hum d dum

This week has been aweful, as far as mornings go. On Tuesday, thursday, and Friday, my kids go to day care. This means that I have to make lunches, get them dressed, brush teeth, check what they ate for breakfast(mike is in charge of breakfast, but I can't always trust that he feeds them well) and get them to daycare before I get to work. The last few mornings, Owen has decided to poop when I am ready to walk out the door, so I have to turn around, go back in the house, and change his diaper. On top of that Scarlett is going through a phase of not wanting to listen to anything I say. I have taken things away from her, put her in time out, and spanked her, and none of it is working! I feel like I am loosing my mind, because I get so irritated. I want to be the best mom I can be, but this is truly testing my patience more than anything else has since I have been a mom. So when I tell her to get in the car, she does not listen. Which brings me to the ice. It snowed a boatload recently, and it has all turned into a nice thick layer of ice in my driveway,and front yard. Mike has already fallen twice, and thank goodness he just scraped his knuckles. Owen will not walk in it, he says "it too slipily mom", "carry you". So I have to take everything to the car, start the car to defrost the windows, and go back and get Owen. While I am doing all of that, who knows what Scarlett is doing? I do know what she is not doing, and that is not getting in the car. After getting the kids in the car, and all the drama starts to settle, I have to make several trips back in the house to get all of the stuff that we forgot. Then I finally get in the car and drive away so frusterated, I am in tears. So my solution to this is that I need to work with Scarlett some more on listening. I need to try to get more organized. I just thought that if you are consistant enough with your kids, things will be easier. Wrong! some kids are just not easy children, and you have to keep readjusting your parenting style to relate to them. Scarlett is my more difficult child, but I love the heck out of her, and if I have to be even more consistant, then bring it on.

Ringworm?

Last night when I picked up Scarlett and Owen from my MeMaws house, I noticed a perfectly round, red circle on Owen's head.I asked what happened, and Scarlett said he hit his head on the table. I examined the table, and there was nothing round about it. I said, "Scarlett, if he hit his head on the table, he would have a red line, not a red circle." I would normally not be worried about a mark on Owen (he gets bumps and bruises every day), but this one looked a lot like it could be ringworm. I asked Owen what happened, and he said a bee "bite" him, and then he said a baby bit him, so I knew I could not get a good answer from him. I went home, and googled a few pictures of ringworm, and his mark looked identical to ringworm. I decided to see what it looked like in the morning to decide if I needed to get some ointment for him. this morning it still looked like ringworm. I decided to ask one more time before I called the doctor. I said, "Owen, what happened to your head?" he said, "Scary ghost did it". Still, no help from Owen. I said, "Scarlett, If you know what happened to Owen, you need to tell me, because I am thinking about taking him to the doctor." She looked at me for a minute...(I knew the answer was about to come out) she said, "well, I do know waht happened" "I hit him in the head with a marker, because he was not sharing" So It is marker, not ringworm! thank goodness.

some recent pictures...

I am sorry I have not posted pictures lately, I have been busy. At night when I have time to post pictures, I am too busy doing homework or reading. I am going to admit that I have become a twilight nerd. I am on the last book, and I can't put it down long enough to post pictures. But I am finally posting some. hope you enjoy.
Owen and his horse.

Scarlett loves to make "sculptures". She took my pinapple and grapes, and stuck the grapes on the leaves of the pinapple. The pinapple is stcked on a bunch of cans of beans. Now that is talent!




Scarlett makes the best faces! She is really in to dressing up lately. She loves to go into our closet and put on our clothes, but I have to say, the outfit below is one of my favorites.


Me, Keely, and Mary. I have so much fun with them!

Do rags make normal guys act silly

Mary and Keely the picture below is for you two...

My little Owen is so cute! I can't get enough of him.

Me and Mike in Phoenix

It is FREEZING!

It is 14 degrees and snowing. I can't feel my toes...and I am indoors!

Holiday tree...oopsy.

Okay, after doing some reading on this, I found out that the "holiday tree" has been around since the 90's. It is politically correct to call it a holiday tree. But I say, like I always say, screw being politically correct. Maybe Christ wasn't really born on Christmas day, but that is when we celebrate it. I don't think it is a secret that I am not an Obama fan. I am glad people know who I voted for. I don't think that should be such a big secret. I am firm in my beliefs, and I don't want people to have to question that about me. I got this email the other day that I thought was hilarious! And I looked it up, and it really says this...

Obama Bumper Sticker

We were in Pigeon Forge over the week end. On Sunday, we left to come
home. Traffic was moving slowly, and a car in front of us had an Obama
bumper sticker on it. It read: "Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8".


Mike's Bible was lying on the dash board. He got it, opened it up to
the scripture, and read it. He started laughing and laughing. Then he
read it to me. I couldn't believe what it said. I had a good laugh,
too..



Psalm 109:8
"Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

One nation under God?

I was listening to Scarlett this moring while she was saying the pledge of alligence. When she got to ,"one nation under God", it made me think. My kids are growing up in a world where they might try to take "one nation under God" out of the pledge of alligence! I can accept that there are other people who don't have the same political veiws as I do. What I can not accept, is when people say things like, "separation of church and state", "Take, in God we trust, out of our monetary system, and off of our money", and the worst one yet, "we are going to have a holiday tree this year!" I can accept that they don't want prayer in school, but I can not accept taking "one nation under God" out of the pledge of alligence. Or for that matter, creating a new pledge of alligence.
I am a Christ follower! And I will stand up for that until the day I die! I do not want to see what this world becomes when these things are changed. God blesses us with our jobs, which means our money comes from Him. You can't take God out of money and expect things will stay the same. You can't separate church and state, and expect things to stay the same. In a country that was founded on God and christian beliefs, we will always be one nation under God. However, if we as that nation turn our backs on God, all I can think about is these verses in Romans...

Romans 1:18-23 For God's wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who in their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God himself has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes-his eternal power and divine nature-have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their ignorant hearts were darkened. Though claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Romans 1:24-25 For this reason, God gave them over to impurity to follow the lusts of their hearts and to dishonor their bodies with one another. They exchanged God's truth for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

This is a little scary for me. No matter if you consider yourself libral or conservative, God is still the only God, and there ultimatly is no escaping Him. I know that, no matter waht happens in the future, God is in control. I will still be saying the pledge of alligence as long as I am living, and I will teach it to my kids! Oh and we will NEVER have a holiday tree! It is christs birthday we celebrate at my house, and it always will be a Christmas tree!

just some thoughts...

