On The Rode Again

We left yesterday afternoon for a cross country journey to Utah. Kenny noticed the radio towers in the distance and said "Why are the towers moving?" Ken very scientifically explained that the towers were not actually moving, it was that they were far away and we were the ones moving. Kenny said, "Or they are walkin' towers." He spent the next 30 minutes talking about the walking towers following us because they wanted to go to Gran-mama's house too. When I started to laugh he siad, "Mom, it's not funny. It's weird."

Things were fairly uneventful until until we reached Amarillo at about 5:00 in the morning. A blizzard started raging. Conditions were pitch black with whiteout snow blowing at 30-40 miles per hour. It took us till about 7:00 in the morning to get out of the storm. Our favorite parts were almost getting in a head-on collision with a semi and playing I Spy with the road. We lost one game of I Spy and ended up in a snow bank. No too bad, but we had to be pulled out by someone. It was slow going and we have made it to Colorado Springs were we are staying overnight. We'll finish the trip tomorrow. We feel we are really lucky because just a few hours after we drove that dangerous stretch in Amarillo, they had an 80 car pileup on the smae stetch of rode with a fatality and several needing medical care.

Surgery

Nathan had his ear surgery today. It is actually a kind of a miricle it happened.

Backstory- Our kids are losing their health insurance coverage on Dec. 31. We have been trying to get this surgery taken care of for months, but the medical red tape was causing problems. I went to my district office to get the boys added to my insurance and they won't cover them for 90 days because open enrollment had ended. We have argued with them about the fairness of this policy, but I work for a government entity. So we had to get this surgery done NOW or pay of of pocket ($3000). On Monday, our pediatrician called the ENTs office repeatedly and Ken called, but all we got was voice mail. so Ken loaded up the kids and took them downtown to pay the ENT a visit in person. He pleaded and begged and got the surgery scheduled for today. We were ecstatic. This is the best Christmas present ever.

Then the nurse called yesterday. She asked about his current health (sick as usual). Then she said they probably won't do the surgery because he had severe wheezing which requires mmultiple breathing medications and has a double ear infection. It felt like we had been slapped in the face. Our pediatrician gave him an antibiotic shot to try to speed up his recovery, but she said it was not likely to work. We were devastated. He already has hearing loss and further damage due to his infection could make the loss permanent. Kenny gave Nathan a blessing last night. I instantly felt calm and reassured that things would go well.

Nathans lungs improved dramatically over night. I have never seen him recover like this. We went in this morning and the doctor said he had a little wheezing in his left lung, but she was confident things would be fine.

We got up at 4:30 this morning (Kenny slept over at Eppie's) and headed downtown to the children's hospital. The hospital is amazing and we had a great experience. When it was time for him to go, they wheeled him off in a Radio Flyer wagon instead of a gurney. When the ENT came out he said the his ears "had A LOT of liquid. It was thick. More like pus." We took him home and he has been so happy and talking up a storm all night. He has never had clear ears. Even when he doesn't have n infection , his ears are full of liquid. He's hearing the world like he has never heard it before!

We are so happy to have him doing well. All he needs is Tylenol to manage the pain. And the best part...we can still take our trip to Utah this Friday!!

One Year of Blogging!

I can't believe I have been blogging for a year. Here are a few of my favorites highlighting the year.

Delicate Art of Gingerbread Houses
Birthday Suits
Muffin Story
Swirly
Yard Work
Helicopter Flying
Belly Flop
Kitchen Makeover
Put The Boy To Work
Light Saber Duels
Nathan Gets In Trouble?!?

Sorry my writing has been sparse lately. We have a lot going on and I am having a hard time getting myself to write about it. I promise to write tomorrow. Nathan is having surgery on his ears, so I'll let you know how it goes.

The Good Old Days

Remember this game?

We have it on a Super Nintendo emulator for the XBox. My husband, the computer genius, figured it out. We actually have all the old Mario games. This particular game came out in 1991. Super Nintendo was the game console everyone wanted. I was raised playing this game. My mom and Jonny were by far the best players, but we all had fun with it. I still get made fun of because I get a little...shall we say...animated when playing this game. I move the controller around according to how I want the little guy to move. Ken says I would be an awesome Wii player. Ken and I have been playing together and trying to pass off all the levels. Kenny likes to play it, but he mostly just jumps off the edge.

The best part about playing this game is that I am equal to, if not better than, Ken in playing ability. It's about time we were equal in something. He is better than me at almost everything. Except time management. I've got him by a football field on that one (love ya honey!)

