Baby Update and Ultrasound

So much has happened in the last 2 to 3 weeks! Baby is doing very well and growing nicely...I fell it move all the time now, which is so much fun. The boys are asking me nearly every week when THEY will be able to feel it on the outside...I just keep telling them that as soon as it happens I will let them know. :)

A couple weeks ago, we made the decision to change doctors mid-pregnancy. It was a tough decision we mulled over for 3 or 4 weeks before deciding anything. There were several factors that contributed to this decision, but all (but one) had to do with the dr stressing me out:

1) She was stressing me out with my sugar levels. She walked into the first appointment with me back in November and flat out told me that because of my weight, she just knew I was diabetic with my pregnancy and would treat me that way throughout. She had me see a nutritionist (which wasn't covered on my insurance) and had me taking my sugars 4 times a day....making me maintain a certain number (140) when the book she handed me to record them in said that a normal level was 170 or less. That just frustrated me, making me feel like I was being held to a different standard, just because of my weight. (Especially when gestational diabetes doesn't JUST hit over-weight women....it hits women of all heights, sizes, and shapes.) When I brought her my numbers at Christmas, she said, "You're doing good, but you need to do better.".....and that was when my numbers were at or below 140, with one or two at the 150-155 mark. :( I had gotten to the point with my diet and my sugars that I was so worried over it I wasn't enjoying anything...the pregnancy, meals with my family, etc.

2) She had me stressed over my blood pressure. She basically (at Christmas) said that I needed to prepare myself that I'd most likely be on bed-rest by the end of this pregnancy because of PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension)....said the same thing as with my sugar (because of my weight I was guaranteed to have it). Well, my bp's in her office had all been FINE with once exception...and that one had a bottom number of 82, which granted is 'borderline' but is still fine considering it was Christmas Eve, we'd been running and packing for travel for those hours leading to that appointment, and I'd had 3 cups of coffee that morning! LOL

3) We were very unhappy with the information we received from their office. Back in December, I was sick and had gone to a quick care place and gotten medicine. I called the OB's office and let them know what I was on and they said it was fine. I called them about a month later to let them know I was still not well and what else could I do? I told them what I was taking for it (same thing they had "okayed" 4 weeks prior) and they about had a come-apart saying I couldn't take that medication! Well, which is it!?! (Come to find out different doctors have different opinions on it...some allow it and some don't.) But this came from two different nurses for the same OB, so they should have known what she wanted to do. Add to this the fact that she sent me to my family doctor for treatment...not knowing at all who she was passing me off too! How did she know he would know what to give (or not give, more importantly) a pregnant woman? (When I was pregnant with the boys, they OB told me that if I got sick I was to come to THEM, not anyone else.) Terry was very unhappy with the miscommunicated information regarding the medication and said if you can't even trust them when you call in then how can you trust what they tell you when you're there for treatment. Very frustrating.

Anyway, we have decided to switch to the old office we used for the boys....it's a different doctor, which has me a bit nervous, but we'll just do what we can. Our concern is that we're jumping from the frying pan into the fire when it comes to doctors, because we know NOTHING about this new one....but we are just going to trust God that we're doing the best thing we can.

Last Friday, we had our ultrasound and all is well. Baby is 1 lb 4 oz and growing well. We tried to find out the sex of the baby, but it was all curled up for the entire US, to the point that she had trouble getting some measurements. So, we weren't able to find out what it is and will just have to wait. We have an additional chance to find out...the place that did the US will do a free 3D one for us in a few weeks. The catch is that the last best time to see boy/girl is at 28 weeks and the best time for 3D is 32 weeks. The tech told us to just split the difference (30 weeks) and hope for the best...but she warned us that it's going to still be very possible to not find out. At 30 weeks, baby will be getting cramped for space and will still be curled up with feet tucked up, so it may hide itself then too. So, we'll just have to wait and see! The boys are a bit disappointed (well, they're VERY disappointed!) but I just told them that God is trying to teach us some patience and remind us of His sense of humor! ;) This is, after all, how life was for ALL pregnant women before ultrasound machines were invented! :-)

Below are some pics from the US. The first is the crown (top) of baby's head; the second is the heartbeat (150 bpm); the third is a face shot with the face on the left and abdomen on the right....if you look between and above the two of those, you will see a clenched hand.

The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans

The Sweet By and By
by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck

Jade Fitzgerald is getting married! After years of turning herself off to love, she finally found someone who will love her without questioning her past. They've agreed that everything that happened before they met was in the past and did not need to be brought up or discussed, and Jade was all too happy with the situation. But, things take a turn when Jade mails the wedding invitations and her mother, Beryl Hill, and Jade’s sister, Willow, show up three weeks early.

Jade’s past has been haunting her for years and causing panic attacks, but now everything is coming out in the open and making her realize that she won't be able to marry Max without first dealing with her past. Telling Max one part of the story leads to another part that she wants to keep buried…will she be able to keep it to herself? Can Max forgive her if she doesn’t feel God can forgive her? Can Jade forgive Beryl for leaving her when she needed her mother the most?

First-time author, Sara Evans, jumps in with both feet in her debut novel. Some first-time authors will start off with a safe topic and keep it all “happy,” but not Sara! She takes something that can destroy a person and turns it into a story of healing and forgiveness and love. Rachel Hauck (Georgia on Her Mind, Sweet Caroline, and Love Starts with Elle) co-authors The Sweet By and By with Sara.

At first, I was having trouble getting into The Sweet By and By; the novel was a bit slow getting started. However, about half-way through it just grabbed me and would not let go! From that point forward, I couldn’t wait to turn the next page and see what was said, what was done, and what surprise was held for me in the next chapter. This novel shows how, with God’s love, we can overcome any obstacle and be able to start fresh again.

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This review was done for LuxuryReading.com.

Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Reinhardt and Lillian decide to move their family from Russia to America in order to avoid the mandatory military service for their oldest son, Henrik. Reinhardt’s step-brother, Eli, decides to go with them and they all set out together across the ocean.

While on the open seas, sickness attacks several passengers of the ship and claims the life of Lillian's husband. At the same time, one of her children dies from an accidental fall and she is left wondering about how to go one with her life. Henrik feels that the deaths are his fault since they were only on that ship because they were fleeing Russia for him. Meanwhile, Eli proposes marriage as a matter of propriety and although Lillian accepts, she is still mourning the death of Reinhardt.

