I'm afraid I've been a bit neglectful of my blog lately. I could say that I've been extra busy, but then aren't we all? lol I guess everything has it's season, and maybe blogging can be included in that as well.
I wanted to say how much I appreciate the kind words and prayers from all of you after my last blog post. As I said, the Artist tested negative for juvenile diabetes. The Doctor thinks perhaps it's sensory issues. Which made me chuckle a bit, because I hadn't thought of that, despite the fact that I have some sensory problems myself. It's funny how something can be right in front of you and you don't even think of it.
The Princess has been put on an acid reducer for her stomach issues. The Doctor said it could take weeks to start working. That seems a bit long to me. So I happened to be talking to my Pastor's Wife last night, and she told me about an all-natural aloe vera product that's formulated for stomach issues. So today I'll be going to a local health food store to see if this could be another alternative for her. I would much rather go with a natural product if possible.
My tooth infection is back, but thankfully my oral surgery is less than two weeks away. Yes, I said thankfully. When a tooth gets painful enough, even oral surgery becomes appealing;) My only fear is that the infection will keep the numbing agent from working, a problem I've had in the past. But you don't really want to hear about that, do you? :)
On the bright side (literally), we Oregonians were blessed with several beautiful days this past weekend. We were able to get some outside projects done, and just soak up some of that lovely fresh air.
Next month we have two weeks of Spring break. To say I'm looking forward to it would be a definite understatement. But we have lots of work to do between now and then, including our state testing. So I better get back to work:)
Have a wonderful Monday~
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Some Good News
In spite of the fact that we're heading to several Doctor appointments in just a little while, we did receive some good news yesterday. The Artist had gone in for some labs due to some worrying symptoms over the last few days. Our Pediatrician was concerned that he might have Juvenile Diabetes. Thankfully, the test came back negative. I was quite concerned due to the fact that one of my younger brothers has Juvenile Diabetes, and it is considered a hereditary disease. He still has to go in for a visit today, and hopefully we'll be able to figure out what's going on.
The Princess has been getting sick to her stomach after eating for about 3 weeks now. She has stopped eating many of her favorite foods like bananas and peanut butter sandwiches. She's always been a very good eater, so I decided it's finally time to get her in for a visit as well. I suspect some sort of acid reflux issue.
Hopefully I'll get some time later to visit my blogging friends. These running around days seem to just fly by. Of course, all days seem to be like that to me anymore. Must be old age creeping up on me,lol.
Have a great day:)
The Princess has been getting sick to her stomach after eating for about 3 weeks now. She has stopped eating many of her favorite foods like bananas and peanut butter sandwiches. She's always been a very good eater, so I decided it's finally time to get her in for a visit as well. I suspect some sort of acid reflux issue.
Hopefully I'll get some time later to visit my blogging friends. These running around days seem to just fly by. Of course, all days seem to be like that to me anymore. Must be old age creeping up on me,lol.
Have a great day:)
Monday, February 16, 2009
A lovely day for Cleaning and Crafts
I honestly meant to post before now. Since today is a holiday, and therefore we are not having school, technically I've had more freedom to do as I wish.
However, as the sun began to shine later in the morning, and a cool breeze wafted in through the living room window, I was suddenly so invigorated that I've been cleaning non-stop ever since. These are not the jobs I've been carefully planning to do for the last week. For some reason all thought of those has gone completely out of my head. I look forward to our days off of school more than ever this year. So I usually have a list of all I want to accomplish for that time. But it would seem Spring cleaning has taken over instead.
I am not so foolish as to think that Spring is really here, by the Calendar or otherwise. We Oregonians know that we have loads and loads of rain yet to come. Which is probably why we appreciate days like this so much.
Anyway, here's a short update on what has been going on around here. On Valentines Eve hubby and I went to our church Valentine Banquet. My head had been aching severely all day, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. So I took a good dose of medicine, put on some muscle rub (which does not have a very romantic smell by the way) and went anyhow. I felt like my eyes were a little cross-eyed from the pain, but I still had a great time. The food was superb (prime rib for hubby, chicken with some kind of yummy sauce for me). The table we sat at had some lovely people at it, and we did a good bit of joking and laughing. Then there was a play that was very well done. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. Grandma (hubby's mom) picked up the kids and dropped them off afterwards, bless her heart. It was an hours round-trip for her both times.
I thought I would also post a few pics of the crafts we've done in the last week. Admittedly, they're more Spring than Winter-themed. But we had the supplies and the kids wanted to do them, so I went with the flow. Here's one of three bird houses that were put together and painted. The Artist did this particular one.
