power of prayer, calorie counting, pictures

i am so grateful for the power of prayer. it's even nicer when you're prayers are answered quickly. it just reiterates how much my heavenly father loves me.

on friday i stepped on what i now know to be a wire flag that marks the utility line (which was cut to grass height) and it was rusty. i was really worried about getting tetanus and when i woke up early saturday morning and it hurt so bad i cried, i was really worried. i was saying prayers having faith that it would get better, that i would get help. and saturday morning my MIL and SIL took Kathryn with a few others to the zoo. that really helped, and they also brought me crutches and that helped alot. then my foot started feeling a little better to where i could hobble on it. my mom came and brought me epsom salt to soak my foot in and kept me company, and kathryn came back at 6. well, today is monday 3 days later, and my jaw isn't locked and i can actually put a little bit of pressure on my heel. it seems to be healing well. thank you Lord for helping heal me!

and last night as i took a soak (i always get some great ideas in the tub/shower) i decided i really wanted to get in shape and have a better well-being in all aspects of life. i just decided i was ready to be better, to change. so along the lines of heath - i decided i want to loose 10 lbs (no time limit) and eat healthier. i've never really paid attention to how many calories were in what i was eating, cuz if i wanted it it didn't matter, i was eating it anyway. well, now that i am not as active and have developed some bad eating habits, i am seeing the effects! haha. and i want to change. well, i decided i would keep a meal diary with what i eat, how many calories it is, how much fat and carbs and let me just say! WOW! i was quite surprised with how many calories things are! what i noticed even more as i worked out is how long it takes to burn off a small amount of calories! so now i am far more aware, and i'm trying to make healthier food choices and cut back on the sweeter things. lol. i also made a few goals. or maybe i am recommitted to my new years resolutions.

enjoying the weather with the kids is one thing i love to do! we had a picnic of grilled cheese sandwiches and milk and even henry came outside to eat.

kathryn is funny

daniel's first motorcycle ride with daddy. he had fun.

turns out daniel grew 2 molars at the bottom and i didn't even know it! the boy is just always happy and smiling. teething never bothered him much. (lucky for me)

the ability to walk

so i certainly never think twice about the ability to walk. yeah, i can walk, what about it.

well, yesterday i was walking barefoot through the grass to get the kids to come inside. who doesn't like the feeling of grass on their feet? well, i do, so i take the opportunity. and suddenly, OW~! a little curved piece of wire(yeah, it was rusty) stabbed the heel of my foot! what the?!? i had recently stepped on a nail in a construction site and it went through the ball of the same foot, i thought, yeah, that was my fault i should know better than to not look where i am stepping. but in the grass!!! come on! i was so aggravated i hustled the kids inside, got the hydrogen peroxide and a q-tip and tried my best to get it as deep as could go to clean out the wound. i put neosporin on it and a bandaid, and it didn't hurt that bad, i was walking a bit strained but it wasn't bad.

HA, not this morning! i woke up and started to step out of bed and my entire foot throbbed in pain! so needless to say i either have to hop on my one foot everywhere (which put a huge amount of strain on that foot) or i have to crawl on all fours. yeah, it wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that i have 2 kids that still depend on me for everything. and john is working, so i get to do everything myself. every hop now is precious and has to be necessary...but there are things you can't do while hopping, like carry a bowl of cereal! everything takes SO MUCH effort!! every time i have to "hop" somewhere else, i sigh, and realize it's only 8:30 am. ::tears:: the house is a wreck and i can only do so much standing. so the ability to walk without pain, and "oh i forgot to get my glasses in my room, lemme go back and get them" is understated. it certainly is a privillage, especially with kids around. i will never walk barefoot outside again when i can't see 100% what i am really stepping on. i only hope i'll recover soon. guess i'll google what a tetnus infection is.