During the course of their journey across the American plains, they all learn about offering grace to those around them, while at the same time searching for and seeking grace for themselves. Eli has childhood scars he has to heal from, but he is as open and giving as any man could be to his “brother’s” family. Lillian struggles with showing grace to her children in their mourning, but also struggles with the peace within herself as she grows to love Eli in a way she never thought possible.

Can they each learn to find grace out on the open prairie with no other Mennonite villagers near them for help and guidance? How will they handle the devastating losses that come from farming in Kansas? What will they do when the others arrive in the spring?

Kim Vogel Sawyer’s Fields of Grace was truly touching for any reader. She dealt with many of the natural “human” feelings that we all struggle with from time to time, but in a way that seemed comforting and encouraging. Regardless of your situation in life, you can easily glean something about giving and receiving grace from this novel. I’m not normally a fan of Amish/Mennonite stories, but this one truly grabbed me from the beginning and had me till the very last page!

I reviewed this book for LuxuryReading.com.

Christmas 2009

We ended up doing things a bit different than normal this year...we didn't stay home for Christmas morning. In order to maximize our time with Terry's family, we went to Salem on Christmas Eve (afternoon), but that was after having our own little Christmas at our house...with the kids giving us the gifts they had for us and the boys giving their gifts to each other. Oh yeah, and *Santa* visited our house and dropped off their stockings the night before too!

Clayton got Brent a new bow and arrow toy...they've both become obsessed with anything bow-and-arrow after watching Robin Hood Prince of Thieves within the last month. Brent got Clayton his very own Chess game. Brent has had one for a couple of years ever since my Dad taught him how to play, but Clayton has always had to just play with Brent's set. Well, we suggested to Brent that a chess set would be a very nice gift for Clayton...and obviously, Clayton LOVED it!



We went to Salem that afternoon and Santa visited Grandma Janice's house that night....Brent received Lego Indiana for the Wii (which they had rented and LOVED a few months ago) and a new Scrabble game (he's watched me play Scrabble on Facebook and has been asking to play).



Clayton received the movie he's been wanting for literally MONTHS: Beverly Hills Chihauhau...a really cute movie! He also got more additions to his collection of Littlest Pet Shops...not just one in the case, but more than 10!



After the Santa presents came their gifts "from Mom and Dad"...the first of which was Wii Sports Resort. Obviously Clayton is pretty excited about this one.... :-)

Next came the mysterious presents from us that weren't even in the room....what could they be???

....new .22 rifles!!! Clayton's first question was, "Is it a REAL real gun??" He just had to check to be sure if it was a toy or not!



Dad gave the first lesson about which way to point it, which shells go in which gun (they also got a 20-gauge shotgun, so there were two different kinds of bullets and they were trying to figure out which ones went to each gun).

Brent wanted to go out to the field and track animals and find something to shoot, so he and Terry bundled up and went out walking in the woods.

Later that weekend, we had Christmas with Janice's extended family and of course pictures were taken! Left to right is Janice, Tom, and Gwyneth. (The only sibling that is missing in Ruth Ann.)

All in all, it was a good weekend for all of us. We came home exhausted, but happy! We spent the next week (while we were *supposed* to be doing things around the house) playing the new Wii Games with the boys! LOL

Fun in the First Snow of the Winter!

Well, it *finally* snowed last night...the kids were SO excited! It started while we were at church and after talking to our neighbor last night, we found out that it basically started right after we left and immediately packed in! On our way home last night, we got about 5 miles from our exit with just light flurries and then all of a sudden I started feeling the van just s-h-i-f-t from side to side. Eek! I slowed down to about 60 and tested the brakes and yep, it was slick! So, we slowed down (even more) and finished up that last few miles to our exit. Our exit, once we got there, was COVERED with snow and slicker than.....well, you know. :-) All the roads were completely covered...main roads, side roads, all of it. We already had probably an inch on the ground at that point. Terry decided to clean off his car and turn it around so he'd be 'facing the right direction' on the street for the next morning. (Normally, he has to go around the block to get out and it's on a hill that makes it harder for him when it's slick. Plus, the city will sometimes plow the streets in the night, covering and/or blocking his car in the process, making it harder to get out.)

This morning, we woke to only about 4 inches of snow total, but the wind was already blowing and making it miserable. Terry was able to get out and said things were slick, but it seemed people were being cautious (some overly so!) and things weren't too bad.

Brent literally flew through school this morning so they could go out and play! I've never seen him work so hard to finish up! LOL After eating lunch and bundling up, they went out to play:

Every time I turned around, Clayton was eating snow......

And eating more snow....

Of course, Brent ate snow, but he was constantly "laid out" in the snow...just laying there! I *must* be 'getting old' cuz I just can't see how he does that!!!

When he came in (about 20 minutes after Clayton and I!), I wanted to get a pic of him in all his snow covering....

We're happy to be stuck in the house for sure! We have a bowl of snow in the freezer and will be making Snow Ice Cream tonight for dessert! :) Can't wait!

Limelight by Melody Carlson

Reviewed by Amanda Schafer

Claudette Fiore used to be one of those in the Limelight, but now she’s an older version of that person who has now been forced from her home by the IRS. She had it all: a mansion in Beverly Hills, a famous and wealthy husband, maids and servants to do things for her, invitations to parties and friends to shop with. But now, she has nothing, and feeling destitute, she would love to just end it all. However, it’s even worse than she thought. Her accountant has given her a budget that she must live under each month! How ever will she do it!? Thankfully, her stepson, Michael, comes over from Hawaii to help her out and give her a start back towards a more ‘normal’ lifestyle. When Claudette remembers that she is the heir to her mother’s house in northern California, Michael insists that she can make it there…and he’s willing to help her. Over the course of a few days, Michael transforms her childhood home into one that is “more to her liking.” But can she keep it up when she knows nothing about housekeeping and all those menial daily tasks?

Claudette is forced to begin relying on “normal people” in order to get through her first couple of weeks in which she runs out of money, has no heat, her plumbing explodes, and she practically burns down her house. What is it like to live like she is being forced to live? Claudette will soon find out….

Limelight by Melody Carlson isn’t quite a typical book from her. The book seems to be more “worldly” and speaks very little about God or a Christian lifestyle. Typically in Carlson’s books, there are one or two characters that are Christian and attempt to share their faith with the primary character, who is hardened toward all things “religion.” Then as the book progresses, we see a slow, but steady, shift in the heart of the character to an acceptance of Christ. However, in this book, we see Claudette only become slightly less haughty and self-righteous, rather than a complete transformation of her heart. There was very little “religion” spoken of throughout the book, but plenty of times to see how one can live a selfish and stuck-up life to the point of closing off herself from the rest of the world.