We recycled our Christmas pine cones by putting peanut butter and birdseed on them, then hanging them from our tree in the front yard. I love the rainbow ribbon, it adds some nice color. Not that it will matter much to the birds;)
And if you're wondering if we did any Valentine-themed crafts, the answer is no. Those were abandoned because of my headache. I don't think my boys were at all disappointed though. The Princess and I did make a Valentine treat, which thrilled her little heart. Here's a picture.
These are simple layered jello cups, though not as simple as they seem. Making those chocolate hearts on the inside was a little tricky, I could barely get my hand inside of the cup. The kids thought they were great though. And that's what counts:)
Did I mention that my hubby bought me a box of the best dark chocolates I've ever tasted? Well he did. Fortunately I was able to stop after ingesting all the nut cluster varieties (which are simply irresistable) and am now at the point where my children are very willingly taking the other varieties off of my hands.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend~ I'll be stopping by :)
However, as the sun began to shine later in the morning, and a cool breeze wafted in through the living room window, I was suddenly so invigorated that I've been cleaning non-stop ever since. These are not the jobs I've been carefully planning to do for the last week. For some reason all thought of those has gone completely out of my head. I look forward to our days off of school more than ever this year. So I usually have a list of all I want to accomplish for that time. But it would seem Spring cleaning has taken over instead.
I am not so foolish as to think that Spring is really here, by the Calendar or otherwise. We Oregonians know that we have loads and loads of rain yet to come. Which is probably why we appreciate days like this so much.
Anyway, here's a short update on what has been going on around here. On Valentines Eve hubby and I went to our church Valentine Banquet. My head had been aching severely all day, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. So I took a good dose of medicine, put on some muscle rub (which does not have a very romantic smell by the way) and went anyhow. I felt like my eyes were a little cross-eyed from the pain, but I still had a great time. The food was superb (prime rib for hubby, chicken with some kind of yummy sauce for me). The table we sat at had some lovely people at it, and we did a good bit of joking and laughing. Then there was a play that was very well done. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. Grandma (hubby's mom) picked up the kids and dropped them off afterwards, bless her heart. It was an hours round-trip for her both times.
I thought I would also post a few pics of the crafts we've done in the last week. Admittedly, they're more Spring than Winter-themed. But we had the supplies and the kids wanted to do them, so I went with the flow. Here's one of three bird houses that were put together and painted. The Artist did this particular one.
And if you're wondering if we did any Valentine-themed crafts, the answer is no. Those were abandoned because of my headache. I don't think my boys were at all disappointed though. The Princess and I did make a Valentine treat, which thrilled her little heart. Here's a picture.
These are simple layered jello cups, though not as simple as they seem. Making those chocolate hearts on the inside was a little tricky, I could barely get my hand inside of the cup. The kids thought they were great though. And that's what counts:)Did I mention that my hubby bought me a box of the best dark chocolates I've ever tasted? Well he did. Fortunately I was able to stop after ingesting all the nut cluster varieties (which are simply irresistable) and am now at the point where my children are very willingly taking the other varieties off of my hands.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend~ I'll be stopping by :)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The lost art of letter writing
In this day of email and text-messaging, how many letters have you received lately? I know for myself, the answer would be very few. Everyone seems to prefer instant messaging or grabbing the cell phone (which some people seem to virtually live on) and talking/texting their friends. I can't imagine very many of those messages are saved and/or treasured.
As a girl, I used to keep every little note or card that I received, regardless of who it was from. I suppose I'm dating myself when I say it was a common practice back then,lol. But I treasured those communications and read them often. I guess because it meant someone took the time to think about me and write that special message for me.
Of course, I realize that letter writing is not totally exstinc, but ask yourself how many you've written in the last month, or received. I bet you can count the number on one hand. And no counting those yearly xeroxed Christmas letters... we're not exactly talking personal there.
So one of my goals for the New Year is to write more letters to a variety of different people. Some of them will be to extended family, but many will be to others who have had an influence on my family in some small way, as well as to the elderly in our church family. I have a feeling they would especially appreciate it.
My goal for the year is 100 letters, which evens out to about 10 a month for the rest of the year. Which is really not that many, once you sit down and get started. To help myself with this, I picked up this journal to keep track of the people I write to. I have my first ten already listed, with my goal being to have those written by the end of February.
I'd like to challenge my fellow bloggers to do the same. I know many of you listed this same goal in your beginning of the year resolutions. How are you doing on that? lol Don't you hate it when people check back on those resolutions?:)
And remember, your notes don't have to be especially long, though mine do tend to be so. Kind of like the comments I leave all over the blog-world; some people have even hinted that I'm a tad bit long-winded;) I won't mention any names, but you know who you are...
