Roby is reenlisting today. He doesn't think it's a big deal and sees the AF as his job. In many ways I agree and like that outlook. (It lets work stay at work.) But it is a big commitment to a job and his family. He has been supporting us for the last six years because of this job and it has made our family what it is. We were able to get out of Walla Walla so we could make it on our own, we have traveled a lot more than most people our age, and I wouldn't change a thing! I am extremely grateful for all of his sacrifices. He is reenlisting for another 4, after that we'll see where we are. Maybe he'll go all the way to 20 years and get that retirement check. Or, he could be a stay-at-home dad for a while...because I should be done with school by then! ;-)
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sale
I have decided to sell my Stampin' Up stuff. I just don't have the time or desire to stamp anymore. If anyone is interested, I listed it on Craigs List here: My Stampin' Up Listing. As people have been buying things I take them off the listing (some things pictured have been sold)...I have more pics too if you want me to email them to you let me know!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Listen Up
I know I haven't posted any of those promised pictures, but in all honestly, that is probably going to have to wait until I'm finish with this quarter of school.
In the meantime, I figured I could at least write a little here and there to let people know whats been going on...which as it turns out is not a whole lot.
There are quite a few things that I will do full posts about, with pictures...later.
Roby and I are doing well. Work and school keep us really busy. We were able to go paintballing a couple weekends ago. It was a lot of fun! My legs were extremely sore for about four days from the six hours of hiking, crouching and running around. It was well worth it though!!!
Ethan is doing well. He's doing great in school, but still has a little trouble with his reading. I'm not extremely worried about it because he has had problems since first grade...and we read all the time. He loves reading, so I figure it will "click" eventually. We have finally had a few nice days, so the kids have been able to have outside recess. This helps him get some pent up energy out, and seems to be the best way for him to make friends. He has one really good friend (the one that came to his birthday party--and is spending the night right now), but that's about it. He's such a sweet kid (probably not the term most boys want to hear), and I'm sure by the middle of next year he will have many more friends.
That brings us to Natalie. As of today she has missed 4 1/2 of the last six days of school. From a sore throat, to pink eye (again!!!), coughing, and an itchy rash... I took her in to the doctors on Monday, who said she was fine and didn't have strep throat. Then the rash came, so I took her in today...the doctor was horrible...but he said there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. But, after my persistence and insisting that something was going on, I did get a referral to an allergy specialist for early next month. Because the rash keeps coming and going, I have come to the conclusion that she currently has hives (this is the fourth/fifth time). I gave her an antihistamine earlier, and it seems to be helping a bit. And that brings us to her third doctors appointment this week. Several months ago I took her in because she had a persistent cough. The doc looked in her ears and throat. He said the only thing he could see that was wrong was she had a build up of wax in her left ear. He suggested that it was probably irritating her eardrum which was causing her to cough. He recommended that we use a home treatment to try and loosen, thus remove, the wax. Fine, whatever. We tried it for about two weeks, at which point I was tired of making her cry at the end because it hurt...it wasn't supposed to hurt, that was the whole reason why we were doing it at home!!! At her annual check up (last month), that same doctor looked at her again. I reminded him of her "earwax" problem, and told him that she frequently told me that she couldn't hear very well. He looked in her ears again, said the buildup was still there, but the other ear looked fine. I asked if he could remove it, because it had been there for a long time and I obviously couldn't get it out at home. He didn't want to, so he referred us to an ENT Specialist off base. And that appointment was just earlier today. Oh the wonderful things I am feeling right now! The doc looked in one ear. Said that she has quite a buildup of thick fluid behind it. Then looked in the problem ear. She wanted to clean it out so she could see the eardrum. Hmmm Good idea, what I've been suggesting for months now! (She was awesome, I'm just annoyed.) We went into a special room that had a bed and a light so she could look in the ear and use her tools to get the wax out. Guess what she found??? A ROCK!!! Yup, Nat has a "large pebble" in her ear. And because the playgrounds around here don't have rocks, I'm thinking this has been there since this summer when we were at the beach.
Our options were to take it out right then, but it could be painful because of the size...or what we opted for. She wanted Natalie to get tubes put in because of the fluid (by the looks of it, the fluid had been there for quite some time). So, she suggested leaving the rock in until then. Yup, sounded good to me. She's had it in there for at least four months (the fist time I took her in and was told there was nothing going on), another month isn't going to hurt anything too much. Although Nat had a lot of ear infections when she was younger, this will be the first time for tubes. I know its a common procedure, but it will be the first time either of our kids will be "put under."