I am in a wierd place in life right now, and I have been here since the beginning of the summer. Sine I have been married and in the real world, I have been stessed out for one reason or another. I take on too much, and I know it, but I don't feel like I ever have a choice, so that is why I do too much. I keep telling myself that all the things I am doing right now will pay off, but now I am questioning that. I am now to the point of being so stressed out that it is causing me to be physically ill. The pressure I feel is so intense sometimes, I feel like my head will explode...literally. I will say that 2009 has been the most stressful year of my life, which says a LOT considering the last 5 years of my life. I am really learning to cut people slack, because I know how I feel when someone expects me to be perfect and don't take into consideration what I am going through. I get angry sometimes when people say, "I know how you feel", when I know they have no idea how I feel. I don't need the sympathy, I just don't like it when people try to relate when they don't have a clue. When I don't know how somone feels about something, I tell them that I can't understand how they feel, but I am here for them to talk to.
I thought by selling River's edge, we would be less stressed, but that does not seem to be the case. I am still in school full time and working full time, and trying to be the best mom I can be full time. the things that stress me out the most are coming home to a dirty house, and trying to figure out finances without river's edge. FINANCES were supposed to get easier when we sold the business! For some strange reason, I can't let go of the fact that we don't have to pay taxes monthly, and we don't have rent to pay. I also can't seem to grasp the fact that Mike and I get paid twice a month now, instead of everyday. This is such a learning process! It is wierd to go to the grocery store and have a list with a buget.
The icing on my cake is that I just got promoted. This is such a great thing, but it comes with a little pressure. I have to be in Albuquerque for the first two weeks of December (wich also happens to be finals week) to take tests so I can sell insurance. I love the insurance business, and I can't wait to start my new position, but I am a little frazzled right now. I think I am more stressed out about being alone in a big city without Mike and the kids, than the tests. Oh well, it is just one more thing I have to get through.

Down ten pounds!

I am so happy, I have lost ten pounds in two weeks. My goal is 20 more by Christmas. I know that might be a little unrealistic because of thanksgiving, but I am going to try my hardest!

Poo on the swine flu!

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to work outside. I had offered to keep my friends three kids, so that they could get some moving done, and my kids love to hang out with her kids, so it worked out for all of us. We cleaned up the yard, that Salmon has destroyed. We cleaned off the back deck, and cut wood. I even went to the grocery store with 4 kids under the age of 4! I got lunch ready, and sat all 5 kids down to eat, and they all scarfed down the food. All but one of them...Owen. I checked his forehead, and noticed he was a little warm, but nothing too bad, so I gave him some Tylenol, and put him down for a nap. Then I laid Ben down for his nap, and turned on Noggin for the other three kids, so they could relax. After about 20 minutes, I heard Owen crying, so I went in to check on him, and I decided to take his temperature. He hates for me to stick a thermometer in is mouth, so I don't, I take his temp in...you guessed it, his butt. His temp was 99.5, which is nothing for a kid. His nose was a little runny, so I gave him a tiny bit of benedryl, thinking he was having some allergy issues. Both of the 2 year olds took 2 1/2 hour naps, and when they woke up, everything seemed fine.

We took the kids home, and went back home and made dinner. Then we decided to watch bolt on netflix. At 6:35, Scarlett yawned, and said, "I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open", and two seconds later she was out. I decided I had to get up and move around because I was falling asleep, and Mike had been asleep for 20 minutes. Just me and Owen were awake. At 7:30 I went in to get Owen to brush his teeth and get him ready for bed, and I noticed he was EXTREMELY hot! So again I took the butt temp, but this time it was 104.5. I called my mom, who rushed over to stay with Scarlett so we could get Owen to the ER. Let me just say that this is not normally what I do. I would normally put him in a cool bath to drop his temp, and then see how things go. But given the H1N1 scare, I was not willing to risk anything.

By the time we got to the hospital I could tell he was getting warmer. WE walked into the waiting room, with all of the other sickies, and waited for a nurse to look at him. Luckily we did not have to wait long, because I was thinking about yelling, "HE has swine flu!" so people would leave so we would get bumped up in the ER line. There were two nurses, and they took all of his clothes off, and took his rectal temp again, and the nurse said, "oh shit it is 105.5", twice. That could never be a good sign I thought, and it freaked me out! Then while I was holding him, they were asking me questions, and I could not think, I just started crying. They got him to a room, and the doctor came in, and said he is going to be here a few days, and we are going to be running tests, and he needs an IV immediately. SO some more nurses came in along with two nurses that we knew, and they said you can hold him down or we can put him on a board and strap him down. I said, "I will hold him". Then one nurse said, "well you are going to have to hold him tight, do you think you can do that?" I thought about saying, "look at me, do I look like a frail mouse to you?!" but, I said I will hold him thanks.
Mike held his arms down, and I held his legs, and the poking began. The first nurse tried and after two tries she was told to stop. I was getting mad, because it sounded like this was practice for her. Lesson 1, always request a skilled IV tech. Then one of the nurses that I knew, said she was going to try, but she could not get it either! I said "Okay this is the last try!" So they said, one of the anesthesiologists were in the building, so they asked if we wanted them to call him, and we said heck yes! he came in and finally got it in. During this I stared to see spots, and had to ask someone to hold Owen for me, because I was about to pass out! So I sat down and started crying AGAIN! My mom was in the waiting room, and could not come in because there was a limit to two people in the room with him. she had no idea what was going on other than he had a dangerously high temp. One of the pastor's (and one of our closest friends) was somehow allowed to come back, and I asked him to go let my mom know what was going on so she could stop worrying. After they got the IV in and Owen had started calming down, I went out in the waiting room, and had a good cry. I don't even know what I said, but I just cried. I told my mom to go see him, and then a nurse walked in and said she would let my mom and John (the pastor) go back with him.
When we got back to the room, Our nurse friend Kathy, came in to take some blood samples. She said that the worst part of her job it taking blood from kids, because they see her around town and immediately start crying! But they got his blood, and he started to calm down enough that he fell asleep. He was so traumatized that he kept jumping in his sleep. It was awful! They said that only one of us could stay overnight with him, and because I was feeling sick, Mike said he would stay. So I went home and could not fall asleep, because my baby was lying in a hospital bed without me...again! The Last time Owen had to be hospitalized, I got the stomach flu and had to let Mike stay with him. I woke up early the next morning and went to stay with him so Mike could sleep. Owen actually slept good the whole time we were there. He slept through his breathing treatments, and vital checkings. He kept saying, "Scarly GO?" which means where is Scarlett. That is what he calls her. Every time a nurse or doctor came in to see him, he would say, "no like it!" I was a little heartbreaking!
We are now home, and I am so happy. The doctors said that we did the right thing by bringing him in immediately. He tested negative for influenza A, but the won't have the H1N1 results back for a few more days. They said they are pretty sure that it was a form of H1N1. So my message to all the other moms that read this is this:
1. Take your kids to the ER as soon as they start to get a high fever. DON'T HESITATE!
2.Make sure you ask for trained professionals, not people in training.
3.Get vaccinated!

