New Years Eve (LONG!)

"After much deep and profound brain things inside my head" (king Julius from madagascar), i decided i would make some new years resolutions, and take a peak at the old ones. now, this is hard for me to admit how bad i am at some things, but hopefully by stating my weaknesses, i can begin to work on them.

last years resolutions:

be COMPLETELY debt free by the end of the year!!! (an ambitious goal, but i am determined)

well that obviously didn't happen. if we hadn't gotten the house we probably would be? but you just never know...and since that isn't the path we took...we are still in debt, but working on getting out of it.

-read scriptures daily (even if it's reciting some in my head)

yeah, this is one that i'm bad at. i'd (rather) pick up an Ensign and read an article or two on a specific topic, but i want to get more acquainted with the scriptures like i was in seminary! and i guess i always use the excuse of i need to focus to read and get something out of what i read, and with the kids it doesn't seem like i can get enough consecutive time, but anything is possible. this could be the year!

-get Kathryn in speech therapy

well at least i got one thing done! kathryn has been in speech therapy, and done well.

-go to Foxy's at LEAST once a week!

yeah, that so didn't happen, but i got close in december...

-have a part-time job (work from home)

well, i have been on again off again with this one... but then again, i don't think this is totally necessary, so i'm not concerned

-have daily family prayer

well, this was one thing we definitely improved on, towards the middle of the year, i snapped into place, and we prayed like we should (before meals, before bed, when we were hurt or sad) and we certainly said at least 1 prayer a day, and i am so glad! i have seen a difference with kathryn, now she can say her own prayers and even says them when she's playing "pretend" with her toys. even daniel has learned when to be reverent and usually does good during prayers.

-do at least one thing on my long term to do list per week

yeah, this happened more like once every month or every other month...only cuz i didn't have it written down anywhere, which i have changed. this has a lot to do with being more organized, so if i do this, the organization comes with it.

-read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year!

yeah, i got started, but once again, never finished... i wish i could keep it going, but when i don't read consecutively, i have a hard time remembering what happened, so i have to reread a few verses, and by that time, i am just about asleep!

well, enough about the past year...

on to some new resolutions:

1. being more grateful, complaining less

yeah i need to work on this quite a bit. i guess i really don't realize i am being so "ungrateful" until after the fact, and i look back on it or read what i wrote, and suddenly...i'm complaining about something so silly and stupid. i was telling John today how much i've changed since we moved into the house...before we moved in i had a list of all the things i wanted to change about the house, and now that we are in the house and money is tight...i look back at the list and think how trivial all those things were. and i am grateful that we even have a house! and i really don't think most of that stuff i had written down was worth spending money on.

so to accomplish this, i have in mind to, at least 1 to 3 times a week, look back on the current week and think of things that relate to what is happening that i am grateful for, and WRITE IT DOWN... i'll probably put the list where i can see it and remember to BE GRATEFUL.

2. get organized

well, this entails quite a bit. i seem to have a ton of "stuff "piled places that just keeps getting moved around, i also have things i forget i have because they aren't put somewhere where i will remember i have it. so, besides going through the piles of stuff, i want to have a better idea of what i have, so i want to go through most of it, and decide where it will go for good. we have a lot of things in temporary spots, and that needs to change. a long with getting organized and knowing what i have, is making and working on a long term to do list.

i plan to start in sections going through, cleaning deciding what we need/want to keep, make a list of things to add/change and how - add to my long term to do list, and accomplish 1 thing on the list per month.

3. working out

i really want to get back in shape and feel good again and have energy. and my problem is i don't work out enough. i am starting out at 147 lbs and my goal is 135.

so along with eating better, i am going to try to go to foxy's (while we still have the membership) at least 3 times a week and attempt to get some exercise at home in some way.

4. read scriptures: new testament, book of mormon seminary style.

well, i decided to assign myself specific sections to read and this year i want to use the seminary/institute manual along with it to get a good understanding of what i'm reading.

i'm going to try to keep up a daily study routine to make it happen. i have found that reading the scriptures on the church website (scriptures.lds.org) i get more out of it, because all the footnotes are highlighted and you just click and can cross-reference all the footnotes, so i get a better understanding of what the verse means. i really like reading this way.

