The Wiley Family's Spot

Summertime Blues

2008-06-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it has been a while. What can I say? School is all consuming. The good news is that school is going well. This class is over on July 3rd...so I am on the home stretch for this class. Next week will be a big week since we have a test Monday, a lab final Wednesday and the lecture final on Thursday. Tomorrow is an exam in lab.

I know my title is Summertime blues. I am not really blue. I'm just worn out. In fact, I have taken a nap both yesterday and today. Then I get up to study. Thank God for my DH who has really picked up the slack around the house. I came home yesterday and he had straightened the garage and worked on laundry. Today he worked on some more laundry. Right now he is bathing the children. What a man! I can't imagine what life would be like with someone who didn't help.

We are currently watching the College World Series. Fresno State is playing in the finals. If they win tonight, they will force game three tomorrow night to determine the champion. Right now, their bats are on fire!!! It's exciting to see a "local" team do so well on the national level.

Well...I am off for the night! Have a good one and I hope to be back sooner than later!

Busy Weekend Equals...

2008-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

One tired Mamma! I spent the weekend doing some housework...well a lot of housework, studying and some partying with the in-laws. As a result, I have been dragging all day long. Not only has my energy been lacking, but so has my motivation. This is not good since this week of school is super busy. I did finally manage to motivate myself to get a little bit of studying done for tomorrow's quiz.

I think my DH is wishing he were the one in summer school right now. Keeping the kids occupied all day long can be, well, challenging to say the least. Preston has laid on James all day long. When Preston is bored, he can be ultra clingy, which translates into annoying if I am being perfectly honest.

And now, for the results of my blood agar petri dish. I was surprised to find that there were no visible colonies of beta hemolytic bacteria on my dish (from my throat). The beta hemolytic bacteria tend to cause more sickness than the alpha and gamma hemolytic bacteria, both of which were present on my plate. The alpha hemolytic actually makes the agar turn a brownish green color and the gamma doesn't change the agar at all. Okay, I know, you don't care. But hey, if I tell you about it, it reinforces what I am learning in class and it's kind of like studying. Right? So you get to hear about it, just like poor James. He doesn't really care about all this stuff, but he gets to hear about it anyway.

Well, since I am worn out, I think I will head off to bed. My days are pretty long. But there is good news. Thursday marks the half way point of my first summer school class. I can't believe how fast it is going by!

What Will Grow?

2008-06-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you all know by now that we are growing "things" in my microbiology class. More specifically we are growing microorganisms. Let me just tell you that after our lab the other day there was some pretty funky stuff growing on my plate that I touched my hand to. Even after I washed my hands, there was funk that grew! But today, it got even more interesting. We swabbed a "sweaty" part of our bodies...armpits were off limits because deodorant may inhibit bacterial growth and we all hope that everyone is wearing deodorant. We also swabbed the back of our throats! My throat I am sure will grow a ton of stuff, but we are looking for a specific type of bacteria that is Beta hemolytic. These are more likely to cause sickness. I won't get too specific, but this class has made me realize what a true nerd I am. I love this stuff. Yes, it's gross, but it is so fascinating!

School is going well and I am maintaining good grades despite the rapid pace of the class. But I am spending lots of time studying at home to maintain it. I have spent a couple hours today, a few hours yesterday and about five hours the day before. It will all be worth it in the end.

Today was Preston's kindergarten graduation and I was sad that I couldn't attend. In fact, Preston asked me again this morning if I was going to be there. I had to explain to him that I wouldn't be there, but that Daddy would be there and he was going to video it for me. That made him feel a bit better. And might I add that James did a wonderful job on the "video-ing." I was able to watch it this afternoon and well, I almost cried when I saw what I had to miss today...almost cried.

Oh, by the way...that "sweaty" part I swabbed was the crook of my arm (inner elbow). My swab had self tanner all over it! How funny is that? I am glad that I don't really care because that could have been embarrassing if I were to claim that I was naturally this color of orange!

Here's somthing fun to look at. I grew these all by myself! But for clarification, these are from cultures, not from my body! The green stuff on the bottom is E. coli. There are two other types of bacteria growing on this plate as well, but I won't bore you with their names!

HMMMM

2008-06-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

What should I say? Everyone will be done with school after tomorrow. Everyone, that is, except for me. Aren't you sad for me? Honestly, my days are going by so fast right now that I think school will be over before I can blink. I did, or should I say, Wii took some time to play the Wii today. I needed to work out some of my stress and there's nothing like smashing a baseball or swinging a tennis racket to get that stress out. Who cares that its not a real tennis racket or baseball bat, it has the same end result. I really work up a sweat when we play the Wii.

James is celebrating the end of the school year with a round of golf tomorrow. He deserves it, don't you think?

Tomorrow Preston has a Kindergarten graduation program. I will be in school, so I won't be able to attend. This is the first time I will have missed something like this. It's very disappointing for me, but that's part of the price I have to pay. James is going to go in my stead and I will be sending the video camera with him. I guess that's the next best thing to being there. Preston was disappointed when I told him I couldn't go. I had also told him that his daddy wouldn't be able to make it. He replied with a very heart breaking "I guess I'll just be there by myself then." Now how could we possibly miss that, especially after he said that?

Well, I don't have much more to say. There are not a lot of exciting things to say about your day when all you do is go to school and then come straight home to study.

Feelin' the heat

2008-06-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, the temps are rising here and it's starting to get hot in my house. But the weather isn't the only heat I am feeling right now. Summer school is proving to be a challenge for me. I am not doing poorly, but it is a lot of work to keep up in this class. As a result of the added stress, "Crazy Mommy" made her first appearance since summer school began. If you were to ask my darling husband (DH) about "crazy mommy" he would give you one of two responses. He would either say, "Crazy mommy? I don't know what you are talking about." Which, by the way is the correct response. Or he would say, "Crazy mommy's first appearance? She has been here since summer school began." Whatever the case, I am convinced that the pressure will let up a tiny bit once I am not trying to get these kids ready for school before I leave for school in the morning. I am looking forward to next week when my DH is done with work for the school year and I can leave it all in his hands in the morning.

Let me tell you what this all boils down to. I was unprepared. Instead of making lunches last night, I studied for my test. Which is a good thing, but I should have taken the time to get the lunches made. And instead of getting Preston's stuff together for his party, I waited until this morning. We all know that when I am disorganized, it's a recipe for insanity. It was totally my fault. I should have been more prepared last night and maybe, just maybe, "Crazy mommy" would not have made her appearance this morning. Okay, who am I kidding? She would have been here, just maybe not quite as crazy!

On another note. The test went well, I think. Due to the crazy schedule in summer school, our professor hasn't had much time to get grading done. In fact, he just posted the grades from last week's quiz tonight. He thinks he may have the tests graded by Thursday, which would be nice. I really do feel for the guy. He starts class at 7:30 in the morning with my lab. There are two labs for this class. He has a ten minute break between our morning lab and lecture. Everyone goes to the same lecture. After lecture, he has a ten minute break and starts the afternoon lab for this class. The guy is teaching from 7:30 to 2:30 with only two ten minute breaks. I am sure that the last thing he feels like doing once he finishes the afternoon lab is grading a bunch of homework and quizzes.

Well, I have to run and check laundry. Which reminds me of another reason that "Crazy mommy" made her appearance this morning. You see, mommy hasn't done any laundry lately and the only thing mommy had to wear to school today was her short shorts. That was another reason that mommy jumped the barrier to become "Crazy mommy." Tonight, mommy has made the lunches for tomorrow and done some laundry along with five hours of studying to avoid another performance from "Crazy mommy" tomorrow. I am sure mommy's DH and children appreciate the preparation and organization! And I appreciate grace! It's days like these that I need it most! Thank God for His grace and for showing His grace and love through my DH and kids who haven't held "Crazy mommy's" appearance against me!

Oooohhh! So Cute!

2008-06-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on the night of my reunion, but they weren't taken on my camera, so I couldn't post them right away. But aren't they cute?

Big Test Tomorrow

2008-06-02T19:18:00.001-07:00

It's our first exam tomorrow in Microbiology and have spent some quality time with my flash cards.

I am feeling better today, but I really wish I could get rid of the funk in my sinuses. The congestion is making my head hurt and my voice sound extra "nasal-ly". I've been a bass for the last couple of days.

This week is Preston's and James' last week of school. Preston has a party tomorrow. They are headed to the park across the street from the school. It has a wading pool, and they get to swim. They are cooking hot dogs. He is really looking forward to it. James is of course waiting for the end of the school year. It's always the perfect birthday present for him.

Preston went outside to play today and when he came back in, he brought me a little purple flower. It was really sweet. He was so happy to bring me a flower. He really has a good heart (most of the time). He really likes to please.

We have been watching the Women's College World Series of softball for the past few days. We usually watch it every year. Of course we love baseball, but softball has its own strategies and a finesse that baseball just doesn't have. It's not always about power hitting like it is in baseball. It is great fun to watch. The finals this year are between Texas A&M and Arizona State. We have decided to support Texas A&M. They lost the first game of the series tonight. The finals are best of three games. If they don't win tomorrow night, it's all over for them.

We are really looking forward to playing softball this year. We are on the church co-ed team. Games start June 30th. It's a lot of fun and I figure I better do it while I still can! I'm not getting any younger!!! I still got a few good years left in me though!

Wheel of Fortune is starting...got to go! I am still hoping they will call me to be a contestant!

Here We Go Again

2008-05-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I was sure it was just a little post nasal drip. By lecture I was sneezing and congested and by this evening, I was curled up on the couch with body aches, a headache and what I am officially calling a sinus infection. Now, as you know, I cannot afford to get sick right now. I have school, which is sucking the very life right out of me. This afternoon, I called my doctor to get in and stop this thing before it gets too bad. But wouldn't you know, the doctor had left for the day and the Nurse Practitioner that is usually there on Fridays is on vacation. It looks like I will be headed in to a walk in clinic tomorrow. I have to kick this thing now, before school starts up again on Monday.

The quiz I had today went well. I am pretty sure that I got a 10 out of 10 on it. I would like to thank the academy and my DH who put up with my horrible mood last night as I struggled through a self-taught crash course in chemistry.

We did get to do some pretty cool experiments and exercises during my lab this morning. We looked at Escherichia coli (E. coli) under the microscope, as well as Staphylococcus epidermis and some yeast. And I learned that yeast is a living organism. I don't know why I didn't know that, but I didn't. Then we took pitri dishes and did some testing on our hands, more specifically, clean hands versus dirty hands. We put them in the incubator to see what grows between now and Monday. Oooh, we should have swabbed my nose, I bet there is some funky stuff growing up in there right now. It's pretty crazy that we are actually handling these live bacteria without gloves. We have to make our own slides for observation. It's a lot of fun, but I feel like I need a good scrub down one I leave. I usually scrub my hands really good so that I can eat my snack on our ten minute break between lab and lecture. I wouldn't want to ingest that stuff.

Speaking of ingesting, we had a great dinner tonight. My hubby grilled up some steaks. It's too bad that I didn't feel much like eating. My throat is so sore and my sinuses are just so mucked up. Who knows, maybe I'll lose some weight! Shouldn't there be at least one upside to being sick?

Quiz 1 Tomorrow

2008-05-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow is the first quiz in my Microbiology class. I can't believe how much chemistry is involved in Microbiology. This really took my by surprise. I haven't had chemistry in about 13 years, so needless to say, I am scurrying to brush up on some basic Chemistry concepts. This class is so fast and furious. Tuesday we have our first exam. There is very little time in between each quiz, lecture exam and lab exam. The teacher was very clear that we would finish every bit of material that he covers in a regular 18 week semester.

This morning in lab, we looked at some water from a nasty aquarium in the greenhouse at the college. There were some creepy, crawly, little microorganisms swimming around in the water.

But I have to tell you about the gal that sits next to me. How is it that I always end up next to a gum smacker? When people smack their gum, it drives me absolutely crazy. It just so happens that the girl sitting next to me in lab was smacking her gum this morning. Mind you, class begins at 7:30 in the morning, so I tend not to be in the best of mood at that time in the morning anyway. But add a little gum smacking to the equation and I am absolutely on edge. Deep breaths. On top of that, we aren't supposed to be eating, drinking or chewing anything during lab because we are working with live bacteria. The instructor even told us not to chew on our pencils. We have to disinfect our work area before we work and after we work. Anyway, I hope the gum is not a daily thing. I will be a crazy person by the end of the summer if it is. I have no idea why I am so touchy about things like this. I wish they didn't bother me, but they do. And what am I supposed to do about that?

I don't have much else to write about, because school is the only thing that I do right now. I come home, feed my kids lunch and hit the books. I try to get them down for naps quickly so that I have time to focus on what I am doing.

I am off to bed. I have to tuck in early these days.

Let The Insanity Begin

2008-05-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I thought my life was crazy before, but the truth is, I had no idea what crazy is! I had my first Microbiology (summer school) class today. Eighteen weeks of material will be crammed into 6 weeks of school. There will be at least one exam a week, along with reading and other assignments. It is pretty intimidating. On my break, which is only 10 minutes, I called my DH and told him that it has been nice knowing him, and that I will see him in 10 weeks when summer school is over. I think it will be extremely challenging, but I am just going to give it my all and hope it is enough to get me the grade I need.

We had a very busy weekend, and I am exhausted today. I wish I had a little bit more time to recover before I started school again. I am going to have to make sure that I turn in early at night so that I am alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic for school at 7:30 every morning.

My high school reunion was on Saturday night and I had a great time. I don't think my DH had such a great time, but I kind of knew that might happen. I got to catch up with a lot of people that I haven't seen or talked to in a long time. It was nice to have an evening out with adults. It was a ten year reunion, and I was surprised that many people looked the same. It was interesting to see what people are doing now. If there is anything I have learned, you simply cannot predict where people will be.

Well, I am off to study microbiology! But first, here is a picture of me and my friends, Janelle and Kristen.

