Last week Caroline had a cold according to the doctor (not my normal doctor, she wasn't in that day). She seemed pretty pleasant most of the week, just sniffly and goopy and snotty and a little less nappy than usual, but not unbearably unpleasant. Until Friday night/Saturday morning. She was really cranky, wouldn't eat solids, and was just kinda being a punk. She wanted me to hold her alllllllll the time. I mean, I love her, but seriously. Saturday afternoon/evening the fever started. By Sunday afternoon, she had goop dripping out of her ears. Ok, I know that sounds gross, but there it is. My assumption by that point was that her ear drum had ruptured. Again. And after another appointment this morning, I was right. She also had an infection in the other ear and her eye was still ooozing junk. So we have antibiotics for her now (thank goodness) and she's out for the count after kind of eating some baby food and some banana. Oh, and drinking a bottle.
In one month she will be ONE and I really don't want her to be using a bottle. Blech. I'm not holding my breath on that one, though. We're still struggling with the cup. She is offended when I try to offer her anything in it for the most part. Every so often she'll take water or juice. But heaven forbid I put formula of any kind in it. She gives me this look like - MOTHER HOW COULD YOU!?!?!?! It's funny, but annoying. Kind of like repeated ruptured ear drums. Annoying, but not funny. See, I said KIND OF LIKE, not totally like.
The good news (after that random tangent) is that now I have instructions on when to bring her in if this happens again. So hopefully we'll be able to avoid another rupture. Apparently Caroline is one of those kids who goes from yuck I don't feel so good to MY EAR IS BLOWING UP in about 2 seconds. So I have to watch her close and monitor her temperature and all of that. Good times. Right now the doctor is not worried about damage to her hearing or anything, but we have to watch things closely so it doesn't get that far.
I think that is about all I have energy for today. I'm hoping that in 5-7 days my new (old) thyroid medication will kick in so I can start feeling human once more. You see, to make a long story short, my old thyroid meds are on some crazy conspiracy theory worthy backorder so I ran out and my doc prescribed something new which was HORRIBLE and made me feel like I'd been hit by a truck daily so I called around and found a pharmacy about 20 minutes away on the other side of the river that actually has my old medication so I got a new prescription for it and now I have my new-old medication again and am waiting for my body to feel the love. Was that a short enough version?
Anyway, I'm alive. The kids are alive. The spouse is alive. We are getting through things one day at a time. Mainly because that's about all I can handle focusing on at this point.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Picture Post
Uncle Blake, Soren, and Uncle Stephen fishing....
Soren showing off his mad skillz.
Caroline wearing a dress I wore when I was a little baby girl! (note the purple? oh yeah, I was rockin' it back then, too)
Classic Caroline face! Love it!
Yeah, I'm already a bookworm. Cuz I rock like that!
Siblings! Oh boy do these two love each other.
Quick story before I forget:
Last night we were reading scriptures. Usually Caroline is eating and/or asleep by this point in the evening, but last night she was awake. So Soren starts trying to read and she keeps leaning herself over so he can see her and smiling at him. She did not want him distracted by this book! He needed to pay attention to HER! Every time he started trying to read, she'd contort her head so it was in his line of sight. We all ended up in giggles and laughed so hard we were crying. What a riot!
That's all for today. Enjoy the photos!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Recipes
There was a request for a few recipes I suggested to a friend, so I figured here is as good a place as any to put them all!
Pork & Cous Cous
This one is pretty straight forward. I buy the cous cous in the boxes at the store (Walmart carries it, but WinCo does not. Safeway offers it in bulk-ish packaging). Usually I need 2 boxes (4 adults, 1 teenage-sized boy), so I like to mix flavors. Here's what I do for the pork:
4 to 6 thinly sliced boneless pork chops
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Salt to taste
Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the frying pan. Gently sprinkle garlic powder and pepper into the oil. Place pork chops into frying pan. Flip chops frequently for even browning and proper cooking. Cover between flips.
