A Redesign of the Fridge

Steve and I have been working to loose weight. For Christmas we got the Wii Active game, which by the way for us who tend to be lazy is quite the workout. We have started it out on low intensity for the first "30 day challenge" and it kicks our butts and we feel it the next day. In addition I'm trying to get all of us in the house to eat more healthy. It's not that we eat junk its that we don't eat enough fruits and veggies. We have them, they just don't get touched in the bottom drawer of our fridge. So that brought me to the idea of redesigning the fridge the way maybe perhaps it should be to get everyone to choose fruits and veggies over other things in the fridge.

So here it goes:

top THEN milk/drinks/yogurt NOW veggies/fruit

middle THEN eggs/left overs NOW milk/juices/yogurt/eggs

bottom THEN some veggies/fruit and whatever else NOW leftovers/whatever

veggies & fruit on the top :)the top meat drawer is now pre-cut veggies and fruit to snack on

(meat and cheeses are now where the veggies use to be in the bottom drawer hidden away)

Whoo Hoo!

I have lost 1 pant size! I'm down to a size 12 which I haven't been for a long time. Although I haven't lost any weight I'll take a smaller pant size. I must be doing something right. Trying to watch calorie intake and getting into exercising has been helping hopefully this will be the start of many pounds lost to come. :) My exercise routine is a few sit ups, leg lifts, squats, jumping jacks, jump rope, and the dreaded push ups. For aerobics I play Dance Dance Revolution for at least an hour. The game says I burn about 300 calories in an hour. I'm trying to work harder to burn more calories in an hour. Well we will see what happens in the next month or two.

Can't Believe It Worked!

I was looking on the Internet for ways to fix scratched DVDs and Cd's, most things I found sounded absolutely ridiculous and there was no way I was going to try them. Then I came across cleaning your DVD or CD with toothpaste. Still sounded ridiculous but I had about 10 DVDs that the kids had overly loved and needed to be fixed or replaced. So I gave it a go. What you do is put about a pea size amount of toothpaste on the DVD and rub it in like your buffing it, then rinse and dry. It worked so far on every DVD I did this to. We had some really bad one that would play for 5 seconds then skip play for 5 seconds then skip. After doing this I watched the whole movie to make sure it worked and they all played like new with not a single skip. If you have scratched DVDs I would give this a shot, so worth the time!

Lets Talk About Drugs

Last night for family night we sat down with the kids and talked about drugs. We started by asking them what they knew about drugs. Sable said cigarettes, and how they made a promise to their PE teacher to never smoke. Lyndall listed off cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine. So scary to hear those words from a 9 year old mouth. He didn't really know what they were just that they are bad for you and you shouldn't do them. We asked if he knew how they made people react and behave and he said they do stupid stuff. Then I asked if he knew what an addiction is. He said yes but he couldn't tell me, so I the way I explained that was that when your addicted to a drug you feel that you must have it and you'll just go crazy if you don't, that's when you start behaving really bad and doing things like beating people up for money and selling your most prized possessions for money like your XBOX and PSP. That did the trick, sell his video games to feel stupid on drugs NO WAY!

Now all that was great for drug talk but we were not done, we went over the difference between illegal and legal drugs and things that aren't drugs at all. Its the legal drugs and the things that aren't drugs that scare me because they are easier to get a hold of in any one's house. We asked him if he knew some legal drugs, like Tylenol, aspirin, and cough syrup. He asked why we give him those, and of course we told him because they are OK if you follow the directions otherwise they can be just as bad as cocaine or meth. We continued to ask him about non drugs, I gave him hint of smelling. He guessed it, he said how kids were talking about sniffing sharpie markers. We talked more about spray paint, and other huffing and what it does to your body. Steve talked about how it suffocates your brain. We also reminded the kids why you don't take stuff from strangers including stickers.

To seal the deal we showed the kids these pictures of drug users, yes we showed Sable too. I wanted a vivid image to be printed in their head to remind them not to do drugs. We also told the kids that they can come and talk to us about drugs anytime. Lyndall's response was, "I thought I would get in trouble if I talked about drugs." WHAT???? NO NO NO YOU WILL NEVER GET IN TROUBLE FOR TALKING ABOUT DRUGS WITH US! PLEASE ALWAYS COME TO US ANYTIME YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR CONCERN.

http://www.crystalrecovery.com/Pages/MethUsers.html

http://www.joelmackey.com/entertainment/shocking/methmouth.html

Halloween 2009

Today was a great day! We started by carving the rest of our pumpkins...

