostly good, it's all adding to the chaos.

I guess we'll just go with the start of the day and take it in chronological order from there.

* Met with our Realtor to discuss getting the house listed.  We have done all the major repairs and most of the painting is done.  Just have master bathroom and laundry room to paint and a lot of touch-up and detail work   I'm meeting with the painter who is doing the exterior tomorrow to get a time frame on that so the hope is to have things ready enough to list by the time that is completed.  The grand hope, that this is accomplished by Halloween.  There is only one other house for sale in the park at the moment so that helps.  Our next step (besides getting things finished around here) is to take care of a few bills and talk to the loan broker to see about getting pre-approved.  It's starting to become a lot more real all of a sudden.

* Ian's birthday party was this afternoon at LaserQuest.  The boys have all stated that this is where they want all future birthday parties held.  While I don't think that's going to happen, I do foresee having a few parties there in the next year.  It was a total blast and I managed to not completely embarrass myself coming in 5th place the first round and 7th the second (out of 12).  I figure so long as I was beating the 5yr olds, I was ok.  LOL

* Tomorrow Nicholas has a dentist appointment in the morning, I need to get the house cleaned, and I'm meeting with the painter.

* Saturday we are dropping Nick off with Mark's parents and big boys at KSW then heading to the memorial for my friend Paul.  Afterward, we are hooking up with my brother for some adult conversation and then he's heading home with us.  My poor inlaws will get to deal with the crazy Saturday morning run-around of KSW and soccer. I think it will be good for them.

* Sunday is Christopher's birthday and we are having his party here.  Why?  Mostly because he couldn't come up with a better plan.  Having a ton of people over when things are still so chaotic here so I have to get things cleaned up when I really only have one day to do so is NOT my idea of fun.

* Monday starts our usual weekly chaos.  Ugh!

So yeah, tons going on.  In between all that, I'll be trying to breathe a bit and not fall too behind all the other stuff.  Wish me luck!

Really Need More Hours

I know this is a frequent refrain, not just from me but from most people but seriously, I need more.  Or a clone.  Maybe just a few more pairs of hands and a lot more brain cells.

We are still trying to get through this remodel because other crap (called life) keeps coming up.  I keep watching my regular todo list multiply and even when I can cross something off, it usually ends up being one of those things were it's only crossed off for a day or two before I need to do it again like laundry.

My current week schedule sees me going pretty much all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Seriously.  I'm home less than I'm away and we are pretty much only home enough to eat and maybe do a little school before heading out again.  It makes keeping up on anything during those days pretty much impossible.  I figure if the laundry keeps cycling through so I can fold it sometime after Wednesday and the dishes get done daily and there is a homecooked meal, I'm doing good.  Generally Thursday is a stay at home day and Friday we are home until afternoon.  This gives me time at home to get some stuff done.  Saturday mornings are filled with more activities but then once we get home, unless something else has come along to fill our weekend, I'm home until Monday morning when everything starts all over again.  It's not perfect but generally I can manage to keep up most of the weekly stuff I've been keeping up on during those couple of days.

The problems arise in either a) trying to get ahead on projects that I've now fallen behind in (like the bills), b) trying to tackle new projects that have just popped up and require attention (like this blasted remodel), or c) people start falling ill which is what happened last week.  Could people get sick on the busy days so we could just laze at home on those days?  Of course not.  Everyone started getting ill on Wednesday night.  Mark and Matthew were the hardest hit.  Christopher didn't get it (although he seems to be fighting coming down with it now) but had a pulled muscle in his ribcage.  Jon was ok on Thursday but was throwing up intermittently on Friday.  I spent several days feeling like I was trying to come down with something so I was taking massive loads of my wellness blend while taking care of the sick people and running the healthy around where they needed to go plus take care of all the errands.  And did you notice who wasn't mentioned in all this?  Yep, Nick has been feeling just fine thank you very much.

But since all this was happening during what is normally our "down time" at home for me to get stuff done, very little got down and I'm already falling behind in the few things that I was on top of again. *sigh*  I already don't get enough sleep and am trying to get more and exercise more and all that health jazz but really, to do it all 24hrs a day just isn't enough.  No scheduling is going to perform the miracle I need.

Taking time to remember

I've been taking a lot of time to remember lately.  Not just today and the tragic events of 10yrs ago, but the others who have passed out of my life.  Not in a sad way, but simply taking time to remember them because if we remember, they are not gone.  So long as they live in our hearts and minds, they are still here with us.  Maybe not in the way we would like, the physical, but their legacy is preserved by taking what they've taught us and incorporating that into our lives and then, when we do it, remembering why those things are part of our lives now when they weren't always.

Yesterday, I went to the city to get some chocolate and walked with my two youngest.  I made it a point to go by Union Square and also by St. Patrick's church.  I remembered my grandmother who died when I was 15.  Not in a sad way, but just simply being in the places I would go with her and letting her presence wash over me.

Today, we are enjoying the freedoms that we have as Americans and remembering all those who have given their lives so that we can keep those freedoms.  Instead of living in fear, I choose to live with joy.  I feel that is the best legacy we can take away from those times.  That we will not be beaten down but will rise stronger from the ashes, more committed to reaching out our hands in friendship and understanding, to promote peace between all peoples.

