Jul. 13, 2008 Mondo Pictures Entry and Update
Baby is fine; I had to get an ultrasound last week due to some spotting, which turned out to be one of those things. In other words, "We don't know what caused it, take it easy, and we see a heartbeat, and oh yeah, you're measuring nine weeks, not eight, so your chance of miscarriage goes down to 3%."
W00t! But there's more...
"Probably shouldn't be riding your dirtbikes or jetskis any more."
GAH!
Consigned to a long summer of no dirtbiking and no jetskiing, and an even longer winter of no snowboarding. I'm telling you, this child will receive full measure of guilt. *snif* Okay, enough of that.
On to the photos.
Here's a few VBS* photos, so you can see what I spent a week doing...wrangling 4-5 year old children and trying to get them to learn something at the same time. I co-taught a class of 12 boys and two girls. Yeh. It was exhausting but also a good time. Some of the kids still recognize me and run up to give me hugs at the gas station and so on. I guess I don't totally reek of evil after all.
Annette and I when it all started (note that we're still grinning):
Outdoor games:
Some of the kids in my class:
* VBS = Vacation Bible School, I wasn't joking when I said we're active in our church.
Jessie learned to ride a bike in two days. Actually she's out there riding right now. She wants to stay out way past oh-mosquito-thirty to keep riding her bike. She's very serious about this:
You'll note there's no training wheels on that bike.
Sarah prefers transportation with a heartbeat:
Jessie's favorite big hill. Whoops:
This resulted in about two seconds of crying and back on she got. Dang, she's tough. I can't wait until she can ride the 50 (*snark*).
The dogs fighting over who gets Dad's attention. Small dog either has yards of courage or no brains at all. She has no issues with attacking large dog's ankles and leaping up to bite. Puppies. And no matter what Bonnie says, I think Dad will like her. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in personality (kind of like a dumb blonde).
Food in the yard. Nom.
Early in June, my friend and I went to an Amish auction up in Rexford, Montana. Excuse me...make that "Middle Of Nowhere, Montana". Now, I live in Northern Idaho and thought myself somewhat the expert of Middle of Nowhere...and I was proved wrong. Rexford is pretty much the middle of nowhere. But it was still cool.
Some pics at the auction. We want this playhouse. Really we do. Why am I wearing a headscarf and all of the wimminfolk wearing skirts? It was an Amish auction. (Oh, and Jenny chickened out and didn't wear her scarf, curses, we'll get her next year.)
I'm saving up to buy one of these quilts next year. The one with the little squares went for $250, and that's all hand-pieced and quilted. Yup.
The kids at Lake Koocanusa afterward. Do you know how badly you can get sunburned when you *think* it's not hot enough to get a burn? Thankfully the kids were all wearing sunblock, but they still got burned. *sigh*
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Jul. 10, 2008 Update Soon...Really
Well, I'm pregnant again! First doctor appointment is on July 1st. More to come later, along with VBS photos. I am (understandably?) rather tired these days.
Pray we don't lose this one like the last one, please.
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Jun. 6, 2008 Hydrocephalic Alien Bug Eye Creature Exposed
Been too busy having fun playing with the wee critter to actually, you know, post pictures...
Preparatory to sucking out Joshua's brains while he sleeps (because that's what hydrocephalic alien bug eye creatures do):
Snoozin:
That be mah bone:
On a related homeschooling note, Josh and I are done with school. I was at lunch with my friend Annette and bemoaning the fact that I had another MONTH of work to do, and I just wanted to finish the books, and she said, "Don't."
I said, "I have to..."
She replied, "NO, YOU DON't."
I sat in stunned silence for a moment, turned to Josh (who was at a near table with his buddy Jonah) and informed him we were done with school.
Pandemonium ensued.
And that was that. We're switching curriculums this year, and if I'm to the point where I'm swatting him for crying and he's crying, we're done.
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May. 20, 2008 When U Get Hung Up... May. 20, 2008 Weekend Ladies' Retreat (tremendous # of photos)
No, not THAT kind of retreat...no battles were fought this weekend, unless you count the ones where you're taking a long, hard look at yourself and finding yourself wanting in many areas.
Jessie and I went to a Christian weekend retreat for women (only) put on by a ministry called "Above Rubies". The lady teaching was Nancy Campbell, who was just stuffed chock full of good information and ideas and kind enough to share them with us.
Below are the eight points she covered in three days; I stole them from my (new) friend Camille's blog, as I was unable to take notes due to a very clingy almost-five-year-old who insisted on sitting in my lap until the last day.
The eight points Nancy went over, in great detail:
1. Purposeful Parenting
2. Prayerful Parenting
3. Positive Parenting (yup, need more of that around here)
4. Patient Parenting (I certainly need assistance with this one)
5. Protective Parenting
6. Principled Parenting
7. Permanent Parenting
8. Persevering Parenting
I had the chance to speak with Nancy a few times; she's a very calm, gentle, relaxed kind of person. Very easy to talk to, and she makes you want to be calm, gentle, and relaxed too (which is unusual for bouncemonkey Kat). She can get VERY fired up when she's teaching, but it does wake you right up when she starts hollering.