This is Sable's 3 eye 2 nose 1 mouth with 1 tooth pumpkin

Her cyclops pumpkin

Lyndall's pumpkin

The pumpkin he painted, it had froze and thawed, the top was getting mushy so we didn't want to open it up

Here are mine that Steve had gutted for me

Now to the costumes...

Sable was Little Bo Peep

Lyndall was Albert Einstein

My nephew Codie was Dracula and came trick or treating with us

Here was the Halloween snow man that the boys made

And Sable posing like a little ham next to it

Then of course the kids went trick or treating and brought home some good candy loot.

Snow Day!

It all started on Tuesday night, continued through Wednesday where my kids school district was one of the few that did not close. But here we are on Thursday and its an official snow day. The kids are so excited to go play in the snow with all their friends.

Sable decided to start by laying in it... Lyndall found a huge icicle, I had to ask him to please stop licking it ewe...

Bernie couldn't wait to go run throughout the yard, he loves the snow...

Peanut was just as excited as Bernie but didn't last very long without her coat.

This is her pick me up, pick me up!

Good Job Sable!

I'm so proud of Sable for getting a good citizen award! We missed the ceremony on Tuesday because of her being sick, oh well maybe next time.

6 Days & 2 Teeth

So this past week and a half had not been the most fun. It all started on Wednesday the 14th. I had received a call from Lyndall's teacher that Lyndall was complaining about his head hurting and how he just didn't seem like himself and that he had been to the nurses office twice already and they sent him back to class both times, so I told her I would be there soon anyway to drop Sable off and then I could take a look at him. When I got there I asked the office lady if she could call Lyndall to the office for me, because he had called complaining about his head hurting. As I'm talking to her the nurse sticks her head out and says she already checked him he's fine and that his temperature was only 99* and that's why she sent him back to class. When Lyndall came in I looked at him and had decided that he needed to go home, his eyes were red and glossy, and of course mothers instinct kicks in and says ya he looks bad. He had also sat out for recess that day, he NEVER does this! So on Thursday he seemed OK so he went to school, but on Friday he was about to leave for school, I took one look at him and told him your not going to school go lie down. I took his temperature and it was 102.5*. By Saturday he was better, that's my Lyndall, never sick for long.

On Saturday we went shopping with my mom, about three hours into it I looked at Sable and said we needed to get home now, she wasn't looking so good. When we got home I checked her temperature and it was 102.9*. Later that night her temperature got higher and she was throwing up, coughing, and her throat was hurting. She only threw up the one night, but kept the temperature up and down between 101* - 103.9*. It hit 103.9* three times and that was the only time we gave her any Tylenol, and a half dose at that. Finally its Friday and her temperature is normal and she is going back to school for 1 day this week. She is so excited to do that. We have cookies for the class for snack being that her birthday is in 2 days.

That was the 6 day part, well during the 6 days she also happen to loose her 2 front teeth.

2009 - 2010 School Pictures

National Pysical Fitness Award

This is Lyndall's 3rd National Physical Fitness Award that he has earned while at Stukey. He is such a fit boy that this really doesn't surprise me, however I am happy all the same.

WoW!

I got a nice note from the teacher about Lyndall! Maybe there is still hope for the boy.

In Contact With Lyndall's Teacher

This year I am trying something new with Lyndall and his teacher. We exchanged email addresses and now I know everything about whats going on at school with Lyndall's behavior. He always tells me how school was good and that nothing happened. Now when he comes home I say how was school and he looks at me to see if I have heard from his teacher. Like today, I asked how was school he says fine, I say oh really your teacher emailed me. Then he comes out with the truth. Which today was coloring on his chair and making a mess around his desk. Last week it was paper airplanes. He doesn't like the teacher email thing so much, I LOVE IT!!!

My New Joy

Lately I had found myself bored while the kids were at school, so I signed up at the Stukey library to be a parent volunteer. I have been having so much helping out. I get to check books in and out, file the books on the shelves, straighten shelves, and cover books. I only go in for the time that Sable is in school, so about 3 hours. There is one more parent that comes in only on Mondays for 1 hour. I think its great to have the parent help out, it gives the librarian more time with the kids when they need help finding a book. I have helped kids find books too. Tomorrow is Sable's library day and I will get to help her class.

Grounded For A Week!