Weight Watchers take two!

I quit doing weight watchers a year ago, after I had lost 30 pounds. But for some reason, those 30 pounds enjoyed hanging out on my body, to they have returned. Yippee for me! I will attribute the weight gain to my stressful year, but now the stress is gone, so the pounds need to go too. I have lost 4 pounds already. It is going to work this time!

baby number 3?

No, I am not pregnant. I never thought I wanted more than two kids, but now I am rethinking that! Some of my friends are starting to have babies, and when I see those babies, I get sooooo sad that Owen and Scarlett are growing up. Anytime I talk to people with 3 or more kids, they say they love having three kids, and they are so happy they had more kids. We just can't make up our minds! Some days I want more kids, and then there are other days when I don't think I could handle one more! I have asked women that have two kids, "Did you ever think you wanted more?" and they all have told me no. They said they knew they were done having kids and they were happy with the decision to stop. I am missing a baby around so much, I think about it almost every day. I don't know if this is because Keely is about to have a baby, or it is me knowing that there are more kids in our future. I picture us having a house full of kids and grandkids, and it makes me so happy. There are 5 kids on my side of the family and 5 on Mikes, so shouldn't we have more?! I never knew being a parent was going to be this fulfilling and amazing. I mean there are days where I want to bang my head against a wall, but those days are few and far between. Some people keep trying to have babies until they have at least a boy and one girl, but I have both. If we did have another one, all we would have to have is some diapers...so it would be cheap to have another one. We would not find out what the baby is, and I have already picked out names for a new baby. I am thinking this all means we are not done having kids!

It is cold!!!

I do not want to go outside! it is snowing and I just want to be in my house with my babies and Mike watching Tinkerbell and the lost tresure, with a fire and a hot something to drink!

I don't get it...

Extended nursing! I am a little discusted by this. I hear of more and more women nursing toddlers and beyond, and I am really having a hard time with it. I mean, I don't critisize other mothers often, but this is hard for me to turn away from. When a child is old enough to ask for a boob, it is time to be done with nursing. I think nursing is so great for BABIES. Breast milk is better for your baby, but there are no studies saying that a child needs it longer than 6 months. I am all for kids nursing for at least a year. I also understand that many women have problems nursing, or have to go back to work, but if you can nurse, you should. It is when I see a 3,4, or 5 year old nursing that I get a little judgemental. I think that the mother is fulfilling some wierd need in herself, and not thinking about the child. I don't think it will do massive amounts of damage to a child to nurse for an extended period of time, but I think there is potential for some emotional issues. A child needs to be able to become an independant person, to some extent, and extended nursing hinders that. A child needs to be able to make choices and be able to self soothe, and I think extended nursing hinders that big time. It can cause speech problems as well. When a baby is born, they swallow differently than you and I do. At 1 year old, they should be off of a bottle and learning to drink from a sippy cup so that they develop this matured way of swallowing. (not that my kids were weaned off of a bottle at 1 year old, but I started to inroduce sippy cups then) If a child does not learn how to swallow correctly, it will delay their speech. I have read blogs about this, and I have heard women having conversations with their child about breast feeding and it seems way inappropriate to me. I am in no way saying that I am against nursing, it is the complete opposite. I think nursing is something God intended women to do, and therefore, if we can, we should. Just my thoughts.

Vacation over :(

We went to Phoenix this weekend with two other couples, and we had a blast. It made me realize that Mike and Ineed to do stuff together more often. we need to leave the kids with a babysitter and just hang out with each other. I think he is one of the funniest people I know, and I miss laughing hysterically with him. I mean we laugh at home all of the time, but there is somthing about not being around kids that makes us act like kids again. It was fun and much needed. I will post some pictures as soon as I can figure out how to download them. Oh wait! I have one of mike! here it is....

Ahhhh! That's better.

We picked up Salmon from the vet's office this morning, and I sure hope he had a swell time, because for the amount of money we sent on his overnight stay, he better have had 5 star service! He was, thankfully, FULL of energy all day today. I would know too, because I was home for the 3rd day in a row. My mom offered to stay with the kids, but I just could not leave Scarlett while she was sick.I was going to sleep in another bed last night, because I thought she had pink eye, but I could not even let her sleep alone.All week long she has wanted me to stay with her and let her cuddle with me. I can't say that has been a bad thing, I lave enjoyed that time with her.I don't realize how independant she really is until we have a situation where all she wants is me. I makes me want to get out all of her baby pictures and imagine how it felt when she was a baby. AHHH, I am getting baby fever!
Today we woke up and Scarletts eyes were not matted shut, so we decided it was not pink eye. She still had a fever though, so I called the doctor to see if she could squeeze us in at some point, and the answer was no! The doctor was too busy to see her, so they called in some eye drops to our pharmacy. Well since we did not need the eye drops, I called later in the day and said, "My daughter still has fever, and I want to make sure she is not getting the swine flu. I thought that that would for sure get their attention, but it did not. I just needed some antibiotics!!!!! So, what did I decide to do?...I decided if the doctors office can't see her, I will take her to the ER, because they have to see us. I mean, come on, if the Doctor is too busy to see patients, HIRE MORE DOCTORS! Right after I had decided this, the doctor's office called back and said that they had calle din a perscription for antibiotics. Phew! I can go on vacation and not have to worry about my kids!

