Shultz Shenanigans

February Madness

2011-02-27T17:42:00.014-06:00

So this is pretty much what February consisted of...snow. Okay, so look at the snow line on the house in this picture. A few days later....

...and you get this much snow! I think the snow blizzard was awesome. I love snow storms. When you go outside, it is so peaceful and pretty. I'm one of those Missouri residents that loves the diversity of every season. You never know what you're going to get in Missouri!

I kept trying to take pictures of things and it was snowing so hard all I could a picture of was the snow. So cool.

The kids thought it was pretty awesome too. However, Addie had to come in early from playing in the snow the day after because there was so much and she couldn't walk in it. She got lost in it!

Just a little perspective as to how deep it was.

THE BOYS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

So February is the month of birthdays for Alex and Sam. Sam turned the big one this year and Alex the big 10!

Gammy missed the party because they still hadn't got to her roads yet in Warsaw. They finally got to her neighborhood and she followed the plow truck all the way out of her neighborhood and finally made it to I-70 to make a mad dash to the party. Poor thing. I know she wanted to be there so bad, but better late than never!

Sam received three different ride on toys for his birthday!

I think I found another lover of my banana cake.

These are Josh's parents, Sam's grandparents. Kalynn couldn't ask for better in-laws. These two people are amazing. They are so nice and Betty is hilarious. I love them, they are great people.

Not the best picture, but Kalynn and Sam pose with the cake. BTW, in case you didn't know, Kalynn is expecting her second child. I keep forgetting shes pregnant because I really don't believe it yet. Not to mention you can't tell she's pregnant.

Another cake success! This year Kalynn went with a sports theme and she wanted a cake just for Sam and cupcake for the other kids, which makes since. The ball cap I made for Sam didn't turn out as good as I had hoped, but I'm still considering myself in the learning stages of cake decorating. So, what do you do when you're snowed in from a blizzard? You make three batches of banana cake and cream cheese icing all day long. I have to admit, the cupcakes were awesome. They tasted soooo good.

Then, I made turtle cake for Alex. Another amazing cake. I think Emma approved!
After Sam's party on Saturday, since out of town family was already here, we did breakfast at Cracker Barrell for Alex's birthday.

10, wow, it really does go by fast. He's still my baby though.
He always will be.

So, on Monday night, for his actual birthday, he wanted to eat at Kabuki. It was so good. You can't see it real well, but if you look close, the chef had a little man that was peeing to put the fire out. The kids thought this was hilarious. It was pretty funny.

Then of course, Valentine's Day. Martin and I enjoyed a night out to Jazz and went to the Candy Factory for some chocolate covered strawberries and a box of chocolate covered cookies. OMG, if you ever get the chance to buy a box of those cookies, do it. They are so good.

We also got to celebrate Kinleigh's birthday by going to KC to her Grandy's house for manis, pedis and pizza and cake. Then to the American Girl store for a luau and salon time.

Grace's doll got her ears pierced.

Abbey, Addie's doll got her hair done and Addie picked out the Feel Better Wellness Kit. Which, I was super excited that was her choice because it was what I wanted. It's so cool, it came with two casts, crutches, band-aids and a ACE wrap. She has played with it non stop! Her doll keeps getting hurt in karate class. I think we might have another nurse on our hands, or a doctor.

Okay, so the pics posted out of order. So frustrating. Anyway, this is Addie's doll after getting her hair done.

Abbey getting her do done!

The mess before she got her hair done. Can you tell she really needed it?

The girls picking out what they wanted done with their dolls hair. They were so excited. It was so much fun.

They got to make leis for their dolls.

This was at Grandy's Salon where the girls got their manis and pedis. Kate's mom has the cutest house ever. It's like a little cottage. I love it. I warned Amy I might show up on her front door step one day for a little get away.

We ended the month with a walk downtown today and on campus. We had some Yogo Luv first, as you can see. Addie looks at me and asks, "did I get it all off?" I don't think so honey!

This guy is still standing! It was the only snow left on the lawn. I think he is dwindling though.

We ended the day at Shakespeare's, yummo. It was the perfect end to a good month!

February has been a good month. Busy, as usual, but good. Alex has started basketball both with Woodcrest and Parkade. Addie continues with dance and will start t-ball soon. Alex will also start baseball. Martin has continued to amaze me and is a wonderful support while I'm in school. He gets stuck doing a lot of things on his own with the kids or around the house because I'm simply to busy with school. He never complains and just gets it done. Thank you so much Martin, I don't say it enough, I really appreciate everything you do!

Holidays 2010

2011-01-08T17:07:00.019-06:00

I'm not going to play any games. This post is long and yes, I know, it's been a long time since I've posted. What else is new? The story is still the same, school, work and family. I have to admit, this last semester almost did me in. It was very challenging. Most days I was okay, but some days I was ready to give in, go back to what I was doing and say forget it. Somehow, that never happened. I would stop studying, because that's literally all I did, and start searching the Internet for jobs. Before I knew it, I was back to studying.

Thanksgiving was at our house this year. We celebrated with the Shultz side and my dad. This is Joe, Jessica's new man. He is very nice and is in the Navy as well. We enjoyed meeting him and getting to know him. I think he fits in very well. It was his 21st birthday, on Thanksgiving. Yes, it was a late night!

This is Ann, you don't see much of Ann on my blog because it is very difficult to get a picture of her. This is Victor, Ann's new man and we adore him. He is very good to Ann and she is very happy. It shows. Her son, Will. He's a teenager, what can I say? I guess the in thing these days is growing a fro.

Joe! Imagine that sounding just like "Norm" on Cheers. That's our Joe!

The photos are not in chronological order, sorry.

Of course, there was always some time for family. Any time I get this little guy to myself, well, that's just it, I never get him to myself. I have plenty of help! I did get him one day all to myself, but he wasn't feeling well.

Alex and Sam have some kind of bond. Any time Sam comes over, Alex totally takes over. Alex wants to take care of Sam and he does. Sam loves Alex. I left the room for one minute the last time we had him and both Alex and Addie decided he needed his diaper changed. That was funny and of course I had to redo the diaper! Today, we had to go and see Sam because it had been a whole week since Alex had seen him. So we went to his house. When we walk in the door Sam was in his crib fussing, fresh from a nap. Perfect. So we go in and I get him out of the crib. However, he doesn't want me. He wants Alex. He just looks at me like I'm chopped liver. Not Alex. He was all smiles for Alex and even cuddled up to him. Brat.

Alex wants a little brother. I told him he doesn't need one. He has Sam. Let's keep it at that.

Poor kid, nobody likes him. He will be turning one in just a few weeks!

I think this was Martin's birthday dinner at Kalynn's in November. Sweet Kelsey. She is growing up so fast. She is just like her mother. All sports and plays to win.

So, funny story. We were trying to get an updated pic of all of the kids. Addie had been crying because she just twisted her ankle, so she was a crank and we couldn't get Emma to cooperate and Sam, well he is a baby. Need I say more? So, all of the women are trying to get the kids to smile and Emma to look at the camera. Then, she pulls up her shirt and all of the kids are laughing. We were like Emma, put your shirt down, look at the camera, smile. Little did we know, uncle Martin was behind us doing all sorts of things and everything he did, Emma did. Nice.

Can you guess? Peek a boo! Thanks Martin.

Just being silly. Talkin' to mom on the phone.

Emma had just gotten stitches a few days before this. Busted her lip on her brother's bed. Ouch.

Little Ms. Addie gets her awards at school. Perfect attendance and good citizen I think? I'll have to look again. She is thriving in school. She loves it. Such a big difference between boys and girls when it comes to school. It's funny to see this picture because I was a giant compared to everyone else in my class as well. Oh well, everyone will catch up with her.

They had their own Thanksgiving feast at school.

Thanksgiving at our house. Doesn't Dad look good?

Laurence Bowers is good friends with Martin's niece and her husband and we have met him through them. I guess Martin saw him out a few nights before a game and Martin told him that him and Alex were going to the game. So, Laurence told Martin to stay after the game and he would get Alex some autographs. So, they did! Alex was in heaven, because as you know, Alex is determined to be a Tiger some day. I think anyone can stay after the game and get autographs, I don't think he was doing anything special, but it was special to him. Laurence is a really nice guy. He has his head on straight and is good with his fans. He is also very talented. He plays the piano and sings and it sounds good! Impressive. I see him on campus a lot as well and he is always super nice.

I know a lot of you have seen this on Facebook, but some of my family members don't use FB. So, here is Addie for her first dance recital. It was super cute and fun.

A sleepover with Sam, so fun!

A sleepover with Emma! I have a picture just like this of these two from two years ago. Too funny!

Emma stayed to help us make Christmas cookies. What a big help. She is so funny. She is at that age where you don't know what she is going to say!

Martin thought I should be in the pictures too!

Kalynn's birthday! Happy Birthday Kalynn.

I think I've mentioned my husband is an expert on the grill. This is Kalynn's birthday dinner, on the grill, on December 20th, Caribbean Jerk, so good! We grill all year long!

Hmmm... who would of thought these two would be together?

School Christmas party with Mrs. Burtowski. We love her! I thought after my pharmacology final that I would feel complete relief. I did, for about a day. Then total panic set in. It was December 15th and I hadn't started Christmas shopping. Not one gift. I still had to work and the kids had their parties at school and I had basically one weekend to get everything done. I did go to the lake the day I finished my final with friends. It was a good time and I got a good start, but still had a lot to do.

My aunt Lisa and uncle Rick wanted to take us to dinner at CC's City Broiler for Christmas. I love this place and love spending time with them. It was a really good time. We don't get to spend as much time with them as we would like, but we all have kids and work and blah, blah, blah.

They are always real good to us though. We all have fond memories with them. They are the ones that took each of us to Florida when we graduated from HS and Hawaii when we all graduated from college. Good times we won't ever forget!

I have good memories of Christmas at their house when I was younger as well. It was always the perfect Christmas!

