Five Question Friday 4/1/11

Today is Pops' (my grandpa) birthday! Hooray! So, even though he will never, ever see this post, Happy Birthday Pops!
(at least I hope he doesn't because he would kill me for posting his picture ha!)

And now, it's Five Question Friday time! I missed it so much last week! Mama M. was a little busy, though, taking care of a sick little girl. Glad that Miss Belle is feeling better this week!

1. Have you ever had surgery?

I have had surgery twice. The first time, I had my tonsils removed. The second time, I have a very large baby removed. :) Thank goodness I don't have to do either of those things again.

2. Ever ridden in an ambulance?

When I had my pulmonary embolism in September, they took me from the helicopter to the ER in an ambulance. The ride lasted for about half a block. It took longer for them to load me up and unload me than I was actually in the ambulance.

3. How are you in a medical emergency? Panicked? Calm?

It really depends on what the emergency is and who is involved. I thought I handled things pretty well when I was getting loaded up in the helicopter and shipped to the heart hospital. I've dealt with my kids getting bumps on the head, scrapes, etc and done okay. And I've had students of mine who've had everything from broken arms to seizures in my classroom that I've been able to handle pretty well.
But, the night that Landon had his seizure, I didn't handle that very well. In fact, I pretty much lost it. I think that's allowed, though, when you think you are watching your child die. So scary!

4. Do you have a garden? Flowers or veggies?

We've talked about putting in a big garden this year, but so far it hasn't happened. I think it's going to have to wait one more year. I would love to have some pretty flowers, though. I know for sure we will be planting tulips in the fall, so we'll have some next year.

5. When did you move out of your parents house?
I moved out of my parents' house when I was 18 1/2. Daniel and I got married and moved out of our parents' houses the summer after high school graduation. I've never lived "on my own" and haven't ever had a roommate other than Daniel.

So, are you ready for the weekend? I kind of am, but kind of not. I got spoiled last weekend when the little kids didn't have Tae Kwon Do. We're back to the routine this weekend, which means 8:45 class for Sierra and Landon. Saturday afternoon we are going to have cake for Pops' birthday so that should be fun. Other than that, we'll be spending our days cleaning the house. It desperately needs it! Isn't that what weekends are for?

Just a swingin'...

...and teeter-tottering and hanging upside down!

Daniel went out yesterday and put the kids' swing set up for them yesterday. It had been in the barn since we moved in July. It was really dirty, so he got out the sprayer and washed it off, which meant that they had to wait until today to play on it so the ground could dry up. I think they were happy to see it.

Yes, he is wearing his spiderman mask, a jacket, and flip flops. He dressed himself. About five minutes after this picture, he came in and changed into tennis shoes.
I'm so happy that they have something to play on when they go outside now. They've been needing to get outside and burn off some energy the last few days. They've already been out there for over an hour (minus Dakota who decided it was too cold) and I really hate to have to go get them in a few minutes, but we have to get some school work done today.
Landon is excited to have one more way to make me nervous.

And Sierra is excited that she can finally get up on the high bar without any help!

I know the kids are going to have great memories of playing together out on the swing set.!

This swing set is also special to us all because of how we got it. When we lived in Stillwater, Pawpaw and Grandma Debbie bought it for the kids and brought it out to our house.
Putting the swing set together was the last big thing that Pawpaw got to do for the kids. So, when I look out and watch them playing on it, I remember how much he loved the kids.
I hope they do too.

Thursday 5 3/31/11

Delightful
Happy
Superb
Gorgeous
Loved

We just finished watching the movie Tangled with the kids. It was delightful! What a cute movie! We've been waiting forever for it to come out on DVD so we could see it. It was well worth the wait! I definitely recommend it.

I am happy to report that my labwork came back much better today than it did last week. No transfusion necessary today! I have a follow-up in two weeks to make sure it stays that way.

We tried a new Italian restaurant for lunch today and it was superb! Daniel and I had stromboli and it was HUGE! The girls shared a pizza. Those were the biggest slices of pizza I've ever seen. Cheyenne couldn't even finish one piece. Landon had spaghetti and meatballs with more then enough left over for he and I both to have for lunch tomorrow. We will definitely be going back there.

Last Monday, I was able to get away for a couple of hours (thanks Daniel and Grandma Debbie for herding/taxi-ing kids for me) and go to the Ladies of Life dinner. It was nice to hang out with some wonderful ladies, even though I barely knew anyone there. The only thing that I really miss since we've moved are my friends. I love that I can keep in touch with them all through facebook and texting, but it's just not the same as getting together in person. Hopefully, this is a step toward making some new friends closer to home. Anyway, the speaker gave us each a gorgeous rose to take home. Even after more than a week, mine is still beautiful! Makes me want to go out and plant some roses.

I loved it today when my husband went out and put up the kids' swing set without me even asking. I mentioned it to him last week that I wanted him to do it next time he was off, but I didn't say anything at all about it today. This morning, he said he was going to go work outside and the next thing I heard was him pulling up in the backyard with the truck loaded with swing set parts. He even got out the sprayer and washed it! I'm hoping the weather is nice enough for the kids to get out there and play on it tomorrow.

Check out eveyone else's Thursday 5 posts over at Nicole's blog.

Wordless Wednesday-"C is for cookie..."

A good egg...