I personally didn’t care for this book by Carlson. I realize her books are considered “edgy Christian Fiction” but this one goes beyond being edgy and takes it almost completely out of the realm of “Christian Fiction.” I have enjoyed many of her other books (A Mile in My Flip Flops, These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking, and the Bloomberg series), but this was really hard for me to force myself to finish and left me very frustrated as a reader.

This review originally written for and published on LuxuryReading.com.

New Baby coming!!

Well, we've announced it everywhere except here! LOL The newest addition to our family will be arriving in early June 2010...The boys are so extremely excited! Clayton wants a girl, Brent wants a boy...I just want a healthy baby! (Although, a boy would be easier since we already have all the stuff for a boy...a girl would certainly be nice too! LOL)

YAY!

I've added a 'baby countdown ticker' to the top left of our blog here so you can keep track along with us!

White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

Blog Tour and Giveaway: "White Picket Fences" by Susan Meissner

Reviewed by Amanda S.

In White Picket Fences, Neil and Amanda Janvier feel obligated to take in the daughter of Amanda’s estranged brother. Tally was staying with her grandmother when she passed away suddenly, and Tally finds herself with nowhere to go since her dad is out of the country and hasn’t contacted her. What will it be like living with her Aunt Amanda? Will they force her to tell why her dad went to Europe, a secret she promised to keep?

Do I want to know the truth of what happened all those years ago? If I find out the truth, how will it change me? These are the questions that Chase Janvier is asking himself regarding an incident that happened when he was four years old. Not knowing what to do, Chase keeps his secret to himself. That is, until Tally shows up at their house. Tally can tell that something isn’t right about Chase after they start working together on a Holocaust project. They interview two Holocaust survivors in a nearby nursing home and Tally notices Chase reacting oddly to certain parts of the story they are being told.

Amanda also begins to notice some pretty dramatic changes in Chase that cause her to wonder if he really does remember what happened all those years ago. But if he remembered, he would tell them, wouldn’t he? Should she ask him about it? What kind of damage would she do if she brings it up and he really doesn’t remember? Clearly, though, something is wrong and Amanda just doesn’t know what to do or which direction to turn.

Will they all be able to handle the truth when all the secrets are revealed?

As always, Susan Meissner does a wonderful job weaving a tale of deception, secrets, and twisted paths. The characters in this story have a serious problem with trust…trust in each other and trust in God, which unnerved me throughout the story. When I first picked up this book, I was intrigued by the cover: a white picket fence with a cobweb near the top. It’s so easy for people to look like they have it all-together on the outside with their pretty houses and white picket fences. But on the inside, all families have secrets and cobwebs hiding from the real world.

I always enjoy reading books my Meissner, and White Picket Fences was no different. Her books always challenge a person to really take a hard look at themselves, deep inside, to discover their true character. She caused me to ask myself how I would handle the truth if some long-ago family secret was revealed to me? Would I let it weigh me down or would I allow it to cause me to grow as a person?


This review originally written for and published on LuxuryReading.com.

Grant's Farm - Family Trip

This year, in lieu of taking a family vacation (which we had neither the time nor the money to do), we decided to do a few smaller things as a family in the month of September. One of our first things we did was to go to Grant's Farm in St Louis, where Ulysses S. Grant lived for a time.

The first part of the day when you walk into the park is a 'tram ride'--sort of a tour of the grounds. These swans were on a pond that we passed...I just *love* swans. :)

At the end of the tram ride is the center of the park where the animals are. This is the entrance to that area.

When you walk through here, the first thing you see on your left is the goat feeding area. Oh. My. Goodness. There are sooo many goats!! We decided to do the 'day pass' for each of the boys, where they would get to feed the goats twice, get a snow cone, and ride the carousel. We fed the first of our goat bottles the very first thing, as the boys were so excited about it. Well, when it came time to actually get IN the goat pen, Clayton decided he didn't want to! LOL There were just so many goats and they were just clamoring for the milk. So, Terry put him on his shoulders, but as you can see, that didn't really keep him 'safe'. LOL This goat decided to get up on Terry and drink the milk right at C's 'shoe level', which kinda freaked him out!

Brent had a blast feeding the goats...they were trampling all over him trying to get the milk, but he just had one bottle. One of the goats (below right) just decided to start eating Brent's shorts since he couldn't get the milk! ROFL (Actually, by the look of the goats eyes, he almost looked like he couldn't see very well, so I'm not sure he really knew what he was going after....)



There were these massive turtles (er, tortoises) out in there little area...you can see how big they were compared to the boys...and you can see how close the kids were to the animals.

They stopped to watch this elephant and were just really intrigued by it. (I have NO idea who those other two kids were....)

There was a 'wild bird show' that we went to and they did this little "Rat Race" with these kids. They brought out 2 rats and had the kids stand holding hands, then they let the rats go to race across the kids' arms/shoulders. Well.... Ewww. The rats went INSIDE the shirts of these kids when going across!! I told the boys it was a good thing they didn't get called on cuz we would have BURNT those shirts!!!

This was their carousel ride....why, oh why, does Brent have to make those funny faces when I take his pic??? LOL



At the end of our day, we got their snow cones and sat at the table in the 'vending area'...the boys' tongues and teeth turned the color of their slush, so of course they had to make funny faces while their mouths looked funny anyway. :)



On the other side of the parking lot was the Clydesdale stables, so we toured through there right before we left. It was feeding time for the horses, so we mostly just got rear-end-shots. :( But a very nice lady saw us snapping a couple shots of the boys by the statue and offered to take a family shot. So....just for 'you know who you are'....a family photo of us utterly exhausted LOL :

Bug Trap

One night while I was fixing dinner, Terry came out of the bathroom and said, "You need to go look at the bug trap someone made for you." See, with the cooler evenings we've had the window open and the attic fan on, and we had this hole in the screen of our bedroom window. So, someone decided to 'cover' the hole so that bugs wouldn't get in.

Well, after supper that night, I walked down the hallway and into my room and just started giggling. This is what I saw:



My two Vicks bottles and my Melatonin bottle all stacked on each other with a little fruit cup on top. You can see that he had a water bottle there and that he tried that...there were other bottles and things from my nightstand that he had tried to use.

