Back seat

My blog posts have taken a back seat while I focus on some other things 

Christmas is less than a month away and I'm beginning to panic

Every year I make my mom a scrapbook calendar

Every year I say it will be the last one

and 

every year I wait until the last minute and complete 12 pages in a month

Unfortunately, this year is no different

I started putting it together last weekend

My Mom LOVES these calendars and that's why I put myself through this EVERY year

 My Mom LOVES them so much, she won't write in them

Is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard?

Today is Thanksgiving

Say what?!?!
It doesn't feel like it should be Thanksgiving already
but oh my, we have so much to be thankful for

Tomorrow will be spent shopping with my Mom

This weekend we will visit a tree farm in hopes of finding the perfect tree
and then we have a busy week ahead of us
 Thursday the Canadian Pacific Train will be coming through town
Friday is the Holiday Stroll
 I can't wait to see my little Colorado Jammers perform
and
Saturday we will be celebrating Parker's birthday a little early
{because having a birthday 8 days before Christmas stinks}


Happy Thanksgiving!
Count your many blessings!

Getting out of this rut

I have been in a total rut lately

I can't pin point one thing that brought it on

I think it has been escalating over some time

My job is not always all it's cracked up to be

I was looking at the dollar signs when I accepted the position

I thought more money and less worry about bills would fix all

It hasn't

The more you make, the more you spend {period}

I'm a people pleaser and hate writing tickets but trust me, I write plenty

I'll be making my first court appearance soon

I can't believe people fight their ticket when they know they were clearly in the wrong
{Don't park in a handicapped spot if you're not handicapped}

There aren't enough hours in a weekend
I have so many things I want to get done around the house
When I do have the time, I don't have the motivation

So much sickness

Within the last two months, two people close to my heart were given the dreaded news

CANCER

My bf from high school has ovarian cancer

She's a single mom to three beautiful girls, her ex husband is a dead beat and doesn't help supply the girls with any of their needs, she just started taking classes to better her and her girls lives and then....

and

Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer

They are both taking chemo treatments and struggling with every day tasks

 It breaks my heart to see how wore down and sick they have become
My Aunt was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is slowly losing her battle
{Cancer Sucks!}

I'm healthy, my kids and husband are healthy

So why am I in this rut

I have everything I could possible need

I'm BLESSED and yet I'm in a frump

Uh the politics and crap on tv

It's on going and I wish for ONE day, everything was positive
No bullying and bashing of other politicians
No violence
No sickness

On to better things....
I'm REALLY going to try to get out of this rut
96.1 is playing Christmas music
The down town stores are setting up beautiful Christmas trees
and I'm going Christmas shopping with one of my bf's next week

I love Thanksgiving and I'm not trying to push it out of the way
I just need more than 4 short weeks to prepare for Christmas
So, I'm getting started
You will not see me in a store Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving day
These stores became greedy and don't allow their employees to be with family
Shame on them!


Here's to happy and positive thoughts!

Playing catch up

I haven't taken time to sit down and blog much

Maybe it's because I feel like we are living the same rat race every day

Work, School, Cook, Clean, Sleep and Start Over

So I'm backing up a little bit

We look forward to the homecoming parade every year

They were calling for severe storms the night of the parade

The school jumped the gun, canceled the parade and the storms totally missed us

We had the annual Fall Festival at Colorado School about a month ago

The teachers, staff and students put so much into it every year

I went in every morning to help count raffle tickets

The kids sold enough to make their goal {11,000}and they duct taped the principal to the wall

Again, our luck hasn't been the best and we had to miss the biggest night of the year

Parker was home sick with a fever and bronchitis

We had parent teacher conferences two weeks ago

The boys are doing great 

AS a parent, I could go on for hours about Common Core Math Curriculum and SBG grading system

What was wrong with the way we learned?

What happened to spelling tests, learning cursive and memorizing multiplication facts?

