Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Did You Say "Cotillion"???


Zachary attended The Hill Country Cotillion for the 1st of 5 classes this evening. (see www.cotillion.com) He was one of the worst dancers I've ever seen - but he'll get it :0) He did well at the foxtrot and was just getting the cha cha but needs a little work on the swing hustle.

He had a great time and danced with a LOT of different girls. They were just adorable in their party dresses and white gloves. There are about 50 kids in the class and only 5 extra girls which they rotated in nicely so nobody felt left out. Two of the dads participated too and danced with the girls. I got to serve as chaperone the first class and will probably do that again cuz I had fun too.

We weren't allowed to take photos - but will be able to at the "final party" after the last class. He's really looking forward to the next class in two weeks - Ladies Choice night :0)

Monday, January 29, 2007

No End in Sight...

Last night at 11:30 when I couldn’t take it any longer I asked Brian to come pray with me (claiming the “where two or more are gathered in My name” promise…) I could feel the pain lift away and I slept on the couch (without even brushing my teeth mind you!) with no heating pad and no TENS unit. I slept until 6:30 a.m. That’s a pretty long time for me!

This morning I went to my GP/Sports doc and he gave me a different muscle relaxant (a bit stronger) and a strong antihistamine – said the lungs were OK for now.

I got home and took the muscle relaxant as soon as I could and it took about 20 minutes and I could NOT keep my eyes open… knocked me on my butt… as I went down I tuned in the TV and prayed that it would stay decent programming cuz I sure couldn’t stay awake to monitor it!

I just got back from the chiro again and I made an appointment for Thurs but before I left the office I moved it to Wednesday… I’ve become quite attached to them… it’s a wonderful office. When you walk in you’re greeted warming (and sincerely) offered a fresh muffin under glass or a drink… fresh coffee, tea, hot cocoa, juice or water. When you go back to the consult room the lights are incandescent and a CD player is started with soothing music. It’s just a pleasant experience all around. The first time I walked in to make an appointment the kids were with me and were offered the same muffins and drink options (actually…just the juice and water :0) Then they were each offered a brand new in the package Hot Wheels car. Of course now they want to go back with me for every visit…

Well I should get up from here. I didn’t even turn this box on until 4 p.m. today! Can you imagine!!!?

No More Monkies...

Jumpin' on the bed.


All the kids are sick. I gotta admit - it's a bit nice to have them slow way down when I'm really not feeling well myself... Just wanted to share the picture I took yesterday.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Bawling My Eyes Out...

At the beginning of Extreme Makeover… don’t think I can take this one…

I lost it earlier today. Michaela was sleeping in my bed and had an accident… so I was going to take a shower with her – but needed to take off my electrodes. (I’m wearing the TENS constantly cuz I’m in so much pain) So I go to turn off the electrodes that I have set at about “10” (and they go to “100”) and I picked it up backwards and CRANKED it totally ON and ZAPPED myself! I got it turned off and was shaking and just broke down sobbing. I couldn’t take any more. Brian was right there to pat me on the head though. (he definitely needs to watch more chick flicks…)

He did make me some vegetable soup and got me situated on the couch and brought it to me while I laid there with the electrodes on again and an ice pack on my back. I sat there with the boiling hot soup on a pillow on my chest and a couple minutes later slopped it out of the soup plate and scalded my chest with it… I just can’t catch a break today…

I’m going back to the couch. Too much pain today. I’ve got another chiro visit tomorrow at 5:30. I’m hoping there are big changes. At some point I need to get to the GP since my chest sounds like it’s got cellophane in it after only 3 days…

Saturday, January 27, 2007

When All Else Fails - Try Electricity!

Another week has passed. I started seeing a doctor of chiropractic this week. It seems to be helping but I’m in a whole bunch of pain still. I'm hoping in a few more visits I'll have a miraculous healing!

