Burleigh's Blurbs

Vertigo

2012-01-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not talking about the Hitchcock movie, I'm talking about room spinning, nausea inducing vertigo. I'm having it again....yes, again. I've been having it off and on for a couple of years. The first time I had it was severe, I was nauseous and could barely stand. I went to the dr. and he put me through a battery of tests and determined that it was an inner ear infection, wrote me a Rx for antibiotics and told me to also take a Claritin to help drain the fluid. Within a few days I was fine. Since then, I've had small incidences of spinning, but nothing that wasn't fixed with some pseudoephedrine. When the Dr. looked in my left ear, he stated that there was a lot of scar tissue within the ear and asked if I had any surgeries. His statement has bothered me since then because I do notice that my left ear is weaker and I don't hear very well with it.

For the last 5 days, I've been suffering with spinning again. This time, allergy drugs are not helping. I've researched vertigo online and tried the "exercises" to reset the "stones" in the ears - no help. It's time to find out what's wrong, I have an appt with an ENT on Monday. I really want to know why it keeps happening (is it stress induced, infection, defect), what's up with my left ear, and get my hearing checked. I'm DONE with feeling like I'm falling into a hole. There are times this wakes me from sleep because I roll over and feel like I'm falling out of bed, when I'm not.

Quality of Life

2012-01-21T08:49:00.000-08:00

1 year ago today, I wrote about Oreo and thinking that she was going to die...any day Oreo . Well, 1 year later and Oreo is curled up on the couch snoring loudly. I may have written your eulogy a year ago, but how was I to know that you'd defy the odds and still be around!? And Happy Birthday! You're 13.

In the last year, you have become slower, whinier and gassier. MAN, you can clear a room! You're funny when you fart loudly and scare yourself. It's generally the silent ones which are deadly. You can no longer walk the 2 blocks to the bus stop, the 1 block walk to the dumpster is about all you can handle. However, you are spunky when you want to be. You get excited over seeing people, you will run...trot really and you are happy. Your age is catch up as you like to lay in front of the heater when I turn it on, you sleep more often and you're a bit grayer in the face.

Yes, you still have cancer- although, I really wonder if it's cancer. Your mammary tumor us HUGE, but it doesn't seem to bother you too much. We get some funny looks from people when I take you outside and I'm sure that those people are thinking I'm cruel to have this tumor hanging from you, but even the vet says that it's fine to stay and the risks of surgery are just too great.

You still LOVE to chew on rawhide bones. Sure, you have your good days and bad, but the good still outweigh the bad ones. I'm not going to predict the future or whether 2012 is going to be your last year because every time I think that you're a goner, you just prove me wrong.

Black Friday Fun? Of COURSE!!!

2011-11-28T10:15:00.001-08:00

After spending the day eating delicious food, I tried to go take a nap prior to heading out to Toys R Us shopping and then to work. I said I tried, but failed....I was too excited. Black Friday for me is like Christmas for kids - I LOVE IT!! I like the crowds, the people watching, the mayhem that happens. It's just exciting to experience it and watch it all unfold.

At 6pm, Catrina and I headed off to Big Lots because they were open until 8pm and we may as well start our shopping early. Stuff was purchased, but I cannot remember what.... Once BL's was done we headed across the river to Toys R Us to stand in line and get in early when they open at 9am. We were in line at 7. We people watched, made friends with the people in line with us, tried to bribe Portland Police, tried to bribe TRU workers....yea, it didn't get us far. Then it was 9pm and the line started moving - YAHHOOOOOOO, let the fun begin!

Catrina and I are no longer amateurs when it comes to BF shopping. This year, Catrina was a organizational guru! No longer did we have handwritten lists of what we were going to purchase and where, nooooooooo that's too simple. This year Catrina organized each child with the items they wanted, THEN listed each store where they could be found AND at which price!!! This way we knew at a glance that the Angry Bird hooded blankets were the best deal at Kohl's for $19.99, plus an additional 15% coupon I had, PLUS my employee discount.

Once in TRU, we stick together for the initial "big" purchase items that we're seeking, then we divide and conquer on other items (when you have boy and girl items you have to split up). Once we're satisfied with what's in the cart, we had off to get into line. However, we tag team while in line. I stood in line first while Catrina went back into the bowels of the store to find more goodies. Back she came with an armful of stuff, tagged me from the ropes and I was off! It's like WWE and Supermarket Sweep all in on!! (Supermarket Sweep - there's a golden oldie)

We were out of TRU by 11pm. Back to my house to unload the car and go our separate ways. Catrina was off for more BF shopping, I was headed inside to get ready for work. Since I had been up since 7am, I thought it would be wise to shower and brush my teeth b/c I'm not getting that opportunity until after 12pm the next day.

Kohl's was CRAZY!!! The line snaked through the store, but I have to say people were all very nice. In the 9 1/2 hours I worked, I only encountered 1 crabby person. I started at 1am and we were crazy busy until around 3:30am, then DEAD from 4 until around 7'ish. By 8:15 we were crazy busy again. That lasted until I left my register at 11:30. Catrina was there to meet me for some shopping - which she had already started (YAY!! Cuz I was tired) and we were out of there, had lunch and home by 12:45. I was asleep by 1, but up at 4pm. What's a couple of girls to do? Go SHOPPING!! Fred Meyers, Target and the Mall were all hit. We picked up some Green Tea Kitchen (Chinese food) on the way home and collapsed in bed for a long winters nap.

Mini promo, BIG compliment!

2011-11-21T16:31:00.001-08:00

I have been working at HP for almost 2 months now, fully trained for just over a month. While I'm still learning some things, I've got things running pretty well in my cube. My accounts are very very slow and quiet, so I've had lots of downtime which has been noticed by management. The way our system is set up, I'm not able to walk over to a coworker and just ask if there is something I can help them with because all area's within the system need specific permissions. I'm only allowed to work on specific accounts - mine.

Today, I was actually working on a claim when the 2 bosses came up behind me and said that they'd like to speak with me. WHOA - my heart started beating a mile a minute. I wasn't taken to the open meeting room - the one with no doors where we usually meet for things. Oh no, I was brought to a conference room that had a door and 3 chairs. OH CRAP! We file in, take a seat and shut the door. GULP.

Tina, we know that your 2 accounts haven't been keeping you very busy. This is it. Do you feel that you know what you're doing pretty well? GULP - yes. We feel that you are a quick learner and can grasp things pretty quickly, so we've decided that we're going to give you a more challenging account and take away your 2 easy accounts. AWESOME - gulp. Sigh of relief!! The bosses have liked what they've seen so far and have decided to give me a very large account.

HOWEVER....

The account they are giving me is the account NO ONE wants. From what I know, it's challenging and the people associated with the account are difficult. Hey, you know what? I'm up for the challenge and difficult people are my specialty!! I'm ready!

EDIT: I should state that I was not given any raise or bonus or anything for this change. It's just that I was recognized and given the responsibility of a large difficult account so soon after starting.

Who do Voodoo? We do!!

2011-11-19T07:58:00.001-08:00

I'm seriously lacking in my blogging!! I found photo's from this summer that I haven't published yet!

Labor Day weekend, I worked at Kohl's, but also had time to go have some fun in Portland. After work on Sunday, Catrina and I decided that it was a perfect evening to go meet our friends in Portland for a drink. A drink turned into an evening of FUN!! A night of fun in Portland is best ended with a VooDoo Doughnut.

Catrina and Cris

Christian and me

Time to DANCE!!

Christian is excited about what he is displaying!

An actual VooDoo doughnut

Looks DELISH!!

Retail Manners Reminder

2011-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, time to remind everyone to BE KIND to the retail staff at the stores you'll be shopping. With Black Friday quickly approaching and the mayhem that follows, please remember the following:

* Be kind to your retail workers. We're making close to if not minimum wage and we are just the worker bee's of the operation.

* You're going to stand in line. I don't make the schedules of how many people are on the registers. Tapping your foot, sighing or complaining LOUDLY does not help the situation. The extra minutes that you're waiting in line compared to the whole scheme of your lifetime, is a mere blip, so put on a smile, complain about the weather to your neighbor, play Angry Birds on your phone, or read from your NOOK cuz you're going to be waiting in a line at some point.

* Be friendly when we ask you a billion questions. Would you like a store cc? Would you like gift receipts? Do you need boxes? One of those questions is MANDATORY and the rest are to make YOUR life easier.

* Don't yell at us or get angry when you can't find a shopping cart, or when the item you want is no longer in your size.

* Please be aware of the time. When you hear the "the store is closing" announcement, please do not grab your stuff and "quickly" go try them on in the fitting room. Head to the nearest register and put the items on hold or pay for them. The announcement means that the store is C L O S I N G, not a warning bell of when you need to start trying on clothes. I'm tired and want to go home and I have at least 30 min of work to finish after you've left the store.

* If you want to apply for the store cc, then do so. Don't worry about the people behind you - again, perspective people. For our store cc, it takes LESS than 3 min to complete the process. I can finish bagging your items in the time that it takes you to complete the application. If you want it, then get it. Our bonus' and raises are based upon our new credit card sign-ups.

* Please don't come to the register with a cart full of items and THEN decide which items you're going to purchase. Please make those decisions prior to coming to the check out line. I realize that we have last minute changes of heart (those are fine), I'm talking about when you have a heaping cart full of stuff and more than 5 items are "I'm not going to get that". I am the one who has to put all the items that you don't want back onto their hangers or folded and into their proper place - AFTER my shift.

* From now until February, stores are going to look messy. Clothes may not always be neatly folded, buttoned, or tied and random items may be found on shelves they don't belong. As much as we try, the customer/worker ratio is WAY off and we just cannot keep up with demand.

Have a great time shopping - I know I will, but just remember that the workers in the store deserve some credit for doing their job during the hardest time of the year! AND, if you see a retail worker doing a great job, let them know - it helps us get through the rough days. I remember specific compliments I've received from customers - complaints go in one ear and out the other.

4254

2011-11-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

4254 - the number of photos deleted from my computer the other night. There are still over 2000 pictures on my computer, but PHEW, it's a dramatic clean up. After double and triple checking that the photo's were backed up onto the external hard drive, I didn't have the guts to delete. Catrina sat there and did it.....how do you delete pictures of your baby!!!???!!

Ok, ok, I know that they are not permanently deleted, but it was still moving whole entire area's of his life into the trash can....then emptying said can. Again, I still think that maybe the old fashioned way of film would just be simpler.

While Catrina sat at the computer, I was busy busy cutting fabric for the upcoming Bazaar I'm participating in. My MOMS Club group is having a 2nd Annual Holiday Bazaar and this year Catrina and I got the crazy idea I should enter. I'm making pillowcases - fun pillowcases. Children themed and Christmas themed ones. My mom started making pillowcases when my nieces and nephew were little (they are now in their 20's), and I have many pillowcases that I use on a daily basis. I have pillowcases (multiple patterns) for each holiday - Christmas, New Years, Valentines, (no St. Pats), Easter, Halloween. Plus, cases for "everyday" use. Dancing hippo's, flowers, race cars, wolves, polar bears....you get the idea. I have tons and love them! They add a fun whimsical touch to a bed. I'll post pictures of them soon.

Things I learned in Canada

2011-10-28T00:14:00.000-07:00

For my birthday weekend, I was treated to a long weekend get away in Victoria, BC. I cannot post pictures and give you details of my trip b/c my camera died when we were on vacation AND I still need to organize my 6000+ photos before I load the 500 plus that I have waiting on Catrina's camera. Once I get the pictures loaded onto the computer, you'll get a full pictorial of the trip.

So, instead, you get the "Things I learned in Canada" blog:

1. When you go on vacation - always bring an extra camera!! Thank goodness that Catrina brought hers or we'd be screwed. On day 2 of our trip my camera decided to stop opening and closing. Yes, my less than 6mo camera...dead. It's being shipped to the camera hospital as I type. While that may not be a Canadian thing, it's just a good tip to remember!

2. Canadians really do say Eh a lot.

3. Everybody is extremely friendly

4. "Cheers" is used a greeting and a goodbye.

5. Canadian's just don't understand our funny comments. We thought of ourselves as very funny, but hardly a chuckle from anyone. Humph!

6. Don't always rely on the people working at the Visitors Center. We went in to ask where exactly was the "light colored named bricks which out line the footprint of the original Victoria fort" as it mentioned in our guidebook - we had been looking for the better part of an hour. The girls looked at us like we had 2 heads and were speaking in a thick southern accent.

7. Victoria is one of the most haunted cities in the world. Almost every building in the city has had some claim of haunting. They say it's because of 3 factors: The layer of Basalt rock under the city, the mountains surrounding and the salt water all keep the energy of spirits within. TAKE THE HAUNTED TOUR, it was fantastic!

8. Canadian's like their shoes. While we may have a coffee place on every corner, there is a shoe store on every corner in Victoria. And not just moderately priced shoes...NOOOO, these were shoes that you picked up, looked at the price tag and VERY VERY carefully put down as the $300+ price tag on a pair of simple flats suggests that you don't wear the shoes, you just admire them from behind a glass case.

9. Whatever you do, do NOT change your look after you get your passport!! Don't grow your hair out, get contacts...nothing! Canadian boarder patrol almost didn't let Catrina leave Canada b/c they truly didn't believe that it was her on her passport. Her passport is 3-4 years old, she had shorter hair and glasses. Today she has longer hair, is 3-4 years older and wears contacts. Ok, she was wearing a baseball hat the day we were leaving, but she removed it and the guy still questioned whether it was her. Also, Boarder Patrol on either side of the water does not appreciate our humor either.

10. The legal drinking age in Canada is 19. When you go to a club, you feel VERY old!! But the next day when you're taking a different tour and you mention that you were at XYZ club the night before and the guy says "I was there last night also", you suddenly have TONS to talk about and he really doesn't care how much time he's taking showing you around the city, even when the boss calls!!

Canada was a blast and Victoria is beautiful! Can't wait to post pictures and tell all about it.

Technology developed

2011-10-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

I need to have faith in technology soon. My computer is older and running out of memory. I have more than 7,000 pictures saved on my computer and it's time to off load a lot them onto an external hard drive. This is where my faith must come into play. My faith that this will work because these photo's are D's entire history! It's soooo scary. I know that I could probably purge more than 1/2 of these, but how? How do you choose 1 photo over another?

This is where technology and old school compete. Back when we had film camera's, we were only allowed to take a certain amount of photos. Film rolls came in 12, 24, and I think 48 pictures - that's it. When you got them back from the developer, you went through those hard copies and tossed out what you didn't like, but you were limited to the number of photos. Well, with technology our digital camera's can take as many pictures as a 2, 4 or 8 gig card will hold. Then we just download those photos onto the computer and the card is empty - start again. Once those photos are downloaded on to the computer, yes, we can delete, but sometimes we keep those "silly" photos that we'd probably had purged in the past. We keep the ones where Aunt Sally has her eyes closed because it's a fabulous picture of us, the multiple pictures of our infant baby just laying there because how do you purge pictures of your baby, and the multiple pictures of the flowers in the garden because it was the time where you were playing with your new cameras features. Keep keep keep. My edit button is broken, but edit I must and then I must have faith that the pictures will upload correctly to the external hard drive. Crossing my fingers.

First Day Jitters (and not from nerves)

2011-09-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

After a slight mix-up between corporate in GA and the Vancouver office, I started work today.

I must back track just a bit....   The slight mix-up scared me silly!!   The only person I've spoken with on a regular basis before and during my hiring process is in Georgia. During our phone call, two weeks ago, she stated that I had several things I had to do prior to my start day (drug test, I-9 to be sent to GA, and misc other paperwork) and as soon as she receives all the info, she'd be calling me back. I completed everything by Tuesday and I waited *insert the Jeopardy theme song here* ....and waited. Finally on Sunday night I put it on my "to-do" list to call her back.   On Monday morning, while meeting with friends for bagels she called me. YAY a start date on the horizon. UNTIL.....*dum dum duuuuuum* she asks me how my first day is going.

Um, what?

She proceeded to say that I was to start today.

Ummmmm, pardon me? I think my hearing has just failed me. Did you say I was to start today?

She then asked if Vancouver office had called me regarding my start date - no they hadn't or I'd be sitting in an office rather than the bagel shop. She then looked through paperwork and stated that I hadn't completed all the paperwork - YES, YES I DID!! After a moment of silence, she said that she was going to call the Vanc. office and see what's happened. She called me back about an hour later and stated that 1/2 of my paperwork landed in Vanc. and the other 1/2 in GA. OY!! Don't give me a heart attack!! With that, she said that I would be starting 10am on Wednesday.

