Typhoons and Geckos and Snakes... Oh My!

The end of our Guam adventure.

2012-01-13T08:47:00.003+10:00

Our Guam adventure has come to an end. Actually it came to an end back in August for the girls and I then in September for Josh but I'm just late in updating this blog.

We are well settled into our new, and last, duty station in California. The girls are enjoying their new school and we are living off base. Our day to day life is pretty detached from the military so it's quite the change from Guam but it's a good way to ease into Josh's retirement next year.

*Our family picture in Guam taken by the fabulous Roxie Photography.

2011-07-23T19:00:00.001+10:00

Creative writing

2011-07-14T09:41:00.004+10:00

Here is the weather forecast for the next seven days:

Hazardous weather condition(s):

High Surf Advisory

Today...Partly sunny and breezy. Isolated showers in the morning...then scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms this afternoon. West winds increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Highs around 87.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy and breezy with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Lows near 78.

Friday And Friday Night...Mostly cloudy and breezy with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph in showers. Highs near 86. Lows around 78.

Saturday...Partly sunny and breezy with isolated showers. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Highs around 87.

Saturday Night Through Sunday Night...Mostly cloudy with isolated showers. Lows in the upper 70s. Highs in the upper 80s.

Monday Through Wednesday...Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Highs in the upper 80s. Lows in the upper 70s.

Do you think the person who writes that gets paid extra to be able to say the same thing day after day in new and exciting ways? Haha

So it begins

2011-06-05T21:21:00.002+10:00

We received our official orders so that means a move is in our future! Yay!

On Brianna's birthday the movers come to pack up our stuff and the next day they will pack it up in crates so it can make it's way back to the US.

The girls and I will be leaving the first week in August but Josh will be here until Sept.

California here we come, right back where we started from.

Seabee Ball 2011

2011-04-29T21:16:00.002+10:00

I think this is my favorite Seabee Ball picture of all the years we've gone.

Family Fun Day

2011-04-16T16:25:00.004+10:00

Josh took a day off during spring break so we could have some family fun. The girls wanted to go to the aquarium.

More play pictures

2011-03-26T09:00:00.001+10:00

3rd grade play

2011-03-25T22:07:00.006+10:00

The entire 3rd grade put on a play inspired by the book "Follow the drinking Gourd" and tells the story of a girl and her parents who travel the Underground Railroad. There were a total of 13 speaking parts with the rest of the students participating in the choir. Grace was chosen to play the lead, Minty. She did a wonderful job and we could not be any prouder of what a great job she did.

Tsunami Watch lifted in Guam

2011-03-12T22:52:00.002+10:00

Friday morning the girls went to school dressed in "island wear" to celebrate Chamorro Month. Wow we had no idea what the day would bring.

Friday evening we found out there had been a major earthquake followed quickly by a devastating tsunami in Japan. Due to our close location we were put under a tsunami watch which was upgraded to a warning before too long. Fairly quickly people were being told to leave low-lying areas and head to higher ground. Beaches and roads were closed and all beach front hotels and condos were evacuated on the first five floors. At first we were told it would hit a little after 7pm then it was changed to about 720pm. We are lucky to live in housing that is on higher ground so we didn't need to go anywhere and even had a friend bring her family over to our house for a little while.

This is the view from the end of our street and down the fence a little bit where there is a break in the trees. We walked over to see if we could watch the water pull out and see the waves. It's hard to tell from the picture but we are on the top of a couple hundred straight drop cliff. It got dark very quickly after that picture so we decided to head home about 730pm. The actually tsunami hit at 8pm.

We are very lucky to report that Guam didn't really suffer any damage. Considering how close we are to Japan, we are so blessed. God watches over us for sure. The only reports I heard were that two of the submarines broke free of the pier and had to be pulled back in, compared to what happened in Japan I'm sure nobody is complaining too much.

God was good to us here in Guam. We continue to pray for those in other areas.

Are you ready for Saint Patricks Day?

2011-03-03T10:34:00.001+10:00

Don't forget your green!

Adventures in Cupcakes

2011-03-02T12:59:00.003+10:00

My friend's daughter had a beach themed birthday party and she asked me to bring cupcakes. The birthday girls favorites are red velvet so I made blue velvet with blue cream cheese frosting. The teddy grahams are floating in their gummy life rings playing with their candy beach balls. I should have cut a triangle shark fin and stuck behind some of the bears. haha Next time...

Her brother only likes vanilla cupcakes so I made some of those too. These have butter cream frosting with graham cracker sand, fruit roll up beach towels, teddy graham bears and beach umbrellas. These ones were my favorites and Grace has requested them for her birthday next month.

Computer

2011-02-28T08:15:00.002+10:00

So it seems I broke Josh's computer. I told Brianna I was going to tell him she did it. Grace also thought that was the best plan. HAHA

I spilled a bowl of cereal on it.

Life cereal-1
Laptop- 0

Even in Guam the girls are Bronco Fans!

2011-02-20T10:45:00.003+10:00

Every year for the Super Bowl the MWR bring cheerleaders over from one of the NFL teams. This year it was the Denver Bronco cheerleaders and their Mascot Miles. The night before the game they did a cheer clinic at the gym and taught the kids a cheer then signed a poster for everyone.

Can you imagine being this flexible?

They divided the kids up by age, this was the youngest group. Brianna wore her cheer leading uniform so she was ready to go.

The middle age group learning their cheer.

Brianna thought it would be a good idea to cross her eyes while I took her picture. I didn't notice until later...

It's that time again...

2011-02-14T18:53:00.003+10:00

So it looks like I'm going to have to come up with a new name for the blog, if I ever start posting again. :) Josh got orders and it looks like come September we will be headed to China Lake, California. It's in the Mojave Desert so looks like it will be quite the climate change. They had snow this winter and it hits 110+ in the summer. Yay! They have two pools on base, one indoors and one outdoors.

When we told the girls we were moving to China Lake Grace said she didn't want to go there because she didn't speak Chinese. HAHA

2011-02-13T22:16:00.000+10:00

School Pictures 10-11

2010-12-14T15:11:00.000+10:00

Command Christmas Party

2010-12-07T15:46:00.002+10:00

Yes Brianna there is a Santa Claus

2010-12-07T15:38:00.002+10:00

Brianna: A girl in my class told me there was no Santa Claus.
Me: Oh really what did you say?
Brianna: I was going to tell her she better be nice or Santa wouldn't bring her anything but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

A couple pictures

2010-11-27T15:40:00.003+10:00

Miss Brianna

Halloween, we were Dr. Suess One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Grace hoping they call her number at bingo.

Josh and I at the Navy Ball, Nov. 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T15:17:00.002+10:00

Wow I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted anything on here! I guess with facebook, and life, I've gotten a bit behind.