I plan to give an update on my progress periodically to help keep myself accountable. So anyone who would like to join me in that way is free to do so.
Have a great day~
As a girl, I used to keep every little note or card that I received, regardless of who it was from. I suppose I'm dating myself when I say it was a common practice back then,lol. But I treasured those communications and read them often. I guess because it meant someone took the time to think about me and write that special message for me.
Of course, I realize that letter writing is not totally exstinc, but ask yourself how many you've written in the last month, or received. I bet you can count the number on one hand. And no counting those yearly xeroxed Christmas letters... we're not exactly talking personal there.
So one of my goals for the New Year is to write more letters to a variety of different people. Some of them will be to extended family, but many will be to others who have had an influence on my family in some small way, as well as to the elderly in our church family. I have a feeling they would especially appreciate it.
My goal for the year is 100 letters, which evens out to about 10 a month for the rest of the year. Which is really not that many, once you sit down and get started. To help myself with this, I picked up this journal to keep track of the people I write to. I have my first ten already listed, with my goal being to have those written by the end of February.
I'd like to challenge my fellow bloggers to do the same. I know many of you listed this same goal in your beginning of the year resolutions. How are you doing on that? lol Don't you hate it when people check back on those resolutions?:)And remember, your notes don't have to be especially long, though mine do tend to be so. Kind of like the comments I leave all over the blog-world; some people have even hinted that I'm a tad bit long-winded;) I won't mention any names, but you know who you are...
I plan to give an update on my progress periodically to help keep myself accountable. So anyone who would like to join me in that way is free to do so.
Have a great day~
Monday, February 09, 2009
Assorted Updates
It's been a few days since I've posted here. I meant to post several times, but life has simply overtook me, in a good way. So this post is basically an accumulation of the odds and ends that have been keeping us busy in the last week.
Last Friday, the kids and I were able to take part in a Science Lab Day sponsored by George Fox University. Despite the fact that it was an approximately 2 hour round-trip, I really didn't want to miss this opportunity. We have a few fun things when it comes to Science supplies, but to be able to go to a real lab was a treat. They had one of their instructors, plus a biologist, who asked some questions and did some basic explaining. Then we spent the rest of the time visiting about 20 different experiment stations dealing with the subject matter of plants and the human body. It was somewhat humorous when the instructor commented that they had just about everything in their lab, including cadavers. Most of the kids didn't recognize the term, but it produced some funny reactions from a few of the adults. And then there was the parent who went searching for ice cubes in the fridge, only to find it full of a variety of dead animals...lol. The lab was a nice diversion from our regular school week, and it counts for quite a few of our science projects as well. The artist especially enjoyed the many skeletons hanging around (literally).
My husband has been working Saturdays quite often lately. While I definitely appreciate the fact that it's a blessing to have a job in these tough times, and overtime on top of that, I do miss getting to see him on the weekends, and quite a few projects had been stacking up. Not the least of which was my clothes dryer. For the last few weeks I've been drying very small loads for about twice the time they should take. Needless to say, the laundry has been stacking up a bit. It's funny in a way, because laundry is one of my favorite jobs. I absolutely love the look and smell of clean clothes (though I don't care much for ironing). Anyway, I was ready to start looking for a new one Craigslist-style. But my Hubby pulled everything apart, and it turned out to be a clogged pipe. Now it's running better than ever, and I feel like I do indeed have a new dryer; so you know what I'll be doing for the next few day;)
My upright freezer was having issues as well. A section of the seal on the door had come off and was causing some major ice build-up. So that was defrosted and cleaned out this weekend. I am planning on giving the bi-weekly freezer meal plan a try (more on that in the next few days) so I'm quite happy to have it all ready to go.
I did my yearly stocking up shopping at Costco on Saturday. I look forward to doing this each year because it saves me so much in the long run. I calculated one of the spice mixes I've been buying in small amounts from the store only to realize that buying the same thing at Costco was a $16 dollar savings! I rarely pay full price for anything at the regular store, but even on sale it was still an $8 dollar difference. Now to find somewhere to put all my mega-size assorted boxes. I guess that's a good problem to have though.
This evening we'll be going to our gleaner's warehouse to both work our monthly allotted time, and to pick up two weeks worth of food and miscellaneous items. I look forward to our pick-ups, but it still is a little overwhelming to take care of it all when we get home. Our branch gets quite a bit of produce and fruit donated, which is a great blessing. The challenge is that while quite a lot of it is in good shape, it still needs to be either eaten or repackaged within 24 hours to take full advantage of it.