So, I was all dressed and ready by 8:25 today. Ok, I did have to take D to the bus (then it was decided that I'd just drive him to school). I was at the HP building by 9:50 and waited *again insert Jeopardy song here* .....and waited in the lobby of the building. HP offices are secure, so one cannot just walk in and roam around. I must have a security badge and swipe card for the doors. About 30 freezing minutes later, John came to get me. I'll get back to the freezing part...

I was now 2 days behind in training from the other girl hired for the same position.   I'll be working with 2 accounts, Radio Shack and Micro Centers for their claims on instant rebate programs. I'm excited!! The training today was interesting. Instant rebates on the consumer side are simple and easy, but on the back end, there's a lot of processing to be done!! Lots of wheeling and dealing. Who ever was in my position before must have left unexpectedly b/c some of my programs are MONTHS behind on getting paid. So tomorrow I'm being thrown into the deep end and getting to work. Which is totally exciting and really the only way I can learn the system is to work it.

Freezing - I was told during my interview that there currently isn't any heat system on our side of the building and the a/c worked alllll tooo well this summer (temps ranged from 55-60).   When HP originally built the building, they had the servers, copiers...etc in the basement, so those things generated enough heat to pump through the building.   Well, now the basement is conference rooms, the gym and mail room. So, I knew not to dress according to the 70+ degree weather outside, but rather for 50 degree's. HOLY COW it's cold in there!! Almost every chair has "the ugly office sweater" draped over it (oh, you know the one...the sweater you wouldn't dare wear in public, but for the $12 you paid for it, it's great for the office). One girl had a blanket over her legs, another was wearing gloves....I'm not kidding, it's that cold!! I'm told that they are working on getting heat into the building, but for now, I'll be using my down time trying to make "smoke" rings from my breath.

New Building New Life!

2011-09-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

For all of my Vancouver/Portland friends, you should be able to recognize the picture of the building.

The new (original) HP building

YUP!, that's my new place of employment! I. GOT. THE. JOB!!!!! I'll be working for Market Source an outsourced sales division of HP!! HP!! A huge $ multi-million business!!! I'm a Sales Service Representative - fancy name for Customer Service Rep. OMG! I'm soooo freaking excited! I wanted this job from the very beginning, I didn't leave anything to chance. I bought a new outfit for the interview, gave myself a manicure, brows were perfectly waxed, I researched the company.....I was ready for my interview on Tuesday.

I knew I nailed it when I left the building, but again, this is a weird job market, so I wasn't 100% sure. The man who conducted the interview had much in common with me - he's from MI (me from IL), he was a teacher (me too), he came from retail into this position (I'm still at Kohl's). I'm also really really glad that I decided to change my outfit at the last minute; I had purchased a purple sweater to wear with the new skirt (black), but decided to wear my suit jacket instead. When John came out, he was wearing a purple shirt and black pants!! OMG! That would've been weird!!

Anyways, I have tons of paperwork to fill out and a drug test to take. Start date is sometime during the week of the 25th. YIPPPEEEE!! I have a job. A job which will pay my bills and rent AND maybe just maybe have a little extra at the end of each month. I feel soooo relieved to have a job. A job that I believe I'll love.

Mystery Messages

2011-09-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

I was reading updates on Facebook and a friend of mine had a link to a blog that discussed a rather humorous prank. Can't wait to try it....

Listen to the Banana's

Hope you found it to be as funny as I did. I would LOVE to write some messages for unsuspecting customers.....before reading this, I would've probably freaked out if this happened to me!

A First of First

2011-09-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that D is in 1st grade!!! OMG! Where did the time go! Well, he came home from school today and said that he loves his teacher. He also didn't want me to take him to school today either!

Last night we went to the Open House to meet his teacher and see his classroom. While there, he got to see which classmates from last year are in his class this year. Happy Day, Happy Day! His girlfriend, Julia, is in his class. When he saw her, he turned about 4 shades of read and barely even said hi to her. Oh man, I'm in trouble - this was the girl that he told me he wanted to kiss, but kissing wasn't allowed in Kindergarten. Hmmmm, wonder if it's allowed in 1st grade?

Happy First day of 1st Grade!

Starts and staying put

2011-08-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, I'm caught up on all my blogs. PHEW!

On Wednesday, D starts 1st grade! Holy cow! Tuesday night is the school open house where we can go and meet his teacher. School supplies have been purchased, new clothes are waiting and summer is done. Last week was very warm (high 80's and a few 90's) - I think Mother Nature knew that it was the final week of summer for kids before school starts because today is only going to be in the mid 70's and by Wednesday, the high is only going to be 70 degrees.

I'll be staying put at home continuing my pursuit to locate a job. Time is really runny short for me, so hopefully something comes along soon.

It doesn't seem fair that summer really just started (in terms of weather) and now the kids have to return to school. We never even made it to the beach this summer with the kids. I guess that's what happens in the Pacific Northwest.

Torn between 2 teams

2011-08-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Catrina took the day off and we headed up to Seattle to go see the Mariners play the Chicago White Sox, so there is my dilemma. I'm a Chicago girl (although, the Cubs are my team), but I now live in WA - which team do I root for? Early on, I decided that you can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can't take Chicago out of the girl - Sox it is.

As plans go, we decided to head out of town by noon...um, yea...plans - they're good in theory. We headed out of town by 1pm - we figured that it's normally 2.5-3 hours to get to Seattle, but it's a Friday and who knows what traffic will be like. GOOD thing we planned that - we didn't get up there until 6pm. Ok, we took a 30 min detour at Emerald Queen Casino, but only from 4:30-5pm. We arrived at Safeco Field around 6pm. We collected our FREE Mariners fleece blanket and headed into the stadium. According to Penny Collector there is a smashed penny machine within the compound, so off we went to look for it. Unfortunately, we didn't find it. Who cares, we had a blast! The tickets were awesome - down the 3rd base line and 12 rows up. Sox won the game 4-2, so it was a great night!

"Excuse me, I'm trying to watch the game"

This is how close we were to the action - plus check out the scoreboard! 4-2 - Go Sox!

Ape Caves with some monkeys.

2011-08-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm almost caught up on all of my blogging! YIPPEEE!!

We took the kids back up to the Mt. St. Helens area to hike through the Ape Caves - the easy route. Last summer Catrina, Christian, Cris and I hiked the Upper Caves but it's too difficult for children. We opted for the easier lower cave for the kids. We were prepared for everything - sweatshirts (cuz it's about 40 degree's in the cave), flashlights, water, food, and first aid kits....we weren't prepared for the whining. All well, they're kids and sometimes whine comes with the territory. The most whine was about how cold they were. The lower cave is about a 1.5-2 mile hike total on pretty flat surfaces...well, if walking in a 3000 year old lava tube flat a flat surface. All in all, it was fun to take the kids, turn off the flashlights and see (or not see anything) what complete darkness really is, and just have an adventure.

This picture is captured in total darkness.

You have to crawl to where the cave ends

Even if she's pouting here, she still had a great time!

Moo, Oink, Weeeeee!

2011-08-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's time for the Clark County Fair!! This year Catrina and I only had the boys - the girl child decided to attend a wedding with Daddy that day. We had intended to get out of the house and to the fair early, but that just didn't happen. It's ok, because the bus depot is just a block away and for $2 we can take the bus to the fair - and the boys get to ride for free! Plus, the boys get in free to the fair - even better! Once we got there, we headed to see what time the Monster Truck show was going to start and get some lunch. When we got to the grandstand and saw that they had a monster truck school bus that we could ride around the hilly track!! YES!! About a 20 min wait and we were on board for fun, and fun it was! Food, noisy monster trucks (earplugs were necessary), animals, rides and lots of fun! Great day at the fair!

Bus ride to the fair - we had to stand because it was so full.

The Monster Bus

Is your mama a llama?

"Mom, can we take her home?"

Catrina, don't be scared it's OK, it's just a slide. (she almost ran into the attendant)

Roller coaster fun!

Strong man!

Fun day at the fair. See you next year!

4T trail

2011-08-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

The 4T Trail is appropriately named because there are 4 T's that need to be done to loop back to the start. Trail, Tram, Trolley and Train. Catrina and I once again convinced the boys to hike with us. It's a 4.2 mile hike from the zoo (if you don't get lost) to OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) hospital. OHSU is up on a hill and there is a tram that takes people from a parking lot at the bottom of the hill, from there we hopped on the free trolley that takes us to the train that will take us back to the zoo.

As I said earlier, it's a 4.2 mile hike IF you don't get lost. Well, we got lost. The trail doesn't stay within a wooded area, some parts wind through neighborhoods. This is where we got lost. Luckily, we were having a snack on a street corner when a woman and daughter (from the neighborhood) walked by and heard us talking. She stopped and stated that we were NOT headed in the right direction and told us the correct way to go. I'm guessing that we added another .8 miles to our trek, but all the stairs we had to climb before we were told we were headed the wrong direction felt like it added 2 miles, but it was probably a 5 mile hike total.

Annnnd, we're off!!

Christian and Cris - they were goofing around, so Cris is on the verge of cracking up

Counsil Crest - about 1/2 way through. Great views to stop and have water and snacks

A tree growing from the stump of an old tree. I thought this was really cool!

The Head at OHSU needed his nose and ear picked.

I felt he needed a kiss after being violated by Christian and Catrina.

View from the Tram

Catrina and I do sometimes believe that we're at the circus when with the boys - here's proof!

ummmm, maybe a 5 mile hike is just too much for Christian....

Bruised ego and a skinned knee

2011-08-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

The first half of last week was just tough. I was very excited to start out last week, I totally revamped my resume (thanks to my boss at Kohl's taking 40 min of his time to help me) and started sending it out. The week previous I sent out a resume for a full-time job and received an email in response stating the usual, "thank you for your interest...the job has been filled", but this email included a paragraph stating that they liked my resume and they had a part-time job available and would I be interested. YES! Was my reply and an interview was scheduled for Monday at 2:30. YES!! I got all ready and made my way up to Woodland to encounter the highway at a complete stop just after the last exit for miles!! One firetruck passed me....I waited (nothing else I could do but wait as I was stuck). Another firetruck passed me....uh-oh, this isn't good. I call the company and state that I may be late for the interview and give the reason why. Wait a little more and finally start moving...slowly. The area where the backup occurred was where 2 highways merge together, so LOTS of traffic. 3 different brush fires in about a 1 mile section of highway. Once I passed the fires, the highway opened up and I was on my way. I got to the company EARLY!! Good thing I left my house early. The interview went well.

I thought the interview went well until the next day when I received a phone call stating that I didn't get the position. It was a close call between me and another person.... It's so defeating day after day to send out resume's and get rejected or hear nothing. I've never experience this in my life. Every job I have ever interviewed for, I've gotten, so this is tough. It definitely isn't motivating to keep going, but going I must.

That was my bruised ego and on Wednesday I had a flip flop malfunction in the parking lot of my apt. Down I went and skinned my knee - bad, I was wearing shorts. OMG! How do children handle the pain? After washing it off to get the bits of pavement off, Catrina called and I told her what I had done. She was making her way to this side of town for work, so she said she would stop at the store and pick up some stuff for my knee. I put some gauze on it an laid on the couch with some ice - it was swelling up pretty good. Catrina arrived a little bit later with some antiseptic/pain relieving spray and some liquid bandage spray. AWESOME - she's my hero!! Sprayed my knee with the antibacterial spray - it did help with the pain. Sprayed my knee with the liquid bandage and thought I was going to die!! Oh! My! Holy! Hell!!!!! That stuff STINGS like crazy. Tears welled up in my eyes, Catrina said that my face was just that of total pain. She kept saying "go wash it off, go wash it off!", but I was paralized by the pain and couldn't move. What felt like the longest minute ever, the pain stopped. Once I could think clearly, I looked at the bottle and it didn't state anything regarding ingredients, but it does say that a slight stinging sensation may occur. SLIGHT, my ass - that was awful! The product is being returned and I will NEVER recommend anyone to buy it. We headed off to WalMart to pick up some stuff to cover my knee at night. I looked at the ingredients of the liquid bandage there - contains ALCOHOL!! No wonder there was a "slight stinging sensation".

Happy Birthday

2011-08-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Aug 19, Shawn's Birthday. He would've been 12 this year. Here is what his mom/dad wrote:
Well, another year has passed. Shawn would be turning twelve.
The other day my dear friend asked me how I was doing, and I told her I have had to shelve my feelings because they are just too sad...
However, I love to say Shawn's name and hear any story about him as they warm my heart.
Last year for Shawn's birthday we passed out ice cream to the neighborhood. What a treat! It made me so happy to hear his brother's proudly say to their friends, "This was our brother Shawn's idea."
This year we aren't passing out ice cream. But please have some ice cream today and think of our Shawn who loved to enthusiastically share everything including stories, hubba bubba gum, socks, black baseball eyeblock, and playing games,
This year we are going back to Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio. We are going to be handing out legos to children that are in rehab or having treatment. I have followed a few stories of children with cancer and they seem to enjoy putting together lego sets to help pass the time and take their minds off their journey while fighting for their life.
When I wrote Lego of our idea, they more than generously donated so many lego sets and magazines!

We are looking forward to sharing them, and I can't wait to see Grant and Justin helping the kiddos today with their selections, and sharing about how generous their brother Shawn was, and how they are doing this in his memory. In my heart, it makes the pain a little less dull to know his legacy lives on in my other boys in a tangible way, and that we are touching the lives of others that are hurting. Especially because we know the hurt.
As I wrote Lego to thank them, I sincerely expressed my appreciation. "I do hope you know how truly special we think you are to take our little idea for our beloved son and turn it into a memory that we are able to share with others."
That's what Shawn lived to do...
He is our incredible son, brother, and friend...and he is so missed.

I know this is an old picture, but it's still a darn cute one of him.

Lava Canyon

2011-08-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Kids hike day!! We decided to take them up to Lava Canyon. An undiscovered canyon until the St. Helens eruption in 1980 which changed the landscape. BEAUTIFUL, but buggy. Flies everywhere....not biting just bothersome. The hike, which in our tour book said was easy, was easy but dangerous! There are warning signs everywhere about being too close to the edge of the cliffs. GREAT place to bring 3 kids, right? RIGHT - it was fun and fabulous!

The GIANORMOUS bug that was on D's back!!

The water was amazingly blue.

The suspension bridge that we needed to cross.

Not afraid

Apprehensive

Not afraid cuz I'm FAB-U-LOUS

Terrified....not.

Pittock Mansion to Zoo hike

2011-08-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is the first hike with the boys. Christian loves hiking, so he was on board, but Cris was hesitant. We had to lie to him about the distance - it was a 3 mile hike and we said it would be about 2. He did fine. After the hike, we drove back up to the mansion and took the tour. Beautiful!

My little monkeys

Vietnam Memorial

Happy Birthday Tongues

2011-08-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Colton!

How did these tongues happen?

Cupcakes, of course!!

Hiking Lower Falls Creek

2011-08-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Lower Falls Creek Falls
Since Catrina and I made a pact that we would hike every weekend, regardless that we went to the beach the day before, we got up the next day and picked a spot to hike. Lower Falls Creek which is located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest a little less than an hour drive from here. BEAUTIFUL!! All the websites we saw about the trail said that it was moderate to easy.....my ass!! The way to the falls is almost all uphill, so it's a rough start, but once at the falls - totally worth the 2 mile hike. We kept passing people who were on their way out, and they looked happy, easy going, and not sweaty messes like us. Well, we knew why once we got there. The falls are so close to the "look out" area that there is a constant mist of cool water and air. SOOO refreshing. We sat and ate a snack, had some water, did some exploring and cooled off. The hike out was EASY! No wonder people were looking so great! It's all downhill.

ummm, yea that IS a fallen tree balancing on a tall stump about 50' off the ground!

Yea, that's ME on the fallen tree!

YAY!! We found the falls!! .....or not.

MOMS Club Camping 2011

2011-08-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

My MOMS Club that I've belonged to since moving here has an annual camping trip. This year, the organizer decided to keep it close to Vancouver, so she got the group campsite at Battle Ground State Park - about 15 miles away. WONDERFUL!! There were about 8 families who went this year which meant about 23 kids and 11 adults. The campsite was perfect for our group. Yes, it rained (sprinkled) on Sat. morning and Sunday but no one cared - we were camping!! All the kids got dirty, but no one cared - we barely saw the kids the whole weekend. We set up camp on Friday, had a community dinner (we decided that dinners would be community and preplanned. Friday was Mac n Cheese and Spaghetti - each of us were assigned to bring a certain food item to share with the group. Saturday was burgers and dogs. Fantastic idea!!) After putting all kids to bed, the alcohol was opened and the party began. Erin, Catrina and I stayed up talking (in the rain) until almost 4am - others faded out around 2-2:30am!!! OY!! So, Saturday was met with exhaustion and hangovers. S'Mores help. Saturday was spent fishing at the lake and sitting around the campfire. Catrina didn't feel well, so she napped all afternoon. Again, the kids were no where to be found for most of the day. Saturday night was tame and most of us retired to our tents by midnight. Sunday was met with rain, so we packed up and were home before 10am. Hot showers, clean clothes and a roof over our head....NICE!!