Lisa used to take us to all of the new and "hot" kids movies that came out in theaters as well. I still remember her taking us to see the Muppet Movie. So, thanks Lisa and Rick for everything you have done and do. We do appreciate it!

So, the Christmas marathon begins. First Christmas at Dads, then on to Martin's family and home and we do get to spend Christmas day at home all day and usually go back to Martin's parents to eat and then....

(Emma and Sam really enjoyed this box at Dad's)

(I love this pic of Sam)

(Sally and Dad's kids)

(guess who got a hold of the camera? He always has to have some kind of funny photo of me. He is such a funny guy isn't he?)

...we do Christmas at my sister's house with my mom. This year was a lot of fun and will probably go down as one of the most memorable for me. Not sure why, it was just a really good day.

This could be one of the reasons why is was so good. Will cooked a crown rib roast and it was amazing. Kelly's house was decorated so cute and the cocktails were good and what's better than family? It was just a really good day.

What a perfect ending to a long post. Sam started to take his first steps that day. He isn't walking yet, but it won't be long. So, this is my last week of freedom before anoter semester ends. I've been in a really bad funk about school and work. Originally, I only had to work as a tech until this May and then I would be in nursing school and it would all be over in 15 months. However, as you know, there was a miscommunication and I didn't get to apply to start this May. Last week is when people started to find out if they got accepted or not. A girl I know and work with got accepted. I'm happy for her, it's just really hard. I get to work as a tech for the whole year and I'll still be taking classes, but won't get to start nursing until next year. It's just hard. I hardly get paid anything and the work is hard and I'm sick of living on hardly anything. It was going to be okay for just a short time, but now I've added a whole year to that. I know it is happening this way for a reason, but it's still hard to swallow. I'm trying to get over it and embrace it and stop whinning, but, well, I'm really not doing a very good job of that.

So, off to another great year and new semester. I'm really not sure what this year will bring me and how I'm going to deal with it, but with my faith, family and friends I'm sure it will all be fantastic! Happy New Year everyone!

Lost Time

2010-11-14T12:02:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I'm making up for lost time. As you all know, school keeps me very busy, so keeping up on the blog just isn't a priority anymore.

Addie started dance this fall and LOVES it. She makes up her own routines at home and puts on mini shows for us. She proved me wrong on this, I didn't start her in dance sooner because I really didn't think she would enjoy it. I was wrong!

I just found this very amusing. It's a familiar scene these days. Gotta keep up with Facebook!

This weekend I got to go out for a much needed GNO! It was such a blast and can you believe I gave "the bombs" another chance? This night ended much better than the last time I did a bomb!

This is Sandy, an old Bonnie and friend. No Sandy, I'm not calling you old!! This was one of the reasons we all got together, it's a small world. My friends Kim and Kate know Sandy and we all figured this out and, well, you gotta get together right?

Last weekend, Martin and I got to get away alone for a weekend at Big Cedar Lodge! It was fantastic. I think Martin needed the time away more than I did. He keeps joking that it's hard to be a single parent, but sometimes, I'm sure he does feel like a single parent. The weekend was much needed and we had a very good time.

I love this place, it is beautiful. If you ever get a chance to go, you should. Very kid friendly as well.

Alex finished another season of CYFL football. We almost ended the season as undefeated champs, but the BEARS just didn't pull it off at the last game. They played very well however and this was a great season I'll always remember. Not a great pic, I know. I just got a new camera and do you think I have the time to read the manual and figure out how to use the darn thing? No! I know this is short and sweet, but I have to get back to studying. Till next time...

Letting Go

2010-08-19T09:06:00.004-05:00

Letting go is the hardest thing to do as a parent. Being a parent, I think, is the hardest job on earth. I've had to learn to "let go" of things my whole life. But, letting go of your kids, a little at a time is so difficult. It never gets easier either, it seems to just get harder and harder.

Not only is it heart wrenching, it really makes you reflect on yourself. The beating myself up for not being a good enough parent starts. Questioning myself if I've really prepared my kids for what life is throwing at them, and not only that but I am preparing them for the real world they someday must face?

You don't realize how much your childhood, teenage years are really a part of "getting prepared" for the real world. That someday, your going to have to make these decisions on your own.

So, with all of that said, today was the first day of school. Alex started 4th grade and my baby is officially a kindergartner. I know, a little heavy on the emotions just for the first day of school, but I can't help it.

After I took the kids to school, I came home and the house was so empty, quiet. No babies, no arguing, no get me this, can we do that, "all I do is pick up after you kids all day."

And, sadly, I miss it.

Geez, if I'm this bad now imagine what I'll be like when they go to college.

I love my babies.

MIA

2010-08-08T16:39:00.006-05:00

Hello again friends and family! I thought the new background and title were appropriate as going back to school is what made me MIA! Also, the kids are starting school in a week and a half. Can you believe it? So, the following pictures are random but are a few moments of this summer captured. The first few are us trying to get a family photo the night before Addie's 5th birthday.

Obviously, my attempt not so good. But, while on the subject of me, (totally kidding BTW) this summer has been challenging. I know I made it sound terrible, and honestly at the time it did seem terrible, but it wasn't so bad. I have a love/hate relationship with Chemistry. I love to learn and really if it made sense, I would love Chemistry. But really, there is a lot to Chemistry. My hat is off to those of you that Chemistry comes naturally.

However, it felt, feels, so good to finally get this whole going back to school adventure officially started. One semester down and two to go before I actually start nursing school. Of course, that is if (when) I get accepted. I can't wait. I know I'll go back to school again though. Yes, I really just said that. I don't think this will be the end. I will have to get my master's in something. Probably nursing.

This guy was amazing. Seriously. He became super dad when I became super B*&%h! I wasn't the nicest person during Chemistry. All I did was study, sleep and work. It sucked. Martin picked up the pieces I left lying and carried on. Thanks Honey. It will pay off for you some day too!

Handsome...

...and precious. They were wonderful as well. It's not easy having your mom go back to school. They have been very supportive.

Addie turned 5 this summer and starts Kindergarten. I have been ok with this idea until just recently. I really think the chapter of having babies of my own is over. That makes me sad. I love my kids more than anything on this earth and they are growing up way to fast. Before I know it they will be making lives of their own.

Birthday morning. I don't remember what was so funny.

This was the day my dad had his quadruple bypass. Another reality check. It is so hard to watch your parents get older and suffer. My dad is only 59 and you would never guess he needed to have this surgery. I love my parents and don't ever want to think of them not being with me. He is doing fantastic and is recovering well. That's just how my life is, as I think a lot of people's lives are, when it happens, it happens. Nothing is ever "easy" in my world. Study for a chemistry test, 4th of July weekend, Addie's birthday and dad having open heart surgery all in one weekend. No problem! That's ok, it makes me who I am. I'm so glad I was able to be there for him.

This guy also had a birthday this summer. He also got to participate in his very first World Series. He spent most of his summer playing baseball.

Family is a wonderful thing. I love you J.

This is Ms. Tweets. We had a cardinal join our home this summer and my husband became very attached to her.

Addie also started dance this summer. As you can recall, she has been begging me for months now to do dance and I always thought she was too young and wouldn't really appreciate it. I was WRONG! She loves it. Her and Kinleigh had some good times with dance this summer and are continuing through CPAC. We are very excited.

It's hard to believe that another summer is coming to an end. Where does the time go? I can say, this summer has been awesome, despite the Chemistry, I've been very happy back in school. I feel like I'm doing the right thing. I've had so much fun this summer with friends and family and starting a new journey. Life looks good.

Race of Accomplishment

2010-05-12T09:51:00.002-05:00

I did it, I ran my first 10K! I don't really know how to explain the feeling. I wasn't in it to see how quickly I could finish it or to be the first to finish. I simply just wanted to run the entire time and finish. That's exactly what I did and it felt amazing! Thank you so much Kate for your support, I couldn't have done it without you. You are an amazing person.

So, my main goal at the beginning of the race was to keep up with Kate and her running partner. I thought this was going to be a piece of cake considering that I had been "training" with them and had been keeping up with them. Little did I know that they run much faster in the race! Holy cow, I don't know how they do it. I guess the experience of running more races. I kept up with them for a short distance before I felt like I was going to die, seriously. They finished the race in 54 minutes! Congrats to the two of you. Maybe some day I can pull that off. Maybe. So, I ran the race all on my own. The above pic is the first time around. I had to go around twice. This was a really emotional moment. My family was there cheering me on and all I wanted to do was cry and stop running. It really is much harder to run in a race than training for a race. The course was a lot different and more challenging.

As you can you see, I kept going and was feeling very proud by the end. I did it. I can't explain it. It was very hard and took a lot of self determination and will power. It's a great way to connect with yourself. Even better than that, the support of your family and friends at the end and your son telling you that he's running the next one with you. Awesome.

Gumball Fun!

2010-05-12T09:26:00.002-05:00

T-ball is officially underway for Addie. Her team is called Gumballs. She is having lots of fun playing t-ball with "her girls." That's how she refers to her t-ball friends, either the girls or her girls.

Playing outfield is not so much fun for the girls. They get easily distracted and start to play in the dirt, dance, strike poses, whatever to keep themselves occupied! Bud is the head coach and God Bless him, he has been amazing with these girls. He is the father of Hayden, one of "the girls."

I think batting is the major highlight of the game for the girls, or maybe the snack or just being together with each other. I'm so impressed with all of the coaches and the head coaches' assistant. Thank you so much for dedicating your "extra" time to the gumballs. Addie really is enjoying it.

This is the first for some of the girls brothers, having to sit on the sidelines and watch! I overheard the conversation they were having, too funny. They were trying to figure out a way to join in on the game. Go figure.