nice weather, food planning, debt update

so it's been such a beautiful day and week for that matter that we have spent most of our time outside. including henry our new cocker spaniel. he has seriously surprised me with how obedient he has been! he stays close (for the most part) unless he sees a car. but if i catch his gaze before he takes off and tell him "stay" he really does stay. he has the potential to be a very obedient dog, but he is still a puppy. recently he found a friend to play with 3 houses down and her name is Lilo. she is a bit bigger than him, but has the same color, so he almost looks like her puppy! we've gone over to "play" with her 3 times so far, and this afternoon when we opened the door to go outside, he trotted over to her house, right up to the front door, while i was trying to call him back. i went looking for him and found him with his nose in the corner of the door waiting for it to open and looking at me like, "i want to play with my friend mom" it was so cute! so i knocked, and he got all excited his non-existent tail wagging away. they weren't home and i knew that, but he sure wanted to play. he's getting better at not pottying in the house, so i guess he's gonna stay with us.

ah, i really love fall weather. i love it because after fall it gets colder not hotter! and down here that doesn't happen for very long. i also love it cuz i get to bring out the gumbo and other hot foods perfect for cold days. speaking of food, i've decided to make a meal calendar for breakfast (which is usually a bowl of cereal) lunch, dinner, and snacks, along with drinks for the kids, that way i'll know what groceries we need and i don't have to come up with dinner at the last minute. (at least the plan is i can look at it in the morning and see what needs to get ready for dinner rather than putting it off). i've done this for 3 weeks now (i plan 2 weeks at a time) and i'm finally coming around to depending on it. it's much easier being told what to cook than think up something different for me, and it has really kept our grocery budget down where i want it to be for now while we take out our debt. i guess now all i want is to make lunches for john to eat at work rather than all that expensive fast food, then we'll be in great shape. getting into a routine is the key for me, then it can become a habit. i'm getting there! woo hoo!

and an update on our debt, we have about $7400 to go excluding the house and we will be debt free! it has been a little difficult holding off buying things for the house like a new sugar canister cuz the lid is cracked on the one we have now, or hose holders, or paint, or window treatments...the list could go on, but! we are refraining from buying the "wants". my motto is, a little sacrifice can go a long way, and can ultimately strengthen your self-control. i can't wait till we can be rid of our debt for good!

Best friends

Well, i know this might sound silly, but my whole chest aches right now, like a break up with a boyfriend. only, i don't have a boyfriend, i have a best friend. and we didn't "break up", she left today. they are moving to arizona. i suppose i should have known this day was coming, but it's different this time, she no longer has the option to come live back in walker, we will never be able to hang out "another day", no her time spent here will be precious mere visits, and there will be very little time spent with me. i will be left wishing i had gotten more time.

i am a best friend kind of person, very loyal, and giving when it comes to my best friend. i haven't had many in my lifetime, so when i lose one, it's like losing my other half. what will i do with out her? i don't make friends easily, so i am left friendless once again.

but as i try to hold back the tears and move on for the sake of the kids, i realize they lost their best friends too. this morning kathryn said on the way home, "i want to be Allison's friend, i want to share zizzy(her absolute favorite toy) with her" it just made me cry. i don't even know why. i suppose i see a lot of my troubles in finding friends in her. she wants that best friend, and so do i.

alas, i have learned and grown a lot since Amanda has come into my life, and i hope i can find someone to occupy my days like she did. of course we will still have ways of communication, but we can all miss the company one brings.

thanks for being my friend in the gospel that i so needed Amanda! you're presence will be very missed.

so i'd just like to recognize all those best friends out there. with out best friends, well, we just wouldn't be who we are.

p.s. somehow we didn't ever take any pictures together!!! what the heck!

the awesome things my kids do for me

so i hate messes. yeah i know, why have kids, they are full of them. i can tolerate my share of "oops" messes, but when the kids get in to things they KNOW they shouldn't and make a huge mess, that's when my patience runs out. take peanut butter for instance, yeah you rub it in your hair when you get gum stuck in it, but do you want it anywhere else but on bread? (or in cookies) no i'm thinkin not. well, apparently kathryn felt differently. she thought it would make a great toy/snack for her and daniel. she grabbed it off the counter (before we woke up) and brought it to daniel in his room. they had their fun, who knows what exactly went on, i was sleeping. they finally come find me when they are done. i hear "mommy mommy i hungy" from kathryn, so i climb out of bed (without my glasses) and i see her and daniel all happy to see me. i go in the kitchen to find the assalted peanut butter jar on the counter