I bought a few books while I was there, including a raw food cookbook by her daughter, which has all kinds of wild recipes in it that I'm going to try...and probably eat by myself. The only other adventurous eater in this family is Sarah, who will nom on almost anything I hand her - including my most recent excursion into fermented food. I made a batch of tsukemono, which is Japanese sauerkraut. It came out really well.
But I digress.
And here are the many pictures, with captions (as always).
On the way up there, we drove through/by Grand Coulee Dam. Those "little" holes down there on the right were big enough to drive the Durango through. Oddly, I thought the river should be higher, as the rivers here are all at flood stage or higher.
On the way home, I was thinking of a family joke of ours, where Dad turns to Jay and I and says, "Seasonal creek". I'm thinking of this as I'm seeing where the Spokane River and Coeur d'Alene Lake are going to flood - again. So yes, Dad, no seasonal creeks for us. Or as my friend Sandra says, "Living up on a mountain, not caring!"
Here's the view of Peniel Ranch from the road. (The compound (if you will) is in that cluster of trees.) You can see that it's very, very isolated here.
This part of the world is interesting in that it looks like there's hills, hills, and more hills...and then suddenly, there's a massive river in the middle of it, or a waterfall, or a stream...I got out at one point, and the only thing I could hear was the wind. It feels isolated where I live, here, but Peniel Ranch makes my house in the woods feel like the center of a thriving metropolis by comparison.
Jessie pouting by the Columbia River. She'd just had a bug buzz her ear and it freaked her out, so then she was in no mood for pictures. We spent all weekend here and never dipped our toes in the water. Durn.
The large room where we ate, three times a day, plus snacks! All really good, healthy food. (Think whole grains, goat milk, yogurt, homemade granola, fruit, etc.) I put on at least five pounds while I was there. I don't normally eat "three squares" a day, and my body showed appreciation and gratitude by expanding my rear end a few inches. (Jay liked this picture because he thinks the fireplace looks cool.)
The room where all of the formal teaching was done. You can see Nancy (with the red hair) at the front, explaining in great detail each parenting point (they were all awesome). The only downside was this room was upstairs and we were in the middle of an astonishingly hot heat wave. It was 94 the day I pulled in, and the next day was forecast to be 10 degrees hotter. Add that to all of those bodies in one room, and we only thought to open the windows in the evening of the second day, and it got very muggy and warm up there very quickly.
I spent a lot of time barefoot. So did everyone else.
Melanie, with her cute bebbeh named Jenna. I got to hold her lots, didn't help with my baby fever very much! :) She was quite congenial and enjoyable company and more than forthcoming in telling me her life story (and not the least bit disconcerted at my nosiness). And now I can tell the whole world I'm annoyed that she's moving in August. Durnit!
It was hot, I was sweaty, no makeup...but quite cheerful and really having a good time. It really shows in this picture. (...aaaand you can see I'm packing on the weight again, *sigh*)
Liz and Chrissy (and if I spelled your name wrong, I'm sorry). Liz's boy Rush, the busy bee, was out and about. That's Chrissy's baby Liz is holding. We were swapping around babies and children all weekend. All very commune-style *snort chuckle*.
Liz is the "Ultimate Girl Scout"; her friends describe her as such and they were not far off. Anything you needed - spout to fit on water bottle, portable Moses bed, bag full of granola for the munchies - she had and offered at precisely the right moment. Chrissy gave some really excellent testimony the last day that we were there. She made me sniffle a few times, and those who know me, know that's a hard thing to do.
And below we have Victoria, whom I'm going to kidnap and force into top modeldom so she can make me a million bucks. She's being held by her mom, Camille, who tolerated my eccentricities and gave me excellent advice. Not only is Victoria beautiful, she's also intelligent, well-spoken, and a delight to be around. Her mom, Camille, is spunky and fiery and completely comfortable. We clicked right away and found we have many of the same ideas and worldviews. (Who'd've thought there'd be more like me, *gasp shock awe*)
And I got HER life story out of her too. I love life stories.
Camille noted that she is going to refer to me as "funky fantastic" in her blog, and I threatened to use an equally descriptive term for her on MY blog. But I'm drawing a blank other than they were just phenomenally good company.
All of these crazy girls (and a very few boys) played volleyball, regardless of how hot it was or how late. Although they did knock off sometime before midnight. They were out there running and bouncing and jouncing while us *ahem* "older ladies" were sitting in the shade, running with sweat from doing nothing at all, and envying them their youthful energy and ability to bop around in 90+ degree temperatures.
Ah, youth.
For those who are wondering, the girls were not hampered in the least by wearing skirts. You really can do all the "normal" things in life whilst wearing a skirt; we wear them about 80% of the time around here. Obviously dirtbiking and snowboarding don't work in a skirt, but the rest of time...they work out for us quite well.
So there you have it - fine teaching, fine company, fine food. The cost for both Jessie and I at this retreat was a staggering $75. I say "staggering" not because it's expensive, but the exact opposite. That price included all our meals and our lodging from 5:30 PM Friday night until we left around 1:30 PM on Sunday. Superior! If you want the website address, it's http://www.penielranch.org They run retreats quite often, some are family some are women or men only, and so forth. Excellent, and I can't recommend it enough.
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May. 15, 2008 I Don't Know What Your Children Do...
...to celebrate the first hot day of the year, but here's what MINE do.
