Trip to Manti

Caleb's 1st horse ride! March 28th, 2009
So, despite how happy he looks in this picture, it was a completely miserable weekend! He was acting like he didn't feel too hot at daycare of Friday and despite my better judgement I didn't take him to instacare before we left for Manti. Caleb proceeded to cry all night Friday night, most of the day Saturday & all night Saturday night. Finally at 1:30 in the morning on Sunday, Travis says "Put him in his carseat. I give up! We're going to Gunnison (the hospital)." So, off we went. Just like I thought, he had ANOTHER ear infection! On the bright side, the dr. gave him 10 days of antibiotics and we were down to 11 days before tube surgery!! Yay!! He is MUCH happier now & I absolutely cannot wait until we get tubes in the kid! He has been the worst of the 3 when it comes to ears (and the other two haven't been all that great!!!).

So, the purpose of our trip to Manti was to pick up Trav's elk from the taxidermist. So, here he is. Meet TJ the BFE (Big Furry Elk). These pictures really don't do it justice. I'll have to take pictures during the day to see if the light makes a difference. This thing is MASSIVE. He didn't fit through the front door, which meant he would not fit through the garage door. We went around to the back of the house & came in the glass sliding door. I didn't think there was any way he was ever going to fit. Glad he did though because the next option was taking him through the french doors in my room & hanging him on the wall above my bed!! The kids think it's pretty cool & I have to admit, I'm proud of Travis. The only drawback is that now Trav thinks that TJ the BFE needs Morris the Moose to come live next to him on the wall!! I told him if he wants more dead animals on the wall he must finish the basement & hang them up down there!! While bringing this beast in the house (80-100 lbs mind you on icy driveway!) I specifically pointed out that the next thing he kills needs to be MUCH smaller!

Life on the homefront

Well, Travis made it home today. Yay!! The kids and I were super excited to see him. The kids because they have missed him so much. Me because I really need a break from the kids! Funny to think that since I spend SO much time at home. ;)

Actually I think the stress level is getting to me. I had some eczema break out on my neck about a month ago & it is getting worse and worse as time goes by. I think it's getting worse because of the stress. My sister only gets eczema when she's stressed out, so that's why I'm thinking it's stress related.

Caleb has now figured out not only how to get up on all fours & rock back and forth, but he has also moved one knee forward and then nose dived. When I picked him up at Laura's today (daycare) he was on the floor and playing. Just out of the corner of my eye I caught him up on all fours & I'm pretty sure he actually got each knee one movement forward before nosediving. I am SO not ready for him to be crawling!! I can't even believe he's that old already! Tonight he was down on the floor doing his army crawl & we had to put the baby gate across the stairs because he worked his way all the way over there just so he could play with Nash's legos.

And in other news...my school laptop crashed today. That was a fabulous end to 2 days of serious IT stress!! Sending it out tomorrow with the hopes it will be back by Monday! On the bright side, the end of the term is today & grades must be submitted tomorrow. So, I'm almost past that headache (and only have 1 more time left to go through it this school year)!

Anyway, hope you have a great week!

Look what I learned!

Found this on my cousin's blog & found it quite interesting! Sorry about the length of the posts lately!

"I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little old bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, or they would lose thousands of dollars."
1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out (I do it when I bathe).
No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash. (Small print says mouth wash and gargle right on the bottle.)
2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of "Peroxide" to keep them free of germs.
3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.
4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.
5. I had fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.
6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine, but was healed by soaking in peroxide.
7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.
8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, or plugged sinuses. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue.
9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.
10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change.
11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.
12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
13. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors with, and there is no smearing which is why I love it so much for this.

Thankful Thursday

So about a week ago I said that a student of mine had inspired me to institute thankful Thursday. So, here goes my first attempt!

1-I am thankful for my mother. Never in a million years did I think I'd say that one out loud! But, I know that I wouldn't be where & who I am without her. And thank goodness she's close enough to watch my kids now that I'm a virtual single mom!

2-I am thankful for Travis. We've been married for almost 10 years now. WOW. Sometimes it's hard to remember what life was like before we were married! I know that without him my life would have taken a completely different path (and not such a great one either). He is my inspiration and my rock.