Today I posted a funny conversation Josh had with Grace on my facebook and I realized it was just the kind of thing I used to post here but it seems I've gotten away from. So since not everyone in our family is on facebook I'll work at going back to sharing the funny things the kids say and do and our major updates on here.

Anyways here is a copy of their conversation:

Grace: The machine gave me a TON of pieces of gum. I had more until Daddy stole two of them.
Josh: Who gave you the money to buy the gum?
Grace: I used my change from Subway.
Josh: Who gave you the money to go to Subway?
Grace: Ok now you're just being ridiculous.
Me: (Laughing)
Brianna: You HAVE to post that on facebook!

These girls are so funny and growing up so fast it amazes me. We are hoping to move back to the states next summer and can't wait to see everyone!

Watch to the end, it's worth it.

2010-07-19T18:12:00.002+10:00

1,000-pound WWII bomb found at Naval Base Guam

2010-06-16T16:13:00.002+10:00

NEWS UPDATE 11:00 a.m. - WWII bomb found at Naval Base Guam
June 16, 2010

11:00 a.m. — Construction workers at Naval Base Guam found a World War II-vintage 1,000-pound bomb buried beneath a construction site on Monday.

According to a release from the Navy, bomb disposal technicians from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Marianas responded to the find.

Lt. Brent Wadsworth, officer-in-charge of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Marianas, after thorough examination, said the bomb’s fuse must be removed before it can be safely transported for proper disposal at the Naval Base Guam Ordnance Annex.

“This ordnance fell from thousands of feet, has been in place for 66 years almost to the day and was discovered when it was hit by a backhoe Monday and it did not detonate,” Wadsworth said.

While the bomb is being defused, a portion of Naval Base Guam will be temporarily closed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.

He added that even during their operations to defuse the bomb there will be little risk of it detonating.

“However, we always take maximum precautions for ourselves and those around us,” he added.

Officials said because of the bomb’s location near housing and offices, people who live and work within 3,000 feet of it must temporarily relocate. Those people 3,000 to 5,000 feet from the site must remain inside a building for the duration of the operation if they chose to not relocate.

There is no danger to people outside if they are beyond 5,000 feet from the site, the release noted.

================================================================

So I wonder what we are going to be spending the day doing off base on Sat? haha

Thanks for the memories...

2010-06-15T18:24:00.004+10:00

At the end of the day it's your family that matters. In that I include those extended members and longtime close friends that have always been there for you and who you have also always been there for as well. As we grow older we find that relationships when we were young aren't always the same as we age but while that can be painful it also makes us appreciate and enjoy the ones that stand the test of time and in my case, distance.

It was so great on this last trip to California to be able to spend time with friends and family that mean so much to me and my family. Some of them I didn't get to actually visit with, or not as much as we wanted, or maybe we didn't get any pictures but we still were able to touch base again and that is nice as well. Here are just a few pictures of my time in California.

Leaving on a jet plane...

2010-05-20T04:09:00.000+10:00

California here I come! :)

Congrats on Josh's new warfare pin!

2010-04-27T17:33:00.001+10:00

The girls got to pin it on him!

Today

2010-04-26T19:04:00.005+10:00

I'm sick. I know it's a shocker. I have some kind of throat infection that isn't strep but I have white patches on my throat and my tonsils are swollen. (So I used my google medical degree and decided I have viral tonsillitis based on what she told me. My appointment is a little vague since I had a migraine at the time to the point that after I threw up they had me wait in a dark room for the strep test results.) However since I have a fever I'm contagious. Great I know. Anyways Josh picked up the girls after he got off work and took them to get dinner because I didn't cook anything. Thankfully I'm feeling much better now.

So I'm sitting here while Josh is putting the kids to bed just listening to the conversation going on around me. This is what has taken place just in the last 30min.

===========================

Grace was angry because "no one ever calls her Amanda" and stomped off to her room. I have no idea where this came from. She wasn't talking about wanting to be called Amanda, she did go through a Cortni (that is also the correct spelling if you weren't aware) stage last fall but nothing since then. Totally random and out of nowhere!

============================

Josh: Put your pjs on.

Brianna: mumbling something I couldn't understand.

Josh: I don't care. You're dancing in here naked with just your shoes on. Put your pjs on!

=============================

Grace had just gone to bed and comes out of her room to ask us a question and after talking for a minute starts walking backwards down the hall towards her room. Josh was just looking at her (I couldn't see her) but I heard her say "don't worry I'm an expert at walking backwards" this was quickly followed by a loud crash as she fell over the little chair that sits outside Brianna's bedroom door. The timing could not have been funnier.

=============================

So that was about 30min of our life. I really think all these reality TV families have nothing on us! :)

Surgery

2010-04-24T11:55:00.003+10:00

Well I've seen the general surgeon at the Naval Hospital here and he referred me to a plastic surgeon so I contacted a couple in California and went and saw the one, seriously the ONE, here in Guam. I've also talked to the two family doctors I've seen over the last year while dealing with all the complications. It looks like I will have to have the entire surgery redone in order to try to have the best chance of fixing the problems and even then it doesn't guarantee that I won't still have the chronic pain. Great, huh? I decided that having the surgery done in California is not going to be a viable option because I won't be able to stay long enough for that kind of recovery since I'd be going without the girls. The plastic surgeon here was nice and I think he would probably do a great job and he has his own OR but if something happened and I ended up needing to be admitted I would be back at the Naval Hospital where I had so many problems last year and when it comes down to it I am just not comfortable with that. So after talking with Josh and at the advice of some of my doctors I am thinking I will just have to deal with it until we move back to the states next summer (2011) and then I can have my choice of doctors and hospitals and get it fixed then.

It's already been a year so hey what's what more in the big picture, right?

Rainbow Cake

2010-04-24T11:52:00.003+10:00

How cute is this cake?

I made it for my friends daughters first birthday! I thought it turned out so cute and will make it again! The girls liked it a lot. Grace ate the yellow part because she thought it tasted the best. LOL

Prune cake... really?

2010-04-12T22:02:00.003+10:00

So I was talking to someone the other day about baking and she mentioned how when she was calling bakeries for her daughters wedding one place was pretty insistent on their prune cake. When she expressed that she didn't think it would be the bride's first choice the person on the other end of the phone seemed shocked that she was doubting her recommendation of prune cake as a choice for a wedding.

We both thought it was funny and couldn't imagine serving prune cake at a wedding unless you wanted your guests to leave shortly there after.

Anyways this morning I was watching The View, I love it with Whoopi, and what did they have on there but PRUNE CAKE! ETA: It was the Poineer Woman who was on the View and she had her prune cake.

Am I missing something? Has anyone ever actually eaten it before, on purpose?

Pictures

2010-04-07T23:27:00.002+10:00

Brianna soccer photo spring 2010

Grace soccer photo spring 2010

Seabee Ball 2010

Happy 8th Birthday Grace!