Oh my freaking day!

I have been home for the last few days because Scarlett has been sick. Low fever, coughing, sneezing, etc. I know what you are thinking, Swine Flu, but no such flu is at our house. Thank God! I have a hard time staying at home, because I get stir crazy. I have really loved spending time with my kids, but I am a little bit ready to get back to my shedule and work. side note, Scarlett just walked up to me and said, "your husband just bummped his head." Thanks for letting me know kid. back to the story. I have been taking care of little sicky and Owen, and then last night Mike comes in the house and says, "Salmon has a sore on his neck." So I suggested we give him a bath and put some ointment on it. When Mike brought Salmon in the house I looked down at his neck, and I saw a HUGE hairless spot, and a red puffy rash all across the bottom of his neck. NOT GOOD. I have a sick girl and now we have a sick dog. We took Salmon to the vet today and they ended up keeping him over night. He had a cut on his neck that had become infected and he would not stop scratching it which was making it worse. He is drugged up right now at the vet, and I can't wait for that bill to come. Should be quite exciting.
When Mike got back from the vet, he ate and got ready for school. After he left, I fed the kids and then I noticed that Scarlett's eye was puffy. I decided to give the kids a bath thinking that maybe she touched something that had peanut butter on it. After the bath, her eye started oozing some goo. I gave her some benadryl to get the swelling to go down if it was an allergic reaction. Not only did the benadryl not make the swelling disappear, but it made her go to sleep at 6:15pm. So here I sit, at midnight, with a 4 year old that is no where near ready for sleep. So poop on this day!
The part that just makes this even worse, is that Mike and I are supposed to go to Phoenix this weekend with friends. I am praying that the antibiotics wipe this eye goo out, so that we can still go. My parents are keeping the kids this weekend, but I would feel awful leaving my sick baby.

I am a lucky girl...

Yesterday I turned 28. This was not a huge birthday for me since I can already drink, smoke, gamble and rent a car. I mean what else is there to look forward to as far as birthday's go, right?! Well I was driving yesterday, thinking about turning 28, and would I feel any different from being 27? Considering the fact that I don't remember how old I am half the time, i did not think much would change. The thing I realized is that, I am still so young, but I have had a lifetime of happiness already. Not all people can say this, and I have experienced things that not all people get to experience. I AM A LUCKY GIRL!
1. I have had life FULL of love!
2. I have had 4 parents that love me, and would do anything for me. Some people don't even have one and I have 4! Actually I have Mike's parents now so that brings my parent grand total to 6!
3. I have been lucky enough to have grandparents in my life that I am close to and have influenced my life in such positive ways.
4. I have amazing step parents, and I know very few people that can say that.
5. I was lucky enough to know what it is like to meet somone and instantley fall in love with them. I can really say I know what love at first sight feels like. I know what true love is, and I have a husband who will do anything for me. He will never give up on me and he supports me!
6. I know how it feels to look down an aisle and be so excited to be looking at the person I would spend the rest of my life with, and create a family with.
7. I got to experience the excitment a woman gets from getting a positive pregnancy test twice, and the days of total confusion that follow that.
8. I had the joy of telling all of my parents that they were going to be grandparents twice.
9. The most undiscrible joy is being able to bring a life into the world with the person you love the most.
10. I have experienced the excitment of knowing that I was moments away from meeting my child, and being scared, nervous, and incrdible happy all at the same time. TWICE!

I have been fortunate enough to have so many incredible life experiences in my life, and in only 28 years. Sometimes I look at my little family and think, "how did I get so lucky?" God has given me so much to be thankful for! It is good to take a minute to think about all of the good things in your life, every once in a while. So, all of this to say, I think I do feel different.

Owen is turning two!

My little boy is going to be a two year old on Saturday! It is so bitter sweet when you kids have birthdays, at least for me it is. I am happy that they are having a good birthday and getting presents, but I am sad thinking about the fact that they are growing further away from being a baby. I LOVE the toddler stage so much, and I don't know if I am ready for him to be a boy. Boys are a little stressful to me. They are daredevils, and I don't like that. I do love the bond I have with Owen. He is a momma's boy for sure. He loves to give me kisses and hugs, and I love it when we get to hang out together when it is just the 2 of us. He has a sense of humor that is so amazing. Everything he says is funny. The way he talks is funny. the way he stands is funny. I just can't get enough of him! Both of my kids are so special to me in different ways. I feel so lucky that I get to have them as my kids. Owen loves to fight EVERYONE with his foam sword, and I think it is so funny to watch him do it. He will run up to starngers and yell, "YAAAAAA" and slice them in the leg. Then I have to say sorry, but people love it. The way he dances in the car makes me laugh so hard, it brings tears to my eyes. He loves to sing, dance, and say, "no" or "no way!".
I decided that instead of having a big birthday party for him, we would go away for the weekend to Albuquerque. They are having the Balloon Festival,and the kids will love it. On Saturday we are going to the Zoo...Owen and Scarlett's favorite. Every time we have a birthday party for the kids, they have an AMAZING time, but I don't get to hang out with them as much as I would like to. Owen could care less about a party at 2 years old, so I thought we could have a fun time with just the four of us. We invited our Friends Nathan and Jessica and their two kids, but The Flu moved in to their house earlier in the week, and I don't know if they will make it.:( I will post some pictures when we get back!

