At the Courthouse

Well, today I am sitting in the county court house waiting to see if they pick me as a juror. Boy, I hope not! I didn’t know until late last night that I was supposed to report today. We woke up to an inch of snow today, so the girls are at home for a 2-hour late start day. Mike had to stay home to work so I could be here!

This is a weird experience. I have never done it before.

Later: They didn’t end up picking me. I know too many police officers! It was a driving under the influence case, so since I lost someone in my family to that type of accident, they might have thought it would affect my impartiality.

So, what else has been going on in the last couple days? On Saturday I took my extra craft supplies up to that garage sale put on by one of my favorite stores, Treasury of Memories. I sold $280 worth of stuff, but I only get it in store credit! What a great racket huh! I know I sold stuff for more than I would have otherwise and you won’t hear me complaining about my store credit!

The girls came with me and we had a “girl” day. We went to play at McDonald’s and shopped at my favorite store. I bought the girls each a new Webkins. I guess I like to spoil them a little. Anika picked a stuffed Hedgehog. Kelby got a cute puppy and Tegan got a black panther.

We got to go to some friends’ house for dinner that night. We had a great time playing a game called, “Ticket to Ride”…I think that is what it was called anyway. It was a train themed game. I can’t wait until we get to play again. I’ll have to buy it I think.

On Sunday we had our little church event. It was pretty fun and big success because way more ladies came than we expected. I hope they enjoyed it too.

On Monday we had Kelby’s appointment, but I already mentioned that was uneventful!

Tuesday was Mike’s 34th birthday. It was really a sad birthday…at least by my standards. He isn’t really a big “birthday” guy. He just wanted to keep it simple and didn’t even care if I made him his favorite meal. At least he picked something that I don’t make very often, so that was something special. I didn’t even have to bake him a cake because he wanted the apple pie that we’ve had in the freezer since Halloween as his cake! It was yummy though. He got to open a few presents from love ones, and that was it. He didn’t complain. I’m not as good at spoiling him as he is at spoiling me!

I have been a little down this week. I have a lot going on with Ladies’ Ministries and I’m a little overwhelmed. I want everything to go well and I’ve spread myself too thin. That means that a few things are starting to suffer a bit. It will all work itself out, but I need to start shrinking my role and I’m  starting to see why! I had a few meetings on Wednesday and invited some extra kids over (the girls had a half day on Wednesday), so there went another day!

So, today is Thursday and that started out with being at the court house. Yikes, I have been busy. I even forgot to wish my dear Gramma Schraer a happy 85th birthday! Sorry Gramma! I thought that things would slow down this week. Oh well, we’ll hope it will next week.

The Appointment Went Well

Everything went well at the appointment today. We don’t even have to see Dr. Park until next year! I am very thankful. God is so good!

Visit to Children’s

Here we are a Children’s for another regular checkup. Kelby isn’t at all afraid of this place compared to the dentist. She even bravely got her arm poked today so they could draw her blood for labs.

They now have wireless internet available to patients where ever you are in the hospital. That is nice to be able to check my email and surf the web.

Hopefully this will be an uneventful check up. We’ll I guess I’ll post this since I can.

Church Tonight

I’m doing the laundry today. We just finished watching Wall-E, but we should have been outside enjoying the sun. I’m baking cookies for a ladies’ church thing. I burned half of them. I never take them out right away when I hear the timer and then forget that the timer went off.

I’m just back from our little church event. It is time to relax now. We are kicking off some small groups and were so excited to have 35 women show up and get excited about some of the fun options. They are silly groups like “Flicker Chicks” and “Letterboxing Ladies”. They are groups based on special interests. I think it will be fun and something that we really need in our church…a way to connect on a smaller level.

Church stuff still keeps me pretty busy, but now I need to focus on ways to simplify so I can step out of my role starting this fall. I have made my job into big shoes to fill…so now I need to make my shoes smaller and find someone to fill them. We are PRAYING for that person.