Well – I’m wondering how many meds I can stack up. I’m thinking of a sinus med, a muscle relaxant and a couple of Alleve…

I’ve got a borrowed TENS unit and I bought new electrodes for it today at my chiro visit but now I can’t FIND them anywhere… so I’ve cleaned these off with alcohol… I’m hoping that I don’t electrocute myself in the next ten minutes…

I think I’m going to make it an early night. I’ve felt like crap all day. My sinuses are like wood blocks, my nose is dripping, my eyeballs are hot and my body aches. I’m staying home from church tomorrow – but everyone (in and out laws) is coming here for dinner after. I think I just have allergies from the blasted Texas Cedar trees…so I’m not contagious.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

New Gap

I think it was a bit premature - but Jacob has lost another tooth... a top one this time. He wiggled and wiggled it until it finally came out (with a little bit of root still left...)

Personally - I think he just did it for the money...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Still Spazin' Out

My back is in spasm again… seems it’s been a little worse each morning when I wake up for the last 3 or 4 days. I’m using a special neck pillow but it’s not helping – I’m ready to go back to my old pillow. The shots seem to last about 10 days. It never really totally went away – but it was certainly bearable and I could turn my head again. But I’ve pushed it with cooking, baking and cake decorating (all at a bad angle for this particular spasm which is in my neck and stretches about 12 inches down my spine on the left side)

Brian has begged me to stay off the computer for a week to see if that will help. I’m tempted to do it just to prove to him that the puter isn’t the problem… but there’s no way I can do a week – He then suggested 3 days, but the weekend sounds more reasonable don’t you think???

I was supposed to sing special music today for church but just couldn’t do it… deep breathing kills! So I’m home by the fire. The in-laws are coming for lunch today after church and my mom-in-law gives a great back rub. Brian has to work tomorrow since my prayers were answered and his company shut down for two days for ice. A high price to pay just to get some shelves hung up, huh?

I should take the opportunity to finish my rolos for the swap. My mom-in-law has let me borrow her sewing machine until I can get mine fixed.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Happy Birthday Jacob

How does it happen? How does your baby turn seven in front of your eyes and you barely remember it?

I for sure remember his birth - my first C-section - after 14 ½ hours of a beautiful, calm, serene, relaxed, non-progressing labor due to a gigantic head attached to his nearly 10 pound body… He looked like a 3 month-old in his very first photos.

Turns out that noggin of his was packed to the brim with an incredible brain! The boy used a fork to eat his first birthday cake, spoke in full sentences at the age of 2, was doing his 5 year-old brothers school work at 3, reading at 4, anxious for school but still wanting to be with mom at 5, kindergarten at 6 but then after 3 months advanced to second grade work and is now excelling and growing at an amazing rate. He’s remarkable and really gives me the challenge of my life to stay a step ahead of him. I’m very proud (and humbled) to be his mom.

Today we’re just having a “mom and Jacob” day. Zack and Mack are off at Gramma’s house and Jaek and I are making his birthday dinner and decorating his cake for his little construction theme party tonight with all of his grandparents. We’ve got the birthday haircut done (NOT on his list of fun activities by any means) and the house is cleaned up and he’s anxious to start blowing up balloons with the helium tank.

Well – Jacob loves to cook and bake and decided I wasn’t moving fast enough with the cake decorating and started “helping” too much… we’re one layer short now…or at least the cake is going to take a different shape than originally planned.

Stay tuned…

And later that very same day...
Well we pulled it together. Got the cake all decorated - but it is pretty crooked and held together with bamboo skewers. For dinner we constructed tacos and then ate orange cake with orange flavored icing for dessert with Jacob's favorite ice cream - mint chip... hmmm... not really a culinary match huh?