5 Years!

I am writing this blog at 9:45am. 5 years ago at this time, I was going to starbucks to get a pumpkin spice latte and then going to quizno's to have lunch. I could not eat anything but broccoli and cheese soup. My mind was a fog, and I was trying to remeber everything I needed to do for the day. After lunch, I headed to Mike's parents house to start getting ready for my wedding! So many emotions were running through me. I was beyond excited, nervous, happy, scared etc.
We got married in Mike's paretns backyard. I remember, right before they opened the gate for me to walk down to Mike, that I was so sure about this decsion. I was so happy to be marring the one person I wanted to share my life with. My stepdad walked me halfway down the isle and then handed me to my Dad, then my dad walked me to the canopy where Mike and my brother were. I gave my brother and my dad hugs, and they handed me off to Mike. At that moment things began to hit me hard. I looked atMy boyfriend who was about to marry me, and knew that he was my family now. When I needed something, I was not going to call my parents, I was going to talk to him. It was no longer my life, but our life. I heard one thing the pastor said and it was that I must leave my father and mother and cling to Mike. I wanted to stop him and say, "yes, i got it, I have to depend on Mike now, you can stop saying that." I was scared! what if one of us lost our job? What if my car broke down? What if, what if, what if?! Then we stared to say our vows, and I looked at Mike and all I saw was the love I had for him. He was and is the best person for me. He is the most understanding man I have ever know. I have complete comfort in knowing that he will NEVER leave me, and he will do whatever it takes to make me happy. He is by far, the best father I could have picked for my kids. We have survived so much already. We made it through owning a business together, two kids, and buying and selling houses. The business made things very hard and stressful for us. It was a huge strain on our relationship, but we did not give up. He still makes me laugh harder than anyone else. He is one of the only people in the world that can calm me down and see things logically when I am flipping out. I love you, Mike! Happy Anniversary!!!! Oh, and I could not find a wedding picture on my computer so I am posting one of my wedding ring. My original wedding ring fell in our garbage disposal and was demolished last november. Mike took apart our disposal, and found the band, and the big diamond. Mike took my ring to a jeweler in town, and designed me a new ring and this is what I got last year for Christmas. It has my original diamonds in it, and he was able to add a lot more. The coolest thing about my ring is that He designed it himself, and got to use my original diamonds.

Swine Flu anyone?

I am not the typical parinoid mom. I don't line my coffee table and firplace with cushions. I don't care if my kids go outside with wet hair. If Owen's binky falls on the ground, I pick it up and hand it back to him. I don't even stress out when both of my kids ate bugs. What does get me all crazy is sickness, and grems. It angers me to no end when people are in public and they are sick. I can hold my tounge to some point, but when someone walks up to me and says, "I feel like crap!" I will, 9 times out of 10, say, "well if you are sick, stay away from me, and go home so you are not spreading your germs to all of us that are not sick!" If it offends people that I say that, oh well. It is offensive to me that people to go out in public when they are sick, have no regard for my kids health. All of this to say...I am hating this swine flu stuff. I do not worry about my kids dying from this, but I don't want to have to take them to the hospital because they have a high temperature. My biggest problem is that I don't feel confident in giving my kids the h1n1 vaccination. This is a new vaccination, and I feel like it is rushed out to the public, and no one will really know the true side effects for a while. They have directly linked gillian barre syndrome with this vaccination, which scares me. I want to know what other moms think. Who is going to vaccinate for this and why or why not? Thanks.

Here it is!

The long awaited picture of Owen! This, right here is exactly how I found him!

My baby is growing up!

Today is biiter sweet for me. Four years ago today, at this very moment, I was lying in a hospital bed a little depressed that the medication they had given me was not starting my labor. They told me I was going to have to have pitosin to get things going. At noon I was given pitosin and at 2 I decided to stop trying to be tough and get an epidural. Scarlett Grace Remund was born at 9:55pm, and it was one of the best moments of our lives. One of my biggest memories was watching tv as I was pushing. Hurricane Rita was hitting the gulf coast as I was bringing Scarlett in to the world. What a memory! My mom and Holly got to be there to help with pictures and my mom got to hold my leg. But then, as Scarletts head was crowning, my mom got so excited, she dropped my leg. because I had an epidural, I could not move my leg, it was just hanging on the side of the bed. I remember the night she was born I watched her sleep all night long. I could not take my eyes off her, and I kept thinking that this baby was mine and I was actually a mom. I was so happy she was cute and she was perfect.
I remember walking out of the hospital when we were taking her home thinking, these people are just going to let us leave with a baby, they are not going to stop us! We will be responsible for her for the next 18 years! It was all hitting me fast. We stayed at my moms house for 1 week to have help. I am glad we did that, because Scarlett wanted to stay awake all night and sleep all day! I was exhausted.The day we went home was the day after our 1 year anniversay. I remember sitting in our living room with Scarlett on the floor sleeping, and we opened a bottle of dom perignon and toasted to our new life.
Now 4 years later, I have the sweetest little girl in the world. She makes my life so incredible. She is smarter than I ever was. I am constantly proud of her. Thank you Jesus for giving her to Mike and I, we are so lucky that we were chosent o be her parents. Last night she gave me her last 3 year old hug and kiss. I told her we coudn't call her baby anymore, because she was a little girl now. Kind of sad, but I am so excited to continue to watch her grow.

Oh I forgot!

Last night, I walked into our bedroom where the computer is and saw that Scarlett had drawn a picture on our computer screen with a permenant marker. She looked up at me before I could say anything and said, "Ahhh who did that?!" I ran in the kitchen and grabbed the windex and a towel and rushed back to our bedroom. By now Scarlett was hiding in the depths of our closet. After scrubbing for a couple minutes, the marker came off, amazingly. I said, "Scarlett, you get out here right now!" she dug her way out of the closet, and I turned her around and spanked her twice. She looked at me and said, "this does not make me happy when you do this. I never ever get away with anything!" then, "When you spank me it makes me think that you don't love me anymore!" "all you ever want to do is hurt my feelings!" I said, "what would make you think it is okay to draw on the computer?" she said, "I did not want you to be on the computer, I wanted you to play with me." (meanwhile I can here Owen in the other room growling loudly into the karaoke machine) I said, "well the next time you want me to play with you, all you have to do is ask, and you could save yourself a punishment!" she said..."oh"

Oh bloggins!