2010-04-03T19:45:00.003+10:00

To my dear daughter, happy birthday.

You challenge me and entertain me.

You show me things about the world that I would have missed without you there to be excited about them.

You are fearless and face the world head on and I know that will take you far in life.

Most of all you brought a joy to my life that I didn't know was possible and I am forever thankful God picked me to be your Mom.

Brianna

2010-03-27T20:02:00.002+10:00

She is really starting to grow up and loose the baby face look....

What's that I hear?

2010-03-19T21:23:00.001+10:00

Wait? What's the I hear?

Oh yes Target calling my name... :)

2010-03-17T19:08:00.002+10:00

Ocean Camp

2010-03-17T06:37:00.002+10:00

Here are a couple picture from Ocean camp at the aquarium that the girls went too over Christmas Break. They got it for Christmas from GGpa and it was a HUGE hit. They went for a week and then on Sat night they could sleep over in the tunnel and see everything above them. They had a great time and still talk about it!

Any testers?

2010-03-17T06:36:00.001+10:00

Well I haven't baked anything in a while and I've got some recipes I'm itching to try. Anyone want to volunteer to come out and be a tester?

Anyone with a great recipe I should make sure to try?

School pictures 2009/2010

2010-03-15T15:07:00.000+10:00

Grace 2nd, Brianna Kindergarten

Note to self

2010-03-15T10:21:00.003+10:00

Given the fact that I vacuum almost everyday it would have been a good idea to have Josh show me how to empty the canister.

Also since I was supposed to start his scooter I should have had him show me how. It took me quite a while to start it. Then I couldn't get it to turn off. I'm not sure I did either one so next time will just be luck also.

I need to vacuum Brianna's room so I might mess with it for a little first to see if I can take off the canister. Hmm I bet I can find a you tube video.

Edited to add that I was able to empty the vacuum canister and it was VERY easy. :)

The finished product

2010-03-15T08:49:00.000+10:00

Dentists, leprechauns and Chief boards

2010-03-14T16:21:00.002+10:00

I went to the dentist Friday because I broke a tooth while eating ice. I'm serious. I'm pretty sure this stuff only happens to me. I was really anemic and started eating ice right around the time we moved here, it got pretty bad at some point which resulted in fun debates with my doctor about iron transfusions and why I was refusing them. In the end I ended up taking iron twice a day and having surgery last summer to help boost my iron levels. It's much better now but the result is the ice eating is still a habit.

So to end a long story the dentist told me I need a root canal! I couldn't believe it! I've never had one before and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm not in any pain which is good because the dentist was leaving and won't be back until the 30th so they fit me in that day for the first of three appointments to get it done. I'm not a fan of the dentist so this just give me two weeks to let the anxiety build up before my appointment.

We had a good weekend around here. Saturday was taken up with soccer games then cruising around collecting items to make Grace's leprechaun trap for school. She made it today (Sunday) and it ended up taking her FIVE hours! She had three different models before she decided on the final one that she was happy with. She cracks me up. I'll find my camera and take a picture. It really doesn't look like it took that long but she spends a lot of time researching and designing. I guess it's a full process for her.

Brianna played all day and left Grace alone (with just a couple reminders) and was so good.

We also found out that Josh made board. For him to get promoted to the next level he has a chance once per year. First everyone who is eligible takes an exam, then they select some of them to go to a board (they don't really go just their service record gets reviewed) and the board picks the few people that will be promoted for that year. Anyways Josh was one of the people who made it to the board so he was happy about that. We won't know who advances until fall so it's quite a ways away. Then the next time they test is Jan or Feb of 2011 and the cycle starts again until he advances or retires.

Say a prayer and wish him luck!

The light at the end of the tunnel

2010-03-10T15:35:00.003+10:00

So I had a CT scan today and met with the general surgeon and everything looks on track to have one last final surgery. I'm going to be going to the states to have it done because they can't do it here but God willing this will be it. The only challenge is finding a doctor, I've spoken with one who sounds promising and I will hopefully know for sure in the next week. I'll keep you all posted. If all goes well the surgery should be in early May in Ventura.

I signed the girls up today for after school care. According to Grace's doctor she needs to start going now to get used to it before I leave so it will already be part of her routine.

I'm still waiting to get Grace's IQ testing done. They have 45 school days to get it done but I really hope it doesn't take them that long. I know they have already done some of the other things that needed to be done so I'm hopeful they won't drag their feet on that. We will see. Grace is still doing great in her regular class and loves her gifted class. The gifted teacher is going to put Grace in the 3rd grade gifted class in addition to the 2nd grade one she is in now when the next session starts in a couple weeks. It is more science related and we all think that Grace will love it, she is very excited.

Brianna is also doing great in school. She loves learning and socializing (shocker, I know) with friends. She is also a bright girl and catches on quick and has a great time. I am so thankful that she loves school. I know that she is only in Kindergarten but it's so important to have a good foundation so I'm happy with her teachers and how it's going for her this year.

Both girls are in girl scouts and soccer. They love both and are having fun. It keeps us pretty busy during the week and we spend a few hours on Saturdays at the soccer field for their games. Josh played soccer all growing up and he loves being able to share that with them.

Josh is doing good also. He's gone right now which is hard for Grace since she is such a Daddy's girl but she loves having "girls night" so we just play up that angle. We haven't done anything special but just saying that it's girls night makes her happy so hey whatever.

So I will try to get back to posting on a regular basis again, I was just in a blog funk but I'll try to shake it off and subject you all to my ramblings. :)

checking in

2010-01-27T18:35:00.003+10:00

We're still here!

I'm sick with the stomach flu and banished to my room so I wanted to update real quick.

The girls are good. Both are doing well in school and girl scouts and will be starting soccer in a couple weeks.

Brianna has been acting up here and there. More mouthing off then anything and mostly to me. I washed her mouth out with soap the other day so we will see if that helps.

Grace is also doing well. I am SUPER strict with her when it comes to her out burst and with the ok from her doctor have seen some positive results. We are still working on getting her IQ testing done but I expect that should happen in the next two weeks. She has started in the gifted classes and loves them. They are all outside of the box things which are right up her alley. Plus her behavior has been good in class, just some talking issues but I know my Mom heard that for years when I was growing up. They did test her for reading and her teacher said she tested several grades higher so I'm not sure what they are going to do with that. I'm really waiting until all the testing is done then we will sit down and do and IEP (Individual Education Plan) for her and come up with how they are going to challenge her. She clearly doesn't fit into the little box and I don't think skipping grades is a good idea because of the emotion immaturity so we will see what we can come up with. The ideas talked about months about haven't been implemented and the IEP will hold them accountable so only good things can come from that.

Gifted Classes

2009-12-20T17:45:00.001+10:00

Grace scored 100 on the gifted education test!!! The teacher said this is the first time in her four years that she ever had a student get a perfect score!!! Go GRACE!!!!!