The fight begins. I caught this one long-range and hurried to put on my flip flips ( !! FLIP FLOPS!! IT'S WARM ENOUGH FOR FLIP FLOPS!!!) and catch some closeup shots.
A momentary cease-fire in hostilities. "Mom's takin' a picture, smile pretty, put away the fangs..."
The battle continues. The screams and spluts continued for a few minutes, and then I intervened.
I think Sarah lost. (you think?) Although Jessie's clothes bore the brunt of Sarah's barrages. The clothes are now in the basket; thankfully, Sarah was just wearing a pullup. Bang, into the trash it goes. I'm glad I had the foresight to get her to take HER clothes off before all of this began. As far as Jessie's stuff... I'm dreading pulling them out to wash them. It's gonna be very messy.
Half hour later and lots of scrubbing, and they're back to being clean. I should note that when I got them into the tub, Sarah's hair was almost totally black and full of rocks. I don't think their shoes will survive the trauma. Tub's still full of dirt, too. *shrug* Oh well, we have a baseball game to go to this afternoon.
First sign of spring, unless the cows get out and eat them.
Since Hanta is gone and Lhasa is fat and lazy, the deer have been coming back around. Good eating, come October!
...mmm, venison...
Tomorrow, Jessica and I will make the 3.5 hour trip to Okanogan, Washington, for a women's (and daughters) retreat put on by a Christian ministry called Above Rubies - which is referencing Proverbs 31. Now, don't get me wrong, but I hate the Proverbs 31 woman. She gets up before light to feed her family, she weaves, does business, and basically knocks it all out.
(uh huh)
Talk about making me feel like a lazy loser! I'm stoked to get a few loads of laundry and the dishes done. Maaaaybe some sewing or vacuuming. Other than that, I'm wiped out.
Well...now that I think of it...there are other things that take my time.
Durn Internet.
But I digress.
Anyway, that's where we'll be Friday night, all day Saturday, and until lunch Sunday. Hopefully Jessie has a good time and I learn something (maybe how to weave, heh). Jay's going to take Joshua and Sarah to a baseball game Saturday and church on Sunday. Hoping I will be home in time to hit up our Apologetics class at 6 PM.
Obligatory bike pic. This is some of the work I got done on the bike (RTT triple clamp setup) that you can see. The rest of the stuff is in the springs and forks and not exactly viewable. Very bling, don't you think?
On the off subject, the wrist I (think I) broke snowboarding back in January is still plaguing me, to the point where it throbs all the time. Hurts just combing my hair, putting on clothes, brushing teeth...you get the point. Survey says - get it x-rayed? Is there a point? If I broke it and it healed badly, that means, like, surgery, which I'm not interested in doing at this point in time. Maybe there's a dead bone in there. Maybe I'm just old. X-ray or no? What do you think?
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May. 10, 2008 And once more with brevity... May. 6, 2008 Our Boy, The Baseball Whiz
In all of his uniformed glory. Look at those pants. Look closer. REALLY look at those pants. We're not looking at brand names here. Do you see how white those pants are? Hm. Yes. White. Blinding, really. Spandy-clean. New. The epitome of fresh and new.
Not any more.
Don't believe me? THIS is how they get dirty...from little boys sliding into base. First base, mind you. He didn't know he wasn't allowed to do so. That was his first game.
His second game - now he's figured out the whole "which base I can slide into" thing. Don't laugh...I didn't know you couldn't slide into first base either.
At least he didn't go in with his cleats up.
The below pic is Josh on first base, second pic is second base...you get the idea. During that particular game (which was different from the "slide into first and get my pants dirty" game), Josh managed two runs home. He's getting better, much to the chagrin of the team that they smoked to the tune of 7-0. They stopped playing after 4 innings and had an unofficial 5th inning so the other kids could actually get to bat.
Now, why should we let them get better by practicing on us? Oh yeah, because they're all little kids. 
The Boy up at bat.
The pupa dog continues to get bigger...n' cuter...official pickup date is confirmed as May 30th. Superior!
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May. 1, 2008 New Puppeh Pitchahs
At two weeks old. The name "Bonsai" is in question; it may be something else. I kinda like Enzerubebi (Angel Baby)...
...yes, really...
...but I think it might be a bit long. Enzeru does mean "Angel", though...
New pictures of her are supposed to be sent tomorrow (she's actually three weeks old tomorrow).
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May. 1, 2008 My Aunt Kathy, VBS, Baseball, The Weather, Various
My Aunt Kathy has breast cancer. Please pray for her. She's going in for an MRI, then a lumpectomy, then five weeks of radiation to make sure it's all gone. This worries me immensely, because she's a neato-keeno lady and I think she's just great. My Aunt Mary said it'll just be a pain in the boob and she'll be fine, with which I concur, but a little prayer never hurt anyone. Hoping it all goes well and smoothly and the docs are able to handle the situation with efficiency and grace. I KNOW Aunt Kathy will handle it with grace and humor, as she always does.
I am co-teaching a preschool/kindergarten class at Athol Baptist this year. Why I agreed to this, I don't know. I guess I need to get out of my comfort zone a little more and serve a bit more at church than I have, although dangit, standing up there in front of everyone on Sunday and SINGING is some pretty out-of-my-comfort-zone service as it is. The bonus, though, is that the girls will be able to attend VBS for the first time, albeit in my class.