And if you look at the second image, at the top of the hole, there is a little moth that he caught inside the fruit cup.

Very creative! :)

End of Summer 2009

So much happened at the end of the summer this year! The boys were both in ball (Clayton in T-ball, Brent in coach pitch) and they both had team pictures done. I wasn't able to get Brent's the day they did it, but I got Clayton's. Below is his team with their medals:

In July, they had their tournament for TKD and this is the picture taken in class of the trophies that were won that day:

In August, some friends of ours from church went with us to Salem and we spent some time fishing and driving around the farm. Sooo much fun. Brent, of course, was the best fisherman of the day! He caught something nearly every time he cast his line into the pond. Below is a pic of the first fish he got to keep that day and the three boys with their stringer of fish at the end of the afternoon.

This was the ONLY fish I caught that day. That is NOT my kind of fishing! LOL However, it was made-up-for by the fact that I *did* catch a snapping turtle. :-D We were able to get it out of the pond and Terry and Ron cut it's head off. (Science, anyone??? LOL) The kids were fascinated by the fact that even after its head was removed, the turtle would still continue to walk when turned over onto its feet. :-) Ya gotta love those involuntary muscles and nerves!

Terry made us all clean up brush from around the pond before we were able to fish. LOL If we hadn't, there would have been too much brush to even get to the pond bank in order to fish! So at the end of the day, I had the kids stand in front of their brush pile with their fish so I could get a picture. Then in the back of the truck, Brent wanted a closeup shot of his stringer of fish, since he caught all but 2 of them! LOL

After we got done fishing, we decided to go see the cows. Clayton and T were standing up in the back of the truck looking through the cab out into the field. LOL Just too cute not to take a picture of them! Then later, while we were parked and talking about the cows and feeding them some cubes, I got a shot of the boys sitting side-by-side on the tailgate of the truck.

On Sunday, we left right after lunch and headed back home for Pew Packers/Bible Bowl practice. Obviously, the weekend was a success, cuz Clayton was just *wiped out*, which is evident by how he was sleeping, even after the other three kids had climbed over him to get out and go inside! LOL

Summer Zoo Trip with the Youth Group

Back in July, the youth group at church took a trip to the zoo in St Louis.  What fun!  It was a loooong day, but the kids had a blast!  This was their pose of silliness on the way up there.

When we were almost done with all the walking we were gonna do, we were in the middle of a section of the zoo that only had 'one way' out.  We decided to sit and rest for just a bit and the kids decided to get their maps out and try to figure out 'how to get us out of here'.  LOL  Course, we knew there was only one way to go, but it gave us an excuse to take a break!

At the very end of the day, we were by the gate and they wanted to climb on the seal statue.  I thought a nice pic was in order!  LOL  So here they are....looking exhausted but still having fun.

Quick update...

Well, it's now July and I haven't done ANY new posting in nearly a month! Wow. Just amazing how quickly time flies and how very LITTLE computer time I have for these types of things (blogging, email, etc).

Last month (end of June) brought my birthday (I'm now a whopping 31!!), which ended up lasting 4 or 5 days! Mom and dad came down and took us out for my birthday/Father's Day..went to Lamberts! YUM!

The very last week of June and first two days of July were spent at VBS... a VERY long week, but so very worth it! I got to teach the nursery class and really enjoyed getting to know a couple of our babies there. I'd forgotten how much I truly love to teach the baby class. The boys really enjoyed VBS and came home each night talking about what they learned, and at one point even debating on who's teacher told the story right! LOL

The weekend of the 4th, we went to Salem and spent the weekend...very nice weekend. Brent got to learn how to set off fireworks this year... Eeek! He did a really good job and I just stayed out of the way. Got a couple good pics that I will have to share soon.

Friday the 10th, we went to the zoo with our youth group. Wow...what a trip! There were 40-50 people from church that went to the zoo and while we went our separate ways within the zoo, we all ate lunch together in a little grassy area outside the zoo. We really had fun and the kids were all soooo good! Again, more pictures to come...probably within their own post. I got some REALLY good shots at the zoo!

Then the next morning on the 11th, the boys had a Tae Kwon Do Tournament in Cape. They both did really well... Brent got 2nd in Form and 3rd in Sparring; Clayton got 1st in Form and 1st in Sparring! :) They were both really happy...Clayton especially, as it was difficult to peel him off of my arm when we got there. :s Brent was a little disappointed, cuz he wanted to do better than he did, but we've talked about that and plan on having him talk with his teachers (black belts) to get some ideas on what he can do to improve and also ideas on what he can do when the other person is sparring in a certain way. Hopefully, he will do better next time. :)

This week (and next) Janice is here with us to go to some ball games and to see the TKD stuff. The boys are really enjoying their time with Grandma Niecey and have already played about 100 games of Canasta. (I'm so sick of that game, I'm ready to hide the cards!!)

Therapy continues as normal....Clayton has had some going backwards emotionally, but according to the testing they are doing periodically, he's going in the right direction brain-wise. So we'll just have to see how things continue. Brent should be done with his therapies by the end of this month, while Clayton will continue for a couple weeks after that.

That about covers it for now. Hopefully, I can find some time to do pictures and commenting soon!

A Past-Dated Updated

**NOTE: This post is dated 6-3-09, simply cuz that's when I actually WROTE it, it's just taken me till now (6-18) to get it actually posted! *sigh* Life is busy....
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It’s been a while since I’ve been here to truly update….I haven’t had the time to sit and type! I *thought* I would be able to do some of my blogging during the boys’ therapy sessions with Dr Worth, but I’ve had other things to get done during those times. Well, that has changed a bit….

The boys’ therapies have been going well. Things started out a bit rough for Clayton…he was tiring out before they could finish and he wasn’t doing very well when he was doing it. So they decided to give him a ‘break’ in between each section, thinking that just some downtime (and being able to reconnect with me for a moment) would help him, and it did. He was able to complete all of his Interactive Metronome exercises in the hour. However, they dropped off the Brain Play game (where they *think* the play moves instead of having a controller in their hand). This has worked really well for the last couple of weeks and last week, Clayton was able to do 2 of his 3 IM exercises without a break….so PROGRESS! :-) Brent has been doing all of his each time and seems to be doing really well with all parts of it. He takes a ‘drink break’ about half way through and that seems to do it for him. He’s doing both the IM and the Brain Play stuff.

