Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to each of you. Hope you have a wonderful day filled with lots of treats and no tricks!!!

~jen

Stressful Times

Things seem to be on a downward spiral here in our home. Everything seems to just pile up on top of everything else and after a while it can really bring you down.

Cody's getting ready for a major schedule change in 2 weeks that has him seriously contemplating not playing basketball. I can't tell you how hard that is to hear. In order for him to play basketball, we knew his schedule would change somewhat because golf is during 8th period and basketball is during 4th period. We had hoped that he might be able to switch his current 4th period class to 8th period once the golf season ended. It's not quite that simple. Basically once he switches from golf to basketball, every class but one will change. Completely change... as in different teachers and he will possibly have to move to Advanced Art. Cody hates art. He is doing all that he can to just make it through his regular art class. He was frustrated about it last night; he made the comment that maybe it's not worth it... maybe he shouldn't play basketball. It's his choice to make, but I would be devastated if he gave up basketball now. He has a second meeting with his counselor this morning before school. Hopefully she will have better news for him.

Caden's doing well. He had his permanent repair to his broken front tooth on Monday. The dentist took off the temporary bond and placed the permanent bond to the tooth. The procedure took 2 hours to complete. That was a long 2 hours for both Caden and I. Caden's dentist does not allow parents to go back with their children. By "not allow", I'm sure that under special circumstances or demanding parents, some parents are allowed back in the treatment areas. I chose not to be a demanding parent that day and took my seat in the waiting area... watching Fox News. It was a l-o-n-g 2 hours of Fox News!

Mike's ok. Things at work are not good. With the poor economy (however, Amarillo was rated one of the best economies within our population group recently), times are tough at his office. I can't give more details at this time. Mike has a challenging rest of the week ahead of him. Please remember him in your prayers as he makes some tough decisions. (His job is ok. No worries there for now.)

As for me... things haven't been great. I have been having some foot pain for about a week. It has been increasing each day. After a night of tears and being unable to walk, Mike convinced me to go to the doctor Tuesday. I have a heel spur. Basically I have what looks like a fish hook coming out of the bottom of my heel bone (I am sure there is a technical word that I could use for heel bone... but honestly, I don't know what it is called!). My whole foot, ankle, and calf muscle aches. It doesn't help that I am constantly moving at work for 13 hours straight. It doesn't help that on my days off I am constantly moving to and from schools, activities, cleaning, grocery shopping, ect. I wish I had the time to just prop my feet up in the recliner and catch up on some movie watching. Not sure when that will happen as we are blowing and going all the time! I'm trying some special inserts in my shoes to see if that will lessen the pain. No luck yet. It's just going to take some time to heal. Things at work are at an all time low. I can't go into specific details, we as a clinic as just struggling with a number of issues and it is wearing on all of us.

Anyways, this isn't a "feel sorry for us" post. It's just a journal of our everyday life. I'm just thinking outloud (I really like that saying... maybe I should change the title of this blog to that!).

Please remember us in your prayers....
~jen

Thinking Outloud

Have you ever wanted to go back in time? Maybe it was to a special time in your life, like a favorite birthday. Or maybe to hear a loved one's voice just one more time. Maybe to make a different choice, to take back an ugly comment. Maybe to relive a special memory just once more. For me, lately I wish to go back to 1992. I wish to be 18 just once more. I don't know what it is that has got me thinking about high school. Maybe it's having a teenager who is just beginning to experience high school life. Maybe it's reconnecting through Facebook with so many friends from my high school days. Maybe another birthday is approaching, another reminder that my youth is escaping me. Maybe that's what has brought on this deluge of memories.

Just once I wish I could take a ride through the drag that is (was?) 45th street and Bell through Southwest Park (it's now called John Stiff Park). To ride in the car with the windows rolled down, wind blowing in my hair, singing at the top of my lungs joy ride. Of course there's no one stopping me from doing that now... it would just look a little odd to see a not-quite middle aged woman riding through the streets at night with her windows rolled down singing at the top of her lungs to Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun! People would be looking at me thinking (A) she's just escaped from the psych ward; (B) she's crazy... see choice A; or (C) she's having a nervous breakdown, going through an early mid-life crisis! So which is it? Am I crazy? Is this the beginning of a pre-mid life crisis? Does anyone else wish just for a little reprieve from their life now?