Feeling Good

2008-05-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got my grade for my final exam in anatomy and it was good...very good. I am feeling really good about what I have accomplished this semester. I told God when the semester started that I would give Him the glory when I succeeded and it's time to do that. There is nothing that I have done that He hasn't given me the ability to do.

I had a nail appointment this morning and I had to take Elliot with me. I thought she would be so excited to watch. Instead, I spent most of the appointment threatening her and trying to keep her quiet because someone was having a massage in the next room. I have vowed never to take her with me again. One of the other girls there must have had pity on me because she offered to paint Elli's nails with this new color that she had just put on herself. It's a really pretty soft pink color called Princesses Rule! This is the first time Elliot has ever had her nails painted. I thanked her and she said "Anything to keep her quiet!" Elliot couldn't wait to show Preston her pretty polish and she was even worried about going outside with the dogs. "I don't want them to take off my nails."

I just put the kids down for their nap and the house is so quiet. I really need to go to work on a scrapbook that I am working on for a raffle prize at our church fundraiser. It's a pre-made scrapbook...just add pictures. Since summer school starts Tuesday and my weekend is full (Class Reunion, Memorial day plans, etc.) I feel that I need to get a lot done on it by the end of the week so I am not too stressed next week. We all know how much I hate to have to go into my craft room (wink, wink!). I am off to the torture chamber!

Studius Interruptus

2008-05-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today was set aside for studying, which has proved to be difficult with children running under foot. If I had a dime for every time my kids have interrupted me today, I would be one rich woman. This morning, Preston had school. After I dropped him off, I thought I would get try to get some quality studying in while it was just Elliot and myself at home.

Elliot's interruptions are always very predictable and demanding. She is constantly in need of something to eat, something to drink. She will also go to the bathroom and yell until you come and wipe her booty. Then her usual whining was intensified when...heaven forbid....we ran out of Sunny Delight. It was just about time to go get Preston, so we left early to head to the grocery store to replenish the fridge with Sunny Delight.

Then Preston came home and the interruptions multiplied. I did get a good bit of studying done while they took a nap. Preston woke up with a sore toe. So, I had to cut his toenails. Then he needed something to drink. Then he needed help wiping his booty...and he ran out of toilet paper. Pair this all up with his endless questions and it's impossible to get it all into my brain for a final at 7 a.m. tomorrow.

The solution? I sent Preston to Natalie's game with James, so I am down to just one child again. I am not cooking dinner tonight...it's frozen burritos or hot dogs. So, it's just me and Elliot and she doesn't seem so interested in the Atrioventricular Node or Ciliated Psuedostratified Columnar Epithelium...imagine that. I think I have convinced her that I am not doing anything that she really cares about and she is in her room playing with all her tiny toys.

So why am I sitting here blogging? I better run.

I SHOULD BE STUDYING!

2008-05-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Preston's games are finally done, but life has not slowed down just yet. This week is still a busy one. I took James lunch at work today and we were talking about our week. We celebrated together when we discovered that we actually have a free night this week! Thursday night we have absolutely nothing planned. Let's hope something doesn't come up, because we could really use that time.

I have been studying for my anatomy final today...although I have not accomplished nearly what I hoped to by this time. I got somewhere between three to four hours in today and there is one section that I haven't even begun to study yet. It's a good thing that I have tomorrow to study too. I am going to need it. Studying is really exhausting. I came into the living room for a break and decided to pick up the computer and do my daily blog stalking and such.

The weather has been so miserable. While I was out running errands today, it was hard just to get out of the car. This weekend we spent a night without air conditioning because we forgot that the breakers to the a/c had been turned off to see if our power surges would go away. The surges still happen. When we went to flip on the a/c, the air was blowing and we could hear the unit running, but we didn't realize that the condenser outside was not working. We blew hot air into the house and it was one miserable night. The breakers have now been flipped back on and we are comfortable in our home again. Although, I try not to get too comfortable since it costs a fortune to run the stupid thing! For my out of town readers, the temps have been over 100 degrees here. We are in a major heat wave!

I am happy that tonight I don't have to take any kids to practice and I don't have to spend my night at a baseball game...but I get to do something that I actually enjoy. I am off to my once a month stamping club. Yes, I am actually a member of a stamping club. We get together once a month, stamp a few cards, feed our addiction to stamping by ordering more goodies and then go home and try to explain to our husbands why we absolutely had to have that 78th stamp set. I have a really good hubby though. He understands my illness and tries not to be too hard on me. It really is a sickness.

I have a new reader...so I've heard...and she told me about a new self tanner that is a must have. I will keep her name anonymous in case she wants you to believe that her beautiful skin is from hours in a tanning bed or maybe she was just blessed with beautiful golden skin tone! But she is going to bring me the name so that I can check it out for myself. I have used just about every kind that there is, but if it's good stuff, I am willing to be disloyal to my current product to find a better one!

I hope you have a wonderful day, full of cool rooms and perfectly golden skin...even if you are a red head!

Busy Nights

2008-05-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight is an especially busy night. Anymore, all of them are busy, but tonight, we have more than one event. Preston's Open House at school starts at 5:30. He has to be at his game by 6:00 to warm up and his game starts at 6:30. Before we leave, we have to cook and eat dinner and get everyone dressed in appropriate clothing. Isn't it fun?

Tomorrow night, Natalie has a game. Her games start at 5:30 and seem to last forever. Usually by the time her games are over, it's too late to eat a proper dinner and we have to leave around 5 just to get to her games. So, her game nights are particullarly hard. Even when you have a plan, it's hard to make it work with these cooky game times and such.

I am in a slight lul right now from school. I have my final on Wednesday at 7 a.m. Is that not crazy? 7 a.m.! I thought regular class time was early (7:45). I am finding it hard to get myself going on studying. Yesterday I finished all the flash cards that I need for the final and gathered together all the old stuff that I would need to study. All of the stuff is in one place and fairly organized, now it's just a matter of putting in the time.

Well, I am off to cook dinner! It has to be ready at 5!

Is it you?

2008-05-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this. Someone needs to hear this! I know I did!

Isaiah 55:8-11
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down,
and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower,
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

A Quick Catch You Up

2008-05-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy. I am sure you are not surprised to hear that.

It seems we are at baseball practice, a baseball game or something else every single night of the week. James has also had open house at the school and Natalie has had a choir performance this week. There have been a lot of late nights and very busy days. We really can't wait for baseball season to be over.

My nutrition class is finally done. Last Friday was our last class meeting. It is considered a short term class, so it is over earlier than the other classes. Anatomy will be over on May 21st. Summer school starts on May 27th. But before I can think about summer school, I have to get through my last Anatomy lab exam and the final lecture exam, which is worth 200 of the 900 points in the class. The lab exam is Monday and it covers veins and arteries, blood flows, as well as the reproductive system and kidney models. Right now I am not too terribly worried about either one of them, and am lacking some serious motivation. But, I am sure I will get around to getting serious about them both. Part of my school strategy is to work really hard in the beginning to secure a good grade and that way the final exam isn't as important. In other words, if my grade is good I am not struggling on the final to try to bring my grade up. I just have to maintain what I already have. Does that make sense?

I have to comment on American Idol. I know there are several people who are avid watchers, and I usually am. This season however has bored me to the point that I don't even watch it anymore. I just listen to what people say about the performances at school or church and find out who gets kicked off via the Internet. I would much rather watch the Deadliest Catch...it's been far more entertaining than this season of American Idol. Also, Shark is back on and it is now airing on Tuesday nights. AI just can't compete with Deadliest Catch and Shark, so it gets recorded and deleted without even a quick watch.

So, that's life in a nutshell. Baseball, school and television. Yes, I know.

Have a wonderful weekend!

It's Pay Day...

2008-04-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

and that means it was Costco day. Since James only gets paid once a month, I usually do one BIG run to Costco a month to stock up on groceries for the month. I had the Altima totally packed full of stuff. I was scared I wouldn't be able to get it all in that little car. I usually have my car when I go.

The bulk of my time this afternoon was spent dividing meat (cutting pork chops, dividing the hamburger meat into smaller portions) and freezing them in individual serving sizes. I also cut up bell peppers and froze them for fajitas later on in the month. Then I had to deal with all of the canned foods and pantry foods. We are stocked up.

I had some time to quickly wash James' car and eat lunch before I headed back to school this afternoon. But I feel really good, because I feel like I got a ton accomplished today.

Well, it's time for me to head out to church! I will keep you all posted on my doctor visit tomorrow.

Dreams Are Funny, Aren't They?

2008-04-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

This week, I am headed up to see a specialist in Palo Alto about my sinus issues. Last night, before I went to bed, I told James that I was actually pretty excited to go see what this doctor could do for me. I am really sick of the mega doses of antibiotics that I seem to perpetually be on and I am hoping that he can fix my struggle with my ears. I want to be fixed.

Then I went to bed and all night, I had nightmares about this doctor. I dreamed about these horrible tests that they put me through. There was cigarette smoke, bats, shots, high pitched noises. How weird! Now I am one that doesn't place too much emphasis on dreams. While I believe that sometimes they have some meaning or roots, I think the majority of the time they are just a bunch of random things that your mind "dreams" up while you are sleeping.

Am I anxious about the doctor visit? No not really. I am a bit anxious about the actual surgery, but not the doctor. I heard he's the best at what he does. All he does is sinus stuff. I am a little anxious about having to drive up there and back in one day. Not because I am scared, but because it makes for a long day of driving. Then, there's finding the place once I get there. But overall, I am hopeful about the final outcome. Who knows, maybe I can get the Ashley Tisdale version of the deviated septum surgery!

Last night, as I mentioned, I had to take Preston to his practice. I used the opportunity to make my flash cards for my anatomy quiz this week and watched in between. He did really well in practice last night and I am hoping that it carries over to his game tonight.

I have to run. We are short on time due to game night, but I will leave you with an unusual fact about myself.

I AM WEIRD BECAUSE

I cannot stand to be touched at my pulse points, especially the wrist. All of my typing today has especially irritated me this afternoon. I have to go!

How Cool Is That?

2008-04-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just have to tell you that I never win anything. Well at least I thought that, until today. I was doing my daily rounds of blog stocking, and I headed over to one of my favorite blogs (for crafters) http://inkstampnscrap.blogspot.com, and there I discovered that I won some blog candy! This gal, who is an awesome stamper, will put up prizes that you can win, if you post a comment. She was giving away a custom watermark. It's useful for posting pictures of cards you design on sites like www.splitcoaststampers.com. I am just so excited that I won.

What was my comment? Well I was supposed to comment about my favorite thing about spring. So I said, "I like spring because it is baseball season. And I also like to break out the self tanner." Yep, addicted to self tanner. I think it goes into your skin and causes some sort of chemical dependency in your system. Don't believe me? Use it for a week and you too shall see.

And speaking of baseball, it is quickly losing all of its appeal. James and I are going separate ways. He is off to Natalie's game, while I am taking Preston to practice, with Elliot in tow. We are really missing playing the game ourselves, and since we don't have a team this season, it's all we can do to keep from running on the field and picking up the bat and swinging away! Baseball for the kids however, is slowly taking over every night of the week and it is getting exhausting!

So, on to more important business. I NEED YOU! Our church, Calvary Worship Center, is in the process of building a new church building. As a fundraiser, we are giving away a trip to NEW YORK! Airfare, hotel accommodations, Broadway tickets, and spending cash, is all included! HOW COOL IS THAT? You just need to buy a raffle ticket (or 10) from me, and your name goes right into the drawing. Out of state? No problem. You can still win and get the airfare from an airport that is convenient for you! The tickets are $20. each! What a bargain! And it is for a wonderful cause. If you are interested, send me a private email and I can give you more information! You can check on our building progress by visiting our website at www.calvarywc.org.

My Toilet Runneth Over

2008-04-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, Preston stopped up the toilet. He didn't know what to do, so he continued flushing the toilet. By the time he decided that he needed to get help, there was water all the way into the hall, into the hall closet, under the baseboards in the bathroom and it was even seeping into the entryway. It took me eight towels, two mop heads and four swiffer wet jet pads to clean it up, not to mention a lot of my time.

I went to see James at lunch today because they were having a baby shower for a co-worker of his during his lunch break. After that I had fully intended on going to the library and studying. Instead, I ended up wandering around Michaels for a while. But I was really proud of myself, because I managed to walk out of there without buying anything. I went to JoAnn's after I left Michaels and once again, I managed to walk out without spending any money! Aren't you proud? The craft obsessed chick (that would be me), managed to walk around two craft stores and not spend a dime!

Tonight has been a nice break. For the first Monday in a long time, we didn't have to take anyone to baseball practice. Tomorrow night Preston and Natalie both have baseball games at 5:30. James will be going to Natalie's game in Visalia, while I take Preston to his game here in Exeter. Oh the joys of baseball season. Honestly, I am really jealous. Our church softball team didn't register to play this season and I am missing playing desperately. I just want to run out on the field with all the little kids and play. Maybe we can get a team together for the summer season!

Got to run! Dancing With The Stars is on and my DH just came in to watch it with me! Aaaawww, how sweet!

V is for Victory

2008-04-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

We went to my DH's parents' house today after church for lunch. After pitching to the kids and playing catch for a while, my DH and Doug (his brother) decided that they would like to take on my father in law and me in a game of wiffle ball baseball. After marking the boundaries and deciding on the rules (which seemed to multiply as the game went on) it was time to play ball. The final score? 3-1, Victory for the girl and "more mature" gentleman! They really believed that it would be no problem to beat us. In fact, they made a five run limit as a "mercy" rule for us, that way they couldn't run up the score more than five runs per inning. Boy, did they ever get it wrong!

It's been a busy weekend. My DH needed a card made for a gal at his work who is leaving for maternity leave soon. They are having a shower for her on Monday at school (a shower which my husband planned, and they say he isn't a sensitive guy!). I had to make it a large enough for the entire math department to sign. Usually my cards are 4.25x5.5 inches. This time, I made a 5x7 card. Here is what I came up with!