Last week, they got their Hemi-Stim glasses, which are blue-lensed glasses that have LED lights that blink/flash in a certain pattern. They are to wear these for 5 mins, 2-3 times a day…gradually working up to 20-25 minutes a day. We’re told that these are things they will do at home even after the therapy here stops…so this is something that is long-term. (And let me tell you…you do NOT want to have to pay for these glasses! They are EXPENSIVE!) We have a metronome ordered (and on its way to us) right now…that’s another part of their home-work that we’ll be doing each day. I’m not sure yet exactly what that will entail, but I will share when I know.

We had a very busy month of May….with 2 college graduations and 1 wedding. The second graduation we went to, we sorta skipped out on cuz it was SO over-crowded. Plus, Clayton simply wasn’t handling the situation very well….WAY over-stimulating for him. So, we went and walked around UMR campus (where Terry went to college). He showed the boys the different buildings and we found MANY opportunities for good photo shots! :-) It was really a good afternoon that we got to have together as a family….

AND, I learned out to parallel park! LOL I know that sounds silly to some people but I never learned when I was in driver’s ed. And so I was terrified of parallel parking…and would drive around and around blocks to find a spot that was either 2 car-lengths (those I could handle!) or that wasn’t parallel parking. A couple of times in Cape, I would be driving and we’d get in a spot where I’d have to parallel park and I couldn’t, so (rather than get out of the van and do Chinese firedrill), Terry would park for me from the passenger seat! LOL Yeah, I know…not smart, but it’s pretty amazing that he could do that! Anyway, we found a couple of different spots on campus that I could practice on and I was able to parallel park 3 different times. Now, does that mean I can do it in Cape when there are other cars driving past me making me nervous? Not sure. Haven’t tried yet. But at least now I have the idea down. :)

So here are some of the shots we got while on campus that day:

First, we took the boys to Stone Henge and let them play around and learn a bit about it:



They got to running and jumping from each of these surrounding rocks...so I decided to try to capture them mid-air. Kinda fun...



This was just a good shot of Clayton...one of his moments when he was sitting still...

Later, after me learning to parallel park, we walked around through some of the buildings and the 'courtyard' area...

The boys playing on the "Big Clover Leaf" and with their Daddy



For some reason, I was fascinated with 'air shots' that day!

Finally, as we were walking I just found some really good posing areas:

The week after the gradauation, was the first of the two weddings. It was a really nice wedding….if you don’t count the lighting, thunder and rain in the middle of it all! LOL The boys had a blast running through the rain and playing with the umbrellas. But they had even more fun at the reception/dance! They danced with just about everyone….at least Brent did. I think he sought out each lady-person in the family and danced with them…including me! Clayton was happy to dance with someone, dance alone, dance in a group….he didn’t care. As long as he was dancing. But when he got tired, he was DONE. He sat down on the floor and just wouldn’t move again till we told him it was time to go. We have the last of the two weddings (and the last of our weekend running for a while!) this coming Satuday. But the boys are both looking forward to this reception too…more for the dance than anything else. LOL Brent is especially happy, cuz he learned the two-step at the last one and now he wants to practice it more.

Here is a couple of shots of the cakes that Terry's sister did...beautiful!

After the dinner, the dance began...and like I said, the boys had fun!

Clayton kept going back to dance with Maggie (the bride)

But then, he'd dance by (and spin) himself too...

They 'group danced' with their cousins and of course learned the 'Helicopter' from Nathan! LOL

They had their own moves...

But then Brent learned the two-step from ReVay. (and yes, those are droplets of water on my camera lens...leftover from the rain earlier that day.)

And, finally, Janice was able to dance with Cory...so nice. :-)

T-Ball/Baseball is going okay. We’ve had a LOT of rainouts, which has definitely put a damper on Brent’s mood. Out of the last month, he was supposed to have 3 games and 2 practices…..4 out of those 5 were canceled due to rain or muddy fields. He handled the first couple okay, but this last one really got him down. He just couldn’t understand why the rain wanted him to not play! LOL He has another game this Thursday, and we’ll see if he gets to have it or not. For the one game that he did get to play, he scored his first run and also had his first RBI for the season. So he was pretty happy with that one…plus he’s on a ‘yellow’ team, which he’s really proud of cuz he likes yellow so much. The good thing is that when they have a canceled game (or a night when a game isn’t scheduled) they can go to TKD, which is nice cuz they have a tournament coming up for that on July 11. :-)

Last week, I decided to switch our therapy appointments from Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Wednesdays are just WAY too much for me to handle, what with teaching class. I don’t think it was so much the idea of needing to study and get ready for the class as it was the fact of running to STL (75 miles north)and back in the early afternoon, trying to get dinner, refresh for my class, and then driving down to Jackson (25 miles south) for worship. It was just too stressful for me to be able to cope with emotionally and mentally. I know, I’m weird. I was finding myself unable to concentrate or focus by the time I got to class. So I’m hoping that by switching to a different day and having all of Wednesday to be home I won’t feel that type of stress on Wednesdays. I hope. :)

We got part of our garden done this weekend. I say ‘we’…it was really mostly Terry and Brent that did it. They built a contraption to hold our upside-down-hanging tomatoes and cucumbers. It only took them about 3 ½ hours to get the whole thing built and then on Sunday Terry put the plants into the pots (minus 3 of the tomatoes, which I did cuz he said he was mutilating the plant to get it through the whole at the bottom of the pot). So now we’ll see how these work for us. Perhaps I can post pictures of his little contraption...it's really quite creative...

Well, that's it for this update....I'm tired. LOL I have more to tell, since it's now the middle of June...the second wedding and more therapy information. YAY! :) Hopefully it won't be JULY before I get that one done!

Recent Funnies...

Last weekend, we were in Salem for a wedding and while eating breakfast, Terry's mom had put some preserves on the table. Well, Brent was proceeding to put some on his toast and Janice said, "You're not putting enough of it on there! You need more than that!" To which, Brent replied, "No, cuz jelly is sugar and I don't need that much sugar. I can taste it and it's fine." Of course, she had Sugar Free jelly, so she proceeded to tell him that it was okay to eat more cuz it was sugar free. *eyeroll* Brent just did his own thing. No biggie. But we started talking about ingredients (and he LIKES to look at and read the labels on things) and so he started reading the ingredient list to us:

WATER**, STRAWBERRIES+, POLYDEXTROSE**, MALTODEXTRIN**, FRUIT PECTIN, LOCUST BEAN GUM**, NATURAL FLAVOR **, CITRIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), SUCRALOSE (NON NUTRITIVE SWEETENER)**, CALCIUM CHLORIDE**, RED 40**.