This was just the alcohol that I could find. There was more.

Nikki rescuing a fishing line caught in the reeds. She's so brave!

Best. Week. Ever!

2011-07-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe not the best week EVER, but it's wrapping up to be a great week! Started on Monday with an 8am interview in Lake Oswego which is a small town south of Portland. The issue is SOUTH of Portland...during rush hour....meaning I have to drive through Portland to get to it. Well, first I have to drop D off at daycare and THEN make it through rush hour.   Thank goodness for GPS because it diverted me around any major roads and got me to my destination with time to spare. The interview was with a recruiting company, but at this point I'll take all the help I can get. I came home and job hunted more.

Tuesday I met two friends for coffee (let's be serious, they had coffee, I had Diet Coke) and one of my friends said that she knew of two job openings. One with her company and another with a friend of hers company! AWESOME!! I immediately sent off my resume's when I got home. Just after lunch, *ring ring* went my phone. Impromptu phone interview with a company in Portland - they're going to call back for formal interview times. We'll see. I could have kicked myself that I didn't just state that I was free on Friday and what time would they like to meet with me.   All well. Not more than 10 min after hanging up with that call, *ring ring* again, another recruiting company calling to get more info.

Wednesday morning, I checked my email and saw that a company wanted to meet with me that day!! I quickly emailed back stating that I was available and what time. 2:30. I was also told that this was only going to be a 15min interview - more than a phone screening, but less than an interview. I went (the company is literally less than 1/2 mile from my apt), I loved what I heard and I'm crossing my fingers for the next interview.

Today was more of the same. Job hunting....aggressively. *ring ring* The company that called me on Tuesday is on the phone requesting to interview me tomorrow!! YIPPPEEEEE! It's in Portland, but I'm ok with that!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring! Maybe I should play the lottery considering all the good luck I've had this week.

This is why I'm having a great week! Nothing like getting down to the wire trying to find a job!!

1st beach trip 2011

2011-07-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Beach Trip
Looking in our closets, we noticed that our sweatshirt piles were getting old and faded. What's 2 girls to do? Head to Seaside OR, of course!! To the Everything is $14.99 store and stock up on new sweatshirts!! We each bought 2 - we're wearing the new sweatshirts in most of the pictures. We strolled through the seaside shops, had ice-cream, Catrina's new favorite is Cotton Candy flavor which is neon colored, walked on the beach, and took the long way home through Astoria and the WA side of the Columbia River. We stopped at the only still working covered bridge in WA and didn't get home until after 10pm where we fell into bed from exhaustion. Oh! And Dismal Nitch is this weird rest stop/park on the river. It's small, it doesn't even have river access, but this sign specifically states that you may not park for more than 8 hours. Ummmm, it's like a highway rest stop. It's got potties and a bit of grassy land for pets....that's about it. Not likely people are staying.

Catch up time - and I don't mean the red stuff

2011-07-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Goodness, it's been a long time since I've blogged. SORRY! I've been on a job hunting frenzy averaging about 7 hours a day. I had an interview on Monday which I would LOOOOVE the job. It's something I've done in the past, so I'd be really good at it. CROSSING ALL FINGERS, TOES, ARMS, LEGS, EYES....whatever body part can be crossed, I'm crossing it.

3rd of July
Catrina and I have decided to start hiking every weekend - with or without kids. When we have the kids, we like to keep our hikes to 1.5 miles or less and on easy trails. Today we packed up and headed out to the Gorge area to hike some waterfalls. The kids had a great time and we saw some pretty awesome waterfalls. Plus, no adventure is complete without ice-cream at the end.

4th of July
In what has now become an annual tradition (this year with C3) we headed up to Ridgefield for their annual 4th of July family festival. For $5 you can purchase a wrist band which allows the kids to have unlimited access to ALL of the bounce houses (there were only 3 this year, 4 last year), face painting and airbrush tatoos. Hours of fun! The Reptile Man was back again, so D was transfixed on him almost all day. I know that someday D is going to want some sort of reptile, I don't care at all, I think they're pretty neat.

Jobs come, jobs go

2011-07-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Weeks ago I blogged that I had gotten a job. I was excited that I was employed, but I was also hesitant about the job and owner himself. Yesterday was my final day. I started work on June 27th and quit on July 8. We also had last Friday and this Monday off along with a late start on Tuesday. After several days driving home in tears, I just decided that enough was enough and I was done.

It's the shortest time I've ever worked at a position. I always said that I could tough out anything for 6 months, but NOT that!!! YIKES. Someday I may post details of what happened and why I left. For now, I'll just leave it to 'It wasn't a good fit'.

Awesomeness - explained

2011-06-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I blogged about my awesome weekend and I said that some other things happened to be revealed later. C and I have been talking and spending time together again. We went on the house tour together and we've done lots and lots of talking, we've laid everything out on the table and have been really working hard. I know that some people may be disappointed or even mad (maybe some can be happy for me/us), but this is my journey in life. And, I'm starting a whole new journey in little over a week with a new job, so things are really going to be really exciting in my life. I'm excited - for everything. I'm also a bit scared, scared of everything too which is ok. What matters is how I'm feeling, and I'm feeling really good.

End of the year

2011-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school. 2 hours remained of Kindergarten and then D is officially done. His teacher, Mrs. Bates, was a wonderful teacher. Patient, kind but firm, fun and full of idea's. She made D's Kindy experience a great one.

Last Day


First Day

WOW! Looking at the 2 pictures, he certainly has grown this year.

Awesomeness - Day 17

2011-06-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Day 17 - When an awesome weekend ends an incredible week.
Yep, this was an awesome weekend to end a fabulously awesome week. Thursday I was hired FT, so that relieved a HUGE stress in my life. I went garage saling on Friday and found D a bike for only $10 and a tent was purchased as well, so camping this summer will be wonderful!! I had to work on Friday night, but it was ok because the schedule was screwed up. My schedule said I worked from 6-10:30, but the store was actually open until 11pm (meaning I'd stay until 11:30). When I walked in, management asked if I could stay, I said No I couldn't work until 11:30 because I had plans. I didn't have any definite plans, but I was working on some. Saturday was spent on a house tour/walk, then off to the Farmers Market and then to a dinner for MOMS Club. Today, was spent on the couch watching movies and baking cupcakes for school.

There were some other awesome things that happened this weekend, and those will be revealed at a later date. Thank you for the awesomeness!!!

8-3, I can deal with that!!

2011-06-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

You are reading a blog from a newly gainfully employed person!!! WOOO HOOOO!!! I got hired, as I expected I would! The owner and I got along great - so great that he called me a pain in the ass because I was asking soooooo many questions. Even questions that he had no answers for!!

PHEW!! Check that off of my stress list. Plus, I figure that if I get in there and it's not for me, then I can live with it for 6 months to get experience behind me. However, I like the fact that it's another start up company. I dig start ups cuz you get to help mold and shape the company to be something that really works for you. It's in an industry that I worked 7 years in, so I have the knowledge and experience that the other new hires do not.

PLUS - I cannot beat the hours. 8am-3pm M-F 30 hours per week which is what he's considering FT!! WOOOT WOOOT!! Which means, when school resumes in the fall, D just has morning daycare and no afternoon care at all - except on Wednesdays.

I'm nervous but excited. I hope that this company is what I'm looking for and we have a long lasting relationship!!

Put your hands in the air!!!

2011-06-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

I got an INTERVIEW!!!! WOOO HOOO!!! I applied to a company and within 5 min of me hitting email send the phone was ringing!! OMG OMG OMG!!! It's for a Internet Marketing company here in Vancouver, pretty much doing exactly what I did for 7 years at Position Technologies!! I am psyched!! BEYOND PSYCHED!! THRILLLLLLED!

Thursday afternoon 1pm. Wish me luck - keep your fingers crossed. Maybe things are going to work out after all.

Wise beyond his years...

2011-06-05T23:48:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago, D asked if he could go play with C2. I had to break the news to him that no he cannot. He asked why and I told him that C and I are not getting along and we aren't seeing each other, so that means we can't go play with C2. He then said matter-of-factly: "Mommy, just because you and C are fighting shouldn't keep me from playing with C2." Oh man, that made me break down into a puddle of tears.

This weekend also brought up the C3 conversation again.
Mommy, are you and C still not talking to each other?
No, we are not. I'm sorry that this is happening and that you're not able to play with C2.
Well Mommy, I think we should drive over to C's house and I'll put you into time out and C2 can put C into time out. When your time out is done, we can all play together and be happy.

I had to leave the room with that one. It was very hard to hear, to think about, to process. If life could only be that easy....

Peter Spit a Seed at Sue - Day 16

2011-06-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

Day 16 - Forty 3 and 4yo's spitting seeds outside!
For the last 2 days at school, we've had watermelon day (I substituted today for the other 3yo class). It was a lot of fun! We did an art project of watermelons, ate watermelon and then at the end of the day took the kids outside to spit seeds everywhere. The title of this Everyday Awesome is the title of one of my favorite kids books and it's a story about some kids who started a watermelon seed spitting fight. Because it's almost impossible to find a seeded watermelon, we substituted sunflower seeds. The kids were awestruck that we were allowing them to spit seeds outside. We had targets on the fence, we had bowls and most of all, we had fun!! The ground was a spitty spotty dotty mess.

No Fainting, PLEASE!!

2011-06-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Today, I started to cut down on my Diet Coke "habit". I never had a bad habit with it, on a typical day, I'd only have 2 cans. Well, I've only had about 3/4 of a can today. YIKES!! Then why am I awake at midnight? Stress will do that. I drank a lot of water today and hopefully tomorrow will be the same. I'm not looking to cut my caffeine out of my life completely, but maybe just cut down on it. Not feel like I NEED a Diet Coke in the morning. *I don't drink coffee - obviously not native to the Pacific Northwest*

I just completed my Flat Stanley project for my old college friend in WI. Ok, I may have cheated a bit and didn't really take Stanley anywhere, but I created a whole report about the local stuff around here that a 3rd grader would like. Mt. St. Helens, Multnomah Falls, Lewis and Clark...etc. Well, I didn't have a camera this whole time, so I really couldn't take photo's of FS anywhere anyways.

Speaking of camera's, I bought a new one yesterday. One of my MOMS Club friends LOVES to research things on the internet, so she suggested a Nikon 3100. She then found that Costco had a deal going on, so I enlisted the help of Costco friends and went to Portland (no sales tax) and hunted for the camera. Of course, they didn't have it, but they had the 4100 series for only $10 more. I haven't had the time or desire to load it into my computer yet....maybe this weekend. Thanks Sheri for the research!

I also got great news today from another friend that she has contacted her old company on behalf of me for a job and it just so happens that someone is LEAVING!! I immediately sent my friend my resume and she passed it along. I'm crossing my fingers. There is something to be said about having a direct recommendation for a job rather than sending a blind resume. Thanks Judi!!

Off to sleep. A classroom of 3 yo's await me in the morning. It's watermelon day.

Lessons learned

2011-05-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

Every relationship we have in our lives teaches us something new, and that was very apparent tonight at work. As I came into work there was an obvious developmentally disabled man wandering the store. Not causing trouble, just wandering. After I had settled at my register, he stopped by and asked what time it was because C-Van was to pick him up at 5:30 - it was 6:15. Well, it's not unlike C-Van to sometimes be late, so off he went to wait in the vestibule.

I got busy with customers and suddenly I realized that it was 7:05 and he was still sitting there waiting for the bus. Hmmmmm, C-Van can be late, but I haven't heard of it being 1.5hrs late. I called back to customer service and told Nicole the story and said that I was going to send him back and have her call the phone number on his bus pass hanging around his neck. I went out to him and told him the time and that it's been 1.5 hours and that Nicole will call for him and sent him on his way. He gave me all of his bags to hold - good thing cuz about 5 min later Nicole called me to say that she's only getting "we're closed" messages. I then opened the mans bags and went through his belongings looking for a number to someone who can come get this poor man. Luckily, there was a canceled check with a his name and another name with phone number.

Nicole called and found out that it's his sister. She was NONE too pleased to find out that we were calling. She gave Nicole some lame excuses and then said she'd call right back. About 25 min later she called back (it's now 7:55) and said she wanted someone to walk him to the nearest bus stop.....um NO!! Nicole put her on hold and called me. I said that Nicole needs to tell the sister that she needs to come get her brother. The sister then sighed and said that she had "things to do first" and she'd be there in an hour.   AN HOUR!!! He's already been at the store for several hours, he keeps stating that his Depends are full.

I kept checking on him and he kept coming to talk to me. He was so sweet. There were times he was on the verge of tears, times where he would crack a joke, times when he'd "bother" customers in line, but mostly just wondering where his sister was. I would patiently tell him that he needed to go back and wait for his sister.

It was then 9:10 and he was STILL there. I started work at 6pm, when I first encountered him, so it's been 3 hours he's been waiting to go home. I was just walking up to him so I could get his information to report this incident to Adult Protective Services tomorrow when his sister pulled up and he walked out. DAMN!

My manager knows this man and his back story. Apparently the sister either drops him off at various places for the entire day - every day.   He's been banned from Best Buy, Fred Meyers and Target.

As I said previously, every relationship teaches us something. Through our time together, I listened to the stories, listened to the frustration, listened to the fun that DD people can bring to lives.   I learned how to be patient, calm and understanding to the DD community. I learned, somewhat, how the system works and that was very apparent tonight with Duane.

Dirty Talk

2011-05-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

I LOVE to garden, to get dirty, the mindless energy. I love the feel of the dirt, the smell, the picking out of flowers, veggies and herbs. I love seeing the beauty of the flowers as they mature and reaping the rewards of the edibles planted.

Living in an apartment, I don't get the luxury of having a garden, instead I'm learning a new way to garden - container gardening. Since I was burned out on cleaning the inside of my house, I decided to get outside and get dirty. After getting back from the store with the dirt and plants, I took off my shoes and started planting. I have planted an herb container, tomato plant, strawberries and flowers! I'm so very excited. If I had the funds, my patio would be one HUGE flower/veggie garden of container plants, but I don't so I'm settling with containers I had + one I bought today. For less than $30, I made a small piece of wonderful in my backyard. I'm going to search garage sales and thrift stores for more planters and plant stands because we have slugs out here and they'll infest my planters soon. I hope that this summer brings us warm weather (last year was horrible), so that I can enjoy what I've created.

Off to wash the dirt out from between my toes, under my nails and where ever else it landed and, for now, I will be content in my accomplishments this weekend.

To all my Brothers and Sisters say - AMEN!!

2011-05-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Carpets are cleaned!! They were quite gross and I'll probably be going over a few of the more dingy spots again tomorrow. I want to see how they dry and after I vacuum. I'm so excited. Dunno what the poor dog is going to do tonight....there are no couches to lay on as they are holding up the chairs, so I think I'll put some towels on the kitchen floor and she can lay in there. The house is about 90% done. I still have to put away clothes in my room and wash the kitchen and bathroom floors - then I'm DONE!!

I'm off to shower and get ready for class. PHEW! I'm tired, but quite pleased with what I've accomplished this weekend. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be just for me to relax and be still....although doing that at the moment only leads to my brain going into overdrive, so who knows what tomorrow will bring. For now, I'll just relish in the now.

It really is Easy (Off).

2011-05-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was thinking yesterday, that I'm doing the same thing this Memorial Day weekend that I did a year ago. I am cleaning and organizing the apartment. Yea, I'm full of fun. Yesterday's cleaning plans didn't progress as I had on my list (I hate doing it, so I tend to get distracted easily - I feel like Doug from the movie UP. SQUIRREL). I was exhausted, so I didn't even start until after 11am. However, I did get through D's room and have a HUGE box of old toys to sell, wooden train set, Little People garage...etc. He'll be here Tuesday morning and get final decision over what I feel needs to go. We already agreed that the train would go - hopefully he'll agree with the rest. I was dreading cleaning my oven. I've always had a self cleaning oven - just start the self cleaning, once it's cool, just wipe out the ash at the bottom of oven, not so sure that a regular oven would be so simple. I bought some Easy Off and applied it Friday night to sit 8 hours overnight. Just as the name implies, it was EASY!! After it sat overnight, I opened the oven and took paper towels and just wiped away the crud. After the major stuff was gone, I wiped it out with a damp rag - clean oven! Today's plans include my room, bathroom and clean the carpets.