This is the card and some detail shots of the different elements are below. I actually made that tiny little hanger myself!

We are also very proud of our little grapevines that we planted a couple months ago. They are sprouting up quite nicely and we even have a couple tiny little bunches of grapes! And all this time we thought we had a brown thumb! It turns out it just may have a little green to it after all!

I have a busy week ahead of me. I have a huge test in anatomy again this week. I have been studying on and off this weekend, so I expect to be very prepared by Wednesday when we have our test!

Well, I have to shove off and get to church for music practice. You can't very well practice the music without a piano player now can you?

Preston's Questions (Second Post of the Day)

2008-04-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I already posted today and I know that some of you have read this in an email, but I had to share it with the world. My husband taught in Bible study tonight about patience. Preston always tries my husbands patience with his many, many, many questions and constant talking. So, on the way home my DH kept track of all the questions that Preston asked. He shared them with the class in an email because he talked about his challenge with Preston in class tonight. I was rolling on the ground laughing at these questions so I just had to share them! We only have a five minute drive from church, so you have to imagine these questions coming like rapid fire, one right after the other.

Here they are
“Is the moon full or half way full? When is it going to be full? Why do birds eat seeds? How do you pay for something that costs a lot of dollars and ninety nine cents? Is softball like baseball, but they just use tennis balls instead of hardballs?"

FYI-we have been watching college softball and the balls they use are green for visibility purposes.

Back In The Laundry Business

2008-04-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I have anything really important to say tonight. I registered for my summer and fall classes today. I am glad to finally have my schedule nailed down for the summer. If you know me, you know that I am a planner and that I like to have things planned in advance. I have spent the last semester waiting for the summer schedule of classes to come out, then for my turn to register for classes. I wanted to plan for my summer, plan my surgery, plan my fall semester. I guess this is all in my quest for control. I feel a constant need to control what is going on in my life. I guess if I were in therapy they would probably tell me that this is rooted somewhere in my childhood or it goes to some deep seeded self esteem issue. Whatever it may be, it is part of who I am. (Wow, where did all that come from?)

I had my lab exam today and I am really unsure how I did on it. I am trying not to think about it so I don't drive myself crazy. I really would love to email my professor and ask him to email me my grade, but I am trying not to be "that student."

I am already working on studying for my test next week. We have a big one next Wednesday. I would say that I am just looking forward to this semester being over, but I don't know why it really matters. Once this semester ends, I go straight into summer school and I think that is going to be twice as much work as what I am doing now. The great thing about summer school is that I will have my DH home to help and I can throw myself into my school work. I am so thankful that he is really supporting me through all of this. I know I have to be driving him crazy with my obsessive compulsive behavior.

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that my washing machine stopped working the other day. Why is it that it always happens and leaves you with a huge load of wet, soggy, smelly laundry. Thankfully my mom came to the rescue and did a couple loads of towels for me. The repair man came today and one of my kids' socks got in the way of the pump and the computer shut down the pump so it wouldn't wear it out. I was relieved to find out that I didn't have to replace anything, after all, the washer is only 15 months old. But, it still cost me $100 to have him come and pull that sock out! Man, am I in the wrong business or what? Now that the washer is back in commission, I have a big day of laundry ahead of me tomorrow.

Preston's First Game

2008-04-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Preston had his first game tonight and we were all on hand to see him do his thing! I am so proud of that little guy! He's going to be a great ball player! By the way, you can see this video and others on YouTube. My username is carissawiley! Just do a search for my videos!

Pictures From Elli's Birthday Party

2008-04-15T14:44:00.003-07:00

Here are some cute pictures from Elli's birthday party on April 10, 2008.

It's Monday, Monday, Monday

2008-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I blogged. After I came back from the dead, I had a lot of catching up to do. I had school and church Wednesday, as well as many errands to do before Elliot's party on Thursday. Thursday was spent cleaning house and making cupcakes for Elli's party. Then Friday morning, I left for San Diego to see Beth Moore. I didn't get back until very late on Saturday night.

Beth Moore was awesome! The worship was great! The teaching was great! It was an exhausting trip though! We spent a huge majority of the two days in the car. I was one of the drivers and the traffic was horrible. Other than that, it was a wonderful trip!

I have a huge lab exam in anatomy on Wednesday and I had a quiz this morning. I will be studying my brains out this week trying to get ready for the lab exam, which covers the brain, the eye, the ear and major internal organs (think liver, kidney, pancreas, stomach, etc.). So much to do, so little time. Today was very productive in the studying department. I feel like I came leaps from where I was last week in just today's studying. I prayed for a productive week and so far my prayers are being answered.

My husband told me last night that he is happy to have me home and well. I was seriously missing him by the time I got back from my trip. I felt like I hadn't seen him in forever because of my prolonged sickness and then my trip.

Preston had baseball practice tonight and he has his first game tomorrow night. I had to take him to practice tonight. James took him all last week because I was sick, so it was my turn to take him. I took all of my study stuff and got a few more things learned. I am up to my ears in cranial nerves and brain parts!

Well, I am off. I have some t.v. to watch before I go to bed. I can't wait to go to bed! I am so tired. I need a weekend to recover from my weekend!

SHE IS RISEN INDEED

2008-04-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have been raised from the dead...or it feels that way to me anyway. I was actually out of bed today. The morning started out rocky, but my husband, who is so wonderful, offered to take Preston to school (which makes him a arrive later than he likes), so that I could stay in bed for a while longer this morning. This man is also desperate for my return from the dead. By about 10:45 (and what felt like my 80th hour of HGTV in the last few days), I was up on my feet and actually functioning. While I am not yet fully well, I am on my way.

Unfortunately, the infection feels like it may be traveling into my lungs. I am coughing and my chest feels really tight. But, the good news is that I am out of the bed. I am still hugging my heating pad from time to time to keep my body temperature where it needs to be, but as I have said, I am on my way to well.

I totally bombed my anatomy quiz on Monday. That was expected since I didn't study. I was just too sick. I would like to see the look on my professors face when he gives me a 5 instead of my usual 10. At least I get two drops and I don't need any up to this point! I guess that's what they are for!

It's back to the grind tomorrow. There's no rest for the weary! After school, I have to take Buster (the puppy), to get his shots. Then I have to run errands for Elli's party on Thursday. In the afternoon it is school again, and I have to find time to study because I have a lab exam coming up that I have not yet applied myself to at all!

I have to go, Jeopardy is on! I watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune every night that I can. I know, I am a total nerd! In fact, I applied to be on Wheel of Fortune the other day. James and I want to go on Sweetheart's week...we would totally rock it!

Thank you all for the prayers. Keep them up. I still have a ways to go. I am leaving town this weekend with the ladies group in our church to hear Beth Moore speak in San Diego and I need total wellness!

The Daily Dose

2008-04-07T17:40:00.001-07:00

Here is what I am taking right now. This represents the prescription medicines only for one day.

A Desperate Housewife

2008-04-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have been on my death bed all weekend long. Friday afternoon, I started a fever, chills, body aches, and all of that other stuff. I am up today only because I have to be at school. I came home from school this morning and went back to bed. I have to go to my afternoon class today, otherwise, I would be laying flat on my back on my heating pad, which has become my closest friend during my illness.

I am desperate for your prayers. I haven't been this sick since I had mono back in high school. Preston has baseball practice tonight and I have to take him because James has to take Natalie to her baseball game! I am in desperate need of healing. Honestly, I feel like I could die!

I have to run. The doctor is adding another antibiotic to my daily regimen and I have to go get the horrible stares from my classmates who wish I would stay home. I just can't afford to miss class. I hope I survive it since I barely survived this morning's class.

The Daily Report with Carissa Wiley

2008-04-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

I have quite a bit to report today, and the day is just now half over!

First off, an update on Elli. We found out last night that her friend, Adellia, from church broke her arm on the same day that Elli broke her arm! How weird is that? They both have the same type of fracture and both will have their casts on for three weeks. I don't know yet which arm Adellia broke, or which bone, but the fact that it happened just hours apart is so weird. They both got their casts yesterday. I am planning on taking a picture of them together on Sunday at church. I am convinced that this was a plot for an April Fool's Day joke by the two of them. I am not laughing!

Preston got all of the words on his spelling test right this week! He came home from school with some new stickers because he was the only one in his class to get all of them right! I am so proud of that little guy. It's a good thing I drilled him on his words all the way to school this morning. They are starting to get into words that can't easily be sounded out. His words this week were "with" "here" "are" and "said". There is pure genius in his blood....most of the time anyway! There are times that his father and I wonder!

Preston's coach called on Wednesday night and he will be starting practice for his baseball team on Monday night, the same night Natalie has her next game. It looks as though James and I will be playing divide and conquer for the remainder of the season. We have high hopes for Preston and baseball. He's pretty good already. He first picked up a bat at about 18 months, and has been playing in the living room ever since!

I had my once a month nutrition class meeting this month. One more month of this class and I will be done. We will see if I can manage to NOT procrastinate this month. Although, I highly doubt that. There is some block that I have with this class. I am not usually a huge procrastinator, but with this class, I definitely am.

As I was sitting in class this morning, my sinuses starting flaring up again, and by the end of class, I had pain in my muscles, bones, ears and throat. With the weekend coming, I knew I better get in to see the doctor...so I did just that. If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know the diagnosis and the treatment. But for those of you who don't read on a regular basis, I have a sinus infection. I was given a shot of antibiotics (from which I will have a bruise for at least two weeks) as well as oral antibiotics (horse pills).

Despite my illness, I have no time to take it easy. I will try, but the housework is calling, Elli's birthday is coming and my car needs a good scrubbing!

Have a good day!

It's Blue

2008-04-03T17:49:00.001-07:00

Of all the colors Elliot had to choose from for her cast, she chose blue! In a way this surprises me, and in another, it really doesn't. She is all about non-conformity. You would think a girl would choose a pretty pink or a pretty purple cast. Not Elli! She chose dark blue right away!

When we got to the medical clinic today, we checked in right away. However, it did nothing for our wait time. We waited in the waiting room for over an hour to see the doctor. I find that very frustrating, especially when you have a four year old in tow. By the time we saw the doctor, she was a mess. She kept saying, "I want to see the doctor." I didn't quiet her too much! I figure maybe the doctor would hear her and get a move on!

Elli will have her cast for three weeks. Kids' bones heal rather quickly, especially with the type of fracture that she has. Thankfully, the doctor allowed a short arm cast, rather than a cast that goes up and over the elbow. This allows her to be much more free.

Elliot is waiting for the doctor to come into the room. There is nothing for a four year old to do in a room like that except to get in trouble! This is the splint that they put on her on Tuesday. It went up over her elbow and her arm had to stay bent.

"I think I'll just rip this thing right off!"

A new blue cast! And she can finally bend and straighten her arm!

As you can tell, she is not in pain!

CASTing Call

2008-04-02T11:09:00.001-07:00

Elliot will have her arm put in a cast tomorrow. The good news is, she doesn't seem to be in too much pain. She is annoyed by the sling and is milking her situation for all it is worth. Since she is generally a lazy child to begin with, her lazy ways have increased. Last night after we put her to bed, she told James that she would probably need help getting out of her bed in the morning. She is quite a character and this will definitely try our patience!

The doctor that will be putting the cast on her cannot see her until tomorrow. In a way it is more convenient for me and in a way it is less convenient for me. I had myself all prepared to have to miss my lab today and make it up tomorrow. My mom was going to be able to keep the kids. Since the appointment is not until tomorrow, I can go to my lab this afternoon. This is what makes it more convenient. However, I am sure that Elliot's bandages and sling are going to be horribly dirty today when she gets picked up from school. It is just an ace bandage that is wrapped around her splint right now and since she hasn't slowed herself down too much, I am sure that she is currently digging in the sand and making a mess of herself at preschool right now.

Due to our fiasco last night, I wasn't able to study much for my quiz in anatomy today. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tiny amount of studying that I had done was good enough. I did okay on my quiz after all.

I am currently working on my nutrition homework which is due Friday. I am about half done with it. I am please with my progress, especially considering the fact that I got absolutely nothing done after Elliot's fall yesterday afternoon. I didn't work on my homework at all yesterday.

Natalie has another baseball game tonight and church was cancelled tonight due to unavailability of the facility (hey, that rhymes). So we will all be headed out to Nat's game tonight. That means no time to work on homework tonight. Last week's game lasted an hour and forty-five minutes. I think that is a bit long for little league. They really should limit the game time to an hour! If only everything was done the way I think it should be done. Wouldn't the world be a better place? HA HA!

Elliot Breaks An Arm

2008-04-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

At about 1:40 today, Elliot fell off the couch and landed on her wrist/arm. She had been hanging by her legs from the arm of the couch, something she knows she shouldn't do. She was crying and I knew she was hurt. I made sure that I told her that is why she shouldn't hang from the couch.

Fast forward twenty minutes or so, and Elliot is still crying. Elliot is pretty tough. Normally when she gets hurt, she cries for a minute or so, you ask her if she is okay and she stops crying. I decided to call James and let him know that we may have a more serious injury on our hands.

I finally got Elli calmed down and since everything seemed to be operating just fine and there was no swelling or bruising, I put her down for her nap and decided to reassess the situation after she woke up. About an hour later, Elli woke up crying. She continued to cry and I decided that we definitely had something a little more serious on our hands.

James got home and we packed up the kids and headed to our pediatrician to have them assess the situation before we sat for hours on end in the emergency room. They stabilized her wrist with an ace bandage and sent us over for x rays immediately. Once the x rays came up...they are all digital now...the tech said that there seemed to be something of concern. She took the x rays to the radiologist on staff and he recommended that we take Elliot to Urgent Care to have her wrist at least splinted.