...UHHH...that doesn't look right, i go in for a closer view (i'm blind without my glasses) and see the jar is empty and the beanut butter is all over the outside! i quickly get my glasses on to discover that daniel is covered in peanut butter! i begin looking around the kitchen for the spot this crime took place at, but couldn't find anything, i scanned through the house, and finally i found some peanut butter on daniel's bed. i went to clean that up, and found some on the curtain,

then a spot on the floor, then more on the floor, then the whole back of the curtain was covered as was the window and window sill, and spots here and there on the walls on the door handle, door frame, door, etc. i kept finding the dang peanut butter spots everywhere!!

once i quarantined the kids to the tub, i thought to myself, how in the world am i going to get something as greasy as peanut butter off these kids??? thank you Dawn soap. you were a lifesaver. i had to scrub daniel down 3 times with dawn before he started feeling normal. it was sad...it reminded me of greasy dishes. yuck! peanut butter on the carpet...DAWN it. luckily i have a carpet cleaner attatchment to my Rainbow vacuum. i seriously never want to have to do that again. at least not with peanut butter.

you gotta click the picture to get the full size view so you can see just how covered he was. head to toe!
kathryn was smeared too. but daniel had the worst of it.

oh, but this morning, the kids were apparently really bored before i woke up at 7:45, so kathryn decided to get a full half gallon of blue bell dutch chocolate ice cream out of our freezer, left the door open, brought it over to the couch/coffee table area and went at it. i have no idea how much either of them actually ate...but it ended up all over the couch, coffee table, and of course, the floor. and i even found a towel with some in it. then they had enough of that, so they literally dumped the ice cream back in the freezer(bottom drawer freezer), and went out in the garage and jumped in the car and turned the lights on and messed with everything in there before coming in our room. not only did the ice cream get all over the freezer, but because they left it open, most of the stuff defrosted to a degree. UUUUUGHHH! how do you even punish that! i had to hurry and get her ready for school, so no time to punish her, or clean any of it up right away. more UGHHH. i only took a picture of the carpet which had ice cream soaked through...but it finally for the most part came up.

10 days and counting!

wooo have i been slacking off! a 2 month vacation? i wish. just the usual keeping busy. 

first and foremost! kathryn started her first day of Pre-k!!!! AHH! i was freaking out more than she ever will. not knowing anything doesn't help you get reacquainted with the school experience. but we got everything figured out and she made it!

she was so excited to get dressed this morning and i packed her a lunch which i already forgot to put a paper towel in! i have some pictures. i was so nervous that i didn't take pictures of her actually in school (maybe tomorrow). she was running to the car to get the chance to go to school and giggling the whole way. when we got to school she said "no dis not shool!" "yes it is sweets, you'll see" and as we got out she got her booksack on and tucked her free hand into her pocket! (she didn't even mention wanting to bring any stuffed animals to school! yay!) when she got to class she was amazed at all the toys and didn't want to part to go to breakfast! funny funny. i said "have fun" directed more at her teachers but they didn't catch that. hehehe. i kissed and hugged her and said goodbye, and she could care less that i was leaving. that's always nice. i hope she does great. on sunday she learned the "k" sound and started saying "back" and "book" and "duck" and "work" and "bike" the funniest thing was she told daddy if he was going to work he had to take the bike. it was so clear anyone would've understood it, and john and i just laughed. no, he's taking the car cute lil miss. she's great. 

running at full speed to get in the car and go to school!!

and finally! we are down to 10 more days!!! til we close on the house of course! i never knew how antsy and anxious i'd be having to wait the final 10 days. i feel like there's something i should be doing to get ready to move (actually i should be making curtains!!!) and yet...i still have to wait 10 more days! i just want a house already! we are crossing our fingers that nothing goes wrong and we can close on August 28th and move out of this apartment!!!

