Sunday Fun Day!

Wow it has been a busy day. The church hosted its yearly Family Fest after church today and the church ask that I take some pics. Well here are a few of the boys. I let Jake take pictures too. And look what he took a pic of... LOL

Here is what David played for us after we got home. He must have taught himself this morning while I was in the shower. ;)

Happy birthday

Well it's Davids birthday. He is 7 today. And was in my face at 5am. "Mom can I open the box now?" David go back to bed! 6am "Mom can I get up and open my box now?" David get your butt back in bed until 7am atleast! LOL 7am "Mom my watch says it's 7am now, can I get up?" UUGG Are you kidding me? So I get my robe on and come downstairs to make sure he let the dog out. And I hear "can I open my box from Gramma now?" At this point I barked NO! It's been a whopping 37 min and so far he hasn't said any thing.

He isn't having a party today so I think I will let him open his gifts before piano lessons. Yep that's right his first lesson happens to be on his birthday. LOL I was going to post the link that the news station sent back to me so you can watch the news station tell the world it's his birthday but there isn't one. So here is the picture that I sent in.

I will update later with more pictures. Hopefully from piano and his bday cake and gifts.

Here are the gifts that he got. Gma O sent him money that he will spend on some sort of toy.THANKS Gma O........ Gma T got him an awesome card which he totally loved. And cool clothes. THANKS MOM and some money for him to spend also. He is in hog heaven at the moment.

His first piano lesson went very well to my suprise. Because all he did was fidget and tap the keys even when she was trying to talk to him. But for some odd reason he was still able to comprehend what she was telling him. I had to ask what he ate for breakfast.. he says " a chocolate granola bar." AH that's why he couldn't sit still or focus. LOL oops . Ms. M. says he is already on page 22. Yeah DeDe! I think she was suprised by him too. Which always tickles me. Because when the boys do more advanced things it makes me feel like Darren and I have done a pretty good job. :) Oh ya it's just now noon. Can I take a nap now?

One week later

Well, it's been almost a week since I blogged last. Next Saturday is Davids 7th birthday. I can't believe my baby will be 7.~~sigh. I have no idea what we are going to do for his birthday yet. He wants a party but he only has 2 real friends right now and one will be out of town. Maybe we will just push his party back a week so that they both can come. I'll have to talk to Darren.
It was another good school week. Tyler started football and wants to be a quarterback so bad. He says he doesn't care which team he plays on. Just as long as he can be the QB. Jake says he didn't do anything exciting at school this week. He did manage to get a 103% on his spelling test. WAY TO GO! David is still David at school. He has to move his card atleast once a day for talking. LOL Not our David!. I warned his teacher the first day of school that he likes to talk. But I've gotten no notes sent home so he must not be too bad.
I tried to go to the gym everyday. But I got a call to taste test food for Tues & Wed. I could't pass it up. It paid $50.00. Thursday the gym was closed in the morning and there was no way I was going in the afternoon.. It gets too blasted hot in that old airplane hanger. I did however take Jenny for a 3 mile walk. It was misting out and felt so good. Friday I made it back to the gym and had a good workout. I'm going to add weights next week I hope. Last night I kept waking up with my arms or legs asleep. No matter which way I turned as soon as I was comfy one of my limbs would throb in tingly pain. And to boot my hips have been sore for over a month. I will talk to my doctor about it when I go in next.
Tyler is on his 4th week of allergy shots. He will be getting them before school on Monday mornings. Although this Monday I am going to light a fire in thier office.. -- not litterally-- Every time we have gone in they have just turned Tyler around and poke the back of his arm. Never have they gone over the serum bottle nor asked him if the info on the bottle was him. And Ive never seen the serum bottle. The lady got into a huge tizzy last week when I asked her where it was. So I left pissed. I have every right to know what she's poking my son with. Although I know/ hope it's the right stuff.
I haven't picked up my camera in over a month other than to take a picture of a butterfly in the back yard. I haven't been in the mood. Tomorrow another gal and I are suppose to take pictures after church. The church does a Family fest this time every year. It's usually a fun thing. But since Darren will be playing in the music group and I will be taking pictures that means the boys will get to run wild. And I don't want that to happen. But of course they love it when they're not under my thumb.
The dog still has a stupid rash, digs at her ear, bites her feet and scratches everywhere. I decided yesterday no more dog food for a week. Just to see if that helps. I will make her chicken and rice. Which she totally loves. Knowing my luck it's not the food she's having issues with, it's probably grass.
Hope you have a good weekend. I'm going to try. LOL

Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

Yesterday morning I was trying to figure out what I wanted to post about from the past few days. And nothing really extravagant popped into my head. So I decided to bag it.
School started last Tuesday and it was a wonderful week. Back into routine. Dropping the kids off at school then off to the gym for me. I love it. The dog loves it. Because now she gets walked everyday from 2:15 - 3:15 in the afternoon. I chose that time to walk her because it gives me time to wear her 90lb hiney out and then we go up to the school and get the boys. At this point all she can think about is getting home to drink water and lay in a cool spot.
This morning while working out and sweating my rear off I was thinking about how Sunday went. And I realized that we live in an awesome counrty. Yesterday was our church's lake baptism at Chris Lake. A family from our church has a house out there. Well anyway after the music was over Pastor Steve said a few words and someone gave his testimony. Which was awesome by the way. Then down to the water everyone went. The church does this once a year so its a huge thing. As people were claiming thier profession and being baptized the Thunderbirds from the Air Show flew over. There's not too many places in this world that you can be publicly baptized and watch our nations protectors fly over at the same time. I just thought that was really cool and needed to share. Just when we think our country is going to crap. Something excellent happens. I am very thankful we live here.
On another note I'm still doing my best to lose weight. It's only the 2nd week so I hope to see some results soon. But now I have to clean this dissaster we call a house. Hope you all have a great week.
Oh ya I forgot to add that Jenny learned a new trick. If you tell her BANG! she will lay down and roll over. And stays until I say OK.

Where does the time go?

Where does the time go in a day? School started on Tuesday morning for all the boys. And I took the day off. I didn't lift a finger other than typing on here. I had a good chat with Amanda and got reconnected with my sister Sarah. But before I knew it ... it was time to go get the kids from school. We live close enough for them to walk to and from school. But I take them in the mornings and then drop off Tyler at his school. So far this week they've all walked home. Which is good excersize for me. I walk up to get them with the dog. Jenny loves her walks and to see the boys is the icing on her lil cake. Jake and David both collapsed on the couch. First day must have been tiring for them. Heck I wasn't going to complain they were both sitting and being quiet for once. And not off playing video games or fighting. Tyler ran thru the door and straight to thier computer to add all his friends to facebook. It was a great day over all.
Wednesday I started back up to the gym. My goal is to lose 50 lbs. I need to to be healthy and so that my back, knees, and ankles will not hurt as much. Oh ya and I don't wanna be one of those fat soccer moms on the side of the field. OMGosh the base gym is in an old airplane hanger and has been for many years and they still DON'T have a/c. I have never sweated so much in my life. But I was pretty impressed that I had sweat dripping off my arms..LOL . I did hear yesterday that by next year the gym will have a/c. Thank God!
Today the gym was still an oven. But I did manage to get the elliptical done and rode the bike a while. This week is my warm up. Next week I plan to spend an hour (or as close to it as I can) on the elliptical. That is about the only machine that doesn't kill my knees or shins. And the week after start to lift weights again along with the cardio. Last time I tried to lose this weight I got side tracked with the kids and babysitting. And sabotaged with the meal thing. So this time I will stick to my guns. I'd like to get to my goal by my birthday. I think thats pretty reasonable.
After school today Jacobs friend Jordan is coming over and staying until about 10pm. His parents are taking his older sister to college today. And have to get her all settled into her dorm room. Which is ok, we really like Jordan. Plus his family has taken Jake many times. So I owe them..lol
Well I am still sitting in my nasty sweaty clothes. It's time to get ready for the day. I have a dentist appt at 1:30pm to get 2 fillings. And Tyler has his sports physical tonight at 7pm. Football starts next Tuesday.
Ta-Ta for now.

NPS Conference

It's been a whirlwind weekend. Starting with the blog before this one and then driving down to Mary's. That is the highlight of this whole weekend so far. We drove for about 8 hrs on Friday to Arlington, Tx. The people here at the hotel are great. Very friendly and make sure that you know they're here for you. I needed a bandaid and the front desk didn't have one. Well one of the staff went looking. And brought me back practically half a box..LOL

I've met all kinds of people from alot of places. It's pretty cool seeing other people I am not related to have the exact same thumbs as me and my siblings. And seeing all the variations of this syndrome. Some are just as fortunate as my family with being healthy and others are not so lucky. I told Darren last night that I feel very grateful for my nps. There are so many more that are worse off. Webbed arms, glaucoma, kidney issues are just to name a few. Of which my family doesn't really suffer any of those major defects.