This morning after breakfast, I sent all of the kids into the bathroom to brush their teeth while I sat down to catch up on a little blog reading. After a minute or so, Landon came out "crying" and gave me a hug. I asked him what was wrong and he looked up at me with his sad puppy-dog brown eyes and said, "He was a good egg." I was a little confused for a second or two, then Dakota came out of the bathroom wearing this shirt:

Apparently he doesn't share her sense of humor.

Head on over to Once Upon a Miracle and link up with your true story.

Miscellany Monday 3/28/11

1.
I loved the springtime weather we had last week . It's been warm enough to turn off the heater and open up the windows during the day, but not warm enough to turn on the a/c. It 's been so nice!

2.
The bad thing about our weather, though, is that it hasn't rained in quite some time. Things are D.R.Y. around here. Which sets up the conditions for lots and lots of fires. I think my husband was out 3 evenings last week helping to fight fire somewhere. At least one of the fires was on the ranch-at least 500-1,000 acres was burning. So far, at least around our area, all the fires have been in unoccupied areas. No structure damage or injuries that I know of.
We took a drive Friday evening to check things out where the fire was burning Thursday night. It was so weird to see all the scorched and still smoldering trees. A couple of places still had some small flames burning even. We got a little bit of a misting last night and this morning, but not enough to really make a difference. There is a chance of rain most of this week, so hopefully some will make it's way to the ground soon!

3.
I go back to see my doctor on Wednesday. I'm hoping for good lab results, but I'm not really expecting them. I'm still not feeling much better. I've had a headache almost every evening this week. I'm just crossing my fingers that it's not bad enough to require another transfusion. My hands still hurt from the IV and labs from last time. I'm not ready for more needles yet.

4.
Landon has been going to his children's church class for the past couple of weeks and it has been so nice! A few Wednesdays ago, Daniel had to work late and wasn't home when we left for church, so Landon had to go with me. For some reason, he decided that would be the night he would try class again. He had a great time! Now, he walks right into class and doesn't look back. I'm so happy for him to have that time to play with some kids his own age and to learn that he will be okay without me for a little while.

5.
I have begun my Spring cleaning on my van. We are driving it to Disney World in May and I do believe it is going to take me every weekend between now and then to get it ready. It's amazing to me that we have so much room in the van and yet it's always full of stuff. I don't know how people with kids make it without a van. My van is packed with karate bags, backpacks, DS's, extra clothes from having to change for karate/church/etc, purses, Bibles, random happy meal toys, and water bottles. Every time we get home, I tell the kids "make sure you take in all your stuff" and we all come in with an armful of stuff, but still the van is full. I don't know where it all comes from! Am I the only one who has that problem?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Thursday Five-3/24/11

After being postponed for a little hospital detour last night, I'm finally getting around to posting this week's Thursday 5! Go on over and link up with Nicole and the others to join the fun!

Outstanding

Proud

Energized

Splendid

Wonderful

The nurse that took care of me at the hospital last night was outstanding. She was so nice and very professional. I only wish she would have been there when it was time to start my IV and draw labs. I had lab drawn at the clinic, lab drawn at the hospital, and an IV. Should have had 3 sticks. Each time, they missed the first one and had to stick me again so I ended up with 6 sticks instead. A couple of them REALLY hurt today too. Boo!

I am so proud of my husband. He has been working lots of extra days and hours lately to take care of our family. I'm so thankful that he sees the value in having me and the kids home.

I'm hoping the 2 units of blood I got last night will help me feel more energized. I really have been feeling rather tired lately, but I just thought it was a combination of age/weight/stress/keeping up with kids. Time will tell, but I'm looking forward to feeling good again.

Since we had to be in town during lunch time yesterday, we got to eat out. We haven't been doing much of that lately, so it was a special treat. The food and service were short of spectacular, but the company was good, so we had a splendid time anyway.

One of the most wonderful things in the world is hearing my kids laugh and play when they don't know I'm listening. A couple of days ago, Sierra disappeared into her room to play. When I hadn't seen or heard from her in an hour or so, I assumed that she had fallen asleep and went to check on her. As I got closer to her doorway, I saw her moving around on the floor of her closet. Then, I heard her whispering. She had her dolls and Barbies in the closet playing. She was having such a great time that I didn't want to disturb her, so I just stood there for a few minutes and listened. I love to hear them play when they're in their own little worlds.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to bring you...

...a blood transfusion.

I'm not going to have my Thursday Five up until this afternoon/evening this week. I kinda ran out of time yesterday.

I went in for a scheduled appointment with my doctor yesterday afternoon. I've been having some issues with anemia because of the blood thinner that I take to prevent me from having another pulmonary embolism. So before I went in to see the doctor, I had to stop by the lab for bloodwork.

As I sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor, my nurse came in to put something into my chart on the computer. Another nurse was with her and she asked me, "Are you feeling okay? Are you tired or do you have a headache or anything?" I said, "Not any more tired than usual, I guess." "Oh, well some of your labs came back a little off, so I just wanted to make sure you're feeling okay." Then, they left. That made me kind of nervous because the last time I had labs that were "a little off" I ended up in the heart hospital for a week.

Finally, the doctor came in. She also asked me if I was feeling extra tired lately. I said, "Well, lately by 9:00, I'm ready to go to bed. That's kind of unusual for me." (all this time, I just thought it was age getting to me, so I hadn't worried about it). Her response was, "Well, if my counts were as low as yours, I would be crawling across this floor because I wouldn't be able to stand." She then informed me that I needed to get over to the hospital to get some blood because they needed to "pump me up."