I'm hoping that she will be able to hear better once the tubes are put in!!! The last few months, especially, I have had to repeat myself over and over to her. Its not just normal kid "what???" stuff, its repeating something when she's standing two feet away, has asked a question, and only heard part of what I said. Maybe this will help her LISTEN when we are talking to her, follow directions better, and probably do better in school!!! (Not that she's doing poorly at all...I just want her to be able to do the best she can!)
I still cannot believe THREE doctors at four appointments didn't notice a buildup of fluid behind one eardrum, and A ROCK IN THE OTHER!!!
In the meantime, I figured I could at least write a little here and there to let people know whats been going on...which as it turns out is not a whole lot.
There are quite a few things that I will do full posts about, with pictures...later.
Roby and I are doing well. Work and school keep us really busy. We were able to go paintballing a couple weekends ago. It was a lot of fun! My legs were extremely sore for about four days from the six hours of hiking, crouching and running around. It was well worth it though!!!
Ethan is doing well. He's doing great in school, but still has a little trouble with his reading. I'm not extremely worried about it because he has had problems since first grade...and we read all the time. He loves reading, so I figure it will "click" eventually. We have finally had a few nice days, so the kids have been able to have outside recess. This helps him get some pent up energy out, and seems to be the best way for him to make friends. He has one really good friend (the one that came to his birthday party--and is spending the night right now), but that's about it. He's such a sweet kid (probably not the term most boys want to hear), and I'm sure by the middle of next year he will have many more friends.
That brings us to Natalie. As of today she has missed 4 1/2 of the last six days of school. From a sore throat, to pink eye (again!!!), coughing, and an itchy rash... I took her in to the doctors on Monday, who said she was fine and didn't have strep throat. Then the rash came, so I took her in today...the doctor was horrible...but he said there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. But, after my persistence and insisting that something was going on, I did get a referral to an allergy specialist for early next month. Because the rash keeps coming and going, I have come to the conclusion that she currently has hives (this is the fourth/fifth time). I gave her an antihistamine earlier, and it seems to be helping a bit. And that brings us to her third doctors appointment this week. Several months ago I took her in because she had a persistent cough. The doc looked in her ears and throat. He said the only thing he could see that was wrong was she had a build up of wax in her left ear. He suggested that it was probably irritating her eardrum which was causing her to cough. He recommended that we use a home treatment to try and loosen, thus remove, the wax. Fine, whatever. We tried it for about two weeks, at which point I was tired of making her cry at the end because it hurt...it wasn't supposed to hurt, that was the whole reason why we were doing it at home!!! At her annual check up (last month), that same doctor looked at her again. I reminded him of her "earwax" problem, and told him that she frequently told me that she couldn't hear very well. He looked in her ears again, said the buildup was still there, but the other ear looked fine. I asked if he could remove it, because it had been there for a long time and I obviously couldn't get it out at home. He didn't want to, so he referred us to an ENT Specialist off base. And that appointment was just earlier today. Oh the wonderful things I am feeling right now! The doc looked in one ear. Said that she has quite a buildup of thick fluid behind it. Then looked in the problem ear. She wanted to clean it out so she could see the eardrum. Hmmm Good idea, what I've been suggesting for months now! (She was awesome, I'm just annoyed.) We went into a special room that had a bed and a light so she could look in the ear and use her tools to get the wax out. Guess what she found??? A ROCK!!! Yup, Nat has a "large pebble" in her ear. And because the playgrounds around here don't have rocks, I'm thinking this has been there since this summer when we were at the beach.
Our options were to take it out right then, but it could be painful because of the size...or what we opted for. She wanted Natalie to get tubes put in because of the fluid (by the looks of it, the fluid had been there for quite some time). So, she suggested leaving the rock in until then. Yup, sounded good to me. She's had it in there for at least four months (the fist time I took her in and was told there was nothing going on), another month isn't going to hurt anything too much. Although Nat had a lot of ear infections when she was younger, this will be the first time for tubes. I know its a common procedure, but it will be the first time either of our kids will be "put under."
I'm hoping that she will be able to hear better once the tubes are put in!!! The last few months, especially, I have had to repeat myself over and over to her. Its not just normal kid "what???" stuff, its repeating something when she's standing two feet away, has asked a question, and only heard part of what I said. Maybe this will help her LISTEN when we are talking to her, follow directions better, and probably do better in school!!! (Not that she's doing poorly at all...I just want her to be able to do the best she can!)