5. take the time to take better care of ME (hygiene, health, spiritual)

as a mom and especially me, i seem to neglect myself all too often. so i am going to take that "me" time that focuses on just me, myself and i. no projects involved, or finishing this or that, just time to better myself.

in the hygiene area, i will work on taking care of my skin (lotion, face wash, toner, etc) and i want to get better at fixing my hair and putting on makeup (i have no talent in this area). i just want to feel pretty again, but that requires time, so this year i will work on that.

in the health area, i want to eat a good balanced diet, and i plan to accomplish this by having a meal calendar that stays on the fridge to reference, so i can cook healthy things. i also want to try new meals this year, we seem to be stuck in a dinner rut. along with eating right, i also will be getting more exercise, which was another separate goal.

in the spiritual area, i have already made a goal to read scriptures, and another goal is to go to the temple, but i also want to develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father through daily personal prayer.

6. FHE

in an effort to have a good spirit in our home and to reach our children right, i want to have weekly Family Home Evening. we had it going for a while, but it tapered off. i want to keep it going for the kids sake, so i am setting the goal this year.

7. focus on the kids happiness

sometimes i can get wrapped up in "getting things done" that i forget what is important...there is plenty of quotes out there that say something like "i'll put off the house work to play with the kids, they grow up fast, so the cleaning comes last" or something like that... and i want to enjoy the time i have with my kids a little bit more than i do now. i'd like to do something special with them at least 2 times a week, depending on how creative i am and how much my brain wants to think. i just love seeing my kids happy and having a good time, so i just want to see that more.

8. forgive and forget

i never really thought i had much of a problem with this, i always thought i was pretty forgiving, but recently a self-examination revealed i still have some forgiving to do. so in the new year, i'd like to dig deep, forgive those who i've not forgiven, and make amends. and the most important part of forgiving is forgetting. not letting something from the past come back up in a spiteful way.

9. spend more time with extended family, make time for friends

i can be bad about putting it off for another day, but without family and friends, you don't have much. so i'd like to stregthen my relationship with them all.

visit with family that lives in town at least twice a month, and those that live out of town, every other month. i'd like to have game nights with dinner so we can get together and have a good time. and i'd like to try to visit with the friends i have at least twice a month as well. after all, what's a friend that you don't see/talk to but once a month? i want to be more thoughtful and caring and remember what is important to those i care about.

10. go to the temple at least once a month

this is a big deal. i will set the goal to once a month just in case i can't find a babysitter for the kids, but this is so important for my "spiritual alignment". i want to be a better person, and can't do it without Christ. so going to the House of the Lord should help me stay in tune with the spirit.

11. be debt free except the mortgage

this year this is going to happen. and when it does, i'd love to be able to call in to the Dave Ramesy show and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!" i also want to make a list of "stats" and maybe frame it...but the most important thing about being debt free...NEVER CHOOSING TO GO INTO DEBT AGAIN! i recommend the "My Total Money Makeover" book by Dave Ramesy, but not for the light-hearted. i am serious about this debt thing, i even made vinyl lettering (thanks Jamie) with Dave's slogan "if you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else". i want to be able to live and give like no one else.

12. Work on scrapbooking my pictures

this is also huge. i am already behind, but i need to start now before i fall even more behind! i dunno where i will be at the end of the year, but i'd like to set a goal to finish 2 pages a week? we'll start there and see where it goes. i want to write down all the memories i still remember before i forget them!

that's it for now. maybe once a month i will give an update on how i am doing with each goal. i've set up a log so i can keep track. (that's just who i am =P) here's to being a better person and getting things done!

A little more quality time with the kids

I suppose i sometimes get caught up in what i think needs to get done, that all day long the kids are left trailing after me trying to keep up and get my attention... and then i take a second to pause and realize my priorities are off yet again, and i see my two beautiful children and remember what my purpose is.

i ran errands earlier this morning, and i knew i wouldn't have the car, so i decided today i would catch up on the quality time with the kids. you know, playing with their toys with them, teaching them how to play, share, learn, etc. and catching those moments where you gasp for one of the kids did something you didn't think they could do (a good thing) and you think...when did they learn this??? where was i??

so i had 2 of those moments today. we have some chunky puzzles (wooden) and i saw daniel for the first time i noticed, put all the pieces in the right spot, the first try. he picked up a piece, studied it for a second, then put it where it went! i remember the last time we sat and did puzzles together (a few weeks ago) he had it all wrong and was trying to force pieces where they didn't belong...it made me so happy i cried a little! my little boy is growing up and he is getting so smart. he understands so much more than i give him credit for. he is such a blessing to me.

