Doctor visit

I went to the doctor yesterday and asked why I am not losing weight at a normal speed. Yes, I was pleased before, but I have gained 5 lbs back and I cannot get it off. So he is going to test my thyroid. He is not very hopeful that this is the culprit. Apparently thyroid is not a very common cause of obesity, but he wants to rule it out. He said if that is not it, then I will have to be patient and work harder. That means 17 hours of exercise a day and eating only grapes and celery, apparently. I just don't know what more I could do!!! But I will keep trying...

More Prayers

I know I ask for prayers a lot, but they have been really necessary lately! My friend, Chelsi and her family were chosen by a birth mom to adopt her son. He was born on Friday and the placement was supposed to happen Sunday, then it was moved to Monday, and I guess the birth mom is really struggling. So it is moved to Tuesday now. Please everyone, pray for the Kroff family. Pray that the girl's heart will be softened and she will give this baby to this loving family who already loves him and is ready for him to come to their family. This is not the first time this has happened. He will have a great life with the Kroffs. Please keep them in your prayers!

THE MOVE

Today we are starting to move. We took a look at the house yesterday. It is very clean, in move in condition! I am glad I will not have to clean that place. I will have enough to deal with, with this place. Today we are moving boxes and anything we can fit into the back of the van. Justin has a faculty temple trip today and then a staff meeting with the Theatre Dept so I will be doing it alone for the morning and early afternoon. Although, I have done everything by myself so far... But he will be here later to help out. Today I have to pack the kids' rooms. This is going to be a task. Packing toys is a tedious process. Not to mention that I still thing Hilton doesn't get what we are doing, so he will not be happy with me packing up his toys. He thinks we are giving everything away. But the house is even better than I remember. There is molding on the ceiling which is gorgeous and a chair rail in Caroline's room. The kitchen has a brand new stove and brand new flooring. The house is much bigger than I remember. And I can't wait to plant flowers in the beds out back! It is a really nice house, and I can't wait to move in!!! So, I better get off this dang computer and do it!!!

No more dishes...

I packed all of the dishes so I won't have to cook anymore... heh heh... I have lots more to do but I am so packed out. I drove by our new house today and there is no evidence of those people moving out. I called the new landlady today and she said as far as she knows it is still go for Monday. They are supposed to be all out by tonight. I sure hope so! And I really hope I don't have to clean when I get in there. That will be a super bummer if so. The more I pack, the more I need to pack. It looks like I haven't packed anything. Okay, I better get back to it! Oh! My friend who was chosen to be adoptive parents just emailed me and said that her birthmom is in labor right now!!! It is 2 weeks early, but she is so excited! They will have a little boy by tomorrow!!! YEA!!!!!! We are praying for you, Chelsi!!! I love you!!!!

Bump in the night.....

Last night a 1 am I heard a loud CRASH!!! Then, the bathroom light went on in the hallway. I thought that Justin must have fallen down, tripped on something. I peered into the night, my vision blurred because I had no glasses on. I didn't see anything. Then I heard, "What was that?" I jumped a mile high! Justin was next to me in bed. The fearless protector and husband said, "Go see what that was..." I got out of bed, walked to the bathroom... And what did I see??? My three year old son standing at the toilet going potty. I said, "Good boy, Hilton! You woke up to go potty!" He said, "Where's Mater?" But it came out as "Wuuu Mttrrdd." I helped him wash his hands, turned off the bathroom light, and steered him back to bed. Once again he said, "Wuuu Mttrrd?!" I had no idea what he was talking about. Yesterday I had got him a truck from the "Cars" movie and it's name is "Mater." Apparently he wanted to know where this was. I kept saying, in my sleeping stupor trying to be patient and supportive, "What sweety? I can't understand what you're saying." Hilton turned to face me and clearly said, "Where's Mater?" I found Mater deep in the depths of Hilton's covers. Then he was happy. I went back to bed until I heard "VROOM VROOM!!! That was FUUU-UUN!!!" It was Mater. My fearless protector once again, jumped in bed and said, "What was THAT!??" I said, "It's just Mater." I got up, turned off Mater, and settled back to sleep... No sooner did I fall asleep, when I felt something crawling at the foot of the bed, crawling and creeping closer and closer until it was between Justin and me! It was Hilton, again. This time, I got Hilton's pillow, his blanket and planted him on the floor next to our bed. He fell fast asleep and we all lived happily ever after...