I'm dealing with it but I have just about bit my tongue off several times

Spencer had choir and orchestra masquerade concerts

I love to see the kids dressed up in their costumes and they play fun music like "Thriller"

Over the weekend we celebrated Halloween

Spencer borrowed Grandma's clown costume and Parker went as a Zombie Skeleton

We carved pumpkins and went to my work Halloween party

I can't believe we are close to wrapping up another year

My baby will be 10 next month!

Where does the time go?

Hallelujah

Parker has words that he has has trouble saying

and 

and he has words he refuses to say the way they are supposed to be said

{such as, granola(ganola), library(libary) and draw (drawl)}

One of the words he has trouble saying is:

Hallelujah

He says it like: Halayoula

{pronounced  - ha. la. you. la}

On Saturday we laughed and laughed and tried to get him to say it right

Thankfully he was a good sport 

{I would have been completely frustrated but he laughed along with us}

About 9:00 that night he decided to try it again

At first it came out as hallelujah

and then all of a sudden, we were back to square one saying halayoula

followed by, 

Life is hard!

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time

I wish I would have video taped it to show him in a few years 

Maybe you just had to be there

He went to bed Saturday night practicing and guess what
He's got it!

It almost makes me a little sad that I won't ever hear him say - Ha.la.you.la


Our babes are growing up
{sniff sniff}

Back to School 2014

I thought about contacting some parents and picketing

Starting school on August 14th just about blew me off my rocker

I dread the two and a half weeks they get off at Christmas

and the week they get off in March when it's too cold to do anything

Why not start after Labor day, skip the long breaks and enjoy summer break

I sent them back

I didn't want them missing out on anything

I agreed to let Parker wear his Mohawk for the first day and then we cut it off

I still can't believe we have a 4th grader and a 7th grader

I feel like I was just in seventh grade

How does that happen?

Parker has Mr. Frost for homeroom and Math, Mrs. Dalbey for reading,

Mrs. Truitt for social studies and Mrs. Hartman for science

{I love that they're getting them ready for middle school by having several teachers}

and

Spencer has a whole slew of teachers in middle school
He was super excited to find out that he has Mr. Edkin for homeroom
{He's the cool teacher who lets the kids listed to cool music while they're working}

We're a month into school and so far things are going great

In just a few short weeks,
is homecoming, Colorado Fall Festival and the start of many concerts


When did my babies grow up?



Pumping Iron

For a little over a year, I haven't been feeling like myself

I linked it to working 3 jobs, taking care of the kids and holding the fort down

I mentioned my symptoms to my doctor in March

and asked if they tested hormone levels in the blood work they were doing

She laughed and told me I was too young to be going through menopause

I was ready to walk out and the appointment only went down hill from there

A few weeks ago I decided enough was enough 

I had my records switched to another doctor and went in for an appointment

I explained all my symptoms

Exhausted but can't sleep

Brain fog

Can't lose weight

Thinning hair

She ordered more blood work to check a few things

My iron level is a 6

{Booo!}

It's supposed to be 12.5

No wonder I feel like crap

I'll be pumping iron
LOTS of it
My doctor prescribed 325mg of iron twice a day
{my stomach hurts just thinking about it}
 I'll be rechecked in 3 months to see if my body is absorbing the iron

I'm pretty bummed about not being able to give blood
I know I need to concentrate on getting myself healthy but
giving blood is something I've become passionate about
So while the hubby will be donating blood today, I'll be moping

A new journey

Today we start a new journey 

A journey we hope will be worth the pain and the countless Dr. appointments

We actually started this journey quite some time ago {4 years ago}

Doctors couldn't explain what was wrong with our son

When I begged them for answers 

Not one of them could give us any

Fed up and exhausted with our options,

I decided I was his mom

I knew him the best 

I would figure it out

and I did

The diagnosis:

A food allergy to artificial orange flavoring

This was the start of our journey

An appointment to an allergy/asthma specialist revealed so much more

The diagnosis:

Environmental allergies

Ragweed

Kort grass

FireBush/koch

Pigweed

Russian Thistle

Ash trees

Birch trees

Elm trees

Hickory trees

Maple trees

Oak trees 

Walnut trees
and

Willow trees

Parker has been heavily medicated for 3 years now

His doctor told us that his allergies may get better as he gets older

but his have continually gotten worse

He is on as much medication I am willing to give him

This spring his doctor wanted to add another and we refused

Today I will be calling Town Square Allergy and Asthma Clinic to have his serum mixed

Parker will be starting allergy shots next week

We know this will be a long journey

He will be getting shots once a week for 4-6 months
Once he's had the maintenance dose,
he will get shots every 2-4 weeks for the next 4-6 months
Then he will be given monthly shots for 3-5 years

In the spring when we decided that we were running out of options,
I talked to Parker about what he wanted to do
He's tired of feeling awful and was ready to do the shots
We'll see how next week goes
He has been a trooper through all of the testing and meds so I imagine this will be nothing for him



Let's get this journey started!
The sooner we start, the sooner we'll be done!

The good, the bad and the ugly

I've been at my new job for over a month now

When I look back it's flown by but on the other hand every day creeps by

{especially the hot days}

Most days are good 

I've had one really ugly day and wouldn't you know, it was my birthday

A lady called my boss and told her I was unfriendly

I didn't know I had to hug people when I handed them their parking ticket

I was having a rough day anyway - who likes turning another year older?
No, seriously, it was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong, does

I took the complaint to heart and felt like my boss was siding with her

I spent the day an emotional mess wondering if I {the people pleaser} was cut out for the job

In the back of my mind, I still wonder if I made a huge mistake switching careers

People keep asking if I like my new job:
Who likes ticking people off all day?

On Friday as I was chalking cars on Second Street
An older lady in an suv pulled up and asked if I was waiting for peoples meters to expire
I told her I wasn't, I was chalking cars but what I really wanted to say was:
No you idiot, there aren't even meters on this street and mind you own business

 Most days are good
but then we have the ugly; REALLY UGLY

This smells as nasty as it looks

When I have a bad day, I find myself concentrating on the ugly
and then I round the corner and I see beauty

or a new friend or business owner I've met


I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures which will make the 8-10 miles more enjoyable

I'm dreading winter but keep telling myself that I can always put more clothes on


I'm hoping for more better days ahead!

Summer wrap up

I had BIG dreams for this summer but a new job took our plans to a screeching halt

We didn't get everything crossed off our summer list but we had fun anyway

 

 

Sidewalk Chalk . Parks . Play dough . Build a fort . Make a craft . Legos . Hike .

Bike ride . Walk . Bonfire . Board Game . Zoo . Museum . Swim . Parade . 5K .

Feed the ducks . Library . Picnic . Lowes workshop . Play date . Bake . Fishing .

Movie night . Ice Cream . Scavenger hunt . Drive in . Aquatic center . Read .

Slip and slide . Fireworks . Bubbles . Write a story and illustrate it . Skate park .

Play in the rain . Farmers market . Day Trip . Write a letter . Wild Cat Den . Baseball .

Mississippi Mist . Family reunion . Shaved ice . Random act of kindness . Smores .

Go to a camp . Catch bugs . Learn something new . Field Trip .  Vacation . Swim .
Aquatic Center . Shoot guns . Play with friends . Grandma Camp . Ice Cream . Fishing .

You read that right... we haven't had smores yet this summer
They're better in the fall any way


Just a few pictures from this summer:

Sweet Treats is a new ice cream shop on the out skirts of town

What's a summer without beautiful nights spent at the ball park

 

Slip and slide at Grandma Camp



 I can't believe the boys are already back in school





 



The NEW job

July was a whirlwind of a month

It was packed with VBS, Show Choir Camp, baseball tournaments, vacation and Grandma Camp

The second week of July I got a message from a friend of mine telling me her job was up for grabs
I wasn't really looking for employment

I responded back asking some questions and when I heard the pay, I jumped on it

It took days to get my application filled out

So many times I thought, what in the heck are you doing - you don't have a chance at this

All I saw were dollar signs and the thoughts of only working ONE job instead of three

I finally got the application done and dropped off at the City Hall

 

 