He got the 'water, strawberries' okay. Polydextrose he sorta fumbled through. Then he got stuck on maltodextrin and just stopped reading and said, "Oh, so this must be where they started writing it in a foreign language." ROFLMBO! We laughed so hard at his little comment, that was made in ALL seriousness. But how true is it???
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Last night Terry informs me that due to a miscalculation on the part of someone he works with, there was a truck coming in and no one would be there to meet it. So, of course, he volunteered to meet the truck. At 4 AM!! *sigh* He got the call when the guy was close to Perryville and said he'd meet him there. So he gets up and gets dressed and leaves for the plant. This morning he informs me that thanks to his being out in the middle of the night, we now have a dead mole in our driveway. ???!?!?!?

Apparently, as he was walking down the driveway, something darted out in front of him from the van tire. He just instinctively kicked it and sent it sailing about 5 or 6 feet. LOL Not knowing if it was dead or not, and based on the size thinking it was a field mouse, he went over to stomp on it. (I know...G.R.O.S.S.) Well, apparently, he raised his right foot up so high that he gained momentum on the 'up swing' and it ended up causing his left foot to leave the ground too and when his right foot came down ON the critter, rather than 'smashing' it, it just rolled. And with the momentum he had and the rolling motion of one foot, then both feet went sailing out from underneath him...and yep, he landed on his butt. (Of course, the boys thought the telling of this story was captivating, but when Terry got to this part, I thought the boys were gonna fall off my bed, they were laughing so hard!)

So the boys went out to see the mole...while I did some online looking for information about it. We had a science lesson! LOL We talked about WHY their bodies are so hard (to the point of 'rolling' when someone stomps on them...) and why their hands are SO HUGE. Their hands are almost comical in how disproportionate they are to the rest of the body. We learned quite a bit about moles... Brent measured this one...it was almost 7 inches long, and the average mole is about 5 1/2 inches long. So this was either a monster mole, or an old one.

What's really odd is that we've seen NO mole tracks in our yard. So we're thinking he just was out venturing for food or whatever, but can't find anything that would tell us how far from their homes or normal tunnel area they would travel.

Very strange, but very comical. :)
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I have much much more to update on from the past month. Hopefully I can work on that while the boys are in therapy this week and then I can just post it all at once! But right now, it's just past 11 PM on a Saturday night and I have to get some sleep!

When life gets busy

A couple weeks ago, the boys were in Oklahoma for a week, spending the week with my sis and her family. They got to fly on an airplane (for the first time) and really really loved it. They had a lot of fun while they were there, but I know they were certainly glad to be home. LOL And I was truly glad to have them home. It’s nice to get away but it’s really nice to get home. We drove out there at the end of the week for a dual purpose. 1) to get the boys, but 2) to go to a college graduation for a nephew.

The night of the graduation, we went to dinner with the family to celebrate (and what a GREAT place…..Bourbon Street Café! YUM!) and as we were leaving, I (stoopidly!) didn’t remember that there was a step to get into the restaurant, meaning I would have to step DOWN to get out of the restaurant. L Naturally, I fell coming out and twisted my ankle in the process. (I can’t feel too bad, Brent fell too….) Well, of course, there were about 5 people walking by at the same time as me falling, and they just looked at me and said, “Ooo, I bet that hurt!” Ya think???? Of course, I laughed it off and said I was fine. Terry was there with me and was making sure I was okay….he tried to help me up (good husband that he is) and I was so embarrassed and in pain that I kinda bit his head off (which I later apologized for!) and just got up on my own. Oooooo, it hurt. I got to J’s and got my shoe off and it was swelling. L But the fact that I had to walk nearly ½ mile to get to the car was probably a huge help for it…. *sigh* Hello. I’m Amanda and I’m a klutz.

Well, due to there being a congregational meeting at church that Sunday, we decided to leave on Saturday evening to drive home…we didn’t leave OKC till 7:12 Saturday night….we made it home at 3:02 AM, with a 30 minute stop in Springfield. Yes, I flew. Hello. I’m Amanda and my nickname is Mario Andretti.

We went to worship the next morning and stayed for potluck and the meeting and then came home and crashed. Literally. We slept and didn’t wake up….well, we missed church that night. But we had gone on very little sleep in the previous 3-4 days, so I know we needed it.

The next day (Monday) started our therapies in St Louis for the boys with Dr Worth’s office. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week now we will be driving to St Louis and the boys will be getting their therapies. So far, we haven’t been given our ‘home work’ to do on the other 3 days of the week, but I’m told that will start soon. They want to get the boys going on the beginning parts of it and then add things slowly. We’re at the office for about an hour (for now) each time we come up. (In fact, I’m sitting in one of the consult rooms as I type this while the boys are doing their thing.)

I’m trying to find the positives in all this…this 3 hours a week of me being able to do nothing but sit in the office. I’m trying to use this time to work on my Ladies class Bible study. Last week, I used part of the time to organize pictures for National Scrapbook Day this past Saturday. I used another day to work on typing in recipes for people on Facebook that have asked for them. (I’ll also post them here.) I will most likely bring up some crocheting this week too, to make the wash cloths I’ve promised as a prize for the American Idol contest I’m a part of each year on PaperbackSwap.com. I can make one wash cloth in about 2-3 hours, so I figure between the next week or so and perhaps weekends, I can get them done with no problem. (Fact is, I’ve procrastinated terribly about this…I promised them as a prize before AI started this season, so it’s my own fault for not having them done yet.) It’s just so hard to spend 2 ½ to 3 hours a day in the van (driving) and not get tired. I decided last week to get a couple books on CD so we could listen to them as we drive. We started one today…I’ll write a review when we’re done with it. Hopefully I can find more that are appropriate for the boys to hear….there just aren’t that many at our library! LOL (So if anyone has any suggestions for some good ones that are free, please let me know!!)