I was sooooo mad at Lyndall the other day. It all started when we were leaving for my moms house and I couldn't find him anywhere. I saw one of his friends brothers and asked him where they were and he said they were in one of the alleys. I went over there and had Lyndall get in the car, I told him he was not suppose to be over in this area and that I had been looking for him and couldn't find him. I was about to leave when I could smell cigarette smoke, I asked him for his hand, I smelled them and sure enough he smelled like cigarettes. I called out to his friend and told him to come over here and I smelled his hands too. I told him he better get to his house because that is where I'm headed. When I got there we all talked and came up with grounding them for a week. Lyndall gets to do extra chores and the only thing he is aloud to do is read. Come to find out his friend stole the cigarettes from his parents and they were also lighting things on fire. I certainly hope that this will never happen again.

The sad thing is Steve and I had quit smoking in hopes that the kids would never smoke. So much for that.

First Day Of School 2009

I didn't cry and my mom kept me busy by shopping while Sable went to her very first day of school ever. Ruanne, my mother in law, and my mom came with me today to take Sable to her first day of school. Steve had to work so I sent him a picture. She went in the school like a real trooper, just just like her brother did when he started kindergarten. She came out as happy as could be. She tells me she loves school. After school her and Lyndall sat down together to do home work. She was very happy to have a conversation with him about school. She told him what she did and that she is going to music class tomorrow and can't wait. It was almost like she was trying to sound grown up talking to him. Lyndall told her about his great first day too. I must say kids do grow up way too fast, but I will continue to enjoy these moments as much as I can.

The Cast Is Off

I took Lyndall to the doctors today to get his full cast off and to get the half cast on. After looking at the x rays the doctor decided that his arm healed up very nicely and he wouldn't need the half cast. YAY! However they did give him a wrist brace to wear while playing for the next couple of weeks just to ensure that he doesn't re break it. At least its off just in time for school to start next week, and I don't have to smell it anymore.

Kindergarten Assessment

So today Sable went in for her kindergarten assessment. She impressed all the teachers and they could not believe that she never had a day of preschool and that maybe her parents are actually responsible for spending time with her. The test went great, so great in fact that they tested her a little further and discovered that she needs to be tested beyond what they had in the classroom. She to be tested again when school starts to see if she is ready for the first grade. Yes the first grade. I ask myself this question, now why wouldn't they let her start kindergarten last year? Oh ya they said because of her age, and that she wouldn't be socially ready, even though all her friends are 2 months older than her and started last year. So we will see how things will go next week.

Crumpley Campout

We went camping for a couple days with Steve's family. The food was great, the kids played so well together, and the company was truly the best. I thought it would be crazy and out of control, but I think for the most part it went smoothly.

Sable wearing my hat, which became her hat.

The kids played hide and go seek.

We shot bow and arrows.



We played uncountable games of ladder golf, which has got to be one of my favourite games to play now.

More ladder golf.

They played in the dirt and rocks, this is their town with houses, a barn and some other stuff that they built.

We put together bug jars and hunted for bugs.

After searching for bugs we went on a scavenger hunt.

Grammy taught them how to play a card game.

Steve took care of the fires.

On Saturday night we sang songs, read funny stuff, and performed funny skits.

Gathering around the camp fire.

Rob and Ruanne taught us a song.

And of course there was a play ground that they played at on the last day before we left.

104th Bridge Demolition

Last night the Cub Scouts were invited to see the demolition of the 104th bridge over I-25. It was about 10pm but worth it, they had so much fun seeing how they take apart the bridges. One of the big tractors had fallen into a hole and they had to get it out. The kids got to wear a reflector vest and glasses. They got to keep the glasses. This went towards some of their engineering badge for Webelos.

Camping With The Cub Scouts

This weekend we went to Jackson Lake and camped with the Cub Scouts. Only about half of the pack came, and it was a blast. I had never camped with a group of people before so this was all new to me. I think things went fairly smoothly with meal preparation, cleanup, pack time and family time.

Lyndall set his tent up with the help of Dad, I think Sable was supervisor.
Since Lyndall couldn't go swimming, we played in the sand..

...caught toads and went fishing.

Lyndall became a junior Webelos...

...Sable got her own pack shirt.

They performed a flag retirement ceremony with some of their flags and with some of the parks flags. A few park rangers had come to see this as well. This was my first time I have ever been to one of these. Lyndall was chosen to hold the scout flag during the ceremony, and I think that the whole thing kind of got to him, he looked sad.

Of course we had smores and...

A beautiful sunset.