So, Daniel and I dropped the kids off to Grandma Debbie and off we went. Because I use the Choctaw Clinic, I had to go to the Choctaw hospital-Choctaw is a Native American tribe, for those who didn't know that-which is an hour away. When I asked the doctor how long it would take, she said "a couple of hours," so we were thinking an hour there, 2-3 hours at the hospital, and and hour back. We left town around 5:15, so that would put us home around 10:00pm.

Of course, we didn't account for the hospital parking lot being under construction and having to walk all the way through the building to get to the ER. Or stopping to ask someone how to get to the ER and then having to walk all the way back through the building a different way to get there. Or getting to the ER and being told that we actually needed to go check in at medical/surgical and having to walk all the way back over there-only to find out that's where we had stopped to ask directions originally (always happens to me). I also didn't realize that they would have to draw more labs to type my blood and we would have to wait for that. Or that it takes a while to get the blood prepared. Once all of that it done, it takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours per unit and I was getting 2 units.

Poor Grandma Debbie, didn't know she was in for an all-nighter. :)

I'll spare you all the fun details, but I ended up getting poked by needles 6 times yesterday. Fun, right? And now, I have two units of someone else's blood pumping through my body. That's kind of a weird thought. We finally rolled out of there-literally, they wouldn't let me walk out-around 12:30. We got into bed around 2:ooam.

When my mom dropped the kids off this morning, she asked me how I was feeling. I said, "like I went to bed at 2 in the morning." We'll see how I feel in the morning after I actually get a full night's sleep.

So, now I've gotta go get the kids started on their schoolwork for today. We didn't get much done yesterday before we left for town (Landon went to the doctor yesterday too) so we've got some catching up to do. Hopefully, I'll be back for Thursday Five at lunch time or after school's done.

True Story Tuesday-a rough day

After I had my PE (pulmonary embolism) in September, the Dr. put me on a blood-thinning medication called Warafrin. It's very sensitive to adjustments in dosage, food you eat, etc and has to be monitored very closely to make sure it stays within a certain concentration in your blood. So, depending on how my levels looked at the last appointment, I have to go in to the clinic every 1-4 weeks for monitoring.
It's kind of a pain because the appointment is always in the middle of the day and throws a kink in our routine. By the time we're done, there are still a couple of hours to kill before the kids have to be at Tae Kwon Do but not enough time to justify using the gas to go back home (we live about 20ish miles from town). So, usually we go hang out at Grandma Debbie's for a while in between.

A couple of weeks ago, it was my clinic day. We did as much school work as we could get done for the day, had an early (for us) lunch, got everyone dressed, tae kwon do uniforms packed and ready, and headed out the door. The kids got into the van as I grabbed the last of the things we needed from the house. As I went out, I turned the lock on the inside of the door knob and pulled it closed behind me. For some reason, it didn't want to close on the first try and bounced back open. I pushed it closed again, a little harder this time to make sure it was closed good and checked to make sure it truly did close and lock.

I walked over to the passenger side of the van and tossed in the stuff I was carrying. Then, I went to get into the driver's side. I opened the door and reached into my pocket for the keys. But, I found a cell phone. Huh? Checked the other pocket, no keys. Grrr. It was then that I realized that my keys were still safely in the bowl in the house.

No big deal, we had been opening windows all week to let the fresh air in. I'll just find one that is still cracked open and send one of the kids through. I didn't realize that my "other mother" daughter had taken it upon herself to make sure that every window in the house was closed-and locked-before we left. After circling the house checking windows twice, I had to accept that she had not, in fact, missed even one window.

Still, no big deal. My husband had a key on a nail on the electrical pole somewhere. So, I called him to find out exactly where it was. Guess where it was? In the same bowl that my keys were in-inside the locked house! Apparently he had used it once and never taken it back outside. Nice.

I circled the house a couple more times thinking that maybe God would decide to zap one of the windows open if I just kept looking (He could do that if He wanted to, you know) but that didn't happen either.

I still had one last hope. My husband drives his work truck during the week and doesn't always carry his personal keys with him. He's been know to leave them in my van sometimes. So, I called again and asked him if he knew where his key to my van was. "Yeah, it's right here in my pocket." So much for that.

After a few minutes, he called me back. I had forgotten a little secret about his truck. It's possible to start it without a key. Woohoo! So, I piled the kids into the truck (which I had never driven before and hopefully won't have to again) and off we went. If I didn't get behind any slow drivers (or tractors) on the way and all the traffic lights cooperated, I would still be able to make it exactly at my appointment time.

As we were driving, I happened to glance down at the fuel gauge. Let's just say it wasn't what I wanted to see. Okay, so I'll just stop and get like $5 worth of gas to make it there and then I'll fill up when we get done. I reach over and open up my wallet to get my bank card ready, but it's not there. Oh yeah, I had it in my hand the night before with my keys. It's in the bowl too! I had no cash either. But, I did have a $10 Wal-Mart gift card. I could get gas there. Only, it's not on my way and I'm already going to be pushing it for time. I decide to take my chances-I can always call AAA if I really need to. I say a little prayer and tell God that if He could feed the multitude with that little bit of food, I knew He could make the vapors left in my gas tank last long enough to get us where we needed to go.