and the other moment was with kathryn. my mom came over to visit and spent the day with us at home, and the time came for kathryn to be done with movies and spend a little quality time with me . we put puzzles together (she is really good at it!) and we played matching games (she loves these, she is also very good at them). well, one of the matching games i created myself, is a "word" matching game. to help them get used to reading words. i wrote them out in my handwriting in an effort for her to get used to reading actual handwriting vs font type. well, anyway, i had good intentions...and granted we have only played this game 1 other time, (she has been watching a lot of Word World tho) when the word "duck" was revealed before my mom or i could say what the word was kathryn said "duck" my mouth dropped! wow! she has seen the Word World duck spell out so much that she remembered what it looked like? either way it was so exciting for me. then she started saying "lemme spell this word for you" as she proceeded to point and say each letter in order from left to right (after some guidance on where to start) what was even more cute was when she was spelling out "duck" (when i write fast my "c"s seem to curve up more than down) she said "D-U- (paused)-U-K" she thought my sloppy "c" was a "U" and it did kinda look that way! anyhow. she is developing her listening skills and comprehension quicker than i expected (i was bad at that as a kid) and it is so fun watching all this take place.

i love my little kiddos and they are my life, and i wouldn't have it any other way

get over it!

so i had a very busy day. i really wanted to get some visiting in while i still could since John was off, and i had a list of things i wanted to get done.

we left the house at 11am and after depositing one of the reimbursement checks in the bank, we went to my mom's. we went to my sister Natalie's and Daniel took a nap so i got to play the Wii. we then headed to Khol's, Micheal's, and last to Best Buy for some specific shopping... well, on the way from Michael's i remembered i needed to call the stupid credit card company and find out what happened with the finance charges etc. i hate talking to these people, so i was dreading it...i guess for the fear that it was my fault and there was nothing they were going to do...

so i called them and talked to the customer service rep who didn't have any information i didn't already know, and said simply "the management team decides when to terminate the promotions" "ok, then i want to speak to a manager" "ok, let me transfer you" and by that time we had gotten to the last store and was in the parking lot waiting...kathryn asleep, daniel being good for once when the car is not on... i waited for 20 mins, which i expected, and i finally got someone who could give me a better clue. they started enforcing the promotion rules in the fall, and when we were late in september, that set us up to be terminated...apparently, there was a note on the september statement saying something along the lines that we were being given 60 days to opt out of the finance charges, "i never got anything in the mail" "well, you are signed up for e-statements, so you wouldn't have gotten anything via mail, you would have had to have looked at your september statement online to see it" "well that would explain why i didn't know" after i beat around the bush about any possiblilities of me getting out of this, the guy says, there is nothing we can do and says to have a good day...yeah, sure, easy for you to say. and it hit me...how did i not check and how did i not see this notice, i was given an opportunity to avoid it and let it pass! and so i cried. i bawled my eyes out for making such a stupid mistake. and just when i thought i pulled myself together, i would think back and cry some more. and then i finally decided i wanted to get into the store and out and be done with it and go home, and i wanted to call my best friend. so i got to talk to Amanda while i walked around best buy trying to find one thing that i was not seeing... and after talking to her about it she gave me an idea, and suddenly i felt better. there could be a solution to this problem. it was a mistake, i made it, and i needed to get over it! so i decided at the last minute while heading home (seeing the 5:00 traffic did it) that i would see if my Granny was home. so i went and visited with her for a while, and cheered up. on the way home i listened to the Dave Ramsey show and it got me to thinkin, so when i got home i checked something...

the september statement wasn't online to view and since i never got a hard copy i wouldn't know what it said, but on the Oct - Nov statements, it says nothing of the promotion being terminated and having 60 days to opt out...which i find odd, shouldn't they have that as a note until it no longer applies?? so i ordered a sept statement, and i'll see once and for all. after that, i'll take action and it will be over and done with. i have to keep telling myself "GET OVER IT!!"

and there were a lot of things on my mind recently that i just had to "get over" i think i'm over it.

i checked the mail after i put the kids in bed, and i was cheered up. my Gymnastics Coach at BRMHS (Kevin Nee) sent me a Christmas card with a picture of his crew and he said "it's so nice to hear from you!" (i sent him a Christmas card) and that made me happy. i miss him and the gymnastics days. i want to go visit but i'm not even sure if the old building is still open...