I MUST get these carpets cleaned, they're grossing me out!! MUST MUST MUST!! I have 10 hours before I have to run off to class tonight, luckily I've done the homework already. Yep, I'm taking a class that meets even on Holiday weekends (4th of July weekend too). It's only 13 weeks long, so they just want to get it done before summer is completely over. They also provide childcare, so the Sunday's I have D, he just comes along which is wonderful and keeps my stress down.

Also, after much motivation from my brother, I am in full force of job hunting. Even on the weekends I'm sending out massive amounts of resume's. OH! And this week starts the Biggest Loser weight loss challenge that we've started in my MOMS Club! There is about $100 on the line to WIN - and WIN I shall (got that ladies). I just have to keep busy, it keeps my mind occupied.

Time to get dressed and go get some MAJOR caffeine supplies. I think I'll walk up to the gas station and buy an AMP and newspaper.

Still no camera. DAMN! I'll have to budget to buy a new one....UGH!

The Walmart Song

2011-05-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.break.com/index/people-of-walmart-song-2063156

Please be sure to pee before watching. You've been warned!

Out with the old, in with the .... clean!!

2011-05-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Dirt and stuff will be removed from this house this weekend! I mentioned that a couple weeks ago I cleaned off my patio and purged some things that had been sitting out there - it motivated me to move forward. Well, I've moved inside and this house is going to get cleaned, organized and purged of things that I no longer need, want or use. I've already started with the kitchen. When I say clean, I mean C L E A N! The top of the fridge has been purged and then washed! Tops of cabinets, inside/outside...etc. This whole house will be done! I really hate cleaning, but I'm really excited to get this done. PLUS, I'm going to clean my carpets this weekend. I have 5 days to get this done...No Problem!!

Wish me luck!

Camera

2011-05-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Still no camera. I was hoping that MAYBE D would walk off the bus holding my precious camera that someone just happened to find in a back pack yesterday. Um, no. Damn.

Ding - I'm done!!

2011-05-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

It's time for this day to be over....completely over. I'm done. I can't do anymore, nor can I take any more. The day started ok, I was awake too early again when I could've slept in. Went on D's field trip which was fun....until my camera went missing. It's gone. Don't know where it is. I looked everywhere for it and the Kindergarten classes from school were the only ones there today. I've left my name and number for them and even called this afternoon - no one found it.

That just rounded out my morning - just before loading on the the bus, I received 2 rejection letters from two different employment agencies. EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES!! The ones that are supposed to help you find a job. Apparently I'm not marketable. To summarize what they said: It's an employers market and they are being very specific in their hiring because of the market and the fee's they have to pay us (the agencies), so without consistant work in the last 3-5 years.....screw you. Ok, I added the screw you part, but it's basically what they stated. Don't call us, cuz we won't call you.

FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!!!! As I mentioned a long time ago...shit rolls downhill and apparently I'm just standing in it's way.

Stanley's return

2011-05-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Once again my teacher friend in WI has sent me a Flat Stanley from one of her 3rd grade students. I got one last year and he had a busy busy time, Hazel Dell parade, Mt. St. Helens, the Columbia River, and a trip to Florida - where, unfortunately, I lost him!! He was sent back to the school (thank goodness) and I sent the girl a whole report of his adventures and history of the area, but I'm not up to doing the same things again. D probably won't want to head up to Mt. St. Helens again and I kinda just want to stay in the area.

So, where to this year? I'm not going anywhere on vacation until July, so....help! My Couve/Portland friends - where should I take FS? I was thinking the falls, Lewis and Clark area's...then where? I take FS with me and take pictures of his "adventure". I know that the students get a huge kick out of the photo's and info of where FS has been.

Dozer Days 2011

2011-05-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Every 3rd weekend of May, a corporation in our town sponsors Dozer Days. It's great for kids! The event is at a stone quarry and the kids get to drive and work heavy machinery - digger machines, bull dozers, earth movers...etc. D was all excited to go, so yesterday morning we headed off. Trying to beat the crowds, we got there at 10:30 and they don't open until 11. Ummmm, yea, it was a plan to beat the crowds, but the line was hella long getting in.

As we were standing in line a lady walked up to me and asked if we'd like some tickets - FREE! Heck yea, I said! They were legit tickets - I guess she's a teacher and her principal had given a bunch to each teacher. WOO HOO!! Yay me for getting there early!

Once the "doors" opened D pointed to the closest biggest digger machine to operate. No line! Again, YAY for going early. Then he headed off to a bull dozer. He climbed on huge tires, dug through a sand pit for toys, sat in a fire truck, got pelted with candy and as we were leaving we picked up some cotton candy. D was ready to go in less than 1.5 hours, so I was REALLY glad that I didn't pay.

Make Mine a Double - Day 15

2011-05-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Day 15 - Getting to witness a wonderful double rainbow.

While my life isn't so cheery at the moment, seeing a double rainbow today lifted my spirits for just a moment.

A rescue request - Day 14

2011-05-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Day 14 - listening to preschoolers play.
I have to say I have loved teaching preschool this year. Almost every day the kids make me laugh. We have had a love affair happening between Malcolm and Grace for the better part of this year. Yes, they may only be 3, but it must be true love. Today Grace stood in our 4ft tall castle outside beckoning Malcolm to come rescue her from the evil dragon. Malcolm heard the distress call, unsheathed his pretend sword and ran toward the castle ready to slay the dragon and rescue his princess.

Burn baby burn

2011-05-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to go help with our annual MOMS Club garage sale and while I thought I stayed within the garage for most of the time, apparently I didn't. My arms have a farmers sunburn, my chest is fried and as I got into bed last night, I realized that my legs were slightly pink too!! So, I'm looking HOT!! Farmers sunburn (still beet red), capri length brown on my legs and flip flop marks on my feet!! Thank goodness today is very overcast and cool, long sleeves and pants will be worn.

Note to self - it's time for sunblock!! I need to remember that for D too when we go to the pool. He didn't get a burn these last 2 days, but I need to be vigilant.

Sleeping in - Day 13

2011-05-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Day 13 - Having your child sleep in and you sleep in!!
I have witnessed a miracle - D slept in until 8am!! HOLY COW! D has always been an early riser - anywhere between 6-6:45am without fail. Maybe he's going through a growth spurt, maybe this is a new thing or just a fluke, but whatever it is....I LOVED IT!!

Purge - Day 12

2011-05-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

Day 12 - getting rid of the stuff not used.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a notice on my door stating that my patio needed to be cleaned off as it did not meet the "standards of the rental agreement". I had about 10 plastic storage bins that have been sitting out there since moving in over a year ago (neatly stacked). I had been saving them because....well, those darned things are expensive!! I have been a believer that if you haven't used it in a year, then it's probably time to get rid of it, so I got rid of them. Off they went to the MOMS Club garage sale that happens this weekend.

Fact or Fiction, Who Cares!! - Day 11

2011-05-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

Day 11 - indulging in celebrity gossip
My MOMS Club has an annual tradition of Secret Sisters. Imagine, Secret Santa, but in the spring time. Today my SS provided me with the latest People Magazine. Oh, the pleasure of sitting down and reading it cover to cover!!

Power Hour...uh, no - Day 10

2011-05-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Day 10 - getting a power nap.
I am not one who takes long naps. Nope, I'm a 15-20 min power napper. Most of the time, if I nap more than 20 min, I wake up more groggy and unable to snap out of the sleep. I am also one who doesn't like to waste the day away by sleeping through it (I'm an early riser too). I powered through 13 hours of hiking out of the Grand Canyon, at night, after being up all day, survived on a 20 min power nap in the middle of the trail. In the last 4 days, I've probably had about 15 hours of sleep, but a 20 min power nap really just does the trick to keep me moving.

Speaker Up - Day 9

2011-05-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, I see I'm a little behind on my 365 blog, so you may get two a day until I'm caught up.

Day 9 - Listening to music in the car as loud as it can go!!
My car has a 6 speaker sound system and I LOVE IT!! I'm definitely a rocker chic and like to listen to my music loud and only get to enjoy it when I'm alone in the car. Today - Linkin Park. The drive home from Portland was awesome!

Bill Me Later - Day 8

2011-05-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Day 8 - Opening the mail and having NO bills!

In fact I opened the mail and found that one credit card actually owes me $3!! Yea, it's only $3, but it's better than me owing them!

The Sound of Music - Day 7

2011-05-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Day 7 - Watching an elementary school performance.
No everyone will agree with my choice, but as a former elementary teacher, I rather enjoy watching those kids perform. Also, I have a minor in Children's Theater, so that helps as well. Yesterday, I got to watch not 1 but 2 elementary performances. The first was an "Informance" at D's school. Just his Kindergarten class sang and danced. LOVED IT!! D was so nervous yesterday morning, but then I just said that it's OK to be nervous and when it happens he just needs to look at Mommy or Daddy. Then, last night, C's 1st grade class had a performance. She has been singing the songs for a couple of weeks, so it was nice to finally hear them from a group. It's so wonderful that our kids get to experience performing, I feel that it's a great self esteem booster. I love looking at the kids and seeing the kids who are putting their whole heart and soul into the song - mouths open wide, voices clearly heard and movements almost exaggerated. Then there are the kids who just stand there almost shell shocked for a while - then they forget that they are standing before an audience and they start singing. These performances may make your ears bleed from off key singing and they are not choreographed like a Broadway version of CATS, but I find them fun and heartwarming to watch.

Seeing green rather than yellow Day - 6

2011-05-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - Hitting every green light when you have to pee.
Yep, I said it and it happened today. Driving home from work and wondering if I was going to make it, but then I hit all green lights.

You did what? & Where have the kids gone? Day -5

2011-05-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

Day -5 Doing something that didn't require being told to do it (5 million times) & not hearing whining for 3 looong and wonderful hours!!
Happy Mother's Day! You get a two'fer today! As we were getting ready to head into Portland to take the kiddo's to Playdate PDX, I found D in the bathroom brushing his teeth.....without being told to do so!!! HOLY COW!!! Then once we got to the place, the kids were gone and playing for almost 3 hours with no whining, minimal seeing them and now that they are old enough - they can get their own water!! I read the newspaper, clipped coupons, and read a few chapters in a book. Catrina actually got some work done.

Sun Break - Day 4

2011-05-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

Day 4 - the perfectly timed sunshine!
When living in the Pacific Northwest, we know that it rains...a lot. It's soooo great when we do get that sun break at the most perfect time. Catrina, me and the kids just got done with lunch and we decided that it was not raining, let's run to WalMart and buy some outdoor toys and head to a park. Dash inside the store, get what we needed (frizbee, boomarangs, scoop ball catcher...etc) and we exit the store - to have it raining. DARN! So, we decide to head home. 2 blocks from home, the sun shines again (that's how it happens out here), I happen to have a park just 1 block from my apt., so we make a mad dash to the park thinking that if we even had 30 min of fun is better than none at all. 1.5 hours later and 3 tired kiddo's (and mommies) it started to rain again.

Mommy Said What? - Day 3

2011-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Day 3 - Kids retelling a story
In the car tonight, D was trying to explain to C2 about how our belly buttons came to be. He claims that I told him that his belly button was connected to a tube (close enough) which was then connected to my belly button. The food I eat gets mashed up and sent through the tube.

On a separate note from everyday awesome, something very funny happened on the way home from Burger King. All 3 kids had BK crowns and suddenly we here boy-child C speaking in fear "ow, my hair! Ow, my hair!" His fear escalating greatly. Catrina turned around to see C stuck in his crown. STUCK! In a paper crown!! LMAO!!!

What the hair? Day 2

2011-05-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

After 5 long years, D didn't cry, whimper or whine getting his hair cut. PHEW!! Now, THAT'S an everyday amazing!!

Perhaps this should count as one of my MOST AMAZING days in my life, but for today, it was my everyday amazing!!

365 Everyday Awesome

2011-05-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have a lofty goal ahead of me... Yesterday morning I was watching the Today Show and there was a guy on there who had written a book made from his blog. His blog (http://1000awesomethings.com/) was about the everyday awesome things that happen. We all have awesome days which we will remember forever: graduation, birth of a baby, wedding...etc., but these days only account for 5-10 days out of our entire life. What about those little awesome things that happen daily? Catching all the green lights on your way to work, a stranger holding the door open for you, or the cool crispness of fresh sheets. It's these awesome things that we should also recognize and celebrate the simple pleasures of everyday living.

So, for the next 365 days, I'm going to try posting at least 1 awesome thing that I can think of or that happened during the day because it's the tiny things make a great big difference.

I hope that my readers will include some of their little AWESOME moments from your day....that would be AWESOME!

Day 1 - Seeing bird eggs in a nest
After school today, D and I were over at a friends house. While the kids were playing, Christine and I were just chatting and she showed me a birds nest that had been built on her back porch. I asked if she had gone up there to see if there were eggs, no she hadn't. She quickly got a chair and peeked inside. Sure enough, there were two small blue eggs. Enjoy!

Weather or not its spring

2011-04-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

After living in the midwest my whole life, the weather out there is pretty predictable. Summer will be humid with about 2 weeks in July being absolutely miserable. Fall is beautiful, Winter is cold with little snow, but again about 2 weeks in January that's absolutely miserable. And Spring has thunderstorms that are wonderful to see and hear.

Can't say that for the PNW. The weather out here is totally unpredictable. Summer doesn't really start until July and it's pretty much in the 80's w/no humidity or rain - maybe 3-5 days of over 100 degree's. The mornings start out chilly, so we throw open our windows and wear our coats until about 11am, then we shut the windows and shed our layers. Fall - BEAUTIFUL! The temps stay within the 60-70 degree range w/out much fluctuation. Winter - rainy. Well, not totally rainy. On most days it rains, but then for about an hour in the afternoon the skies are perfectly blue - always carry your sunglasses. And spring....who knows!! Today is prime example.

This morning was cloudy, cool and sprinkling. Lunchtime was about the same. Then around 3pm all HAIL broke loose. Literally. It was cloudy. Then a complete downpour....no forewarned rain showers - downpour! Then as quick as it started, it ended - trust me, I was stranded at the grocery store waiting for it to pass. Didn't have to wait long - 5 min. An hour later, complete downpour! No sprinkles before. Then holy hail, lightning and thunder! Then downpour again. And then as suddenly as it started it stopped, the skies cleared and the sun was out - it was a storm that lasted maybe (MAYBE) a total of 15min. When I say the skies cleared, I really mean it...not a cloud - except those in the distance from the storm that just passed. Repeat the previous story 20 min later.

Anyone who lives in the US can spot a person who lives in the PNW because we're the ones who wear layers - year round, water proof everything (I haven't used so much water proofing products in my entire life) and we wear shoes that are easily removed b/c we rarely wear them indoors cuz of the wetness.

Eventually, this rain will end. Until then, I'll continue working on building my own ark.

Happy Birthday - 6yo today!

2011-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday! I cannot believe that 6 years ago today you made your way into this world and at the same time, I cannot imagine life without you! You were born via c-section at 12:03pm. 7lbs 15oz and 21 inches long.

As of today, you're 45lbs and 3ft 5.5" tall!! My have you grown! I love you!

And today, like 6 years ago, you still won't smile nice for the camera!!

2 girls, a guard and lots of giggles!!

2011-04-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Late last week, Catrina and I decided that we needed to head out of town and see what adventures we can find. We chose to head up to Seattle again and collect the smashed pennies we love. We had already been to Seattle, but at that time, we weren't so into collecting pennies, so back we went to the places we had been before.

It was a late start to the day, somehow a 10am departure turned into 11am. All well. We had mapped out where we were going - although those plans were left in the printer....OOPS! We knew that we wanted to head to the State Capitol - they have a penny machine in the gift shop. The rain stopped and the sun started to shine (here and there). Being that we're both caffeine junkies, half way there we stopped and grabbed an Amp for me and a Rockstar for her - this on top of the coffee and diet coke already consumed. Let the adventure begin!!

The Capitol was open and it's pretty cool to see. We did see some tourists that we will strive to be in the future!!

Yes, we strive to have matching parka's!! Nothing screams TOURIST louder!! LMAO!