Get Well Card

2009-12-19T10:46:00.000+10:00

Brianna has a cold and said she wished someone would send her a get well card, lol, so Grace made her one! This is what Grace wrote on it (she cracks me up):

Grace "it would be cool if you got better in one second"

Grace " One, You're better now"

Brianna "cough"

Grace "maybe not"

Lookout Broadway

2009-12-10T19:58:00.006+10:00

here comes Brianna!

Brianna's class and one other class got together and did a winter preformance for the parents today and it was SO cute! You could reallly tell that alot of time was put in by both the student and teachers. They sang several songs and recited a few poems but the grand finale was sing Bette Midlers "Wind Beneath my Wings" it's one of my favorites and Brianna just knew I was going to cry. I was pretty sure I would and sure enough as it started the tears got going. Thankfully though Brianna was her normal self and the tears changed to laughter! I won't spoil it but I will say sorry for the nose shots in the end I was caught up in the moment!

Enjoy!

(you can tell when I'm laughing because the camera is moving around!)

PS. It's a little clearer on Facebook. I got there and realized the battery on my video camera was dead so I filmed it with with my regular camera.

A day in the life...

2009-12-09T19:14:00.006+10:00

Grace got mad and Josh and I, over what I can't even remember. Josh might know but he won't be home until tomorrow so I can't even ask him right now and we all know if I don't post this while I'm thinking about it then it's not going to get done.

Actually since Grace isn't in bed yet tonight it might not get done anyways.

Brianna was in bed but she just got up so this doesn't look like a good sign for how the night is going to go.

Well now I've made Brianna cry. She has a night light in her room. I offered to leave her overhead light on the lowest setting but she declined that option so I closed her door and left. Then she was upset because it's too dark. Um you have a nightlight and the option of the overhead light so pick one of those because the open door is not on the menu, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER NIGHT OF YOUR FIVE YEARS OF LIFE.

Ok back to the point of this post. So Grace was mad at us and it was bedtime so she goes to her room to go to bed and later Josh goes into check on her and comes out and says to me that I have to go in and look in her closet. This is what I find:

Grace had taken everything off her bed and put it on the floor of her closet and taken everything out of her closet and put it in her room! Hilarious!

This was Sunday night, I think? Then today I was talking to her teacher on the phone and she told me that Grace had told her about sleeping in her closet so we wouldn't be able to find her because she was mad at us! Well she slept there for three nights and we never said anything to her about making her move back to her bed. She also knows that I thought it was funny and had taken her picture. Then tonight she decided to move her stuff back to her bed and tonight is sleeping there. Not sure if she will do that again since it clearly did not get the reaction she was hoping for.

Got to give her credit for trying though.

We just have to stay one step ahead of her.

*And for those concerned that we let her sleep on the tile floor don't worry too much. She's sleeping on top of two fleece sleeping bags, another fleece blanket. Plus she's wearing long sleeve and pants for pjs with socks, then the blanket on top of her is also fleece. Oh and the A/C in our house is set at 78. I'm sure she was fine. LOL

Pictures!

2009-12-03T17:57:00.003+10:00

Two girls getting along.

Say cheese!

School project.

Here is a closer shot of the turkey and the poem to explain why he is dressed like Superman. It was a Thanksgiving project. :)

Brownies.

Daisys.

Still around

2009-12-03T17:41:00.002+10:00

We are still here! Things are going good. We have good days and not so good days but over all things are better then they were a couple months ago.

We has a great Thanksgiving, we did a potluck with several neighbors and it was fun. I'm not the best a cooking turkey so it was nice not to have to stress about it. The kids were able to play with friends and a good time was had by all. Grace said the blessing which was very sweet.

2009 is coming to an end very quickly. I think the time has gone by very fast. I read something once " Motherhood: the days are long but the years are short" I think it's so true. Time goes by so fast I'm just trying to enjoy it and not worry about the small things.

I like Grace's new doctor, he really seems to know what he's talking about and spends a lot of time listening to her. He thinks she has OCD along with the ADHD and thinks that explains most of her behaviors. It makes sense the way he explained it to us. He also said that unlike adults as she gets older it should improve which is always nice to hear.

Brianna has been quite the handful lately. We can tell she is tired of all the attention Grace was getting and has stepped up her behavior. We are trying to nip it in the bud and so far it seems to be working.

Josh took the week of Thanksgiving off. It was so nice to have him home for a couple days while the kids were at school! We got some stuff done around the house, not as much as we would have liked but still a little progress is better then none! Plus the girls loved having him at the bus stop when they got home from school.

Both girls are busy with Girl Scouts. They did the preorders for cookies and had fun with that. They were so cute learning what they were going to say to the neighbors. Both sold almost 40 boxes! That's a lot of cookies to hand out in Jan!

I've been making a bunch of cakes lately for my neighbors. I don't like to eat cake but I like to make them. Gives me something to do and it makes me happy to make them for other people when they like them. I'm strange I know. It's the little things, right? I'd like to take a cake decorating class, they they could look prettier too. :)

Ok enough rambling for now I just wanted to post an update on what we were up too around here.

Photographers, the next generation.

2009-11-09T00:33:00.003+10:00

This is what happens when you give the kids the camera and set them loose in the bedroom...

Brianna

Grace

Graces journal

Top of one of Briannas bookcases

I love my husband

2009-11-09T00:16:00.002+10:00

We had a chance to talk today while the kids had rest time and played nicely in their rooms after going to the pool. It was so nice. It reminds me how lucky I am for my husband.

I am so thankful to Sue and Gus for raising him to be the man he is today. We are not perfect and we have made bad choices along the way in the 10+ years we have been married but no matter high high the highs or how low the lows he has always been there.

He has had to deal with things in our personal life that I know not all husbands would deal with. In our marriage vows they said "in sickness and health" I know he didn't have any idea what was down that road. The most recent, but not the only, was him having to pack gauze in my stomach every night. Plus since he knows how much it bothered me he did everything he could to make it as easy as possible for me. To distract me from what was happening and to get it done as fast as he could.

Who signs up for that? When you are in your early 20's and getting married the future looks like sunshine and roses and when it's not, at the first sign of it not being easy so many people throw their arms up in the air and say oh we don't love each anymore or we just grew apart instead of working on maintaining what brought you together in the first place. I don't worry about him doing that.

He has two daughters who can be a handful but who will never doubt that they are loved each and everyday.

Plus no matter how bad of a wife I was that day, that week, or that month I know how lucky I am that he loves me too.