3-I am thankful for my children. They are my reason to get out of bed everyday. Even when we make 14 trips to instacare a week! I can't imagine my life without any one of them & I wouldn't trade them (or all their dr. visits) for anything in this world. They make me want to be a better person.

4-I am thankful for my job & the kids I get to work with every single day. I realize that my job takes a ton of my time away from my kids. However, I also realize that even though I'm not with my kids as much as I'd like to be, I am helping to provide for them & I'm working with another mother's child. I have the chance to help multiple children grow and reach their unlimited potential. I get to be reminded of what it's like to see things from a kid's perspective & I get the chance to learn from these fabulous children every single day!

After you click the play button & it loads, you have to click on the pictures on the left hand side of the page to bring them up in the center of the page.

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He's Mobile!!

Well, it finally happened...much to my disappointment! Caleb now gets up on all 4s & rocks back & forth. He then flops down on his belly & army crawls across the floor at a pace all too rapid for his poor mother to keep up with!

He also just recently got patty cake down. When he does something & we smile at him he gets quite proud of himself & claps until we notice & clap along with him. He loves to play patty cake too though & just giggles and giggles when you "toss it in the oven."

He has got such a cute little belly laugh. It completely cracks me up. And this new found smile (that just so happens to evade my camera every stinkin' time) reminds me of my niece Jade SO much!

I can't believe he will be 8 months old on Wednesday! Once again time has gone by MUCH too quickly!! Before I know it he will be the one in Kindergarten!!

Speaking of Kindergarten...we went to Samantha's parent teacher conferences last week. She is doing much better academically than last fall. I was worried after I saw test scores last fall but not only has she caught up to where she should be, she has passed benchmark! So, I'm now bringing home set 3 of the phonics books (much to HER dismay) to push her a little. She is working on set 2 with her reading group at school but she does so well with them I thought I'd give her a bit of a challenge. I guess that's one down side to having a mother for a teacher!!

Nash has been doing really well with his year end testing as well. I can tell he isn't where Samantha was when she was his age and that bothers me a lot (mostly guilt kicking in here). I guess it just tells me how much I need to work with him over the summer! I'm sure he'll be thrilled about that one! Dang that luck for having a mom for a teacher here too...

Travis got to come home this past weekend. He was ready for a visit too. He hadn't been home in 2 weeks & was getting pretty home sick for the kids & I. We were all pretty bummed out when he left Sunday night since he didn't know when he'd be able to come back home. But, we got a phone call today & he told us that they've put him on a crew & he should be coming home a week from Wednesday & it will be for a WHOLE week! We are all super excited for that one!

We are managing well despite being spread so thin. I think at this point we're just glad we both have jobs so we can pay all our bills & keep a roof over our head. Like everyone else we're hoping the economy turns around sooner rather than later so we can get our dad closer to home.

I'm hoping I can catch that sneeky smile of Calebs & get a picture of the kids in their St. Patrick's day shirts. I'll post as soon as I capture those smiles!

Only in UT

So on Sunday Sam wore a cute spring dress, Nash wore shorts, & we could see quite a bit of grass.

This is what I woke up to this morning:

(Yes, that's 13 inches of snow)

After an hour and a half of shoveling, this is what I was down to:


At 7 pm ish, this is what I found:


On the bright side...

NO MORE SPOTS!

First 5!

The first five people to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me. However there are some limitations:
1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year. (might take a while)
4. You have no clue what it is going to be, poetry, shoes, bags or a little invention of my own. I may bake something and bring/mail it to you. Who knows? Not you that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. It may blow your mind!

Here is the catch, if you choose to do this. You must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

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It just doesn't quit...

2009 is not exactly starting out how I had hoped it would. Of course, we are ahead of last year in the fact that no one has had Rheumatic Fever...yet.

Last night I spent 3 (THREE) hours at InstaCare with Nash & Samantha. I took them in because Nash is still croup coughing after 2 weeks & Samantha after 1 week. Well, Samantha mentioned to me as we were headed in that her throat hurt...when the nurses asked me if I wanted to strep test her right off or wait until after the dr. looked at her. I knew better, so I said let's wait.