Oh what a day we had

so our day tuesday started out like any other, we got up, ate breakfast, and i started cooking the meal for the day. only, this morning went pretty smoothly, and i was done cooking by 10:20 or so, and ready to deliver by 10:30...that almost never happens anymore (i haven't had any other takers besides trendsic in a few weeks) i usually don't leave until 11:20 or so. so that put me in a great mood. i also heard how much they liked my pork loin and that was nice to hear as well. so going home from delivering, i was in a pretty good mood. before we made it home, kathryn was chanting "sasa nunas mommy" (for all those who don't speak kathryn, that means "chicken nuggets mommy") 

when we got out of the car, daniel took off to the end of the side walk where the crepe myrtles and road are, and so i took off after him (he's a fast lil bugger when he knows he's being chased) and when i reached him he was already at the base of the trees...and was just running little circles around all the trees like a bee...and i realized, hey it's actually pretty shady over here, and doesn't feel like 105º... but we need to eat lunch, so i've got to bring him inside... then it dawned on me, we could eat outside! chicken nuggets aren't messy, they're finger foods...so that's what we did. i took the leftover chicken alfredo from lunch and had chicken nuggets for the kids.

and kathryn loved the idea, so she got to bring the basket. 

and she handed out the drinks lol.  while daniel was much more interested in what was under this lid.

and he sided with my chicken alfredo...so kathryn got all the chicken nuggets to herself. she loved that. no fighting, and we were all happy. daniel would take a bite, then run along and make a circle back to me for more food. kathryn didn't get up at all. she was quite content with her juice and nuggets.

daniel was impatient. (i'm ready for some more mom!) but the only down side was when the wind blew, the flower buds fell on us and a few times in our food, so i covered it up after we slowed down eating.

kathryn enjoying her juice. she was so excited that she got juice to go with her lunch (usually it's water, but on a special occasion like a picnic outside, i figured, the more she drank the better with the heat, so juice they got)

and daniel had fun playing with whatever he could find

and laying on mommy with a mouth covered in alfredo sauce.
yummy chicken nuggets, but the bbq sauce it her favorite. she'll lick it off before she takes a bite!

playing under the tree. he loves being outside! i love being in shade!

and of course kathryn, perfecting her picture taking skills, snapped one of me watching daniel wander off. then she smiled and said "i ta pisu a mommy" you sure did. good job kathryn. 

so we went back inside and our next adventure was to Hancock Fabrics to find a fabric i could use in kathryn's new room...i was meeting Corine (MIL) up there, since i always need another's advice, and i like her style. we found an adorable stripe print that didn't have quite enough yardage to make a floor length curtain, but it was being discontinued, and i liked it too much to find something else. so we got a paisley print to match and go at the bottom... i can't wait to see how cute it will look. 

i decided i would take daniel and get the car cooled off while Corine finished inside, and that's when i turned the key to hear...nothing. NOTHING. are you kidding? dead battery right? whew, good thing corine was with me!!! i knew it would be ok, and honestly, i never really felt "overwhelmed" but it was only because corine was there. so thank you LORD for letting the car die when i had someone with me with another car! what a blessing. so she hooked up the cables, and the car started back up on the first try. whew. she was going to follow me home to make sure i got there ok, and i agreed. i called john and he recommended going to auto zone right in walker so they can test the battery, etc... and "they'll take care of me" well, that they did. what would women like me (with husbands trapped at work) do without places like auto zone. they checked the battery to find it was dead as dead could be. "need me to replace it for you?" "you do that here?" "of course!" so he got me a good duralast battery, and changed it right there (good thing too, cuz both kids were sleeping, and with the car off, they were sweating bullets) so after about 5 mins the new battery was in, and i turned the key...and hmmm, that didn't sound very smooth.... "i think we better test your alternator, that wasn't a good start" hmmm, nice. and, yeah, that's right. alternator is going bad, it is putting out about 1/4 the power it should. so...that's what killed my battery. the part wasn't in stock, but i ordered it, and it'll be there today. so $300 worth of car repairs, but i didn't really feel that worried. i guess that's what the $1000 emergency fund is for. peace of mind. i only hope that this isn't the beginning of a slew of car repairs on a 3 year old japanese car that is supposed to last forever! well, you know the saying that Toyota's and Honda's are the most reliable...i sure hope so!