This meal is really very quick to prepare. I usually do a veggie on the side and/or a salad as well.
Chicken Rolls
1 pkg. softened cream cheese
4 chicken breasts
8 Tb melted butter (add 4Tb to filling, use other 4Tb for dipping)
2 Tb milk
2 pkg. crescent rolls
Onion powder (to taste)
Parsley (Dried)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 400. Cook chicken (microwave is fast and easy, but you can cook it on the stove if you'd like). Cut up cooked chicken and mix with cream cheese, milk, butter, onion powder, parsley, salt & pepper. Roll out crescent rolls. Fill crescent rolls with desired amount of filling and roll. Dip roll in melted butter, then dip into bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing or chicken gravy if desired.
We usually eat these with salad, rice, and broccoli.
Chicken Salad
If you have a food processor, this is a SUPER fast meal.
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup chopped celery
1 Tb lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c mayonnaise (or more if desired)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Toss first 5 ingredients together, adding enough mayonnaise to moisten to desired consistency. Fold in chopped eggs.
You can do lots of stuff with this - toss on lettuce, put on a croissant, put on regular bread, eat it all by itself... whatever. I like to have grapes on the side and you can also toss in cashews, green onions, or anything else that sounds tasty.
Taco Soup
1lb Hamburger
1/2 Onion - chopped
2 cans diced stewed tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 package taco seasoning
2 cans beans (kidney or black)
1 16oz pkg. frozen corn
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 8 oz can water
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing (dry)
Brown 1lb hamburger with 1/2 onion. Toss everything into a crock pot, pot, or whatever. This needs to cook for a minimum of a 1/2 hour. Top with sour cream, cheese, crackers, or whatever sounds good.
Sticky Chicken Drumsticks
4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 package drumsticks (or any chicken with the bone; we use a mix of thighs & drumsticks)
1 onion
In a small bowl, mix up all the spices. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken evenly. You can let this sit in the fridge overnight, or use it right away. Slice onion and line the bottom of the crock pot with the onion. Add seasoned chicken to the crock pot. Cook on LOW for 8 - 12 hours or cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours. You do NOT need to add any liquid... trust me.
Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork
1 Cup brown sugar
2 Tb corn starch
2 13 oz cans pineapple - crushed, tidbits, or chunks (or 1 20oz can)
2/3 Cup vinegar
2 Tb soy sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
2-3 pieces of cooked and cut chicken or pork
Bag of stir fry veggies (frozen)
Mix brown sugar & cornstarch. Pour in pineapple (w/juice), vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat to boiling to thicken. Add cooked meat and vegetables. Cover & simmer in sauce. Stir in green peppers. Serve over rice.
There they are! And now I'm hungry. Hee hee!
Pork & Cous Cous
This one is pretty straight forward. I buy the cous cous in the boxes at the store (Walmart carries it, but WinCo does not. Safeway offers it in bulk-ish packaging). Usually I need 2 boxes (4 adults, 1 teenage-sized boy), so I like to mix flavors. Here's what I do for the pork:
4 to 6 thinly sliced boneless pork chops
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Salt to taste
Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the frying pan. Gently sprinkle garlic powder and pepper into the oil. Place pork chops into frying pan. Flip chops frequently for even browning and proper cooking. Cover between flips.
This meal is really very quick to prepare. I usually do a veggie on the side and/or a salad as well.
Chicken Rolls
1 pkg. softened cream cheese
4 chicken breasts
8 Tb melted butter (add 4Tb to filling, use other 4Tb for dipping)
2 Tb milk
2 pkg. crescent rolls
Onion powder (to taste)
Parsley (Dried)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 400. Cook chicken (microwave is fast and easy, but you can cook it on the stove if you'd like). Cut up cooked chicken and mix with cream cheese, milk, butter, onion powder, parsley, salt & pepper. Roll out crescent rolls. Fill crescent rolls with desired amount of filling and roll. Dip roll in melted butter, then dip into bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing or chicken gravy if desired.