The dr. came in & took a look at Nash first...swollen lymph nodes but clear ears, nose, throat & breathing good.
Samantha up next...the dr. said that she could see white in the back of Sam's throat so we'd better strep test. It took 4 (FOUR) of us to hold that child down in order to get the strep test done. Mind you in the course of this battle she bit a tongue depresser in half & managed to break so many blood vessels in her cheeks that she now has giant red cheeks with tiny red freckles all over them. The dr. also looked at her ears - that child is as deaf as a post lately so I knew her tubes were blocked, AGAIN. The dr. said that one ear was completely blocked & she couldn't even see in it & the other was 2/3 of the way blocked & chuck full of fluid. GREAT. We finally left InstaCare with 4 prescriptions - 2 for cough medicine & 2 for Dexamethazone (steroid). Before we leave the dr. tells me that I need to call the ENT in the morning & get in as soon as I can (I told her that I had one scheduled for April 7th - 1st day of spring break but that was not soon enough). Strep test came back NEGATIVE.

Arrive at Smith's at 8 pm. Give the pharmacy the new insurance card we received from Trav's employer, Halliburton. They then ask me if I have a different prescription card because none of the numbers on the card I gave them are being recognized by their system. GREAT. Buy 4 (FOUR) prescriptions with NO insurance coverage.

Call the ENT this morning & am told I can get in at 3:45 and see one of the physician's assistant.

Prepare to leave school at 2 pm. Get 2 phone calls from Laura (my daycare girl) at 1:45 pm. Call Laura back thinking Nash has broken something or thrown up. She proceeds to tell me Caleb has a rash covering his entire body & it's been getting worse all day. The rash wouldn't be so bad EXCEPT he has this giant red squishy thing across the back of his head. GREAT!!!

Leave school at 2 pm. Pick up Samantha & am told by teacher that she has mentioned she doesn't feel well (maybe it's the new tongue depresser in her diet??). Pick up boys. Caleb has HIVES! Cover his ENTIRE body. Thing on the back of his head is freakishly huge & nasty squishy. GREAT.

Head to ENT. Physician's assistant comes in & Nash goes first. Ears are not infected, only 1 of 2 tubes are still in ears & 1 ear is totally nasty. Caleb is second. Both ears severely infected. GREAT. Why are we on antibiotics for almost a week & now covered head to toe in hives?? Caleb needs tubes..Nash needs new tubes (I swear we just paid off set #2 of his). Samantha goes last (surprised?) Ears are totally nasty & must be cleaned out.

Try to clean out Nash's ear first. Must soak with ear drops first because it is so crusted in there. Nash is much more brave than his big sister! Gets a "Good kid coupon" from dr. and gets to go pick out a treat from the pharamcy. Put Samantha on table. FREAKS OUT! Decide we should SEDATE her. Fabulous! Get sedative medicine in her & must wait 15 minutes for it to kick in. Meanwhile, fill out surgery paperwork & finish cleaning Nash's ear. Samantha because heavily inundated - acts like she's 3 sheets to the wind! Carry her to room where I must still lay on top of her & have another nurse hold her head still so physician's assistant can clean out ears!

Get a hugemongous piece of goober out. Physician's assistant asks how long her tubes have been in...3 years. Get told 3 years is the max they can be left in & still give the ear drum a chance to heal. Proceed to take out both tubes that are still in ears. Now has 2 holes in each ear drum (round 3 she had 2 tubes put in each ear so they could drain easier). One starts to drain some of the fluid out - wonder how long that will last?

Pre-register boys for surgery on April 9th (Spring Break here we COME!). Must wheel Samantha to the car because she is still three sheets to the wind. Drive home with Samantha crying the entire way (Specialty Hospital to Hyrum - 30 minutes!).

Make it home & get dinner in oven. Put poor Caleb in oatmeal bath - thank goodness he LOVES it! Get kids to bed - shake head & wonder why I keep having children & WHY on earth I want one more!

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