We saw a nurse practitioner at Urgent Care and they got her all splinted and bandaged up. She told us that they couldn't cast tonight because the fracture has to be allowed to swell and go back down before they put a cast on it. So, Elliot is in a fiberglass splint and sling. Tomorrow, we will go to the pediatrician and he will decide whether or not to put a cast on it, or to put a more permanent splint on it for the next few weeks.

The official diagnosis, for all those who are taking anatomy, or who actually know this kind of stuff, or for those who care, is a buckle fracture at the distal radius. In English, it is a small fracture in the forearm bone that connects to the wrist. The fracture is at the wrist end (distal) of the bone (radius). It was pretty cool to actually understand what they were telling me!

Did you have any doubt that I would totally record all this for her scrapbook....so, here are the pictures! Isn't she pathetic?

This was at Visalia Imaging, while we waited for an Xray. She is still in quite a bit of pain here.

This was at the Urgent Care clinic after she got all splinted up! She is feeling a bit better by now.

This was at the "cherry place", aka the Olive Garden. The bread sticks somehow made it all better!

Brains

2008-03-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have just come back home from my anatomy lab, where we played with sheep brains. I don't have much of an appetite after doing that, and since it is almost dinner time, I guess I better get over that and plan for dinner. Next week we are diving into the wonderful world of dissecting cow eyes. Now doesn't that sound like fun?

Preston is finally back in school. What a nice change to have a routine and some sense of order restored to the Wiley home.

This week is going to be a busy one. I have my nutrition class on Friday and my assignments for the month are due. I did get a good start on them today, but I also have to manage studying for my anatomy quiz on Wednesday and keep up with life in general. I am not feeling horribly overwhelmed...yet.

For those who are wondering, school is going just fine. I am pleased with my ability to keep up with all of it. Summer will be the real killer I think. We shall see.

Well, I am off to plan for dinner....meat, potatoes (leftover from yesterday's roast lunch) and sheep brains. I will never look at meat the same way again!

You can imagine my surprise

2008-03-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

I was all ready to get back to a routine this week. I had to go to school on Monday and James and Preston had no school. I knew Monday would be weird, but Tuesday was going to be the beginning of some sanity and routine in the Wiley household. Just to be safe, I thought I would check Preston's school calendar to make sure that he didn't have school on Monday. Since James teaches at a different district, I am currently keeping track of three completely different school calendars. You can imagine my surprise when I pulled out Preston's school calendar and found that he didn't have school on Monday, but he also doesn't have school for the rest of the week!

I have scrambled around and managed to make arrangements for Preston to go to school on Wednesday morning with Elliot, but this has put a major kink in my plans for this week. It was a complete blessing when my anatomy teacher informed us that we wouldn't have lab this Wednesday afternoon. At least the kids don't have to be at the preschool all day and I only had to arrange for Preston to be there while I go to school in the morning.

If I had been smart, I would have hit the books over spring break. I have a test tomorrow morning in anatomy and it is going to be a biggie! I can't change that now, but I will be committing the bulk of my energy today to studying for my test. Another smart thing to do over spring break would have been to get my nutrition homework done...but that didn't happen either. Looks like I will be playing catch up for a bit this week and next.

I will leave you with the words of every procrastinator...including myself in this instance. "I still have time."

A Cute Preston Story

2008-03-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

We got a trampoline for the kids for Christmas and they are loving it, but one issue that we are having is that the children, Preston mainly, likes to throw things from the inside of the trampoline over the net into the yard. The problem with this is that the things he throws often do not end up in our yard. Instead, the end up on the roof or the neighbor's back yard.

Normally this wouldn't be too big of a deal, but with these neighbors, it is a big deal. You see, about a year ago, we had a confrontation about a dog. The relationship has been strained ever since "the incident." In other words, I don't feel like I could ever knock on their door and get these items back.

On with the story...

About a week ago, Preston threw his beanie baby monkey over their fence. And about a week before that, he threw his football over the fence. When he came to me in tears, I told him that he shouldn't have thrown the things out of the trampoline in the first place...a warning I have given him several times.

I figured at this point that the neighbors would find them and just throw them out.

On Saturday, Preston went out into the yard and lo and behold, there on the grass were the monkey and the football. Preston was terribly excited and didn't understand how this could have happened. He ran in declaring the return of his football and his monkey.

"How did they get back?" He asked....and he answered his own question with "I think it must have been God."

Oh to see the little miracles in life as a child sees them!

Eureka!

2008-03-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

Did you know that is California's state motto? Anyway, it means "I have found it." And today, I did just that. I found the shamrock shake I was craving. It was right here all along in Exeter at our very own McDonald's. In fact, a couple of people asked me as I was going through the drive through, "You like shamrock shakes?" I couldn't contain my excitement, and I had to share with them my quest that began yesterday in Visalia. So, I had a shamrock shake for lunch today.

I also had my nutrition class today and I really have a bone to pick with some of my classmates. The teacher goes through the assignments one by one, collecting the work for the entire month. For instance, she'll say "Chapter four study questions" and everyone passes up their chapter four study questions. This should be a relatively quick, painless experience. At least, I think it should be. But, every moth there are at least five people on every assignment (keep in mind, we are turning in about 8 assignments) that haven't stapled their pages together. The rest of us have to wait as those who seem completely unprepared, wait for them to pass the stapler around and staple their pages together. There's really no excuse for this and it really is a waste of every one's time.

If their excuse is that they don't have a stapler, I have two solutions to that. Solution one is to buy a stapler. How much can a little cheapy stapler cost? Solution two is to use the stapler that is in the library. They actually have one in the library that you can use. It is one of the "perks" of being a student. They let you use the stapler! You don't even have to ask for it. It sits out in the copy machine part of the library. Imagine that!

Can you see what I am saying? There is no excuse! The format of this class allows us to leave after the homework is collected and we are done with our test. Usually, we get done earlier than the scheduled time. I really just want these people to be responsible, get their work done and have it ready to turn in when it is due so that the other 95% of us aren't waiting on them to staple their papers together. Is that too much to ask?

Now that I have gotten that off of my chest I feel much better. The weather is great today and I decided to hand wash my car with the kids in the driveway after I picked them up from school. It is shining like a new penny. I even used Armorall on the tires, running boards, bumpers, door handles, mirrors (of the exterior) and on the dash and doors inside. My car is ready for the weekend. I love a clean car! I got it all vacuumed out and decluttered. You can't imagine the amount of papers that build up in a few days with children around.

Natalie has her first baseball game tomorrow and I am looking forward to watching her play. She is one of two girls on her whole team!

I hope you all (all two of you who actually read this, okay there are three of you) have a wonderful weekend!

Like A Leprechaun....

2008-03-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

on a hunt for a pot of gold. That's how I felt today. It's March one of my favorite times of the year for a couple of reasons. My birthday is in March! Yay me! But I also love March because during the month of March, McDonald's usually has their Shamrock Shakes! I love Shamrock Shakes! I went to a couple of different McDonald's today and neither one of them had shamrock shakes! I really can't believe this. What am I supposed to do in March without Shamrock shakes? I love them that much! Two different McDonalds' in Visalia, and no shamrock shake. I actually backed out of one of the drive through lanes because that was the only reason I had stopped in the first place. I bought Elliot a chocolate milk at the other drive through.

Besides my disgust over the lack of luck in shamrock shake hunting, my day has gone rather well.

I am going to be brutally honest about my day. I went to have my eyebrows waxed, to shape them up a bit. As I was laying there, with Elliot climbing across me and the esthetician scraping warm wax across my brows, I remembered something that my sweet little son asked me a couple of weeks ago. "Mommy, why do you have hair on your lip? Only boys are supposed to have a mustache." Oh, the honesty of a child. Immediately I asked the esthetician to wax my upper lip as well! It's not like we are talking thick black hair here. We are talking about peach fuzz. Nevertheless, I could not bear to keep the fuzz over my lip after remembering my son's brutal question. By the way, upper lip waxing hurts way worse than eyebrow waxing!

After the wax job was completed, Elliot and I ran a few errands, which included going to Costco and picking up Preston from school. The school is having a book fair right now, so we went to the library to pick out a book for Preston and Elliot. We also got a new "Fancy Nancy" book, which we collect. This one is Fancy Nancy at the Museum.

I also got the remainder of my nutrition homework done, which is due tomorrow. Technically, I beat the procrastination window by a mile. Had I truly procrastinated to the fullest extent, I would have been working on the homework tomorrow morning in my car before I went to class! Therefore, I officially deem that I have not procrastinated on my nutrition homework this month! (I know you are thinking, "Whatever makes you feel better.")

I am off. I have another beautifying appointment this afternoon. This seems to be the week of beauty...recall, I have had a pedicure, a lip and brow wax and now I am off to have my hair trimmed up. Do you think it has anything to do with the little trip my DH and I will be taking in the near future? You bet it does! Those pictures have to be good.

Not Nearly Enough

2008-03-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

I did not get nearly enough done today.

After we added a huge amount of material to our notes in anatomy which will be on the quiz on Monday, I went to the doctor for a follow up on my sinuses. The diagnosis is that my sinuses are very inflamed, but the doctor doesn't want to put me on antibiotics again...yet. But he took one look at my eyes, and said, "What is going on with your eyes?" I hadn't realized that they looked that bad. They have been a little blood shot, but I thought that was because I am very tired and have been studying quite a bit. However, after careful examination by the doctor, he has informed me that my eyes have an infection. If it's not one thing, it's another with me. I have to put some drops in my eyes three to four times a day not. They really burn.

The interesting part of the story however is that I didn't have time to go home between my classes today. By the time I got to lab, my eyes felt horrible and I felt like I wanted to claw them out of my head. Everyone around me was saying, "Your eyes look really bad." My contacts were driving me crazy. I couldn't wait to get home and get them out of my eyes.

I really wanted to get my nutrition homework done today, but that didn't happen. I didn't even get a chance to try to work on it.

Speaking of homework, I can't believe how much homework Preston has every week. The boy is in kindergarten. Is all of this really necessary? He has to read two books a night to me and there are all these papers. I struggle to get my own homework done. Trying to get his done with him is a whole other struggle its own.

Well, I am off to wind down and get ready for bed. My schedule is so demanding that I am requiring a lot of sleep right now. I would have loved to have been in bed by now.

For you Idol watchers, one final note...What is up with all of the girls pants this week? They all look terrible with those high rise pants on!

Yeah, I know

2008-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know it has been a while. Honestly, I have been so incredibly busy, I feel like I have barely had time to breathe.

My third meeting of my nutrition class is this Friday, so I am struggling to get all my homework done before Friday. I am almost there, but I still have a couple assignments to do before Friday. Once again, my procrastination has gotten a hold of me. I tend to think I have so much time to get it all done, and I totally focus on my anatomy work. Then it comes down to the last week, and I have to manage keeping up with anatomy and get a month's worth of nutrition homework done as well.

Tomorrow I have a busy day as well. I have class, a doctor's appointment, a pedicure, class again, church. And in between all that I have to learn some muscles, actions, origins and insertions for my lab exam next week. Also, I plan on finishing my nutrition homework tomorrow. My goals may be a bit ambitious, but here's to hard work and putting the nose to the grindstone!

I only have a week and a half left before spring break...and a little getaway for the DH and me!

We are watching American Idol right now, and there are some interesting characters on the show this year. I really don't know about some of these guys! If you are watching, let me know what you think!

Night y'all!

A LOOOONG Day

2008-02-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today was a very long day, and as I sit here and watch Wheel of Fortune, I am realizing how tired I really am.

After getting Preston off to school, Elliot and I headed to town to run some errands for our church and go to a doctor's appointment. Elliot is well, I however am still seriously infected. They gave me another antibiotic shot, along with a B-12 shot and have me continuing on the oral antibiotics. I have a huge bruise at the injection site. Those antibiotic shots feel like they are injecting a rock into your booty.

After the doctor's appointment, we headed back home for a few minutes before we had to go pick up Preston. After picking him up, we headed back to Visalia to meet my mom and Kara and Ashtyn for lunch. My kids decided they wanted to spend some time with their Nana, so I decided to spend some time shopping and running a couple of errands. I had to go get more chocolate muffins from Costco for my DH and kiddos.

I got home in time to get ready, bathe my kids and head out to the school spaghetti dinner, where I volunteered for two hours. The school PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) puts this event on every year. The kids perform songs and such, with a patriotic theme. I got to eat my dinner for free since I volunteered in the kitchen. I decided to take it home in a to-go box since my DH was already at home and I hadn't seen him all day. I miss that guy when he's not around.

I do have pictures of Preston performing, but quite frankly, I am feeling much too lazy to go get the camera and load them onto the computer right now. I will have to post those pictures later.

What is fluffy and white and soft?

2008-02-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

No...not clouds! Our new "hotel" quality towels! When James and I got married, I had towels. We have used those towels since we were married...so our towels are about nine years old. We have been talking about buying new towels for some time because our old towels and beginning to fall apart and get pretty rough. While we were at Costco on Saturday, I find a killer deal on new towels. Six hotel like white towels for 19.99. What a deal! For that price, we bought two packages of new towels. I wouldn't have chosen white if I had a rainbow of colors to choose from, but to get such great quality towels for that price, I can't complain about a stupid thing like color. I finally got the new towels washed and we got to use them today for the first time. They are so fluffy and soft. I kind of felt like that little Snuggle bear from the commercials. The old towels will continue to be used...by the kids.

Today was a good day. I was able to get some laundry and things around the house done this morning. This afternoon, my DH gave me some time to be out by myself, doing one of my favorite things...shopping.

Before I left to go shopping this afternoon, James, the kids and I went for a walk with all of our little dogs. The dogs love to get out of the backyard and we so happy to be walking around sniffing everyones lawns. Buster is too small to collar and leash, so I carried him to the park. I let him down for a few minutes. I was afraid he would run off, but he was content to stay at the sides of Piper and Lady. He only weighs about five pounds, but even that can tire your wrist out after a while. When I got back, my wrist was a little sore from carrying him on our walk. He really wanted down, but that just wasn't an option.

