Scary

Life sometimes decides to scare the poo out of us. Well, this weekend is no exception.

On Sunday morning Tate started to experience some pain in his upper left arm. He looked fine, no sweating, good color, none of the things that I thought I should see if he were having a Heart Attack. Yes, I said heart attack. I passed it off as "maybe you just pinched a nerve" I have this happen often when I sleep funny. So, when it came down to lunch time he was still having pain, we called our friend Julie that is on one of the local fire departments. She said that he should probably go to the ER. Of course, we waited just a bit longer. I ran to the grocery store since it was on the way home from where we were having lunch, and I really just wanted to make sure that we had food for the week in case anything were to happen. I got home and no sooner had all the groceries in the house, Julie was calling to see if the pain had gone away. She told Tate that she had talked to one of the Medics and he said that Tate should really go and have it checked out....well that is what he did.

I sat here with the kids waiting for his call as to what was going on. I got lucky that not soon after he left my friend, Jessica, stopped by, so I was not alone. I debated on calling my mom or his mom. I didn't want to call his mom, I needed to leave that to him. I did end up calling my mom, she came over and sat with the kids while I took Tate some overnight items. All his blood tests to that point had all come back normal. Since his family has a history of heart problems, they wanted to keep him over night for observation, a good idea. He had a stress test yesterday, and all his blood work continued to be normal. What did show was that his Potassium was extremely low. NO HEART ATTACK!!!! AMEN!!!

He is doing fine and back to work today, although he wishes he had stayed home and gotten more sleep since he didn't sleep well at the Hospital.

We will be making some changes to our diet at a slow pace since there are children involved. I don't think that the food will change too much, but the portion control will.....I threw together an awesome Veggie Beef soup last night, and there is a chicken in the crock pot as I type this....so we are on our way to more veggies!

Disclaimer: No one involved in this story actually pooed in their pants.

COOKIES!

Alright all you lovers of Girl Scout Cookies....I have a room full of cookies. Don't believe me....take a look.....

Changes

I wonder why people change, when really they shouldn't.

I was having this conversation with someone and we were talking about how some people change, and not necessarily for the better. They let friends that were once close fall to the wayside (we have had this happen as I am sure you all have). I suppose that I am also guilty of this too.

Here are some changes that we have found that cause this to happen:

• getting married
• having babies or not having babies
• moving to a new house or moving to a new location
• short on time to spend with others
• new friends come into the mix
• change in hobbies
• change in jobs/careers

I am sure that there are many more, and if I sat to think about it I could list many more.

I am one person that thrives on friends and family, I like to know what is going on, how someone is feeling, spending time with them, and doing fun things in groups.

I know that my current choice in career (stay at home mom/childcare provider) may have changed me a bit or maybe a lot, but I would hope that it would not change the friendships that I cherish- and unfortunately I know that this has happened.

That said, I am always home. I get lonely. I would love for someone just to say "I am coming over whether you like it or not. I don't care that there are kids running around, I will trip over toys, and the house is strew with toys. I want to spend time with you just catching up."  I love what I do, but there is not much adult conversation around here from the hours of 8 am to 5 pm.

I want all my friends to know that I TRULY CHERISH their friendship, and I love you all!

Girl Scout Cookies

So this weekend was our official start to the Girl Scout Cookie season. We are selling until March 14th. There are a ton of cookies to be bought, so please let me know if you are interested!!

My Hubby

Today is Tate's birthday, he is turning 36. He is one of the best men that I know. Not only is he a great husband, he is a great father.

He has always done what was needed. At times that meant working 2 jobs, and not seeing his family for long period of time- home to change and then out the door again. We have made it through those times.

He works so that I can stay home for the kids. He is working on his Master's in Education- Special Education. He also has started a Master's in Social Work. He started the later first and when he started working at SBCSC he changed over to the Education Department....I have told him that he will finish the Social Work Degree too, and he has not objected. If he had been able to finish the Social Work program he would have graduated last Spring. He will finish his current line of study next Spring (at least I think that is when it will be done).

In the last month or so he has applied for 2 head football coaching positions at 2 of the local High Schools. I am hoping that one of them works out. I know that he would make an awesome Head Coach at this level. Both of the programs need a good man in this position. He is currently the head football coach at the Intermediate level, and has a program that is what I would say respectable- he does not put the kids down like other coaches that I have heard.

So, Dear Tate, I am proud to be your wife, even though I may not always show it...I love you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Winter Blahs

I am hitting the winter blahs, and I know why. I am one of those people that likes to get out. I however do not like to drive in the white stuff.

I am going to preface this next thing with this, I love what I do. The kids are driving me a little nuts! I have not had much time alone lately, and that is something that I really need, and no, grocery shopping does not count!