*Besides I told him if we ever get a divorce he's getting the kids so I think that will keep him around. haha

Updates

2009-11-06T18:27:00.000+10:00

Well our phone, cable and internet went out. That’s always fun when it’s the beginning of a three day weekend when you live on the sun a tropical island. This morning (Friday) we got up and did our chores. Dishes for me and the girls cleaned their rooms and cleaned all their stuff out of the living room and Grace swept and Brianna vacuumed with the promise of going to the pool. So we get our swim suits on and all sun screened up and off we go. Only to get there and find that it’s closed. Someone pooped in it yesterday and so they had to clean and shock it. Ugh GROSS. Anyways I have to get a new military ID card today (goodbye to my last ID photo weighing over 300lbs) so we didn’t have time to drive to another one of the pools and they didn’t want to go to the beach so we will try for a pool trip again tomorrow. Josh will be home then and can come too which was decide that might be more fun anyways because he can throw them so they can do belly flops. How that is fun I have no idea.

Update on Grace. We saw the doctor out in town again and I have to say so far I like him. He really seems to listen to what we say and he spends a lot of time talking to Grace. He agrees 100% with the diagnosis of ADHD and ODD, however he doesn’t think the behaviors are red flags for bi polar he actually thinks it’s OCD, or more specifically OCD tendencies. At this point in time the OCD behaviors are extreme enough to give her the diagnosis but understanding how it works and that she has the tendencies will help explain why she reacts the way she does to things. I know I’m not explaining it well but it made sense to us when he explained it. We also changed her medication to a completely different class and there is a definite improvement in her behavior, both at home and at school. It’s not perfect by any means but at least it’s not the daily struggle just to get through the evening.

Update on Brianna. She continues to do well at school. She loves it and is learning new things every day. At home she has been acting up for the last couple of weeks so we have been really making sure she realizes that she is not going to get away with the negative behavior. I know she sees all the attention Grace gets so we work on just praising the good behavior and she seems to be coming out of it again.

All in all I’m feeling hopeful that things will start to turn around. Josh has been able to be home a little more which makes a huge difference. I think the new medication is making a difference and hopefully this new doctor will work out. The only bad thing is it is very difficult to get appointments because they are so booked. We will see what happens.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T16:05:00.000+10:00

And then there was one...

2009-10-28T20:47:00.004+10:00

We went and saw the remaining option for doctors out in town yesterday. I'm not too sure yet what to think about him. For now I'm reserving judgement until after we see him again. We have another appointment next week.

At least this one we were even willing to see again so that is a step in the right direction.

I feel so popular

2009-10-26T13:39:00.003+10:00

Wow I didn't realize so many people were reading my blog.

Or that so many people had an opinion on what we were doing. Not that I mind. I think the more information we have the better decisions we can make. Our parents, families and friends who know us and who have, or are, dealing with similar things can offer insights that sometimes it's hard to see when you are living day to day with something.

So please keep sharing advice and words of wisdom. We do appreciate and take it in the spirit we know it's intended.

I do want to clarify a couple things from my previous post.

We are not looking to put a label on Grace. We are also not looking to medicate her as an answer to the issues we are dealing with. Neither one of those things improve the quality of her life.

Our goal in seeking care for her is to try to find out what is going on in her mind, how her brain works, how her thoughts process and with that information how we can most effectively parent her.

She doesn't think like me. What seems logical and makes sense to me just doesn't to her. It doesn't make it wrong it just means as the parent I may have to adjust my thinking, and parenting, in such a way that she can understand it. At least for now that's how I look at it.

At this point in time we are medicating her for adhd. It's been about 11 months since we started that and there has been a definite improvement in her ability to function in school. I was anti-medication for children. If you had asked me 18 months ago I would have told you I thought adhd was hugely over diagnosed in our society. Actually I still think that. However in our case after years of reading books and taking classes on behavior modification, positive reinforcement, staying consistent, presenting a united front, plus others I was out of resources. The school guidance counselor for k-2 informed me that she didn't have any other ideas for us since we've already done everything they usually recommend. Even with all that Grace was still in danger of getting suspended because of her behavior. That is what prompted us to take the next step and see a psychiatrist. We had evaluations completed by teachers, coaches, and Josh as well as the doctor prior to the diagnosis. It was not a easy choice for us, don't think that because I don't usually talk about it on here, or maybe even in real life that it's not something that didn't weigh heavily on is before we took that step. Our daughter was six, in first grade and in danger of getting suspended. She knew the principal very well, I knew him. School was becoming a negative. In first grade. She still had years and years ahead of her. We had to do something different and for us this was the right choice. I am sure some of you may not agree, which is fine, but for us at this point it was the right choice. School is still not perfect. She still struggles but not at the same level as before. There is a new principal this year and two months into the school year she has never met him, a huge improvement over last year.

After typing all that I feel like it sounds like I am trying to justify our choices. Maybe I am. I have doubts. I don't think every choice we've made has been the correct one. I know we're not perfect. Maybe that's why I'm reaching out to those that care about us looking for support. I don't know.

Maybe I should let Josh read this before I post it. :)

Anyways as for the future I don't know what's going to happen. I just know I love my husband and my daughters more then anything. I just want them to grow up knowing we did the best we could for them.

For now we are still waiting to see what happens with medical. I know that if we wanted to we would be able to go back to the states without Josh. Clearly that is not what we want to do. Our first choice will always be to stay together as a family, time will tell if that works out.

If you read this and come back and it's gone then Josh told me to delete it. lol

Life...

2009-10-20T16:13:00.004+10:00

and trying to live the one you have which is not always the one you expected.

I admit the life I have is not the one I thought I would have when Josh and I imagined the family we would create together.

Do I love my children? Yes, without a doubt.

Would I change them? No, that's not for me to do. God created them the way they are for a reason.

Would I do everything I can to help make life easier for them? In a second.

Usually I use this blog as a place to share funny stories about the girls to our family and friends or tell yet another story in what has become my personal medical drama but lately I know it's been quiet.

Kind of along the lines of if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.

Ok that's a bit dramatic but life has been a bit bumpier then usual and we have been looking for answers and not finding any so here I am laying it all out there for you guys.

And asking for prayers. Prayers for guidance. Divine intervention. Healing. Strength. Faith. Love. Hope. Answers. Plus the ability to know when presented with the correct answers.

As you all know Grace has not always been the easiest child. Is she loving, yes of course she can be but we all know when that switch flips all bets are off and since we have been back from the states that switch has been flipping ALL. THE. TIME. The meltdown have been increasing in intensity and frequency.

Plus the psychiatrist that she was seeing has left the island and the psychologist we see is leaving next month. There is no one coming to replace either one. There will be a child psychiatrist that will come once a year for two weeks. Not good news.

The resources available off base are very limited but I researched what was there and we went and saw a doctor last week and it was not a good experience. We will not be seeing him again. His advice was not anything we are willing to do and when we told her doctors what he recommended they agreed with us that they were not appropriate choices for her. There is one more doctor out in town that we have an appointment with next week so we will see how that goes. Honestly it couldn't be worse then the doctor we saw.