Me sitting on the steps

Once we were done seeing the inside of the Capitol, we headed on over to see the Governor's mansion. Apparently, we were not invited to lunch because the gates were not open and Christine (our Governor - we've decided that we're on a first name basis with her) was not waiting for us. We were just walking the sidewalk (I did say SIDEWALK - the one by the street) just looking at the mansion, the gardens, and the lake in the distance when the Guard in the guard house by the driveway steps out and asks "Can I help you?" "ummmm, no, we're just walking. Is that OK?" He replied yes and then went back into his wee little house. The guard looked all of 12yo and a scrawny puny thing at that, so we weren't worried that he was going to 'take us down'.

After leaving the Capitol, the Facebook messages began. The caffeine had kicked in fully by this point, so we're VERY punchy! Here are some excerpts.

Tina Walker Burleigh
was just wanting to use the bathroom. Apparently the Governor's Mansion does not have public restrooms, as per the armed guard at the gate. Oops!

Catrina Williams So are you now going to tell everyone that you went around the corner out of sight and popped a squat?

Tina Walker Burleigh I did not!!!!

Catrina Williams How were the leaves from the Magnolia tree? Soft with a nice fragrance?

Tina Walker Burleigh Yeah, I found out it was very difficult to run with my pants around my ankles! That damn state trooper is a fast little fucker! Once again, apparently they don't like you peeing on the grass either.

Catrina Williams Good thing his patrol car was parked on the other side of the State Capitol! Phew! Never thought we would get away! Wait! This isn't our car! Oh crap!

Judi Georgeades-Tambara Tune into Cops to see what happened next!

So, these FB messages had us in tears laughing so hard. Which made the rest of the drive go by very quickly. I just want to say that Catrina was typing the FB messages for me while I was driving. There was NO texting and driving going on.

We made it to Seattle, got our pennies from the Underground tour, Pikes Market, Piers 54, 56, 57, City Center, we rode the monorail and got pennies/quarters at the Space Needle. Of which we have been to the top already.

But, lets get back to the monorail. WHAT??!! I guess we just expected more, we didn't read the tourist info about it. We didn't know that it only goes 1 mile - a 2 minute ride. We were expecting more. And the monorail driver, not so engaging as we'd hoped. Catrina asked him if there is a special divers license needed to drive the monorail. No was all he said. Nothing more. So I chimed in with how cool it would be to be able to flash the special monorail drivers license when getting into a bar, or getting out of a speeding ticket - I mean, really, how cool would that be!! We had fits of giggles over this, but not our very serious monorail driver. Maybe driving a monorail is much more intense than we thought.

We didn't leave Seattle until after 6 and we decided to head to Tukwila and go to Rain Forest Cafe for dinner. Catrina has never been, and although it is made for kids, they have a penny machine. Who knew that the dumbasses of Tukwila would tear up a major artery of the city and route those cars through the mall parking lot!!! AND, at the same time, the mall decided that it was a good time to tear up the outer mall drive, so cars had to drive next to the mall!! What a mess!! It took 15min from Seattle to the mall, but 25 min just to get into the parking lot!!

We got sat right away, but our service was terrible!! We sat down probably just before 7pm, but didn't leave the restaurant until 8:15ish!! We sat forever to get our drinks, dinner took forever to get out to us, THEN just trying to find our waitress for the check was impossible. Trying to get back onto the freeway was just as impossible and almost got us killed!! It started raining so visibility was bad, I was in an unfamiliar area and I was the first car at the stoplight turning left. I missed the median and turned down the wrong way of the street. I was going the wrong way down a one way!! YIKES!! Luckily there were no cars coming AND there was a gas station to turn into right away! We may have tinkled ourselves just a bit.

All well, one not-so-great experience from the entire day was ok. As we were heading home, we decided that we had $20 cash burning holes in our pockets, so we stopped at the Emerald Queen casino. BAD idea - the money was gone before we could blink. Yes, even me, the lucky one at slots, was leaving empty handed. We got home after midnight, tired, penny books filled, and knowing that we had quite an adventure!

1am wake up call for a natural disaster?

2011-03-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Being born and raised in the midwest, all we had to worry about is tornado's. We'd have tornado drills in schools, everyone had basements, so when the sirens went off the family would head down to the basement. I was lucky grow up in a house with a finished basement. Fireplace, tv, toys, pool table..etc, so waiting out a tornado warning was easy.

When we were planning on moving to SW Washington state, I thought about natural disasters. Mt. St. Helen's is only 65 miles north east of here - so we have a volcano in our back yard. Also, being on the pacific rim, there are occasional earth quakes - VERY odd being asked if we'd like to add earthquake insurance onto the house policy. Plus it rains like 388 of the 365 days of the year....ok, exaggerating just a bit, but flooding does occur too. Along with mud slides. Are you keeping up? That's 4 natural disasters right there alone. WHO KNEW that in the 4 years I've lived here, we'd also have 2 tornado's!!!???!!! Ding - 5!!

On Friday morning, 1am, my phone starts ringing. OMG!! My first thought is, who's hurt or who died? Hey, I live 2000 miles away from my family, so it's going to be a phone call that I do get and REALLY who else would be calling at 1am on a weekday? No, it wasn't family, it was my friend, Cris. He was watching the news and heard about the Japan 8.9 earthquake that had happened a few hours earlier, that had triggered a tsunami. The earthquake was devistating enough, but it also triggered a tsunami which hit the Japan coast with a 26 foot wave. The quake also triggered a tsunami which was heading to hit the west coast. At that time, they were predicting the tsunami to hit northern Oregon southwest Washington area. Apparently, the news had stated that Clark County (the county I live in) would be affected, so Cris was calling his friends to warn them. Ok, we live 70 miles from the coast - yes, we're on the Columbia river, but most of Vancouver is uphill from the river. If we did get hit with a large tsunami, it can affect the water levels of the river, but I'm guessing that it would have to be a 100 foot wave to crash into the coast to have any effect on the area I live in.

Well, being that we're now awake, we decided to get out of bed and watch the news. We went to every station trying to find out what they were talking about regarding a tsunami hitting Clark County. Couldn't find ANYTHING!! All we heard was the earthquake/tsunami crisis in Japan and that the tsunami will be hitting Hawaii around 5am our time. Seeing that I didn't have to work on Friday, C nominated me to get up and watch the news on how large the impact would be on Hawaii. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

I got up at 5:30 and saw that the tsunami waves on Hawaii were only 5-6 feet, so I knew that it wouldn't be that terrible on the OR/WA coast. They were estimating that it would be hitting the west coast starting around 7:15am. Back to bed I went.

Friday morning brought only news coverage of the tsunami hitting our coastline. The larger impact happened in southern OR/northern CA. However, a tsunami is pretty cool to watch. As one newscaster stated, it was like watching HI/LO tide on steroids. VERY TRUE! The waves would start to come in higher and higher, within 20 min they would be high on the beach and violent. Then within 20 min, they would retreat lower than low tide. This would be the trough of the tsunami - there are generally 8-10 sets of tsunami waves/troughs. And a tsunami isn't just one giant wave, no, a tsunami lasts 1-3 hours.

My thoughts are with those people suffering in Japan. Not only have they had a massive earthquake and large tsunami, but now several nuclear reactors are on the verge of a complete meltdown.

Sick of the sickies

2011-03-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

UGH, this year has been brutal for illnesses. Just when I start to feel better, a week later I have some new creeping crud, then C comes down with another form of it. It seems like I've been taking care of myself, someone else or hearing about people being sick all winter long - can't wait for spring/summer when I can throw open the windows and air out this place. I've had 2 friends who've been hospitalized with pneumonia, my co-teacher, who has been teaching preschool for 19 years, has been sick a lot this year too! She should be able to lick a bathroom floor and not get sick!!

This last round started last week when C's kiddo's came down with fevers and were sent home from school. I spent a day running around getting medicines for them. Although C and her crew weren't here when the kids came down with the crud, the family had been together the previous days, so we were exposed. I started to feel stuffed up late last week and all of this week and last night my ears started to really hurt! Probably a double ear infection...I'm 41, shouldn't I be exempt from ear infections? However, my stuffiness and cough are almost gone.

Anyways, Tuesday night was rough, I had D and he was up all night long complaining about his ear hurting. I got maybe 3 hours sleep and him - less than 7. By Wednesday morning D was spiking a low grade fever and by the time we went to the dr (to check his ear) it was up to 102.7! He has a moderate ear infection (only his 2nd in his life) and has been put on some antibiotics.

C came here after work last night and said that she felt horrible. Coughing like crazy and had a sore throat. This morning she woke up with the cough, sore throat and not much of a voice. And D just looked at me (2pm'ish) and he's got bright red cheeks - yep, his fever is back. UGH!!

So, I'm giving notice to all of this sickness going around - I'M DONE!!! GO AWAY!! NO ONE WANTS YOU HERE!!

***Just as I was about to click the Publish Post button, C walked in the door looking tired/sick. She left work early. I've doped her up with some drugs and am sending her off to bed. I need the quarantine and biohazard signs pasted to my front door.

To tell or not to tell? THAT is the question!

2011-03-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

There is one question that all parents ask themselves a time or two during the course of their parenting life. Do I tell my child that he's going to the Dr for a shot? UGH! It sucks. Here are the pros and cons for both situations.

Don't tell:
Pros: No crying leading up to the nurse walking into the office with the needle
           No obsessive questions before "the deed"
           Very little drama ahead of time
Cons: You didn't tell
            You've corrupted your child from ever wanting to return to the dr.
            Your child now hates you (not always a bad thing, but for this it is)

Tell:
Pros: Child won't believe that every trip to the dr is going to lead to a shot (even though during the first 4 years of their life it pretty much IS)
           You maintain trust with your child
           You can talk about what's going to happen and hopefully comfort their fears.
Cons: Endless drama prior to appt
            Tears and boogers
            Drama
            Endless talking about how it's going to hurt worse than getting a leg cut off. (Did I mention - drama)

I opt to tell

I hadn't gotten D or myself flu shots yet this year and during cards last night, I learned that the flu has just started in the PNW and was expected to last until mid to late May. I'm finally feeling 100%, so I made up my mind on the way to work today that D and I were going to get our vaccinations. I called his Dr before getting D off the bus and unfortunately there was no mist vaccines available, so it was going to have to be the shot. UGH. That's what I get for waiting.

The appt wasn't scheduled until 3:20, so I told D just after we got home from the bus (2pm'ish) what was going to happen. He started to cry immediately. We talked about what was going to happen and that it may or may not hurt. I also told him that I was going to get a shot too, so we can each help the other. I asked if he wanted me to go first or if he wanted to go first. He opted for his shot being first....WOW!!

D cried the whole way to the dr., while walking in to the office, waiting in the waiting room, walking to the exam room and through the entire process. THANK GOODNESS that the nurses at Vanc. Clinic are very quick. He was sitting in my lap and when the shot was over he looked at the nurse and said that she upset him so much he pee'd. WHAT!!??? He's sitting in my LAP!! My heart sank...UGH! I felt his pants, dry.   I felt my pants, dry. He didn't pee....yet....but he had to go...BAD! Off he went to the potty. PHEW! I haven't been pee'd on in several years!! The boy is almost 6!!

After some running around doing errands, I got my shot and we went home. Flu shots done for the year. Hopefully, we dodged a flu bug bullet.

Keeping you "a breast" on the situation

2011-03-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a week and a half since C had her lumpectomy and it's been a tough recovery. I'm baffled that my c-section scar is as long as her lumpectomy incision!! Ummm, an almost 8lb baby came out of that sized incision, but a smaller than 2" fibroid took the same sized incision....doesn't seem right.

The good news is that the biopsy results were completely negative. The recovery time was much longer than anticipated and I was getting a bit worried. (recap from previous blog) The Monday of the procedure, C was probably still pretty doped up and amped up from andrenalen, so the pain was minimal. Tuesday - was completely miserable for her. Lots of pain meds and OTC pain relievers. On Wed, she slept almost the whole day and starting that night it started to snow. I didn't want her to even attempt going in to work for fear that she'd have to jerk the wheel of her car and causing her unnecessary trouble. We woke to several inches of snow on the ground, schools closed, but C insisted on going into the office across town. Off she went and less than an hour later she said that she was on her way back b/c the office was closed (no one had informed her of that information prior). She did run into a sticky spot on the road and had to correct her car - thus jerking the wheel and causing severe pain. She laid on the couch for the rest of the day. Friday, she stayed home. All weekend she laid on the couch or in bed taking her meds and being in severe pain. I was getting worried at this point. It had been almost a week and she was still needing to take Vicodin every 4-6 hours. Plus, taking Ibuprophine in between. I asked her to call the dr. on Monday if she was still in such pain.

Off she went to work on Monday, but didn't last the entire day. She made it to about 2pm and was told by her boss and coworkers that she looked like crap and to go home. She did. Her pain was lessening (only needing a V at night), but she was still tired. Yesterday, she made it through an entire day and felt pretty ok.

I don't think either one of us were expecting her recovery to last a week - especially when the Dr. says that most people go back to work in a day or two. I felt so bad that she was hurting and there wasn't much I could do. I entertained the kids, made meals and made sure she was covered with the new heating blanket. That's about all I could do....THAT's a miserable feeling. Hopefully, in the next week or so all the pain goes away and it's just a memory.

It's a boobie blog

2011-02-24T11:54:00.000-08:00

For over a year C has been pestered by a pain in her breast. At first it was just a pain....not only a physical pain, but also a P A I N! Last year she went to her PCP who blew her off and stated that she's too young to have anything wrong and didn't pursue the source of pain. After many months of nagging pain and eventually the pain becoming a lump, she made an appt with an OB/GYN to have it looked at and she asked me to attend the appt so I could ask questions if C didn't. The GYN found the lump almost immediately, made some faces and then ordered C to see a general surgeon and recommended to the surgeon to have an ultrasound and mammogram performed. The GYN would have ordered the mammo/US, but because the lump was painful, only a general surgeon could remove it.

C saw the surgeon in January and he immediately stated that where the lump was located an U/S and mammo will not be a true indication of what this thing is. PLUS, he said that b/c it was so painful to her, why not just go in and have it removed. He wouldn't remove it if it wasn't so painful to her. Surgery was scheduled.

The surgery was performed on Monday and everything went well (I have pre-op pictures, but have been threatened death if I publish them). After several pre-op attempts at inserting an IV and resorting to using heat therapy, the nurse finally got an IV going. We chatted, made jokes, and tried to get C's mind off of the procedure. I didn't want to seem nervous, but I was. This was C's first surgery and at that, she was going to be AWAKE!! YIKES!! That scared the dickens out of me and I wasn't even having the procedure done! One nurse in particular didn't find me very funny when I whipped out my phone for pictures after she plopped the hair net cap onto C's head. It was lopsided, like a berret....pictures were definitely in order!! Just before wheeling her off to the OR, they gave her goofy meds and she says that she remembers being wheeled into the OR, moving to the OR table, her left arm being strapped down and that's it.

Less than 45 min later, the Dr. came out of OR and stated that he was 99% sure that it was just a fibroid. An hour later we were on our way back home. I brought C back here with her drugs and set her up on the couch. I had arranged to have D stay at his Daddy's on Monday (no school, it was Presidents Day). Monday, C was feeling OK. Not great, but not in a lot of pain either. Tuesday....BAD!! All of the stress/shock had worn off and the Vicodin wasn't touching her pain. She had originally planned on trying to go back to work on Wed, but after Tuesday's awfulness, she decided to just stay home again. Yesterday, she slept most of the day....literally, she was awake for less than 7 hours yesterday!! No vicodin yesterday, only Ibuprofen.

Woke up this morning to schools being closed and the roads a mess with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I didn't want C to even attempt driving into work because I didn't want her to have to jerk the steering wheel and hurt herself. The woman has a mind of her own and off she went. I received a text 30 min later stating that her office was closed and she was returning. Low and behold, my prediction was right. On her way into work, a car splashed water onto her windshield and she had to turn her wheel hard. Now she's in pain again. Vicodin on board and her butt on the couch.

Good news though....she called the dr. and it was just a benign tumor!! PHEW!!!

GIRLS!!! Do your regular breast checks. When you do find something, don't allow a dr. to poo-poo you off. Get the answers you seek - regardless if you feel you're the biggest bitch in the world.

2 girls, a bully and mama bear

2011-02-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous blog, D has a crush on a girl in his class. Julia, she is oh so sweet, bright, and funny. However, another girl, Elliana, has a crush on D. Oh the drama playing out in Kindergarten these days. Yes, I know that I chased Jimmy Burger around Kindergarten trying to kiss him - got him a couple of times too....heehehehee.