Thankfully, He did. We arrived at the clinic one minute after my appointment time and by the time we piled out of the truck and got in, it was five minutes past. I wasn't sure they would see me because they ask that you arrive 15 minutes early to check in. I was happily surprised when the receptionist sent me on to the waiting room rather than back out the door.

Normally, we sit in the waiting room for 5 minutes or less so I was really surprised when 10 minutes passed with us still sitting there. Chris, the pharmacist who takes care of my meds and monitors my levels, kept coming out and getting other patients but he never called me. I assumed that they were just running behind for the day. I was relieved that my being late hadn't caused a problem because they were already behind before I got there. After waiting a little longer, I finally heard my name being called. Only, it wasn't Chris. It was a lady at the counter calling me to come up there. I thought she was going to explain why it was taking so long, but instead she said to me, "Mrs. Harmon, Chris said that he can see you today if you need him to, but you have an appointment with him NEXT week."


Don't you just love days like that?

This is my new favorite song. I can definitely relate!

So, what's your true story this week? Click on the True Story Tuesday button at the top to join in.

Miscellany Monday

1.
We got a surprise on Thursday night last week when Daniel got to come home early from Texas! I didn't tell the kids he was coming, so they were really surprised to see him. He was back in OK for 16 hours and then had to leave for Texas again. Happily, he came back last night and shouldn't have to go again for at least a few weeks.

2.
When we were driving to Tae Kwon Do yesterday afternoon, Sierra randomly said, "When I'm asleep, it feels like I'm in outerspace in just my pj's...and a helmet." She cracks me up with some of the things she says! That girl can always make me smile.

3.
We have been working so hard on not eating out since we've moved and we've been doing really well. For at least the last month or so, we've only eaten out on special occasions. Other than those few times and the times we've eaten at Grandma's house, we've been cooking at home. But last night, I just couldn't bring myself to cook (mostly I REALLY didn't want to do another load of dishes), so Daniel picked up pizza on his way home. Since we hadn't done that in a while, it was sooooooooo good! I like that eating out is a treat again rather than just another meal.

4.
We're still trying to decide whether to keep the internet service we have or switch to something else. After all the trouble we had with it, they sent a tech to fix it for free and also extended out trial period. It has worked well since the tech was here, but I'm still not sure. It worked great before until 4 days after the trial period was over. Not sure I want to take that chance again. I'm not going to be happy with having to call a tech to come every time the wind blows hard. We live in OK, so we'd have to have one permanently camped in our front yard.

5.
I have started working on revamping our homeschool schedule for the rest of the school year. We've had so many random days off here and there and days that we only got to half of our work for the day that we're way off track time-wise. If we continue to do just one day of work each day, we will finish our curriculum sometime in the middle of July! While I do want to continue with some schooling through the summer, I don't want to still be working on the same curriculum we started in September. So, we're going to start doubling up some things and working some on the weekends. I know we'll have more than our required number of days by the middle of June, so I'm hoping to wrap up this first year's curriculum by then. Then, we'll work on some unit studies and fun stuff for the summer and start back with the new school year after Labor Day.

6.
I just looked over at the couch and noticed a yellow-green crayon peeking out from under the edge of it. Surely this is not the same yellow-green crayon that has been there since Friday? I'm sure that I told at least two different children at two different times to put it away. Hmm...Maybe there's just a whole bunch of yellow-green crayons under that couch and they're making their way out one-by-one. Does this happen at anyone else's house?

Okay, I'm off to get these kids some breakfast so we can get our school day started. My evil twin came over yesterday when we were getting ready for church and promised my kids that we would have chocolate chip pancakes this morning since we ran out of time yesterday. I've got to remember to take her key away. She always gets me into trouble. :)

Fishing with the kids!

So, after being gone for six days, Daniel got to come home Thursday night. This was his second trip to Texas in the last month and it was supposed to last three weeks. I was so happy that he got to come home early. I didn't tell the kids that he was coming home early. I let them stay up watching a movie and playing on the computer so he could surprise them. They were pretty excited to see him too!

Daniel decided that he would rather have the weekend off, so he went ahead and went in to work Friday morning. When he got there, he was told that he would probably be heading back to Texas on Saturday to help with the rig move. He told his boss, "If I'm going back to Texas tomorrow, I'm going home today." His boss talked to the big boss and his response was "Well, you'd better go on back home then because we leave for Texas at 2:00pm (today)." So, I got a phone call around 8:30 Friday morning to get everyone up and dressed because we were going to go to town for supplies and then we were all going fishing. Music to my ears! I've been wanting us all to go fishing together for weeks!

Once everyone was up, fed, and dressed, we headed into town to get bobbers (does anyone else call them that? My dad and I always called them corks, but my husband calls them bobbers, so I've picked it up too), weights, new line, etc. While we were shopping, we met a super nice guy who was stocking the fishing supplies at Wal-Mart. He talked to the kids and gave them stickers. It was fun! From there, we went to the bait shop to pick up some minnows (the same bait shop my dad used to take me to when I was little).

When we got to the pond, I wasn't sure we'd have much luck. It was pretty windy and a little overcast. But we went ahead anyway. Boy, was I wrong! Cheyenne ended up catching 2 pretty nice ones, Landon, Sierra, and Dakota each caught one. Not bragging or anything (ha!) but I caught the most-3. I had so much fun and was sad when the alarm went off for us to pack up and head home.

