A day to myself

Today I will be having a day to myself for the first time in almost 5 years. Things at work have slowed down so I am taking a day off a week. Larry will be at work and Kim at school so I will be totally alone. If I didn't have so much to do still to get ready for Christmas I think I would be lost.

My plan is to drop Kim off at school and get my work out in at Curves. Then I will be coming back home, cranking up the music and tackling house. I have already moved through her room and the computer room in the past couple of evenings. So on to the rest of the house. I'm going through everything/ Closets, dressers, storage.......everything. I always think this is a good time of year to do such things. Get rid of the old before bringing in the new.

I usually have a lunch date with a friend on Tuesdays so I invited her over to my house for lunch. I'll have to make us up something yummy. I think a nice turkey sandwich and some pasta salad.

If I can get through my house this morning then I'll have a few hours this afternoon to work on my calendar for 2009. I put together a calendar every year of pictures of Kim for my mom and a few others as Chrismas gift. This year however I haven't felt very creative and have only been able to get 1 page done myself. Thankfully I have a wonderfully creative friend who has been kind enough to help me out with it. She's gotten almost the entire calendar finished for me. I have one more month to get together.

A friend asked me why I don't take the day and be lazy but I think instead I'll take advantage of the time to get ready for Christmas. Then I'll be able to spend some days by myself soaking in a hot tub with a good book.

Thanksgiving Plans

Normally for our family the holidays are spent with my family rather then my hubby's. Not splitting the holidays up between our families is simply because his family doesn't ever want to spend time with us. They never invite us to anything, we always find out about the gathering after the fact when someone says "why weren't you there?". So we've just given up on them. I know that they don't really like me. His sisters have been known to tell lies about me to get him to give them what they want. And it's usually money. Honestly that's the only time they ever call, when they need money.

So as my sister and I have been going about planning our Thanksgiving dinner as usual we get a phone call from his brother. Inviting us to Thankgiving dinner with his family. So of course my guard goes up knowing that it's almost certain that someone needs money. That is after all the only time they ever call us. L and I talked about it and although I will completely admit it was dragging my feet I agreed to go. After all his brother had made the effort to include us.

So I told L he had to call and find out what we needed to bring. He did and the response he got was "oh whatever it doesn't really matter". Which to me translates to "we really didn't want you guys here anyway so bring whatever it doesn't matter".

I know that I have to suck it up and go. It is his family and I can't make it hard on him to spend time with them. Even if they don't really want me there. But yet I'm battling with that little part of me that wants to say "NO WAY I'M NOT SPENDING MY HOLIDAY WITH THOSE PEOPLE". I mean should you be spending Thanksgiving with the people you are Thankful for. Not with people who have continually stomped on you and used you for years.

I haven't even spoken to most of his family in over a year after the last time they stirred things up with lies to get him to give one of them money. I know that I need to ask God to help me with forgiving them and yet not letting them get to me either. I'm honestly not angry with them. I can truly say that I really feel nothing for them. And after being part of this family for over 15 years that is sad to me. I can't imagine making my sister-in-law feel the way they have made me feel. Or treating anyone they way they have treated me.

I guess what I can be Thankful for is that I have family and friends that truly love me and like me being around and want to be part of my daughter's life. Even if my in-laws don't.

What would make you happy?

I was over reading Blessed Frugalness and she asked what contentment means to you. So that left me asking myself the same question. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner we have been talking about what we are thankful for in our house. Kim will say that she's thankful for her mom and dad and her cat. To be that innocent. I of course am thankful for my sweet little girl, a husband who loves us and does his best to care for us, a comfortable home and a nice warm bed and food to eat. We both have jobs which is a true blessing in these tough economical times. And even though money is tight and times are tough we still manage to get our bills paid and our needs taken care of. And I have a wonderful God who hasn't forgotten me. Even though I have been away from his house for a long time. I'm getting back there and I am thankful to my sweet girl for that as well. So I really can't ask for more then that.

So though I shouldn't be asking for more there are a few things that I would like to have. We rent our house and owning a home would be a wonderful thing. I would love to get our budget to a point where when the bill comes in the mail I can send out the payment then. And not have to figure out which bills we are paying on what payday. There really isn't much more that I could want. I know I don't really need much more.

So what makes you happy? What brings you contentment?

