Smile

Things That Make Me Smile

1}  I went to a Spouse Group Social last night (for the PD) and when I got home (at nearly one in the morning) this is what I found...



Cute little notes from my husband scattered all over the downstairs :)

2} I just got done teaching a Communications class that was very tiring. I had over 57 students and the final was ten pages long! I was so burned out, but the last few days I received many thank you emails from students letting me know how much they appreciated my advice and work-so worth it :)

3}  My six-year-old informed me today as she was getting ready for church that she had the desire to get baptized and she wanted her best friend's dad (Joe) to do it. My whole heart and soul was smiling :)

4}  Our garage is textured and almost painted :)

5}  I just ordered a new duvet cover from Pottery Barn for our bed :)

6}  Having my four-year-old help me make chocolate oatmeal cookies for a neighbor :)

7}  Fall is here.

8}  Having my own paychecks :)

9}  Being able to work from home and avoid daycare :)

10}  Friends & Family :)


~S

A New Challenge

Yesterday my husband informed me that he got diagnosed with a disease (I am not going to mention it here because he has not told many people yet) on Tuesday. We were in Costco shopping and he just broke down. Initially, I was upset that he kept it from me (including the meds) for two days, but I realized he needed to tell me in his own time.

I'm not sure what it is going to be like trying to deal with two diseases (his and mine), but we have gone through many things in our 12 year marriage and this is just another bump in the road.

I am going to an education group with him on Tuesday to find out more and how to handle it. From my research, people feel alone, have depression and have to learn how to cope-all things that I can relate to even though we do not suffer from the same thing.

As a family, we are starting a new eating plan as "clean" foods can help any disease. I am going to remain positive-what else can you do?



"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."   -Carlos Castaneda


~S

Women & Friendship

“Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.” -Albert Schweitzer

I have wanted to write on this subject many, many times.

Women & Friendships:

Many times in my life I have heard a friend say that at some point in our friendship (or even an encounter) they were threatened by me. I have never understood this.

I firmly believe that God gives us talents to bless and serve others-one of mine happens to be cleaning and organization. What is so threatening to women about that?! I.don't.get.it.

I have only had one friendship dissolve over it-but many friends bring it up constantly. It drives me crazy.

I think that all women have this picture in their head about what the "ideal" or "perfect" woman is and when they see a friend possess an attribute that they don't have or are struggling with, they get threatened. I believe that it has to do with an insecurity in that person that causes them to feel that way.

I have always appreciated my friends' talents and have never been threatened by them. All my friends have unique talents that I highly appreciate-especially when I have no clue how to do most of them or have failed miserably when trying.

I have friends who can sew (I failed at this my first time trying in Home Economics in Junior High). Need a button sewed on? I'm your girl. Need anything else done-don't come knocking on my door unless you want your pant legs sewn together. Mom, you know what I am talking about!

I know that I am good at some things and terrible at others and I accept that fully.  I realize that God makes each person different and gives them unique talents to share with others. If we were all the same, how boring would that be!

I appreciate myself for what I am and that makes me beautiful.

So many of my friends have not let me help them clean their house or feel they have to "prep" for me to come over. Crazy! Insanity! I seriously have no idea where they get this from. I have never told them their house is sick, disgusting or not to my liking. I do not form relationships with people due to their cleanliness, but rather their talents that can enrich my life and make me strive to be a better person.

I am a strong believer in learning from the women in my life. Is does not matter if we are in different chapters in life-we all have something to contribute. Friendships are a necessary source of sustenance and joy. Those who truly know me, know that I would bend over backwards for anyone.  I would be at your house with a hot meal, cleaning supplies or a shoulder to cry on in an instant. I'm not going to be focusing on whether there are clothes on the floor or dust in the corners-but rather you and how I can help. When you are unable to do the daily demands of life, a friend should be there to lighten your load, pick you up and light the way.