She is officially diagnosed with ADHD and ODD with red flags for early onset childhood bi-polar disorder. For now the visiting child psychiatrist is changing around her adhd medications and we are going to see how she responds to that.

At this point it seems to come down to two choices. We stay here in Guam as a family but Grace isn't going to receive services other then our family doctor strictly to refill prescriptions.

Or Grace, Brianna and I return to the states and Josh stays here until summer '11 but Grace will be able to get the services she needs.

Neither are choices I want to choose.

Door knockers

2009-09-27T19:57:00.002+10:00

So today Brianna taped a roll of tape to Grace's door and at first Grace was going to take it off then Brianna told her it was a door knocker. This is the conversation that followed.

Grace: I ALWAYS wanted a door knocker, thank you Brianna!

Brianna: I KNEW you wanted a door knocker!

Grace: How did you know I always wanted a door knocker for my bedroom?

Brianna: God spoke to me and said "Brianna Grace has ALWAYS wanted a door knocker so you should make her one" so I did!

And when God speaks to Brianna he apparently does it in a VERY deep serious voice...

HAHAHAHAHA

Sleeping in...

2009-09-13T13:50:00.003+10:00

Why is it when Grace has school I have to wake her up to get ready for school but on the weekend she wakes up early?

Now normally this wouldn't be a big deal since Brianna is up before the sun but this morning Brianna wasn't here. She was at a sleepover! I was pretty excited about the thought of sleeping until the sun came up and maybe even enjoying a couple minutes of quiet before Grace woke up. (Josh is on duty so he left before 6am and we won't see him again until tomorrow night) So imagine my surprise when I wake up at 730am to find that not only was Grace already awake but she was eating her second bowl of cereal, watching cartoons and had time to do crafts.

She made a wand and attached that veil to the headband:

and a detailed mask:

She is nothing if not creative!

2009-09-10T13:15:00.002+10:00

I found my camera and guess what Brianna found?

2009-08-25T17:41:00.001+10:00

Does anyone have...

2009-08-19T11:37:00.002+10:00

an extra camera they would like to send me?

I'm starting to get the shakes!

;)

Well were moving

2009-08-18T18:11:00.002+10:00

and Josh doesn't know it yet.

I went and got keys to several houses today and went and looked and picked the one I liked the best (Natalie it had some Gecko poop in it though so that will have to be taken care of BEFORE I move in) and went back to housing and signed Josh's name to the paperwork.

Lucky him. At this rate by the time he gets home I may even have a move date scheduled. Which would be exactly how he would like it.

Meanwhile nothing else in my life is getting done.

Except dishes, they get done everyday no matter what.

Laundry however is another story....

2009-08-18T07:28:00.003+10:00

This is the same tree that Josh and I got married under 10 years ago, it was nice to be able to go back on our anniversary and take pictures with the girls!

PS

2009-08-17T22:08:00.001+10:00

I still can't find my camera!

Too tired to think of a snappy title

2009-08-17T21:37:00.003+10:00

It's late, well not too late only 940 but lately for me I'm usually in bed by now.

I have a lot going on right now and feel like I have to much to do and not enough time to get it done.

Grace has two weeks until school starts and is so excited to start. I am praying that she has a great teacher and a good year. I'm going to be looking to my sister in law for some help in supplementing her education since the school here is behind what she is used too and I know Dot is a great resource. I joined a home school group but since I'm not really homeschooling I'm not sure how much I'll pull from them. Plus Dot has idea what I deal with from Grace so that can be a benefit in making a recommendation. Anyways I'm rambling.

Brianna is doing great. Her teacher at the daycare told me when I picked her up today that there is a huge difference between how she was before we left for summer vacation and how she is now. The difference (which I didn't mention to them I wanted to see if they noticed) is that we started her on ADHD medication. She has all the classic symptoms but without the underlying problems Grace has so it's nice to see such an improvement. I know it's going to help her in school next year.

Grace starts school on the 31st and Brianna starts on the 8th so lots of changes around here.

Speaking of changes the builder I've been dealing with for the last year told me he was meeting this morning the manager for our housing area and sure enough this afternoon the area manager called me. He said he had to submit out paperwork to the housing director but I should know the next step later today or tomorrow, seeing as it's 10pm I'm hoping to hear tomorrow.

In other news it see that another surgery is going to be in my future. I cried when the doctor told me but I knew there was still a problem and didn't really think there was going to be a different way to make it better. This time however he says I need to be seen by a specialist (which are in Hawaii) and that in HIS medical opinion I should have been referred along time ago. He said he can technically do this other surgery I need done but he's afraid in a few months we would just be right back where we are now. I have no idea about time frames or anything yet as that all still has to get worked out. I do know with the kids it won't be simple. Please God just let this be the last step in the process followed by a quick recovery so I can get back to a normal life.

I better go I've fallen asleep twice typing this post.

I don't sleep well when Josh is gone. Good thing he will be home soon. Even when he is working long hours it's still nice to be able to snuggle up to him at night.

I miss him.

Getting back into the swing of things...

2009-08-06T08:11:00.002+10:00

Or at least trying too.

So since we've been home I've been sick, shocker I know. Then yesterday Grace came down with something. She hardly ever gets sick so I hope it doesn't last long.

I have a to do list a mile long with stuff involving the kids, my volunteer job and my house. There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. Somehow though I still manage to find time to check facebook, hourly, and make dinner. I suppose that's all that really matters.

The girls are happy to be home but are missing California. They are also missing being able to play outside all day long. This does not happen here in Guam for several reasons. First it's WAY too hot in the middle of the day to be playing outside. Then Second rainy season started while we were gone and I think it's rained every day since we've been here. When I say rain I'm not talking about a drizzle or light shower that passes by I'm talking about heavy downpour for hours at times. Personally I love it, most of the time, and haven't been too bothered by it. I do have to say walking around with wet rubber flip flops isn't the best feeling in the world.

Remember me talking about how my house smells? Well after a year it still does and last week the builder told me that they think we're going to have to move. They want to rip out a bunch of walls and they just can't do that with us here. Understandable but still a hassle. They will pack us up and move us like before but it's still going to be a big pain. I should know more about that tomorrow, which in island talk means within the next two weeks, or so...

We're home!

2009-07-25T08:51:00.001+10:00

Pray for open seats!

2009-07-19T16:31:00.001+10:00

There is supposed to be a flight to Guam from CA on Monday and we are going to try to be on it.

I'm going to miss everyone like crazy but I am also ready to go home.

Pray we get on the flight and that we have an uneventful trip all the way home.

Family Photos

2009-07-14T15:36:00.003+10:00

While Josh was visiting California we met up with Mandie, from Amanda Lynn Photography, who has been taking our pictures for the last few years. I think she is the best and always finds a way to get those perfect shots without it feeling staged a fake. A true talent!