Is the weekend really over already

Saturday was a nice quiet day at home. I spent the day cleaning house and only left to grab the mail and stop at the store to get things for dinner. Most of the day was spent in our jammies. I love days like that. Then after Kim went to bed a friend invited me to join her and some others out for a few drinks. I had a nice visit. It was nice to get out even if it was just for a couple of hours.

Then this morning my sweet girl invited me to go to church with her and Grandma Whipps. She has been really enjoying Chapel time at school and learning about God and the Bible. She's spent the night a few times with my mom and then went to church with Grandma Whipps. She went last weekend with her and then wanted me to go to. So we got up and quickly got ready. It was a nice time spent with me sweet girl. I told her if she wanted to we could go again next week. The deal is she has to get up and get dressed without a fight and we can go, but I'm not going to fight with her about getting ready to go.

So tomorrow is Monday again and back to the weekly grind. Only 41 days till Christmas break. And the count down goes on.

Getting back to normal

What a great week. With Gracie coming home last weekend I was able to get back to my normal schedule. I was so happy to be able to get back into Curves 4 times this week. And also happy that my progress hadn't been thrown off as bad as I had expected. I did gain 1.5 pounds but my measurements had stayed the same and my fat percentage had actually gone down. So where exactly that 1.5 pounds is I'm not sure. But now to get back to losing it.

I met with Kimmie's teacher today for her first conference. She really didn't tell me anything that I didn't expect to hear. Kim is doing great in all the areas of her academics but does need to work more on her attention and following directions. She has made progress since the beginning of the year though so that was good to hear. It is nice to see the improvements that have been happening in her behavior since changing daycares and putting her in a more structured school setting.

Looking forward to the weekend.....

Last Sunday we took the kids (Kimmie, Dallas-my neice, and David-my nephew) to the pumpkin patch. The kids had a blast running through the corn maze and riding the trains, Big Toot and Little Toot. It was a great day and then we spent the evening carving our pumpkins. I just love how into the holidays Kim is getting now. And Halloween is very exciting for her. All the fall activities and dressing up and getting candy. What more does a 4 year old need to get excited?!?

All this week she has been anticipating her 2nd field trip at school. We went to Cat Tales. It's a conservation zoo for big cats just north of Spokane. I've been there a couple of times with my nephews but this will be Kim's first trip. She was so excited to see the cats. And couldn't believe that they had a big black one that looked like her Sasha kitty.

After the feild trip we spent the evening trick or treating. She was so excited to get her ragdoll costume on and head out. The night started out pretty good and then about half way around the neighborhood it started raining. We were soaked by the time we got back home.


Her school pictures came back yesterday and I have to admit I was really worried about them. Worried that she would either give them that stupid cheesey grin or not cooperate at all. But much to my huge relief when I opened the packet they turned out really cute. Her smile is very sweet with her little dimples and her curls are tossled just right. I know I'm probably a bit bias but I still think she's the cutest kid ever to be photographed.

We have geat news about Gracie to share. Sunday they did another CT Scan and actually had to read it twice to make sure they weren't missing something. Her lungs are completely clear. Praise God and the power of prayer. Thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. She was able to move out of ICU on Tuesday and will be coming home either Saturday or Sunday. She still has a ways to go but she's doing so much better. She will likely have to have some physical therapy do to being imobile for so long. And she's really worried about falling behind in school but the principal reassured her that if she needed they would send a tutor to her house to help her. She probably won't be back in school until December so the tutor will be nice help.

So next week we will be able to get back to our normal schedule after having it thrown off track for the month of October.

Having to take a break......

Unfortunately due to Gracie being sick and me having to pick up extra time at work to help out I've had to put my morning workouts on hold. I missed the whole week last week and was able to get to Curves on Monday this week, but it looks like I'll be missing the rest of the week. So I didn't even weigh in this week. I'm feeling like all is going to be lost and I'll be starting over. But I can't be upset about it because right now I have to do the extra to help out with Gracie still being in ICU. And I haven't made enough head way with myself to be able to do this on my own. I struggle with myself as it is with getting to Curves when I can. I have to admit that I really hate going. But I go because I know that I need to. I hope that some day soon I can become one of the people that is addicted to working out.