I am trying to find the time to get back to the YMCA to start working out again to get rid of some of the blah, still trying to find the perfect times to work around schedules.

I am looking forward to Spring arriving and the snow melting.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

Alright, I love the white stuff, at least how it looks. But, I am ready for it to stop falling from the sky.

I was just out and shoveled another 3-4 inches off the front walk way, I did all the way past the second house to the North of us. Last weekend he helped to snow blow the 24+ inches of snow away, so I returned the favor using my shovel.

Since we have been snowed in this last weekend we rearranged our bedroom. In doing that I have pinched the nerve in my knee again (this makes everything painful) and did something to my back (I need to see make a visit to my Chiropractor). Both of these are reoccurring pains, so I try not to make a big deal of them when they happen, but today they are ganging up on me at the same time!

I am wondering what the weather will bring us in the next couple of days. Today the snow is coming from a weather system that is going through bringing the 3-4 we already have and maybe a little more. Sometime tonight or super early tomorrow the lake effect will kick in, and you never know how much or where it will all fall. We could be in for another snow day for the schools.

I hope that you all stay warm and safe!

Did I really?

Did I really just apologize for using "crap" in a blog? Oh my! Such language! I suppose I could have used the original word that I really comes to mind, but then I would be washing my hands with the harshest cleaner possible!

Cleaning out....

So, we have been making changes around here and getting rid of a bunch of CRAP! (Sorry if I just offended you and you have decided to stop reading from here.)

Last week Tate and I began on the adventure of cleaning out the basement, that was a trip! But, we got rid of a bunch of toys among other things that were broken or past a date or use. Did you know that there is an expiration date on car seats? Well, there is and that is one of the things that had to go.

Today I am working on cleaning out the bedroom so that we can move the bed into it's new spot. I have come across all the crib sheets, baby bumpers and such for the crib. I have decided that it all must go, and in thinking about it I began to get teary eyed. All of my girls are growing so fast! Ellyn is now out of the toddler bed and we are giving that away to our dear Abie, who is about ready to move into her "big bed". 

So time continues to go on and we move on into different stages. We are moving out of the baby stage in this house. I will miss some of it, but certainly not all of it!

Resolutions, nah, GOALS!

I am not very good at the whole resolution thing. I have been there and done that. This year I am setting goals. I know they are about the same, but I tend to like the word "goals" better. So, here they are in no specific order.....

1. Work out on a regular basis.
2. Be better at budgeting, and sticking with it.
3. Eat out less.
4. Plan the weeks menu, and make sure that it is healthier. This means adding more veggies!
5. Make more one on one time for Virginia and Rebekah. Virginia and I have a book that we are going to work on together about her. I need to find something to do with Rebekah still. No, Ellyn does not lose out on this time, I already get one on one time with her during the week.
6. Spend less time on the computer doing time wasting things. No, I do not see my blog as a waste of time...I am talking about Facebook.
7. Spend more time with God. This is one of the things that I have to admit I lack. I love my God, and need more time with him.
8. Make more gifts instead of  spending money, homemade things mean more!


Those are my goals, I hope to have success with them.  

Would anyone like to help me stay accountable or join me on my little list? I would welcome it!

A New Year, A New Outlook

Happy 2011! We have seen another year go by very fast. Where did 2010 go? Oh well, time must go on and so must we.

I have been reading my friends blogs this evening to catch up. I ended 2010 with a little vacation. No, we did not go anywhere. I did get to spend time with my favorite guy, alone! My in-laws took the girls for a couple of nights. I like it when I get to spend time with my guy. This time we spent our time working on cleaning out the basement, isn't that the way you would like to spend your time together? We did accomplish a lot though. I have an area that I have been trying to turn into my own since we moved into this house 5 years ago, and it is finally taking shape.

The last couple of months I have been trying to find ways to become a little more savvy. So far I have made my own dishwasher detergent (which I love), started meal planning a bit better, and this weekend I made my own laundry detergent. I am hoping that this summer I will be able to have more of a garden- I am new to the growing things on my own- my tomatoes, cucumbers and peas did not live up to my expectations last summer, but I will try it again this year.

This year I also want to make all the gifts I give away to others. I am not starting off the year very well at this, as I just bought a baby shower gift for a friend. But, that is okay, hopefully when the baby arrives I will have a blanket for her already made. I have also decided to find ways to give pack to the community around me. I was inspired by a Hat challenge that a friend gave us before Christmas, so I am going to try to continue that challenge and make it bigger! My goal is to have 100 hats made before next winter....this may seem a bit big, but I just think I can do it! I of course have a couple of other projects that I need to complete before I can get started on that.

So, here is to 2011 and all that it has to bring!