Check This Out!

.

My son is SO talented. He can eat and sleep at the same time. Imagine how much time we could save if we could all eat and sleep? I could get in a 20 minute nap everyday at lunch instead of scarfing down my food before I have to pick up the little monkeys from the cafeteria.

On another note, Kenny was very concerned about Grandmama having a refrigerator for his Christmas countdown calender. He had to call her to make sure because how would I know if she has a fridge. He was also concerned about magnets, but Grandmama assured him she had magnets.

Bittersweet Birthday

Today I turn the big 28! That seems a lot closer to 30 than 27 -even though it is only by a year. I know I haven't written in a while, but we have had a lot going on. Ken has been taking finals and that consumes most computer time. We have also had several big happenings today to celebrate my big day.

The first, and the BEST, is that Ken took his written commercial pilot FAA exam and got a 96%. He has consistently scored amazingly high scores on every exam. Some pilots have to take these tests more than once to get the 70% pass rate and Kenny has gotten 100, 96, 94, and another 96. I am so proud of him!!!!!

The next bit of news is that there are some concerns with the baby. We don't know a lot or have any answers, but the good news is that the ultrasound today shows I am still pregnant and I plan to do everything I can to stay that way. Right now we are taking things one day at a time and praying for the best. You know me...I can't do anything by the textbook.

The last bit if news is that Nathan saw the audiologist today. He failed his initial hearing screening so they ran some other tests. His diagnosis is mild hearing loss, with moderate at certain frequencies. The good news is that the hearing loss is not permanent as it is being caused by persistent ear infections, pressure, and fluid in the middle ear (he always has fluid, his ears are never clear). The ENT has said they will be putting tubes in his ears after his next ear infection and he is being evaluated by ECI (early childhood intervention) for speech.

Busy day for us. It has been emotional and exhausting, but all our news has silver linings.

And just for a laugh...I had to tell Kenny to not stick his tongue in the fan, it might hurt.

Diary of a Pregnant Lady- 1

They say every pregnancy is different. Well, that has proved to be true in my case. I had about a third of all the possible pregnancy symptoms with Kenny. Nathan took care of another third. This little firecracker is taking care of the rest. One of the worst is that I cry all the time. This is absolutely not an exaggeration. My husband has taken videos of it for his own sick pleasure because he thinks it's funny when I lose it over something like not being able to open my prenatal vitamin package. No, I will not post a video. I have erased them due to cruelty to pregnant women.

Here is a very short list of a very few things that have made me cry over this last week:

• Pacabell's Canon on the radio

• putting a CD in the car player upside down

• the smell of my shampoo

• the mascara that smeared under my eye

• I was hungry

• my clothes are already getting tight (that's a whole other story)

• The fact that I was crying over nothing!

What Can I Say?!?

Who would have thought my stories would qualify me as a genius.

Trip To the Rainforest

Over Thanksgiving weekend we went to the rainforest pyramid. We had never been and wanted to see what it was all about. The pyramid is an actual indoor rainforest (on a really small scale)- complete with lots of humidity. We saw beautiful birds and lots of fish. I think the boys liked the fish best. Though, they also enjoyed the bat cave.


Ken wanted me to include this picture. It's beautiful! Ken spent most of the trip playing with the settings on the camera and trying to get the perfect shots. I guess we know where Kenny gets it!

Winter Arrived

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. I had to scrap ice of my car this morning before I could leave for work. I had the defrost running and I still had to scrap the car. We got a bit of a cold front, but the sun was shining and things warmed up to 65 this afternoon.

We went for a stroll at the mall last weekend, just to get out, and got some hot chocolate. I thought these pictures were really cute!

A Dedication To My Siblings

You're welcome!
PS- I love you Dad!

Guess What?

Some of you already know, but for those who don't...
we will be adding a fifth member of our family on or around July 25th.

Yes, I am pregnant with baby #3.

You know what this means don't you?
No break in diapering for me.

Guitar Man

Nathan really enjoyed playing guitar with Papa over Thanksgiving.

I Have A Computer Again!

What a great felling. I have missed not being able to blog this week. Not that much has happened, but I have found that I enjoy relating tales of my family.




Now, where did I leave off.





Last weekend was Thanksgiving. We had a great dinner. I had the three little boys (Kenny, Nathan, and Landan) use their handprints to make turkey place cards. They were so cute and the kids liked doing it.