I hope all my friends can find that beauty within and learn to appreciate their talents, the talents of others and embrace their sisters for who they are. I would not wish my life (with my disease) on anyone, and I wish people would understand that cleaning is my only outlet (besides music) that lets me unload and reach some sort of calm when I have pain days. Maybe that is why my house is so clean! I have too many pain days :(

~S

Long Time, No Blog

Why hello there! It has been 9 days since I last blogged, but for good reason. So here is a little...okay, LONG update.

• We had to move ALL of our stuff out of the garage, into the backyard, back into the garage, back out of the garage and finally, into the neighbors garage. Why? Because we had a water pipe break weeks ago and we had to fix all the damage. We figured since we had everything out, why not texture and paint the garage! Sounds fun huh? NOT. We have it textured, this week we will be working on painting.
• We had Ashlin's 4th birthday which was a blast. Me and Ash met Matt in Tigard for coffee, met friends at Chucky Cheese, then McDonald's and then a party that evening. She had a great day. Some of the gifts she got were: A pillow pet, bike with training wheels, perfume, lip gloss, lunch box, games and other fun stuff.
• We had our annual BBQ for the police department. We served appetizers, ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers. It was fun, but extremely tiring-the setting up and cleaning up kills me after grilling for hours.
• Jaiden has received three treatments. It is a pain going to Kaiser two times a week and having him take it easy for two hours after due to a lowered immune system...but you do what you have to do.
• I am teaching my third class starting on Tuesday (a film class). So far, I have taught Communications and Writing. I am excited, however, I am starting while grading my COMM class finals. Can you say 57 students, ten page each submissions graded in three days?! I will be exhausted by Wednesday. My editing job has been nuts too. I edited 40 pages today alone. I love it though :)
• I am having two girls nights on Friday and Saturday-I will need it after this week. I am very excited for those!
• Maddie lost her first tooth!!!! It was both shocking (is she really that old?) and exciting as a mother to see her face light up after the tooth fairy came.
• I am excited for fall, Halloween (Matt is taking a week off!) and for my parents to come visit. Jaiden is supposed to be visiting MT that month too.
• My brother might be moving back to the states in February-yeah!
• My other brother landed a show on the OWN network-double yeah!!
• Matt and I will be escaping to the Stephanie Inn soon-Love that place!

I'm waiting to hear what treatment my dad is going to get for his Prostate Cancer. I am praying all goes well. He has fallen twice this last week, once while he was choking. Lord watch over him.

Oh, and I have a killer bladder infection (I am convinced it has to do with all the fissures in that area getting infected).  Get me some cranberry juice-STAT!

Good nite blogging world. This girl has two kids to get up at six! ~S

Kill...Me...Now!!!

Have you ever had a day so bad that you can't quite believe it ever happened? That was me, today.

I woke up, barely got Maddie on the bus in time, went to a meeting, then work. When I got home, Matt was getting ready to take the two girls to a daddy-daughter camp-out with some friends. Totally cute.

I decided since it was just going to be me and Jaiden, to invite his friend to sleep over. We decided to go to Sky High (this really cool trampoline sports place) but Jaiden decided (after informing me he ate too much) to barf all over my stairs. And yes, these are the same stairs that I just had professionally cleaned yesterday! Arggg!

After cleaning up the barf (and determining that he was not indeed sick with a virus) we headed to Sky High. We got almost there and I realized I forgot my wallet! So we drove back home. When we finally got there they would not let the kids play because apparently we needed a release form from his mom (why oh why did I not check the website?!).

We went home so I could take some medicine (at this point I had a migraine) and head over to the roller rink so the kids could skate and I could still salvage this disaster of a night. After we had been there all of five minutes, my son's friend falls, hits his mouth and chips his permanent tooth! Mama mia!!!

After some tears, he got back in the rink and we ended up staying until they closed (ten). I did some editing while they skated and tried to block out the blaring music. LOL. There was a really cool guy who was skating and break dancing tho-so amazing to watch.

The boys had fun and I took them to get a Redbox and candy afterwards. When we got home I burned the popcorn to the point that it almost caught on fire (note to self, do not walk away from a bag of popcorn in the microwave). The whole house was covered in smoke. I made some more, and while the boys got jammies on, I put the movie in the dvd player.