We usually eat these with salad, rice, and broccoli.
Chicken Salad
If you have a food processor, this is a SUPER fast meal.
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup chopped celery
1 Tb lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c mayonnaise (or more if desired)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Toss first 5 ingredients together, adding enough mayonnaise to moisten to desired consistency. Fold in chopped eggs.
You can do lots of stuff with this - toss on lettuce, put on a croissant, put on regular bread, eat it all by itself... whatever. I like to have grapes on the side and you can also toss in cashews, green onions, or anything else that sounds tasty.
Taco Soup
1lb Hamburger
1/2 Onion - chopped
2 cans diced stewed tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 package taco seasoning
2 cans beans (kidney or black)
1 16oz pkg. frozen corn
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 8 oz can water
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing (dry)
Brown 1lb hamburger with 1/2 onion. Toss everything into a crock pot, pot, or whatever. This needs to cook for a minimum of a 1/2 hour. Top with sour cream, cheese, crackers, or whatever sounds good.
Sticky Chicken Drumsticks
4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 package drumsticks (or any chicken with the bone; we use a mix of thighs & drumsticks)
1 onion
In a small bowl, mix up all the spices. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken evenly. You can let this sit in the fridge overnight, or use it right away. Slice onion and line the bottom of the crock pot with the onion. Add seasoned chicken to the crock pot. Cook on LOW for 8 - 12 hours or cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours. You do NOT need to add any liquid... trust me.
Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork
1 Cup brown sugar
2 Tb corn starch
2 13 oz cans pineapple - crushed, tidbits, or chunks (or 1 20oz can)
2/3 Cup vinegar
2 Tb soy sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
2-3 pieces of cooked and cut chicken or pork
Bag of stir fry veggies (frozen)
Mix brown sugar & cornstarch. Pour in pineapple (w/juice), vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat to boiling to thicken. Add cooked meat and vegetables. Cover & simmer in sauce. Stir in green peppers. Serve over rice.
There they are! And now I'm hungry. Hee hee!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
You know how....
You know how you love to read blogs and stuff? Well, if not, then whatever. But I do. I love reading updates on my friend's and family's lives and hear all the latest juice or the boring, mundane tasks of daily life. I like hearing news, funny stories, and things these people have learned that have helped them grow and become better in some way. I love seeing a big number next to my google reader update because that means I have lots to catch up and read and it makes me happy!
And then there are the blogs that aren't updated frequently at all! I get so frustrated, annoyed, sad (not in an intense way, just like - hey! I wanna know what's up!) and think to myself, "Why don't you update? I'm craving some info, please!" And then it dawns on me...
I'm one of those people!!!
So I hope you don't get upset at me for not updating more. I get upset at myself when I realize the little things I am missing out on writing down for posterity. But sometimes it's more important to cherish the moment for what it is than rush to write it down. Or sometimes sleep is more important. Or sometimes just vegging out is... I dunno. Maybe I'm just coming up with excuses? Could be.
Anyway.
So what's the latest around here?
School is back in session and Soren is now into middle school. He's loaded down with much more homework these days, has adopted a bit more of an attitude (but not as much as a lot of kids his age, so I'm grateful), and has officially moved from the stage of "I love school," to "WHY must I go?" Yay for us. However, he now has a bit more independence and responsibility and I think that is helping him feel a lot more grown up. He continues to be an awesome person to have around and I sure love him. It's fun to joke around with him and be silly. He keeps me young and makes me old at the same time. We are waiting to see which sports he'll be interested in this year, but he is back in piano lessons (finally) and still involved in Scouting. Between that and all the homework, he keeps pretty busy. However, most nights we try to find times for a round of Mario Kart, a family favorite in our house.