Still Catching Up

2010-04-25T08:41:00.003-05:00

As I was going through my photos I realized that I never posted about Addie's Pinkalicious class, in February. We signed her up for this through TRYPS. She has been telling me that she wants to do dance for months now, maybe even a year. It was random though and I really don't think she would like it. So, I opted to try this to see if she liked it or not. She loved it! Check out her friend Kinley, she is a hoot!

She had to practice every Saturday morning at 9:30. I thought this was going to be a challenge for me, but it ended up being great as I got to sit in Panera with Kinley's mom, Kate, and drink coffee! Sweet. I actually really missed doing this once it was over.

The play was really cute and both of Addie's aunts and all her cousins came to cheer her on. I hate how emotional I get at things like these. I am such a sap. I just wanted cry like a baby. She is getting so big. So, she now really insists that she does dance. It's not random anymore, it's constant. So, after T-ball and swim lessons, I think I'm going to have to sign this girl up for dance. I think she likes to perform.

Martin and I catch her in the backyard all of the time acting out scenes of a movie or iCarly. It is so funny.

So, there you have it, I think I am officially caught up on blogging. I don't have anything interesting going on now. Just getting ready to start school, can't register until May 1 since I'm a new student. Looks like I'm going to have to take Chemistry because the Nutrition class is full and the instructor will not take anymore students. This is not so good as Chemistry is every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30-8:30. So, I'm going to have to work 9-9 every Monday and Tuesday. It will be a long day, but I can do it. Alex seems to be doing really well and we haven't had any problems, knock on wood. He is ready for school to be out. Thanks for all of the kind comments on my spring post, you guys are too sweet. Hoping everyone is doing well...

Spring

2010-04-08T07:43:00.008-05:00

So, I'm just going to label this post Spring because there is so much I haven't posted lately and so I guess I'm going to start posting in "groups." A friend informed me today that I didn't make it as some super blogger on another friends blog because I don't post that often. I need to get it together!

Easter was beautiful this year. Of course, it wouldn't be Easter if we didn't go to my Uncle Rick's and Lisa's house.

This is Uncle Rick. He's my dad's brother. Look how big Sam is.

This is a extra close up because I'm holding and taking the photo. But, I couldn't resist.
Sammy Wammy, I love you!

Really, he is huge. It's like Kalynn's breastmilk has miracle grow in it or something.

Here's somebody we don't get to see much. Can you believe she is almost 16? She has her own agenda now. I miss her. There is something special about the first niece or nephew. Kelsey will always hold a special place in my heart.

I look so goofy because Addie ran up and jumped on my lap. I thought I was going down for sure.

So, Sam is two months old. This is his mom. Need I say anymore about this picture? I know, she looks great.

JJ, you are so funny! I love your sense of humor.

Sweet Emma girl.

Addie, the orange mustache is doin' nothing for ya sweetie.

Handsome Pansome.

I don't know why this picture flipped on me, ugh.

Emma loves Sam. She is always in his face "hi sam."

Papa.

A quick game of waffle ball.

So, this is Spring Break vaca. This is Ann, Martin's sister and her son Will. We went to visit them and this is someplace called Shay I think. Anyway, they had fields of daffodils. It was very pretty.

From Ann's house, we went to Onondaga State Park and toured the cave and camped out. The kids had a blast.

Again, a little baseball game.

Now on to, you guessed it, St. Patrick's Day. This is my husband's St. Patrick's attire. As you know, he has to participate in the fun, especially Halloween.

I do like this shirt however and it is so fitting for him. He is a constant smartass!

Everyone had to part take in the fun.

Ok, so this is what I come home to one day after work in the front yard. Alex got a cabbage to plant from school. He immediately walked home from school and planted his cabbage (if you look close, you can tell in the cup it came in and all) and posted this sign! Love it.

Spring has been great. Addie started T-ball and that will keep us busy for awhile. I'm trying to get registered for my classes this summer and before I know it school will be over and summer will be here. Yay!

First Day of Spring

2010-03-21T12:36:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it snowed on the first day of Spring, and on top of that, on Krista's Wedding. It was a pretty snow, but made the logistics of a wedding a little more difficult. Especially when the first thing on the list of the day is to get your hair done. I was a little nervous. The woman that did mine, took it down and redid it 6 times. Seriously. It turned out cute. I don't have any pics of the back, but it was cute.

Krista is a good friend of mine that I met at Barnes & Noble. It's funny, from every job I've ever had, I've always picked up another good friend along the way! This is her daughter, Maddie. Maddie and Addie!

Mom of the bride above and Maid of Honor below.

Bless her heart, being pregnant for weddings is no fun!

Especially at the bachelorette party. We had a good time kickin it up at Wild Whiskey after a good dinner at Murry's. Yum.

The wedding was at Stephens Chapel. I had never been in there. It's very pretty and cozy. The bridesmaids dresses were very pretty and of course so was Krista.

The wedding was beautiful and I'm really glad you asked me to be apart of Krista, thank you and congratulations!

So, I have to share a few funny stories. Friday, Alex started having some dizzy spells again. So, I'm trying to figure out what his "triggers" are. So, Friday morning he wants OJ for breakfast. OJ, pizza, MSG and some other items are just the very tip of the iceberg that can trigger a migraine. I let him have it to see what would happen and he informs me later that he ate pizza for lunch. After lunch, he starts having dizzy spells. So, I'm discussing this with random people throughout the whole day yesterday as the whole bridal party participates in the day of the wedding logistics, getting things ready, etc. I'm trying to explain that it's so hard to determine what's a trigger because there are so many possibilities, the bariatric pressure being one them. Talking about his all day long. That maybe it's the snow storm that rolled in that caused him to start with the dizzy spells. It wasn't until later that night, at the reception when I'm catching up with Martin and explaining this to him that he says, "I think it's barometric pressure." Right. That's what I thought I had been saying all day. I know what bariatric is, and it has nothing to do with the weather. It is more familiar to me and I use it often, from work, and it's just what came out instead. How embarrassing. I do this all of the time. It's crazy. I'm sure nobody really cared about what I was rambling about any so they probably didn't catch it. I hope.

At the reception there was wine, Thank God, yummy food and music. The kids had a blast and both of my kids ran out onto the dance floor when AC/DC came on. Addie, yelling, it's AC/DC! Alex, kept the dance floor hoppin by making requests of Bon Jovi, Journey, Toby Keith and Michael Jackson all night. They get their wealth of music knowledge from their dad. The whole family had a blast dancing the night away. When the night was winding down and the kids were ready to go, Martin ended the night perfectly by requesting Close Enough To Perfect by Alabama for me. I know, it's mushy, but it was a perfect way to end the night.

Congrats Krista and Damien. I wish you the best!

Million Dollar Kid

2010-03-13T11:07:00.003-06:00

When Alex was born, we called him our million dollar baby. Not because we thought he was the best baby in the world, or that he was going to make us millions, but because the expense of having and maintaining him started from the very beginning.

I had to have a C-Section with Alex because he was breech, after being on bedrest for two weeks from being pre-eclamptic. When he was born, he was born with a hydroseal. He had to have surgery when he turned one. In the meantime, he had ear infections constantly. So, that's how he became our million dollar baby.

Now, I realize we really don't have it that bad and there really are babies out there that cost a lot more and have more serious, complicated issues. However, after the last 3 weeks, I've spent over $100 in co-pays for doctor's visits. As if the migraines weren't enough....

...this is exactly where I would have rather been than back in the doctor's office at 8 o'clock this morning with Alex for strep! Yep, on top of migraines he has strep. Poor baby. He can't catch a break. More headaches and nausea.

Hopefully, this will be the end for awhile. I'm hoping the meds will kick in for both his migraines and strep and we can get back to normal. Whatever that is!

Pullin in the Troops

2010-03-10T17:03:00.004-06:00

When you don't know what to do, when you're at your whits end, and your world is on hold, it feels good to have so many people on your side. It's a good problem to have so many people to inform, to call, and report the news of an outcome. I felt like I had a whole troop of my own for support!

It's awesome when things just fall into place because someone was there to pick up the pieces, help take something off of your plate, and make sure you were where you needed to be as stress free as possible. Thank you. I didn't even have to ask.

I have an amazing network of family and friends and feel very blessed.

Alex was diagnosed with migraines. I feel confident with this diagnosis with the symptoms Alex was presenting, and having a boat load of kick ass nurses I work with to help figure out the "stuff" I haven't learned yet. I also feel very confident with the medical team that examined Alex today. We are going to try the treatment recommended AND we are going to continue with an MRI of the head and an EEG, so, I loved this part, mom can get some sleep. I'm telling you, I really liked this guy. I don't think he was acting, I mean, I think he had good bedside manner and was genuine.

The good from this situation, well besides the above, a huge reminder to enjoy our little ones. Every minute. Don't take things for granted. Oh and, be thankful for your troops:)

Now off to research, you guessed it, migraines.

Lost

2010-02-25T17:07:00.003-06:00

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I'm just busy, all of the time. Things should be slowing down for a little while however. It will pick back up again I'm sure. So, I'm a little behind on posting this post, but Martin took the kids sledding on one of the many snow days!

What a good big brother! Making sure she makes it down ok. Although, she really isn't scared. She loved it! However, I wonder why Martin wasn't running beside her?

Addie did complain about the walk back up the hill. They had a good time. Good memories! I was working of course. Not that Martin doesn't I'm just a wee bit bitter about working 40 hours a week again. Hopefully that will change soon along with this dang weather. I'm going to start doing the Spring dance. Geez!

Training

2010-02-14T12:09:00.002-06:00

I don't usually divulge photos of myself like this, but thought it was suiting for the purpose of this post. This is what training for a 10K looks like. Do you like the looks like I peed in my pants look? I decided that I wanted to run a 5K race but I knew I didn't want to do it alone. So, I asked my friend Kate Alnutt if she would mind if I ran one with her considering I knew she was familiar with running them. She said sure but why not a 10K? That's right, she talked me into running a 10K race. So, yesterday I officially started training for this. I ran 4 miles in 46 minutes and 30 seconds. A 10K run is 6.2 miles. I think I'm dead meat!