Last Friday was a bit wild for us. Well, for me and the boys at least. We had what I've heard some call a hurricane come through our area! LOL I know it was really a tornadic system, but there've been some reports of the winds being hurricane strength and the fact that the tornado around our area was so large in size and never touched down is making them call this one differently. The boys and I had errands to run on Friday morning, but there were a couple of storms then, so we waited till the radar looked clear. We first went to the library and only spent about 30 minutes there (where Brent decided to do some reading and a report on "gold" so we looked for books on that subject!) and as we were leaving the library, the sirens went off. So we're driving through town and I'm trying to figure out the best place to go, while C is in the back seat saying "I wanna go home...I wanna go home" and B is there saying, "Mom, you gotta find somewhere." "Mom, where you gonna go?" "Mom?" !!!!! I was frantically trying to find my cell phone to call Terry, but no luck there. Then I was going down main street and saw a tree had blown over and then right in front of me, one of those white plastic lawn chairs was spinning in circles about a foot off the ground. I knew then I HAD to find somewhere to go. So we hid out in the eye dr's office! LOL We were there when the electricity went out and stayed about 30 minutes. After we left, we worked our way across town to go home (No one had electricity in the whole town, which is odd in itself, and so no businesses were open. There was no point in staying out in the fray.) and passed many many trees that were down...blown over from the roots up. Large trees. Old trees. Truly astonishing. There were bits of roofs all over the place and our wonderful people in town were standing around taking pictures instead of helping people! Ugh. Ya gotta love po-dunk towns.

Anyway, we got home (after having to take 2 detours cuz of the trees across the roads) and found that we only had one shingle off the house and sticks and debris in our yard. There was grass and leaves literally plastered to the siding of the house, but no other damage. Of course, we didn't have electricity, but that's no big deal. Or so we thought! LOL Our electricity didn't come back on until 9:30 that night! But it did us good to have no light....no TV, no radio, no Wii, nothing. Just us and ourselves. LOL We went out to dinner, of course, and the restaurants were packed. But even that was dealable.

This week, we also have TKD and ball practice for C, and B has his first baseball game on Thursday (actually, it’s the second, but the first one was rained out). Well, this will be our schedule for the next several weeks, but whatever. We’ll get used to it! This weekend, we also have Cory’s college graduation, so we’re traveling to Salem. I’m kinda looking forward to it….we’ve not been in in quite a few weeks, but I know that Clayton isn’t gonna enjoy it as much as he normally would, simply due to the constant traveling and being away from home these last couple of weeks. I’ll just have to really watch him and make sure that he gets some ‘down time’ with me each day to refocus. It will all be well.

I told terry the other night that I feel like a ‘working woman’….I feel like I have a part time job right now. We’re never home and I’m planning my meals out well in advance, plus I’m having to plan my cleaning and laundry as well. I’m just not used to that! LOL I’ve always respected the many working moms/wives, but it’s been so long since I’ve done it that I’ve forgotten how to do it. Plus I don’t think I did that good of a job when I did it before, anyway. LOL It’s just so hard to keep it all clean and be gone all the time…when what we want to do when we’re home is crash and go to bed! LOL Oh well, we’ll adjust!

Time to go….they are done with therapy. Time to get back in the van and drive home so we can continue with this day. Maybe I can get some house cleaning done to get caught up on the mess that was created over the weekend!

Hello. My name is Amanda and I'm exhausted. :-)

Requested Recipies

Recently, I began my 3-month meal planning strategy and posted here about it...also posted about it on Facebook. Well, I had many who requested some of those recipes, and after finally getting them posted over there, I decided to post them here too in case anyone else could benefit from them! ;)

Almond Chicken

2 c rice
½ T Butter
½ chopped onion
Chopped celery
3 c. cooked chopped chicken breast
1 c mayo
1 c cream chicken soup (small can)
½ c. slivered almonds
Crushed cornflakes and butter

Make rice and set aside. Sauté onion and celery. Combine chicken, rice, onion and celery in casserole dish. Stir in mayo and soup, then almonds. Top with cornflake mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Creamy Broccoli Chicken

1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 bag chicken breast (frozen, skinless, boneless)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup milk

Place chicken breasts in crock pot and cover with frozen broccoli and soup. Cook for a few hours. Add milk during the last 30-45 minutes of cooking time. Serve over rice.


Ravioli Lasagna

Frozen Cheese Ravioli (need between 1 and 2 bags)
Spaghetti sauce (either jarred or homemade…)
Hamburger, cooked and drained
Mozzarella cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions and drain. Add meat to sauce and warm through. Layer meat sauce, ravioli, and small amount of moz cheese in casserole dish. Repeat until dish is full. Top with meat sauce and a layer of cheese. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes until bubbly….let set for about 10 minutes and serve with garlic bread.

**The cheese ravioli takes care of two steps here…the noodles and the ricotta cheese mix. It’s not perfect like regular lasagna, but is a good quick version. Terry says it's not as good as my homemade regular lasagna, but he'll take it when he has to. LOL


Ritzy Chicken

2 sleeves Ritz Crackers
1 can cream chicken soup
1 c sour cream
½ c chicken broth
4-6 cooked and diced chicken breasts
4 oz melted butter

Crumble 1 sleeve crackers and pour in casserole dish. Drizzle with ½ of the melted butter. Combine chicken, soup, sour cream and broth; pour over crackers. Repeat bottom layer on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees.


Cheesy Chicken

6-7 chicken breasts (about 1 3-lb bag frozen)
Salt, pepper garlic powder
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with soup mix. Cook several hours until done.
Serve with rice or noodles.


Chicken Rice w/ Green Beans

3 lb bag frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream mushroom soup
2 cans water
1 package dry onion soup mix
Frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn, beans, etc)

Place veggies in crock pot on bottom. Cover with chicken. Mix liquids and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours, until chicken is done. Serve with rice.


Nacho Cheese Chicken

3 lb bag frozen chicken
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can nacho cheese soup
1 small can green chiles

Place chicken on bottom of crock pot and pour combined ingredients over top. Cook till chicken is done, serve over noodles.


Aroz con Pollo

4 chicken breast halves (or 6-7 skinless boneless chicken breasts; about a 3 lb bag)
1 onion
1 small red pepper
Garlic
Rosemary
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients but peas and pour over chicken. Cook till chicken is done. About one hour before ready to serve, thaw peas and add to mix. Allow to cook that one hour and serve over rice.


Italian Chicken Spaghetti

1 can tomato sauce
6-7 chicken breasts (1 3 lb bag)
1 sm can tomato paste
3 T water
Garlic
Oregano
4 oz mozzarella cheese

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with sauce mix. After cooked, remove chicken and stir in cheese to melt. Serve chicken and sauce over hot spaghetti noodles.


Chicken Cacciatore

1 lg onion, thinly sliced
3 lb bag chicken breasts
2 cans tomato paste
4 oz sliced mushrooms
Garlic and oregano and celery seed

Place onions in crock pot and cover with chicken. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours till chicken is done and serve over hot noodles.