Anyways, D has been having issues with another little boy in his class. This little boy has been pretty much bullying D. Contradicting that D actually has a Bakugon Colossus, talking smack about his tennis shoes (umm, they're Nike's), stating that D is slow (as in running slow)....etc. Basic Kindergarten stuff, but D has come home twice last week and cried about it. DON'T pick on my boy! On Monday, I volunteered in D's class for their Valentine's Day party, and chatted with Mrs. Bates after school regarding J's behavior towards D. The teacher hadn't seen anything happening in the classroom, but she wouldn't be surprised if that was happening. She stated that she'd watch closely and see if she could see what's happening. It took much strength not to take J aside and shake some sense into him and tell him to leave my boy alone....I didn't, but wanted too!! WELL, yesterday J was busted picking on D on the way to lunch!! Mrs. Bates kept him inside from recess and had a heart-to-heart discussion. J actually cried and felt sorry b/c he didn't realize that he had been hurting D's feelings. I was also informed that J has been on a behavior support plan from the beginning of the school year, but doing much much better.

I was in D's class today on my regular volunteer day and even worked with J one-on-one. Hopefully this ends the bullying from J and a great remainder of Kindergarten year!!

Inconceivable

2011-02-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Infertility - it's that "taboo" thing that people don't talk about. Instead it's whispered about, discussed in the media negatively when a woman has 8 babies or worse, not even discussed. EXCEPT infertility (IF) affects more people in this country than breast cancer. No, I'm not comparing infertility to having cancer, I wanted to show the stats, cuz we know the stats for women developing breast cancer.

I suffered through infertility - unexplained infertility. D is my 4th pg, but my only child and multiple dr's could not tell us why we couldn't get pg or why I couldn't maintain a pg. It's a hard, painful and emotional road to walk. It involves many dr. appts, shots, tests, being poked and prodded in so many ways and having the ups and downs of negative and positive pg results. The yearning to have a baby is strong - especially when you suddenly realize that you can't! The loss of control within your own body all the while having dr's and nurses telling you exactly what's going to happen takes its toll.

If you haven't experienced IF please try to put yourself into this thinking mode. You're sooo excited to start trying for a baby. Every month you think "this is it" and then your period starts and you're sad. You read everything on the internet regarding how to get pg...what foods to avoid, supplements to take, charting your cycle...etc. Now, experience all of that month after month for perhaps years. Then you see multiple dr's, try different drugs that make you feel like you're going crazy, only to have the same things happen.

Luckily soon after I started the journey of trying for a baby I found a web board completely devoted to infertility. The women who belong to this VERY LARGE webboard have been through it all and are a great resource for everyday things. There there is a core group of about 20, it's been 11 years and we're still going strong. I have 'met' some wonderful people - some even in real life and I consider all of them friends. I'm here today to talk about one of my friends stories. Well, to promote her story and it is even more painful than anyone could imagine.

My friend C and her husband decided to use their frozen embryo's to have another baby. Their fresh cycle years before had been successful, so there was no reason that she shouldn't get pg with the embies they had saved. C went through all of the tests, drugs and procedures to ready her body for the transfer of these embryo's. The embryo's had survived the "thaw" and 2 were transferred into C's uterus. The 2 week wait began and ended up with a BIG FAT POSITIVE!!! YIPPPEEEEEE! She was thrilled.....until.

She and her husband, S, were told some devistating news, the baby that she was carrying was not hers. The fertility clinic had thawed the wrong embryo's and transferred them to her.....and now she was pg with a baby that was not theirs. ~~Not only did the clinic thaw the wrong embies for her procedure, but the embryo's that C had frozen had been thawed and used in a failed cycle for another couple.~~ WHOOPS - I apparently had my info incorrect. C's embies were not thawed by accident, but rather used by she and her hubby in a surrogate in which the surrogate did not conceive. C and S made the ultimate sacrifice, they decided to proceed with the pg and deliver the baby only to turn around and give the baby to the couple which the embies belonged. To terminate the pg means another couple has no chance to try for another baby, and C has NO chance to try for another cycle because her embryo's were already gone. C and S not only had to suffer the loss of their embryo's, but then to make a difficult decision.

C gave birth to a health full term baby boy just over a year ago. He is thriving in with his family, but that does not erase the pain that C and her family are experiencing every day. Her pain cannot even be compared to a woman who decides that adoption is the best course for her baby because, I'm sure, that that woman has not experienced years of IF treatments and the deep yearning of having a baby.

C and S's story will be profiled tonight (Friday, Feb 11) on Dateline NBC. C and S have also written a book which will be coming out on Monday. I know that I have cried many tears reading C's posts on our board, so I know I will be watching. C is a dear friend who has experienced a loss that I could never imagine.

Here is the youtube footage for tonight's Dateline. I hope people watch and learn what true strength really is.
http://www.youtube.com/user/carolynandseansavage?feature=mhum

Their book Inconceivable - A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Decision to Deliver the Ultimate Gift goes on sale Monday.

Does the hair do do?

2011-02-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

It may be that my little boy has a crush on a fellow classmate. I didn't really think anything of it until I was talking to D's teacher after class today.

As our typical mornings that I have to get ready for work, the routine is D eats breakfast, gets dressed and then brushes his teeth. Last night was bath night and he woke with a bit of a bed-head do. In the last few months, he's been taming his rooster look with some water, as he did today. However, he also parted his hair on the side and slicked it over. I was standing in the kitchen making his lunch and he appeared to ask how his hair looked. I said it looked great, he did a great job. But then he asked "but, mom, do I look handsome?".
"Of course you look handsome!!"
He smiled and went on his way.

We drove to school and as he was getting out of the car, he asked me if his hair looked good and "was it still moved to the side". I said yes, but had a feeling that perhaps there was a bit more to this hair thing than just vanity.

I volunteer in D's class every Thursday, so his teacher and I have a great relationship and so I told her about this mornings events and she smiled. She said that she has seen some interaction with another little girl in class. Hmmm we shall see where this leads. Do not despair Ms. Maura, you'll always be D's love (BUT, the girl does have the same name as your big sister).

Networking

2011-02-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

I am on the hunt - the job hunt! I'm posting my resume here on my blog for all to see. Critique if you may, but mostly hoping that putting my resume out to as many facets as possible, someone will see it and recognize my talent for a full time position.

I'm looking for a full time position within Customer Service Management. I am also very qualified for an Executive Assistant position and have a resume for that as well. I was the first employee at Position Technologies, Inc., so I was the point-of-contact for the President/Owner of the company.

Highlights of Qualifications

Ø Excellent organization, communication, and writing skills.

Ø Sharp and creative in problem solving and needs/priority assessment.

Ø Highly proficient with Windows, Microsoft Office, and familiar with Quickbooks

Career History

Preschool Teacher

2010 – present Mini School Vancouver, WA

Create monthly lesson plans
Teach children basic skills: fine motor, large motor, and social skills

Point of Sale Kohl’s Vancouver, WA

2009 – Present

Cashier

Senior Account Manager

2000 – 2006 Position Technologies, Inc. (www.positiontech.com) St. Charles, IL

Managed customer support team – created training, team building, assisted with difficult customers.
Designed and implemented customer service practices for Yahoo, Ask.com and MSN.
Supported customer via calls and email for multiple products – Search Submit and Postion Pro.
Trained new staff on all products within the company.
Sold a website optimization product, assisted customer with product usage, and maintained all accounts.
Managed daily office needs: reception, purchasing, administrative and HR responsibilities

Recruiter

2000 Randstad North America Naperville, IL

Recruited individuals via cold calls, Internet prospecting, and referrals.
Consulted candidates about resume, interviewing, and prospective job opportunities.
Interviewed candidates for prospective job opportunities.

Customer Service Representative

1997 – 2000 Perfect Plastic Printing St. Charles, IL

· Managed a portfolio of 10 accounts, including 5 VIP accounts.

· Responsible for serving as an interface between sales, manufacturing and the customer.

· Gathered job-order information and assembled all elements required to enter job orders.

· Maintained communication with the customer, monitored job order progress and status from order initiation through delivery.

Education

B.A., Lakeland College, Sheboygan WI

Oreo

2011-01-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to write about Oreo while she is still with me because I don't know that I'll be able to do it when she is gone. Oreo is my 12yo black lab mutt who has cancer and her time is running out. I took her to the vet earlier this week and it was confirmed that the cancer has probably really spread throughout her body as her lymph nodes are enlarged. So, the vet and I had a quality of life talk because I don't want Oreo to be suffering, but yet, I don't want to make a rash decision before it's necessary. The vet gave me some great advice - quality of life means eating, drinking, pooping, peeing and enjoying her favorite things. Especially the favorite things...if she is still doing the first 4 things, but stops doing her favorite things, then it's probably time. The vet stated that it could be anytime.

Oreo - you will be my one and only puppy that I buy from a pet store (there are too many animals in shelters/rescues that need homes). You were 8 weeks old with this rolly poly tummy. Little did we know that that tummy was actually full of gas and yucky stuff - we quickly found out as we were bringing you home and you pooped in the back of the Explorer... and not solid poops. UGH!! You were so small, that you fit between the slats of our picket fence. We had to chicken wire the fence and unfortunately it was the chicken wire which blinded you in your left eye at just 10 weeks old. You never let it hinder you and I'm guessing that 90% of people don't even know that you were blind.

Once you were potty trained, M thought it was cute to have you sleep in bed with us. You slept between his legs. I stated to M that it's a bad idea b/c you're going to be a big dog. My warning was brushed off and to M's dismay, you got big and he became uncomfortable having you sleep on the bed. You always slept on his side and between his legs. HA HA HA!! When you got to be 70lbs, M tried to get you to sleep on the floor, but you were having NONE of that and jumped onto the bed. Made your 3-5 circles, plopped down between his legs and started snoring.

When we brought you home, we already had a dog, Andra. Little did we know that Andra really didn't like other dogs and she beat the crap out of you more than once, but you held your own and took the abuse. We also had kitties Baxter and Amos who you became fast friends with. I'm not sure what Amos will do when you are gone. There are more than a few times per week that I walk in the door and find you and Amos cuddled together on the couch. You are his best friend.

Speaking of cuddling, you love sleeping in small spaces. Must be from the crate training we did with you. You would always find small spaces to curl up into - not easy for a large dog! Boxes, suitcases, bathtubs. The bathtub is your favorite and unfortunately with your age, you cant get into the bathtub easily these days. Whenever we couldn't find you, we just had to look in the bathtub.

Oh the things you put up with. First there was the bully Andra, then we got Sammy. Sorry. Sammy wasn't fixed when we brought him home and there were more than a few times Sammy "took advantage of you". Sorry for that. Around the age of 7, we got Dakota - an 8mo Malamute puppy. You looked at us saying "are you kidding me?". Dakota was full of energy and puppyism. You had fun with him and put up with him biting your ears, pouncing on you and just being wild. THEN, something even more sinister happened....a human baby was brought into your life!! Oh boy!!

Oreo, you are D's cuddle buddy. You allow him to lay on you, sit on you, pull your ears, cover you with blankets and more than once he tried to dress you up. You would just lay there when multiple toddlers were poking at you, tripping over you or patting your head just a little harder than what you probably liked. You just take it and even roll over on your back and get some belly rubs.

BFF's! D is using Amos as a pillow.

Oreo, Amos and D napping together

You are also a smart dog, but also a little dumb. I took you to advanced dog training which got you to do things just by hand signals. If I raised my hand in the air, you laid down. Arm out to the side and you'd sit. If I said, "round round" you'd immediately walk to my left side and sit - ready to heel. Heeling? Nah, you never got that concept. Pulling on the leash - always!! UGH, I disliked walking you on a leash. Even now, at 12, you still pull!!

You have been a wonderful dog and companion. You have always been a laid back dog who just allowed life to change without complaint. You've been in 5 different houses in 2 different states. You've been camping many times, you loved to swim, and I couldn't ever run out of raw hide bones in the house or you WHINED!! WHINING, you've perfected the most annoying dog whining ever. Even though it drives me crazy, I'll miss your whining. I'll miss having you greet me at the door. I'll miss seeing you and Amos cuddled together. So many things I'll miss. I'll be heartbroken to tell D about you no longer being here and he will be very sad (just as I will be)

As I sit here looking at you sleeping on the couch, I hope that you know you were loved. I hope that we gave you a wonderful life - I know we did. I've enjoyed every minute of having you in my life. I may not always show it, but you do bring me joy.

The Thing 2

2011-01-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

As I posted a few weeks ago, D had THING attached to his face removed. The biopsy found that it wasn't: cancer, mole, wart, fungus. The cultures did show up with a staph infection, but not MRSA and another bacteria, but she said it so fast I couldn't write it down. It has been determined that Thing was just an infection that got out of control and never healed.

Well, it's been 3 weeks, 10 days of specified antibiotics and I'm happy to say that THING is healing very very well. I took D back to the dr. yesterday to have the bandage removed that was put on at the time of his surgery. While D was very nervous and he did cry, he was a trooper!! He sat on my lap, the dr. took a pair of tweezers and peeled the bandage off smoothly and quickly (this is where D cried). Once it was off, she looked at Thing and WOW, it's all nice and pink with no infection found. D was also interested in looking at Thing, so he scrambled off my lap to have a look in the mirror.

The Dr. is very pleased with the healing. She did not put another large bandage on it, instead he's got a medicated pad and then a regular band aid on top. I'm to change the pad and band aid daily, so that should be interesting, but D will soon get used to it. I took D to WalMart after the appt and he picked out the band aids that he wanted - Spiderman and Transformers. The Dr. wants it kept covered until it is fully healed, so perhaps another few weeks of bandages and it looks as if Thing will soon be a "thing" of the past!

Annual Santa PIR visit

2011-01-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

Early in December, we decided that it was a perfect time to take the kids to see Santa and drive through the PIR (Portland International Raceway) - each year they decorate the raceway and you can drive through it and see the lights.

For the 3rd year (maybe 4th) D has seen the Santa at Pioneer Place. We timed it perfectly and got downtown Portland just before 5pm. Once we found parking and got into the mall, it was around 5:30. Santa had NO line - again!! WOO HOO!! D quickly scrambled up onto Santa's lap, his list was spoken and Santa asked the some great questions - the normal "have you been good", but then some odd ones "have you been cleaning your room?" "brushing your teeth?" Ha ha ha!! I had to chuckle. Next C and C climbed up onto his lap, lists were given and Santa was wonderful. Last year was the first year that CE, at age 5, had even sat on Santa's lap. This year there wasn't even hesitation on her part.

Walking out of the mall, in the courtyard, it was "snowing". The mall had rigged up foam machines on the 3rd floor and it was snowing in the mall. The kids loved it!!

On the road again, we headed up to PIR and again encountered NO lines!! This night was shaping up perfectly! It was so empty, that we opened the sun roof, kids stood up through it and we took pictures. You're not allowed to stop during the drive through PIR, but with no one being there, we weren't told to move along. Unfortunately, the pictures of the lights didn't come out. We had the kids to stand under a huge archway, but the picture didn't turn out.

Drag in the New Year!

2011-01-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I still have Christmas stuff to post, but now that the fog of my hangover is gone, I'll start with my NYE fun.

C and I went out with our friends Cris and Christian for the 3rd year in a row. We were supposed to have 9 people in our party, but it just ended up being the 4 of us for dinner. Not just dinner, but a classy wonderful dinner of prime rib, bacon wrapped prawns, mini beef wellingtons, and spinach/mushroom stuffed manicotti.

Then we headed off to our favorite bar to ring in the New Year. It's a mostly male gay bar that comes with some VERY interesting people. About an hour after getting there, more friends arrived and the bar started to get crowded and the fun began. C had been chatting via text with a coworker of hers who stated that we had to do a shot for her. OK, off to the bar we went. C had a foo foo jello shot, but not me. Taquilla. I did it with minimal UGH factor and not much ill after effects either.

Somewhere in the evening C ended up with a stray tagging along behind her. Not just any stray, but a cross dressing straight man! Sara - who liked brunettes and red heads....um, neither of us are "his/her type". Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of Sara - alcohol had taken affect by then.

Drinking, dancing, laughing and having a wonderful time was had by all!!

Christmas C's plus a D

2010-12-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

I asked my ex if I could have D on Christmas Day this year, but they already had plans to go sledding that day, so Christmas Eve was our Christmas. Which was fine, we had fun!! I wasn't planning on opening presents until after lunch, but when a 5yo keeps asking and asking and asking, well....you just have to give in. It's Christmas after all. C was getting her kids on Christmas Eve night and all of Christmas Day, so it was just D, C and me. The 3 kids opened their presents to each other the day before.

And, yes, she is missing a tooth!