We took the ones with the palm tree at the same location where we got married, ten years ago, the hotel has a new name and the area has been changed but this tree is still there!

I took these off the website so they are pretty small. When we get the actual ones I'll post some bigger ones! This just gives you a little preview!

I'm ready...

2009-07-12T13:58:00.000+10:00

for a vacation AWAY from my children.

I know it's been quiet...

2009-07-11T01:42:00.002+10:00

around here while we have been in California. It seems like I'm always running around and never getting everything done.

We are gearing up to head home in about a week and a half. I know we are going to leaving having wished we had done this or that. Or having spent more time with so and so but I'm finally realizing that no matter how long we stay we will feel the same way.

It's been great visiting but I am ready to get back home. My own house, my own bed, my own routine. I know though once I get there I will be missing here like crazy. Isn't the grass always greener? :)

I am doing much better health wise so that makes me feel better prepared to get back to a normal life, well as normal as I ever get. :)

Grace wants me to add " I love home, I love California home and Guam home. Love, Jeni and half Grace"

This last year is Guam has gone by pretty fast. I know next year will be the same, we stay pretty busy with school, activities and friends.

I'm going to miss everyone in in the states but I'm also looking forward to seeing everyone in Guam. Including a new baby! I love babies to cuddle and nothing beats new baby smell! :)

If Grace and Brianna were cats!

2009-06-29T03:08:00.001+10:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Hello

2009-06-23T15:19:00.002+10:00

So we are still here in California. The girls are having a great time visiting family and playing outside. Their Papa built them a tree house and it's a huge hit. They eat lunch up there, play and have even set up a band. We've been keeping busy and I can't believe it's already been five weeks. The time sure flies by. We are waiting for our passports to come then we will head home.

Next week we are going to Vegas to visit more family and Josh is going to fly in. We are so excited to see him. This is the longest we've been apart since before Grace was born. Unheard of for a military family! Thankfully we get to talk to him on the phone pretty often.

Hi to everyone!

2009-06-10T15:10:00.001+10:00

see more Political Pictures

2009-06-10T15:07:00.000+10:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

2009-05-31T05:15:00.001+10:00

Monkey see...
Monkey do!

I miss my husband.

2009-05-28T01:31:00.002+10:00

I have been so spoiled over the last several years. Josh has been with us most of the time since before we had Grace. So while were having a great time in California I still wish he was here with us.

Last night my cousin came over and set up wireless internet at my Mom's house. Oh what a joy! LOL I should be able to post more often here again since it's easy access. I have been going to Coffee Bean to do my homework since they have free wi-fi but now I don't have too.

Today were going to the thrift store, maybe stores, so we will see if we find anything exciting. I need a couple outfits to wear to the conference I'm going to next month.

The girls have been doing good. Grace is pretty routine oriented and to come here where our days can be unpredictable could have been really overwhelming for her but she has done great. Brianna is having a great time she gets pretty hyped up sometimes but over all it's going great.

What was I thinking?

2009-05-26T01:09:00.002+10:00

I mean it had been a whole week and a half since I'd seen a doctor.

Last night I ended up having to go to the ER for my last incision site. They wanted to do IV antibiotics but I explained what a hard stick I am and asked if they could just give it to me in pill form and I would fill it and start right away. Thankfully the doctor was ok with that so now I just have to find a doctor here to follow up with.

They did bump me to the head of the line so the wait wasn't too bad. I was in and out in three hours.

Now my Mom says I'm grounded for the next few days to rest.

And I thought last week was busy!

2009-05-24T02:15:00.002+10:00

So the girls and I are in California!

We took mac flights from Guam to California and here we are! It's been fun visiting family and being able to play outside anytime!

Josh is still in Guam for now but will be heading to the states himself for a school. He is also going to WA and on the way will stop through here to see us.

Grace and I are getting our haircut today and then going to the movies.

Fun times here in Cali!

Busy week

2009-05-15T23:12:00.003+10:00

So it's been busy around here. I've been in a training class all week for a position I volunteered for at Josh's work. Today was the last day so while it was good information it's nice to be done.

Josh is good, kids are good and I'm good.

I'm almost all healed up and the surgeon is leaving this weekend so the timing worked out as good as it could. I had another chest x-ray on Monday and the pneumonia is almost all cleared up so that was great news also!

Grace

2009-05-11T21:40:00.002+10:00

So Grace loves music, and when I say love I mean LOVE. She is always singing, making up words to songs, playing the keyboard, listening to CDs and listening to her MP3 player.

She got her MP3 player for Christmas a couple years ago, it was one of the kids Disney ones and over time it's stopped staying charged so she listens to one song and the battery dies. So since before Christmas she has been asking for a new MP3 player, specifically an Ipod Nano since it has a screen on it. Well after a while of her still wanting it Josh and I told her that if she saved half of the money to buy it then we would pay the other half for one.

For the last couple months she has been saving all her money plus doing extra chores (laundry, washing the car, pulling weeds) to earn her share. Well as of this past weekend she had enough for her half and got to go to the store, pick out the color she wanted and hand over her money to the sales person. She even had money left over and bought some new music to load on it.

She is loving it! She has music and pictures and games on it! Who knew it did all those thing?? I certainly didn't! :)

Anyways I was so proud of her for saving and really working hard to earn enough money to buy it.

My baby is growing up!

When did that happen?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T21:37:00.002+10:00

a little late.

We had a great day around here. It was pretty low key, we just went up to the air force base exchange and then had lunch in the food court.

Nothing but the best around here. :)

2009-05-08T14:32:00.003+10:00

The family.
The view behind the monument. If you look on the left side of these two pictures you can see the same two palms trees.

The girls.

Josh is officially in the military until May 2013.

Homeschool is looking better and better

2009-05-08T14:05:00.002+10:00

Ok so not really but man some of the things they pick up in school amaze me with how inappropriate they are. Today I was walking outside with Grace and she was wearing a skirt and a pair of my sunglasses and she says to me "I'm hot and I don't mean from the sun" WHAT??? So I ask her if she means hot like good looking (while shocked I'm having this conversation with my first grader) and she says "No like sexy"!!! I couldn't believe it, I asked her where she heard that and she told me this riddle they say at school, something about Pepsi and sexy I can't remember exactly now. So then we had to have a conversation about what it meant and why it wasn't ok for her to be saying.

If this is what we deal with in first grade then I'm afraid to know what middle and high school are going to be like.

I'll be back later to post pictures of the reenlistment. Grace took most of the pictures and I haven't looked at them yet...

Reenlistment

2009-05-08T06:57:00.002+10:00

Today Josh is reenlisting for four more years. It will bring him right to 20 then he can retire. It's going to be at a beach out in town and he wants the girls and I to go. Since it's at 11am I'm not going to send Grace to school because I would just have to turn around and pick her up an hour later. Plus now she gets to sleep in as long as she wants also. This will be the first day of school she's missed all year so part of me thinks I should send her just so she can be marked present! :) We plan on going to lunch after then she has a girl scout activity this evening. Brianna is excited to not be going to school or the daycare, right now she is watching cartoons, eating leftover pizza and getting her own cup of water.