Be kind to yourself and be kind to each other.  Smile at a stranger for you were once a stranger to someone else.  Respect the difference of opinion and learn what you can from it.

Really don't like my doctor

I don't think I've complained about her in a while so it's definitely time.  I FINALLY got a letter about my u/s.  She tells me that I've got tons of stones but that since there was no sign of inflammation, she doubts it was the cause of my pain.  Hmmm...with lots of stones would it be possible that I passed a couple?  Sure seems to fit the facts there.  She goes on to tell me that I have fatty deposits in my liver and I need to eat a healthy low-fat diet (never ONCE having asked me what my normal diet is, just assuming since I'm overweight that I eat a high-fat crap laden diet....NOT!).  Again, no talking to me at all.  Again, no talk of getting me into a nutritionist since what I may consider low-fat and what I really need to be eating may be different.  Again, no talk about the freaking prescription that the last doctor put me on!

Yes, I'm still trying to get rid of her.  Need to bug Mark again about seeing if his doctor is available or can recommend someone.  If not, I'm going to see about making my OB my primary.  Only reason I haven't done this sooner is that she tends to be really booked so getting appointments with her may be harder but this one is a total joke.

Some Baby Steps

There really is so much going on in my life right now between taking care of kids and all their activities and various needs plus schooling and then you add in running the household and now the remodel as well.  There are a lot of days that I want to run screaming for the hills because it is all just so overwhelming.  I can't do that since every time I've tried the kids just run after me and those buggers are fast.  They cry and hug me and beg me to come back and I get suckered in for another round.  (J/K....mostly)

I've spent a lot of time just trying to get by and it's working...sort of.  Everyone has clean clothes even if they do have to get them out of the laundry basket.  There is food in the house and most of the time, the bills even get paid.  Kids are where they need to be mostly on time and school gets done.  But it's stressful.  The messier the house the gets, the more things aren't getting done, the more I shut down and have a hard time focusing on all the things that need to get done because there are just so freaking many.  It's a problem I'm aware of and I keep working on but it's a hard one to power through some days.  I know many people have it and I'm careful to make sure that things don't get so overwhelming that we can't maintain the basics but some days, even doing that much is sooo hard.

I recently took over cleaning the kitchen again.  Giving it to Chris hasn't worked out in terms of telling him (and showing him a bazillion times) and then leaving to go do other things.  So I've given up on that for now.  I've taken it back and just having the kitchen clean has made a huge difference for how I feel and my motivation to get things done.  All to the good.

I've also been doing a lot to get organized in other ways.  I got some spreadsheets done for organizing the grades for the boys so I can actually know exactly how they are doing rather than the rough "well, it's at least an 80% since I don't accept anything lower" I've been going by.  I've also made up spreadsheets for all their lessons so I can see what our make-up situation is like.  Much better than having to ask and wait for people to get back to me or just not get the make-ups because no one remembers about it.

I'm also back on the healthy lifestyle wagon.  Menu planning is really essential with our crazy schedule these days and I'm sick of the lack of energy and general blah feeling from not working out.  I've joined the BLC17 on SparkPeople and another one that starts soon by some friends on Facebook.  I've done both of these a number of times but illness or injury has ended up sidelining me and I've just drifted away.  My goal this time is to simply stick with it.  Working exercise back in is going to be hard but I know that it's worth it.  I may not feel that way right now since I had my first date back with Tony and I'm totally sore and totally tired but I know that in a couple of weeks, I will.

So that's where things are at right now.  Hoping I can keep it up as things are only going to get more nuts as the school year continues.

Introducing the Other Half

Dearest Children ~
I know that since you were just a newborn you have looked upon me as your mother to take care of your needs.  Yes, the big weird male type thing would occasionally change your diapers or make funny faces at you but I was the big milk machine who fed you and held you constantly.  I'm all for attachment parenting and I do believe that having a strong bond between parents and children is a good and generally healthy thing.

But that being said, I would like to formally introduce you to the other half of the parenting duo---Your Father. This may come as a shock to you since he is gone much of the time at some mysterious place called "work" doing who knows what although it frequently involves flying stuffed animals and his ability to bring home large quantities of Jolly Ranchers but he is actually more than just someone I talk to on the phone or the lump on the couch hogging the PS3 to play Gran Turisimo instead of letting you play Plants vs. Zombies.

He is, in fact, a person who does actually occasionally possess some intelligence when it comes to problem solving.  Yes, half the time his solutions are liable to cause explosions or further injury but there is the other half of the time when he can actually answer basic questions like "Is this trash?", "Where does this go?", "My nose is stuffy. What medicine can I take?", and even "How do I convert ounces into kilograms?".  I wish to point this out to you because it seems to have escaped your notice that I am not the only person in the universe who can answer these dire, emergency questions.  You do not need to wait 3hrs for me to get home to get these answers nor do you need to come up and wait for me to finish cooking dinner while doing dishes, keeping the laundry going, cleaning the floor, and cleaning out the fridge all at the same time while your father is sitting on the couch playing video games or sitting at his computer looking at LOL Catz and stupid Reddit postings.