I have not been really good about my blog lately. I have a ton of pictures to post, but I keep forgetting to take the camera to work so that I can post the pictures. Scarlett 4th birthday was this weekend, and it was great. A lot of people showed up and she had the best time ever. We also decided to have a garage sale this weekend. It rained the whole time! IT was horrible. I did sell a washer and dryer which was great, because now we have more room in our storage shed. WE got Scarlett a karaoke machine for her birthday and she has been singing on it since she got it. She also got a bike for her birthday, and she was so excited! School has been kicking my butt. I am taking accounting and finance, and I hate them both. I really don't see why I have to take Acccounting. I plan on hiring an accountant! All of the students in the class get so into the discussion about where to put money and what types of accounts to use, and I am sitting in the back of the class going, "what is wrong with these people?!" Mike is likeing his classes a lot. I wish I could take some of the classes he is taking, because they seema lot more fun than mine. But lets face it, shoving nails in my eyes would be more fun than accounting! Any way, that pretty much catches you up on what has been going on.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

All you haters are crazy! This show is AMAZING!

blah blah blah!

I have so much to blog about lately, but I have been so busy, it is hard to find the time to blog. With Mike and I both in school ful time, and work full time, and kids, I am too exhausted to do anymore typing at 11pm. This weekend was our second weekend together as a normal family. We decided build shelves in our closet. When we moved into our house, we had huge closet, but no shelving in any of them. We literally thre piles of clothes into the closets in April, and have not moved those piles since! We have not had time to mess with it. Finally, I am having a garage sale that forced us into organizing. It was not a fun weekend, but it was very productive. But what is the deal with kids? When life is out of their norm they act like they can just act like maniacs, and it is no big deal. Here is a list of the things that they managed to do while we were working on the closet:
1. Friday morning, as I was getting ready to dress Owen, I discovered that he had emtied an entire bottle of Elmers glue all over his clothes in his closet.
2. Scarlett dumped an entire bottle of baby oil on our carpet.
3. Owen took my good lipgloss and painted our toilet seat and rug with it.
4. They both colored on our brand new coffee table.
5. They took their makers, some ribbon, a toleit paper roll, and lots of toys, and dumped them in the bathtub full of water, and just so you know, when you put markers in water they leak color all over everything!
6. Scarlett peed in her doll potty instead of the normal potty.
7. They broke all of their colors into small pieces.
8. I found Owen in the living room naked, with a beanie on, two different shoes on, eating apples, watching backyardagins. Don't you worry, I will be posting that picture real soon.
9. They faught over everything!
10. They painted their panda's but with my good eyeshadow.
There was lots of time in time out, and a few more spankings then they have had in their lives, but the closet is done. I know what you are thinking, "where the heck were you...because aparently you were not watching your kids!". I was watching them! they are just really sneaky these days. My kids have a pretty good schedule, but when it is switched up at all they obviously can not cope! But the closet is done!

It's official!

We are no longer business owners! yippee yippee! I can't say it enough, "I am so happy!" Mike just has to look for a normal job. We will have more time together. And most importantly, when we leave work, WE LEAVE WORK. Our jobs won't follow us home. We don't have to worry about employees. We can have time off on holidays together. The list could really go on for days. Oh, we don't have to worry about taxes, it will just be taken out of our paychecks! Mike gets a PAYCHECK! Oh and here are some new pictures! Random pictures...

I am BANISHED!

This weekend Scarlett and Owen were playing, and Scarlett was not sharing with Owen and she was bossing him around. We had planned to go ride bumper boats at this place in town, and I told Scarlett if she wanted to go she had to be nice and quit bossing everyone around. As soon as the words left my mouth, she turned around and yelled at Owen that he could not "walk the plank".(I had rolled up a rug and it was sitting on the coffe table and she was using the rug as "the plank") So I had to say we could not go ride bumper boats. Then my sweet little girl runs to me and says, with tears rolling down her face, "It makes me so mad when you do that!" I said, "Well Scarlett, it makes me sad when you do not listen, I wish I did not have to take away the bumper boat rides, but you WILL learn to listen." Then she says, "Well it doesn't make me mad, I am just really frustrated and I just want to banish you." Yeah, That is what I have to deal with!

SAMPSON!!!!!

The other night a friend and I were talking. Somehow we started talking about salmon and My friend said, "Scarlett, how did you come up with that name?" (funny, I was sure I had asked her that question before, but apparently, because of her answer, I have not EVER asked that question!) Scarlett said, "I thought of that name because of Salmon in the bible." I started to think about it and this is what began to happen in my brain:
1."Well, because there were a lot of fishermen in the bible, I guess the word salmon might have been mentioned."
2."Where in her children's bible does it mention salmon?"
3."Maybe in her sunday school class they said the fisermen caught salmon."
4." hmmmmm...I am so confused!"
5. "OH MY GOSH! SAMPSON!"

I said, "Scarlett, did you mean Sampson?" She said, "Oh yeah, Sampson!" I said, "Sampson like the strong man who got his hair cut of and lost all of his strength...that "salmon"? She said yes! So we named our dog Salmon when it should have been Sampson! We can not change it now, he is used to it! But needless to say, I have learned my lesson!

Scarlett Scarlett Scarlett!

She cut her hair! I know that at some point most kids cut their own hair, or their siblings hair. I wish Scarlett had cut Owen's hair, but no...she cut a huge chunk out of the side of her head right behind her ear. No more pony tails, no more pig tails, no more braids. Just hair down in the eyes! When I asked her why she did it she said, "Mom, I just wanted a new style." What!? Who says that?! I said the next time you want a "new style" come talk to me and we can make it happen together.

Also, Scarlett is really in to art projects like drawing and painting. Our carpet has been painted, and a bed too, oh and some clothes! I do not want her to stop drawing and painting, so I had to get creative. She really loves to draw on herself too. Some people would frown on this, but I am supposed to choose my battles right? Well coloring on yourself is not a battle I choose to fight, especially if it saves my carpet and walls. My new rule is you can only color on yourself and paper.

WHY!!!