Question

Does anyone know if there is a thingy you can get to hook your camera phone up to the computer so that you can download pic from the phone to the computer???

Jenny VS. The Oven

I tackeled the oven. I was going to clean it yesterday but after all of the horror stories I have heard about oven cleaning, I just couldn't do it. I was much too tired from packing 5 whole boxes yesterday. Don't judge. They were pretty big boxes. I did nothing yesterday. Justin was home most of the day and I spent the time just vegging out on the couch with him. And then when he went back to work for a while, I took a nap while the kids took a nap! But I did pack 5 boxes. Okay? So last night, I sprayed the oven with Easy Off. I just about hacked up a lung... but I thought that if it was that strong, it must work. So it did it's magic over night. And this morning I got on my grubby clothes and my brand new, big long gloves, armed with a scrubby sponge. I scrubbed. I rinsed. I scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. I rinsed. Now I am done. The oven is clean. There are some spots that no amount of oven cleaner and elbow grease would get off. But it is sparkly. And I feel confident the landlord will accept my offering to the oven gods. I feel like I just ran a marathon. I need a nap. Oven cleaning is hard work! I will not be cooking in the oven again until we move. And if anyone even THINKS about using that oven, they will have to pay...

Prayers

I have a request for all you praying kind out there. My friend has a family member who just found out his son has cancer in his kidney. The little boy is 4 and undergoing tests today to see if it has spread. So please say a prayer for the Norwood family that their son can be healed and that the cancer has not spread. If not, they can remove the infected kidney and he should recover!! So please, remember this family when you are praying today. It makes us remember how precious life is, and how precious are our little children. Thanks!!!

Today

I have so much to do, and yet I am here, on the computer. I have so much packing. I can't believe we are moving in a week. It is not the actual moving that I hate, it is the cleaning... I will have to clean this apt from top to bottom all by myself. But I am going to do it in small doses. I think today I will clean the oven. While Caroline is home to entertain her brother. I am babysitting tomorrow and Thursday, so I won't be able to do it tomorrow. And Caroline starts school on Wednesday. I think I am still in denial about that. She is getting too big. It makes me a little sad and little happy! She is so excited that she can hardly stand it!!! She keeps asking when school starts. I wonder how she will do with all day school. We are very fortunate that we don't have school supply lists. We just have to pay a one-time $20 fee and the school buys all the supplies for the kids. That is much better than most of my friends have to deal with! Anyway, I should probably go take a shower and get going. I did make french toast for breakfast. I did walk this morning. I am just not very motivated to do much else. Ok, here I go. I am!!! I will get up now and go get ready and clean and pack and go to pick up my medication and go pay school fees and clean the oven. I am going.... right... now!

New Phone

So I got a new phone and it is cute!!! it is a cool silver camera phone! It was totally free! I guess I lucked out with when I signed up!!! So I have my cool new phone and I am so cool now. No more White Trash Girl who can't afford a new phone!!! Yea me! And we are paying LESS than we did for our phone from Louisiana. That is so awesome. I am pumped!

Phones

Well, we have to get a new cell phone. (Sorry, Vicki!) I guess we have been costing Cingular too much money by calling "off network." Which means they have no Cingular service in Idaho. We can call, but we can't get a local number. So tomorrow we have to go get a new phone. This will be our primary phone when we move. No more land line. We need to save a little money. So, if you want my new phone number, give me a call on my home phone before we move on the 28th! Or you can email me. This is such a pain, but it does mean I get a new phone!!! Yea! If you haven't seen my phone in the last year, it is broken. Not broken enough to not work, (darnit!) but broken enough to make me look like a white trash girl who can't afford a new phone. Ok, that is who I am! And it wasn't even my fault!!! Justin had the phone... he NEVER has the phone. He did not put it in his shirt pocket, or even his front pocket... He put it in his BACK, jeans pocket. He totally broke the screen. Anyway, it has been like this for almost a year, and even though I told him it was only like $20 for a replacement, he didn't think it necessary to replace it. It was purely my own vanity. Yes, I own that. I am vain. But NOW!!! I get a NEW PHONE! Yea!!!! I wish I could get a cute pink one or something. But I have to get the cheapest. That's ok. I will live. I don't need frivolous things like pink phones. I just WANT it!