I long to be young again. I wish for that smooth, pretty skin that once existed on my hands and face. I wish for the clothes size that I was once able to fit into! I wish for freedom. I miss that fearlessness that I once owned. I miss the friends that I had. It's hard to reconnect with someone after 15 years. You picture them in your mind the way they were when you last saw them. But they've grown up just like you have. They've gotten married, had babies, maybe gained a few pounds, too. I just wonder if they think about yesterday. If they ever wish to go back. Are their lives perfect, or do they struggle with the day to day ...for lack of a better word... crap as I do? Are they content? Do they ever wish to drag along Bell, windows rolled down, singing at the top of their lungs... Girls Just Want to Have Fun... or the song of their choice?

Who knows what's wrong with me. Who knows why the sentimental feelings have hit so hard lately. Who knows the reason behind the longing to go back. Maybe because I missed so much of the late teen to early-20 years. Maybe I grew up too fast and now I want to go back. Maybe I am realizing what I missed and want it back. I know I can't have it back. There's nothing I can do to get it back.

So if one if these nights you happen to be driving down Bell street, don't be surprised if you see a pre-middle aged, overweight woman ...with a humiliated teenager crouched down in the front seat, a 6 year old in the back grinning from ear to ear because he loves to sing along with mom... windows rolled down, singing at the top of her lungs... Girls... they wanna have fun-un... oh girls just wanna have fun.

~jen

Balloon Rally

Last night Caden and I attended one event of this weekend's balloon rally. We got to watch the balloons light up the sky and see the balloons up close. This morning we woke up super early (6:45), got dressed, and braved the cold to watch the balloon's take off for their race. Caden even got to ride in a tethered balloon! He had a blast. Here's some pictures of the event.

~jen

Like Father, Like Son

Ok... so I had to Yearbook the boys...

Yearbook Yourself

While searching through one of my daily must-reads, The Pioneer Woman, I came across Yearbook Yourself. Well obviously, I don't have anything better to do this morning so I had to try it out myself. Here's our photos.

Beware, this site can become addicting! Also.. beware, these photos are scary! :)

I dare my blog buddies to post their own photos!

~jen

~ 1984 ~

Puzzle-Boy

Caden has a new hobby... puzzles. He loves puzzles. I love puzzles because Caden is quiet for at least 15 minutes while he's working on a puzzle! That's not the only reason I love Caden's new hobby, it's also good for his brain! He's such a little thinker!

(By the way... if your kiddos love puzzles, check out The Dollar Tree. They have boxes of puzzles for... you guessed it... a dollar!)

~jen

Things I've Learned...

It's best to check my work scissors twice before leaving home. Yesterday while redressing a wound on a patient with another nurse, I was having difficulty pulling out my scissors from my scrub-top pocket. After a few tugs, out came a pair of Caden's kindergarten scissors... you know the kind with the blunt, rounded end. The patient, other nurse, and I all had a good laugh over that one!

I love watching Cody play golf. I love watching him win his first high school golf team medal even more.

Caden has been in school for 40 days and has brought home 40 smiley faces on his behavior report.

There are 65 days until Christmas.

I love to hear Mike's reaction whenever I say I am voting for Obama. (I seriously don't know who I am voting for yet... I know, it's almost voting day!) I just love to tease him that I might just vote for Obama.

I've missed working for Worth the Wait. I had an opportunity to teach today. It was great.

Mike and I are able to have a serious adult conversation about the economy, car sales, and the housing market.

I'm tired today.

I love the colors of fall. (Pictures to come later.)

Facebook is great. I've reconnected with so many friends from my high school youth group! Now if we can just find a date to all get together... hint, hint... for any of you reading this!

