Monday, April 28, 2008
Manic Monday
Last Thursday night I had Auxiliary Training meeting in Bozo, so I made a date of it with my friend, Jenn. The Girl Who Has/ Can Make Anything (Jenn) is hard to get "things" for, so I decided a dinner date would be a great way to celebrate her bday (which was March 18th, but she was traveling & we've been sick, alternately). We went to dinner at Johnny Carino's, then to our meeting at the Stake Center, then to Famous Dave's for a "nightcap"--bread pudding! It was lots of fun, although I ended up driving home in a blizzard and felt like I was driving through space a la Star Wars (I hate driving in snow at night--it totally freaks me out). It was almost 11pm by the time we got home because I drove about 40mph...but it was a lovely evening out.
Friday James and I had full-blown colds, so Rich had to take the girls to the Winans School Carnival. They had a blast, James and I had some rest, and we were graced with a visit from Matt & Amie on their way to the Billings Temple (HOORAY!!!!) That really made my day. So even though I felt like poo, I got all the laundry done and the kitchen clean in preparation for Super-Spring-Cleaning -Saturday, and Friday was a Good day.
Saturday morning we got up and started gutting our home office (aka "junk pile with computers") and picking up all the carpeted rooms so we could shampoo while the kids went to the Primary Activity day. Rich finished up in the nick of time, and we spent the rest of the day sorting through stuff (I threw away three garbage bags of papers and junk). I took a nap with the girls and then we got ready for Sunday.
Sunday was a truly warm and sunny day! Hallelujah (altough the snow is supposed to be back this week)! After church we ate some gourmet veggie pizza and we all took naps. Then out hometeachers came at 4:30 and we went across the street to the Gray's to celebrate Uncle Davey's 27th birthday. We had a yummy barbecued dinner with family and enjoyed the sunshine and our cousins. Rich had to leave for an Elders Quorum fireside called "Grow Your Own Gorceries," and Rosalie came and help me put the kids to bed around 7pm. They were so wound up they didn't fall asleep til 8:30 or 9pm, and Rich's fireside ran way-late. So we just put off any evening projects we had, snuggled up and watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition (a really great episode that inspired me to be a better example of service to my kids).
So this morning I feel like I have a pachyderm sitting on my face (gnarly sinus pressure), but I am carrying on with Spring cleaning and preparing for the Great Bedroom Swap of 2008. I have to work at the hotel tonight, so I need a nap and some drugs, so I better get my stuff done. I just wanted to say howdy and let you know we're alive and kicking!
PS: I found this CD single of The Innocence Mission's "Bright As Yellow" in my cleaning and I wanted to share the video with you because I LOOOOOOOVE this song. I was living in North Carolina in 1995 when my friend Lisa sent me that CD single with a note saying "This song reminds me of you." After learning (and loving) the song, I feel that's one of the best compliments I have ever received. Enjoy...
And you live your life with your arms reached out.
Eye to eye when speaking.
Enter rooms with great joy shouts,
happy to be meeting.
And bright, bright,
bright as yellow,
warm as yellow.
And I do not want to be a rose.
I do not wish to be pale pink,
but flower scarlet, flower gold.
And have no thorns to distance me,
but be bright, bright,
bright as yellow,
warm as yellow.
Even if I'm shining, even if I'm shouting here
inside.
Even if I'm shining, do you see that I'm wanting,
that I want to be so
bright, bright,
bright as yellow?
Warm as yellow.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Update and Random Pix
Addie and Heidi had some after-school creative time in which they made these "monster trunks" and "monster toes."
James loves to look at our photos on the screen saver---he gets so excited to see his family and calls out our names as he sees us
This is James on Heidi's birthday--I had some things to do, so I turned on "Backyardigans" and gave him some popcorn and water. I heard him giggling, so I went to see what he was doing. He was just chillin' like this, laughing at the silly show.
It's the return of...
James is obsessed with this particular pair of Heidi's underwear. He loves to wear them over his clothes.
***
SHOUT OUT to Susan, my de-lurking old friend...welcome to the blogosphere!
***
Last Wednesday (the day after Heidi's birthday) I woke up with a dull throbbing headache. I tried to take it easy that day and do things around the house, but my headache got worse and worse until it woke me up at 1am Friday. The pain was so bad it made me throw up and I couldn't keep down another dose of Excedrin migraine. I tried to stretch, ice, heat, etc... and nothing worked. I eventually woke Rich up and asked him to help massage it out, but that didn't help either, so he drove me to the ER around 3am.