School Days

Well, Justin's parents are coming this evening. The house is clean. Justin stacked the boxes for me. It looks better. I got Caroline registered yesterday. Her teacher is new so noone knows anything about her. I hope she will be good. But I bought Caroline a denim jacket today. She has wanted one for the first day of school. She is so excited, she has been wearing it all day! Less than a week until school starts! Then my baby will be going to school all day! It is a bitter-sweet time. I am so glad I will have all day without fighting children. I will have more time to get things done. But this is also the beginning of the rest of Caroline's life, at least for the next 12 years. I was talking to my cousin, Nicole, about it. I feel bad that she has that to look forward to. That she will be going to school, all day, everyday, forever! That she will never be able to be a little girl again and stay home with Mommy. But my wise, dear, Nicole said that we did it! We went to school all day, everyday, we had working mom's, and we LOVED school! School was the best! And by the end of the summer we were so ready to go back. We made all of our friends at school. We learned so much, not just school junk, but about life. This is all so true. It is just a part of life. Caroline will love school too. She will love learning, and she will love the social aspect of it. I just need to get over my own hang ups and remember how great school was! Speaking of school... I am signing up for a water aerobics class and a yoga class. Justin told me not to over do it. (I think he just said that b/c it is at 6:30 in the morning, and he will have to be with the kids...) But I gained 7 lbs almost literally over night! All of my hard work, foiled! I don't know how or why this happened. But it will not happen again. I am going to exercise my butt off... LITERALLY! I lost 2 of those 7 last night, but it is frustrating to get on that scale and see that I weigh 5 more than I did last week. So, I have not really lost 21 lbs anymore. I am back to 16. UGH!!! Will this EVER get easier???

Nothing new...

I packed again today. Can you just believe it? I know it is shocking. I couldn't believe it myself. I mean, such a fun, exciting activity as packing is so unlike me! Tomorrow I have to clean the house, as best I can. I will clean around the boxes. I asked Justin what we were going to do with all of them. And he just shrugged. I guess they will stay in the living room in front of the book cases. I also have school registration tomorrow. I am on the PTO (same as PTA) board, and so I have to be at the registration for 2 hours to help with sign ups. I am excited to get involved. I didn't do one thing at Caroline's school last year and I felt very guilty. So I decided to call the PTO president to see if I could help out with anything and she asked me to be on the board! So that's cool. But I have a busy 2 weeks ahead of me. Maybe I will have something fun and exciting to report. But I doubt it...

Boring stuff

Well, I did pack yesterday. I got all of the rest of the books packed. And what happened after I did that? My friend came over to return a book and wanted to borrow another one! I felt bad because all of my books are packed. Oh well. I also got a kitchen box packed and the linen closet packed. At least the things that I don't need. Today I will pack more things in the kitchen. I am making progress. I have discovered a little exercise secret. If I eat a yogurt before I go walking in the morning, I have a lot more energy and I can have a more intense and longer workout. I read that the protein and carb combination in yogurt really provides great energy for a workout. I was very skeptical because I would prefer to eat after, but it really works. I don't get as tired as fast and I feel like I can go a lot longer. My blogs are so boring lately! My life is boring, lately. Not that it was especially stimulating before... but at least it was a little amusing. So, I apologize for my lack of creativity. Maybe I should start making things up... I was born... in Africa... just kidding... anyway, hopefully something exciting will happen soon.

Packing...or not

What am I doing here sitting on the computer? I should be packing. I should be out in the storage getting boxes to pack. But I am sitting here, on the computer. I am super at procrastination. I am the queen!!! I don't know why I just can't pack. I don't feel like it. It is not that I hate packing. I actually quite enjoy it really. But I can't bring myself to do it. I packed one box today. I just can't find things to pack. I have a ton of books I still need to pack, but I can't find the book boxes. They have to be rather small, or else we won't be able to lift them... That is my excuse. Is it lame? I know, it is very lame. I'm sorry. I just don't feel like packing. We are moving 2 weeks from today and I have 8 boxes packed. Just about 842 to go. Anyway, I should stop typing right now, go out to storage, and get those boxes. But I don't wanna! I need to do laundry too. I told Justin yesterday that for the next two weeks, the house will be a mess. He is just going to have to deal with it. But he has a retreat! He can go hang out in his office all day, I am the one who has to sit here and deal with this mess! I can't stand it! I would love to just clean. But what would be the point? I have to clean on Wed anyway because Justin's parents are coming on Thursday. So for now, I will just have to have a messy, dirty, yucky house. Oh, by the way, I gained 4 pounds. I don't know where it came from, I certainly did not go looking for it. I am hoping it is just water weight. Yeah, I'll keep telling myself. It may be big bones, or muscle... right...