Caroline has moved from our bedroom to the laundry room for the time being. She is sleeping better and longer and putting herself to sleep after she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. We like this. It allows for much more sleep all around. Who doesn't love sleep? You know, aside from children. To offset the joy of sleep, she is now more mobile than I'm really ready for, but are you ever really ready? I dunno. She pulls up on everything and is now bonking her head a lot more, acquiring many bumps and her first bruise. I'm sure many, many more will follow. It's the nature of this stage. As for communication goes, she's managed to master the "more" sign, but uses it even when she doesn't want more. We're working on more signs, but she is stubborn, so we'll see how this goes. She can also say 'hi,' and usually at the correct time. Dadadadadada is still a favorite phrase, though she also tries to sing along to Aba Daba Honeymoon by saying "Abadaba" over and over again with me. It's adorable. All in all, she is at a fun stage and we all enjoy her smiles, laugh, and generally cuteness.
Life is good. We have our ups and downs and are praying for some changes, but if they don't come to pass, then it really could be worse. We try and focus on the good. We love our family, our friends, and our blessings. :)
And then there are the blogs that aren't updated frequently at all! I get so frustrated, annoyed, sad (not in an intense way, just like - hey! I wanna know what's up!) and think to myself, "Why don't you update? I'm craving some info, please!" And then it dawns on me...
I'm one of those people!!!
So I hope you don't get upset at me for not updating more. I get upset at myself when I realize the little things I am missing out on writing down for posterity. But sometimes it's more important to cherish the moment for what it is than rush to write it down. Or sometimes sleep is more important. Or sometimes just vegging out is... I dunno. Maybe I'm just coming up with excuses? Could be.
Anyway.
So what's the latest around here?
School is back in session and Soren is now into middle school. He's loaded down with much more homework these days, has adopted a bit more of an attitude (but not as much as a lot of kids his age, so I'm grateful), and has officially moved from the stage of "I love school," to "WHY must I go?" Yay for us. However, he now has a bit more independence and responsibility and I think that is helping him feel a lot more grown up. He continues to be an awesome person to have around and I sure love him. It's fun to joke around with him and be silly. He keeps me young and makes me old at the same time. We are waiting to see which sports he'll be interested in this year, but he is back in piano lessons (finally) and still involved in Scouting. Between that and all the homework, he keeps pretty busy. However, most nights we try to find times for a round of Mario Kart, a family favorite in our house.
Caroline has moved from our bedroom to the laundry room for the time being. She is sleeping better and longer and putting herself to sleep after she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. We like this. It allows for much more sleep all around. Who doesn't love sleep? You know, aside from children. To offset the joy of sleep, she is now more mobile than I'm really ready for, but are you ever really ready? I dunno. She pulls up on everything and is now bonking her head a lot more, acquiring many bumps and her first bruise. I'm sure many, many more will follow. It's the nature of this stage. As for communication goes, she's managed to master the "more" sign, but uses it even when she doesn't want more. We're working on more signs, but she is stubborn, so we'll see how this goes. She can also say 'hi,' and usually at the correct time. Dadadadadada is still a favorite phrase, though she also tries to sing along to Aba Daba Honeymoon by saying "Abadaba" over and over again with me. It's adorable. All in all, she is at a fun stage and we all enjoy her smiles, laugh, and generally cuteness.
Life is good. We have our ups and downs and are praying for some changes, but if they don't come to pass, then it really could be worse. We try and focus on the good. We love our family, our friends, and our blessings. :)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
School is on the Horizon!
Tomorrow is the first day of school! Woot! I think the only real reason I'm excited for it is so that we have a schedule/routine somewhere. Caroline is so unpredictable it almost is annoying. Haha! For example, all last week (Monday through Thursday) she woke up around 6:30am, ate a good bottle, then went back to sleep until close to 9am. Thursday night she decided to NOT do that and messed up my schedule (I was expecting her to be my alarm clock) and we were nearly late for Soren's allergist appointment (more on that later). She has proceeded to have whacked out sleep the past few nights, waking up and screaming for no reason and insisting on a bottle around 2am (though last night it was midnight and then she screamed until 2am). Seriously, I have no idea with this child.