Dentist Anxiety

Well, the week did fly by. On Tuesday I went to the doctor and he thinks I might be allergic to something in my hair products...so for the next 10 days I have to try something that would be any girl's nightmare...especially one with naturally curly hair. I have to go without conditioner and styling products! Yikes. I can't find any hypo-allergenic conditioners and gels; they must only be available online or something. I don't want to spend too much money on it anyway in case that isn't the problem, so I guess I'll have to perservere through the next eight days. My hair is a big frizz ball. I can wear my hair pinned back and it is okay, but today I straightened it a little. I think I look weird!

Today I had to take Kelby down to her dentist appointment down at Children's. Gramma Debbbie came down for the ride and she watched Anika while we were in her appointment. It was so nice to have company for the drive.

I wasn't expecting the visit to be that bad since they were planning to give her the nitrous oxide. As soon as we got into the room Kelby grabbed hold of me and started freaking out. She dug into me and wouldn't let go. She wouldn't talk to the dentist and couldn't be reasoned with. After 15 minutes or so the dentist finally had to say that either Kelby would have to settle down and let them give her the happy gas or mommy would have to leave the room. She finally let them do it. I was so upset with her and frustrated through the whole thing.

Once she had the gas, she calmed down and was happy to let them work on her mouth. They had to numb that bum tooth so they could clean it. The dentist is sure it is just a malformed tooth from her cancer treatment. The gums were looking much better at least since she's been brushing it now. Kelby has learned to brush her teeth with warm water so that her tooth doesn't hurt when she brushes. We have to see a periodontist now to see what they can do help the gums heal and maybe grow back over the exposed root.

Although I don't blame her for her anxiety, Mike and I decided to give her a consequence for her behavior so we can avoid this problem next time. She just needed to calm down and relax and it was within her ability to choose to calm down. She's now grounded from the Wii for two weeks. It is hard to be the mean parents somtimes!

Tonight we went to bingo night at the school. My friend Jennifer had watched Tegan after school for me while we were at the dentist, so we met them at the school. Mike even came with us so it was a fun family evening.

Tomorrow I am taking the girls up to Bellingham where I'll be selling some old craft stuff. The scrapbooking store is hosting a "garage sale". For everything I sell I'll get credit at their store. It isn't as good as cash, but it sure is an easy way to clean out my craft supply. The girls and I will have a good time shopping and maybe going out to lunch.

It is going to be a busy weekend and then I have to take Kelby down for another appointment at Children's on Monday.

I'm exhausted now, so I think I'll sign off for tonight.

Busy having fun...

Well, I had hoped to keep running every other day, but it just isn't happening. I have so many activities going on. I hope I can get back to it soon. Mike's thinking about training for a real marathon! It is very inspiring and impressive. On Sunday I stayed pretty mellow. We've been having beautiful weather...that means the sun is out. It is still chilly, but we love that sun when we get it! Kelby's friend and her mom stopped by on their bikes and borrowed Kelby for the rest of the day. Then we invited a friend over to spend the night with Tegan. On Monday the girls didn't have school, so we were able to go to the Children's Museum for awhile. We even picked up Kelby's friend and took her with us. Taylor and Kelby spent a lot of time together this weekend. I got to hang out and chat with a friend at the museum so it was great fun for me too!

Playing dress up at the Children's Museum

I don't know where today went, but it flew by. I'm sure the rest of the week will too. All kinds of little things are going on. That dentist appointment for Kelby is on Friday and I have a little church thing on Sunday evening.

My Valentines

Here's another nutty costume from Anika!

I maybe shouldn't even share this because I don't want all you ladies out there to be jealous of my wonderful husband! Mike made a delicious and fancy dinner for me at home for Valentine's Day. It was absolutely delicious and I will never forget it. He even made a chocolate mousse. Aren't I a lucky girl?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I can't believe another week has slipped by. There was lots of crafty activity around here. We had Valentines to make and Kelby had to make some crafts for a hobby fair at school today. The kids in the fourth grade were given the opportunity to make crafts and "sell" them to their classmates. It was all done with fake money that they'd been earning in class. Kelby made some cute polymer clay creatures and together we made some necklaces out of candy. I helped her display her items creatively so she had a nice "store front". Her friend Taylor was a great "business partner" and they helped each other out. All that fun stuff happened on Friday. They had their Valentine's party, got to wear their pajamas to school, and even bring a stuffed animal along. Plus, Kelby had the hobby fair! Lucky girls don't even have school Monday.