Crayola Model Magic was a big hit from Zachary and Aunt Shari, Nana & Gramma also gave crafty gifts. Mom (glutton that she is) picked out Marble Run - but it appears it was a welcome addition to the mess around here and well worth the smile.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

After

Welcome to my re-vamped space. I've had some time during this ice storm with my babies' daddy at home and I've been reorganizing. I still have a lot of work to do - but it's coming along very nicely and it's much more well thought out and organized now. I'm using the MME Bohemia, Barefoot papers (mostly "Play" but some "Family", "Birthday" and "Beautiful" as well) to cover photo boxes, my tool caddy (from Pampered Chef) the inside lids of my spice jars and canisters and the inside front of my tilt bins. The Pottery Barn shelves hang right over my workspace and they keep my most used embellies quite literally at my fingertips. The shelves are much narrower than I expected - the website said the small ones were 7 inches - but the usable space was only 4 inches because of the lip all around the shelf. What's confusing is the shelf that was listed as 12 inches had 12 inches of usable space, but was wider like closer to 14 inches. Oh well. I've made it work for me and I'm pleased with the result.
I've been able to purge many things and I think I'll put them up for sale - then I'll have a little more money for my retreat trip in April!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Snow Day!

Do homeschooler’s get snow days? Looks like we're having one here! Hope you’re enjoying yours. This is a first for my kids (and for me in the last 27 years…) Not much to build a snowman with – but enough to provide the opportunity to discuss the differences between rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice and actual snow… everything is an educational opportunity :0)


About an hour later it was coming down much harder - really big flakes - Looks like we will have that snowman...

Yup - After it stopped snowing I let the kids out to play and Zack actually managed a snowman complete with (baby) carrot nose and Jaek and Michaela are true snow angels.

Monday, January 15, 2007

How To Dress for an Ice Storm


This is likely the coldest weather this child has ever seen... I know this is the first time in about 27 years that we've had icicles hanging from a house that I lived in! I love it! I'm enjoying the cold outside and the fire inside. The weatherman is saying we could actually get snow tonight and tomorrow. This isn't the Texas I always heard about.
A bit of good news for today... I've got my new PB shelves up! Brian didn't even say "whadidya' do that for?" I started with the classic "original price was __ but I only paid __" approach! It was way too dramatic of a savings to argue with :0) I'll post an updated photo of my space soon - I'm quickly filling the shelves - well - three of the four... one of them is stuck down the hill in San An... can't make it up the highway that's been shut down due to ice.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Dear God...

I know it’s pretty cold for Texas…there’s still ice on my deck from the storm last night… but I’m asking you to totally shut down my husband's company for a couple of days so he has to stay home and hang up my new shelves from Pottery Barn over my scrap desk…

Oh… and help me figure out how to tell him I bought them in the first place – it was too good of a deal!

A-men.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

what a MESS!



I've actually been working here a bit lately... just not on pages... more "altered art" stuff and Valentines. There's a lot more to the mess (down low and up high and to the rear...) but I didn't subject you to that ;0) It's the SCRAPS that get me so messy... gotta use them right away! and then toss what's left... Why can't I seem to let go of the scraps???

I do pretty much know where stuff is – except for the other day I TOTALLY SPACED out that I have ribbon on spools in those 4 red photo boxes – I’ve been trying to live on what ribbon I have in those little spice jars - how dumb is that? And then I have a bunch of American Crafts ribbon in the canisters… and then another larger canister full of just whites… not to mention the two drawers with 50 space hot wheels car cases full of fibers and other ribbons…

I need to finish covering my photo boxes… I’m putting the MME Bohemia papers over them – including the ones I’ve painted yellow. They were flag covered before and I gesso’d them and painted them yellow and next they’ll get paper. I have a feeling this whole side of the room is gonna get a bit of a make-over veeeery soon...

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Tension Goes and Tension Comes

I’m doing somewhat better in the spasm department. Still sore and I don’t have full range of motion in my neck – but it’s better for sure. Before I aggravate it again I’m going to take another Soma and head to bed…

I actually talked to a friend on the phone for a couple of hours today and did a lot of venting and it was almost like I could feel it lifting away… was amazing. Just too much stress lately I guess. I've been giving others too much power over my actions and letting them rule my thoughts with their poison. It's good to vent the toxic stuff out.
I did a good thing today... but in a bad way. It's like one of those I Love Lucy episodes where Lucy tells Ricky "I saved $300 today!" because she found a good sale - but the reality is she shouldn't have spent the money at all... Well I got a hot tip on a sale going on at Pottery Barn online from two different groups. It was just too good to pass up - and even though I still don't know where I'll hang it, I bought a 30 x 40 inch slat wall shelving system and four shelves all for about $50. I wish I could do my whole scrapbook room in it - but alas, that would be a lot of splainin' to do...