Joshua is playing in Little League baseball. I don't think Jay really comprehended (nor did I) the effect of having practice Mon - Wed - Fri and games on Tues - Thu - Sat was going to have on our family. Sometimes here and there he doesn't have a game, but for the most part, it's baseball six days a week. Until June 5th.
Yeow.
The weather has been, again, pretty much poop for a while. Cold, then warm, then it snowed a bit yesterday, rain later this week. Actually, it's normal spring weather, albeit a month flippin' late.
No new pics of the puppy, although I'm supposed to get them every Friday. Another email to send, check.
This is a busy month, what with Josh doing baseball and such. I'm having one of those scheduling seizures - the kind where you realize you have a whole lot of things you have to schedule but you haven't gotten around the setting up the calendar yet. Joshua's baseball, his birthday party, a trip to an Amish auction, my retreat with Jessica, Joshua's camp...maybe a vacation in there, somewhere, on up to Glacier National Park. Guess I should go set that up before I get analysis paralysis and none of it gets done.
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Apr. 18, 2008 Thank You For Playing...
and the comments and emails I got, speculating on what exact lineage that little blue critter was in a previous post.
Note there's a new critter, of a black-and-white pattern, in a more recent post. (The blue critter was snapped up by someone else.) And if you're really discerning, you'll note a critter in my lap, of similar lineage. If you haven't had an "Aha!" moment yet, read on.
The buzzer *bzzts* and the curtain lifts to reveal the puppy breed which is:
CHIHUAHUA
*mad gales of laughter*
Yes, I'm getting an inny-binny itty-bitty teeny-weeny dog.
(oh my, how alliterative)
The mind's already made up, puppy's been viewed (and parents scrutinized, along with all the other little dogs), deposit already put down. I'll be picking her up the last weekend of May. Or May 30th. Close enough. *shrug*
Now that I think about it, I really don't want to be driving in North Spokane (which is kinda like Los Angeles) on the Memorial Day weekend. So I think I'll make it for the Friday before the weekend. Wait, that could be just as bad. Maybe the Thursday before. I don't know. It's all so dang complicated and besides, it's two months away.
Name? Bonsai, which the girls mispronounce "Banzai", which makes it even funnier. Hey, normal-size dog, give it a normal name. Tiny dog, it's a bonsai dog, just like a bonsai tree.
(do I really have to explain? I think not)
Dad will be horrified and heap imprecations on my head, Mom will shrug and say, "If it makes you happy" and then tell my aunt that I'm crazy, Bonnie will recommend it for hawk-baiting on a string and then come up here and love on it, Chris will smile knowingly because he HAS a little dog (albeit a mutt), and everyone else will tell me how yappy, snappy, jealous, vengeful and whatever other pejoratives people can think up, woe is you, Kat. I already got yelled at by Nick. He had prior indication by virtue of a phone call.
Yet, please note: since when could you ever tell me what to do?
And on to other subjects...I got one ride in on the new bike (250X), then took to m y bed with the worst case of "I don't know what it is but it is KILLING me" for a week. Starts as flu, moves to strep throat (and accompany 102.6 temperature, I'm very proud of that), then goes to the bright-yellow snot sinus infection. Now I'm battling what feels like bronchitis with a sore throat. I've been sick for about ten days now.
Just in time for the weekend, Jay is getting sick with it and he and Josh are leaving for California. So much for any riding for me while they're gone. I probably shouldn't be out there in the rain and cold and guck anyway. It's not spring here and it never will be, as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, Jay went to the doctor and they told him that it was viral. Then they gave him antibiotics and coughing dope, which if I'd had any brains, I would've gotten last week. So gosh, I hope HE feels better.
(Yes, my concern is overwhelming. I'm just mad it took him this long to get it.)
On the plus side, Joshua (and I, by extension) get a week off from schooling. Superior!
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Apr. 17, 2008 Ah SO KYOOT and Cool Apr. 7, 2008 Where's Mah Bukkit?* I'm Going...
...to Seattle!
To spend lots of money at logos below.
Uwajimaya: Japanese food, Japanese toys, Japanese candy, Japanese drinks, Japanese stuff...all dem things you can no buy in Idaho because people here just don't eat...Japanese...anything...but I am the only person in fifty square miles that can fold a crane out of a restaurant menu...where was I?
Ah yes, having fits and rhapsodies over all the loot I'm gonna grab at:
And then off to the Woodrings' for pizza and convivial conversation (at least until the girls punk out or have a screaming fit, whichever comes first). Then back to Renton / Tukwila / Kent / wherever for a night of fitful sleep in an unfamiliar bed with two adorable little piglets pressing up against me like four-and-twenty blackbirds in a pie...and then...
*drum roll*
The BIG spending trip:
Although I daresay that if I really tried (and had a big enough cooler), I could achieve parity of spending between the two stores.
Yes, really.
A shopping trip in Seattle with two little girls! And lunch with Aunt Kathy...Swedish meatballs and more convivial conversation! (I haven't received email back from Aunt Nora yet, I'm hoping she'll pop in there somewhere.) I can't wait! Fun and games are be had...well, then there's that five hour drive back, but the girls can sleep and I'll just make a new CD for the truck. Actually, I'll burn something like five or six new CDs for the truck...all poundy techno music so I don't fall asleep on the long stretches between, say, Ellensburg and Moses Lake.