I suppose I will eventually have to touch on the weight-loss issue, so I might as well get that over with. I did in fact lose 1 (and only 1) pound in the last week. But I suspicion I gained it back yesterday due to the fact that I ate a delicious (and no doubt high-calorie) meal at my mother-in-law's after Church. Add to that the strawberry-rhubarb pie ala mode I devoured at Shari's last night while visiting with my friend Mrs.Darling..;) I am working out more, so hopefully I'm getting more fit, even if the pounds aren't dropping off as quickly as I'd like.
I'm afraid this is a somewhat mundane post, but it's all I've got right now. I do plan to stop by my favorite blogs a little later, so POST people!! Only because I'm nosy and I want to know what you all are up to,lol.
Have a great Monday:)
Last Friday, the kids and I were able to take part in a Science Lab Day sponsored by George Fox University. Despite the fact that it was an approximately 2 hour round-trip, I really didn't want to miss this opportunity. We have a few fun things when it comes to Science supplies, but to be able to go to a real lab was a treat. They had one of their instructors, plus a biologist, who asked some questions and did some basic explaining. Then we spent the rest of the time visiting about 20 different experiment stations dealing with the subject matter of plants and the human body. It was somewhat humorous when the instructor commented that they had just about everything in their lab, including cadavers. Most of the kids didn't recognize the term, but it produced some funny reactions from a few of the adults. And then there was the parent who went searching for ice cubes in the fridge, only to find it full of a variety of dead animals...lol. The lab was a nice diversion from our regular school week, and it counts for quite a few of our science projects as well. The artist especially enjoyed the many skeletons hanging around (literally).
My husband has been working Saturdays quite often lately. While I definitely appreciate the fact that it's a blessing to have a job in these tough times, and overtime on top of that, I do miss getting to see him on the weekends, and quite a few projects had been stacking up. Not the least of which was my clothes dryer. For the last few weeks I've been drying very small loads for about twice the time they should take. Needless to say, the laundry has been stacking up a bit. It's funny in a way, because laundry is one of my favorite jobs. I absolutely love the look and smell of clean clothes (though I don't care much for ironing). Anyway, I was ready to start looking for a new one Craigslist-style. But my Hubby pulled everything apart, and it turned out to be a clogged pipe. Now it's running better than ever, and I feel like I do indeed have a new dryer; so you know what I'll be doing for the next few day;)
My upright freezer was having issues as well. A section of the seal on the door had come off and was causing some major ice build-up. So that was defrosted and cleaned out this weekend. I am planning on giving the bi-weekly freezer meal plan a try (more on that in the next few days) so I'm quite happy to have it all ready to go.
I did my yearly stocking up shopping at Costco on Saturday. I look forward to doing this each year because it saves me so much in the long run. I calculated one of the spice mixes I've been buying in small amounts from the store only to realize that buying the same thing at Costco was a $16 dollar savings! I rarely pay full price for anything at the regular store, but even on sale it was still an $8 dollar difference. Now to find somewhere to put all my mega-size assorted boxes. I guess that's a good problem to have though.
This evening we'll be going to our gleaner's warehouse to both work our monthly allotted time, and to pick up two weeks worth of food and miscellaneous items. I look forward to our pick-ups, but it still is a little overwhelming to take care of it all when we get home. Our branch gets quite a bit of produce and fruit donated, which is a great blessing. The challenge is that while quite a lot of it is in good shape, it still needs to be either eaten or repackaged within 24 hours to take full advantage of it.
I suppose I will eventually have to touch on the weight-loss issue, so I might as well get that over with. I did in fact lose 1 (and only 1) pound in the last week. But I suspicion I gained it back yesterday due to the fact that I ate a delicious (and no doubt high-calorie) meal at my mother-in-law's after Church. Add to that the strawberry-rhubarb pie ala mode I devoured at Shari's last night while visiting with my friend Mrs.Darling..;) I am working out more, so hopefully I'm getting more fit, even if the pounds aren't dropping off as quickly as I'd like.
I'm afraid this is a somewhat mundane post, but it's all I've got right now. I do plan to stop by my favorite blogs a little later, so POST people!! Only because I'm nosy and I want to know what you all are up to,lol.
Have a great Monday:)
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
My take on the Letter "K"
My good blogging friend Frasypoo has assigned me the letter "K" in an alphabet meme. As she put it: "I want to assign you the letter k as you are a great mom and k stands for kids." Thank you for the compliment Frasy, I couldn't ask for a nicer one:) So on to the letter K:
1) I'm crazy about my Kids. I wouldn't trade being myKidsmom for anything in this world. I bet you didn't know that..;)
2) If you had asked me what I wanted to be "when I grew up" in my younger years, right after a mother (of course) I would have said a Kindergarten teacher. It might have had something to do with Lady Diana Spencer and her seemingly fairytale romance. Possibly.