I Just Really Can't Believe It

2010-02-10T18:54:00.003-06:00

I seriously am still in shock. After watching A Christmas Story every year of his life, he stuck his tongue on a pole outside today in the freezing cold. Can you believe that? I asked him why he would do this after seeing it in the movie a hundred times? He thought it was fake.

His pride is hurt more than his tongue I think. He says it hurts really bad but he won't do that again. I bet! His birthday pics below.

Alex's Ninth Birthday

2010-02-10T18:17:00.003-06:00

Saturday was a busy day, first Pinkalicious, then a basketball game and then a party! Alex wanted a MU football theme this year. No problem. All he wanted was a football cake, half chocolate, half yellow, half black icing and the other half gold. Mizzou on top of the football and Tigers on the bottom. A little picky but a piece of cake (no pun intended) right? Wrong. I bought the football mold and got half of the yellow batter in and half of the chocolate without mixing. Not easy. Placed the pan in the oven, set the timer and walked away. Came back in about 20 minutes only to find that the mold doesn't stay upright and the cake was running down the door of my oven. Nice. So, no cake made by mom this year. I had to order one from Hy-Vee. I felt really bad about it, but I think it would have been worse to not have had a cake at all.

I think it turned out really well and it was really good. I still would have liked to have made it myself. Yes I know the picture is sideways. Too much trouble to change it. Sorry.

So, since I haven't done a post on Sam's arrival on my blog yet, I thought I would post these. He is so cute. He loves this monster or dinosaur thing that Michelle got him. They put him in it all of the time. Went over to their house today and he was in it. They say he loves it and it calms him down. Good job Michelle!

Precious.

Who in the world looks this good after just having a baby? Seriously? Apparently, my sister. Alex had a really good birthday. He raked in the dough and had to spend it the very next day. He did well though. Kelly got him a snowboard game for the Wii and Alex was going to buy the balance board for it. Come to find out that the balance board is the Wii Fit and comes with the Wii Fit disc. Score!! The whole town of Columbia is out of them but they took our name and number. Then we asked how much they were. $99.99. Alex informed me that he was not going to spend that much money on one. I wanted the Wii Fit anyway, I could buy it. He got a steering wheel and a game and movie and saved the rest. Good decision. He also had 3 of his best friends spend the night. They were good. It wasn't as bad as the last time we had a sleep over. They were well behaved. Thank God! Just noticed Martin mocking Kalynn in the background. Dork.

Sam's Baby Shower

2010-01-21T18:34:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I put these pics in the wrong order, but I'm too lazy to re-load them. It's bad enough that I'm just getting this post up and the shower was two weeks ago. Do you think she is my clone?

Who looks this good when they are about to pop a baby out? Isn't she cute? She looks so good.

I really like this picture (I hate my face, it looks fat!). All the girls. Well, except the little girls. You get the point.

I had never heard of these things, pee pee teepee. What will they think of next? I wish I had some of these when I had Alex. He peed on me all of the time.

Here she is, the best looking preggers ever! I love you and can't wait to meet my new nephew. He is going to be soooo spoiled!

By Far, the Best Cake Yet!

2010-01-09T21:54:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is Kalynn's Baby Shower and I volunteered to make the cake. It turned out really cute. I was really stressing about it, but I think it turned out ok. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Christmas '09

2010-01-03T10:23:00.004-06:00

So, I didn't do a very good job of taking photos of all of our Holiday fun this year. Maybe I was a little disappointed that Santa didn't bring me a new camera. Or, it could be that the camera I do have sucks the life right out of the batteries in like one use. What's up with that? I know, I need to get rechargeable batteries. So, this is the kids decorating the Christmas tree all by themselves this Christmas. We won't go into that story again. Let's just say I have a plan as to how the tree will get decorated this year.

We did manage to get all of our Christmas traditions in again and we weren't rushed to do so like Halloween. Finally adding KC to our traditions was a highlight this Christmas. We plan on going back to KC this year with just some minor adjustments.

Our Christmas always starts at my Dad's house on Christmas Eve and then on to my in-laws. Of course I don't have any photos of Christmas at my in-laws, but it was enjoyable.

I got to spend a whole 30 minutes with the kids on Christmas morning before heading to work. This is just one of the sacrifices you have to make working in health care. It really wasn't that bad. I only had to work 8 hours and we didn't have any plans but to sit around the house all day anyway. When I called Martin he said the kids had been downstairs playing the Wii all day and he hadn't seen them, so I wasn't to depressed. I sat with an older woman all day and watched Christmas movies. Really, it wasn't that bad and I was making time and a half and Holiday pay. I got home at 3:30 and my mom arrived at 4:30. We went to my in-laws and enjoyed some fine wine and prime rib. Perfect way to end Christmas day. Saturday, we headed to my sisters and spent the whole day there to celebrate Christmas with my mom. It was a wonderful day. Good food and company. The kids got to go sledding. Even Addie participated. She was a trooper and wasn't even scared. I was, it was a big hill. Sometimes, you just have to let them go! When it was time to go home, at about 10PM the boys and kids decided it was time to play some street football. Seriously. They had a really good time and I think it will go down as a memory the kids won't ever forget! New Year's was good too. More good food and friends and family. Now, it's time to start another year. I'm pretty sure this one is going to be a good one. So, here's to another good year.

Holiday Madness

2009-12-18T08:17:00.003-06:00

That's what I'm blaming my lack of posting on, the Holidays. It just gets so crazy busy. I just wanted to get a quick post out to let everyone know we are alive! Alex has had his Christmas program at school and his party is today. I took the kids to see A Christmas Carol last Friday, had to take out a small loan to do so, and they loved it! It is a little scary however. I've been shopping, wrapping, baking and working. But, it's all coming together and I can't wait to be with my families. I feel like Addie does in this picture however, I just want to sleep!

A little update on the status of my recent life changing decision. I apply to MU in January and hopefully will get accepted, fingers crossed. Then, since I will miss the beginning of the semester in January (I have to have had to be working 6 months at the U before I receive tuition reimbursement) I will start my prereq's in May. It seems like a really long time to wait but it will be worth it. I'm also considering a transfer in February to the L&D/Post Partum unit at CRH. That's where I want to be in the end anyway, so why not move now?

I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed Christmas. I will miss everyone as I know I won't see you in awhile due to the holidays. So, until we meet again...Merry Christmas.

I love Joey's balls...and Michelle's and Jill's...

2009-12-03T07:59:00.005-06:00

That's what the annual Christmas party at Joey's house was all about this year. Balls. The kitchen was full of balls, no kidding. We had peanut butter balls, Oreo balls, and almond Oreo balls. What did you think I was talking about? Pervert.

This was Addie's first Christmas cookie rodeo. She had a good time with Abbey and agrees the balls are awesome!

This is one of my most favorite events during the holidays. We have so much fun and I love these guys. Can't wait till' next year...

Holiday Happenings

2009-11-29T16:42:00.005-06:00

As usual, we had a great Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving was at our house and we celebrated with Martin's side of the family. Of course, the food was amazing and I ate way too much in the last few days. Oh well!

So we tried to carry on the new tradition I started last year in going to KC to see the lights at the Plaza. Last year wasn't very successful so Joe was on it to make sure that this year would be a for sure good time. Thanks Joe for making the reservations to GoJo's two months in advance.

GoJo's is a hibachi restaurant and was oh so good. Unfortunately, my stomach was bothering me all weekend. It started on Thursday and I was convinced it was just because I ate way too much food. Friday I was okay, but by Saturday morning I was sure it was a little more than over eating. We started Saturday out by celebrating Papa's birthday at JJ's before we headed to KC. Sorry Papa no pics of you, but I had to rush home after we ate!

Aunt Brittney. Isn't she gorgeous? Her and Byron might be starting their married life in the military. I guess it's a really good opportunity for them and they don't have kids. We'll see. It's already a for sure for Byron, but Brittney's decision is still up in the air. Either way, they will be military brats (are you still a brat if you are adults or are you only a brat when it's your parents that are military?). Good luck guys.

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. We didn't even really need our coats. Of course, I had all of my family in layers! Oh well, better safe than sorry.

Heidi and Joe, we love you guys, you are awesome. Thanks for letting us bunk at your house and starting a new tradition with us. I'm so glad you got transferred to KC Joe. We need to start some Fall traditions with the many festivals you speak of during the fall in KC.

So, I guess I had this image in my head that the plaza was decorated with tons of amazing lights and packed full of family fun. After this weekend, I've concluded that it's more of a girls, shopping weekend. We made the most of our time there however. It wouldn't be a trip to the plaza without some Cheesecake Factory now would it? I got the peppermint bark because peppermint is supposed to soothe the stomach right? Nothing keeps me away from food.

What a goof!

We decided to ditch the Plaza and head over to the Crown Center. I would highly recommend this over the Plaza for any family interested in making KC a part of their holidays. Santa is there and there is a lot more family fun than at the stuffy Plaza.

I'm glad we went however. It was great quality family time and the food was great. I so do love the holidays. Now I've got to get the Christmas cards done, bake, decorate, shop, wrap presents....

Thanks-giving

2009-11-24T20:17:00.002-06:00

Okay, so, I haven't posted a mushy, sappy, over the top, are you serious, make me gag kind of post for awhile now. I figure what better time than now, Thanks-giving. Have you ever really thought about the name of this holiday? Thanks-giving. People were so grateful and thankful for what they had been given. How appropriate. So, further more, have you ever really thought about what you are thankful for what you have been given? Now I know there are those moments when you are thankful for your home, your family, your health, etc, etc. But seriously, why are you so thankful for these things. It's not the home, or the family you are really thankful for is it? For me it's the specifics that make me thankful.