Daniel pulled out of our house around 1:30 Friday afternoon and left the yard at work around 3:00. They made it safely to their motel in Texas around 8:00 Friday evening. Good news! As of this morning, he's only supposed to be gone for 3 days. I hope that's true. Being a "single mom" is much easier now that the kids are older, but I still don't want to do it all the time.

Here are the kids with their fish:

Cheyenne caught the first one. She was pretty proud of herself. (please ignore me in the background. I knew we were going fishing, so I put off my shower until the afternoon)

Sierra was next to catch one. She did it completely by herself! Not a bad looking fish for a little girl. She thought it was huge!

Landon was disappointed at first because his was small, but Daniel told him it was a sunfish and he fell in love. He is still talking about his "sunshine" fish.

We saved the best for last! Dakota finally caught her fish just before we were ready to leave.

We had such a fun day! I'm sad that Daniel had to leave so soon, but at least we got to spend some fun time together while he was here.

Five Question Friday 3/18/11

Woohoo! It's Friday! I'm extra, super excited this Friday because we got a great surprise last night. Daniel got to come home from Texas over two weeks earlier than we had planned! Six days of him being gone was more than enough for me. I don't know if I would have made it 3 weeks!
I didn't tell the kids he was coming home, so when he walked in a little before 11pm, they were really surprised! It was not an easy task trying to keep them up that late. My kids like to go to bed early and get up early (except for Sierra-she likes to sleep in). I was a mean mom-I needed an excuse to make Dakota stay up so I made her sweep the kitchen. But after she did, I let her get back on the computer, so I made up for it.

As is tradition, I am linking up with Mama M. for Five Question Friday. Head on over there and play along!


1. Have you ever testified in court? For what?

I have never had to testify in court. There were a couple of times though when I thought I was going to have to. Both were in custody situations for students of mine. Thankfully, things were worked out without my having to testify. I think I would be scared to death if I had to testify in court!

2. Do you still have your wedding dress?

I do. We had it preserved by the dry cleaner. It's at my mom's right now and she keeps hinting that I need to take it home with me. But I really don't have anywhere to put it, so I keep "forgetting" to get it. :) I absolutely loved my dress at the time, but by the time any of my girls need to wear it, it will be way too outdated. Plus, my girls are pretty tall and thin right now so I don't think they will fit into it (I was neither tall nor thin when I got married.) I'm hoping they can alter it somehow or take pieces from it for their dresses though. My aunt made my veil so I'd really like to see them use that at least.

3. Is there a special place you like to go when you're happy, sad, stressed, etc.?

Can't really think of anyplace special. It just depends on the day.

4. If you have kids, do they sleep with you? If you don't have kids...will you let your kids sleep with you when/if you have them?

Well, a long time ago when Dakota was 2 and I was pregnant with Cheyenne, Daniel worked the overnight shift at his job. Dakota was still at the age where we would hold her until she fell asleep and then take her into her bed. But she got to be too much for me to carry, so I started letting her sleep with me. Once Cheyenne was born, I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to hear her apnea monitor from my bedroom that I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room while she slept in the infant seat next to me. So, then it was Daniel and Dakota in our bed. Once the monitor was gone, we could not get Dakota to go to sleep in her own bed, so she, Daniel, and I all slept together in a full-sized bed! Not the most comfortable way to sleep. The thing that finally changed her mind was when we moved to a new house. For some reason, her new room was just what she needed to go back to sleeping by herself!
Landon went through some time where he wanted to sleep with us. He would always start out in his own bed, but make his way to ours during the night. Most of the time, I was too exhausted to get up and take him back to bed, so I would just let him stay. Since we've moved, though, there have only been a few times when he has come to our bed. I usually take him back to his room after a little while.
Cheyenne has always been a pretty good sleeper. She has come in a few times when she's been sick or scared, but not very often.
Sierra will not sleep in our bed. Even if she gets up and comes in during the night (and it's been forever since she's done that), she will just bring her pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor beside our bed.

5. Do you watch late night TV?
No. I do sleep with the television on at night but I don't watch it. We only get three channels anyway, so I doubt there's anything on worth watching.

Upbeat
Fantastic
Accomplished
Thoughtful
Brilliant

My husband is gone. He left to work in Texas on Saturday. He is scheduled to be gone for 2-3 weeks. Surprisingly, so far, I feel very upbeat with him being gone. He makes really good money when he's gone and that's something that we could really use right now with the Disney trip coming up.

Landon actually went to his class at church last night! I was nervous the entire time that I was going to see his little number up on the screen for me to come get him, but it never happened. I went out about half-way through service and got a quick peek in the window. He was having a fantastic time! They were dancing and singing and having so much fun. After church, he said he is going to start going to his class everytime. I hope so!

I feel like we have accomplished a lot with our schoolwork this week. We have gotten back into a routine and it's working out well. Now, if I could just get these doctor's appointments down to once a month instead of every 1-2 weeks we could really get things moving.

My thoughtful husband made sure to leave me a fishing pole to use while he's gone. That way, I could head out to the pond whenever I needed to relax for a few minutes (I love that the pond is just yards from the house!). I've already used it twice since he's been gone! I've only caught one teeny tiny fish so far, but I have loved going so much!

My brilliant plan to not tell my kids that this week is public school's spring break was foiled last night. I forgot to account for Wednesday night church in my plan. They are already trying to talk me out of doing school today. I'm kind of leaning that way too since we have to be at the clinic at 2:00 and then we have tae kwon do from 5:30-7:30 tonight. We won't be home that much, so maybe we'll put it off for today...so much for my routine. :)

Wordless Wednesday-yes, siblings do enjoy playing together sometimes

Check out this giveaway I found!