Fast forward to the following week

  I got a call that they wanted to set up a time for an interview

I freaked out a little because this was the week of VBS, show choir camp and tournaments

I called my mom and asked if she could be the taxi driver for that day

My interview was Wednesday at 3:30

As I waited for my time slot, the director of Parks and Rec. walked in and wished me well

{I'm certain he had a hand in all this}

Then out walks a gal who I know

She's worked dispatch for the City of Muscatine for years

My heart sank about 3" knowing she interviewed for the same position I was about to
 I just knew she had the job but I went in and gave it my all

 

Thursday morning, we grabbed some donuts and headed to VBS in Wilton

During my 10:00 break, I checked my phone and saw I had a voicemail from the City Hall

My mind raced, do I listen to it?

If I didn't get the job, I couldn't let it show - I had no idea what my emotions would be

I went in the bathroom and listened to the message

It was one of the ladies that interviewed me asking if I would give her a call

I immediately called her back and she offered me the job

I GOT THE JOB!
I would be a parking meter attendant for the City of Muscatine

 

Then all of these other thoughts started swirling around:

Oh my goodness, I won't be doing hair any more

I need to let the preschool know I won't be coming back

We're leaving on vacation next week

 

I had to pass a drug screen and a worksteps physical before I officially got the job

I did my physical on Monday morning before we left for St. Louis

I had talked to my mom about what to expect

She told me they couldn't make me do more for the physical than I would be doing on the job

I called her afterwards and told her she was a liar - It was awful

I had to lift 40lbs over my head in a wooden crate and 150lbs from the floor up

I probably could have done this once but the problem was-

they kept adding weight so I was lifting more weight every time

After all that, I had to see a physical therapist

He checked for flexibility and checked for popping of the joints

I walked out of there totally exhausted and questioning whether I passed the physical

I worried our entire vacation only to find out that Friday, I had passed

 

I started my new job on July 28th
 The first week was a challenge to say the least

The first day was great

The second day, I was told that I needed to watch what I said because the walls have ears

I thought, great, what kind of a place am I working at?

The gal that told me that had been burnt so she thought she was helping me out

Tuesday was hot, we walked 9 miles, I hadn't been sleeping well and it all just caught up with me

I was drained and didn't think this job was for me

The hubby assured me that it would get better and I needed to give it some time

I knew I was going to be out on my own on Friday

I fretted about it all day Thursday and broke down to the girl training me

She also told me to give it some time and that they didn't expect me to know everything

 

I just finished my second week and can't believe how fast it went
The weather this past week was incredible

The first week was rough
It was a huge change all around
I was learning new things {not as fast as I would have liked}
I was having mommy guilt and worrying about the boys at home
Wondering if I was really ready to hang up the shears
and
trying to be better at time management- getting things done around the house when I got off work

Throughout the day, I have lots of time to think,  pray and look for beauty all around
I work in the beautiful down town area
where there is always something to look at, people to say hello to
and just around corner I get to see the mighty Mississippi

City Hall - Home of my office
 

 The every day views walking around town

Down town apartments on Second Street

 

Apartments and businesses on Second Street

The Mighty Mississippi

 

Beautiful flowers

The Court House

The job is getting a little better every day

Thankfully the weatherman has been nice to me

 and I'm looking forward to my first paycheck this week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Grandma Camp 2014

 

A few weeks ago my mom had her 2nd Grandma Camp

My nieces were here for a week so Grandma had ALL 5 grandkids

{Spencer 11, Natalie 10, Metadel 9, Parker 9 and Miraim 6}

 

Grandma had so many fun things planned
We didn't get to do everything Grandma had planned but the kids had a blast
 

Crossed off their bucket lists:

 Panning for gold . Skipping rocks at the mill . A visit to the farm . Herbert Hoover Museum

Movie {Heaven is for Real} . Fire works . Sprinklers . Sleeping in the tent . Shaved Ice

Slip and slide . Parade . Swimming . Photo shoot . Manicures . Convertible ride 

Potato digging . Playing beads . Building blocks . Barbies .  Fishing . Crafts
Pickle ball . Water balloons . Board games . Haircuts . Bike rides . Cooking and baking