and we got a Christmas card from a lady back in Cali from John's mission so that was nice too.

and the last thing that put the icing on the cake saying "get over it"...we got the last big reimbursement check from Walgreens. it was as if the Lord was patting my shoulder saying "there there, there there, don't you know i've got you covered? now hush up and get over it" thank you.

on a positive note

woo, so i guess i've got enough of the negative out to have a positive post.

i went to church Sunday, and somehow, i actually got to hear one of the talks in Sacrament while sitting in the foyer trying to keep the kids contained... the talk was about how we should stop measuring our lives and our success by our possesions, that we should not be of the world. and how easy it is to turn a want into coveting a certain item... and how we need to take a step back and see if our "needs" are really needs. none of our possessions will be taken with us when we die, so what's all the fuss about? and basically the lesson was, be aware of your spiritual needs and soon your temporal wants will fade.

anyhow, i am not really summarizing it correctly, but it was very powerful to me. it's easy to think about all that you don't have and how much you want, but we should take a step back to appreciate what we do have, and realize there are people who aren't so lucky living just a few miles away. i know i love to daydream myself, and i could go on and on about what i "want" or "dream" of doing/having, but then reality sets in, and i realize just how much of those wants will not happen, because they are not needs. and then i begin to think of how much money or time would go into something and is it even worth it? sometimes i can get wrapped up in what comes next and forget to take a moment and ask Heavenly Father what his plan is for me. i can get pretty off track sometimes, but i am glad that occasionally i can hear a talk or two that is "just what i needed to hear" to make me stop and turn back to the right path, doing the things i should be doing, not wasting time on the trival things that don't matter.

one thing that always helps me is hearing other people's predicaments that are worse than my own. one thing that will make you thankful for your problems is seeing some you are glad you don't have! oh yes, as much as i can hate the problems i do have, i am grateful for them. they have taught me valuable lessons, and made me a smarter person. so folks, be grateful for what you have for a second or two.

i am very fortunate to have found a hardworking husband, that the Lord blessed with a great job, and that we were able to get into a house so early. we really have it good amidst all the woes of financial stress, at the end of the day we really don't have anything to complain about. and far often than not, it's easier to look at the negative side of things (that's satan working on ya). so here's to being grateful for my trials and weaknesses!

beating myself up

i really hate owing people money.

but what i hate more is owing money to the credit card companies...like Dave says they are snakes. Well, we have one card in particular we hate because the interest rates are 30% when you aren't in your promotional period, which is absolutely outrageous...but it's the card for fixing all my dental problems. i had work done in Jan 09 that i put on this card and it has a promotional period of no interest for 12 months, so obviously, in Jan 2010 it will expire, and when it does it will add the interest that was "deferred" over the whole year which for us would be $415 which is just ridiculous, but anyhow, supposedly if you are late on a payment you will forfeit the promotion and deferred finance charges will be added. well, for some reason, we were late in April paying them...i was not on top of things and we were late...but we didn't have the finance charges added to the bill... which i thought was odd... so we kept paying, and in Sept we were late by 2 days or something? which they also never added these deferred finance charges...well, we had a balance of $800 and since the deal would be expiring soon, i was going to pay off the balance as soon as we got paid this week... today i get on to see what needed to be paid with this check and see this bill was on it, so i go to the website, (which btw the billing cycle starts over on the 17th of every month, so it just rolled over a new cycle recently) and i see that they have added these deferred interest charges of $415 flippin dollars... at the bottom it says the promotion was terminated because minimum payment was not paid when due... i haven't been late the last 2 months, but i know i have been late...so, why did they wait till now??? ugh, i swear i'm fighting this one... i know i paid it late, but shouldn't they have acknowledged it by tacking on the interest then?? i am just so frustrated with this...we don't have freakin $400 dollars to dish out!!! with all these other bills that we have and all the sacrifices we are/were making it just feels like we have fallen down and now that we are down all the creditors and bills are just beating the crap out of us till there is nothing left.