Rachael at Once Upon A Miracle is hosting an awesome giveaway! $140 to CSN stores! I don't usually post about giveaways, but I'm so excited about this one that I just had to share. Head over there and get entered!

Please help my kids help St. Jude's kids

My kids have been asked to participate in a fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital through their tae kwon do school. We have set a goal for them to each raise $25 for St. Jude. The fundraiser is tomorrow morning. If you are able, please visit their fundraiser pages and donate to help the families of St. Jude.

Dakota's page

Cheyenne's page

Sierra's page

Landon's page

Thank you so much for your help!

Five Question Friday for 3/11/11

Before I do anything else, I have to say Happy Birthday to my awesome husband! (even though he will never, ever read this). He is now officially the same age as me!

Whew! I didn't think I would get to do Five Question Friday this week. We've been having serious issues with our internet service. We haven't been able to get online at all since Tuesday. But, for some reason, it magically came back to life today. I'm just hoping it lasts.

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?
Actually, yes. I keep saying that I'm going to color my hair, but I never have.

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?

We generally just fly by the seat of our pants. This year, we are actually going on vacation (Disney World here we come) with Daniel's mom, sister, niece, nephew, my mom, and Daniel's cousin and her family. With that many people, we have had to do some planning. But, after that trip, we have no plans yet. I know there are some camps and VBS that the kids will be going to, but I don't have the details on any of them yet.

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?

Hmmmm...I guess my favorite thing to cook is pancakes. I actually enjoy cooking in the mornings. Not so much in the evenings though.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?

Not unless the person is truly ungrateful.

5. How did you meet your best friend?
Daniel and I met through a friend of a friend sort of thing in high school. 16 years later, he's still my best friend!

Okay, so my answers this week are short and sweet. Head over to Mama M.'s blog to see everyone else's answers. Maybe they have more to say than I did this week.

True Story Tuesday

I had this post all ready to go on Monday night. I was so excited to get to link up for the first time for True Story Tuesday! It just wasn't meant to be, though. Our internet service was totally down from Tuesday morning through Friday afternoon. This story just cracks me up, though, so I'm going to go ahead and post it anyway. Hope it makes you smile too.



Saturday evening, I got a chance to go grocery shopping all.by.myself. Yes, really, I went with no kids! It was so nice to actually be able to walk through the store and actually shop rather than try to sprint through as fast as possible hoping that nothing gets broken, no one gets lost, and nothing extra makes its way into my cart when I'm not looking.
For a Saturday night, it was actually pretty quiet in the store. For those who don't live in small-town Oklahoma, Saturday night is THE night to go to Wal-Mart. That's where we go to socialize. The tradition is that you go out to eat, then you go to Wal-Mart to "walk it off". Actually, you just go to see who else is hanging out at Wal-Mart. Don't judge. There's not much else to do around here.
Anyway, I was strolling along in the cake mix aisle, minding my own business. My first grade teacher taught me that we should always walk on the right hand side of the hall, so that's what I do when I shop too. But, I found myself needing something from the left hand side of the aisle. I didn't really want to stop and completely block traffic, so I decided to do a "walk and grab" from the middle of the aisle. As I started to move my cart toward the middle, I hear a man behind me say, "Do you eat bacon bits?"
Now, I just assumed that he was talking to the person who was with him, so I retrieved the needed item and started to make my way back to the right hand side of the aisle where I was supposed to be. I turned to glance behind before I merged back into the flow of traffic and right there just inches from my cart was the man I had heard. I wasn't expecting that, so I kinda jumped and said, "Oh! Excuse me!"
He looked right at me and said, "Do you eat bacon bits?" Huh??? I said, "Uh, sure." He had caught me completely off-guard with his question. I couldn't figure out why in the world he would care whether or not I ate bacon bits. Finally, after a couple of awkward seconds, he said, "Where are they?"
Oh! Now, I understood (yes, I'm a little slow). So I said, "Oh, they're up toward the front by the salad dressing..." I was going to explain further, but he waved me off saying, "Okay, I'll find them when I get up there," and went on his way. I think if I had given him more detail, it would've been too much like giving him directions, and you know that a man cannot ask for directions!
After he walked away, I just kind of stood there for a moment letting the moment sink in and I just had to giggle a little bit. Actually, I giggled a lot. And then I texted my husband and told him about it and posted it to my facebook wall. I mean, really, who says to a strange person at Wal-Mart, "Do you eat bacon bits?" Did this guy really weigh his options and decide saying that was a better way to start the conversation than "Do you know where the bacon bits are?" Just gotta wonder...
And, just so you know, I did see him later on during my shopping trip and he assured me that he did, indeed, find the bacon bits. Good to know!

Miscellany Monday

1. After last week's battle with strep, I think we are all finally well. Still a few lingering coughs and runny noses, but everyone's feeling good. And, it looks like we dodged a bullet (or two actually) because Daniel and Dakota never did get sick. Hooray!

2. We are having trouble with our internet connection and it's about to drive me crazy! It started last Monday. I wasn't able to get online at.all. on Monday morning. I called the provider and was told that the dish had lost alignment. A tech would have to come out and fix it-for $29.95. Nice. Then, we come home from tae kwon do Monday evening, and it's magically working again. I don't really understand how the thing works but, to me, it doesn't make sense that the dish has lost alignment. First of all, nothing has moved. The house and the dish are exactly where they were before. Second, if it has lost alignment, how is it able to connect at all? Who knows? Anyway, I think the tech is either going to be here this afternoon or is going to call and schedule something this afternoon. Isn't it convenient that all this started 4 days after the trial period ended, so we can't cancel the service now???