The only other big thing this week was the fact that I started running. I ran with Anika on Monday and Wednesday. It was a slow two miles with stop and go. On Friday I ran while Mike was home for lunch so Anika didn't have to go with me. It was WAY harder without her. She had masked my need to stop and walk part of the way. I'll have to work into it I guess. We'll see if I can keep it up. Tegan really showed me up today. Her and Michael ran in a "Two for the Road" race today. It was a race for couples. They had to compete as a couple. They finished the 3 miles race in 36 minutes. She did a great job for her first run! I think she had a good time running with Daddy. Someday we'll be a family of runners!

To celebrate our Valentines today I made the girls a simple Valentine that I hung on their bedroom doors for this morning. For Michael, I made a Valentine scrapbook that showed him "10 things I love about you" and a mix CD to go with it. He made me a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict. He's gotten really good at that recipe and it is my favorite breakfast. He's currently plannig a yummy dinner for two after the girls go to bed. We've got steaks and lobster tails, so we'll see how it goes! Lucky me!

PS. I'd recommend everyone watch "Horton Hears a Who". We watched that movie last night and really enjoyed it.

The Actress

Tegan, the Cameleon

Right now I am waiting around in the school cafeteria and it is 6:00 pm on Saturday. We were here earlier watching the first performance of the show that Tegan is in. Our school's parent group brings in a program called "Missoula Children's Theater" once a year. They really are from Missoula, Montana! The kids all show up on Monday after school and audition. Tegan tried out last year and didn't make it, but this year she made it as a "cameleon". She had to stay after school on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to learn her part and then here she is on Saturday for the show. It is such a great opportunity for her to try her hand at this. She said she was very "dramatic" during her audition. She even got an extra little part (but sadly, they accidently skipped it during the first performance.) I'm hoping to catch it on video this time! This weekend seems packed full. I went to my ladies' breakfast this morning. Then on to the shows. Tomorrow we have church, my neice's birthday, and a baby shower in Seattle! The weekend is going to be over before we know it.

Superbowl Party!

This week went by pretty fast and yet again I can't remember what we did! Of course there was the Superbowl on Sunday. We had quite a shin-dig at the house. I made taco soup and a potato bar. We had a bunch of family friends over and throughly enjoyed eating WAY too much, though we wished that the Cardinals had won. It was a great game! The rest of the week sped away. I am sad to say that I can't think of one thing I accomplished. I guess I built myself a special scrapbook paper shelf in my craft room and I'm SO excited about it. I don't really craft...I just organize my craft room...but it still does bring me great joy.

At the Dentist

On Friday we had to drive down to Seattle for a dentist appointment for Kelby. It didn't go to well. She has a back tooth that is really coated in tartar and the gums are all pulled back and swollen. She couldn't handle them messing with it and got very upset and anxious, so they discontinued the appointment and made us plan to come back in a couple weeks. I have to put some medicine on her gums for the next 10 days to see if it gets any better and they are planning to give her nitrious oxide at the next appointment. She's not as brave as she used to be, but I don't blame her. So the bummer is that we'll have to go to Children's for the dentist on Friday February 20th and again on Monday the 23rd to see her regular oncologist for a check up.

This is the picture I made for my neice, Emma's, birthday. She is really into cherries and they just redecorated her room for her birthday. I think she'll really like it. I had a blast making it!

Anika is a crafter too! She continues to make full costumes for herself out of paper. When I got home from my ladies' breakfast she was all decked out as a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle"! She has Kelby help her a little, but uses very little adult help to finish it! Pretty amazing right!

The other day I gave her some old stencils I had for scrapbooking. They are little people shapes that you trace and cut out with little outfits and accessories. She spent HOURS with them making little people with them. Then her sisters got in on the fun too. It is fun to watch my little ones be creative!

More Mario Obsession

Here is but more proof of the Mario Brother's craze around here. Kelby has to make things to "sell" at their class's hobby fair. She spent the night at a friend's house and today they made some clay creatures together for the fair. If you've ever played Mario, you'll know what this is...

This is her very good rendition of a 1-up or "extra guy" mushroom. She made several other characters out of the clay too. I think she has sculpting talent for sure!

Here's Kelby and her friend Taylor...