King Ranch Casserole

1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream celery soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can Rotel
1 onion, chopped
5-6 (or more) cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 bag Doritos chips

Mix chicken with canned ingredients and pour in casserole dish. Bake for about 20 minutes until bubbly. Crush Doritos and pour over during the last 10 minutes….watch that the Doritos don’t burn, because they will burn quickly! :)

3 Months of Meal Planning

I have taken the time to organize our calendar for the next 3 months and here is a bit of what I have. :)

I have them all written on the calendar, including several that are 'new' to us. I'd be happy to share recipes for anything you'd like! :) I'm listing the meals and basically just know that I am rearranging them each month so that we only have *most* of them one time per month. (I say *most* cuz "Hamburger Helper" is on each month a couple times, simply cuz we LOVE it! LOL There's a particular flavor that my boys really like and it's a pretty cheap meal for us. :))

Each of these meals is written on a 3z5 card that is tucked away in a drawer. When I need to meal-plan, I just pull out this stack and randomly pull meals from the stack and stick them on a calendar. Then when it's time to grocery shop for that week, I look at what's on the menu and pull those cards out and write down what I need from the store for them. That way it serves 2 purposes: 1) I know I will have everything on hand when it's time to cook it and 2) shopping is much easier cuz I've taken the time to make a good list, therefore not as much impulse buying...saving me money! :)

Now, I was asked "what happens when you get to a meal and don't feel like cooking it that night?" No biggie. For me (typically) I will simply bump that night's dinner to another night that week ...and basically swap them. But I still have to cook that original dinner sometime that week. (I say typically, cuz for us right now these will be what HAS to be cooked for those particular nights due to schedule situations. If we're gonna be out all day, I will need a meal that is crock-pot-able. LOL)

Also, if it's a Crock Pot recipe or an item that I will use the Crock Pot for, I'm putting a "CP" by it....

Sloppy Joes
Stroganoff
Beef Pot Pie (homemade)
Turkey breast (CP)
Spaghetti
Foil Packets
Almond Chicken (CP)
Ravioli
Lasagna
Tater Tot Casserole
Creamy Broccoli Casserole
Cheesy Chicken (CP)
Cube Steaks
Ritzy Chicken
Pork Roast (CP)
Chicken Rice with Green Beans (CP)
Burritos
Taco Salad
Nacho Cheese Chicken (CP)
Aroz con pollo (CP)
Chicken Cacciatore (CP)
Italian Chicken Spaghetti (CP)
Beans and Cornbread
Pizza (frozen of course!) LOL
Breakfast

Now, some others that I have on cards that I am not including this time:

King Ranch Casserole
Fried Chicken
Burgers
Lasagna (regular)
Stir Fry
Pork Steaks
Veggie Soup
Chili
Ham
Gumbo

Any questions or thoughts please let me know! :)

The boys are away....

The boys left yesterday to fly out to spend a week with J...mom and dad flew with them. They were SO excited to get to fly...both mom and dad, and the boys! LOL They had a fabulous flight and really enjoyed the taking and landing. So far they are having a lot of fun playing and spending time at the park. Apparently (B called me this afternoon) while playing at the park, he had a couple of mishaps with a stick and another with a slab of concrete. :( He says he's okay and isn't hurting, but Terry and I think he's 'being tough.' :)

We will be going out there at the end of the week for a graduation and also to get the boys...I'm already ready to get them! LOL I've never had trouble like this before when they've gone away, but I know much of it is the distance. But also, I think it has to do with knowing and understanding C at this time. I know that it will all be okay.

I know that many have been reading about the recent 'developments' on Clayton and some we've talked to about it. I've heard all kinds of comments from "he's really not that off" to "I never would have guessed" to "Clayton? On the autism spectrum?? No way." Well, one thing to keep in mind is that just because he has these tendencies of Asperger's or PDD-NOS, doesn't mean he's Rainman (thanks Lee for the analogy! LOL). Asperger's is a high-functioning part of the ASD. Within the ASD there are MANY many variations, and also within Asperger's there are many variations as well. So it's important to keep in mind that even though many of you may not see some of the traits when you're around him, if you will give me a few minutes (if you're interested) I can explain it to you and take you through a step-by-step description of it all. And also, while he has these tendencies, he isn't by any means a most severe case of an Aspie. (It's much like saying, "I have high blood pressure." Okay, well, how high is high?? "Well, mine is 142 over 94." Oh, that's not that big a deal...you can't really tell it. That's nothing...I know someone whose blood pressure is 195 over 115!..... See? Just cuz it's not he worst case scenario doesn't invalidate it. :))

I don't mean this to be a 'smack' on anyone at all. I just think it's important to understand everything and not discount some of it. Ya know??

This week I have many things I want to accomplish. Here's the current list:

• I want to come up with a crock-pot menu for the next 6-8 weeks so that when we're starting therapy and all the driving (along with the baseball practice and games and Tae Kwon Do and weekend traveling for weddings and graduations) I can know from day to day what I'm cooking and what I have to shop for...and not have to even think about it.
  
• I also want to find the disc that has all of our picture files from the old computer on it...so I can get them printed off for National Scrapbook Day (so exciting that I get to go!!!). I'll be working that day on Brent's scrapbook and need to get some pictures printed for it.
• Another project I'd like to get done is to get a few weeks ahead on my Bible class lessons so I won't feel stressed on that front and I will be prepared.
  
• I'm also hoping to clean out my pantry (which desperately needs cleaning out!)...but that one was just added to my list today. I have to contact the State of Alaska and start the process of getting my birth certificate sent to me so I can renew my license this June...ugh, Missouri is a PAIN for making us having to have that when I didn't even have to have that to get married!
• It would be *nice* to get my carpets shampooed while I have no little feet running around when the carpet's wet and needing time to dry. I just don't know if this one is going to get accomplished.
• Not to mention all the cleaning and laundry that needs washed/folded...but that's a never-ending chore, right??
• Another thing that would be nice to accomplish would be to finish painting the kitchen/hallway, but I *really* don't think I will get that one done. LOL
• I also have three appointments this week. And Friendship Sister's on Tuesday, which I do NOT want to miss!

Do you think I could cram anything else in these next 4 1/2 days??? Hehe

Next weekend while we're in OK we'll also be celebrating Brent's birthday with both sides of the family for the very first time! He's VERY excited and I can't wait to post pictures! :)