Everyday when I wake up, I have a warm house that surrounds me and protects me and my family from the elements. It doesn't matter what the house looks like, it's what we call our home. It's safe, full of love and everyday, the people in it love me unconditionally, without fail. They rely on me and myself on them. We believe in each other and encourage each other to be the best we can be. When the rest of the world turns it's back on us, we have each other.

I have the freedom to be whomever I choose to be. It doesn't matter how much money I make doing this or where I'm at in the organizational chart. It matters what makes me happy and the sense of accomplishment I feel at the end of the day. My mind is healthy and allows me to make decisions I see as the best for me and my family and distinguish between right and wrong.

I'm not faced with decisions so overwhelming I don't know how I'm going to make it through another day, where my family will get their next meal, if they or I will heal. I can care for myself, by myself. I know where my children are, I know if I need help all I have to do is make a simple phone call.

I so enjoy being with my family and friends and want to thank all of you for being by my side, listening to me over and over through this trying time in my life and sharing the joyous moments. Just being there. Thank you. Most of all, and most importantly, I have my faith. It is my faith that makes this ride, experience, whatever, tolerable. It is what makes all of the above possible. It's something I have come to appreciate and understand more this year and what I am most thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to all my peeps. Enjoy your family and friends and take a moment, I'm serious, to really reflect on what you are thankful for.

2009-11-06T16:06:00.001-06:00

Ok, so this post is long overdue. But, I wanted to get it up because it was a lot of fun and I wanted to talk about how it would make a great family vacation. This, of course, is one of the places we visited. If you know my husband you know he is a huge Jim Beam fan. I'm glad we went, it was really neat. Fall is a perfect time to go to Kentucky, it is beautiful country. Isn't this fire truck cute?

This is the house they used to live in when they first started their establishment. Their factory is huge now. I don't remember all of the statistics and how many warehouses they have with how many bottles or barrels, etc, sorry. It's big, a lot of barrels of whiskey.

I was trying to get a picture of the label that says this whiskey, that we were sampling, is 190 proof! Knock me off of my...

This is the store and bar where we sampled several different whiskeys.

This place is the Louisville Slugger factory. We had dinner here and got to tour the place after dinner. I don't know why, but for some reason, I kept thinking of Bud, Michelle's husband, through this whole damn tour. He just really seems like he would like this place. It's full of baseball, duh, and tons of baseball statistics.

Then, there's this place! Bud, you have got to get to this place. You would love it!

I think this was Babe Ruth's bat? Not sure. I was a little distracted as the entire dinner was open bar.

Really?

This is my curly headed partner in crime, Debbie. We would get up every morning and run on the riverfront. It was awesome. We had a great time. She's also from Ashland. Her husband works with Martin, obviously.

This was one of my favorite horses. These painted horses were everywhere. Yes, I know, I was in Kentucky, I know why there were horses everywhere.

This was the first night we were in Kentucky. We were on our way back to the hotel after a long night of fun...

...at this place.

Another place I thought of Bud. Civil War site...

These are the peeps we hung out with. This sign below is not a joke. It was actually posted on the riverfront. They mean the cars will be launched into the river! It only took us 4 hours to get to Louisville and we made a lot of potty breaks! There are many more family places to go and things to do, short drive, I'm hoping we make it back there with the kids.

Halloween

2009-11-02T16:22:00.003-06:00

Another Halloween down! We started early this year since it was on a Saturday and the kids could not wait another minute. We went to Grandma's, church for Trunk or Treat and then to Kalynn's house and a few houses in her neighborhood. After that it was off to Vanderveen. Thank goodness Addie had a stomach ache and was ready to head home after about 6 houses. Thanks to .50 corn dogs at Sonic! I was ready to go home, it was cold. I don't do well with cold. The End.

Halloween Eve

2009-11-01T07:20:00.005-06:00

THIS is my husband's Halloween costume. Nice uh? Now would be the time to feel sorry for me because yes, he is like this all of the time. It's also true that this is the reason why I married him. Because he was always so funny and had a good time wherever we were. Now, it just seems, um, immature? Oh well, the kids love it.

Ok, so the first version of Wonder Woman. She borrowed dad's wig. This was the first thing on our agenda Friday, Alex's Fall Party. The theme was Super Heroes. Actually, the first thing on my agenda was to go to Wal-Mart and get things for the goody bags and dirt dessert. I spent $50! But, I knew if I didn't do it, the kids wouldn't have a very good party. At least this had been my experience in the past. When we walked in with arms full of goodies, the kids were so excited. So, it was worth it. Even if Alex's teacher didn't seem to appreciate any of my efforts, the kids did. Even two less fortunate kids came up to me and thanked me. That made it worth while and the kids loved the dirt dessert with eyeballs and worms.

My little actress, she's flying if you couldn't figure out what she was doing.

Version 2. The wig was too itchy. We were sitting here at the front to the school waiting for Martin to come back from parking the van and someone walked by and said "hey Wonder Woman." Addie said, "how did she know I was Wonder Woman?" After I gave her the look of are you serious? She said oh yeah, the costume! That's my girl.

After the fall party it was off to Peachtree Farms. Why did we pick one of the most windy, cold days to do this? Because we didn't have pumpkins yet, it was Halloween Eve at 4 in the afternoon. What else did we have to do?

I had to add this picture because you know how Alex is, he never lets me take his picture. Have I mentioned that the last trip to the dentist he told us to start saving for braces! I wonder why he said that? Poor guy. My sister had braces, not me. Thank goodness.

The hayride wasn't too bad even though we were freezing. Alex was being the typical older brother when the kids went into the hay maze. We told him to stay with Addie, don't leave her, it's dark in there and she can't see where she's going. What do you think happened. Poor Addie, when Martin got to her, he said she was at a dead end trying to get through a very small hole where two of the hay bales met that wasn't intended to be a way of passage. She was freaking out yelling "the hole is too small." Martin said you couldn't see a thing in there and he almost freaked out and tried to lift the top of the maze off. Good times! Guess who got in big trouble?

We then made our way home to carve our pumpkins, that we got at HyVee because the ones at Peachtree are like $18 a pumpkin! NO thanks.

Why is it that the kids always get to goof off while the parents are hard at work with the pumpkins? Of course, I was already on the couch at this point with my Shiraz! But, I did clean the pumpkins out. That counts for something.

Louisville

2009-10-19T16:22:00.009-05:00

I was trying to get a picture of the label that says this whiskey, that we were sampling, is 190 proof! Knock me off of my...

This is the store and bar where we sampled several different whiskeys.

Then, there's this place! Bud, you have got to get to this place. You would love it!

I think this was Babe Ruth's bat? Not sure. I was a little distracted as the entire dinner was open bar.

Really?

This was one of my favorite horses. These painted horses were everywhere. Yes, I know, I was in Kentucky, I know why there were horses everywhere.

This was the first night we were in Kentucky. We were on our way back to the hotel after a long night of fun...

...at this place.

Another place I thought of Bud. Civil War site...

CYFL & MU Tailgate

2009-10-16T08:30:00.005-05:00

Ok, so these are from September I know. But, as you know, I've been busy. Things are going really well though. This was the weekend that CYFL got to play on the MU field. Alex was super excited. After the game for Alex, because our coach has some in's, we got to go into the Tigers locker room. We tailgated with some friends after all of the CYFL excitement and then went to the game with the team.It was beautiful football weather.

Alex is the super skinny kid, #11.

This was in the locker room. A "GO BEARS" huddle.

A future Tiger? We hope so!

A future Tiger cheerleader? I don't know about that!

Hello!

2009-09-13T08:35:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive. The last week has a been crazy, but so far I'm tolerating it very well. I have so much to blog about, I hope I don't forget anything. Friday, my last "official" day at Barnes & Noble went well. Thursday was my last storytime and all of the regular storytime moms that I have grown so close to were there. And of course their darling little angels. Emily drew me a picture and gave me a hug. It was so sweet. She is an amazing little girl. They also made me brownies to celebrate the big career change. I think I owe Kim a big thanks for that! Thanks Kim and all of you for your support. Friday night we had family come in to celebrate Loey's 75th birthday on Saturday. Sunday, we headed to mom's at the lake. Kalynn, the little pest, got a new Honda Pilot. That is the car of my dreams. When I become a nurse and am making good money (hopefully) this is the car I want. She even got it in the color I want. Anyway, just the kids and I went and Kalynn and they have never had a DVD in the car, well they did have a portable one once, but it's been awhile. They were funny, but it kept them quiet.
All three of us girls were there this time. That doesn't happen very often anymore. We are all busy with our own schedules. I love it though when we are all there. This was the last boat ride of the season and of course, it was cold. We didn't even get to go swimming. Crazy weather. The last boat ride and visit to the lake always makes me really sad. It leaves that empty, longing feeling in me. But, I love fall, I just hate to see summer go.

Monday was catching up on laundry and getting the house in order before the next week. We went to JJ's for breakfast to celebrate my birthday since Monday was not going to allow any time for that. Alex had football practice. We did go get ice cream at Andy's after practice. $15 for all of us to get something! Bud would have a stroke Michelle. So Tuesday was orientation on birthday and Wednesday was skills lab. Thursday I hit the floor running. I had 4 patients to care for and seriously it's like riding a bike, you don't forget. It felt great to be back in healthcare. I love it! I did have a few moments of anxiety rush over me and thought, "what have you done? You totally quit your salaried job to do this, are you crazy?" But these quickly passes as I didn't have time to dwell on it, too busy. The twelve hours are long, but I think will be nice. The University is so different from Boone. It's a whole new world.

So, Wednesday, at Alex's practice, one of the boys broke is femur bone. He had to have surgery and have a pin placed. Nice uh? Now I really don't want Alex to play football. But, speaking of, one of the coach's said that Alex is a good candidate to be a quarterback. That would be awesome, a quarterback for the tigers! A mom can dream can't she?