3. Making Dakota do schoolwork today is going to be pure torture for her. She has been waiting for a long time (at least a year) for the new Pokemon games to come out (Black and White, I believe) and yesterday was the day. Daniel took her and Cheyenne to get theirs after tae kwon do yesterday. It's going to be hard for her to get her mind off it long enough to do math.

4. My mom generously sent home four boxes of girl scout cookies with us yesterday. This is not going to be good for our "getting ready for Disney World diet". But, they sure are good!

5. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting at the computer hoping that my presence would magically cause the internet to work when my phone rang. It was Daniel calling me from outside. He said, "Put some shoes on and come outside." I was worried that I was going to get out there and find out that the dog had gotten hit by a truck or something like that, but instead he met me in the driveway with a fishing pole in hand! Is he awesome, or what? I have been dying to go fishing for weeks! It's been so hard to have a pond just feet from my house and not be able to go. So, yesterday afternoon, I got to spend a blissful 30 or so minutes fishing in the pond (with no kids!). I didn't get one single bite, but it was still so much fun! I hid the fishing pole in the laundry room so maybe I can sneak out there again when we get schoolwork done.

What's on your mind this week?

Five Question Friday-or 5QF for those in the know. :)

I'm so ready for the weekend! We have been dealing with sickies all week long. Three kids with strep and me with this horrible allergy/cold/sinus infection/whatever it is. All the kids have been on meds for at least 3 days and I think they're on the mend. I made it through the whole day without having to take a nap (barely) and I can almost breath through my nose a little bit sometimes. Now we're just praying that the two people in our family who haven't been sick this round will not get sick!
We have karate/church/lunch at Grandma's this weekend so we get to out and about. I think that will make us all feel a lot better.

The best thing about it being Friday, of course, is that it's Five Question Friday with Mama M.! I've been waiting all week for this!

1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school?

I didn't totally forget her, but I did leave one in the toy section while I went and got some groceries. It would have been okay-she was old enough to be there alone for a few minutes-except that I forgot to go tell her where I was going. In fact, for just a minute, I totally forgot that she was even at the store with me! She didn't panic too much, but I think if I had been gone for a couple more minutes, she would have. I still feel guilty about that.

2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!)
Is it bad that I don't remember this? The first place I remember going with my first boyfriend where he actually picked me up in his car was to a friend's house to hang out and play pool. I'm sure for our first official date, we went out to eat (probably Italian) and to a movie. Can't remember for sure, though. It was a very significant event in my life, can't you tell?

3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights.)
I have a fear of breaking my pinkie toe. I bang it on stuff all the time and it freaks me out. I have this image in my head of it just hanging there, broken. Makes me shudder just to think about the pain.
My other "silly" fear is of being run over by a car in a parking lot. If I'm walking through a parking lot and there's a car that's about to back out, I always stop and wait for them to go before I walk past. Even if the driver waves me on. I just can't walk behind a running vehicle. My husband used to think it was funny to start the van just as I walked by on my way to get in. Big meanie!

4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away?

I. HATE. CONFRONTATION. I do everything in my power to avoid it. Unless you mess with my kids.

5. Wood floors or carpet?

I think a mixture. Entryway, kitchen, dining room and bathrooms should definitely be wood (or tile or anything else but carpet). You just can't keep carpet clean in those places. Or at least not with four kids.

I think wood floors are good in other rooms too, if you have some nice big area rugs to keep your feet warm. I can't stand getting out of bed in the morning and having to walk on a cold floor.

Well, I'm off to tackle Mount Washmore. Most of the laundry got washed this week, it just didn't quite make it into closets and drawers. I'll feel so much better if I get it taken care of before the weekend officially begins.

Thursday Five-3/3/11

Once again, I am joining up over at Flip Flops and Combat Boots for Thursday Five. You should too! Just click on the button and head over there!

This weeks words are
fabulous
satisfying
amazing
sweet
jubilant

1.

I am having so much fun participating in Lynnette's blog party! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, do it now! (Well, after you finish reading here, ya know).

I have found some amazing new blogs to follow and learned some new things about some of the bloggers I already follow. And to think, I would have missed out on this fabulous post from Pumpkin Pie Painter if I hadn't found her blog at the party!
I haven't even made it through half the list yet, so I know I'll be finding even more great blogs to follow!

2.
Of all the things that we are learning about through our homeschooling, I think the most satisfying is getting to hear Landon and Sierra learning to read. They are both doing an awesome job! I love seeing that light in their eyes when they read something new all by themselves!

3.
The weather outside today is amazing! I don't know what the exact temperature is, but the sun is shining and it's beautiful! Daniel and the kids went out for a walk on the ranch, so I have the house to myself for a while (which is also amazing) and they didn't even take jackets. As soon as I finish this post, I'm going to go open all the windows and let the fresh air in.

4.
This morning, I picked up a red velvet cake donut for breakfast. It was super sweet! But, I'm not really supposed to have stuff like that anymore. So, don't tell anyone, okay?