So please, for the love of what little sanity I have left, go ask your father these all consuming questions when I am otherwise engaged.  He may not know the answer but if that's the case, then come talk to me.  But if  you could at least try, it would go a long way in keeping me from biting your head off when you try to ask me these inane questions when I'm already doing 17 other things all at once.

Love
Your Mother

Pics from our new Tuesday routine

 Just a few pictures from our crazy Tuesday line up that got in full swing today....

Nick practicing backstroke

 Jon doing the same

Getting instruction from his favorite teacher

His very first piece in clay class.  Today was his first lesson and they were working on learning the tools and how to texture by making a wall hanging fish.  He had tons of fun making it (despite the face he is making here LOL)

And after all that, it was time for soccer!  Yes, it's a super crazy, busy day but at least the kids go to sleep easily at the end of the day.

So much going on

Haven't written in a couple of days because I've been falling into bed exhausted at night.  Something about 5.5hrs of sleep each night and then running around all day seems to do that to me.  No clue why tho. LOL

First, Nicholas tested last weekend and is now a yellow belt at KSW.  Yes, for those who remember, he had a yellow belt before but that was with following mommy for everything.  When he went into the Little Ninjas program, he went down to just above a starter white belt and spent months gaining the self-discipline to do class on his own and learn the material for himself instead of having to always follow along.  He has truly earned this yellow belt and we are super proud of him.  (I'll be posting pics and videos later after I get them off my phone).

Second, this was our last "quiet" week and things are now starting to gear up around here.  Clay class starts back up on Tuesday and I just got the call from Nick's soccer coach and he'll be practicing Tuesday night.  So the Tuesday schedule will be swim @ 9a for J&N, clay @ 11a for N, clay @ 1p for M&J, soccer @ 6p for N.  Jon wants to start cooking again and planning dinners and I want to do that with him but Tuesday was looking like our best night until this came up.  Now I'm starting to think we may need to do a weekend evening instead because I'm not sure I can do all that plus some sort of school AND a big fancy dinner with Jon.

Third, I've got a well-used but still incredibly frustrating almost 17yr old for sale.  Heck, I'm at the point some days where I'll be happy to pay someone to take him for a bit if they can knock some sense into him.  I've had to take back the chore of cleaning the kitchen because even with a brand-new kitchen, he will not put forth the effort to keep it clean.  The dishes come out of the dishwasher still dirty.  The fronts of the new cabinets are covered in crap.  The beautiful counters are buried under stuff he won't deal with and what little he does clean, he refuses to wipe down with a dry cloth afterward so it has a dull film instead of a beautiful shine.  The sink is always filthy because he refuses to even hose it down after he "does" the dishes.  It's been driving me insane and I finally couldn't take it any more.  Yes, I know he needs to learn to do these things but right now, I need it to be kept clean both so I can use it for cooking and also so it doesn't get destroyed before we even start showing the house.  We are currently trying to figure out what new chores he can do to take the place.  Ones in which a good attention to detail is not necessary.  What is the most frustrating thing tho is that he gets calls from several of our friends to have him come over and do work around their place.  I've been told he does need a bit of supervision and he can get distracted but it doesn't seem to be near as bad as it is here and since they keep bringing him back, he can't be that awful.  I just really worry about his needing so much supervision as it's been apparent so far in college that he isn't making sure he gets what he needs from his teachers and in a job situation, they want independent workers and his needing constant supervision will not help him to keep it.

Lastly, the memorial for Ken was yesterday.  It was a wonderful service with the right touch of dry wit to keep everyone from doing nothing but bawling the whole time.  Linda did a wonderful job on the slideshow after and kept it together beautifully during her speech.  Ian had asked Matthew to read for him but neither of them was sure they could make it through without crying.  In the end, Ian did go up and speak but Matthew was there next to him for support and ready to take over should he need it.  I'm very proud of Ian for getting up there and making it through and I'm also proud of Matthew for being such a true friend during this time.  He has really shown a maturity beyond his years lately and I find myself incredibly overjoyed at what I see.  I can only hope his teen years won't force me to sell him to gypsies.

So that's the news around here.  I hope to have Nick's KSW pics and videos up tomorrow.  Tuesday will be tons more pictures between all the activities starting up especially since it's Nick's first time doing clay.

Tofu Soup

It was grocery shopping day today.  We were out of enough stuff to make a trip to New Leaf worthwhile rather than doing a straight Safeway run so we stopped there first.  They always have yummy organic stuff but I always leave there cringing at how much I just spent for a handful of items which is why I rarely go in.  Unfortunately, they are the only place to get the vitamins for the kids so it has to be done occasionally.

Today while we were browsing a bit, we found their oriental section and they had tons of different miso soup bases and tofu packages.  Miso soup with tofu is one of Nick's most favorite thing in the entire world so when he asked, I said sure.  It was something besides corn dogs so I was all for it.  The thing is, he doesn't call it miso soup.  It's Tofu Soup!  Why?! Because that's the part that he just cant' get enough of.

So let's hear it for Tofu Soup!  The favorite meal of my 5yr old.