I came here imagining that the doctors who were speaking would be more like the other nps'ers with wanting to check out me and the boys hands and nails. LOL the crooked finger actually has a name. But I'm not a doctor and I'm sure there's a more technical name but the other name they describe the finger is Swan Necked. So anyway, after being here a day and a half not one doctor has come up to ask me about mine or the boys nails, elbows, knees, or kidneys. Which I find kind of discouraging. I did see alot of people asking the doctors alot of questions about this n that. But I have no questions really. I am very comfortable with how I am made. And the boys and I don't have any real medical issues. After being here the boys and I look very "normal" compaired to many nps'ers. I'm sure I will add more to this paragraph another day when I've had more time to think about it.

Jake and Davids most favorite thing to do was probably swimming. LOL . Jake got to meet a couple of kids. one thirteen yr old boy Evan he really took a liking to. But I think it's because was a computer nerd. Litterally, he at 13 runs his own servers. What ever the heck that is. But jake sure thought it was cool. I found David playing more with the siblings that didn't have nps. I mingled with a few people. One lady was from Kenai Alaska , a 16 yr old girlfrom NJ who diagnosed herself 2 years ago even after her doctor told her she didn't have nps. That little girl is full of fire she went back and shoved the evidence into that doctors face saying " I told you so!" She has decided that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. We need more people like her. Let's see there's a few people from California (and We're not related-- lol ). Quite a few from the midwest and or the north eastern states. And one gal from the UK but lives in the states married to a military man.

Good grief I could go on n on about today. But I won't..lol Although I will add a pic of who all showed up.

If you read this on 8-10-08 please pray that the boys n I have a safe trip back home.

tty all soon

Yes, My cat talks to me

Man I was sleeping so good. My back finally was starting to feel better. And I wake up to a cat in my face. She kept meowing at me... Hey you lady get up!! .. GO AWAY! A few minutes later she is back again. This time shes on me... kneeding me, bumping up against my hand, and again with the meowing. Not loud just enough to make me stir. GO AWAY! So finally the third time she hopped up on me I decided to try to figure out what she wanted. I look at the door and it's not shut, so that can't be it. OK, OK, I got up and she ran out the door. As I sat up, I heard the dog whine... Oh that's not good... it's only 5:45am. Jenny should still be sleeping. I got up and came down stairs and OMGOSH the smell could have taken you by the nose and shook ya... PPEEEEUUUUEEEEE. (gags thinking about it). Of course now I feel bad because she layed in it long enough for most of it to dry. It was all over her and in her kennel and outside her kennel and down the airvent.. ICK! Ok so the dog is sent outside and I grab the papertowels and bag and the bleach. I thought I did a great job by not adding any more vomit to the bag. It was a mess.

After getting it all cleaned up I let her in. Offered her a lil tiny bit of plain yogurt for her tummy. And decided we should go back to sleep. So I layed on the couch and she on the floor next to me. But she can't sit still. She's itchy and licking and digging at her ears. We got up and I gave her some ear drops to help with the hurt. Of course the rule is if she gets drops in her ears and for being a good girl she gets a treat. Like a moron I gave her one. We layed back down and I was almost asleep. Next thing I hear is her puking again. This time on the carpet... common Jenny lets go outside, common, common lets go, common. Well let's just say she wasn't coming. And managed to barf in 2 areas on the carpet. I finally got her back out the door and realized its not even 7 am yet. CALGONE take me away!! So like the responsible person that I am I got out the carpet cleaner instead of trying to wipe it up with paper towels. The smell of yellow bile isn't the most pleasant. And I NEEDED to get it out of the carpet. Finally the carpets were done and by now my back is killing again. I feel like someone has thier fists in my sides.