Emma came running out like this and I had to take a picture it was hilarious. So, I'm surviving and just taking things day by day. Yesterday I had to work at B&N and cleaned my first house. He is a bachelor no doubt, but it wasn't that bad. The money is good. I miss seeing my storytime moms and can't wait to get together with you guys again. I'm off on Wednesday and Friday. So, hopefully we can get together then. I need to go and tend to my own house now and get ready for Alex's football game. Have a great week!

Saki Bombs, Football and I Got My License!

2009-09-02T09:20:00.002-05:00

Uh? That's right, that's what I said, I got my license. There's nothing like feeling 16 again. Apparently, my license has been expired for almost a year now!! When I went into the University on Monday to sign all of my new hire paperwork they told me to bring my license. Ok, no biggie. When they went to make a copy of it, they asked for a valid license. Uh? That is a valid one, it's the only one I have. No, it's expired. I simply and cheerfully corrected them that no, it expires next week, on my birthday. They simply and cheerfully corrected me and said no, it expired last year on your birthday!! What? How embarrassing. No biggie right? Wrong. When I went to the license bureau to get my license renewed I learned that I have to take BOTH tests over again. Thank God I passed both of them. Talk about embarrassing.

Which is a great segue into my next topic and explains the Saki Bomb above. I got bombed at a baby shower. That's right, leave it to me. I'm blaming it on Michelle because she started the bomb business. But, really it was all my fault. We'll leave it at that and let your minds wonder as to what happened.
Unfortunately for me, we had to get up Saturday morning and head to KC. Alex won tickets to the Chiefs game through CYFL (Columbia Youth Football League). It just so happened to fall on the same weekend that Heidi and Joe were moving. So, I had to get up and try to make it to KC to help move and make it to the game. We didn't get out of town until 11. Martin was a little irritated with me, but it turned out to be a good day. I was just tired and a little queasy all day. Can you tell? Terrible picture, bad angle. Oh well. The game was fun and Alex and Addie had a blast.

Sunday was Alex's first game. He got to do the coin toss and start. He had a lot of fun and is already talking about playing next year. He got to meet Gary Pinkel on Monday night. Martin forgot the camera in the van. Alex got to shake his hand. That made his day. I didn't get to go. I love Gary Pinkel and think he so hot. It's always been a joke with me that I'm going to hop on the back of his Harley and ride off into the sun set with him. Martin called me and said, "guess what Gary showed up on?" OMG, I'm so sorry I didn't go. But, I didn't want to drool all over him in front of my husband.

The Hodge family came to help cheer Alex on. As well as Gammy and Papa, Kalynn and Emma and Papa and Loey. He has already established a fan club! So, to end this post, I'm finally there. I'm really starting to get excited about my new job. I met some of the staff on Monday and they were so nice. I know I'm going to work my ass off and once school starts it's really going to be tough, but I can't get it out of my head, that, I'm going to finally, some day, be a nurse!!!

You Just Got Told

2009-08-26T10:12:00.002-05:00

As you all have heard me tell stories of Addie, you know very well that she has quite the imagination. She loves to put Alex's clothes on and pretend that she is Alex. So, the other day, I'm reading, minding my own business, when this pops in and says, "you're messing with the wrong guy." Uh? I'm not messing with anybody and where in the world did you come up with that?
She continues by taking off her glasses, pointing them at me and saying, "I said, you're messing with the wrong guy." She puts the glasses back on and starts to walk off and says, "I'll see you later, nerd." That wasn't the end of it. She also said as she is pointing her finger at me, "You just got told." And walks off.

Check

2009-08-24T14:33:00.009-05:00

So, as all of you know by now, I can check off getting a job at the University off of my "to do" list. Next step is to work my ass off for 6 months until I'm eligible for tuition reimbursement. Then, it's back to school for Pharmacology, Physiology, Nutrition and Chemistry. That's just the beginning. After I master those classes, it's on to Nursing School.

I thought I would be more excited about this, but to tell you the truth, I'm scared to death. I can hardly breath. I keep asking myself if this really is the right thing to do. I know it's what I want to do, but is it the right thing to do when you have so many more responsibilities? For example, the two precious souls above. I love them more than anything in the world and want to give them everything. I'm going to miss out on so much through this journey I'm about to dive into. Will they resent me? Will I regret my decision? I can't take the time I miss back.

I appreciate all of the kind words, wisdom and encouragement I have been given. But, I'm still scared. I know everything will work out and it will be worth it in the end, but that doesn't mean it's not scary as hell. So, here begins a new chapter in my life....

"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck."

Opportunity sometimes seems to knock more frequently on some people's doors, while others struggle, wondering when they'll get their big break. If we look closer, we see that lucky individuals share some traits. They expect to find opportunity around every corner. They can view any new situation, even a difficult one, as an opportunity.

The world is brimming with possibility. What if we were to enter each day and moment with an attitude of childlike curiosity? Look, here is another gate, a transition from one space to another. We reach out and lift the latch, hear the creak of the hinges, and , instead of staying where it is safe and familiar, we step through.

I resolve to open a new gate in my life. I'll take a peek and see what's on the other side.

...we shall call it Open the Gate.

Potty Talk

2009-08-11T09:01:00.004-05:00

One of the perks of being a female, potty talk. It's been a long time since I've gone to the bathroom with a group of girls, but it used to be one of the highlights of my day. Going to the bathroom with my girls in between classes, at lunch, at a party. It was the place to "catch up" on the gossip and did you see so and so doing such and such and did you hear what he/she said? It was always the place to make sure you were looking your best and that your outfit was cute. The bathroom at our home or my friends homes were always packed before a big night out. It didn't matter who was doing what in the bathroom either, we all just did our thing and talked non stop. It was great. So, this is what I found my girls doing, practicing their potty talk. Good for them, keep the female traditions going.
My back yard is a mud pit. Again. We have done this before, a couple of years ago when we got the swing set. Another story. A few months ago we had to have the two big trees in our yard taken down. They were dying and full of disease. Martin insisted that we have the tree stumps dug up. So we did. This is Eddie's machine. A guy that Martin works with. Yes, it is purple. Apparently this was a machine that was supposed to go to a different country. Why do people in other countries want a purple machine? I have no idea. Anyway, he let the kids play on it. I'm sure it's something that OSHA wouldn't approve of, but hey, I'm not getting Mother of the Year this year anyway. I've already blew that. Another long story. Apparently, all of the mothers of children Alex's age in our neighborhood are out to get me. I'm telling you, I'm real scared. One of the mom's names is Echo, the other is a Mormon. She judges me all of the time. So, I'm used to her. She really likes it when I sit out on my back porch with my glass of wine.

Since I'm on the subject of my Mormon neighbors, you know what really pissed me off about them? They sent home a Mormon bible with Alex the other day. What the hell? They know I'm Baptist and I occasionally go to church. They are not converting my son. No way. They also asked if Alex could go to church with them on Sunday. Um, let me see, no. I told Alex that they can't drink soda and that they can't play on Sundays and asked him if he really wanted to be a part of that. Who in the hell tries to convert someone else's child? The Mormons that's who. Back off.

Last night was supposed to be the first night of football practice for Alex. It rained and Parks and Rec wouldn't let them practice. His coach is really nice. He is one of the football coaches for MU. Don't ask me his name. Kim help me out please. Another reason I won't be getting Mother of the Year.

He seems really nice and I think he will teach Alex a lot. I'm not sure how Alex will take to football. He has to practice 4 night a week. And I thought Cub Scouts was bad. I thought it was funny when the coach was talking to the parents and asked them to please not get involved with the refs, other coaches, etc. He would handle all of that, there was no need for the parents to get involved. What do you think he has delt with in the past?

Just Because

2009-08-04T13:28:00.003-05:00

Life has been uneventful for us lately. I'm not complaining, no drama is good. Although, I kind of got used to having drama in my life and now it seems a bit boring. I have absolutely nothing worth talking about. It seems every weekend has been too cold to go to the pool or lake. We didn't take a vacation this year. No birthdays to speak to. Just going to work and raising the kids. Just plain ol' life.
These pictures are from John's birthday party. I just never got the chance to post them. Work has picked back up again. School starts in less than 3 weeks now. Alex is going to be in the third grade. It really is hard for me to swallow. Just three years left of elementary school and then he will be starting a middle school. Seriously?

With nothing going on in our lives I've had a lot of time to reflect on my life. I'm focusing on all the good things. We are all healthy, thank God. I have two terrific kids. My baby sister is going to have a baby of her own. Now that is hard to believe. Kalynn is really like a daughter to me than a sister. It's hard for me to picture her as a mom. Don't get me wrong, she will be fabulous. It's just one of those things that's hard to get your head around. She was 12 weeks on Sunday. So on to being thankful. I have a job. This economy stinks (oops, that I am not thankful for). I have a husband that loves me, annoys me yes, but he loves me and is faithful to me. Wine. I really am thankful for wine. Sorry, can't help it. Hopefully this weekend I'll be thankful for the sun and warm weather. I'm pale in August. That really is just not typical of me. I'm hoping for a trip to the lake this weekend. We'll see.

Dress Up

2009-07-28T15:36:00.002-05:00

Complete dorks! What else can I say? But they are my dorks and I think they are kind of cute.

Brittney's Wedding Day

2009-07-23T12:05:00.006-05:00

Ok, so my dad has been giving me a real hard time about not having had this posted yet. He emailed me today and said that their first wedding anniversary would be here before he got to see the pictures of Addie as the flower girl. Isn't he funny?
I've been a little concerned about Addie's conversation of kissing like boyfriend and girlfriend lately. She has mentioned it a lot. It's so funny though because the innocence of being a child is still there (meaning she has no idea of what she is talking about) because she asks me to kiss her like boyfriend and girlfriend. I know, gross. I thought she got this from Hanna Montana because now HM has a boyfriend on the show. Well, I found out it was from the wedding. This is the kiss she saw. It was clean and innocent. But, Brittney and Byron are boyfriend and girlfriend....