Those in attendance were my family, Marissa, Kevin, Landan, Eppie, Papa, and Ken's friend Lindell. We had turkey, rolls, orange rolls, green bean casserole, squash casserole, corn casserole (I am detecting a theme), mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, blueberry pie, chocolate pecan pie, and a pumpkin roll. And yes, we ate all the food. There was not too much leftover. The boys had fun together and got along most of the time. Landan and Kenny played "Super Dog" where they had "killing powers" for bad guys and "super fast powers" which they used to run around saving babies.

On another note, I got a perm. I haven't really done one for about 5 years. It only processed for 3 minutes and I look like Shirley Temple. On the bright side, it is super easy to fix my hair in the morning and I can sleep an extra 15 minutes before work.

Our computers are currently in pieces all over our living room floor. I have a lot to post, but it will have to wait.

Sorry!

Butterflies

Our next door neighbors re-landscaped before they sold their house this past August. About two weeks ago we noticed that we had a few cocoons attached to our house. We also saw monarch butterflies everywhere. It turns out that the plants they had planted on the side of the house next to us was milkweed. Milkweed is necessary for monarch butterflies in the larva and caterpillar stage. So we have all these butterflies in various stages of changing on and next to our house. The boys are fascinated. It's been a fun educational opportunity. Kenny found a butterfly whose wing had not fully developed and therefore could not fly. He tried to make the butterfly a little house out of sticks. Then he decided that the butterfly needed flowers, so he carried it to the front yard and out it in my flower pots.

I love this wonderful time of year when we have time to reflect on our Heavenly Father's wonderful blessings. Even when times are "tough", I know I am so fortunate. I am grateful for this country and the freedom's I enjoy. I am grateful for the men and women who sacrifice everything to protect the freedom of all people. I am grateful for my beautiful family and amazing husband. I am grateful for my home and three meals a day. I am grateful I have a job that I love and that will help to care for my family. I am grateful for my extended family and the love and support we feel from them. I am grateful for my education and my love of reading. And I am grateful for the gospel in my life and the comfort and direction it gives me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I started a new blog. Its something I have been wanting to do for quite awhile. While it is still in the infancy stage, I wanted to share it with all of you. After I get everything set up the way I want it, I plan on making it public and search-able (unlike this blog).
Tell me what you think. The link is on the sidebar.

Bluegrass

This last Saturday night we took the boys to the Bay Area Bluegrass Association concert. The BABA holds these free concerts on the third Saturday of every month. We went with Ken's friend and flying mentor. It was held in the local civic center. The man stage featured a few different bluegrass bands. The other little rooms around the center were filled with pick up groups. It was fun to move between the rooms and see the different players and instruments.

The first band was okay. They sang only gospel music. It was nice, but it all started to sound the same. I like really jazzy bluegrass. The next band was great! We actually saw them at the scarecrow Festival in October. We sat on the steps outside the general store, eating ice cream, and listening to music. They are called No Strings Attached (click on name for website link.) Nathan was clapping up a storm and Kenny was dancing in the aisle.

At one point the president of BABA asked for little boys to come up and pick names out for the raffle. Kenny walked up to the stage all by himself. He was so cute! Everyone clapped special just for him.

Listening to bluegrass reminds me of Mimi and Papa. Papa always sang great country and bluegrass songs. My favorite is "God's Coloring Book" by Dolly Parton. I have a tape of Papa singing and I used to listen to that song whenever I was homesick my first year of college. Being 18 years old, 1500 miles away from home, and alone, that tape was my greatest source of comfort. I loved this song so much I used it as a theme for a college freshman English reflections paper. I also started singing this to Kenny as infant and continue to sing it to my boys today.

We had a wonderful time and I am grateful we had the chance to take the boys. We want to expose them to every type of art and music so they can learn to appreciate the beauty in everything. I was thrilled to see them enjoy themselves (especially Nathan, he's our musician- Kenny's our artist.)

Leaves Are Falling

This was the scene at my house on Saturday morning.


It was actually a lot of work. I could have cared less if our yard had leaves in it, but Kenny really wanted a leaf pile. He wanted it bad enough he stood outside my bathroom door waiting for me to finish showering.

He wanted it bad enough he even found his very own stick rake to help make the pile. It was very cute!

Everything was well worth the effort. The boys laughed and jumped and threw leaves all over the place. They had just about as much fun a two little munchkins can have!

Happy Fall!

Family

The Fab Four!
Nathan, Landan, Kenny, and Avery

Kenny singing a song to Avery.These two never get into mischief together.

I have no words for the cuteness of this picture. And that goes for both the subjects!