When shopping, I was on a mission. I really need a cream cardigan for over this dress that I have. I had the perfect little sweater for it, but last semester, I threw it in my backpack and a pen exploded on it. I wasn't able to get the ink out and now there is a hole in my wardrobe where a cream cardigan belongs. You really don't know how much you really use something until it is gone. There are several outfits that are out of use while the sweater remains unreplaced. I thought this would be an easy task. It's nothing fancy that I need, just a cream cardigan...but it was nearly impossible to find the replacement. I did end up with a new one...the only cream cardigan that I was able to find. I don't know that I am totally satisfied with my purchase. We shall see.

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! Since Monday is pretty well over, it's too late to wish it for tonight! So happy Tuesday to YOU!

Empty Nest Syndrome

2008-02-15T20:55:00.001-08:00

Well, we sold the last puppy tonight at 8:30 p.m. We still have little Buster...but we definately are feeling a little bit of empty nest syndrome, and so is Lady. She has moved back to the porch with her friend Piper, and they curled right up together. Buster climbed up behind them in the bed...like a typical kid. I am sure they are relieved to have just one little one to deal with.

It was harder than I thought to watch the last little one to walk out the door. She went to a really nice family with two little kids. She should feel right at home with those kids around to give her love. It makes it a little easier to send them off when you know that they are going to a good home.

Tomorrow we have big plans. We are planting a new tree, planting 10 new grape vines and two new camelia bushes. Not to mention, we will be cleaning up the back yard. Eight dogs in the yard really wreaks havoc on a yard. It's time to get it cleaned up and the porch pressure washed.

Goodnight!

"Happy Balentime's Day"

2008-02-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

That's how Preston says it! So I thought I would pass those happy wishes on to you.

It's been a pretty productive day for me. We sold three puppies today! Praise the Lord! We just have two more to go and we are done. We have a couple of prospects so far, so we just might have them all sold by the weekend.

So have you done the math yet? Have you figured it out? We sold three puppies, we have two left and there were six in the litter. What happened to puppy number six? Well, puppy number six has become an official member of the Wiley family. Puppy number six also has a new name...Myth Buster! Yes we are fans of the show and we are naming our dog after the Myth Busters! We will be referring to him as Buster though. We have Myth Buster, Lady Bug and Piper. Piper is kind of like Prince. He is so cool he only has one name...like Madonna, Bono...you get the picture.

James and I had a wonderful dinner for Balentime's day. I made jambalaya, garlic bread and we had some shrimp cocktail as well. My mom made a cake for us. I haven't had a piece of it yet, but I am thinking about it.

Well, I am off to finish watching Wheel of Fortune with my DH. We also have big plans for watching Survivor and possibly Celebrity Apprentice, if I can stay up that late. This sinus infection has really wiped me out. Hopefully I will kick this thing soon and I can return to my normal, wonderful self!

Spell Check is still not working!

DONE...DONE...DONE

2008-02-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Yep, that sums up my day. I am done. I am done with my anatomy test! Whew! I am done with my nutrition homework. I am done with Elliot's valentines. I am done with my valentines. I got a lot done today.

My anatomy test went really well. I was expecting it to be much harder than it was. I felt really confident about most of my answers. My grade prediction is somewhere between a 94 and a 96. I won't have my test score until next Wednesday when I go to class again. Monday is a holiday, so we won't have class.

I was also able to hammer out the rest of my nutrition assignments that are due on Friday. Thankfully, a lot of this is overlapping with my anatomy class and some of it is common sense.

Elliot is having a Valentine's Day party at her school tomorrow and since she can't write, I was left to do all of her valentines for her. Since tomorrow is not her regular school day, I will have to take her to the party and stay there with her until it is over. Not exactly how I want to spend my morning, but I will do it because I want her to experience it.

I have big plans for dinner tomorrow night. I am making jambalaya, my husband's favorite! There is a little bit of prep time required for that, so I will be chopping up a storm tomorrow afternoon. We aren't exchanging gifts for Valentine's Day, so I thought I would at least make his favorite dish.

Tonight, the church is having a fifties Valentine's party and karaoke. James and the guys have a little something up their sleeves as a surprise. I will get it on video, but I am not sure if I will be able to upload it or not. I don't know how to get videos from my video camera to my computer. It is a digital video camera, but it is not the easiest to use. Some day when I have time, I will learn how to do it. It's not like my little camera that you just plug the card into the computer and copy the files. It's a bit more complicated. Maybe I could convince Tim to convert it to the computer for me. Did you hear that Tim? Tim? Are you there Tim?

Well, we are off! Happy Valentine's Day to you! Be sure to tell someone that you love them!

I woke up this morning....

2008-02-12T18:49:00.001-08:00

SICK...AGAIN! Elliot and I headed to the doctor soon after we dropped Preston off at school. Elliot was up in the middle of the night with a fever. I just didn't feel good. My muscles are sore, and I have been completely worn out. The doctor told us that we both have sinus infections, again! In order to speed up the "getting well" process, the doctor gave me an antibiotic shot. I will also be on oral antibiotics for two weeks. Elliot, who isn't feeling quite as under the weather as I am, will be on antibiotics for two weeks as well. This is yet another reason why I need to have the surgery suggested by the Ear Nose Throat specialist.
Tomorrow is my big exam, and due to my total exhaustion and illness, I have got very little studying done today. Even when I try to study, my brain doesn't seem to be working. So, we will see how the big exam goes tomorrow. There is nothing like a little sickness to slow you down.
We are still trying to sell our puppies. We have not yet sold any of them, despite lowering our prices twice.
I have kind of a funny story that will remind you (or reveal to you) what it is like to have children. Preston's jacket has been missing for a few days. I knew he had to have left it at school, but he insisted that he didn't leave it at school. I arrived early at his school to look through the lost and found for his jacket. I didn't find it there. So I asked his teacher if she had seen it. She sent me to the classroom to look for his jacket. He and I headed to his classroom to find his blue jacket. When we got there and began digging through the jackets, there was his blue jacket....and his grey jacket and his red jacket! The kid had three jackets at school! Even after he insisted that he didn't leave his jacket at school. Piled high with jackets, we left the school and returned home.
GOOD NEWS! I just heard on the news that the Hollywood writers have signed an agreement to end their strike. Hopefully tv will get good again soon. I am missing my shows like, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice. Oh, I am so excited for tv to be good again.

Study, Rest, Repeat

2008-02-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

I have a really big test this week in Anatomy. It is over the lecture material from the first five chapters...which is everything we have covered so far. So, the bulk of my "free" time tonight has been spent studying. I have flash cards that I use, but I have taken those flash cards, and rewritten all of the information on them. Repetition is important for retaining information. I have written eight pages of notes tonight in my studying...and that is only about half of the information covered in Wednesday's test. My fingers hurt and my brain is tired. So I decided to take a break, watch some t.v. with my DH and let my brain veg out with some useless, mindless entertainment for the rest of the night.

I finally finished my record of three days worth of food for my nutrition class. All of my assignments for the first section of this class are due on Friday. I have a very busy week for school. I still have to finish some of the nutrition homework as well.

Yesterday, as I blogged, was James' and my anniversary. Everyone has asked if we did anything special, and sadly, the answer to that is no. We went to church. For lunch, James had a frozen corn dog and I had ramen noodles. I did my anatomy homework and my Bible study lesson in the afternoon while the kids napped. We went back to church last night and for dinner, we had Burger King! I know, I have taken some flack for not doing anything special, but we have a very special trip coming up, so we are looking forward to celebrating our marriage then.

I made James' anniversary card...as I do all cards that I give. You wanna see my version of elegant and masculine?

We didn't exchange gifts this year. I asked simply for a "love letter" from my husband, which is kind of becoming our anniversary tradition and I made him his card. The love letter tradition started last year when we didn't want to spend a lot of money. I told James that I just wanted him to write me a letter pouring out his feelings to me. He is not a very verbal person, so I thought this would be a great thing for me to have. I can read it anytime I want and be reminded how my husband feels about me and why he fell in love with me to begin with. I loved last year's letter so much, that I asked for another one this year. It brought tears to my eyes when I read it. I just love to hear those loving words. I think I definately want this to be our new anniversary tradition. Why spend money when you can celebrate your love in a really meaningful way?

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

What is the most meaningful gift you have received from a loved one?

P.S. Spellcheck is still not working!

Did You Know

2008-02-10T16:51:00.001-08:00

That today is our anniversary? Seven whole years of marital bliss! I am so thankful for my DH. He is the best ever. I am still madly in love!

I am off to church right now, so I can't write much. But thank God for His goodness!

It's Friday

2008-02-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

This morning was kind of a crazy morning. I had a lot of running around to do. But, it started with dropping off the kids, which didn't go so smoothly. I dropped Preston off at school. No problems there. It was when I went to drop Elliot off that the problem arose. I walked her into the preschool. We put her lunch on the lunch cart together and then I went to go sign her in. This is the normal routine. While I was back in her classroom signing her in, I heard her wailing in the front room. She came running to the back room sobbing, saying, "Mommy, I miss you." The guilt hit me.

Since Elliot has started staying at preschool all day on Mondays and Wednesdays, she has not wanted to go to school. She was begging to stay home this morning and all of my normal, "Don't you want to get smart?" and "Don't you want to learn to read?" were all met with "NO!"

It was really hard to leave her. I know her schedule has been disrupted by all of my schooling changes this semester.

I went on from there and got all of my errands done. Then I returned home to complete the financial reports for the church's annual business meeting tonight. I am left with a few short minutes, so I thought I would blog to keep my readers happy!

Tonight, Natalie is going to a slumber party for a friend's birthday. I love it when I have a justified excuse for crafting. She has to have a card to take...so I HAVE to make one. After all, it wouldn't make since to go buy one when I have all the stuff to do it here. So yesterday, I escaped to my craft room/office to make a card.

Isn't it cute? Cupcakes are so in right now. I have seen them everywhere. There are cupcake place mats at Target and cupcake pencils and cupcake party stuff and cupcake notepads and....okay you get the point. I have a die for my die cutting machine that cuts these adorable little cupcakes out. Then I embossed the brown one and added ink the to raised swirls, I added glitter to the pink one, and "sprinkles" and icing to the white one. The sprinkles are a chunky glitter, and it's hard to see it, but it has an acrylic glaze over the top which makes it super shiny! Think a thick coat of clear nail polish for the cupcake!

My plans for this weekend include studying for my anatomy test that is coming on Wednesday. It covers five chapters of material and that's a lot in anatomy! I also plan on working on some nutrition homework...yuck! I have yet to finish my three days of logging what I eat. I gave up on it the other day. It really stinks to have to estimate how much a breast of chicken weighs to enter it into the program. I started over again today and I hope to stick with it. I don't want to be scurrying to print my reports out at the last minute. But knowing me, I will be.

Why is it that I am so good about not procrastinating on certain things and terrible about it for other things?!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

SUPER TUESDAY

2008-02-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before, I am really having a hard time motivating myself to get my nutrition homework done. Today, I did manage to get myself moving on it. I completed the reading for the first chapter and all of the assignments that go along with chapter one. I also took the online quiz. This is a huge step. I have really figured out that I would much rather go to class and have someone lecture for an hour than to have to sift through all of this on my own. I really learn better that way. I have teetered with dropping the class altogether, but realizing that I have to do this class sooner or later to get my bachelors degree has convinced me to just stick with it and do it. I am really not liking it though.

Part of our assignment for this class is a diet analysis that is divided into three parts. The first part requires me to write down everything I eat for three days and record it in a program. Now here is the epitomy of laziness...I am trying to eat as little as possible today, so that I have less to record. I know, it's sad, but true. Hey, who knows, I might even lose a couple pounds in the next three days! I realize that recording what you eat isn't terribly hard, but I just don't want to do it. And to top it all off, I feel like the professor is going to look at what I eat and scold me for it. It's like my life is an open book.

I went and voted on this Super Tuesday. I am not ashamed of who I voted for, nobody should be, so I will share that with you. I voted for Mitt Romney. Yep, Mitt. I haven't taken a lot of time to really educate myself on the candidates, but I do know this, it is basically between Mitt Romney and McCain. And since I don't want to vote for McCain, Romney it is. Voting for anyone else at this point would pretty much be throwing my vote away, since nobody else has a chance of being the Republican nominee. Silly? Maybe. But that is how my vote was determined.

Elliot got to go with me to cast my vote and I took the time to explain to her that voting is what we get to do as Americans to say what we want to happen. I want to raise her and our other children to participate in government. Voting is the easiest way of doing that and we shouldn't take for granted the right we have as citizens to participate in our government. We both got our "I Voted" stickers and we took one for Preston as well.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

Did you vote in the primary election?

This question is in no way intended to judge you or your political opinions. I am just curious!

P.S. The spellcheck on the site has not been working lately, so I apologize for any spelling errors that you have come across.

My Handy Man

2008-02-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so all of you who know James know that he is (or should I say, has not been) the handiest guy in the world. But with a little nudging from his darling wife, he has become quite handy. This weekend, I convinced him to build me a new storage unit for my craft room. I have converted my stamps to a new mounting system that allows me to store them in c.d. cases. It's great, but I needed a place to put all of those c.d. cases, sixty-eight (68) of them to be exact. Are you ready to see what my wonderfully handy man built for me?
Isn't it wonderful? It was designed to allow for growth. Currently, two of the five shelves designed for c.d. cases are filled with stamps. I can shift the other stuff around as my collection grows. I have a whole new storage unit on my list for my birthday for the other side of my room. It will hold all of my paper, dies, punches and such. I love this stuff.

And now for a report on school. I am doing well in my anatomy class. I got the result of my bone exam today. I got a 39 out of a total of 40. I got a couple of left bones confused for right ones. Luckily, the right/left portion was only worth a half a point and I was able to score very high despite my little bit of confusion. I also had a quiz today that I did very well on. I am definately proud of how I am doing so far.