An update on Gracie. Sunday they were able to take 1 of the 3 chest tubes she has out. They have been getting a lot of the mucus and stuff in her lungs out the past few days. They said that if all goes well today then tomorrow they should be able to finally take her off the respirator. She's been sedated and on that respirator now for a week. It will be such a huge step if they can move her off of it. I also want to thank everyone who had been praying for her. I know that each and every prayer is so appreciated.

What a week

I'm so glad to finally have a day to just relax. Monday I took the day off to go on Kim's first field trip. We went with her class to Walter's Fruit Farm. We learned all about apples. This particular farm has 26 different varieties of apples. There are 2500 different kinds in American and there are 7500 different kinds of apples in the world. Who would have thought that you could get that many varieties out of Red, Yellow, Green ~ Sweet and Tart.

The kids all got to pick their own apples off the trees. They learned about how apple cider is made. They also got to pick a pumpkin.
They got to pet goats, go through a hay bale maze, they played on this big slide together and also got to play in a sandbox that was full of dried peas. We all had lunch together on the farm too. We are looking forward to Halloween when we get to go to Cat Tales. It was a great day for all the kids.

The rest of the week wasn't quite as good. My boss's granddaughter, 6 year old Gracie, was rushed to the hospital on Sunday with a severe case of pneumonia. She has been in Pediatric ICU at Sacred Heart since. She's had 2 surgeries this past week and has been in a drug induced coma and on a respirator since Wednesday night. If you believe in the power of prayer please keep this sweet little girl in your prayers.

Due to Gracie being so sick I spent most of the week in the office by myself. Doing more then my normal daily work. Making for a long tiring week. But it's all ok because we do what we have to do. And the most important thing is that Gracie gets well soon.

15 Years ago today

October 2nd, 1993 Larry and I were married. I can't believe that we have made it 15 years and we're still going strong. It hasn't been all easy by any means but we were able to work through all the stuff and see that we loved each other enough to fight our way back each time. Some people will say that walking away is the easy way out but for us it has always been easier to work it out then to walk away. I'm happy that we have. Now 15 years later and we have our sweet girl to be thankful for as well. Life is good.

We've been busy

Kim started Preschool on Tuesday at the Christian Academy. I was going to take pictures of her before we left the house but the batteries in my camera were dead. She informed me that we could buy new ones and then I could take pictures of her when we got to school. Even then it was a bit of a struggle to get her to hold still long enough for me to get a couple.

She had told me that she had fun "learning with Alex and Leah" at school on Wednesday when I picked her up from the sitter. I just thought that they were kids in her class. Then on Thursday she told me a little more. She said that Alex and Leah were a movie they watched at school. And then she showed me that she could sign a few letters. She was especially excited about signing a "K" for Kimmie. Apparently "Learning with Alex and Leah" is a dvd that they watch in class that teaches the kids sign language.

Last week on Saturday she and I went to get some lunch and she said that she wanted to go get her ears peirced NOW. We had been telling her for a while now that when she wanted to go get them done that we would. So off we went and after having to buy the stuff at Walmart and go to another place to have them done (because you can never get any help at our Walmart). She is the proud wearer of a new pair of earrings. She's been pretty bossy lately and not to good about letting me take pictures so I haven't really gotten any good ones of them yet.

Of course her birthday was a few weeks ago now. How can my baby be 4 now? We had a party at the part with her friends from her old daycare. She was very excited to see them. The kids had a lot of fun playing games and eating cake.

David had his first birthday this week and we will be celebrating tomorrow. Then we will be back to another week of school and work. Me getting up at 5:00 to get myself ready for the day and then Kim up at 6:00. Out the door by 7:30 and to school by 7:45. Makes for a tiring morning but we are getting through it. I'm hoping that it will get easier for us both. I have also added a workout at Curves for myself. I have a little more then an hour between dropping Kim off at school and me getting to work so I decided to do a little something for myself. I'll be going to Curves 4 days a week. I'm really looking forward to it and looking forward to getting rid of my butt as well.

It's been a crazy week here

Saturday was Kimmie's 4Th birthday party. Almost everyone we invited came and the kids all had a great time. We all got together at the park where the kids had plenty of room to run and play. We barbecued and had games and cake. Then Sunday we had another birthday party to go to for one of Kim's friends. By the time we got home from that party Kim was tired and crabby and was asleep for the night by 6:45.

Tuesday was Kim's actual birthday and we spent part of the evening visiting with my mom as she had been in Spokane and missed the party.