A few photos from Grandma Camp week

Pirate Day

Just hanging out watching tv

Midwestern Day

 

The kids did a lot of swimming

Fishing: Everyone caught a fish at Weed Park

Herbert Hoover Museum

Playing in the water at the Mill at Wild Cat Den

Out on the farm in Uncle Dale's tractor

Yum! Shaved ice

Art work

Potato digging in Grandma's garden

Making supper

The guys going out in the convertible for guys night

Getting manicures for princess night with the girls

Fire works

It's almost time for the Great River days parade
Notice the blue mohawks

It was a fun week with all the kids
We're looking forward to Grandma Camp next year


 

 



Vacation 2014 {St. Louis}

We wrapped up vacation week

We left for St. Louis on Monday and came back Thursday evening

We had a great time but I have to say, we won't be visiting St. Louis any time soon

St. Louis was too hectic for our liking

 

Monday we stopped at Mark Twain Caves in Hannibal Mo.

Tuesday we went to the St. Louis Zoo

The elephants were our favorite

 

We went up in the Arch

These boys should have earned a medal for being so patient

We bought tickets at 2:00 for a 5:35 tram ride

 but they don't tell you that you'll still have another hour of waiting

On Wednesday we went to the City Museum

It was amazing and I think the boys were the perfect age for all the climbing
Pictures don't do this place justice- It was AMAZING



We climbed 10 stories of spiral stairway to ride the spiral slide down

 

We also went to Ted Drewes

You haven't had ice cream until you have it from here

 

On Thursday we went to the St. Louis Science Museum

I wish we would have gone to Grants Farm instead

It was pretty disappointing

 Spencer sat down on this piece of glass in the skywalk,

 the speaker above him made a crackling noise and the look on his face was priceless
I wish I would have got it on video

 

On our way home we stopped at the biggest firework shop

The boys were sure it was the best $20 we spent on the entire vacation

 

 We pulled in the drive about 5:00 and couldn't have been happier
I wish I was a better traveler, I guess I'm a home body

Friday and Saturday I attempted to squeeze as many clients in as I could
My sweet hubby took the boys fishing both days

Parker caught this tiny turtle and gave it to Spencer's coach for his boys

On Sunday my nieces came home
Grandma Camp starts today!

It's going to be another GREAT week! 

Baseball 2014

 

 

We're marking off another great year of baseball

Our summer {May and June} was consumed by games but we wouldn't have it any other way

 

Spencer played for Bridgestone again this year

I'm pretty sad that this was his last year with the team

Travis and Henry have been amazing coaches

They are so patient with the boys and know a ton about baseball

I still laugh when Travis asks the boys to do something followed by please...

We had a boy catching balls bare handed during warm up one day

Travis said, use your glove... please

Maybe it's just the way he says it but I laugh every time

I would be like- Seriously this is baseball, use your glove!

 

Not only are the coaches amazing, these boys have developed a special friendship
They know what each particular boy needs to hear to get him out of the funk

It's nice that they get to play with the same kids for several years until they move up

 

Last year the Bridgestone team won second in the tournaments

This year the went into tournaments 14-0 and placed second again in the championships

  

Parker played for Real-estate Resource and Associates

I wish I could say the same thing about Parker's coaches and team mates

It's been a tough season

The coach told us first hand that he knew nothing about baseball

He wasn't kidding

Parker was pitcher, catcher and first baseman this year

He says he loves being behind home plate

Who knew we'd have two catchers in the family

We got a kick out of Parker when he first started catching

He just sat in the same spot and didn't really move around
After some coaxing,

he finally told Chip that he couldn't move because his baseball pants were too tight

Our boys are built totally different,

Parker had been wearing Spencer's pants from last year

So.... we bought new/bigger pants and it made a world of difference

He dives after the ball and is becoming quite the catcher
Spencer likes to say he taught him everything he knows

 

 

Parker also did some pitching this year

 

It was a great ball season

Now we have to figure out what to do with all of our spare time