Oh, and to pique your curiousity, just a tad...
What's that, you ask? Hmm, oop, dang, out of time, really have to go, it's been lovely....
I'll give you a hint, that's not my blanket the little critter is lying on. Hence, that critter is not at my house. Other than that, I'll leave you to rack your brains for, oh, all of five seconds or so before you shrug and hit up the next webpage.
*Bukkit is an Internet joke, from http://www.icanhascheezburger.com. Well worth the time and fairly family-friendly. Actually, it's more hAx0r Internets l33t sp33k, to be honest. I take my amusements where I can. |
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Apr. 4, 2008 Pics O The Kids, Split Up Knuckle
In doing some playing with the camera, I discovered I do mug shots well. (Did I mention how fantastic this camera is? Yeh.)
Small, but winsome (with chapped skin and Beefaroni residue around her lips, oh frail fragile flower of feminity is our Sarah):
Jessica, in a rare cooperative mood. Her eyes just SPARKLE when she smiles, and means it. That's my sweater she's wearing. *sigh* Yes, she's not even five yet and she's already borrowing my clothes.
Yes, it's a forced grin, but it's a real one too. Joshua, the consistent ham...
Then I got distracted by the fluff in the cold air return vent. I need to vacuum more often, but the slopes call.
Tomorrow is our last day of snowboarding, as the resort closes on Sunday. Ohmygosh, then what...DIRTBIKING!!!!
In getting chili out of a can with an unremoved lid, I popped my knuckle...it was "flapped" almost to the middle of the knuckle. Did I get stitches? Haaaaaaayeck no, just taped it up and called it good. I've re-busted it open five or six times since the original injury. *sigh* No SuperGlue in sight, otherwise I'd just glue the darn thing shut.
Life is such a comedy.
And now for enormous EEWWWW photo:
The camera really does take excellent close-ups, this was really close and my hands weren't all that steady. Ah well. You get the general idea.
Jay is gearing up for the big Bridgeport trip, and the girls and I are headed out to Seattle for a two-day whirlwind IKEA and Uwajimaya shopping trip. Guess I should warn the local Galvins of the fact. We're staying a motel in Renton; makes things easier for all involved. Or maybe it's Kent. Or Tukwila. Or something like that.
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Mar. 22, 2008 Menneh, Menneh Peetchers...beeg peetchers
So, Jay and I went snowboarding this weekend. Again. This is becoming expensive.
But oh my, is it fun.
So here are some pictures. Look, we really are snowboarding!
Oh yeah, we had the mountain to ourselves at the end of the day...we kinda sorta waited around until everyone else had taken off and then sauntered down at our own, very very slow pace. We figured we'd get detention for hanging out too late, I don't think anyone even noticed. So now we know what to do for next time.
Here is Jay in his "Darth Vader" getup...
Me in my "Queen Kat" pose:
And people ask me why I moved to Idaho...well, here's a hint:
Hey, look, she doesn't just talk about it and pose for pictures, she really DOES do the stuff in the snow...
Here are some pics of the kids when I was working out the kinks with the new camera. I lurve my new camera. It's small enough to fit in a pocket and it's actually, like, intuitive so even a techno-Luddite like me can figure it out. W00t.
The boy, playing with Dad's old Crackberry. For the love of heaven, will someone please call and convince him that he needs his hair cut?
Sarah was not having a good day. Sarah is having lots of days like these lately. Sarah is definitely a two year old. Or maybe it's just her brother freaking out in the background...
Oh, and we rock the Hello Kitty temporary tattoos in this house.
Jessica, close up and personal.
So there's a bunch of new pics for you. I have to go to bed. I've been boarding from 9AM to 5PM today and I still have to get up early tomorrow to do a bunch of singing at church for Easter services. We get to stay up on stage and sing a bunch of songs interspersed with Scripture and such, for an entire hour. And I missed praise practice on Tuesday because, well, I just spaced it. So I'll be singing some songs and lip-synching others.
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Mar. 18, 2008 Jay's Last Supper Snowboard
I've had some requests for a picture of Jay's board, I guess no one believes me that he rides a snowboard with "The Last Supper" on it. And he really chose that, he likes it.
I should have noted it's actually Andy Warhol's version of "The Last Supper". I also found out it is a collector's item and they will make no more and sell no more. His is #1054. And he's been riding on it, people have been nicking and gouging and scuffing it in lift lines. *sigh* Guess he'll be getting a new board next year.
So there you go - the Warhol Last Supper board. Ain't it purdy?
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Mar. 14, 2008 I Got Smart...
...and after busting my head a good one last Saturday, promptly went to the board shop in Schweitzer Village and bought one of these:
(yes, I know the name GIRO is backward, that's what happens when you take a pic with a closed cellphone)
This stuff is the bomb when you are sick...will burn out just about anything...sort of like Thai tabasco sauce.
(aaaand, this picture is backward too, same as the one above. I DO notice these details.)
Today I am picking up Joshua's buddy Drew, and then taking both boys to Super One to do our bimonthly grocery shopping. Yes, I am totally crazy. Grocery shopping with two little boys who are all jacked up on each other's company. Uh-huh.
This is in preparation for yet another day of boarding tomorrow with Jay and the boys. I think we may be on our last legs with regard to the snow sports, but that just means that dirtbiking is around the corner!