Then Wednesday night we had our wrap up party for Relay For Life at the water park. I got off work early and we headed over. Kim had a blast. She actually came out of her shell quite a bit and hit the slides. She even drug me up the three flights of stairs to ride in the big tube slides. We got in the raft and headed into the tube. I could tell she was a bit scared so I kept reassuring her that it was OK and it was fun. When we got to the bottom she looked at me and said "that was really scary mom, can we do it again!" So up the stairs we went again.....and again....and again. Of course when it was time to leave there are a big fight.

We are looking forward to the long weekend of just kicking back and getting ready for school to start on Tuesday. Kim is starting Preschool at the Christian Academy and is very excited.

A night under the stars and other stuff

Kim's new favorite thing is sleeping out under the stars. We blow up the airmattress and make up a bed and sleep outside in the back yard. She loves to get in bed before it gets dark and count the stars as they start to appear. The weather has been so nice and hot that it doesn't even get to cool during the night. So that's how we've been spending out Friday nights. Just having some nice quiet time together under the stars. Now what could be better then that?


On to another story. Last weekend a local man was out huckleberry picking when he came across the bodies of 2 young people that had been murdered. Our little community has been in an uproar all week as new news and evidence has come out in the investigation. The victims were 18 and 20, boyfriend and girlfriend. The killers, their friends. Two of them 20 years old and the other just 17. They have all been arrested and have confessed to their part in the murders. Now law enforcement is finding out that these young men had confessed to friends what they did prior to the victims being found. So they are in the process of arresting those people and charging them with conspiracy due to the fact that they knew what had happened or in some cases what was going to happen and not a one of them said a thing. I guess I just can't imagine knowing that kind of information and not saying anything. The whole situation is just so sad. The families of everyone involved are going through so much. The thought of your child being murdered or your child being a murderer. Neither thought is something that any parent wants to think about. I am praying for all these families.

What a night

So Friday night Kim and I joined about 250 other members of our community in the Relay for Life. This was the first time we joined. I decided that it was such a great cause and a good opportunity to start teaching Kim that we do for others where ever we can.
Our team was the Pink Flamingos and what a great group of ladies to spend the night with.


The Survivors started off the relay with the first lap. I was suprised to see so many people that I know but didn't know they were survivors. Just goes to show that cancer really does touch everyone. In one way or another.


As the night wore on and the sun went down, the luminarias were lit. What a site. To see that line of of lit luminarias with names of so many loved ones who have fought this battle. Some won. Others lost.

After walking a few laps with me and playing hard with the other kids that were there Kim finally tuckered out and fell asleep. Hugging her bag of cheetos. Even asleep she had a grip on that bag and wasn't willing to give it up.


The rest of the night was spent walking and walking. I'm sure I walked atleast 10 miles. My feet, ankels and hips are very stiff and sore but that is a small price to pay for such a great cause. We will be doing it again next year for sure.

RELAY FOR LIFE

I can't imagine that there is a single person out ther that hasn't been touched by cancer in some way. At our house it has hit us very close with the loss of both of Larry's parents and most recently the loss of my uncle just a few weeks ago.

So Kim and I are walking tomorrow in the Relay for Life. We are looking forward to camping out in the park all night and joining the events activities. And for me the opportunity to teach Kim an important lesson in doing for others is great as well.

I wanted to post links to our fundraising pages incase anyone wants to help us in the cause.

My page

Kim's page


I'm taking my camera and hoping to get lots of pics to share later. After I get some sleep Saturday as it's going to be a very long day tomorrow. But all worth it in the end.

Thanks again for the support. Hope you have a great weekend and if you are in the area come on down to the park and join us.

Monday Monday

Well it's Monday again. We had a busy weekend. Kim and I went to Missoula to meet up with another one of our internet friends. Summer and her boys are from Indiana but spend some time in Montana during the summer. So we met at McDonalds and had a nice visit for a few hours while the kids played. It was great and I really hope we can do it again next year.

Then on Sunday Larry's truck died. We think it's the fuel pump and hopefully that won't cost us a fortune to get it fixed but I'm not holding my breath. I guess we didn't have enough extras going out this month already with Kim's birthday, getting her ready for school and then her tuition added to that too. What's one more big ticket. I swear it never ends.

So on to the really good stuff. MCA Designs has come up with a great little freebie for you that will be available on Thursday. So don't forget to come back and see what we've all come up with.