5.
Daniel was gone to Texas for work for several days this week. When he finally got home on Tuesday night, I was jubilant! I was definitely not cut out to be a single mom! It looks like I'm going to get to try it again, though, because he's supposed to go back sometime in the next couple of weeks. This time, he'll be gone even longer. :(

Sunday's sermon

I'm not going to comment much on this because I think Pastor Terren does a great job already! I enjoyed this message so much, I just had to share with all of you!

Stripped 4 from Joey Clark on Vimeo.

Lynnette's Spring Blog Party

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.) Are they right?
I think most people would describe me as quiet (although those who know me well would probably disagree). Unless I feel very comfortable with the people I'm with, it's pretty much true. I get really nervous around new people and it takes me a long time to feel like I can be myself.

What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life?
I'm going to go with Lynnette on this one! :) I think she's amazing and I would love to meet her in person (so, Lynnette, if you're ever in Southeastern Oklahoma, let me know!). Just after I first started reading her blog, my family and I visited the Sedgwick County Zoo. I kept thinking, "wouldn't it be so cool if we ran into Lynnette and her kids while we're here?" Ha! The funny thing is, I probably wouldn't have even been able to say anything if I had seen her! I would have just stared at her uncomfortably from a distance. Ha!


Who is your favorite blogger? Why?
Do I really have to pick just one? There are so many that I love! I think the one that I enjoy the most, though, is Pamela from Troop Petrie. I think she and I would be good friends if we ever got together in real life.

What is your comfort food/drink?
I think I've posted this before, but my comfort food is birthday cake. It must be a bakery cake with buttercream frosting. But, I'm not really supposed to have it anymore, so it's a very rare treat for me.

My favorite drink is Diet Pepsi. I was reading a post a while back by Stacey at I'm a Lazy Mom where she describes the first time she tried Diet Pepsi and heard "a heavenly host of Diet Pepsi angels singing." Yep, me too. I hear them every time I drink it. The best way to enjoy a Diet Pepsi is from a fountain with crushed ice and a straw. Yum! Unfortunately, most places around here don't have Diet Pepsi in their fountain drinks (what's up with that anyway?). I have only found on gas station in this town so far that has both Diet Pepsi and crushed ice. They are my new best friends! Sure wish Daniel was here to watch the kids right now so I could go to town and get me a Diet Pepsi! :)

Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.
Okay, my family thinks this is weird, we'll see what you all think. I LOVE leftover mashed potatoes! It's one of my favorite foods (especially if they're potatoes that have cooked with a roast, mmmm!). And, if that's not already weird enough for you, I like them for breakfast. Was that random and weird enough?

Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?
The only thing I can really think of for this one is that I would love to get a massage. I've never had one, but it sounds so nice!

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?
Definitely Romantic Comedy! My favorite is How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. I live Drama too, but I have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.

Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?
Fiction is my favorite. I got on a Nicholas Sparks kick last summer and read all of his books that our library had. Since we've moved, I haven't had much time to spend reading for fun. Maybe once I get this homeschooling thing under control, I'll get back into it.

Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types?
Well, I live in southeast Oklahoma, so country is a given. But, lately, I've kept the radio on KLOVE. I started actually listening to some of the lyrics of the country songs I liked and decided that they weren't really what I wanted my kids repeating. :)

If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
The first thing I would do is to pay off all our debts, including our mortgage. How awesome would that be? Next, I would make sure that my kids and my SIL's kids had college savings. If there was anything left, I would take a fun trip with my family.

Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).
My biggest weakness right now is having faith that God will work things out for me. I KNOW without a doubt that He CAN do it. I just don't know whether he'll do it for me. It's something that I am struggling with. I can always look back at things and see that He has taken care of me, but when the next thing comes along, I find myself right back in the place of doubt.

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
I never thought I would say this, but I'm pretty happy right where I am.

Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or some perform some other strange feat?
No strange talents here.

What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).
I really wish I could think of something for this one, but I think this stuffy nose has affected my brain.

What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?
Pretty much anything baking in the oven-bread, cake, cookies. I just made some chocolate chip cake cookies and I so wish I could smell them! Darn cold!

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?
I always wish I would have talked more. I think of a million things that I should have said as soon as I leave. But, in the moment, I get tongue-tied. What I do say usually doesn't come out right, so I just keep quiet.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in?
There aren't a lot of choices in this town, so money and time would have to no factor. I would love to have the time and the money to go shopping (real shopping where you actually buy things, not window shopping) in Tulsa. Maybe someday.

What is your greatest fear?
Something happening to one of my kids and me not being there. I hate sending my kids off with other people. Not because I don't trust them, but because I'm so afraid that something bad might happen and I wouldn't be there with them.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Each one of my kids is my greatest accomplishment.

What are your favorite animals?
I'm not a big animal fan, but I've always liked horses. They are beautiful. As long as I'm not the one responsible for taking care of them. :)

Are you a hopeless romantic?
Hahaha! NO.

What movie or book character can you most relate to?
I had to go look this up on youtube to make sure I had the right movie. It's been a long time since I've seen in it. :) I can definitely relate to the part where the teacher says, "Hi Lily! Aaaaaaaaand Lily's friend." I was always so-and-so's friend. No one ever knew my name. Also, the part where the boy sits on her. Ha! I am usually the invisible person in the room.


Woohoo! My post is ready! I am going over right now to link up (if my internet connection will cooperate). Then, I am going to go take a nap. I'll be back to party with Lynnette and friends later tonight. Can't wait!