So basically, I'm ready for some type of normal schedule. School provides that, thank goodness.
We have learned that Soren is allergic to: cats(!!!), trees, weeds, and grass. He also has Oral Allergy Syndrome. This means that he reacts to the pollen that is inside of fruits because his body is all like I AM ALLERGIC TO EVERYTHING. Does that make sense? Dunno. It made sense when the doctor told me. So we now have to drug him up daily so that his body isn't freaking out all the time.
The good news? The same day Soren went to the allergist, he also went to the eye doctor and his vision is rockin', so he lucked out in that department considering both Alan and I were wearing glasses by 5th grade.
I'm surprised at how quickly the summer has zipped by, but I'm excited for autumn because, quite frankly, it's my favorite time of year. Not too hot, not too cold . . . leaves changing colors and spilling themselves all over the ground, the cool, crisp, autumn breeze, Halloween, and - strangely enough - we celebrate Caroline's 1st Birthday in just a few short months. In 10 days she will be 10 months old. How did this happen?!?!?
Speaking of which, she is crawling all over the place and yesterday she had the audacity to pull herself up on the coffee table. I was not pleased. Especially because I was in the middle of playing Mario Kart with my boys and she distracted me. Haha! Seriously, it's exciting and fun to watch her grow and learn, but I'm not really ready for her to be walking. Luckily she's behind Soren, who was well on his way to running a marathon at 10 months (CRAZY!), but still.... it just makes me that much more baby hungry which is lame because she's STILL a baby!!
Speaking of baby hungry (my segues are repetitive today), no we are not expecting another addition yet (there was some rumor going around due to a poorly worded facebook status update), but my health is stabilizing so it's almost plausible now to really prepare for the procedures again. Which is what I'm in the process of doing - getting my body ready for another round of the nightmare that is fertility treatments. Woot! Don't worry, I fail at keeping a secret of that magnitude for very long (as evidenced by how quickly I spilled about Caroline) . You'll know almost before I do.
Ok, off to shower and then fight the crowds because I still have some school (clothes, not supplies) shopping to take care of today.
So basically, I'm ready for some type of normal schedule. School provides that, thank goodness.
We have learned that Soren is allergic to: cats(!!!), trees, weeds, and grass. He also has Oral Allergy Syndrome. This means that he reacts to the pollen that is inside of fruits because his body is all like I AM ALLERGIC TO EVERYTHING. Does that make sense? Dunno. It made sense when the doctor told me. So we now have to drug him up daily so that his body isn't freaking out all the time.
The good news? The same day Soren went to the allergist, he also went to the eye doctor and his vision is rockin', so he lucked out in that department considering both Alan and I were wearing glasses by 5th grade.
I'm surprised at how quickly the summer has zipped by, but I'm excited for autumn because, quite frankly, it's my favorite time of year. Not too hot, not too cold . . . leaves changing colors and spilling themselves all over the ground, the cool, crisp, autumn breeze, Halloween, and - strangely enough - we celebrate Caroline's 1st Birthday in just a few short months. In 10 days she will be 10 months old. How did this happen?!?!?
Speaking of which, she is crawling all over the place and yesterday she had the audacity to pull herself up on the coffee table. I was not pleased. Especially because I was in the middle of playing Mario Kart with my boys and she distracted me. Haha! Seriously, it's exciting and fun to watch her grow and learn, but I'm not really ready for her to be walking. Luckily she's behind Soren, who was well on his way to running a marathon at 10 months (CRAZY!), but still.... it just makes me that much more baby hungry which is lame because she's STILL a baby!!