3) I was born in Kosciousko County. It's a Polish name which is only spelled correctly by those who have actually lived there.
4) I love Ketchup. Yes, I know it's full of sugar, but I use it on only a few things. But on those few things, I use it in great volume. As in "Would you like a few fries with your ketchup?"
5) I also love Kidney beans. Which fact surely balances out the ketchup nutrition-wise. I'll eat them thrown into just about anything. And two of my children will even eat them plain just like me.
6) My favorite department store? That would be Kohl's. If I'm lucky, I get there about 3-4 times a year. That's big-time shopping for me;).
7) I love my King James Bible with it's wonderful King's English.
8) I've loved the names Kara and Kaitlyn (spelled with a K no less) since I was a little girl. They are lovely Irish names. My daughter would have been named Kaitlyn except that it suddenly had a huge surge in popularity the year before she was born. I didn't want to one day call her name in the store, and have ten different little girls come running. If she had been a twin, I would have used it anyway.
9) I've never been called a know-it-all or knucklehead, but I've had a few people tell me that I'm a little Kooky, lol. Even I agree with that:)
10) Have I mentioned yet that I really love my Kids? I thought so, but I'm grasping for straws here..;)
And that ends today's edition of the Letter "K".
I'm not going to tag anyone, but I am expecting a few volunteers (hint,hint). If you'd like to give it a try, let me know in the comments and I'll assign you a letter. It was actually kind of fun:) See, I'm on a roll...
EDIT: Here's the link to Niki's letter "N" and Jeanette's letter "F".
1) I'm crazy about my Kids. I wouldn't trade being myKidsmom for anything in this world. I bet you didn't know that..;)
2) If you had asked me what I wanted to be "when I grew up" in my younger years, right after a mother (of course) I would have said a Kindergarten teacher. It might have had something to do with Lady Diana Spencer and her seemingly fairytale romance. Possibly.
3) I was born in Kosciousko County. It's a Polish name which is only spelled correctly by those who have actually lived there.
4) I love Ketchup. Yes, I know it's full of sugar, but I use it on only a few things. But on those few things, I use it in great volume. As in "Would you like a few fries with your ketchup?"
5) I also love Kidney beans. Which fact surely balances out the ketchup nutrition-wise. I'll eat them thrown into just about anything. And two of my children will even eat them plain just like me.
6) My favorite department store? That would be Kohl's. If I'm lucky, I get there about 3-4 times a year. That's big-time shopping for me;).
7) I love my King James Bible with it's wonderful King's English.
8) I've loved the names Kara and Kaitlyn (spelled with a K no less) since I was a little girl. They are lovely Irish names. My daughter would have been named Kaitlyn except that it suddenly had a huge surge in popularity the year before she was born. I didn't want to one day call her name in the store, and have ten different little girls come running. If she had been a twin, I would have used it anyway.
9) I've never been called a know-it-all or knucklehead, but I've had a few people tell me that I'm a little Kooky, lol. Even I agree with that:)
10) Have I mentioned yet that I really love my Kids? I thought so, but I'm grasping for straws here..;)
And that ends today's edition of the Letter "K".
I'm not going to tag anyone, but I am expecting a few volunteers (hint,hint). If you'd like to give it a try, let me know in the comments and I'll assign you a letter. It was actually kind of fun:) See, I'm on a roll...
EDIT: Here's the link to Niki's letter "N" and Jeanette's letter "F".
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Another Giveaway...
No, I'm not back at it again (at least not yet;). Kristy over at Homemaker's Cottage is giving away a copy of the recently released movie Fireproof. I've been hearing some very good things about this film, although I haven't seen it yet myself (I plan to remedy that very soon). So stop by her blog for a chance to win this great giveaway. **Hurry, this contest ends tomorrow! I think my sidebar didn't update for a little while last week; this post is one of many posts I seemed to have missed throughout blog-land.**
Monday, February 02, 2009
And the Winner is...
Please forgive me for getting to this so late in the day. I've been gone nearly 8 hours to attend the Professor's last basketball game for this school year. It's the best excuse I can come up with;)
So without further ado, the winner is: CHRISTA
Please email me your address (mykidsmom.greengables@gmail.com) and I will send your book out within the next few days.
Thanks to all who entered, and to those who linked to this giveaway!
So without further ado, the winner is: CHRISTA
Please email me your address (mykidsmom.greengables@gmail.com) and I will send your book out within the next few days.
Thanks to all who entered, and to those who linked to this giveaway!
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