I'll be sure to keep the ER logs updated.
We've started going back to church and to praise practice. We had a six week hiatus there - granted, with excuses for every weekend, ranging from my miscarriage to Jay's busted ankle to the pastor canceling Sunday Services because he's skeered of snow - but we're getting back in the swing of things. You can tell when you're not going to church; everything seems skewed and something seems missing. Then you go back to church and it's like, "Aha! THAT'S what was missing!"
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Mar. 2, 2008 Saturday Was A Good Day Until...
...Jay took a swift and vicious bail on Midway run and jacked up his ankle AGAIN. Did I mention that he broke it - for real - when he jumped off the roof five or six weeks ago? Broke it and walked around on it, and then it healed, and he's been snowboarding and walking and driving on it for weeks. The docs told him if he'd come in a week earlier than he did, they would've made him put a cast on it.
This would be on top of the wrist he broke when he wrecked in November. Again, broke it and didn't get a cast.
Yeow.
He agreed to not board on it this weekend, but then also says it's feeling better. Ten bucks says he wants to go again Saturday, just you wait...
We both learned some new tricks in the snow, specifically how to go edge-to-edge. God bless powder and freshies. It was an awesome time. And I'm paying for it today, by being sick as a dog. I was sick yesterday before we even left, but I knew if I didn't go that NO ONE would get to go, so I bucked up, took a lot of Excedrin, and powered through until 7:00 PM...and THEN had to drive home and pick up the girls. Josh has relapsed, everyone is barking and hacking around here, it sounds like a tuberculosis ward.
Jay, darn him, hasn't gotten sick!
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Feb. 25, 2008 Joshua's Mole Removal
I forgot to add in previous postings that we did end up having the mole under Joshua's eye removed. The doctor said that normally when parents come in with their kids to have "suspicious" moles removed, he sends them back out the door with a "see you in ten years" comment...however, after looking at the one under Josh's eye, he agreed that it needed to be removed.
A shot of lidocaine, a few snips with scissors, and off it came. Dr. Baker was agreeably surprised with how well Numbah One Son handled it. He said most kids his age start freaking out the second the door to the room opens. Josh's eye watered a bit when they put in the needle, but he didn't fight or scream or freak out.
It turns out the mole under his eye was a "Spindle Cell Nevus", which I can't tell from reading about it if it is a melanoma-style mole or not. All accounts point to it being removed and removed early is the best way to go.
So that's all there is. The snow is slowly melting away, although probably not enough in time for the Spring Mud Fling Harescramble, which is March 9th and I don't think any of us are crazy enough to race in the snow and ice.
No, not even me.
Jay's wrist is still not in good shape from his wreck in November, and his bike is unrepaired at this point. The other one (the KTM) is STILL in the shop. I told Jay that I think the guy is taking it to Mexico and riding it, which is why every time Jay calls, something ELSE is broken on it. Come end of March, Dave Russell KTM will have had Jay's KTM for a year. A whole year. In the shop. And they STILL can't figure out what's wrong? Riiiiiiight.
The snow is holding at the higher altitudes; we're still boarding every weekend we can. Joshua did a face plant on Saturday and bit through his tongue; he was very dramatically spitting blood into the snow as his friend looked on, when I showed up a minute or two later.
*shakes head* Little boys.
Then he got up, boarded down the hill in a businesslike fashion, and ate a big lunch like nothing happened.
*double shrug*
Jay and Josh are doing the Bridgeport trip thing again at the end of April; I may or may not head over to Seattle for a day trip to have lunch with whomever can get off work and also work the big IKEA purchases (bookcases, et al). I thought about staying the night, but that means whatever I buy at the Big Blue Box Store would have to sit in the back of the truck, out all night, for whoever wants to take it. So I'll probably do ten hours of driving in one day and slam down the coffee. Good thing caffeine affects me so strongly, eh?
Jessica and I are attending a women's retreat in Omak in late May; I think she'll really enjoy spending the one-on-one time with just her and Mom. Being the middle child, she doesn't always get a lot of undivided attention from me.
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Feb. 18, 2008 Total Turnaround
I had a miscarriage on Sunday night. There's not a lot of physical trauma, but the mood around here has been somber. Joshua was especially upset about the loss, as he has wanted a baby brother for years and years. He cried his eyes out for about half an hour when we told him what happened.
Unfortunately, the miracle of modern science lets you find out far earlier if you're pregnant than in bygone times. However - also unfortunately - it's thought that up to 40% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. It used to be that you'd wait a month, maybe longer, before finally figuring out you're pregnant. These days, you can find out if you're pregnant five days before you miss anything at all.
Which is, admittedly, neat on the "HEY GUESS WHAT?!" factor, but really sucks if you're slated to lose the baby like we did. I know it's common, I know there's a reason (probably a non-survivable defect), but it's still upsetting in the "could have been" ways.
That - and this really stupid - but I had to tell all.those.people whom I had just told I was pregnant that hey, now I'm not pregnant. And getting "congratulations" from people that were told second-hand, only to tell them, erm, no, no congratulations any more.
Next time we're gonna wait a while before we spread around the good cheer, you know?