Speaking of baby hungry (my segues are repetitive today), no we are not expecting another addition yet (there was some rumor going around due to a poorly worded facebook status update), but my health is stabilizing so it's almost plausible now to really prepare for the procedures again. Which is what I'm in the process of doing - getting my body ready for another round of the nightmare that is fertility treatments. Woot! Don't worry, I fail at keeping a secret of that magnitude for very long (as evidenced by how quickly I spilled about Caroline) . You'll know almost before I do.
Ok, off to shower and then fight the crowds because I still have some school (clothes, not supplies) shopping to take care of today.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
12 Years Ago
Yesterday Alan and I celebrated our twelfth anniversary! Twelve years ago we were young, stupid, and in love. Now we're just older, a little wiser (but still pretty stupid), and definitely still in love. I am proud of us. We've been through our fair share of ups and downs, but we've made it. It's been hard - really hard - at times. It's also been absolutely blissful at times! Those times make all the hard times worth it. Let me see if I have a picture from our wedding day floating around my machine.....
That's one of my favorites actually!
I love my sweetheart. He makes me laugh, smile, roll my eyes right out of my head . . . he's taught me so many things including computer stuff, cooking stuff, serving others, how to relax, that I'm a good person who deserves to be loved... and so much more. I'm lucky to have such a great guy as my husband. Sometimes I talk to my friends about spouses and it helps me realize what an awesome husband I have - a guy who would go to the ends of the earth to make sure I was happy. He is such a talented guy - he's not just a computer nerd, but he's also got a great voice, can build anything, fix a car, cook a gourmet meal, grow a garden, clean a bathroom ..... but best of all he loves his family and we love him! What a great husband, dad, and man. Goodness, I'm lucky. Did I mention that?
So yesterday we celebrated by going to the temple, then we went to Black Angus for dinner. After that we hung out with my brother and his wife for the rest of the evening. It was a great day! I'm so grateful for parents who are willing to watch our kiddos! We had a great time and I've got pictures of our dinner, but I've got boys who want to play Mario Kart, so I'm off!
:)
That's one of my favorites actually!
I love my sweetheart. He makes me laugh, smile, roll my eyes right out of my head . . . he's taught me so many things including computer stuff, cooking stuff, serving others, how to relax, that I'm a good person who deserves to be loved... and so much more. I'm lucky to have such a great guy as my husband. Sometimes I talk to my friends about spouses and it helps me realize what an awesome husband I have - a guy who would go to the ends of the earth to make sure I was happy. He is such a talented guy - he's not just a computer nerd, but he's also got a great voice, can build anything, fix a car, cook a gourmet meal, grow a garden, clean a bathroom ..... but best of all he loves his family and we love him! What a great husband, dad, and man. Goodness, I'm lucky. Did I mention that?
So yesterday we celebrated by going to the temple, then we went to Black Angus for dinner. After that we hung out with my brother and his wife for the rest of the evening. It was a great day! I'm so grateful for parents who are willing to watch our kiddos! We had a great time and I've got pictures of our dinner, but I've got boys who want to play Mario Kart, so I'm off!
:)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What a summer!
I'm not even sure where to begin on my catching up....
I'll start here:
-Soren spent two long weeks away from us, but enjoyed visiting family in Utah. He was able to spend about a week with Grandma and Grandpa, just shy of a week with his Aunt Tiffy, and a few days with his Great Aunt & Uncle. Lots of fun for him! Highlights include going shooting with Great Uncle Dave (or Grandpa Dave) - he got to shoot a machine gun, a .22, and a .38 special and was in heaven (such a boy), going to Thanksgiving Point, swimming at SCERA, and being with family. He has always loved his trips to Utah, so I was not surprised that he had a blast.
- Caroline has recovered from her ear drum explosion. She is now eating solids about twice a day (if I'm not too lazy) and sleeping better, but not great. I've given in and generally will give her a bottle in the middle of the night if she wakes up wailing. Which she still does most nights. But she isn't screaming all night anymore and she does generally sleep in her bed, so that's nice. She can now get herself into a sitting position on her own, scoot herself all over the floor (she was never into rolling to get to what she wanted), and she is a on the verge of pulling herself up. The last two things happened in the past week. She was not this mobile last week. It really is amazing how fast they learn.