The wedding went well and was beautiful. Addie did very well. She did pull a Shultz Shenanigan but it wasn't that bad. She got about half way down the aisle and ran out of flowers. She held up her basket, tipped it over and yelled, " I ran out of flowers." This is the smile I get now when taking pictures.

Here's a good, believable smile! The thing on her head kept falling off! This is the other flower girl.

Ok dad, are you happy now?

Weekend Birthday Bash!

2009-07-21T10:47:00.005-05:00

July is certainly the month for birthdays. This past weekend we celebrated our friends Nathan and Riley's birthdays.
These are Addie's friends from school. I discovered something new about Addie at his birthday party. She is quite the little bossy lady. She demanded all of her friends to play with her and how to play with her. When I asked her why she was bossing her friends around she simply replied, "because I want them to play with me."

We also celebrated Riley's birthday. She had a lot of fun stuff to do at her party, including this water slide.

Check out this cake! Of course, I'm totally wanting to know how this cake was made. It was super cute.

Not only did they have a water slide and a super cute cake, but motorized, ride on toys. How fun is that?

Because the typical weather for July is really out of wack they had to create a "hot tub" as Alex called it. It was filled with warm water vs. cold on the water slide.

The ladies particularly enjoyed the hot tub! We had a good time, thanks for having us. I really enjoyed visting with everyone.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting Fall fever something fierce. Must be the weather.

Lucky

2009-07-17T08:51:00.002-05:00

Remember the Christmas when Josh, my brother in law, went way out of his way at the craziest shopping time of the year, to get Addie the tea set I so had to have? Well, guess what he did for Alex? He bought him a ticket to the Home Run Derby! Alex is one lucky kid. Kelly, Jamison, Josh and Alex headed to St. Louis as soon as Alex got out of school. Alex was so excited. It will be something he won't ever forget. Thanks Uncle Josh for making another memorable moment in our lives. We love you!

I think Josh qualifies to get Uncle of the Year! What do you think? Or, better yet, maybe he will get father of the year? So the person that is pregnant but I couldn't tell, guess who it is? That's right, Kalynn. She is about 9 weeks pregnant now and they went to the first appointment last week and everything looked well. Her due date is February 14, the same as Alex's was. Kind of neat uh? So, it will be funny to see how close Alex and the new little one are in birth dates. We couldn't be more excited for them. Addie keeps asking, "Does Kalynn still have that baby in her tummy?" Cute. She hasn't been too ill. She has her moments, but for the most part is doing well. Congratulations guys, love you.

Binky Fairy

2009-07-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

As you know the "Binky Fairy" came on Sunday and took all of Addie's Binky's. The first night, as I said was really hard. The next day at school when it was time to take a nap, she cried for about 30 minutes. The last couple of nights she really hasn't wanted to go to bed but no crying. This has been really hard for her. Yesterday she asked what the fairy did with her Binky's. Then she asked me last night if I knew where the Binky Fairy lived. I told her I didn't know. She then asked if I could look on a map and find it. I asked why. She continues to tell me while her voice is shaky that she just wants to talk to the Binky Fairy. The girl is breaking my heart. I feel so bad. I hope this passes soon.

Ok, just for the record, Martin does read my blog and he knows I'm only kidding him when I call him a dumb ass. Well, maybe I'm not, but he doesn't get offended!

Firsts

2009-07-08T09:53:00.010-05:00

Last night was the first night of summer swim lessons and Addie's first time ever for swim lessons. We usually go through Columbia Parks and Rec but we tried something different this year and went with Machers. Both of the children enjoyed it and can't wait to go back on Thursday.
Check out the determination look on her face. Actually, we forgot her goggles and will have to remember to take them next time. Of course, her Hanna Montana ones.

So, on the way to lessons we pass a gentleman on a bike. Now those of you that know my husband well know he is quite the smart ass or dumb ass whichever term you prefer to use. He thinks he is funny. He comments as we pass the biker, "good thing there is a cop right there (filling up at a gas station) or I would harass you." I guess when Martin was younger his friends and him would play a game that they thought was funny and when they passed a biker they would smack them on the ass as they passed them. Anyway, I look at him knowing this and give him the look. You know, the one "I can't believe you just said that in front of the kids look." Because I don't want my kids thinking it is cool to harass bikers. Being the smart one he is, he replies with, "what? like harass is a bad word." He knew damn well what the look was for. Thank God Alex didn't ask what he meant by that.

Either of the kids made a comment because they were distracted by another cop car with it's lights on at McGinty's pulling someone over. No, Hayden, it wasn't your mom! Addie is almost out of her seat belt and car seat trying to get a good look and says, "oh no, what is going on here?" Alex says, "probably just another drunk person." Martin, "probably, since they are at a bar." I swear there is no censorship in my family. Why try and keep the kids innocent?

Alex did really well. We were a little worried because it has been awhile for him and we were worried he would have forgotten everything he had learned. Of course, I shouldn't have been worried because according to the PE coach at school he is a natural. Yeah, I was at school one day a couple of weeks ago and this coach comes up to me and asks if I'm Alex's mom. He just wanted to let me know that he has been keeping an eye on Alex and his abilities in sports. He is a natural he tells me. Playing sports comes very easy to him. Keep encouraging him he will do well. Uh? Thanks. I'm tyring not to go all crazy mom and place him in every sport possible. I'm letting him go at his own pace and try the sports he likes. We'll see. Who knew?

Football starts this fall and Alex wants to play. Look at him! They are going to snap my boy in half. I'm not very excited about this one. Addie is a flower girl in another wedding this weekend. Brittney, Martin's niece is getting married. I hope all goes well and she doesn't pull some kind of Shultz Shenanigan on me. You never know what's going to happen in this family.

Birthday Blast

2009-07-06T12:35:00.024-05:00

We had a pretty good weekend considering nothing went "right" all weekend long. It started with the trip on the way to the lake. Martin took the kids by himself on Friday morning. I had to work. That's a whole different story. Of course on the way there my kids have to stop to pooh. Now, I don't know how many times a day I complain about having to wipe Addie's booty because she goes so much. I complain to Martin about this. Frequently. So, because the men's restroom where they stop is dirty, he sends Addie into the women's alone. To pooh. Yeah, you get where I'm going with this. Needless to say, she left without getting wiped. Gammy took care of that when they got to her house. Nice. Talk about calling DFS. (and stupid)

Of course as soon as they arrive it starts to rain. It continues to rain the entire day. I guess it managed to stop for a bit in the afternoon so they go for a ride on the boat. Well, apparently, the boat has a leak. They had to take the boat off of the water. I rode down with Kalynn, Josh and their friends. Which ended up working great for me because I got to ride in the back with Glen. Remember Glen? Addie thought the water was cold. How cold? Damn cold. She announced this to everyone as she was getting in, "this water is damn cold." When no one responded, "I said, this water is DAMN cold." That's nice.

There's Glen, the hottie on the left. That's my girl, hangin with the guys. She is no dummy. So, the good luck continues when we go down to the dock on Saturday a.m. to enjoy the SeaDoo and sun. On the first ride, by Martin, it dies. The SeaDoo is broke. So we hung out on the dock all day. It wasn't bad. I actually got hot enough to get in. I don't usually do lake water.

Alex, chillin.

Um, yeah, I don't know what to say, other than, mom you are a dork.

Martin took a picture of me because, " I'm never in the pictures." Now that I see this picture, I don't think he was very concerned about me being in pictures. What do you think?

Alex, chillin. We headed home on Saturday to eat and watch the fireworks at the arena. We went to see the fireworks at the Hearnes Center and sat in the parking lot waiting and waiting. Until we finally decided that they cancelled the fireworks because of the rain. So, we left. I was literally falling asleep at the wheel. I'm not kidding. When we left Martin kept yelling at me to pull over because I kept driving into oncoming traffic. I was really tired. So, apparently, we ruined Alex's 4th of July because when we left he threw a big fit yelling that this was the worst 4th of July he had ever had. Then, he launched his shoe from the back of the van to the front of the van. We will just end that story there.

Sunday was Addie's birthday and it went well. Again, even though nothing really went right. The cake leaned a little to one side, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Practice, practice, practice. We decided to move the party at the last minute to Kalynn's club house in her neighborhood so the kids could swim. Well, really so I didn't have to have it at my house and worry about cleaning. But, anyway, so the kids could swim. Great swimming weather yesterday uh? Oh well, it didn't seem to bother the swimmers too much.

So, everyone, this is John. Can you tell by the look on Addie's face how she feels about him? All she wanted for her birthday was John to be there. When asked what she wished for when she blew out her candles it was for John to be at all of her birthday parties. Last night we gave up the binky. It was really hard for her. We're talking a whole hour of hard crying. So, I tried to get her mind off of it and asked her what her favorite part of her party was. John being there. What was your favorite present? The one John gave me. She hearts John.

Thanks Aunt Kelly for helping with my presents! I just couldn't resist this picture below. Isn't he adorable? Hayden wouldn't let me take her picture, but she looked so precious. Her hair is really long and really blond. She has little curls on the ends of her hair, it's gorgeous.

I blowin bubbles.

The famous, Emma smile.

Ok, last year it was the Hannah Montana wig. This year it's the star glasses. What should have at the party next year? Let's take votes! Come on, we could have a lot of fun with this.

This is the old doctor Shultz outfit.

Here is the new and improved Dr. Shultz.

All things considered. It was a great weekend. Swimming lessons start tomorrow! Oh, I almost forgot. Addie got a girl and boy Barbie for her birthday. Last night she brought the boy Barbie to Martin and said this, "Dad, you have got to check this boy's Ab's out. He has great abs!"

2009-07-03T08:20:00.002-05:00

This little firecracker turns 4 on Sunday. Addie is full of spunk and keeps us laughing. Saturday night the Binky fairy comes and takes all of her Binky's to donate to other children. I think this is going to be really hard for her. Addie still adores Hanna Montana and loves to put on performances of her own. She also likes to dress up and pretend to be Dr. Shultz. She has a very big imagination. We love you Addie bug and Happy Birthday!