Feeding the fish.
Papa and Nathan

The Dog Ate My Homework...I Mean Dinner.

Kenny is a non-eater.

I mean that with total respect, but the boy eats the same amount of food as an anorexic super model on a diet.

But we have rules in this house and we enforce them with iron fists. One of these rules is that no one is allowed to eat nothing for meals. Ken and I have no trouble with this rule as is evidenced by our waistlines. And Nathan likes food. But poor Kenny is CONSTANTLY being reminded to eat.

"Very nice song, now eat."
"Yes, I like you spoon, now eat."
"Please stop screaming and eat."
"Heavenly Father made forks for a reason, please use it."

Yesterday I made tacos with ground turkey and whole wheat tortillas (we are dieting here). Halfway through the meal, Kenny gets up and pushes the empty chair next to him clear across the room. He calmly returns to his chair and resumes eating. I stare at him with a baffled expression that is often seen in this house but I do not speak to him because he is voluntarily putting food in his mouth and I don't want to jinx anything. About 2 minutes later, I notice him slowly scrap his ground turkey meat off his tortilla and ever so slowly, so as to not attract attention, place his tortilla in the now-vacant spot next to him.

But I'm a Mom and I see everything.

I casually asked him what he was doing. He politely responded he had moved the chair so that when he accidentally put his tortilla on table, Piper would have a clear space to steal his dinner.

I told him he is a very clever boy to have thought of such an elaborate plan.

Now put the tortilla back on your plate and EAT!

Getting Haircuts

This is my son at the haircutting salon. Lounging on the floor.

And yes, this is my other son at the haircutting salon. Gnawing on the chair.

Makes you proud!

Helicopters

This is my hubby's new toy. I mean, my kids new toy that my husband plays with while they watch. It is a small remote control helicopter.

Because apparently this was not enough helicopter for him.
Nor was this one.
So now I have to dodge a little zooming mosquito helicopter when I walk around the house. The boys LOVE it. The dog...not so much.

Kenny The Photographer

I had a busy weekend. Some of my family came into town and I was spending time with them. We saw Mike, Ashlyn, Avery, Marissa, and Landan. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone and relaxing. We had everyone over for dinner at our house on Sunday and Kenny got a hold of a few cameras. We are so impressed. He taught himself how to zoom in and out, change the settings to fit the activity, and he even arranged the family photo. He told us to "stick together close so I can take a picture. Now say cheese everyone!"

He is a sample of some of his photos taken that night.

Tagged

Cassie tagged me ans I guess I am supposed to write 6 things about myself. So here it is. Be prepared to be scared.

1. I may have a mild form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I have these things that I must do and in a certain way. For example, I cannot get into bed and go to sleep if the covers aren't straight. If my poor husband goes to bed before me (which rarely happens, he's a night owl) I wake him up and make him get out of bed so I can straighten the covers. I also have to check the alarm clock three times in a a row each night. There are many more things, but I will spare you the details lest you think I am a total nut case.

2. I like chapstick. This is not a secret to anyone who knows me. My chapstick use stems from this little issue I have. It is my safety net, my control. Whenever I feel stressed or nervous, I use more chapstick than usual. I started my freshman year of high school with Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Now I use an entire tub of chapstick every two weeks. My preferred brand is the green Blistex. I spend about 25-30 dollars a year on chapstick. Gross, huh.

3. My favorite word is sparkle. Hence my screen name. I know it is a little weird to have a favorite word, but seeing as I am a little weird, it's okay. Sparkle is fun to say and it it has a grand meaning. Glittery and shiny things. What could be better than that! It is also a phonetically great word. It has a blend at the beginning, an R-controlled vowel in the middle, and that odd little "le" ending. Cool!! PS- My second favorite word is pumpkin. What a fun word and it reminds me of fall.

4. I have this thing for vampire books. I always have. I remember my first vampire book. It was called "My Friend the Vampire." I got it in the children's section of the public library when I was about 8. I've been hooked ever since. I read the full unabridged edition of Dracula when I was 12-13. I wrote my high school research paper on real historical figures who were considered to be "vampires." Though my interest wanned a bit in collage (mostly because I was reading text books) it never went away. I recently got hooked on the Twilight series. I read the first book in a day and a half. I was so into it that I drove to the bookstore in a tropical storm to get the rest of the series (there are three so far.) Oddly enough, I am not into vampire movies. They are always really gross. But I LOVE books!

5. My favorite color is purple. I know most of you know that and most people have a favorite color, but mine, like most things, is an obsession. I would paint my entire house various shades of purple if I could. I own about 10 different purple shirts. I have been known to buy something just because it is purple. And my love for purple is followed closely by pink and yellow.