I’ll be working on my rolodex swap cards more tomorrow, I hope. I’m kinda stuck until I get my sewing machine tension just right… the tension on the sewing machine has always been my bane... why can't it just stay the SAME all the time??? I only found out last summer that there was actually a bobbin tension adjustment too... Now I've got THAT to worry about as well! Used to be - if the tension got messed up I'd just have to buy another machine. Well I spent a little more for this one - a hundred bucks - which for a Singer isn't much at all really - but when you consider that I ONLY use it for scrapbooking, it's an expensive tool... (not as much as a WishBlade though :0)
I got the book out… looked at the pictures and read the directions in three different languages - but I still can't get it to adjust right. I'm afraid it may be a lost cause though - I don't see the little cymbal looking things moving at all... Methinks a four-year-old may have adjusted it for me... and now I need to call in the pros... I'll keep you posted.

Monday, January 8, 2007

It’s been one heckofa few days…

My spasm is real bad – was impossible sleeping night before last – I kept twitching and would wake myself up with pain… It was a real struggle to not go to the ER and ask them to just knock me out.

Sunday was a real rough start but after a HOT shower and some drugs it loosened up a bit. I just couldn’t lift my arms or turn my head… (or pull my pants up by myself…) Brian has been real good at taking care of me.

Sunday night I didn’t go to bed – I was too far behind on some stuff and I slid backwards in any progress I made in loosening up the spasm… at least today I can go see the doc and get some shots in the muscle to help it relax.

I’m going to try to nap now with the hot pad until the kids get up and then I’ll call the doc and get in there ASAP.

Follow Up: Same day…
Saw Dr. at 3

Muscle in so much spasm that meds couldn’t inject in parts of it.

Lost count of how many shots I got (all on left side in neck and back)

Got an Rx for Soma – good stuff worked in past…but makes me tired.

Took one about 20 mins ago and room is SpiNnINg….

Going to lie on couch on heat pad –drug inducement goood stuff

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Spasmodic

Today has been a rough one…

I’ve been fighting a muscle spasm for the last several days – actually the last several years, but today it got REAL bad again… tears and needing help standing up bad.

I woke up at 7 and it was pretty sore and I went back to bed with the heating pad and my memory foam pillow and I was so bad at 8:30 I couldn’t get up on my own – let alone pull my pj’s up and down in the bathroom.

I did see the sports meds specialist at the doctor and he’s figured out the problem, but I haven’t been faithful with my exercises to strengthen this area (I have an impinged nerve in my shoulder) and I’ve been aggravating it here at the computer.

We went to my MIL’s for lunch today and she rubbed it good for me after I spent some more time under the heating pad. She said she could feel one of the spasms and it’s bigger than her hand… it sure hurts like it is. But it was somewhat improved after the back rub and not quite as bad but still not good either.

Sooo… I guess I should get up from here and try to rest it some more. Brian has been taking care of me today so that’s good. He's very good to me...

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Hail to the Chief

Today was supposed to be our "first day back to school" since we took off since the second week in December. But the funeral services of former President Ford were being broadcast and we all watched out of respect and for the educational opportunity it afforded.

http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/USA/hail.html In case you never heard the words to Hail to the Chief. We got curious about some things after viewing the funeral services of President Ford.

We also looked up 21 gun salute (the firing of a cannon)– and found it was different than the firing of 3 volleys (rifle) at a military funeral (we heard both at the interment service)

Thought this was interesting.

The services were very moving. I think the kids actually benefited from watching too.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Crappy New Year...

We didn't do much - just some snacky type foods and then the adults (us and the grandparents) watched The Devil Wears Prada.

I was headed to bed about 3 a.m. when Michaela followed me into my bedroom saying, "I think I'm gonna frow up..." And sure 'nuff - she DID! And so began her bout with the flu... I think she's gotten it the worst of all of us...

I call "DO OVER".
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...