As for the nutrition class, I am finding out that I do much better when I actually have to go to class. Because it is an online format with a once a month meeting, I am having a hard time motivatihg myself to do the reading and get the work done. I have a couple weeks before I have to turn it in and I still have a lot to do. It's time to get my nose to the grindstone. And for the future, I think I will opt for "traditional" classes.

Tomorrow are the California primary elections. I lost my absentee ballot (I think I accidently threw it away), so I am going to have to go to the polling place to cast my vote. I just can't not vote. It goes against everything I believe. I have to participate, that way I can complain when I don't like the way it is going. I think I have decided to vote for Mitt Romney. If you disagree with that decision, just remember, it could be worse! I could be voting for Hillary! Okay, it would have to be a cold day in July before I would do that, but you get the point.

Creative Juices Are Flowing

2008-02-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here are a few cards I made yesterday. Thank you Grandma for the Bella's. I finally got a chance to use them yesterday! The second one is a sympathy card for a friend who lost her husband.

While I was making her sympathy card, I prayed for her and this scripture was pressed on my heart for her. I would like to share it with all of you. A little "daily bread" for you.

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

I just love that scripture.

The Diagnosis Is In

2008-02-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

Do I really have to make an excuse for not blogging for a couple of weeks now? Well, I could, but I am not going to. I have one word to explain my absence...LIFE.

So, I am sure you noticed the "unusual" title of today's blog entry. The diagnosis is officially in. I had a sinus infection for over two months. It started in November and I just stopped the antibiotics. My doctor ordered a CT to find out the cause of my recurring sinus issues. After finding a cyst in my maxiallary sinus, my doctor sent me to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist.

Today I saw Dr. Evans and he believes he has finally found a reason for all of my sinus sufferings. I have a seriously deviated septum. For those of you who don't know, the septum is a piece of bone and cartalidge in your nose. Anyway, mine is so crooked that it very well may be the reason for all of my infections. The official remedy? Surgery. Yep, their gonna fix it. It is a pretty invasive surgery and will take about 6 weeks for a full recovery. And he said that he would remove the cyst while he is in there too. The cyst is not the cause of my problems, but as long as he is in there, he thought he should get it out. Due to the amount of recovery time needed, I have opted to wait until summer to have it done. I am hoping to have it done between the spring semester's end and the summer's semester's beginning. I have big school plans for the summer and the surgery can't be interfering with any of that.

I was excited to think I might get a "new nose", after all, Ashley Tisdale had a "deviated septum" fixed and her nose was was different after. My doctor however, was quick to correct that what Ashley Tisdale called a deviated septum surgery, was in fact rhinoplasty. My nose will remain very close to what it aslready is. There may be a change in my voice and a very minor change in the way my nose looks, but over all, I will be the same Carissa. My hopes have crashed to the ground. Ha Ha! Oooh and get this...they are going to use liposuction in my nose. Isn't that funny? I wouldn't have chosen that as the first place to have that done, but I guess I'll take it since insurance won't pay for it anywhere else on my body.

Anatomy class is going well. It is pretty challenging. There is a lot of memorization of terms, but I seem to be keeping up for now. I had my "bone" exam on Wednesday and I think I did pretty well. I think I got them all right, but I won't know the official score until Monday. There were 40 bones/bony markings to identify. It included knowing if the bone was a right or left. I think if I messed up anything, it was the right and left part. Some of them are kind of tricky and since I confuse my own right and left hands all the time, it could have very well been my downfall on this particular exam.

I have included some pictures of our recent trips to the snow. We went on January 19th and again on January 26. It was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. I hope you enjoy the video of me wiping out (scroll to the end)!

Rock On

2008-01-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

This week has been busy. I am back to school. I am taking Human Anatomy (Biology 30) this semester and I am spending a lot of time memorizing all 206 bones in the body, along with the bony markings on them. Bony markings are the indentations and protrusions of the bones. They all have their own names.

Earlier this week, I took Preston to Target to spend his birthday money. I am sure that you are dying to know what he chose to spend all of his birthday money on. He bought Rock Band...an interactive game for the Play Station. It comes with a guitar, drum set and microphone...think Dance Dance Revolution meets musical instruments. Anyway....we have our very own rock band now!

With all the memorizing I have been working on, I figured I needed a few added study tools to help me along the way. I got the idea to get a study partner. So, I got a study partner. I got him on ebay. So, without further delay, I would like to you to meet my new study partner, Buddy.

Buddy is a half scale skeleton...he is made of pvc and contains a good deal of detail...although, I wish his head came off and apart. His jaws work though. He is about 3 feet tall and he will be the center of my focus during study time for the next week and a half. Do you remember those commercials? My buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me!

PUPPIES

2008-01-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I've Got A Bone To Pick

2008-01-10T19:02:00.001-08:00

I am a subscriber to People magazines daily email updates. There are quick blurb stories about celebrities (of course). Sometimes I read them, sometimes I don't. But here's what I saw when I opened my email this morning.

"Katie Holmes: Nicole's Pregnancy is 'Wonderful news'"

Let me get you up to speed in case you don't know. Nicole Kidman, married to Keith Urban is pregnant and just released the news this week. Katie Holmes is married to Tom Cruise, who is Nicole Kidman's ex-husband.

I am sure by now you are thinking, "So what's your point? What's your problem with that?"

Here's the deal. Of course Katie Holmes is going to say that Nicole's pregnancy is wonderful news. Do you seriously think that Katie Holmes is going to say "I think Nicole's pregnancy is horrible. She is going to be a horrible mother and I wish she would fall off the face of the earth!" So, why, may I ask, is it newsworthy that Katie Holmes said that Nicole's pregnancy is wonderful news? This is just ridiculous. Katie Holmes is not going to risk her reputation in the media by saying anything less that 'wonderful'. Do you see what I am saying. I mean, newsworthy stories are when celebrities slam each other in the media, like when Donald Trump and Martha Stewart were going at each other over her Apprentice spin off. Truthfully, I was most interested in the last story listed on the email which said,
"Vince Vaughn: I talk to Jennifer Aniston 'constantly'".

Wouldn't you agree that is a little more intriguing than the Katie Holmes story? I will say though, that Katie Holmes looked great in the picture that was on the story page.

Well, that pretty much takes care of my need to rant. I know it seems crazy that I can't find something really important to blog about, but, this gives you a peak into my mind. Yes, these are the things that run through this crazy mind of mine.

Oh, and by the way, I am still nervous about my anatomy class. I don't think I said that yet today.

The Crazies Are Out

2008-01-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Let me begin with this, I am glad to be alive and in one piece.

I was driving home today after completing my errands and picking up some lunch. I was in the left lane (fast lane) of the freeway and there was an on ramp merging onto the freeway. I notice this guy in a white car, with a government plate, tailgating another car that is merging at the same time. I could tell this guy was in a hurry (maybe just a really rude driver, which I have never done) and my car is positioned right about at his trunk or rear door. As I am watching him, he begins to merge into my lane without even looking over his shoulder. I immediately lay on the horn and swerve off the freeway onto the shoulder. I was almost completely off the road when the guy finally realized that I was there. There was no contact, but it was an awfully close call. As he returned to his position behind Mr. Slowpoke, he waved at me as if to say "oops." He later passed me on the freeway. You would be so proud of me though, I only yelled for a minute and in order to avoid giving him dirty looks, I kept my eyes on the road.

Later, a woman came up behind me and began to tailgate me. I moved over into the right lane to let her by. She got in front of me and a few seconds later I notice her swerving off the road. I guess she finally decided to look up from whatever she was doing, because she moved back into her lane and continued driving. I don't know if it is all the rain that has caused the crazies to come out or what, but beware, they are out and about today wreaking havoc on the innocent drivers of Tulare County.

Now, onto my intense fear of my course load this semester. Let me illustrate with a picture.

I am not a bad reader. I do just fine. But I do take longer than the average person to read (at least longer than my speed reader DH). Last semester, my books looked rather small and perfectly manageable, however, today I got my books for this semester and they are huge! I can't believe it. Everyone keeps telling me how hard this anatomy class is and I think getting the book has really made that hit home. My DH told me this morning that he is tired of hearing me say how afraid I am of the anatomy class, but I now know that I have every reason to be afraid! You could put three of those history books in that anatomy book. And then there's the nutrition book! And then there's the price of these precious books. Two books for the bargain price of $212.00. Wow! What a deal! Oh yes, those are the used book prices.

One last story and I will sign off. I was going to go through our snow gear today to see what we need. We are planning a day trip to the snow in a couple of weeks and the whole family has to be outfitted. The duffel bag which holds the snow gear is in the closet in the garage which has been known to be a hideout for mice. There are not too many things that I really am afraid of, but I am afraid of mice. I opened the door to pull the duffel bag out and I just could bring myself to dig to the back of the closet, knowing that killer mice might come and attack me. So, I emailed my husband to let him know that my fear of mice had overcome me and that he would have to be the one to dig out the duffel bag. His response?

"okey dokey you big chicken. So much for Big Red, the gladiator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

To which I say,

"I have yet to see the gladiator that had to take on a mouse!"

Life Without Email

2008-01-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Can you remember life without email? Well, I do and I have had a relapse of that for the last two days. Life without email is difficult. I haven't been totally without it, but for the last two days, I have had to log in via the Internet to send and receive email. The error I am getting in outlook states that something is wrong with the server and it is unable to connect. I realize that this isn't the end of the world, but it certainly is more time consuming to get my email and I just don't like it. I know, life is rough. Don't you feel sorry for me?

Yesterday was the kids' first day in all day care. Elliot is now going to preschool all day on Mondays and Wednesdays and Preston is going to the kindercare program at the preschool after he is done at kindergarten for the day. It was really stressful for me. I have never put my kids in "care" and I am really struggling with having to do it, but my school schedule left me with no other option. Hopefully I will only have to do this for the current semester. They seemed to do okay. Preston ran up to me when I came to pick him up and he hugged me and said "Mommy, I missed you." At least they were happy to see me. After their nap at school, Elliot was having an emotional breakdown, so they allowed her to go to Preston's class. I think they will adjust. I managed to stay busy all day though. I got so much done! I couldn't believe it.

James and I have a new show to watch on Monday nights. American Gladiators is back on the air. I used to watch it when I was younger....about 10-15 years ago. They have brought it back and we were both excited to see its return. I have decided that I am going to train and become "Big Red", the next female American Gladiator. Okay, not really, but if I were 8% body fat, I think I would totally do it! I asked James if he thought I should drop out of school to become a gladiator and he didn't think that was a great idea. Oh well, I guess there is better job security in nursing. I guess a girl can dream!

Speaking of television, I am really ready for the writers' strike to be over. The last written episode of Grey's Anatomy airs on Thursday night. I don't know what those writers want, but television is greatly suffering because of it and I think if the networks were smart, they would give in to the writers and give them what they want. I want my shows back! While I really like reality television, I love my dramas as well.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

What do you think about the writers' strike? Has it affected you at all?

Sunday Mornings

2008-01-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

I know all of you moms out there will be able to understand this.

Sunday mornings at my house are when the devil comes out in all of us...especially the little one. We go at it every Sunday morning over her hair. I just run a brush through it and you would think that I am ripping her hair out one strand at a time. She always wants her hair the same way. She wiggles and squirms the entire time. Doing Elliot's hair is the bane of my existence on Sunday mornings.

On top of all of this, I have to get Natalie's hair done and argue with Preston about which tie he needs to wear. If I pick out pants and a shirt, no doubt he will want to wear a tie that does not go at all. He takes forever to put his clothes on, so there is no time for him to change his pants and shirt to match the tie that he wants to wear.

Natalie is not generally too big of a challenge, but her hair never does what I want it to do. She has a new haircut that seems to make it even more of an impossibility.

Usually by the time we get to church, between 8:30 and 8:45, we are all tired and miserable. Thank God I have a husband who helps out. He usually gets the little on dressed and monitors the teeth brushing. I am sure without this help heads would roll. I am also thankful that despite the Wiley wars which take place on Sunday mornings before church, God still meets with us.

All of this leads me to the conclusion that the devil is alive and well, especially on Sunday mornings in the Wiley house.

Thanks for listening to my rant!

Catchin You Up

2008-01-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have done a lot since I last blogged....so here I go.

On December 21st, we went to Roller Towne with our church. We rented out the whole rink. The kids had a blast. James and I even skated. Preston was a little unsure at first, but by the end of the session, he was skating like a pro and wanted to return for his birthday.

On December 23rd, we went carolling to some of the shut ins from our church. We took the kids with us and had everyone over for cookies afterwards.

Christmas Eve was spent at Harroll and Nadine's opening gifts and having our traditional ham and enchiladas meal. Harroll and Nadine (my in-laws for those who don't know) are the only people that I know who eat ham and enchiladas at the same meal and also serve mashed potatoes with them. We also opened gifts on Christmas Eve at our house. The kids got a trampoline from us and Santa came early because he knew that Natalie had to go back to her mommy's house. We also dropped by Grandpa and Grandma Wiley's to open gifts and visit with them.

Christmas Day was spent at my mom's house. We had prime rib for Christmas dinner. I don't like prime rib and there was supposed to be ham, but that got nixed. I had to fill up on green bean casserole and bread. My brothers and niece and nephew were there and so were both of my Grandma Thelmas. Yes, I have two Grandmas named Thelma.

On New Year's Eve, we went out with Rachel and Manuel. What a horrible outing this turned out to be....not because of the company, but because of the restaurant. We went first to Cool Hand Luke's because we really wanted a steak, but they told us it would be a two hour wait, despite the fact that they had told us 3o minutes on the phone. So, we headed to Big Bubba's Bad BBQ instead. Big Bad Mistake is what that was. We waited an hour for a table and then waited over an hour and a half at the table and still had not been served. The had the last call at the bar and we still didn't have food. Manuel complained and we didn't pay for our meal, but we didn't eat either. It was 9:40 and they boxed our food up for us to take with us....but who can eat that late at night? We went home and went to bed.