It's not good to leave potatoes unchecked in the pantry. The good news is I found where the funny smell was coming from!

I really like blogging.

:)

~jen

Whew... it's over

For the past 2 days I have been in an ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) class. I know you are jealous... I know you wished you could have participated, too. But, let me tell you it wasn't quite as fun as one would think. I personally did not find one bit of it fun. I found it overwhelming. I found myself rethinking my decision to become a nurse in the first place. Quite frankly, I found the instructor working the controls to our mannequin's heart rate to be quite cruel. All I wanted to tell her is leave his heart rate alone and he will be just fine. I will not have to shock the living daylights out of him. I will not have to remember what drug I am supposed to give... and how often... and why I am giving it... only to have you push a button on your magic little fun box to put my patient in a totally different heart rhythm and then I get to start all over... which only causes my own heart rate to increase and beat funny.

Just thinking about this has put me into a tachycardic rhythm. (For you non-medical people... that's a fast heart rate.... just fyi .) :)

Anyways, it's over. And more importantly I passed. Hallelujah. I am now certified to provide advanced resuscitation to anyone who may need it. May that person come to the clinic on a day that I am off so someone else can resuscitate him/her. :)

~jen


PS... here's another interesting fact... if you ever need to provide someone with CPR, hum the song Staying Alive. It's the perfect rate for delivering chest compressions.

Now, I don't know about you... but I think the last thing that's going to be going through my mind while ever pounding on someone's chest is John Travolta, The Bee Gees, or Staying Alive. But... if it works for you... go right ahead... hum away.

(Click on Staying Alive under My Playlist, turn your speakers on........ Sing along with me... Ah, ha, ha, ha, staying aliiiiiiiive. Funny, right?)

What happened to Fall?

It seems we've gone from a few nice days of Fall weather... straight to Winter! It is freezing cold! (The temps in the 40's right now; it's wet and rainy.) I'm not quite ready for Winter, I'd like a few more days of Fall! :)
~jen

This One's for Papa!!!

(Be sure your computer speakers are turned all the way up!)

Get ready, Papa... It's on! The Sooners' are going down again!

No matter who wins, I still love you so much (even though you are an OU fan!) and wish we could be there watching the game together! :)

~sunshine

A House Divided

Last night while finishing up supper I overheard Mike call Caden into the den. Here's what I heard them talk about:

Mike: Caden, come here for a minute.
Caden: (Running into the den) What?
Mike: I've got to talk to you about something serious, ok?
(This got my attention, so I peeked around the corner to see what was going on.)
Mike: I need you to do something really important for me tomorrow, ok?
Caden: What?
Mike (very serious now): I need you to root really hard for the Boomer Sooners during the game.
Caden: NO WAY, DAD. OH, NO... HOOK UM HORNS ALL THE WAY BABY. NO WAY.
Mike (crushed): What? You won't help me root for the Sooners?
Caden: NO WAY!
Mike: All right... fine... they're going to win anyways so you just go ahead and root for the Longhorns, the Sooners will still win.

This began the battle between a Sooners' fan and a Longhorn fan. :)

All I got to say is bring it on... us Longhorn fans are ready! :) Stay tuned.... game's at 11:00 (just in case you didn't know!)

~jen

Conversation with Caden

On our way to get an after-school snack from Bahama Buck's (local sno-cone place) Caden and I had the following conversation:

Caden: Mom?
Me: Yes, Caden
Caden: Did you know that I have a girlfriend?
Me: No... really? What is her name?
Caden: Elizabeth
Me: That's a pretty name, Caden.
Caden: Yep.

A few minutes of silence, then:
Caden: Mom?
Me: Yes...
Caden: I actually have 3 girlfriends.
Me: Wow, 3's a lot, Caden. Who are the other 2 girls?
Caden: Well, Cody's girlfriend, Joy, and then that other girl that is Cody's friend... what's her name... you know... the one that came over to our house?
Me: Brandi?
Caden: Yea, Brandi.
Me: I don't think it's a good idea to have 3 girlfriends Caden. Especially one that is Cody's girlfriend.
Caden: Why?
Me: Just because. You are not supposed to share girlfriends.
Caden: Oh.