My "Justin Fix"

We went back to the lake today. It was a gorgeous day... not really swimming weather. Only about 85, but we had fun! I dug in the sand with the kids and found some really neat rocks. Justin came along this time, but he didn't even wear his bathing suit. He said, "I am not getting in that nasty water!" Now I know where my kids get it! He will only swim if it is a pool, I guess. But we had a nice time sitting in the shade and talking and making fun of the young people trying to impress each other, critiquing bathing suits, (or lack thereof) and generally just spending time with one another. It has been a few months since we have been able to do that. Sometimes I forget what good friends we are and how much we make each other laugh. It is easy to forget when you are married and you generally don't have more than 30 minutes a day to talk to each other. You tend to forget why you got married. You tend to forget why you became friends! That you once had a lot in common with this person and not one of those things was kids, or bills or sharing a bed. But today I remembered that. I remembered what a funny and interesting guy my husband is. How smart he is. How much we share the same interests and sense of humor. It was a good day. And then we got home, bathed the kids, and he is gone again. Off to the play. I can't wait until it is over and we can hang out again. Maybe even go on a date! But I guess today was my "Justin fix." It was a good day.

Jeans

So I know that I talk about this weight loss thing all the time, but it is one of the big things going on in my life right now. And I just have to say one thing... I put on some jeans that I have not worn in over 2 years today. It was out of desparation because I don't have anymore clean clothes (yes, I will be doing some laundry today) and I don't know why I tried them on. They have been in the back of my closet for ever. But I pulled them on today! I can wear my Levis! Anyway, this diet is starting to pay off!

Final Game

Caroline's final game was great last night! They won the game 12 to 2 and Caroline scored 2 goals! That is so awesome!!! I am so proud of her! She was just a great player and got in there to steal the ball. Now we just need to work on remembering to steal it only from the opposing team. She was just so excited about doing so well, that she was trying to take it from everyone! This season was a great success. They only lost 2 games the entire season, and Caroline never missed a game! And she just got better and better as the season progressed! I am a little sad to see the season end. But now it is time to get ready for school and violin again! I lost another pound folks! That is 21! And I have lost several inches as well. Now if I could just see the results when I look in the mirror... I just have 12 lbs to lose before I get to my 33 lbs by the age 33 on Sept 26th. (My birthday.) I will really do my best!!! I am on my way...

The Lake

We did not go grocery shopping yesterday. So we are still lacking food. We have some cans of stuff. Can you make a meal out of tomato paste and peaches? We will be going today, though. Yesterday I took the kids to Rigby Lake. It was free and wonderful!!! I can't believe I have not gone before. We got there at 11 am. It was freezing cold and pouring rain, but I could see the sun, so we stuck around. Within a half an hour it was sunny and within an hour it was HOT! We stayed there until 4pm. The kids played in the water and sand and I sat and read my book and talked on the phone and got a pedicure from the exfoliating powers of the sand. It was lovely. The kids were entertained the entire day. If I would have only taken them last week, I may not have been so eager to lock them in a dungeon somewhere. I took some pictures, but you will have to wait until I get the film developed. There was only a little bit of sunscreen left, so I sprayed the kids liberally. But there was none left for me. So I am a little crispy today. I look kind of funny because I have little spots where I had gotten sunscreen from the kids onto me and it is white in those spots. I look a little like a leopard. The water was a little cold for my taste, but the kids loved it. They loved to play in the sand the most. When we got home they had to go directly to the shower. At one point Hilton had to go potty and was peeling off his bathing suit before he got to me. I was wondering what he was doing! We need to work on when it is appropriate to pull down one's pants, and when it is not... But I am glad we went. We had a blast and I was able to have 5 hours of whining-free peace. I wish I didn't have to pack and we could go everyday. But today... we need food!