Preston turned six today. He is officially legal to ride in a car without a car seat! Yay! He wanted to go to Roller Towne for his birthday. I took him and two of his friends on Thursday. Last night, we had a small family party here at the house.

So, that's pretty much the short version of what has been happening. The kids and James go back to school on Monday. Preston will start the kindercare program and Elliot will be in all day preschool beginning Monday. I go back to school on the 14th. I am very nervous about the anatomy class I have to take this semester. I keep hearing how hard it is. Time will tell.

Oh yeah. I also redecorated my bedroom this week. I love the new look.

The Lights, The Crowds, Tis the Season

2007-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

After I posted my blog the other night, I headed out with my camera, to the park to take pictures of the lights on the water. It was so cool. I also thought I would share a picture of my house all lit up. I just love all the lights at Christmas.James' family is here from Oklahoma, so I called up his Aunt and cousins to see if they wanted to go out for lunch. We had lunch at Red Lobster and then braved the crowds at the stores. His cousin's wife, Lyndsay, and I get along really well. I think I have found a new friend. My kids adore her too! Can you believe that we shopped and I didn't buy a thing? I really hate fighting crowds this time of year. I am better off doing my shopping right here at my computer.

James was golfing while I was gallivanting around today. He golfs as much as he can when he is on break from school. It was raining and he still went golfing. Talk about love...I don't know that he would go out in the rain for me! Just kidding my DH...I know you would go to the end of the world for me, even if it was raining!

I just saw a Bruce's Yams commercial, so I think I will take this opportunity to say that canned yams are just wrong. They were never meant to be canned. They were meant to be baked like a potato and then eaten with some butter on them. If you do anything else to them, you are just ruining a great thing. I really can't stand it when people ruin yams by putting brown sugar and marshmallows all over them. That's just gross.

Tomorrow night, our church is going to Roller Towne for a church skate. It should be lots of fun. I will be sure to get some pictures.

So I think I will add a random question tonight. Please answer in the comments section if you like. I love to hear what you all, all two of you who actually read this, think.

What is your favorite holiday food?

I think I would have to say it's a tie. I love my Grandma's stuffing. This of course is a Thanksgiving food, but a lot of times we get it at Christmas too. Although, rumor has it that we won't be having it this Christmas. I also really love my mom's Cranberry Jello mold. It's made with cranberries, cranberry jello, and it has a layer of sour cream in the middle. Okay, I know it may sound a little odd, but trust me, it is wonderful. I also like my Grandma's cheesecake. It really is a shame that we only get to have these foods a couple of times a year. Although, I think my waistline is thankful that Thanksgiving and Christmas come but once a year! OOOOhhhh, I also like Aunt Teressa's peppermint bark.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2007-12-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

I just love Christmas. I love to decorate the house. I love to drive around the neighborhood and see all the lights. Our house has been decorated since the beginning of December, but I added a bit to it today. I had no idea what to do with all of the Christmas cards we have been getting. I didn't really have a way to display them, so today, I got out the garland and lights spray paint and zip ties (of course) and rigged up a little something for a Christmas card display.

So here is the result of my crafty adventure.

Also, I wanted to include a picture of our tree. James and I fell in love around Christmas time and I always think the lights on the tree are so romantic!

Since I was MIA last week, I didn't get to tell you about Elliot's school program. Her preschool put on their annual Christmas program. She got to dress as an angel. She was such a ham. She was singing all the songs and she was so excited to see my grandma there. She kept turning around to point Grandma Thelma out to all of her friends. After the program, the preschool held their annual quilt auction. The quilt squares are made with the hand prints of each child. I bought Preston's his first year of preschool, so I had to have Elliot's her first year of preschool as well. Unfortunately, there was someone who wanted it too, and we got into a little bidding war. But, in the end, I won the auction and I am now the proud owner of another quilt. I cost a pretty penny, but to me, it is priceless.

If you look really close at the picture below, you will see our little angel (?).

It has been raining all day here, and the park in front of our house is filling up with water. It is really cool because the lights on the houses are reflecting off the water. I would love to get a picture of it, but we will see.

Are you feeling in the Christmas spirit yet? Or are you feeling like Scrooge? I honestly am feeling a bit of both, but mostly pretty joyous about the season. I love Christmas! We are only a week away!

HAPPY DANCE TIME

2007-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

Finals are over!!! It's happy dance time! I finished my last and most difficult final this morning at 11:10, with just five minutes to spare. The best part is, I am pretty sure I did really well.

Oh, and for those who are wondering, F is not for finished blogging. It just meant I was finished with my assignments for the semester. I hadn't intended on going this long without blogging, but I have been stretched pretty thin.

James was sick yesterday with a stomach bug. And I am so thankful that he is feeling better today. The house just isn't the same with him laying around.

Now that I feel a little normalcy creeping back into my life...mind you this is a temporary feeling...I may be able to get back to a bit of blogging.

Have a great day!

F is for

2007-12-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

FINISHED! Finally finished with all of it. With my term paper for my nursing class, with my final paper for my history class! I am done. I completed the bulk of my nursing paper over the weekend. Today, I just went back and added some more information in a couple of the sections of the paper. What a relief to be done with all of that work! I feel so good.

As I said, I turned in my last history paper today. We had a total of five of them during the semester. I have done really well in that class. The final for that class is Monday December 17th. I finish with finals just in time for the Christmas season crunch to hit.

On Monday, Preston and I had some food allergy testing done. They are referred to a "scratch" tests. They take a small plastic needle and poke a hole in your skin that has some food particles on it and see how you react. I was sure that neither of us had any food allergies, but as it turns out, we both have some mild to moderate food allergies. Who knew? The doctor believes that an abundance of these foods may contribute to our recurrent sinus infections. So, while we don't have to completely eliminate the foods that we are allergic to, we do have to watch how much of them we ingest.

So are you just dying to hear what we are allergic to? I thought so. Preston is allergic to peaches, pistachio, beef, chicken, fish, chocolate, almond, oat grain and wheat. I am allergic to coffee, beef, cantaloupe, mustard, peaches, peanuts, pistachio, soybean and spinach. Mind you, these are some of my favorite foods. I was eating peanut and mustard on a daily basis. And I love spinach...I know weird, but I absolutely love spinach. So please, do not alter your menu plans if I come to your house. I can still eat these foods, but it is probably not wise for me to eat these foods all day every day!

I took pictures of the process, which was not a comfortable process for those who are wondering. They first draw a grid on your back so they can keep track of which prick is which food. Then they poke you along that grid. Preston was absolutely hysterical by the time they finished. We are talking 8 rows of 5...totalling 40 pricks.

I think we are going to put up our Christmas tree tonight. We have the outside of our house decorated, but I have not done the tree yet because I have been focusing all of my energy on completing school work. Now I can start really thinking about Christmas.

The Good News and The Bad News

2007-11-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have had a rather disappointing day. Let me share the good news first. The good news is, I have completed two of the three projects that I have to turn in by next Thursday for my nursing class. I will be turning them in today. That is a huge relief for me. I have to thank Danny Anderson, for being so gracious and allowing me to skip music practice last night in order to come home to work on my projects. I did just that too! I didn't want to waste the time that I had been granted.

The bad news, however, is that I have yet to start the third project. Have you ever had a task that just seemed so daunting, you just don't even know where to begin? Well, this is how I feel about the infamous term paper that is due on Thursday of next week. Here is what I have accomplished on this task so far. I have gathered my sources and I have begun to read through them, highlighting pertinent information. I have not yet began writing the stupid thing though. I seem to have a block. I would love nothing more than to have it completed before Saturday afternoon and I honestly believe that I could, if I didn't have children to attend to and a husband to care for. However, the constant distractions and interruptions are hindering my ability to write about the Japanese familial structure and cultural practices. I know, the topic is so exciting, how could I have not yet started?

The other bad news is that I did not get into any of the classes that I needed next semester. I really needed the evening classes for my biology's, but there were all full by the time I was allowed to register. I did get into the nutrition class that I was hoping for, but that really does me little to no good in reaching my goal of getting into the nursing program by the fall of 2009. I don't NEED the nutrition class for entrance into the program. I do however NEED the biology classes. I am on a waiting list for all of them and I hope that somehow, a spot will open up for me. These classes are in such high demand though, that I don't really think that will happen. I went ahead and registered for a daytime class in Human Anatomy, but I don't know how I can work out a child care arrangement realistically for this. The lab is from 2:45 to 4:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays. I am going to check with Elliot's preschool to see if I can arrange for care for the two little ones. I just have extreme guilt for having to put them into a "childcare" situation. Also, this daytime class will require James to take the kids to school on Mondays and Wednesdays, because the morning lectures will begin at 7:45. I really wish there was an easier way for this. But the truth is, there is not an easier way. I should be able to get at least one of these classes during the summer term though. But I can foresee a childcare issue at the beginning of that since the summer term begins before James is done with school.

Oh well. I guess somehow, it will all work out. I am just really hoping that I don't have to put off entry into the program because of the scheduling difficulties that I am facing. We shall see.

My stress level has been extreme these last couple of days and I am really looking forward to the end of the semester! December 17th is my last final.

The Haps

2007-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

So, there is a ton going on in my life right now. But first, let me update you on my little shopping adventure.

I left my house at 11:30 on Thanksgiving night to head to the Tulare Outlet Malls for their crazy after Thanksgiving sales. My DH was sure that I wouldn't last all night. He told me that I would be back home and in bed by 2 a.m. However, 2 a.m. came and went and I was still going strong. Deborah and I spent an hour in line at Baby Gap Outlet to buy a total of three items (she had two and I had one). We finally left the outlet just before 5 a.m., but not to return home, just to head to Gottschalks that opened at 5. We were one of the first to get there and we got our free $10 shopping card. Cool huh? Then we headed to J.C. Penny's. But, we weren't done yet. We had a quick break for breakfast at Ryan's Place and then we headed out to a few more stores. I finally got back home at about noon on Friday. Then I showered up to head over to my in-laws' house for some games with some family that was here from San Diego. I finally got in bed at 8 o'clock on Friday night. I was up for 36 hours straight. Can you believe that? It is totally crazy! But I did it! I shopped all night!

This week I have two quizzes. The first of which is tomorrow. I have also been working on my projects for my nursing class. One down, two to go. Oh, what I would give for some motivation right now. But it is hard to focus when Christmas is just around the corner and I want so badly to put up my tree and decorate my house....but I have no choice but to keep up with the daily grind and work on my homework when I get the chance. I think the Christmas break, which they call "Winter Break" will be so welcomed.

I have registration for next semester on Thursday morning. I am really nervous that I won't get the classes that I need. They are in such high demand. I have my first and second choices picked out for all of the classes that I need. I really need to get into at least one. I also plan on taking summer school to get another one out of the way. The classes I need are Microbiology, Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. Doesn't that sound like fun? I am also going to try to take Nutrition this semester. So pray that I can get into one. I am going to have to be in class in the evening this semester...which I know will make it rough for my family. That's probably why they recommend that you go to college before you have kids. But, I always seem to do things the hard way.

The puppies are doing well. There is one runt who is quite a bit smaller than the rest of them. We are making sure that she is eating, but she just doesn't seem to be growing. I think Elliot has the "runt syndrome" too. Anyway, other than that...they are well. We are looking forward to their eyes opening. That should be by Saturday or so. I will be sure to put up pictures when they open their eyes.

Also, I have been slowly but surely, working on my Christmas shopping. I really need to have it taken care of before finals! That way I can focus. Focus, focus, focus. Oh, how I lack focus right now.

This picture of Preston was taken after his Thanksgiving program at school on Wednesday. They sang some songs, recited some poems and put on a great show for everyone.

The picture of all of the kids was taken Sunday before church. They were all in their matching outfits. Aren't they beautiful? You wouldn't believe how much effort it took for us to get Elliot to smile. There was crying and bribes involved.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day (feel free to post your response in the comments section of my blog)

What do you want for Christmas?

I really like to get money for Christmas. There are so many things that I want, but they tend to be pricey, so, if everyone just gives me money, I can put all the money together and buy something that I really want. I have a wish list, some crafting tools, maybe some clothes. I really enjoy shopping though, so money is great for me!

CRAZZZZZY

2007-11-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am getting ready to do something really crazy. It is 11:24 p.m. and I am getting ready to leave to go shopping. The outlet mall here opens at midnight for the after Thanksgiving sales, and Deborah, Aunt Teressa (James' aunt) and I are getting ready to head out. Our intent is to shop til we litter ally drop. Other stores begin to open at 4 a.m. so we can hit them as they open.

I really think this is one of the craziest things I have ever done. My kids and hubby are sound asleep after our wonderful Thanksgiving Day with family...and now the insanity begins!

Wish me luck!

Oh, for those of you wondering, the puppies are doing really well. We are so glad to have such a healthy litter. I just adore those little things!

Puppy Love

2007-11-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

They're here!! Lady gave birth to six, yes six, puppies this morning. We had no idea how many puppies that we would be having this time because we did not have an ultrasound beforehand. Lady had a litter of five last time, so we were expecting three or four this time. When I left for school this morning, there were four puppies. I came home to take her to the vet and there were five puppies.

I loaded her up to go to the vet and she didn't like that much. Lady doesn't really like you messing with her babies, but the vet likes to see her after birth to make sure that everything is okay. I took her to Dr. Haggard and he found that there was still a fetus in Lady's belly. He gave her pitossin (just like they give women to induce labor) and told me to call him if she had not birthed the last fetus by 2 o'clock. By the time I got home, Lady had given birth to the sixth and final puppy.

The kids of course are really excited. We just love having babies around! They look like little rats right now, but by the time they leave us, they will be furry little bundles of energy. Take a look at these pictures! We are so proud of our Lady dog! She is a good mommy! When I picked up the little puppy in my hand, you can see that Lady was not having that. She grabbed it by the foot to gently pull the pup back into her box.