6. I like butterflies. If I were the type of person who would tattoo themselves, (I won't because I am terrified of pain and I don't want to deface my body anymore than my stretch marks already have), it would be a butterfly. They are so pretty and delicate. And the metamorphosis that a caterpillar experiences is remarkable.

So, there you have it. These are the most interesting things I could think of about myself (which is actually a little pathetic). If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged!

Nature Walk

Bob

This is Bob the Tomato. He is Veggie-Tale wonder. He keeps Larry the Cucumber in line. Nathan loves Veggie-Tales. He has a red shirt with a Bob face. And it came with a Bob the Tomato trucker hat. He wears his hat all the time. Including going to bed. I have to beg him to take it off in the bathtub.

My Favorite Song

Whenever I hear the song of a bird,
Or look at a blue, blue sky.
Whenever I feel the rain on my face,
Or the wind as it rushes by.
Whenever I touch a velvet rose,
Or walk by our lilac tree.
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world,
Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see,
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear,
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart.
I thank him reverently.
For his creations, of which I'm a part.
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

Danger Mouse

Danger Mouse was a British cartoon featuring a rodent super spy. It began running on the American airways in 1984. My husband loved this cartoons a a child. Therefore, our children have seen Danger Mouse. They LOVE it! And I have to admit it is a witty little cartoon. Very little boy. I highly recommend seeing these if you have not had the opportunity.


With that intro, I would like to introduce our own little Danger Mouse.


Danger Mouse is actually a Chinese Dwarf Hamster. I got her as a class pet back in 2005. She turned out to be very shy and couldn't handle a classroom. I got two mice instead that ended up eating each other. Anyway, I took Danger Mouse (known by a different name at the time) home. These little critters only have a life span of about a year and she was so cute. I thought Kenny would like a pet.

That was two years ago. She is still alive and very healthy. Nathan is really into the little rodent. He was the one who named her Danger Mouse and started singing the Danger Mouse theme song in her presence. I want to give her away or accidentally lose her, but Nathan would be sad and she is too cute.

This means our house has two adults, two little boys, a dog, a cat, a Danger Mouse, and a beta fish during summers and long holidays. Call us crazy.

Seriously...we are crazy.

Daylight Savings

"Fall Back into Daylight Savings" used to be a favorite saying of mine. It meant an extra hour of sleep, which was always nice before 9:00 church. I loved waking up and thinking, "Oh, I can go back to sleep, I have another hour."

Then I had kids.

My boys could care less whether the government says we have to reset our clocks. They do not care what the little numbers on the clock mean. For them , wake up time is wake up time. And wake up time means, "I'm soooooo hungry. Diaper peez. Mooooom, Nathan's not putting his notebook in the right place. Tenny...no!" and so on so forth.

**Sigh**
Goodbye extra hour! Maybe we can meet again in about 5-10 years.

Is it Christmas yet?

I forgot to post this picture of Piper and her Halloween bows. Cute!

We took down our decorations today. Kenny was really sad and kept asking when we will decorate for Christmas. I told him it isn't Christmas yet, but it's getting close. Then we go to stores and they are all decorated for Christmas...and playing carols. So now he wants to decorate our house and just doesn't understand why I am holding him up. What a mean mom! He asks me about 5 times a day when Christmas is coming. Maybe I should look at the plus side and go ahead and use Santa a behavior leverage.

Not much is going on this weekend, so I don't have anything exciting to post about.

*Check out the new quote on the side. Second from the top*

Just For You!

The other night, we went to bed and found this. He has really taken off with coloring. He spends hours drawing and coloring . He is really getting good at it. He includes a lot of detail and colors.


This is a picture of Daddy.


This is a picture of Veggie-Tales. He's got Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and Junior Asparagus. He also included the individual tiles from the kitchen of the Veggie-Tales set.

We are so proud of him and how much he is growing and developing. Keep it up kiddo!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treating

Nathan and I went on our own. Kenny and his fiends were all a lot faster walkers (I mean runners) than he was. A friend of mine went on ahead with Kenny and her kids. It was a lot of fun to go with Nathan. Everyone oohed and ahhed over him. My friend says Kenny got more candy than any of the other kids. She said he would get to the door and people would gush over him and give him extra candy. Sorry for the brag moment...but my kids are cute!


After gallivanting around the neighborhood, we went back to my friends house and ate appetizers, talked, and swapped candy.