- Alan has been working hard and finally hit his one year anniversary at his job. This means he officially has 2 weeks of vacation/sick leave/etc. that is PAID. Hoorah - we can finally take a family vacation. Sometime. We sure love him and all the sacrifices he is making for our family. We're all hoping that the sacrifices won't have to be so extreme soon.
- As for me? I'm working off and on with web design, being a mom, doing church stuff, getting Soren ready for Middle School, and trying no to lose my mind. My health is slowly stabilizing and we are looking into a treatment or two for some pesky side effects of my many health issues. Hopefully as the winter rolls closer I will physically be able to start treatments again for another addition to our family. Unless my body decides on it's own that it can handle it. We'll see what the next few months hold for us.
Some exciting news? Soren passed his state testing (the WASLs) with flying colors. His councilor from his middle school called yesterday and said that, looking at all factors, she wants to put him in the higher math for 6th graders. I'm hoping he will thrive on the challenge. He did exceptional on his testing, exceeding expectations in all areas. He's a smart kid, but the move here has been rough on him. I'm hoping he can connect with a good group of kids this year.
I have loads of pictures to post but I decided to post them on Picasa. You can view them here.
We've had so much company this summer - it has been exhausting and awesome. There are more pictures to share, but I have to get them onto the computer first. Stay tuned!
I'll start here:
-Soren spent two long weeks away from us, but enjoyed visiting family in Utah. He was able to spend about a week with Grandma and Grandpa, just shy of a week with his Aunt Tiffy, and a few days with his Great Aunt & Uncle. Lots of fun for him! Highlights include going shooting with Great Uncle Dave (or Grandpa Dave) - he got to shoot a machine gun, a .22, and a .38 special and was in heaven (such a boy), going to Thanksgiving Point, swimming at SCERA, and being with family. He has always loved his trips to Utah, so I was not surprised that he had a blast.
- Caroline has recovered from her ear drum explosion. She is now eating solids about twice a day (if I'm not too lazy) and sleeping better, but not great. I've given in and generally will give her a bottle in the middle of the night if she wakes up wailing. Which she still does most nights. But she isn't screaming all night anymore and she does generally sleep in her bed, so that's nice. She can now get herself into a sitting position on her own, scoot herself all over the floor (she was never into rolling to get to what she wanted), and she is a on the verge of pulling herself up. The last two things happened in the past week. She was not this mobile last week. It really is amazing how fast they learn.
- Alan has been working hard and finally hit his one year anniversary at his job. This means he officially has 2 weeks of vacation/sick leave/etc. that is PAID. Hoorah - we can finally take a family vacation. Sometime. We sure love him and all the sacrifices he is making for our family. We're all hoping that the sacrifices won't have to be so extreme soon.
- As for me? I'm working off and on with web design, being a mom, doing church stuff, getting Soren ready for Middle School, and trying no to lose my mind. My health is slowly stabilizing and we are looking into a treatment or two for some pesky side effects of my many health issues. Hopefully as the winter rolls closer I will physically be able to start treatments again for another addition to our family. Unless my body decides on it's own that it can handle it. We'll see what the next few months hold for us.
Some exciting news? Soren passed his state testing (the WASLs) with flying colors. His councilor from his middle school called yesterday and said that, looking at all factors, she wants to put him in the higher math for 6th graders. I'm hoping he will thrive on the challenge. He did exceptional on his testing, exceeding expectations in all areas. He's a smart kid, but the move here has been rough on him. I'm hoping he can connect with a good group of kids this year.
I have loads of pictures to post but I decided to post them on Picasa. You can view them here.
We've had so much company this summer - it has been exhausting and awesome. There are more pictures to share, but I have to get them onto the computer first. Stay tuned!
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