i guess the part that i hate the most is, i should have been with it and paid it on time... and this could have been prevented... i have paid my share of stupid tax, but recently it feels like i should know better, and i slip up and man that was one costly mistake... and i can't get over it. we don't get to enjoy our income right now it seems. yes we have a house, but we aren't living a lavish lifestyle in the least... most of the things we have have been gifts... i can't tell you the last time i bought clothes for myself. cuz it was probably around my birthday and i spent all of 6 dollars at the thrift store on a new shirt and pants...well new to me anyway. we are barely living paycheck to paycheck and something like this comes up, and that valuable money is gone. and i constantly pray for a way out. when we get our income tax return (thanks to the $8000 tax credit we will get for buying the house) it will basically all go towards getting out of debt. and we will have almost nothing left after that. and even with that $375 a month that will be freed up from being out of debt save the mortgage, we will hardly feel it...car insurance is going up, with spring coming, that means the electric bill will be going up, we will actually be able to have a real grocery budget (we try to work with $160 a month for groceries (which is not just food but anything we need from the store)) and soon that savings is spent and it will be hard to find room for "savings" to get that second vehicle or to "splurge" and go to a movie theater or a restuarant. when will it turn around and we can start getting traction is the question... and that to a point is out of my control. with john's crazy work hours it's impossible for me to find a side job especially since we only have one car... so it's all up to john. he's doing great with impressing the DM, but will it be enough? i try to be understanding, and when he stays late to finish something, i know why. i've let him have his video games to relax him, and try not to pester him about what he's not doing. he's under a lot of pressure. he knows he needs to stand out, and that means putting in 200%, working those extra hours cleaning up someone else's' mess, and that is incredibly annoying and stressful. so i'm not going to hassle him.

i am just down. i want so badly to be free of this mess so i can feel happy, cuz it's hard to feel happy with so much stress about money... i just want to scream sometimes when i hear people talking about money and their version of "cutting back". and i know i am certainly not in the worst condition, there are people on the Dave Ramsey talk show that make you want to cry for them their problems are so much worse... but these people fussing because they feel like it's so hard to cut out the "luxuries" (shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, etc) you know what, maybe a little sacrifice is good for you...

anyway, blah blah blah, life just sucks to me right now. hopefully going to church tomorrow will cheer me up? if the kids decide to behave. sigh.... i am done being stressed. i just want a day to relax and release all this tension.

Christmas

i left my camera at my in-laws, so i will have to post pictures of Christmas later...

i want to just state before anyone reads on, i am feeling not so nice, so i may offend someone, but i will be stating my opinion...

so this Christmas, John and I agreed like we have since we've been married, we won't be exchanging gifts again this year, we want to be out of debt more. See, this year it was ok, we got our house as an early Christmas gift so we were set. But this year would be different, we loathe our debt so much, that we got our kids 1 toy that John found on clearance in the summer, and they got some new clothes that i spent all of $10 total on. and that was our kids Christmas from us.

Now some people have in some way let me know that they think that is wrong and ridiculous to not have a ton of presents for the kids to open. Well i am so sorry that there are people that feel that way, but MY kids don't need presents from us to know we love them. besides Mimi & Pop and Grammie got them PLENTY of gifts so they certainly aren't lacking. (and i couldn't say thank you enough for all the wonderful gifts that were given. they are so appreciated. we can't wait till we can start "giving like no one else") and they aren't old enough to know "who" gave them what so they could care less who it came from. so we instead tried to center this holiday around Christ like it should be.

So Christmas with my sisters and mom was at my house, and yes, i wasn't as together as i would have liked, but how does anyone learn how to host without having the practice...now i know how to do things differently. anyhow, the food was great.

i made the ham and stuffing which was simple, Jenn made a yummy blueberry cobbler that stained everyone's teeth blue (haha) and rolls... Nats brought yummy green bean casserole and brownies, Angie brought yummy potato salad and peas, Mom (who has pneumonia, and almost didn't get to come, but i'm so glad she did!) brought Veggies to munch and Apple pie and yummy deviled eggs, and of course Steph made yummy sweet potato casserole, and cute little gingerbread cookies with a cream cheese dip.

so i didn't have any Christmas placemats and went to see how much they were, but it was far too expensive for me to buy any, so luckily, Corine had a Christmas table cloth and some green fabric that matched so i cut placemats out of the fabric and it looked great to me. i had to smile at the thriftiness of it all. and of course i thought of my friend Amanda, she is good at those kinds of things.

yes Nats, my chairs are horribly stained, and yes, seat covers are probably a good idea, but they cost money, and messes happen with kids so often that i don't even think about what mess they leave behind, it becomes part of life.