I wasn't feeling too terrible physically today, so we unloaded the girls on Diane and took Josh and his buddy David up to The Schwizz for some boarding. It was a good way for me to mellow and have some headspace, except something weird happened to my iPOD Shuffle and I had a mere three - count em, THREE - songs to listen to all day long. Yep, that was a drag. We did go up on an intermediate run, so we're all getting better at this snowboarding thing.
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So, yeah, here's the news!
And yes, this was good news, and yes, this was planned, and yes, we know we're crazy, and yes, we know "what causes that"...due sometime in late October, my first OB appointment is on February 29th.
Joshua is, naturally, gunning for a boy, but getting outshouted for a girl by Jess and Sarah. This kiboshes dirtbike racing (and pretty much riding) for me this year, I'll be watching all that from the sidelines and reporting as necessary. I'll finish out snowboarding with The Boy this year, though.
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Feb. 1, 2008 And The Injuries Keep Coming
So Jay bailed off the roof shoveling snow and now his ankle looks like a very angry puffer fish, sans spines.
Josh and I will be heading up to the mountain to snowboard by ourselves tomorrow. Actually, Josh will be in a class again, so I'll be snowboarding by MYself. Just me. Me and my MP3 player. Yup.
Sounds kinda...y'know...heavenly. *laughs wildly*
(Lest I sound totally cold-blooded, Jay's ankle is much better today. He's going to stay off it for another week just to be sure.)
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Jan. 28, 2008 SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW-a-licious!
A foot or more two nights ago, another six inches expected tonight, another six or eight in a few days...snowboarding will be FINE up at the Schwizz...
Our driveway:
Josh not waiting for the Schwizz, boarding in driveway instead:
Other than this, the girls are doing great, doing "schoolwork" a lot...they like to color, and then they get into coloring on each other's stuff, then the screaming commences and I have break up the 4,563rd fight of the day over "SHE'S COLORING ON MY STUFF!!!" *sigh* Little girls are about as territorial as velociraptors, and equally as vicious.
No real news, I still am not smoking, will be four months on February 15th, hooray for me. Managing to stay a size eight, hooray for me. Currently sending another email to Cedars, since the imaging places up here "didn't get" their faxes, blah blah blah, boring medical stuff. I'll let you know what the esophagrams show this time, if I can ever get them scheduled, trying to work between two radiologists, a speech therapist and a very busy specialist in SoCal.
Josh has an appointment on Thursday to get a mole under his eye looked at by a dermatologist. It was very small - speck sized - and is now getting bigger, almost the size of a grain of rice at this point. Given the fiasco about getting his other mole removed, I would normally just shrug and say "eh", but this thing started growing really fast in the last year. Probably going to have to get it removed. His attitude? Shrug and "eh, it probably won't hurt." He's such a studly little boy.
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Jan. 26, 2008 It's heeere.....
Jay's board to arrive next week. Joshua's board to be purchased sometime in the next ten days...
This is what it looks like close up...issa purple, issa pink, issa lovely!
Jay's board has The Last Supper on it...really and truly!
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Jan. 22, 2008 Christian Static
Like the sticker on my bike says:
I get a lot of grief and attitude for stating that our family is Christian, so let me lay this out once and for all for everyone to read. I am tired of being hassled for this decision; it's done worlds of good in both of our lives and is continuing to change us in ways that are probably too subtle for most of our friends and family to notice.
But we are changing, a little bit at a time. Just like water wears away rocks, our personalities, worldviews, and philosophies are changing.
Yes, Jay and I are both born-again Christians. Yes, we've accepted Jesus as our savior with everything that statement entails. We were baptized in front of the church. We go to church on Sundays, we tithe money to the church, and I sing with the praise team on Sundays. Our girls hang in the church nursery and listen to Christian nursery rhymes, and our son goes to kids' church and learns Scripture and praise music too.
You don't have to agree with our decision or even like it, but I'm asking that you respect it. Telling me I'm full of it because I'm no different than I was ten years ago is becoming hurtful in the extreme. Telling me the only reason I became a Christian was so I could "fit in" up here in Idaho is also mean. You can call me a hypocrite, Kool-Aid Drinker, sheeple, one of the herd, call me whatever you want.
You can appeal to my intellect. Appeal to my cynicism. Appeal to my hypocrisy, as I was an outspoken critic of Christianity in the past. Appeal to the fact that I still cuss and act mean, and then tell me that I'm not a Christian because I'm not nice enough or kind enough or sweet enough or whatever enough.
You go right ahead and do that.
Appeal to all those things, and then ACCEPT the fact that this is who we are now. I don't feel I have to defend this choice any more to anyone, and I'm tired of discussing it and turning away the subtle and not-so-subtle barbs at the lifestyle choices we've both made.
We're Christians. Stop trying to pigeonhole us back into the mold of what we used to be, and deal with us the way we are now.
Thanks.
Now that I've gotten that little hissy fit out of the way, Jay, Joshua and I all spent the day up on The Schwizz (Schweitzer Mountain) learning how to snowboard this past weekend. My tailbone, elbows and shoulders are getting together and suing me for mass stupidity and loss of athletic ability due to aging. Jay did better than I, and Joshua learned how to rocket down the hill in no time - perhaps a bit too fast. (We all had lessons)
Joshua is now the proud owner of a camo snowboard helmet and goggles. We're in the process of getting the rest of the gear and heading up again in a few weeks. Now we have a crazy winter sport to complement our crazy summer sport(s). The fun never ends here.