The Climb

2009-06-25T15:42:00.003-05:00

Ok, so most of you know that I am a sappy mess most of the time. It drives my older sister nuts. She is always telling me, "No, we aren't going to have a theme with this or you don't need to write a poem about this, etc." I could probably write novels or movies and become very rich. The sappier, the better.

Anyway, I'm in the middle of a funk right now and I'm trying to get out of it. I have to feel really bad first and then I usually move back up. I got a call from JT, the recruiter at the U, and he basically told me that it is near impossible to get on at the U right now. It is more like a lottery. They have more people applying for jobs than they do jobs. He said on average they get 150-300 applicants for each job. He just wanted to tell me not to take it personally and to just hang in there but not to expect anything to happen anytime soon. Hence, the funk.

So, you all know Addie loves, adores, Miley Cyrus right? So, we are always listening to her music. It's ok, it doesn't bother me too much. However, I have to admit, I love this song and have ever since I heard it and so does Addie. I'm glad she likes it and I hope she lives by it. So, today and until I get out of my funk, this is my theme song.

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on'

Cause there's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-23T08:31:00.003-05:00

We had a nice weekend. I was a little worried at first on Saturday. I was really looking forward to going to the pool and getting some pool time in. Last year the pool opened at 10 on Saturdays. So, we loaded up and headed to the pool at 9:45. I like to get there right when it opens so I can get a chair. It was still sunny out at this time. We get there to a line of people waiting for the pool to open, at NOON! They changed the hours to cut back on hours and make the budget. The economy is affecting my pool time too. It sucks. And, I have a van full of screaming kids. We go home. Between the time we get home and the wait until the pool opens, it turns cloudy. No pool time.

Sunday was plenty hot and sunny however. We got the pleasure of watching Emma while Kelly and her crew went to the Cards/Royals game. She is such a peach. I love her. She was good the entire day and even took a nap at the pool.

After the pool we headed to my little sister's house for our Father's Day dinner. Emma was attached to Alex the whole day. She really likes him and he loves that she likes him. He really wants Martin and I to have another one. But, somebody else is going to take care of having another little one around. I can't tell you who. But I'm very excited.

Wedding Weekend in Marthasville

2009-06-18T08:34:00.005-05:00

It was a great weekend to get married. The weather was nice. A little hot but not too hot, like yesterday and today are going to be. This is my sister in law Kristina. Nobody likes having their picture taken with her because you always end up looking like an elephant next to her. Case and point above (hello fat, big head).

I don't have any pictures of the bride or the wedding. But, it was a really pretty wedding. The wedding was at one and ended at about 2:30. the dinner wasn't until 5 so we had a lot of time to kill in between so we had to go to a winery. Bummer. You know my heart was broken. Once again we found a really neat one.

I told Martin I wanted to move to the Marthasville/Herman/Washington area. The land and atmosphere around these areas is absolutely breathe taking. I felt at peace the whole time we were there. We mostly were driving on Hwy 47 and that was when I made up my mind that I wanted to move there. It is simply beautiful and peaceful. I love it. Martin asked if I would settle on retiring there. I'm considering it.

These are what I call the long lost cousins. We next to never get to see them so are always very happy when we do get to spend time with them. My kids adore them. It turned out to be a nice weekend. No pool time however. I think I will get to make up for that this weekend. I can't wait.

Who Can Comment?

2009-06-16T11:03:00.003-05:00

ANYONE! So, at first when I posted in the previous post that if you didn't want to hear about my continuous ranting about my career journey to stop reading now, that really no one wanted to hear about it. Why? Because no one left a comment. Ok, I can take a hint, I'll shut up. Not really, but I thought everyone was really sick of hearing about every job I apply for and that I didn't get the job. This could still be the case, but I'm going with the fact that people have had trouble making comments on by blog. That makes me feel better anyway.

So, now anyone can post a comment and should not have any troubles AND you don't have to do a word verification. (Hey Michelle, can you do this as well? It's easy. Just go to your settings and go to comments and just check that people don't have to do a word verification. It's annoying. But, you may have good reasons for this. If so, I'll keep doing it.)

Ok, so, comment away. NO, Kim, in answer to your question, I have not heard one damn thing. I couldn't even make a comment on my own blog to answer your question.

Patiently Waiting...

2009-06-11T08:35:00.002-05:00

...again. I'm playing another waiting game. Why not? It's so much fun and I enjoy it so much. I have nothing better to do than wait around for something to happen in my favor. So, once again, I am waiting to hear back from the University. If you are sick to death of listening to me about my job adventures, then stop reading now. If not, well, I applied for a Unit Clerk position on the PEDS unit. Yes, I know this is going backwards. But, in order to get tuition reimbursement from the U I have to work there for at least 6 months. In order to go to school, I'm going to have to work a simple job that I can work nights and, hopefully, be able to study at. So, here we go, another list:

Get simple, night job at the U
Take 3 of the prerequisite classes I need while working at U for 6 months
Enroll in nursing program
Finish nursing program

The good news is, I ran into JT at Moser's last week. JT is an old HS friend of mine. We actually even went to prom together once. He is also a lead recruiter at the U. Now you would think that's my way in. But, it doesn't work that way anymore, the who you know part. He is unfortunately not the recruiter for this position. But he said he would talk to Kim, the one that is the recruiter for the position. I used to work with her at Boone, but it doesn't matter. 130 people applied for the position. I'm sure more than half of them work at the U already so have a better chance than I do. But, we'll see.

The really good news is that JT told me that he sits on the board that decides what students/workers get a scholarship to the accelerated nursing program. That's the program I will be doing because it's for people that already have a bachelors degree and it only takes 15 months. It will probably take me a shorter time than that because I will get to test out of the first classes that go over the basics. I already know the basics because I was a Certified Nurses Technician. Anyway, the scholarship, JT said, pays for the whole program!!! I'm supposed to get in touch with him when I get to that point. Which will be about 5 years from now. It seems that way anyway. I'm so excited and ready to get this part of my life started. I can't wait to become a nurse. Please send any good vibes my way. I'm getting really frustrated. I want it to happen now.

Ok, as per request, the boots...

2009-06-03T14:02:00.005-05:00

I know, I know Joey, the boots. I thought about that as well, that was the whole big deal for me with these pictures, the boots. It just turned out that the pictures I liked the most didn't show the boots. But, I do love these pics with the boots! Thanks Joey for letting us borrow them. And thanks Emily for letting us use your hat.

Thank You Kim You Are Awesome!

2009-06-02T08:33:00.007-05:00

So, what can I say other than, Kim you are awesome! Thank you so much for doing these for us. I can't wait to see the birthday invitation you will put together.

Kim so graciously took Addie's 4 year old pics for me. That's right, she will be four this year. I know, I can't believe it either. These two above are my all time most faves. Alex wants to know when we are going to do his. Kim?

Thank you Addie for being you. You make me smile and my heart feel proud.

Figuring Out Who You Are Is The Whole Point Of The Human Experience.

2009-05-27T10:47:00.005-05:00

So, today is the day, I pursue my nursing degree. You have to start somewhere and this is apparently the starting point when going back to school:

Step 1: Admissions Application-Check
Step 2: Free Application for Federal Student Aid-Check
Step 3: Check the status of your financial aid
Step 4: Applying for student loans online-I'm hoping I won't have to use loans this time around
Step 5: Other requirements for aid eligibility

This is just the beginning of the checklists. This is just to get back into college. Once I complete this process, I have a whole other list waiting for me to actually enroll in classes and start taking classes. Oh, how I don't miss these days. You should earn some type of degree or recognition to just enroll in a college and classes. Seriously. The nursing program is a whole different story and lists upon lists. I will not be discouraged, I will continue on...

Caesar, when embarking in a storm, said that is was not necessary he should live, but that it was absolutely necessary he should get to the place to which he was going.

Before I can even think about applying for the nursing program I have to finish up some pre-requirement classes that I didn't need to complete my business degree. Another list. A list of three biology classes with labs and a chemistry class with a lab. I will start these classes in the fall. Or at least that is the plan. I still have this other list of grants and scholarships I have to do research on. Which I need to get started on...

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

Just Me

2009-05-26T13:06:00.003-05:00

So, I decided to start a new blog. Why? Well, for several reasons. First, this one is free! Second, I just wanted to start fresh with a new look or outlook. Third, I'm taking on a new attitude in life!

I am 32 and am finding that since turning 30 and having kids, these have been the hardest years of my life. (I had Alex when I was 25) Some might find this odd I know. It is what it is. The hardest thing I have found about these years is finding myself. I have a hard time determinig who I am anymore. Besides mom and wife. I think I lost who I am or who I want to be. So, this blog is all about, well, me. Me just being me and finding me again. I don't have a glorified job, I don't have a lot of money, I don't have a perfect body, and my outlook on things can honestly, be, well, questionable. (If you don't have a sense of humor)

What I do have is a great family, and a job (thank you God) a wonderful home and great friends. I do love my friends and family. My goal is to find the good in everything, things happen for a reason, good and bad. Another part of my goal, to surrond myself with people that won't judge me for being me and accept me for who I am. Lastly, do the things in my life that make me feel good about myself and give me a sense of accomplishment. I will start living that part of life I have placed on the shelf, for me, about me. It doesn't all have to be about the kids! They already took the best parts of my body, what more do they want from me?

There are probably a lot of things you don't know about me. Only for the stupid reason that I don't show a lot of who I am. Why? Because I'm stupid and worry about what people will think of me. That people will judge me. Done with that. Think what you will of me and then, do me a favor. Go and look in the mirror! Guess what? You are not perfect. Repeat after me, you are not perfect.

So, if you want, sit back and be prepared because from here on out, it's just me! And guess what? I don't care if you don't like it ; ) Have a happy day!

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.