Sick

I was fine all day until I ate lunch. Then I had some of those Tyson Chicken Nuggets. We are out of food! I had no other choice! And I was shaking because I didn't bring a snack to church. ( yes, I am worse than the kids.) We have NO FOOD!!! I am not kidding! So I ate those chicken nuggets and started fto feel yucky. I took a nap, (because that is what Sundays are for, afterall.) I figured I would make dinner and dessert when I got up. But when I got up, I felt worse. I felt very woozy. (Is that how you spell that?) So I made up a quick batch of goulash and had to lay down again, then I got up to make the cake (of course we have plenty of desserts in the house.) and I knew I was going to be sick. I went in my room and then I got sick! I couldn't believe it! I felt much better afterwards. And I only had a really bad headache by the time I went to bed. So I don't know what it was! I am thinking that the nuggets are junk food and my body isn't used to it anymore so it rejected it.... Could that be it? At any rate, I have GOT to go grocery shopping today. I will stock up on stuff that is good for me so I don't throw up anymore. Of course, my husband was just trying to stay as far away from me as possible... he washed the sheets and blankets just in case there were any germs on them. He didn't even want me coming out to the kitchen to get a glass of water in case I contaminated the whole house. He can't afford to get sick. I understand that. But a little sympathy? Is that too hard? The up side to all of this??? I lost another pound! That is 20!!!

Modern appliance

I always thought microwaves were a waste of space. I mean, of course we had one because I could make popcorn in it, but come on, I am not one of those 80's moms who cooks everything in the microwave. No matter who told me that cooking veggies in the microwave tastes the same as on the stove, I always opted for the stove. So when the microwave recently went kaput, I didn't think much of it. I thought, "oh, I'll get that space on top of my fridge back." Boy, was I wrong! I use the microwave much more than I would care to admit. And if you take a look inside of it, you would see that. It was up on top of the fridge, which made it a little difficult for me to reach. I could never really see inside of it, so it didn't get cleaned much. (Please don't barf.) But when I took it down today, to throw it out, I was shocked! And the last few days we have been really missing it. Justin usually heats up his dinner in the microwave. He doesn't get home until late, so he eats way after we do. I amke popcorn in the microwave. I make chicken nuggets for the kids' lunches in the microwave. I melt butter for recipes, I defrost meat! The microwave is a great invention that I have taken for granted. I would like to repent for my shameful dismissal of the microwave. I am sorry that I did not take the microwave more seriously. I need it back. I want it back. But that microwave has gone to microwave heaven. It was actually a hand-me-down from my mom and dad 10 years ago, so it is at least 15 years old. Now we will have to buy a new one. Until then, I will have to use the old-fashioned oven and stove. I guess we won't be making popcorn anytime soon. I don't know how to make it on the stove. (Yes, I am pathetic.) Dear microwave, why did you leave us like this? Was I really so horrible to you? I promise, I will be more attentive to the next microwave. I will wipe it clean after every use. And I will never take it for granted, like I did the last. Oh, microwave, microwave, where fore art thou, microwave?

Best Mom

Well I made it through yesterday without killing my kids. I ended up taking them to the library and the summer movie. (We saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) But I am telling you, by the end of the day I wanted to hang the children by their toes. I think I was just extra sensitive. They weren't being especially naughty or irritating. It was the usual level of grating offensiveness. But I just felt like I could not handle another minute of it. So I did what any horrible mother might do in the same circumstances. I took them somewhere and plopped them in front of a giant screen. They did not like the movie because they found it a little weird, but they were quiet for almost 2 hours and I enjoyed it too. I escaped into the world of Johnny Depp. It would have been nice to have a little romance mixed in the story for my own benefit, but all of the candy and chocolate were a great substitute. I could live my fantasies of eating all the candy and chocolate I want without the insult of adding those evil forces to my hips, thighs, and chins. When we got home we had to go to a soccer game. (They won this time!!!) And then we came home and ate dinner and put the kiddies to bed. It was bath night, but I just couldn't do it. I could not fight with the water all over the floor and the screaming when trying to rinse out shampoo and the screaming when trying to brush through wet hair. Plus, there weren't any clean pajama's anyway. The laundry was still in the dryer. I attempted to be a mom yesterday, but I ended up being a naughty teenage babysitter who does everything the mom asks her not to do. The kids ended up with no vegetable for dinner, only some spaghetti with Prego. And if they asked for treats all day my wrote reply was, "I don't care." To which Hilton would delightfully reply, "that means YES!" Today I shall be a better mom. I will make sure they get plenty of fruits (or at least fruit snacks) and vegetables (or at least make sure some of the fruit snacks are green.) I will not yell at my children (at least not loud enough for the neighbors to hear.) I will play games with them (or at least get the games down from the top shelf for them.) and I will make sure they are clean (or at least presentable.) I already feel like a better mom today. It is almost 8:30 and I have not put one of them in their room yet! I am the BEST mom in the WORLD!!!