And, apparently, neither will the E.R. bills.
Wearing some of my fabulous snowboard gear. Every bit of gear for snowboarding is designed to make your butt look about two axe-handles-wide...ah well...vanity goes right out of your head when you've landed on your face for the 3,456th time:
Look, Mom, messy kitchen!
I had a picture of Jay on my cell phone, but I thought I'd taken two - one where a snowmobile was in front of him (and that's the one on my phone) and one that I emailed to myself. I apparently emailed it to the Twilight Zone, because I never got it in my email nor is it on my phone. Spooky. They were just crummy camera phone shots anyway; I'm not bringing a good camera up on the slopes to get smashed up. I'll try to get some next time, at least closer up like the one above.
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Jan. 16, 2008 A Rare Moment of Cooperation
The kids in the kitchen, making chocolate chip cookies. The cooperation lasted until Sarah got bored and started getting into the chocolate, bumping Jessica who was spooning flour into the mixer. Then chaos took over, as it must always do. But it was mellow for a moment...a very, very short moment...
And, just because I believe in torturing myself, someday I will own this bike, which has a !real! suspension and !real! engine! W00t!
(can you tell we're getting a little stir-crazy with winter here?)
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Dec. 31, 2007 We Has Snow Fun Yup
So, here's what us Idaho idiots do for fun...not quite as idiotic as riding quads on ice, but close.
One quad + one inflatable doughnut thing + three kids + one idiot parent = fun and games. Jay goes first so I can bawl him out if something goes wrong. We learned right quick that a long rope gets wrapped about the axle quite fast.
I guess that should be TWO parents, because I'm an idiot too.
Little heads bobbling about. We're not worried about whiplash up here, nooooo...
So yup, that's what we do for fun up here.
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Dec. 22, 2007 Snow, Holiday Parties, Loads of Pictures
So the holiday party came and off we were, getting all trumped up in fancy clothes AND spending the night, how fabulous...
Aunt Shirley was here for a few days shy of a month, hanging out with the kids and setting up all kinds of rituals, like the Ritual Of The Nasty Pills And Associated Nasty Faces That Go With Them. The kids love their "Ondee Shirdee" and we always enjoy having her here. Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, lavender mashed potatoes and all.
Many apologies for not doing this sooner, but what with Shirley staying here and Christmas hilarity (or lunacy, depending on how you look at it) and general idiocy with quitting smoking (yes, I'm still in my cave and God knows when I will come out, soon I hope, this anti-socialist attitude really kinda isn't me, despite my hermitic tendencies)...so anyway, there's my litany of excuses. On with the pictures...
Pre-party makeup attempt...ghoulish, if I may say so myself...note the ever-present MP3 headphones in my ears. Well, smoking is a dissociative activity, gotta fill the breach somewhere. Actually, I'm wearing them right now. Actually, that's kind of sad.
Okay, so I got the makeup right when I was there...
Jay looking quite fancy in his suit, yeppers...this would be the suit we picked up on the way to the party because it needed tailoring. Golly, I love doing things at the last minute.
A little pre-party fantasy hockey work...*sigh*...note the snazzy cufflinks in the French-cuffed shirt.
At the party...boy, that was such a pretty scarf and totally worthless, fell off my shoulders and did nothing to keep me warm...next year it's gonna be a velvet bolero jacket...or maybe a down comforter or something...hey, are you loving the BIG FAT STREAK of gray in my hair yet?
Jay and I. I think at this point we were wanting to go back upstairs and sit in the "European soaking tub" in our suite because it BLASTED out hot water. Filled the tub in about two seconds with strangely slippery water (soft water) that felt like it NEVER rinsed clean. If I lived somewhere where they had soft water, I would waste loads of water because it still feels like the shampoo or soap is on your skin even when it's rinsed off. Weird. That would be Zach doing improper things to the food on his plate. He was our boy when Jay wrecked on his bike, and we think he's just great. On the right is Jay's co-worker Andy and his wife.
Mild snow storm, maybe three or four inches of snow, kids went out and blasted around for a while:
Then we had a SNOW.STORM and I drove Aunt Shirley to the airport in THIS:
Fortunately her flight got out of here okay, and actually through Minnesota okay as well. Then she got stuck in Memphis for the night, made it to Kentucky the next day. It's never easy.
So, now that all the pictures are done, I'm changing Joshua over to Rod & Staff next year because I'm finding too many errors in the Landmark curriculum. Some are typos, but most of them I'm finding in the Math section, which is no good because I can't sit there with a calculator and do every.single.problem and I have to be able to trust that the answer book is correct.
Plus he's very excited about changing curriculums, which is good, because we want the boy excited about school, period.
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Nov. 30, 2007 Barefoot And Pregnant In Idaho
Check it out...the girls...and their future...w00t!
By the way, this was entirely their idea. When the novelty of being pregnant wore off, Josh stuffed two of the balls down the backside of his sweatpants and gave himself "Junk In The Trunk" instead...
And now for a complete waste of time...
This page is the biggest waste of time (warning, some bad language on page) but there are pages and pages and PAGES of pictures of cats with weird comments (and mostly stupid Internets Hax0r l33t sp33k language) on them...total time waster...I warned you...but...
Go to: Kattaloggen
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