I'm telling you the fun never stops around here.

I'll make sure to post pictures, well as long as I remember my camera, when we get home later.

For now I have to go do homework.

Clarification

2009-05-06T10:42:00.002+10:00

Josh is going to be going to school in Mississippi for a month and won't have very much free time, plus he is staying in barracks.

The girls and I could book our own commercial tickets to the states but when I looked them up the other day the three of us could fly to LAX for the bargain price of $4200.

I don't need off the island that bad!

Ask me next summer when I've been here longer. It might be worth it then.

:)

Today in...

2009-05-05T14:36:00.002+10:00

as the Cotterell household turns.

So Josh is going to the states in June for A MONTH! Then he is taking two weeks leave on top of that.

I'm pretty sure he is not authorized to ditch, I mean travel, without us for six weeks! :)

That will be the longest the girls have ever been away from him. The longest before this was maybe a week.

Also it's raining and I have to walk to the bus stop. Well I guess I could drive but I don't think I'm going too.

(How was that Britt? I'd say that I'll work on making it more exciting but I'm hoping my life ISN'T exciting for a while!)

I seem to be getting better but...

2009-05-01T11:35:00.002+10:00

Brianna has an ear infection.

Other then complaining that her ear hurts once in a while and not sleeping at night it doesn't slow her down.

Really though, nothing does. :)

For Harper...

2009-04-28T15:31:00.004+10:00

(insert evil laugh for Amanda)

Brianna singing the balloon blues...

Grace singing... I'm not quite sure what but I'm sure Harper will enjoy it! :)

2009-04-28T13:17:00.002+10:00

Today
Jan 2, 2007

Edited to add: Brianna saw this post and asked who this was a picture of.

Mom, I AM wearing blush.

2009-04-28T13:12:00.002+10:00

Brianna got plenty of sleep last night.

2009-04-28T07:40:00.001+10:00

Of course...

2009-04-28T07:25:00.002+10:00

90 minutes of sleep is not enough.

Bonus: I have class tonight.

As if there isn't enough going on...

2009-04-27T20:19:00.002+10:00

Grace has ants in her room.

I went to tuck her into bed and noticed a couple ants on the wall, then I noticed more, then I pulled her bed away from the wall and found a colony.

Ok maybe not a colony but way more ants then should be in her room! I killed as many as I could find but I have no idea where they are coming from or why they are there.

Josh is on duty and won't be home until tomorrow night.

Grace went to sleep in my bed.

Today

2009-04-22T15:41:00.002+10:00

Before school I took Brianna to the book fair so she could pick something out. After looking around at many, many choices she choose "Franklin Goes to the Hospital"! Should I be concerned? I mean come on I've only been admitted three times in the last two months.

Grace had a field trip today to the aquarium. Since she LOVES that place she was really excited. They had to bring a sack lunch (which she does pretty much everyday anyway) and money for the gift shop. Well I knew this would be exciting for Grace, she always wants to pick something out when we go but mean Mom that I am I don't ever let her. So today we sent her with a whole ten dollars to spend on whatever struck her fancy.

I picked her up at the bus stop and while we were walking home she gave me a gift shop bag and said she got something for me! She was so excited and had me open it right then and there. It's a cute dolphin picture holder since she said she knew I liked dolphins! What a sweetie! Then I asked her if she had enough money to get something else and she said yes and that it was in her backpack. I asked what she got and she said a present for Daddy! She got him a green fish picture holder since she knew his favorite color is green. She didn't buy anything for herself at all!

Could she be any sweeter?

I don't think so either.

This week in my medical drama...

2009-04-18T11:35:00.003+10:00

As you know I had pneumonia. Last week I had fevers spiking above 105 and chest x-rays (done on Friday, Monday and Weds) showed that even while on the antibiotics the pneumonia was still getting worse. So they admitted me to the hospital, again, to try to figure out what was going on. They took me off all the medication, including Tylenol, and waited to see what would happen, wouldn't you know it the fevers stopped! They also did a ton of other testing to make sure nothing else was going on and while my white blood cell count started out low, by Friday it was starting to come back up so they went ahead and released me. I'm actually feeling much better today then I have in a long time so hopefully this will be the end of the health struggles.

Another one bites the dust.

2009-04-15T08:50:00.002+10:00

Grace lost another tooth last night and was so excited. It's been loose forever but was hanging on. Last night she decided she wanted it out. She asked Josh to tie a string around it then she pulled it out! I shudder just thinking about it but she was happy with the results! I guess that is really all that matters!

A week in review

2009-04-11T12:24:00.003+10:00

I know I haven't posted much this week but there hasn't been much blog worthy going on.

The girls are on spring break and Grace has been going to camp this week. She's had a great time and each day had a new adventure. She's been swimming, bowling and to the movies just to name a few.

Josh has been busy at work, like always, and taking great care of us and the house. He is without a doubt the best husband I could ever hope for. I hit the spouse jackpot with him! Thanks Sue!

As for me all three of my classes have started so it's keeping me busy. I missed the week I had surgery but my instructor was great about it and I'm all caught up so no worries on that front. I just have to make sure I stay on top of everything, it's definitely a whole different mind set!

I know I said I wouldn't talk about my health on here so much so I'll just give an update. Last week I had a lump where the infection was removed and started running a fever again. I saw the doctor Weds and he wanted to give it until Friday and see how I was. Well my home nurse decided on Thursday it wasn't getting any better and called my doctor to let him know. He had me come in on Friday for another CT scan and told me not to eat or drink anything because they were thinking it was another infected fluid pocket and I was going to have to have another surgery. After the scan the doctor talked to the radiologist and great news is there are no fluid pockets and every thing related to my surgery is healing great. He thinks after Monday I shouldn't even need the home nurse anymore! Yay! They did also find out the cause of the fever though, thanks to the CT scan, turns out I have pneumonia. I'm already taking antibiotics and it's, thankfully, a mild case.

You know your perception is way off when you go to the doctor and are relieved to find out you only have pneumonia.

Coloring is serious business...

2009-04-08T16:58:00.001+10:00

Brianna just said...

2009-04-04T07:52:00.001+10:00

"WOW Grace look at this! Isn't it a thousand cool?"

A thousand cool? Well I guess that must be pretty cool!

:)

My lastest diagnosis...

2009-04-03T17:29:00.002+10:00

Reactive Arthritis.

I swear I'm not joking. I really should have gotten a doctors note.

The good news is once the infection is gone the arthritis should be too.

I think I should stop posting about my health on here, it seems to be taking over my blog.