David was all excited to rip into his presents. Some of the highlights include, Hot Wheels Crisscross Crash, Bee Pillow Pet, Electric race car track, tons of lego's, Zhu Zhu Ninja pets, a skate board, and new Bakugon's.

I was also excited to have presents opened, but not mine. I was excited to see D rip into his, but also C to open hers. I had heard her mention several times the present I had gotten for her. I received the box via Fed Ex a while ago - it was a HUGE box and had to figure out where to hide it in this small apartment. I got creative with D's room to hide it effectively. I got C a telescope. I had done research about it and got her one that will be able to see planets, not just the moon. Now, if only the PNW would cooperate with moving the clouds out of the way, she'll be able to use it!! I also made her a cookbook. THOSE are hard to come by these days, but I found one and copied her favorite recipes into it. Santa brought her the complete Harry Potter series and perfume.

I also received a wonderful bunch of presents. D's teacher had the kids make handprint ornaments, a new ring (it's beautiful), 2 photo books (I give up on scrapping and heading directly to Shutterfly.com), gift cards galore, an ottoman foot stool that stores blankets and when you flip the top over you can use as a small table, a video recorder, and blankets. Santa brought me a new keyboard for my computer, a paper shredder, hole punch, 2 cds, and Hairspray the movie.

The night previous, we had been to WalMart and C found that the paper jams guitars were on sale, so 3 went into the cart. D was with us, so we said that the 3rd one was for Madelyn. Ohhhh, was he mad!! So mad in fact, that as we were walking out of the store, the Salvation Army bell ringer was dressed as Santa (he was goooood too), so D stopped and talked to him for a minute. D told him that we were naughty/mean and don't deserve any presents. WHAT!!?? We were ratted out to Santa by a 5yo!! We knew that the 3rd guitar was for him, but we couldn't let me know that.

After presents were opened and played with, including the paper jam guitar, we decided to head out for a while. Off we went to WalMart again. The Santa was there again, and as we were leaving D once again decided to have a chat with him. D told him that he no longer needs to bring him a Pillow Pet or Crisscross Crash and that he was mad at us yesterday and that we aren't naughty/mean. PHEW!! Glad that D cleared that up with the Jolly Big Man!

That night, after bringing D to Portland, C and I finished wrapping the presents, watched a movie and went to bed. The next morning was filled with her kids cheers of delight as Santa had been there and filled stockings to the brim!! There was no sleeping in that morning, it was time to get up and open presents. Santa brought a Snoopy Snow Cone machine for CE and Lego's for CM. They also got DS Lites, tons of games, paper jam guitars, barbies, and nerf guns. I made my traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast and it was time to get dressed and head to Grandma's for more presents and dinner! The kids got more presents, a GIANT remote control truck, Barbie camper and pillow pets. Dinner was yummy and then it was time to go. We drove the kids up to their Daddy's and headed back to Vancouver for our annual Christmas night card game with the boys. FUN FUN FUN!!

Gobbling Up the Night

2010-12-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

As most people start the Christmas season at Thanksgiving, that's where I'll begin. Thanksgiving was a small affair. Just C3, D and me. Because the 5 of us only eat dark meat, I bought only Turkey legs and cooked them rather than buying a whole turkey. We had turkey, stuffing, beans, mashed potatoes and pie. After dinner, C and I plotted out our 2nd annual Black Friday shopping trip, babysitter was hired earlier that week, and caffeine was purchased waiting to be consumed. Because I had to work the next day for 8 hours, I didn't think that I'd be able to be out all night. HA!! This 41yo woman can hang with the big boys - and lack of sleep. We had gotten that day's paper to be sure that all the stores ads had been looked through. After dinner, the kids got a hold of the ads and started scouring them for things they wanted.

C and I started at Toys R Us. This year they opened at 10pm, so we left the house at 9 to get into line. When we got there, the line was hella long. As we were heading to the back of the line, C asked the first person in line what time he had gotten there - midnight Wednesday. Then she asked the second people in line when they arrived - noon on Thanksgiving day. So that first person in line waited more than 12 hours for NOTHING...he could've been at home instead. C forgot to ask what was soooo important at TRU to wait almost 24 hours for. We were in and out of TRU by 1am.

We headed back into WA and took a 1 hour nap before heading off to Target. While standing in line the mgr came out and told us that all 14 registers were open in front and 2 registers in the electronics dept. Perfect, the 14 register line will go fast!! I got into line, but everyone was unsure what line they were in as the rumor started that the line I was standing in was the electronics line, but everyone was being directed to this line, and another employee said that this was the main line. After much confusion by customers and Target employee's, 2 lines suddenly appeared. Guess which line I was in? Not the fast moving 14 register line. No, when the lines split, I was moved into the slow moving 2 person electronic line. It took more than 2 hours to leave Target. UGH.

By then it was 6am and I decided that I needed to get home and sleep for a bit before the kids got up. Our babysitter was still there and was staying until at least 9-10am, so there was time for another nap. C went on her merry way to continue shopping, I went home for a 3 hour nap. I got up to take D into Portland and took another 1 hour rest (didn't sleep) before heading into work. I had the closing shift, so the crowds had slowed and I survived on just 4 hours sleep.

I figure that I can sleep when I'm dead, for now, life is moving fast and I don't want to miss out on the fun things. I like our "up all night" shopping, we talk to some fun people, see friends while in line and get some great bargains. C and I were pretty much done Christmas shopping by the end of that weekend. WOO HOO!!

"Thing" - warning, squeamish pictures ahead

2010-12-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Prior to D and I going to Florida back in May, D has this "thing" on his temple. What started as what we thought was a boil has manifested into a "thing" that won't go away. We call it his owie - I've knick named it Thing. M and I have tried various Dr's and medications and it wasn't until just a couple weeks ago that I decided that it's time REALLY take care of it. I called OHSU and made an appt with a pediatric dermatologist - for January!!

Thing has been a scab for months. Not growing, not changing, not healing, so a few weeks ago I picked off the scab in hopes of it to kick-start the healing process again. Ummmm, no. The scab had roots on it!! ROOTS!! White long roots! Grrroooooooossssss! It only made Thing mad and uglier. Suddenly a small scab turned into an oozy puss filled large gross THING. D had longer hair, so hair started to get matted into the ooze. M finally was able to get D to have his hair cut around Thing so hair stopped getting stuck.

Scab roots

Roots on the scab - grossssss!

M finally got really worried about Thing and took D back to his dr. D was put on 1000mg of antibiotics and M was told to get it removed immediately. This kicked started a week of scrambling on his part and a dr. appt which was then scheduled to a out patient surgery. D was so scared of having ANYONE touching Thing that we opted to have it removed, washed, examined while D was unconscious. Today was that day. 7am we checked into SWMC Surgical Center and at 8:30 D was wheeled into the OR. An hour later the dr came out to talk with us. She removed the large ugly scab, which revealed a 2cm X 2cm wound. She washed out the wound, took cultures and performed a biopsy. We should have culture results in a few days which will tell the dr exactly what meds that D needs to start the healing process - if necessary. The biopsy results will be back in a week or so. We'll see the dr again next week and until then, she wants the wound to remain covered.

D went home with Daddy and is doing just fine. I'm sad that I'm not taking care of him today, but I know that M will do a good job. M had movies, food and games all set for D today, but the mommy in me wants him here.

Thing - before

Thing - after (still looks ugly)

Waiting in a retail wonderland

2010-12-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

Tis the season for shopping and with less than 2 weeks before the "big day", here are some friendly reminders.

* Be kind to your retail workers. We're making close to if not minimum wage and we are just the worker bee's of the operation.

* You're going to stand in line. I don't make the schedules of how many people are on the registers. Also, the number of employee's in the store is solely dictated upon the sales figures from that date last year. And, I said DATE - not day. So, if on a Sunday you don't see many employee's - it's because last year was probably a Monday or something and sales were low. Contact corporate about that, we are not able to change that in the store. The extra minutes that you're waiting in line compared to the whole scheme of your lifetime, is a mere blip, so put on a smile, complain about the weather to your neighbor and strike up a conversation cuz you're going to be waiting.

* Be friendly when we ask you a billion questions. Would you like a store cc? Would you like gift receipts? Do you need boxes? One of those questions is MANDATORY and the rest are to make YOUR life easier.

* Don't yell at us or get angry when you can't find a shopping cart in the middle of a Saturday (true story). Or when the item you want is no longer in your size. Yes, you'd be amazed at the small petty things that we get peeved customers demanding from us.

* Don't get angry with us when it's 12:15am and we ask you to bring your items to the register to put on hold or to purchase. No longer are the days where you can waltz into a store 15 min before closing time and shop until you drop. No, we close at midnight and customers are expected to be out of the store shortly after/if not before. I'm tired and want to go home. I have at least 30 min of work to finish after you've left the store - and I'm just the clerk, not mgmt.

* If you want to apply for the store cc, then do so. Don't worry about the people behind you - again, perspective people. For our store cc, it takes LESS than 3 min to complete the process. I can finish bagging your items in the time that it takes you to complete the application. If you want it, then get it.

* Please don't come to the register with a cart full of items and THEN decide which items you're going to purchase. Especially when it's 12:15am!! I've had people with a shopping cart full of clothes, pull them out at my register and then try to make outfits out of the clothing to decide which items she was going to purchase - while there was a line. Go to an empty register to do that or figure it out while you're shopping. I am the one who has to put all the items back into their proper place within the store - AFTER my shift.

I sound as if I'm one of those crotchety bittys that you get at a store ringing up your purchases - I'm actually not. I had many compliments on Saturday from customers on how friendly I was to them when we were extremely busy - 5 registers going and a line of about 40 people. When you are in front of me, you are my customer. I don't worry about people waiting in line or how long they're waiting. I'm also not standing having a long conversation with people either. I get you in, I get you out pretty quickly, but while you're in front of me, you'll never know or feel that you were being rushed.

Severe fall

2010-11-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a former MOMS Club member had a near fatal tragedy happen to her family. Her almost 5yo son fell out of their 2nd story window suffering severe head trauma. Luckily, Thomas survived but was/is still in a medical induced coma and facing some major rehab to regain his almost 5yo abilities. Here are some stats that Becca posted for all of us to remember...

In the United States, 4,700 children fall every year, 70% fall from second or third story windows.

The children that are at risk are:
*impulsive and playful children
*imaginative and curious children
*energetic and persistent children
(sounds like most children, huh?)

Children at highest risk:
boys
under 5 years old
supervising parents are distracted (making meals, entertaining...)

Teach your children about window safety. “Screens keep bugs out; they do not keep kids in.”
*note from Becca – our kids knew this already but “knowing” and acting on the “knowledge” aren't the same thing.

Keep furniture or anything a child can climb away from windows.
*note from Becca – we have window seats below the windows in our kids' room, something we had always thought was cool (great for storage).

Only allow windows to open 4 inches and install a window stop to keep children from opening them further. (Be sure an adult can open them in an emergency).

If you open windows wider than 4 inches, install window guards that can be removed by an adult in an emergency.

Consider planting shrubs or grass under windows to cushion potential falls. The landing surface can greatly affect the degree of injury sustained from a fall.
*Note from Becca – this one sounds silly to me but I can't tell you the number of times I have replayed Thomas' fall in my head and I would give anything for something softer than concrete to have been there for him to land on.

Here are two product recommendations for window safety:
Guardian Angel window guards. 1-800-445-2370 or www.angelguards.com. They look like bars across the windows but can be taken off by an adult in the case of emergency like fire. This product enables you to keep your windows all the way open without sacrificing safety.
Kid Co Window Stop – These keep the window from opening more than 4 inches. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Window-Stop/dp/B003LZU0PG
(There is also a product that looks more like a cloth screen. It enables you to open your windows completely and holds up to 100 pounds.)

If you have questions, you can contact Jan Berichon at the Safety Store which is located inside the Legacy Emanuel hospital. She is passionate and knowledgeable about children's safety. She spent over an hour talking to me and listening to me cry and had some very helpful suggestions. She encourages you to call or stop by to get information specific to the type of window in your home. Her number is 503-413-2678 and her E-mail is jbericho@lhs.org. I hope this is helpful!

NNDSMHGOOCMo

2010-11-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

No, my title is not a typo, nor has D been typing on the computer. I was reading http://snarkymommy.com/ today and she was talking about months having a National "something to do" all of the time. National Breast Cancer Awareness, National Blogging Month...something, so I decided that it's National National Do Something Month Has Gotten Out Of Control Month. THAT's a mouthful!

Anyways, I commented on the blog and thought it was a funny comment, so here it is:

Don’t forget: December is NaAssGeBiMo – National Ass Getting Bigger Month from all of the candy we’ve eaten AND all of the cookies, candy and food we will be eating! Which leads into NaNYReWk (National New Years Resolution Week – cuz that’s all the time that they last), but then the REAL month begins: NaF*NYReMo (yes, the well known National Fu** New Years Resolutions Month).

PHEW – it’s going to be exhausting!!

So, if you have a National Month that you'd like to declare, please feel free to share!!

Jack says WHA?

2010-10-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend was going to be filled with Halloween goodness. However, the weather did not cooperate with us. No pumpkin patch this year, which is ok. D had his drumming class on Saturday, so that cuts a huge amount of time out of the day. Once we go home and had lunch, off to the store for pumpkins. Unfortunately, on the way C got a call from work and had to be brought back to her car and off she went. I was brave and took the 3 kids to the store and picked out some GIANORMAS pumpkins!

Today, we carved those pumpkins and here are the results.

Gut removal team

Mine and C's


CM's, D and CE's

For those who've noticed - I don't put names into my blog of most people. ESPECIALLY children. Because C decided to name her kids with C names, I have to include middle initials....CM = boy child, CE = girl child. D, of course, is my child

Thar She Blows!!

2010-10-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't go swimming and wash up on the beach. Har har har. Instead, I was kidnapped for a Birthday weekend at the beach which included whale watching!!

Friday, I had a staff meeting at school and while I was there C came to my house, packed my clothes AND brought Oreo to a friends house for the weekend. After my meeting, I was instructed to head to C's house. She took my keys, sequestered me into the house and then after a few minutes ordered me into my car. Yes, ordered. We got onto the I-5 and headed south and ended up in Salem. Hmmmm, where are we going. C quickly programmed in an address which was located easily - the Oregon Lottery Offices. HUH!?! Why are we here? She still wouldn't say. Once we walked into the building, she produced a penny and 2 quarters. Apparently, the lottery has a penny machine!

After getting our FREE penny (yes, free at the Lottery office) we were off to another unknown destination. This time we were on the river and heading to the carousel - which has a penny machine too!

I still had no idea where we were headed - the only answer I got was SOUTH. So, I thought perhaps we were headed to Crater Lake because the only other clue I got was it was something I've never done before. That is until we headed west after Salem. We stopped at Spirit Mountain for another penny -Yep, they have a machine too, and used $40 to gamble in the penny slots. We didn't win anything, but had fun trying! While there we saw a woman win $1400 on the Lord of the Rings penny slot! We pulled into Lincoln City after dark, unloaded the stuff at the hotel and went to Mo's for clam chowder bowls. It was there, I learned that we had 12pm reservations for whale watching the next day. I was beyond excited!

After a crappy hotel continental breakfast, we were off to locate all of the penny machines and do a bit of tourist shopping. 4 penny machines later, we were stepping onto the boat for our adventure. SOOO much fun!

We saw about 6 whales that day! One surprised us and spouted about 30 feet from the back of the boat where we were standing, but we were looking toward the front, so it kind of scared us!! OMG, it was the greatest experience! I knew that I didn't get sea sick, but C wasn't too sure. There were a couple people on the boat tossing their breakfasts overboard, but she maintained her stomach. YEAH! However, C didn't feel great after the excursion, so we went back to the hotel for a nap (see my previous blog). I then whoped some butt in 2 games of putt-putt golf 50-55 and then 54-55!! WOO HOO!! As we were trying to figure out where to go have dinner, we saw a beautiful sunset.

The next day was filled with stuff to see and do. First stop, Newport Aquarium!

Then we had to enjoy the weather and see the lighthouses.

Down in the cove you see in the picture above, you could walk through the tide pools and see/touch all the different creatures. I'm much more adventuresome with the touching of creatures than C is. While down there, we heard the park ranger encouraging people to lick a sea aenonomie - apparently it makes your tongue/mouth go numb. I'm not allowed (not that I ever would) to lick one b/c I'm allergic to bee's. THAT would be BAD!! There are also a few harbor seals who live in the area too.