I am sad that I went there because all they did was treat my dehydration, nausea, and pain, and they did NOTING to locate the source or the reason for the pain (this is why I HATE seeing MD's for pain! Pain is a message to fix something--I don't want to mask those messages until we know why they're there!). I got adjusted the next day and my chiro was furious that the ER doc hadn't even ordered an X-ray, so he did. He wrote up some notes for my regular doc and I told him I would meet with her the first week of May for my regular Grave's check up. The adjustment does help the pain--it's not excruciating, just chronic at this point. I haven't thrown up since last Sunday, but now I have some kind of cold that obviously involves a sinus infection. UGH!
SO ANYWAY....here's my plan. I am going to ask my doc to test for what ever other illnesses I may have that cause pain (MS, FM, RA, Lupus, etc). Meanwhile, I am going to ask for a physical therapy referral and I am going to find out what stretches and exercises I should be doing to strengthen what's hurting. Then I am going back to Curves where I will use the info from the PT to exercise properly (I know I will feel better if I exercise more, but lately all my efforts just cause more pain, so we gotta fix that). We'll see how it goes.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Misses Dashwood
Jill, you should know how much "Sense and Sensibility" is/was a part of my life with Erin, Heidi and Jeanne. First Jeanne and I had a class where we had to read some Austen books and we cracked jokes about them all the time and caught ourselves talking like the characters all the time. And then the movie of Sense & Sensibility came out when Erin, Heidi and I were roommates and we would just turn in to Dashwoods at the drop of a hat.
Edward Ferrars: I hope I find you all well.
Marianne: Thank you, Edward, we are all very well.
Margaret: We've been enjoying very fine weather. [Marianne nudges her]
Margaret: Well, we have.
Edward Ferrars: I'm glad to hear it. The roads were very... dry.
Erin used to write me letters about the weather and the roads all the time (because that is polite conversation!) and invite me to "come stay a fortnight"...it was great fun!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
THANKS, Uncle Spam & Special K!
Look at the pretty shirt Uncle Sam & Aunt Kristen got for Heidi in Hawaii!
SHAKA, BRA!
This is Sam & Kristen in Laie(...I love that ukulele shirt!) SO CUTE!
All three kids say "THANK YOU!" Addie looks like a little surfer girl in her shirt...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That..."
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Spring School Pictures
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Yesterday in Bozeman
...and here's the snow in downtown Bozo (this is where we had dinner, Lisaree--remember?)
Snowy trees on main Street
Snowy tree at Nova Cafe...
Gotta love spring time in Montana!
Pencil Me In
Here's the rough itinerary: 8am breakfast and gift with family, 8:30am Pre-school (where she had a little party with chocolate chip muffins and juice provided by mom), 11am Haircut at Root 66, 12noon Happy Meal lunch with Daddy, 12:30pm Date with Aunt Debbie Holm (shopped for bday treat), 2pm pick up Addie and Daddy to go to matinee in Bozeman, 2:45 visit bookstore while waiting for movie, 3:15-4:45 watched "Horton Hears a Who", 5:30pm dinner at Grandma's with Gray cousins, 6:30pm cake & presents, 7:30om phone date with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Will, and Uncle Sam who were all together in Phoenix, 7:45pm-CRASHED!
I am sad that I didn't take pictures of Heidi's haircut, lunch date, and treat date with Aunt Deb, but here are some pix of our other activities...
Browsing for books
Melin Kids with the Horton Poster
Heidi loves Horton (This book was my favorite when I was a little girl, too--I loved the message). Daddy, Heidi, and Addie waiting forthe movie to start
Heidi LOVED her elephant cake!!!!
Hannah, Rosalie, Danny, Heidi, and Addie
To go with the bench, here's an elephant sprinkler for summer fun!
And an elephant throw blanket from IKEA (click)--it goes with the bedding we have planned for Heidi's new room. (And here's Addie's)
James likes Heidi's bench! (He's sitting on it right now watching Sesame Street)
James and Rosalie try out Heid's Bench.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
HEIDI ROCKS!
Her Royal Sleepiness donned her crown and opened a small gift from the fam and a darling baby doll from Aunt Jill before getting ready for pre-school and eating breakfast. Addie was, of course, coaching her from the sidelines...
...Here are my girls on 04/17/04...Sweet Sisters!
Happy Birthday, Heidi-Lynners!
Happy Birthday, Heidi Lynn
FAMILY LETTER 07.28.19
Dear Loved Ones, We have just ...