Now I am boiling chicken and rice so she has something bland to eat while we are gone. Hopefully Tyler will do a good job watching her. So all who read this pleasae say a prayer for Tyler and Darren as I am leaving them with a sick dog. And that I don't come home to nasty stained carpet. The younger two and I are leaving for Texas in about 2 hrs. So I will report back after Monday some time. Hopefully with pictures of other NPS people.
Oh ya, I think I am going to rename Soxx to.... Lassie Kitty.

Getting Ready

Today I will be packing for Texas. Hopefully I will get everything done that I need to. My back went out on me Monday morning. So everything I do right now is a huge challenge. But dagnabbitt I am going to Texas! So I will work thru the pain. Jake and I got the truck washed and vacuumed last night, so that's one thing done. I still haven't done any house work and the floor is covered in dog hair. Which is nothing new. Although I have started laundry. So that's one less thing I have to do today. The younger two are getting thier hairs all trimmed up. I am letting my friend Susan do it. ONLY because I can't stand there and buzz them myself today or yesterday. Litterally can't stand, if I stand the wrong way or put pressure on my foot wrong I am toast. So I'll pay someone..lol.
As I was cleaning up after the dog Monday evening I noticed something moving in her stools. Well crap! She has worms! UUGGGG So off to petco I went. She took the meds like candy. Infact she takes anything I give her like candy. Which makes it really nice that I don't have to fight her. She even likes it when I shove the 4 benadryl down her throat. Only because she knows she will be getting a Treat.
The boys and I are getting excited to visit with Mary, Mitch , and Emily. Mitch is finally back from Iraq. 3 tours was enough for him and now he is trying to retire. A gal named Joan will be coming with us to the conference too. I met her once at Mary's house. And all I could think was "wow she looks alot like my side of the family". After the conference I will be taking Joan home so I am sure we will have tons of time to compair stories.
The boys start school on the 12th so this is going to be a whirlwind trip. I'll post again when we get home. Have a good week and weekend!

The boys are home.

....And it feels like all hell broke loose. Wow it was semi quiet with them at camp. Other than David thinking he needed to make more noise and talk a 100xs more than normal it was a fairly quiet week.
It was a hot one too. I think David really enjoyed his time with just Darren and I. We kept busy going to different pools and eating out. Thursday night I took David to the fair. Man-O-Man was it hot out! It had to have been close to 100. And the humidity was so bad. I got him the tickets for the rides and he did one ride and was ready to come home. But I said "too bad so sad buddy I bought these tickets for you and your going to use them all up".I was soaked from head to toe in sweat. We ended the evening with Dippin Dots and cotton candy. And we went to Village Inn to eat in an air conditioned building.
The boys came home at different times on Friday. Jake got back around 2:30pm and was glad to be home. He seemed to do alot better than last year. Although he says he doesn't want to go back because they didn't have any A/C. LOL whatever! Tyler came in about 6pm. While I was waiting for him I heard thru the grapevine that his cabin had gotten the flu. Luckily Tyler didn't. But everyone was exposed to it due to one boy puking on the bus all the way back home. It was a long drive. Over 5 hrs from Salina Kansas to Bellevue Nebraska. So knock on wood he still is feeling fine.
Saturday we all went out to Ashland,NE for Darrens work picnic. Again it was freekin hot. But we went anyway to the Double D Ranch. We went on a tram ride that was robbed by cowboys. They did a really cute skit. All the kids plugged thier ears because the caps in thier guns were very loud. I wanted the tram ride to last longer. After we went in and chose out table for the cowboy meal we were to get. Brisket isn't one of my favorite foods. But I ate it. And so did my kids. It was served with cowboy beans and some yummy taders. After dinner we watched a music show for about an hour. Let's just say I am so glad this was a free event. LOL But I am glad we went. It was a good experience for the kids.

I also took the dog to the vet yesterday and she has allergies. I was glad to know I had been treating her properly with the benadryl. And had been giving her fish oil and healthy dog food. LOL I think the vet was semi impressed. LOL and my baby girl weighs a whoppin 90 lbs now. And she will get to have 4 benadryl a day until October. ..

Today is Monday. Tyler starts his allergy testing today. He's not too happy about it. But I know in the long run he will feel better. Maybe by his Freshman year he can play outdoor sports without needing a tissue. After that we may go out to lunch and head to one of the pools. Its going to be 100 again today. Thank goodness the next few days will be in the 80"s. David informed me this morning that there is 4 days until we leave for TX. Sometimes it's nice to have a verbal countdown calendar. LOL.