After leaving Newport, we headed back to Lincoln City to try our luck at Chinook Winds to see if we could win enough to make the weekend free!! C was up $100, but then the damn Wicked Witch of the West took it all! (her favorite penny slot is Wizard of Oz). We arrived back to Vancouver after 9pm, tired and not looking forward to working the next day. It was a wonderful weekend filled with laughter, excitement and adventure! Thank you for a special birthday surprise!

Wat'er ya drinking?

2010-10-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

C hasn't been feeling well for a few weeks now - very tired, bad headaches, cough. Finally, she felt bad enough to head to the dr. Well, after just a few short minutes, the Dr. stated that she was very dehydrated and needed an IV. HA! C and needles - NOT. So, the Dr. reasoned with her and made her promise to drink at least 68oz of water per day to get her rehydrated. She's been doing OK with the water intake - 68oz worth, no, but more than 1/2. Since drinking more water, she's felt better. Headaches are gone, her cough is residing (could be the meds with that one) and she's definitely not as tired.

Moral of this story - DRINK YOUR WATER!! I have increased my intake and do feel better - and as an added bonus, my skin looks great!

D the Explorer

2010-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Everyday, D comes home with a 1/2 sheet of paper that his teacher has written a message on for the entire class. Tells the date, how many days they've been in school and then asks them a question about the day. Today she had written that it was Columbus Day and that he was an Explorer. The question to the class was, if you were an explorer what would you explore?

I reread the paper to D in the car and asked him about what he'd explore. After a minute of thinking (see, my kid thinks before speaking - good thing he didn't get word vomit mouth from me) he said that he'd go and explore Florida. Why? Cuz Grandpa lives in Florida and I miss him.

Awwwwwww!! What an awesome answer.

41 with a big mouth

2010-10-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

I know that I have left you wanting more camping story, how C tried to push me off a mountain, and other goodies from the last month, but those will come later.

Today is my Birthday. I'm 41. A number that I can say without regret, overwhelming sadness, or even a whisper. I'm 41 and really liking it. I've had a great day which started with someone trying to let me sleep in, but 2 children later, that's impossible and was just fine with me. I went to MC today and talked with people I hadn't seen in a while, then I was taken out to lunch by 2 friends (thanks again Girls)and home to rest on the couch before getting D off the bus. After I took him into Portland to Daddy's house, I went to C's house for dinner.

That's when I opened my big giant mouth. I have a problem with editing thoughts prior to them coming out of my mouth. It's something that I work on on a daily basis. My friend Nikki just blogged about being absolutely truthful to your partner about things or letting little white lies slip out. Most of the time, I'm truthful, which isn't a bad thing at all, but it's my delivery that is poor and needing adjustment. I need to THINK about my words prior to having them spill forth from my mouth! The minute the words leap forth, I instantly know that they were NOT at all what I wanted to say or how I wanted to say them. And I instantly regret it. I am sorry for how my content came out tonight. It was definitely NOT the time, place or how I wanted to tell you my thoughts.

So, for my 41st year on this planet, I plan on working VERY hard at editing my content. If I'm quiet when talking to you, it is not because I am not listening, perhaps I'm forming the words I want to say within my head first before spewing them out into the world. Just as I reread my blogs prior to publishing, I need to rethink my thoughts before speaking. That is just what I'm going to practice during this 41st year.

Labor Day Camping - Day 2

2010-10-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Brrrr it's COOOLD!! After freezing through the night and not getting much sleep because of it, I was up before anyone else, so I ran into town to Fred Meyers to purchase breakfast items (ummm, I kinda forgot ALL the fix'ns for French Toast breakfast). While there, I decided to buy a blanket too cuz if I freeze again tonight like last night, I'll die!! DONUTS and milk were purchased, so I didn't have to cook. When I returned, I attempted to start a fire, but it had rained the night before and the wood was wet. Slowly the gang emerged from the chalet and we started making plans for the day.

After having some coffee, we were off to Rockaway Beach for some tourist fun! As I have previously mentioned, Catrina and I collect smooshed pennies and we knew that there was a store in Rockaway that had a penny machine. We headed into all the tourist shops, laughed, and had a great time.

After having a great time, we decided to head south for lunch and go to Tillamook. On our way, Christian pointed us in the direction of a restaurant to have some great clam chowder soup and fried fish. YUMMY! After lunch, we were right on the water, so we mingled with the locals (they were a little stiff and scary), looked at the harbor, and sat to watch a seal lion beg for fish from the fishermen.

With bellies full, it was time to head to Cape Meares Lighthouse. The views on the walk down to the lighthouse are spectacular! A few months ago, a couple of men decided it would be "fun" to shoot out the windows of the lighthouse - thus ruining a landmark. The men have been caught and are awaiting trial for their actions, but it has compromised the beauty of the lighthouse.

Shot out windows

Next stop, Tillamook Cheese Factory! We have renamed it to - Tillamook poop Factory. While browsing in the gift shop, an older gentleman had an accident in the doorway of the factory. Ummm, it wasn't just a small accident either and WHEW it stunk up the entire factory!! Poor guy! We didn't let it ruin our time, but we did spend a few extra minutes browsing the shop for the place to air out! The line was way to long to enjoy ice-cream there, so we loaded back into the car and headed back up to Rockaway Beach. Enjoyed ice-cream on a bench and just watched the people go by. I made my famous chicken packet dinner that night, we sat around the campfire and headed to bed early. Being a tourist is tiring!

Day 3 to come!

Labor Day Camping - Day 1

2010-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks prior to Labor Day weekend, Catrina, Cris, Christian and I decided to go camping. Cris and Christian did all the planning and reserving of our spot on the coast. We left on Saturday to Barview Jetty Campground in Garibaldi OR and it was WONDERFUL! It's on the coast of OR with a very short walk to the beach! Chris and Christian took one car and Catrina and I in mine - with old mixed CD's, we danced, sang and laughed our way to the coast.

Our campsite was PERFECT!! We had our own "island" area - meaning we had no other campsites on our piece of land, we were very close to the bathrooms and only a short walk to the beach. Once we set up camp, it was time to break open the wine and mix some drinks. Cris NEVER drinks - except today and that was fun! Evening #1 was spent sitting around the campfire, drinking, making S'Mores and playing some cards. However, I had a problem with a S'More - somehow I ended up with marshmallow on my boob and all down my sleeve of my shirt. Ummmmm, perhaps the rum had something to do with that....

Campsite before

Weekend Chalet

At the beach with LARGE drinks in hand.

DINNER!!

S'More problems

Cris trying to help with clean-up

Agitated animal mom

2010-09-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Since moving into an apartment complex, I've had to rid my apartment and animals of fleas and now I was cleaning up after Oreo and saw a wriggly white worm!! UGH! Immediately called the vet, who reassured me that it's probably tape worm, started most likely from the flea's and is NOT transferable to humans - cuz then I'd be really disgusted.

So, off to the vet I go tomorrow to get meds and Amos checked. I now have to take Amos to the vet b/c he hasn't been in for a check up in over a year. Grrrrrrrrrr! The vet won't prescribe the meds w/out a recent exam. Of course. Maybe instead of TW, these animals need an ATM installed up their rears so they can poop out the wads of cash it's going to take to get rid of these parasites!

Cave & injury pictures

2010-09-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

I got Cris' memory card from his camera which held his Boo-Boo pictures and more cave pictures.

This is why we were very close to being removed from the Hospital!

First Day Wrap-up

2010-09-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

I got to D's school (according to my clock) 3 min early, but the kids were already out of the building. D was waiting under the flag pole with his 5th grade buddy. It was soooo cute! He ran to me and gave me a huge giant hug!

I asked him how school was and he said it was FUN. Then I decided to show him what number his school bus is, so that next week maybe he'll remember. As we were walking towards the bus, his teacher Mrs. B came out to me and told me that D did a fantastic job today. I wasn't worried that he wouldn't. If there is one thing about D that I know, it's that being away from me doesn't phase him. He knows I return and he's got the confidence to make friends where ever he may be.

I've been asking him questions about his day since he's been home.

What did you do at lunch time? ~I went to the place where you watched the movie. (that would be the gym/lunchroom when we went to Kindergarten Round-up.
What did Mommy pack for lunch? he told me
What did you do after I left? ~ I don't remember
What did you have for snack ~ I don't remember. Then later he told me about strawberry pie. Not sure if he had strawberry pie as a snack, but maybe cuz he's never had it with me....I'm a blueberry pie fan.
Did you color? Write? ~ummm, no. WAIT, yes. I wrote and colored my name.
Did you go outside for recess? ~yep. Two times!! (he was all excited)

And I learned that Mrs. B is the police and that she locked the "stuff" into the closet so no one takes it. After some more questions, he was talking about all the school supplies brought to school today. Not sure about the police reference, but it'll be interesting to find out. He talked about his friend J and that they sat together today. We sat down with the school hot lunch calendar and he wants hot lunch 2X this month. Mac N Cheese day and Cheese pizza day. We'll see if he still is excited as the day nears.

Kindergarten certainly made him HUNGRY! He ate 2 chicken legs, broccoli and rice - with NO complaints about the broccoli!! I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!!

Bye Mom

2010-09-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Kindergarten for D! OMG!! This year the school district went to Full Day rather than the f'd up system they tried last year. All the schools in the district are doing Smart Start days for the new Kidneybeaners this year, but not every school is the same - weird. D is going to school today (all day), but won't return until Tuesday. However, C (C's little boy) goes to a different school and his Smart Start day was going to school with mom for only 20 min. The teacher apparently did assessments to see what he knew and he doesn't return until Tuesday. D's school has split the classes into thirds, so only 6 kids were there this morning. They said that they wanted to get the kids adjusted to the full day schedule with a small group of kids, and also it fosters the opportunity to make some "friends".

Last night was the Open House for the school, so it was the first time that D got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. Prior to the OH, he knew he was going to school, but all he had to compare it with was preschool, so his excitement level was moderate. Until this morning - every 20 min he asked if we were leaving soon. That started about 7:30am and school doesn't start until 9:15!!

I packed his lunch, packed his backpack with all of his supplies, pictures were taken and we were off. D was not able to ride the bus this morning and I didn't know that he was actually able to ride the bus home today, so I'll be picking him up. He can ride the bus starting Tuesday. Prior to walking out of the house, D looked up at me and said
"Bye Mommy"
"Honey, I'm driving you to school and walking you into class"
"I know, but I wanted to say bye to you now"

Oh child, you do know how to melt my heart. School, of course, was a madhouse, but we made it to his class. I vowed this morning NOT TO CRY and I didn't, but it was a close one!! We were standing in line waiting for Mrs. B to check D into class and I was overwhelmed with emotion - sooooo close to tears.

D got checked in and was asked to grab a book from the shelf to read. Mom's were allowed to stay as long as we wanted. D wanted me to read a book, so we sat down. Not long after, D's name was called by Mrs. B - he was chose with another little boy, J, to take walk our Mommy's to the office to drop of the attendance slips. D will be the "office teacher" for the next week and teach the other students in class how to do it. He was sooooo excited! We returned from our adventure and I kissed him good-bye.

It's a bittersweet moment. Since moving to Vancouver, being D's mom has been my life. NO, I'm not relinquishing my MOM card, but all of my friends are tied into being D's mom and being able to meet during the day, having the kids play...etc. This is all changing. It's another new chapter in my life. Next week I start my new job at pre-school teaching 3yo's while still remaining at Kohl's for now. They're just pissing me off at the moment, so I'll be looking for a different/new PT evening job.

Here are D's FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN pictures.

Welcome the Class of 2023!!

CAT-astrophy

2010-08-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

The other day walking home from the pool, D and I saw one of the "resident" cats who live the in the apartment complex - Kitty. She has a collar and is super friendly - phone numbers on the tags were disconnected. However, we were both apaulled at the condition Kitty is in at the moment. She's skin and bones - you can see her hip bones and her fur is horrible. Poor Kitty. Well, that evening C and I were watching TV when a different cat came to my back porch - also very skinny! I put food out for this new cat, but she didn't eat at all.

The next day I called Animal Control to see if they'd come get these kitties. They were very nice, but stated that they couldn't do anything unless the apartment management called. So, I called the apartment managers and left a message. I never heard from them. I went to the office yesterday afternoon and was told that because the owners of these cats have paid a pet deposit, they are not able to do anything. WHAT!??!! Basically, they don't want people to get mad over $125! OMG! Walking home I found Kitty and brought her into the office and asked if THIS is how the apartment complex deals with starving helpless animals! Again, I was told that they couldn't/wouldn't do anything! GRRRRR!! "If mgmt see's the owners of Kitty, they will speak with them" but they won't go to Kitty's house to talk to the owners!! WTF!

This morning I called the Humane Society who said that I should put food out and just feed the cats. WHAT!?!? While I'm all for helping animals, and I do have a cat of my own, these animals need more help than I can give PLUS, why aren't their owners being held responsible! They did say that I could bring in the cats, but more than likely they will be euthanized pretty quickly as the shelter is completely full. While, I do feel that there too many abandoned animals and I do feel that euthanization is a humane process, I don't want an animal to just be put down and not given a chance.

So, now I'm in a dilemma: Do I get Kitty and take her to the shelter or do I get Kitty and bring her to my area of the complex and start feeding her? GRRRRR!! I'm sooo torn on what to do. As for the other cat, I don't know what to do either. It only comes around during the evening/night, so I have no way of catching the cat and taking it to the shelter at that time.

Caves, Saves and the ER

2010-08-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we didn't have the kids, so we convinced two other friends (Cris and Christian) to go to the Ape Caves with us. The Ape Caves are ancient lava tubes from an eruption from Mt. St. Helens. Here's a link to read a short synopsis - it's cool! http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/ape-cave/index.shtml

Instead of taking the main entrance and hiking up the lava tube, we hiked the 1.3 miles to the "exit" and hiked down. Once you get into the cave by taking a steep ladder it's completely dark and I had read that it's wonderful to adventure a little ways into the cave and then turn off all lights and just stand in the complete dark and silence. THAT was cool! The hike was hard. Our only light sources were the flashlights we were carrying, so it was difficult to gauge depth and footing. After scaling up a 6ft wall, we had to then scale DOWN an 8 foot wall - in the dark! Luckily there was another hiker at the bottom who helped the 4 of us down, however, we're all not sure what happened next, but I was last down from the wall and Cris was at the bottom waiting for me. I turned around, smiled at him and then suddenly saw him fall. Trying to catch himself, he scraped his hand along the wall. It was pretty nasty. C, being very safety conscience at all times, had packed the first aid kit. Thank goodness b/c it was needed. She patched Cris up as best we could in a middle of a dark damp cave and we moved on. I don't know how Cris did it b/c the trek ahead was hard and using both hands was necessary.

2.5 hours after starting our journey, we emerged from the cave, tired, dirty, hungry and injured. We took Cris to the ranger station to clean up his hand better and it was there we were told that 80% of injuries happen from people descending down the cave (like us) rather than up the cave - Cris was NOT happy to hear that news. Once we saw his hand in daylight, we decided that it would be best to take him to the ER for a thorough cleaning. THAT was an adventure in itself and we thought we may be kicked out for laughing too much. Cris has the pictures on his camera, so those will follow later. Some numbing, skin cutting, soaking, x-rays, a lot of pain and some Percocet, a very loopy Cris emerged from the ER with a bandaged hand with a sprained middle finger - which he proudly displayed to everyone!!

Cris has most of the photos on his camera - more will be coming.

Getting to the "exit" entrance of the cave

Queen Fairyprincess

Me and Christian just inside the cave

C, Christian and Cris - just inside cave

Blind photo taken in complete darkness - luckily she was standing there!

This is the cave wall and ceiling

Godzilla is back!!

2010-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

The day after the river adventure, I picked D up from his daddy's house and we were off to a beach adventure. Cannon Beach, here we come! We got there at low low tide and I had never been able to walk up to Haystack Rock before, so I was VERY excited. For those who may not know what I'm talking about, rent The Goonies movie and the large "rock" that the pirate ship sails out of at the end of the movie is Haystack Rock!! The movie was filmed in Astoria OR and all up and down the coast of OR, including Cannon Beach.

After looking at starfish as big as our head, sea anemones and sea snails, we wandered up the beach looking for tide pools to swim in. After an hour or more of playing, we headed back to our blanket, had lunch and then began construction on a mighty underground sand castle. I say underground b/c C dug a big giant hole in the ground and then constructed a city in the hole. As much as C says that she built the castle herself, she's WRONG! She did lots of the work, but I constructed the road, the castle walls surrounding the hole and kept the kids entertained. The kids played for a long time with that castle/hole, until Godzilla, Godzella, and Egahdzilla came along! Then it was destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Haystack Rock

The "Zilla's" after the distruction