A few minutes pass and then I hear Caden whisper:
Well, I'm going to have 3 girlfriends if I want.

End of conversation.

:)
~jen

This Thing Called Life

Sometimes life is too much. Sometimes you just want to get off the merry-go-round that is life. Lately life has been complicated, frustrating, uneventful, too-eventful, crazy, want to yell-at-the top-of-your-lungs maddening, unfair, dramatic, a dollar short and a day late. For 2 weeks now I have been late to work. And by late to work... I mean a minute, 2 minutes late. Which is no big deal. Except for me because I'm always at least 10 minutes early. I feel rushed each morning trying to get myself ready for work, the boys ready then off to school, and me to work... with all the needed backpacks, books, folders, lunch money, water bottles, golf clubs, plans for who's picking up each child and taking them to daycare.. the golf course.. home.. picked up from daycare.. watching until Mike and/or I get home.. picked up and taken home from the golf course... AND on time to everything! Do you see where I am going with this? Crazy! You should see my master calendar on my refrigerator. In fact... here it is: (a little out of focus)

Everyone has a color (mine's pink, Cade's green, and Cody's orange). You can see that there is a lot going on... especially Mr. Orange. Key club, team dinner, PTA, Spanish club, work, ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support... my nemesis at this moment), hour lunches, fundraisers, golf tournaments, football games; we've got a ton of life to live.

Sometimes I wish life would slow down. Sometimes this thing called life is a little too much. :)

~jen

School Pictures

Can you believe it... Kindergarten and High School all in the same year!?!

:) ~jen

Golf Pictures

These are from today's golf tournament in Amarillo.
~jen

This is what Cody does when he wants the ball to go right.

I'm not sure these hand gestures really work.

A giant leap for mankind!

(He almost didn't make it.)

This is Cody's reaction when he hits a bad shot.

The club was thrown from his hands right after this picture!

He's got a little 'tude (short for attitude) after these bad shots!

Well past the "rough"... this is in the pasture next to the golf course!

Mr. cool.

The End of Homecoming Week

Homecoming has come and gone (all except the late-night homecoming parties). AHS was down by 6 points in the 4th quarter and came back to win the game. It was a great game. I am happy to say that Mike was even able to join us for the majority of the game. Here are some pictures of the evening. (I'm not posting Cody's picture with his girlfriend because this is after all the Internet and I haven't asked permission from her or her parents to share that picture to the entire world. But let me just tell you... it is a gorgeous picture of the two of them!) :)

~jen

Homecoming (Part 2) Superheros Away...

Last night we attended the AHS homecoming parade. It was so much fun getting to decorate the golf carts for the boy's golf team. The theme for the parade was superheros so each team member wore a mask and a cape while driving the golf carts in the parade. It was a great night right up to the point that the skies opened up and the deluge started! Thankfully the rain held off until the very end of the parade! We skipped the pep-rally (1) because of the late hour and (2) I was quite soaked by the time Caden and I made it to our car. So Mike braved the pep rally alone. He has such good Sandie spirit (I hope you are catching my sarcasm!).

Tonight's the homecoming game. Cody is taking his girlfriend's mum over to her house this evening where we will hopefully get some good pictures. (At least that's the plan as of this morning. This is our 3rd plan in the past few days so I am expecting it to change again!) Caden's excited about the game. This morning while in the bathroom getting ready he was asking Cody who the Sandies' were playing and if Cody thought they would win. While I was combing Caden's hair he asked if I would paint his face for the game. Now he has some Sandie spirit!

I did make him a mini garter for the game tonight. I showed him Cody's mini garter from Cody's kindergarten year for Groom's homecoming and Caden said he really wanted one, too. It really turned out cute. I even added some more decorations to Cody's girlfriend's mum. I had such a good time working on these that I am honestly considering making mums and garters next year!

Here's some more pictures.