I still cannot believe THREE doctors at four appointments didn't notice a buildup of fluid behind one eardrum, and A ROCK IN THE OTHER!!!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Beleive It Or Not...
I'm still here!!!
Life has been busy, oh so busy!! I started school on Roby's birthday, and haven't felt like I've had time to breathe since. I am amazed at how much time I've spent doing homework! I've had 6 tests/quizes already, today I had the hardest one yet (in Anatomy & Physiology I). I am really relieved that its out of the way, although I have three/four more of the hard ones in that class to go...at least I know what and how to study for the next one!
The weekend before school started I made a trip down to Southern California. I'll write more about that later.
But for now, I just wanted to say that I'm still here, and that I'll try really really hard to post some pictures this week or weekend. (Seems how its been a full month since Ethan's birthday and I haven't posted those pics yet!!!)
Hope everyone is doing well and has had a little more time to relax than I have!!! ;-)
Life has been busy, oh so busy!! I started school on Roby's birthday, and haven't felt like I've had time to breathe since. I am amazed at how much time I've spent doing homework! I've had 6 tests/quizes already, today I had the hardest one yet (in Anatomy & Physiology I). I am really relieved that its out of the way, although I have three/four more of the hard ones in that class to go...at least I know what and how to study for the next one!
The weekend before school started I made a trip down to Southern California. I'll write more about that later.
But for now, I just wanted to say that I'm still here, and that I'll try really really hard to post some pictures this week or weekend. (Seems how its been a full month since Ethan's birthday and I haven't posted those pics yet!!!)
Hope everyone is doing well and has had a little more time to relax than I have!!! ;-)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Trying To Get It Done
I have pictures of Ethan's birthday party and actual birthday that I am trying to get ready to post. I don't know yet if having Photoshop Elements is a good thing or not! Now I want to edit and fix every picture I think about posting! :-)
I had yesterday off, but am working the rest of the week, so I'm not sure when I'll actually get to finish them...hopefully soon!!! Sorry for the delay!
Ethan had a great birthday!!! Thank you to everyone who thought of him, sent him cards, e-cards, or gifts! He was excited about every single one of them!
At the very least, no one is throwing up anymore...three weeks of it was plenty thank-you-very-much!!!
Roby has this week off work because he worked the last month or so pretty much nonstop, and when he wasn't working he was on call.
Oh, did I mention that school was closed for the kids today because the wind-chill was negative 25???!!! I had never heard of school closures because of the cold!!! I completely agree though, all those kids that stand waiting for the bus would get frostbite pretty darn quick!
P.S. I didn't know school was closed until I got Natalie half way to school and another mom that didn't know either pulled over and told me. I had to go to the other side of the school to try and get Ethan to let him know he needed to come home. He was upset because he was so cold and thought he was late...thus locked out of the school. We were all freezing by the time we got back, and we were outside less than 15 minutes.
I had yesterday off, but am working the rest of the week, so I'm not sure when I'll actually get to finish them...hopefully soon!!! Sorry for the delay!
Ethan had a great birthday!!! Thank you to everyone who thought of him, sent him cards, e-cards, or gifts! He was excited about every single one of them!
At the very least, no one is throwing up anymore...three weeks of it was plenty thank-you-very-much!!!
Roby has this week off work because he worked the last month or so pretty much nonstop, and when he wasn't working he was on call.
Oh, did I mention that school was closed for the kids today because the wind-chill was negative 25???!!! I had never heard of school closures because of the cold!!! I completely agree though, all those kids that stand waiting for the bus would get frostbite pretty darn quick!
P.S. I didn't know school was closed until I got Natalie half way to school and another mom that didn't know either pulled over and told me. I had to go to the other side of the school to try and get Ethan to let him know he needed to come home. He was upset because he was so cold and thought he was late...thus locked out of the school. We were all freezing by the time we got back, and we were outside less than 15 minutes.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
From The Weekend
I haven't posted in a while just because I was too lazy to get the cord to connect my camera to my new computer. :-) Its really not that hard, just kind of annoying.
On Friday Natalie had two friends come over after school, and both ended up spending the night. They played great (most of the time) and didn't bug Ethan too much!