and yes Jenn, the curtains aren't sufficient enough to shield the light from shining in your eyes, nor does the light fixture above the table yield much light, but once again, we just deal with it.

so we played taboo because i LOVE games and that always puts me in a good mood, whether i am winning or losing...and Steph was soo good at Taboo! i had fun just listening to her come up with clues so fast and get her team to guess the words... but Jenn apparently didn't have so much fun because i didn't know the Kentucky Derby was known for the Mint Juleps everyone drinks while there (i mean, come on, who doesn't know that!?!) but oh well, i won't try to play that game with Jenn anymore. then we tried Apples to Apples, and somehow, Nats is SOOO dominant in that game every time she plays, she wins! i have to laugh. i just like to have fun. next game i need to get is scategories, cuz that is a fun game that makes you think... i'll have to get a group together again and have a game night. and i used to play Canasta with my mom all the time and i miss that too. i also really want to get a big enough group together to play cranium. somehow i don't know enough people that like to play games like me, so it seems to never work!

anyhow, my mom got me a salad spinner which was such a thoughtful gift, i love my lettuce but i have to rinse it every time, and i kept saying every time she was here that i wish i had a salad spinner to spin all the water off...thanks mom i love the gift. and Nats gave me some more of her african violet leaves, which was so awesome. i can't wait to see them sprout little babies. thanks Nats!

and i somehow thought it would be a good idea to paint before Christmas which turned out to be a lousy idea, it took so much longer than i had planned, but i had to finish, and now that i am, i'm so glad it's painted. it's a vibrant green and that's what i was going for, something to brighten up the room. now do i care what anyone's opinion is on the color? uh, no, so if you don't like it, good for you! like an old man told me by the deli counter, "it's a good thing we don't all like the same things, the world would be pretty boring" yep. and i like the color. i love green and brown together, i am a warm colors kind of person, so i can see (in the future) a brown couch with nice chocolate brown furniture that matches... it is so soothing to me. i can't wait to finish painting. i just love color.

and i will finish off with how thankful i am for all that we have. i am grateful that we have our house, and that we have such generous family members that will help in whatever way they can, for without them, we certainly wouldn't have much. i was realizing just how many things in our home were gifts from family, very appreciated gifts. and i thank all of you for your generosity. we are glad we decided to stay and be closer with the family that lives here. i love my in-laws and couldn't have asked for a better family to marry in to. i've strengthened the relationships with them and love them dearly. they are always there for me and i realize that i'm spoiled in that respect. thank you all. love you! Merry Christmas!

goals

so i planned ahead... i wanted to paint the living room area last night that was my goal to get that started. i figured since i was going to be doing it alone, it'd be best to do it while the kids were sleeping... so i did my best to keep the kids up and they had no naps so they would go to bed earlier so i could have more time to paint. well, it was a success! daniel was a little trooper and made it till 7 when he finally passed out eating. so i began moving stuff away from the walls, getting everything prepared, while kathryn was constantly asking me what i was doing. it was cute tho, i'd tell her, i have to move the books off the bookcase so i can move the bookcase away from the wall, and she'd say "oh, ok. tan i help?" so she helped. oh, it's nice having her be at that age where she can ACTUALLY help instead of being in the way. i knew john wouldn't get home till about 8, and since i needed to get a paint roller stick and a drop cloth from MIL's i hoped i would start painting by 9. well, john didn't get home till 9 and i didn't get back from MIL's til about 9:40. so i was a bit behind, but oh well. i painted from 9:50 till 1:20am and i was done for the night. i had all the major walls painted except for the trim work and the very top that i couldn't reach.

the color is... a bit darker than i was aiming for, but that's only when it's dark outside. during the day it's great. so oh well, note to self in the future, pick a shade lighter than what you want, it seems to always turn out darker... but it is GREEN my very favorite color. and i am going to finish the trim work tonight. the rest of the house will wait until...we can afford it? lol.

kathryn has been doing great. she went all day today without any pain medicine, and she is eating pretty regularly, with the exception of chips and pretzels, they seem to be extra crunchy. i finally got a good look at her throat and it seems like the sores are healing, although i can't tell if the scabs have fallen off or not. it's day 8 and i think she will be able to eat normally for Christmas. yay for that!

oh, and we got our flex-pay reimbursement check today! although it doesn't do us much good until monday, but it's nice to know it came in. now we can wait for check #2, and we'll be much better.

pictures to come with the new paint. i have goals to finish!