It's Friday again

It's been a great week here. My brother and his wife were in town for a few days and we had a nice visit with them. They should be back in a few weeks to stay for a while. We are all very excited about that. They got into town late Tuesday night and Kim was already in bed. In the morning when we were getting her dressed and ready for the day I said "Guess who's got to Aunt Lindsay's house last night." and she got very excited and started jumping up and down and said "AUNT SHANNON AND UNCLE ALLEN!!!!!!" It amazes me what an impression they have made with her. She talks about them constantly and gets so excited when I tell her they are coming. So hopefully they will be back here very soon and not miss her birthday next month.

Speaking of birthdays, mine is Monday. So I splurged on myself a bit and took my share of our stimulus check and bought myself a new laptop. I picked it up last night. My new Sony Vaio. I'm so looking forward to wireless freedom. Hanging out in the back yard while Kim plays and I can scrap or work on some other little goodies to share. Using Vista and the touch pad are going to take some getting used to but it will be ok.

A New Bike

My birthday present from my wonderful husband was a new bike. He actually let me get a bike and a bike trailor for Kim. So we picked it up last night and then today Kim and I took our first ride to Wallace. Just shy of 4 miles one way. Holy cow am I out of shape. It totally kicked my butt. I will definately be investing in a new seat. One that is a little wider and has a bit more cushion. The rest will get better the more I ride.

It will be so nice to have it for those quick trips to the grocery store and the like. That should definately save us a bit on fuel.

What a great week

So tomorrow is Friday and while I have to say that it couldn't have come soon enough it was still a good week. Just seems like it should have been Friday already. Tomorrow is Kim's last day of swimming lessons. So I will be going to watch her take her final test. My sister has been taking her for me the past 2 weeks and says that she has been doing awesome in class. Kimmie has promised to "teach" her dad how to swim this weekend.

She also started going to a new daycare this week and she is loving it. I honestly think that she's happier going to the sitter then she's been in a long time. That makes me happy for her. She's making some new friends there too which is great.

A little "Kimmie Funny" to share with you from this morning. My sister was telling me about seeing a buck walking through her back yard the other day. When it happened she was on the phone with our brother and said "hey an elk...or I mean a buck just walked through my back yard." My funny girl was listening to the story. A few minutes later she wanted to go to the back yard and yelled for me to come look. I went back there and she told me that "there was an elephant butt in the back yard last night" I said "an elephant butt? Really?" She said "yep it was an elephant butt and it went up the mountain into those trees."

It's so funny to hear what kids "think" they heard.

I bet you slept good last night?

I'm sure to hear that today as Kim spent the night at my sister's last night. But you know the truth is I don't sleep well when she's not home. Even at night when she would be sleeping the house seems extra quiet. And I just can't seem to really relax and get comfortable. Not that I'm at all worried about her. But she's not home. I do enjoy the peace and quiet in the evening but at the same time I miss bedtime snuggles. I suppose though I need to learn to get past those insecurities for her sake. She so enjoys having sleep overs at Grandma's and my sisters.

We got some extra money yesterday and she was asked if she wanted something.

Daddy ~ "A new trampoline?"

Kimberly ~ "no"

Daddy ~ "A new swimming pool?

Kimberly ~ "no"

Daddy ~ "well then what would you like?"

Kimberly ~ "My Auntie"

That response led to a phone call to my sister who offered to let her come stay. I tell you that little girl couldn't get her things together fast enough. She would have been going to her house early this morning anyway so that does make for an easier morning for me...but I still miss her when she's not home.

My How a Friday Night Changes

Friday nights for us used to be filled with drinks with friends, singing karaoke till I couldn't talk anymore and dancing the night away. Those days are long gone now and you know I enjoy our new Friday night entertainment so much more.

Larry playing in the Burke Invitational yesterday so that left Kim and I to an evening just us. Girls night in. We stopped at the store on our way home and picked up a few things. Frozen pizza, microwave popcorn and a movie. I have to admit that when we were picking the movie I quickly hid the 12 Dancing Princesses before she had a chance to grab it and make me watch it again for the 1500th time. Instead we got Ant Bully.

We first took some time to do a little yard work and then came inside to settle in for a nice quiet evening just us girls. I love times when it's just us. Those days are rare so we take advantage of it when we can.