*****
On Friday Natalie had two friends come over after school, and both ended up spending the night. They played great (most of the time) and didn't bug Ethan too much!
Coloring and eating a snack.
After a few hours of coloring, playing house and Barbie's I made them a tent to play and sleep in. They spent the rest of the evening playing in there! It's wonderful how something as simple as a sheet can entertain them so much!
Posing for the camera.
Because Natalie had two friends to play with, I let Ethan play video games a little longer than I usually do. He had no complaints about it!!!
I started getting the girls to settle down around 9pm, then tucked them in at 10. I let them whisper and giggle for an hour or so before going in and shushing them repeatedly for the next hour. Finally, at midnight I had to move Natalie into Ethan's room just so they would get some sleep! Roby and I stayed up a bit longer watching movies, and I didn't hear the kids in the morning until 8:10. At noon I sent the girls home so we could eat lunch and do a few things before Ethan and Nat headed over to the neighbors house so Roby and I could go on a date. Sunday morning I found out that Ethan had thrown up at the neighbors house and really wasn't feeling well. They were both sick the rest of the day, and Natalie was yesterday too. Ethan went to school today only for me to pick him up at 1:45 because he wasn't feeling well again. (He threw up in a trash can as I was signing him out.) Natalie is now feeling a lot better and is excited to be able to go to her Valentine's Day party tomorrow at school. Ethan on the other hand has to stay home. I really hope this is the last round of sickness that we have in our house for a while!!! haha I know I'm funny.*****
Ethan's birthday is coming up here pretty quick! It seems to sneak up on me every year! He got his first present in the mail this weekend! He was extremely excited about it and can't wait to spend it! (I told him he had to wait until after his birthday to see if he gets any more so he can get something bigger.)
(Do you like my new Photo Shop skillz???!!! I didn't think the amount should be shown on here...)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Determined
A few weeks ago, Natalie brought home a bright red envelope. It was already sealed with some kind of project inside that she made during free time at school. I asked her what it was, and she told me it was "a surprise for Mrs. Stephanie!" I asked her if I could open it and see, but she didn't want me to. We addressed it, she stuck the stamp on, and put it by the front door so she could put it in the mailbox the next morning.
I just talked to Mrs. Stephanie, and she got her surprise a little while ago. Natalie had made her a little purse with a flower on the front (that she put some confetti and rice in), and what looked like a bookmark. I have no idea why she was so determined, but she made it especially for her!!! She has even asked many times if she could send "S" one of her extra Valentine's Day cards. I think I'm not the only one that misses our friends in Germany!!!Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Trimmed
We had only gotten Ethan's hair cut once since we've been in Nebraska. Every time I asked him if he wanted it cut, he said, "No I want to grow it longer." I tried letting him do this, but it was looking rather shaggy! Monday I couldn't stand it any longer, so I took the kids to a salon close to our house. They even listened when I told them what I wanted for the kids' hair!! Can you believe that?!?
She left Ethan's hair long on top, cutting the sides and back to make it look much better.
We have only had Natalie's hair trimmed about five times. If you haven't heard it before, its because she wants it "long like Rapunzel."
Trying really hard to sit still.
Cutting no more than an inch off...
...giving her hair a much healthier look and feel.
I was very pleased with the salon, and will for sure be taking them back next time. I may even go there when I need something done to my crazy hair!Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Every Little Bit Counts
This weekend Natalie told me about a bucket her teacher put in the classroom. This bucket is for any change the kids can bring in to help a little girl in need. She told me that this little girl is really sick inside her body and has to go to the doctor a lot. The money they bring in will help her parents pay for her doctors. I thought it was really sweet how concerned Nat was about this little girl. Although not much, I emptied our "Christmas Fund" jar into a baggy and sent it to school with her. She was beyond excited and couldn't wait to empty it in the bucket.
There are situations like this all the time and all over the country...and we can't help many of them. But I'm glad she can feel good about helping at least one.
There are situations like this all the time and all over the country...and we can't help many of them. But I'm glad she can feel good about helping at least one.
Aaahhhh!!!
A couple weekends ago (when Ethan was sick) Natalie was invited to go to The Amazing Pizza Machine with a friend. They had a great time eating, playing games, and of course getting prizes! Her favorite prize are these vampire teeth! She was sneaking up on me for three days trying to scare me!
Of course I was scared every single time!!! Who wouldn't be?!?! :-)
Of course I was scared every single time!!! Who wouldn't be?!?! :-)
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