Why do grandparents have to get old? I was lucky enough to have great grandparents growing up. They were not just great, they made me who I am today. They taught me values, and to put God first in everything I do. They showed me what marriage and parenting is all about. I have always been closest to my Maw maw and Pa Paw (my Dad's parents). My Maw maw passed away I think in 2001 (I am really bad with dates, especially dates I don't like to remember). My Maw maw had the greastest impact on my life. She taught me how to cook, make clothes out of leaves, shuck corn, pick peas and on and on and on. The greatest things she taught me were how to be a woman that loves God, a godly wife and mother, and taking care of people who need it. She taught me how to be a strong woman, and I am so thankful for that. She also taught me how to play games like spinner, uno, and so on. What a great woman she was! The greatest gift she ever gave me, one of my greatest posessions to this day, Is a letter she wrote me when I was born. She wanted me to know her dreams for me in case she was not around to tell me herself. Thank God she was around to tell me and show me herself. I missed her on my wedding day, and I missed her when my kids were born, but I know 100% that I will be with her again one day.
All of this to say, my Paw paw is reaching the end as well. I am going to see him this weekend. It is hard watching him get older, but in a way I am happy for him. He was ready to go to Heaven the minute my maw maw did. He has not taken his wedding ring off and tells people that she was the only woman he will ever love. He is commited to her forever! What an amazing example of the word covenant! I feel lucky to have witnessed longevity in a marriage. Not to say they had a perfect marriage, but they did love each other very much, and it showed. My Paw paw is such an amazing man of God, and he wanted all of us to grow up to follow God. He wrote me a letter as well, and I will have it forever!! I remember getting so excited as a kid to go see them. My paw paw taught my brother and I how to farm, catch lizards, collect and make honey, shoot guns. Actually he would catch lots of animals for us, and he passed that down to my dad who would catch crazy animals for us. He would take us on rides on his four wheeler for hours. We would go exploring in the woods and he would show us different kinds of plants and catch bugs for us. He made us all kids of stuff out of wood in his workshop. The greatest times were going places in their moterhome. I thought it was the coolest thing ever to go in the moterhome. Oh he taught us how to fish, I mean my dad helped with that too :) Oh and he could tell us stories for hours, and the funny thing is most of them were very interesting! I can't wait to see him this weekend. The greatest thing for me to think about is the fact that my paw paw got to meet Mike and my kids, and when he sees my maw maw he can tell her all about them. They can create a huge farm in heaven together, and I can't wait to see them again!

Visitors!

My aunt, cousins, and cousins kids came to visit. I was a great time. My cousin has two little boys. Grant is a little older than Scarlett, but they had so much fun together, and Rhett is Owens age. My kids were worn out every evening!!! I think the best part was we got a girls night out, and we had a blast. The worst part was...THAT I DID NOT TAKE ONE PICTURE!!!!! what is wrong with me?! My mom said she took a bunch of pictures, so THANK GOD! I don't get to see these cousins very much, so we I do I must take advantage of picture time. We have great pictures of all of our kids together from a year and a half ago, but not this year. In my defense, I was planning on taking some pictures the last day they were here, but poor little Grant got sick, and was quarintined. Oh and Congrats to Amanda for making the long trip here with the boys!

4th of Ju-lizzle

Crazy Remunds watching fireworks.

I do not know what Owen is saying, but it looks funny!

Here are Scarlett and Owen aka ice smugglers! They kept eating the ice from the beverage bucket.

Owen likes to stand like an old man these days.

Pictures Galore!

Finally here are some pictures of our trip to California. I had to go through over 800 pictures, and finally I got it done, so I was able to post some of them.

Some new venting for you!

Last time I vented on here, I got such a good response, I thought I would try it again. We have owned River's Edge(our sandwich shop) for the past 4 1/2 years. Mike works seven days a week in the summer, and gets Wednesdays off during the rest of the year. I get weekends off with my job, so that leaves a total of 0 days Mike and I have off at the same time. We have Thanksgiving day and Christmas day off together, and those are the only two days out of the year we have off together. If we want a day off together, we have to go on vacation (wich MIGHT happen once a year) or I have to take off work on a Wednesday. Our kids literally do not know what it is like to have weekends with both of their parents. I know that this is not incredibly abnormal, but I am sick of it. I am so sick of it, I have thought about just shutting the doors to the restaurant, and taking a loss. I would sell everything we own just to have 1 day out of the week where we can hang out as a family. Running your own business is not for everyone, and it is really not for us anymore. So we are trying to sell the restaurant! We are choosing our family's happiness over ANYTHING else, and it feels good. I know God will provide a way out for us, and that feels even better! This weight that has been on my shoulders for the past 4 years is going to be lifted off, and I can not wait! I am ready to laugh with my husband again and not talk about how much we made in a day, what bills need to be paid, what food needs to be ordered, who will be working, who called in sick, the list is never ending. The only thing about River's edge I am not sick of, surprisngly, is the food. Happy days, HERE WE COME!!!!

oh and...

Speaking of the school thing, I am pretty sure Scarlett will be just fine. We ordered a butterfly habitat online a few weeks ago and we got some live larvae, and we have been watching the metomorphosis process. Let me back up...on miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends, the bug kids found a caterpillar. The caterpillar kept growing and eventually turned into a butterfly. This has sparked a few conversations about how caterpillars turn into butterfly's. So I just thought, what better way to show them, than by getting the catterpillar's themselves. Okay, this morning, the caterpillars were starting to "pupate"...(I think), so I said to Scarlett, "Look Scarlett! They are starting to build their cacoons!" She looked at me and said, "thats nice mom but it is called a chrysalis." Once again thank you to my daughter for knowing more than I do. And thank you miss spider for tryiong to make parents look like uneducated fools.:)

To homeschool or not to homeschool...