KIDS!!!

Okay, I have just had it with these kids. If someone doesn't come and get them soon, I think I am totally going to lose it. I keep cleaning the house and it gets destroyed the minute I turn my back. I am trying to pack and they want to "help." I had a HUGE bag of chocolate chips in the freezer. A couple lbs worth. Hilton got into the freezer, got the bag and dumped almost the entire thing all over the kitchen floor. I had to throw away most of the chocolate chips. All of those wasted!!! I was furious because I had just told both of the kids that they could NOT have any. He deliberately disobeyed me. I wanted to spank his bottom! But I put him in his room and gave him a mean look. That did the trick. Yes, I am a mean mom. But today, I cannot handle it. My fuse is short. I want to go on a little vacation by myself. Go see a movie or something all by myself. But Justin's play opens next week, and between that and classes, he is super busy. I see him for about an hour during the day when he comes home to eat, and then he gets home at midnight... sometimes I'm awake... So that does not leave him a lot of time to watch the kids for me. I need to escape in a book or something.

Misc items

After all of those wins, Caroline's team lost last night. They were so tired. Caroline didn't want to go to begin with because she was tired. Then, there were only 4 of them who showed up again and the other team had 8. So our team had to play the entire game with no subs when the other team got subs every 2 minutes. She felt very badly that they lost. But oh well... We got great news yesterday! Justin's contract was extended to include next summer semester! Yea! So at least we know he will have a job through the summer next year. We will have to start looking for another job for next fall. But we are trying to be positive. We continue to pray that something will open up here and they will keep him. We would really love to stay in Rexburg. I just got great news from a friend of mine! She and her family have been chosen by a birth mother to adopt her baby! They have been trying to adopt for years and it is finally happening! I hope we all can keep her in our thoughts and prayers that the adoption goes through!!! They really deserve this!

Purging (Does that sound gross?)

Yesterday I went through all of the kids' toys. The bedrooms were a disaster and so I decided yesterday was the day. I sent the kids outside to play all day because the weather was beautiful! (the high was 72) And I purged. I have never gotten rid of so many toys before. If they don't play with it, I tossed it. I threw away 3 big white garbage bags and I have 1 garbage bag and 1 box to give to DI. The kids don't seem very distressed about the things I tossed. I didn't touch Caroline's dolls, or Barbies so she was happy. I did toss all of her My Little Pony stuff. I felt bad about that because she has the castle and stuff. But she never plays with them anymore. I may change my mind before the end of the day. But I hate to keep them just to keep them... I got rid of all the toddler toys. This broke my heart. There are mostly things that we had bought for Caroline and handed down to Hilton. But they were just taking up a lot of space and Hilton drags them out of his closet every week just for them to sit there and make a mess. So there are a lot less toys. (Which is GREAT!) And now I can concentrate on packing. Justin doesn't seem too concerned about this. We will have 4 days to move all of our stuff into the house. I think he is thinking that we don't need to pack it, we can just take it over book by book. He is in for a rude awakening. We have lots of friends who have offered to help, though. Which is wonderful! Someone has offered to get a trailer to help with the big stuff, and lots of people have offered to help us move on the big day. And I have a great friend who said she'll watch the kids. So it is going to go very smoothly. I am hoping. I registered for my first class for this fall!!! I am taking Child Development. I really wanted to take one of the science classes, but everything else was full. But this will be a good way for me to get used to school again. I am pumped!