You would think all would go smooth by now, right?! WRONG! The dvd player broke!!!! On the display, it had all these Y's and was acting crazy.  I could not believe my night. Long story short, I got it to work and they are now watching the movie.

I finally ended up having dinner-Captain Crunch. Don't judge me, I was too tired to make a thing.

Now I am going to crawl in bed and hope tomorrow I can laugh at all of this.

I hope you all had a better night than me. I'm sure Matt and the girls had a blast. I can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow :) ~S

Working Girl

Ash Imitating Me Getting Ready for Work :)
She did it all on her own.  Even the lipstick. ~S





A First!

Today was so surreal. I have never had my third child Ashlin, home alone all day with me.  My older daughter Maddie started first grade today and comes home with her older brother at 3:00. That means I have 8 hours alone with Ash. CRAZY! So strange having only one child at home. The house is sooooo quiet.

So this is how my day went...

I woke at 5:45, was dressed (yes, complete with make-up on), made my son breakfast and waited outside at 6:35 for the bus with him. I came in, got my two girls ready, fed them and drove my daughter to school for her first day of 1st grade! (She will ride the bus tomorrow, but she was nervous to meet her teacher the first day, so I drove her).

I got home at 8, played with Ash, worked from home until 11 (My students had two submissions this week which means 120 papers to grade in 3 days) and then met Matt for lunch. It was interesting to see Ashlin interact at McDonald's. She usually follows her sister around and plays, but since she was alone, today she was apprehensive and would not play with anyone. I think it will be hard for her to get used to the fact that Maddie (her best friend/sister) is gone now all day.

After McDonald's, Ashlin had a friend over, then it was homework time (yes, on the first day-my son), then more grading until Matt gets home.

I am hoping to get into a routine where I am dressed and ready for the day by the time the bus comes at 6:35, work in the morning and spend the afternoon with her doing fun stuff.

I realize this is my last year until she starts preschool, last child at home with me and only opportunity to spend quality alone time with her. I'm excited!!

As for working from home, luckily Matt has Wed-Friday off, so I only have Monday and Tuesday to balance working from home with everything else.

Speaking of, I need to go make dinner before the boss gets home!

~S

Life According to Ashlin

As you all know, when your child is 3 they ask a ton of questions and say silly things. Here is what Ashlin said to me today while I was grading and  I thought it was note worthy. Enjoy!

1} Apparently, when I was 98 years old I lit a match-four times. LOL. My child has no idea what age is it seems. That or I look REALLY old! She said that to me after asking if she could light a match and I told her she would have to wait until her dad came home.

2} "Mom, how come I can't jump into a book?"

3} What she wants for her birthday: A clock so she knows what time it is, a bell to wake her up, a pillow pet and a hand that crawls up the wall.

4}  She lost her tooth (her sister has a loose tooth), but it already grew back :)

5}  "Mom, when can  I stay outside until it's dark?"

6} "Mom, when can I get a pocket knife?"

I adore her. ~S

Party!!!

Our Back-To-School Bash

Making going back to school fun, especially after a summer of best friends, activities and sleeping in, is important for me.  I want my kids to look forward to school, not dread it. So each year, I throw a party.

Party Poppers!

The finished product. We made rings too :)

Making magnets to hang school art/work on fridge :)



Our new plaque-A little reminder :)  



 Courtesy of Matt. We always find a reason to have fireworks.

Random neighbor kids showed up. The boy on the end (the one with no shirt) is a sweetheart. LOL.

We had a great time. School starts on Tuesday.

I am excited about....watching Maddie bring home art and assignments that she is proud of, going to school parties, carnivals, concerts, holiday programs and other fun activities and watching my two kids grow, mature and make new friends.

Am I ready to wake up at 6 am?! NO!
Am I worried about how Ashlin will do with her best friend (her sis) gone at school all day long? YES! I will have to have lots of play dates for her-especially if I am going to be working from home.

Happy New School Year Everyone! ~S