I have a little venting to do. I live in a town with very closeminded people who have an opinion about everything. We go to a church that we do not love, but it is good for the kids. We own a business in a struggling economy. Times are tough! Because of this, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on what are the important things in life. FAMILY! It is the most important thing in life. Raising a family that loves God and loves eachother. Nothing else needs to matter. I am really hating the direction this country is heading, and it really makes me scared for my kids. So I am really trying to decide whether or not I will home shcool. I am a firm beiever that kids learn at home, and it is up to the parents to teach their own kids. The problem is that parents are really dropping the ball on that. They are teaching their kids the ways of the world, and this is the problem we face. Our country was founded on CHRISTIAN Beliefs!!!!! People can argue that all they want, but the fact remains that this country has been and always will be in GOD'S hands. I don't want my kids going to school learning about the separation of church and state. I don't want them to think that because suzie has two mommies it is okay! I don't want my kids to be told that, we, the people are destroying the earth. I don't want them to think that public affection to your parents is gross! WE KISS AND HUG AND IT IS NORMAL! I will be kissing and hugging my family til the day I die! So get used to it AMERICA! I don't want them to be punished for opposing evolution and then being in trouble for stating their belief in God. I am in college, and last semester I was told if I stated anymore of my christian beliefs in regards to science, I would not get credit. Boy did this teacher not know who he was challenging! My sister in law is a high school teacher, and it is a rule at her school that is a child does not turn in an assignment, the teacher is not allowed to give them a zero. It might hurt their morale. I will tell you one thing, if one of my kids does not turn in an assignment, they better get a zero and have to work their little butts off to bring the grade back up. I want my kids to work hard for what they have! I want them to know that there are winners and losers in life, and if you want to be a winner you have to work for it. I have always said I was not cut out for homeschooling, but I don't know if I have a choice these days. Our local high school is going to have uniforms next year, and it has caused a huge debate in town. PARENTS are saying, "you can't do this to the kids, because the way they dress is how they express their individuality." This is so sad to me, the way a person dresses should never define them. Plus when you are in high school, you dress like all of your friends, so how is that being an indiviual?! I will be a public schools worst nightmare! So I am thinking about homeschooling. I still have a while before I am set on my decsion.

Fourth of July...

Was GREAT! The only downside to my fourth of July is that, as usual, Mike has to work. I took naps with the kids, my Dad and Step-mom came to see us, we went to a parade, saw fireworks twice, and went to a rodeo. (My first rodeo, and not my last) The rodeo was actually really fun. Mike and Owen had to leave early, but Scarlett and I had so much fun! Owen can never stay out late, because he is determined to be in his bed by eight, no matter what we are doing. Owen got his first look at fireworks and he was in AWE! He loved the fireforks. My parents, Mike, the kids, me, and some other friends and family, went to the top of this mountian here, and watched the fireworks. There were a lot of people up on this mountain, and our group was the loudest, because we all were laughing at what Owen kept saying. He would stop his feet and say, "OH GOSH!" and "OH DUDE!" and he was screaming. It was so funny. It was such a fun weekend with family and friends, probably my best 4th of July yet. It is sooooo awesome when your kids start getting old enough to enjoy things with you. I have tons of pictures and I promise I will post them soon.

Oh, at the parade, I stupidly decided to take Salmon. I will say, it is physically impossible to take two small children and a dog to a parade, and watch all three correctly. I was trying to hold on to Salmon's leash and keep my kids from running out into the traffic. Then I finally my Dad tied Salmon's leash to the bumper of a truck we were sitting on. There were 5 really cute kids sitting with us, and people kept stopping to comment on how cute Salmon was. WHAT! This is not something that makes mother's happy...FYI. Then some lady walks over to us with a bottle of water and says, "when was the last time you gave the puppy water? He looks thirsty!" Then she bent down and tried to make Salmon drink out of her hand, but he would not do it. He started licking it up off the ground. Then she says, "hummm, that is wierd, he won't drink it out of my hand, he wants it off the ground." She procededs to pour the water on the ground creating a large muddy puddle. The whole time I am thinking, "Duh lady, he is not thirsty, I gave him water before I left, and I have to pay attention to my kids!" Then Salmon decides it would great fun to roll around in the mud! So I would like to thank that lady for not using her brain, and getting mud on my dog.

Also at the parade, Scarlett took her easter basket to put candy in it. She was prepared, let me tell you. She set the basket by the door the night before, because she did not want to forget it. At the parade, she got a ton of candy! When Owen would get a piece of candy, he would just throw it back to the people in the parade. On our way home I took Scarlett's basket away from her because she did not need any more candy. She threw a fit, so I took her canday away for the rest of the day, and told her that if she kept whining about it, I would trow the rest of the candy in the trash.(Some might think this is harsh, but trust me, it is necessary sometimes) Later that afternoon, she came into my room and said(in these words exactly) "Mom lets just say that tomorrow maybe I wanted a piece of candy. Not today, but tomorrow, where would I find the candy basket?" I said "Nice try little lady, but I am not going to tell you where the candy is." This lead to another melt down, and candy was thrown away. Poor Scarlett!

California!

California was the greatest trip ever. We had such a good time as a family! The kids were great, the weather was not hot, and we had plenty of time with Mike's family. I am so thankful that we were able to get away together. We went to the Zoo in San Diego, the Aquarium, the beach, and most importantly had a ton of fun with a ton of cousins! My kids were EXHAUSTED by the end of the week! I know I said we were going to bring home two dogs, but my mother in law was having a hard time letting Katie go, and I did not blame her. We had decided not to take Katie home with us, and then Scarlett was hugging her and Katie snapped at Scarlett and it completely confirmed our decsion to not take her! In Katie's defense, she had just had puppies, and Scarlett was too rough with her. I might have snapped too if I saw a three year old coming at me, screaming my name, with arms wide open ready to attack. We did bring Salmon home with us, and my kids are the happest kids in the world right now. There were three puppies in the yard playing one day and Scarlett said, "Mom, I am going to yell Salmon, and the puppy that runs to me will be our puppy." So she did that and a puppy ran over to us, and the rest is history. He is actually the perfect little puppy so far. He does not whine at night, he lets the kids carry him and play with him, therefore he is perfect. He is so loving too. There are some downsides, he likes to poop A LOT! Scarlett already stepped in it, and we have only had him for two days. We are glad to have Salmon and we are so thankdul to Mike's Mom and Dad for giving us a puppy. I have a ton of pictures, and will post them soon.

All because of a little peanut!

We went to the doctor today, and confirmed that Scarlett is for sure allergic to peanuts. The good news is, as of right now, her reactions are not severe enough to cause anaphillactic shock (sp?). It could become that serious, but for right now, we just have to make sure she does not eat things containing peanut oil. We got her an epipen so we can be prepared if that ever happens. I am sad because I don't want her to have to be hindered by anything, but we have no choice but to deal with it. 25% of children grow out of it, so we are praying that she is in that 25%. The doctor said it is unlikely that she will grow out of it. I just have to be positive and tell myself, at least she can still enjoy things like chocolate, airplanes, and many restaurants.