A Visit From The Tooth Fairy

2007-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the Tooth Fairy had to make a little visit to our house today. Preston lost a tooth today. It has been loose for a little while now and the boy finally reached in and yanked it out today. I wasn't scared of that stuff when I was little either. I remember tugging and twisting at teeth until they came out. This is the second tooth that he has lost. Both times, I have missed it. The first tooth he lost when James and I were on our cruise in June. When he lost his tooth today, I was in class. And, both times, he has yanked them out himself.

Natalie is a different kind of tooth loser on the other hand. You can't even wiggle her tooth when it is loose without her totally freaking out. I have asked her if I could pull them for her and she absolutely refuses. A couple years ago, she had a front tooth that was just dangling for weeks by a tiny thread of tissue. When that one came out, I was so happy. Natalie usually loses her teeth when she is eating...they stick in her food and come out.

Elli now thinks that she is supposed to lose her teeth. There's nothing like seeing a three year old try to wiggle her little chiclet teeth out. My fear is that she will actually manage to rip her teeth out before they are ready to come out.

And since we are on the subject of teeth, I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. I have had a silver crown on one of my molars since I was very young. The tooth has grown since I had it put on and the bottom of the tooth is exposed. My dentist has been wanting to replace the crown for a few years now, but it just hasn't been convenient. Tomorrow I will go see the dentist and have the crown replaced. I am actually kind of excited, because he is going to replace the crown with a white porcelain crown. No huge silver tooth in the back anymore!! Yay! You have got to love modern technology. He is actually creating the crown to fit my tooth right there in his office while I wait. How cool is that?

I am sure that I will have some weird dreams now about losing my teeth or something. I guess that would actually be a nightmare for me. I spent five and a half years in braces, so my teeth are very important to me.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the Tooth Fairy left a five dollar bill for Preston. Gone are the days of a nickel or a quarter!

I am going to sign off now! I have got to go watch Grey's Anatomy.

I GOT A TATTOO--please read on for an explanation

2007-11-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

School started back up for me today and all of the things I had to get done flooded back to memory as I sat down in class this morning. The last couple of days have been out of my normal routine. Of course, Monday was a holiday and due to Preston's conference on Tuesday, I was unable to go to Bible Study. So today was back to the grind.

When I arrived at school, I stalked the parking lot and found no space. I ended up parking across the street, which I do quite often. I thought I might get lucky today and find a spot in the lot...but no such luck. Anyway, I was running a little later than I like, so I rushed across the street and hustled up the stairs to room 154. But, in my hurry, I walked right past the door of the classroom and tried to enter the room via a small alcove just past the door. The little alcove give the illusion of a door...but the point is, I was totally spaced out in my rush to get to class on time. It was kind of comical.

When I sat down, I opened my binder to check my syllabi for both my classes. I then remembered that last week in my nursing professor gave us a take home quiz, that I had not yet completed and I counted the weeks until all of my projects for that class are due. Only three weeks left! Crunch time is here.

By the way...we had a wonderful fund raiser over the weekend for the Sparks. Julie Wiley was so kind as to bake a ton of cookies and put them in bags for my little Sparks to sell. They really want new Sparks T-shirts and we were hoping to get about half of the money that we needed with this fund raiser. We thought we would need about $200 for about 20 shirts. Praise the Lord, we raised $371! Isn't that great! We have money to put in the bank for the next time we want to do something special. And these kids really deserve it. They are working hard and I have been really pushing them. I am really proud of them...and we have Christmas coming, so let the tough work begin. We are hoping to do four songs for Christmas! Ambitious? Yes, but they are capable!

I think I forgot to mention this in my last post, but I had my eyes tattooed over the weekend. Yes, crazy me! I had eyeliner permanently tattooed on my eyelids. I know what you are thinking. Yes it hurt at first, but they provide a really good topical anesthetic and once it really sinks it, you hardly feel it. When they got to the outside corner though, I could definitely feel it and it didn't feel good. I am still a bit swollen...my DH refers to me as "Puff Mama". But, the most irritating thing is that my contacts feel super scratchy since I had it done. I have been having to take my contacts out and wear my glasses and awful lot. I am hoping this improves. I want to just rub, rub, rub my eyes and I can't. It feels like little pieces of sand are in my eye. Talk about irritating. I just hope I can make it through church tonight without tearing my eyes out. Overall, I am happy with the procedure. I have to go back for a touch up in a month...ouch! How convenient it will be when all is said and done! Oh, the things we do to be beautiful!

A Gentle Reminder

2007-11-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my DH gave me a gentle reminder to blog. "You've been bloggin a lot lately!" Which was his ways of saying that I haven't been blogging at all. So here I am again. Forgive me for my unfaithful ways.

I had a parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Perry today. Preston is doing very well in school. I am proud of him and am satisfied with the report that his teacher gave me. It was the first time I had really talked to her and I really like her. I was informed that he is in the top reading group.

What else have I been up to? We have our family pictures on Saturday morning, so I have been chasing new clothes down for the kids. Of course, nothing I picked out fit Natalie. She is very hard to fit. She is so tall and thin.

Of course, Monday was a holiday. We used the day to go to Costco (twice) and I got a pedicure while James entertained the children by getting the car washed and taking them to Target. For lunch, we had Costco hot dogs. We recently got a new Costco here in Visalia. It is the largest in California. It is so crazy there...but do you think that keeps us away? Of course not.

I am also working on getting Lady Bug registered before her litter comes. She is a full bred Shih Tzu, but has never had papers, so I am working on that so that the puppies will be papered. I had to take pictures of her today. I picked her up and boy is she heavy right now. I think she may only be two weeks away from birthing. I am so excited!

I have to return to school tomorrow. It's like the real world is kicking back in. And I can't help but think how crazy my life is going to be from here until Christmas. Term papers and projects and Christmas shopping...OH MY! (Can you tell my kids have been watching the Wizard of Oz? If only I had a pair of ruby slippers to click and have my term paper done.)

Well...I am off to see the Wizard...well, maybe not the wizard, but my hubba-hubba DH!

Time Flies...

2007-11-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

when you are super busy. I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday. This week is almost over. I have been so busy all week long, time has just flown by. I am still playing catch up from being gone over the weekend. I have a list of things to do that I hope I can whittle down tomorrow, although tomorrow is busy as well, so I don't know that I will get around to those things.

I have spent the better part of this afternoon preparing songs for my Sparks. Christmas is just around the corner and I think it would be in our best interest to start working on those songs now. I am really being ambitious. I would like for them to do four songs for Christmas. Our normal routine is to do two songs a month, so it may be really tight. The good news is, they are songs that a lot of them will be familiar with (I hope).

I do have some good news to share with you all though. We are pregnant! Isn't that great? Okay, so it's not really me, but my dog is pregnant and I believe that she is due around the end of November. Winter is not the best time to be raising pups, but since I had no birth control options for her at this point, she got pregnant. We loved having puppies around earlier this year, so we are looking forward to it again.

I have got to run! I have a million things to do and I can't be chit chatting here if I am ever going to get them done!

A Whole Week!?!?

2007-11-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

Has it really been a whole week since I last blogged? I can't believe it. But here I am again.

I know I promised pictures of Halloween, and I am here to deliver. Better late than never right? We went trick or treating near a friend's house this year. The kids have more candy than they will possibly eat. But they had a wonderful time and that's what counts right? On a last minute whim, James and I decided to dress up. James went as a Raider fan (tattoo, white t-shirt, bandanna) and I was a rock star (pink hair, leather pants...you get the drift).

I didn't blog last week because I was so busy getting things for our ladies retreat done. We left Friday morning and headed to Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard, California. It is a beautiful place, right on the ocean. We had crummy weather the whole time we were there though. It was overcast, foggy, damp and very cool. I had a wonderful time though. You put twenty women together and there's no telling what might happen.

We had some great teaching via video presentation from Beth Moore. This is the first time I had heard her and she is an excellent speaker. I feel revived, refreshed and renewed. I think all of the women really feel like God spoke to them over this weekend. I know I certainly did.

And what would a retreat be without a little shopping? I found a couple great pairs of boots...snakeskin leather, over the calf height, stiletto heels. They are, in the words of my roommate Julie, "totally me". Nothing says Carissa like a pair of four inch spiked heels with hints of gold and some sort of animal print!

I had to include my favorite picture from the retreat. This is of our fearless leader Karen, a.k.a. Pearl Mini from Frogholler. She was the water bottle player in the "Mini Family" praise team tryout. This was all for our "NO TALENT" talent show. It was a riot! I can't tell you how funny it was! My submission was frightfully less entertaining....so without further ado, Karen's picture....

Oh, Karen, you will never live this one down!

Pumpkins

2007-10-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight we did the pumpkin carving. We made a mess of the table, but it was fun. The kids had a great time. We didn't carve our pumpkins last year, so this was Elliot's first experience with pumpkin guts. She didn't like that much. When I finally got the kids convinced, they dug in and helped me clean the guts out. I always loved the feeling of pumpkin goo when I was little. But now, not so much. By the way, the one with the sad face was James' pumpkin.

I had good intentions of taking my kids to the pumpkin patch this year. Preston got a pumpkin at school on Friday. A pumpkin guy brought a ton of pumpkins and gave one to all the kids at school. I wonder if that guy knows how cool the kids think that is. Thanks pumpkin guy! Elliot didn't get a pumpkin at her school though. Anyway, back to the pumpkin patch thing. I love to take my kids there because it makes for great pictures. I just didn't make time to do it this year. So, Elliot and James' pumpkins are grocery store pumpkins. It just isn't the same.

The kids are now watching the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin special. All of our shows are not on tonight due to the Charlie Brown special. That kind of stinks.

Tomorrow night we will be out trick or treating. Elliot will be a cheerleader. Preston is going to be Spiderman. Natalie is going to be a cat. I will be sure to post pictures of my adorable kids for you to see!

The Incident That Changed My Day

2007-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

You know those days when you are doing just fine? You are doing your thing, keeping on track, having a decent day. Then, out of nowhere, something happens that can just turn your mood on a dime. I had one of those things today and while I have managed to get in a better mood, this incident just really made me angry. When I think about it, I am angry.

I went to school this morning. No major problems there. I had a quiz, on which I did extremely well. The lecture seemed to fly by. It was interesting. No major problems there. I came home to plan my classes for next semester...found my first and second choices for all of the classes I need. No major problems there. I went to pick up Preston from school. He greeted me with a hug and a coin for good behavior. No major problems there....or so I thought.

I got into the car. We are always in a rush to go pick up Elliot from preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Preston's school gets out at 11:23 and we have to pick Elliot up across town at 11:30. I begin the cross town journey to Elliot's school and I smell something. It's a bad something. It smells like dog poop. So I begin to search. It can't be Preston. He is all the way in the back and this smell is close. Is it coming from outside? Surely the smell would have disappeared by now if it was coming from outside. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I swerve to the side of the road and get out of the car to check my boots. There is was...dog poop.

This is why I am angry about this whole thing. I went to the school and walked across the lawn to get Preston. That means, someone let their dog poop in the grassy area that children congregate right outside the school. I mean really, what were they thinking? That is just wrong. And with my track record, if there is gum or poop on the ground within 100 yards of me, somehow my shoes will find it. I am a firm believer in what goes around comes around. That is why I don't throw my gum on the ground. I really make an effort not to throw my gum on the ground because I know that if I do, I will step in gum. It may be a crazy idea, but I live by it. I also do not let my dogs poop at the park when I take them on a walk. It's the same idea...some might call it karma. So why, then, does this always seem to happen to me?

I had to clean it off before I got back in the car. I found a grassy spot and began to clean. I won't get too graphic but you get the idea. This made me a little later than I would have liked to have been to pick Elliot up from preschool. When I got there, I found out that she had peed her pants while at school. The girl is potty trained and has been for some time, yet the excitement of school proves too much for her sometimes and she refuses to stop what she is doing to go to the bathroom. Kids, what to do?

Anyway, as I said before, I managed to shake off this bad mood. I feel better now, but it is the principle of the whole dog poop thing that gets to me! It is so not loving your neighbor when you let your dog poop in their path!

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"Preston, look at my big 'o' ring."

--she got a ring out of a quarter machine today.

Preston's Quote of the Day

"You need to read me the Bible more because there were some answers I didn't know."

--I believe they had Bible trivia in Sunday School yesterday.

Yay Me!

2007-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have totally refrained from bragging this whole semester, but the time has come for me to brag on myself just a bit. I had my midterm in my nursing class last week. I was pretty confident that I had done well on it. I went to check out my grade yesterday and you will never guess who got the best grade in the class on the midterm. That's right, it is yours truly. I am also doing rather well in my history class. I have A's in both classes right now. My DH now refers to me as his little "school nerd." I can't help it. I have always loved to get good grades. School is one thing I do well.

We are currently watching the World Series. In case you live in a hole and you don't know, the Boston Red Sox are facing the Colorado Rockies this year. My DH is rooting for the Colorado Rockies because they have never won a World Series. I am not totally convinced that I want the Rockies to win. Taco Bell is giving away a free taco to everyone in America if someone steals a base in the World Series. Tonight, someone stole a base. So be sure you go to Taco Bell on October 30th between 2 and 5 p.m. to get your FREE TACO. James made mention that if you went to all three in Visalia, you could have three free tacos. I am not sure if that is completely honest, but now you have dinner planned for Tuesday night.

I have to admit, I haven't watched the news much lately. Actually, I hardly ever watch the news. But, I do know that there are some raging fires in California. My brother and his wife and baby are not near the fires. So, if you were concerned about that, you needn't be. What a horrible loss for all of those people. Can you imagine? And, that means that our house insurance will be going up next year. That is just too bad.

Well, the laundry is beeping. That means I have to go take it out before it wrinkles. I have a sneaky feeling that I probably won't post tomorrow, so have a great and wonderful weekend!

Where Art Thou Fall?

2007-10-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jeans and a sweater for the morning. Shorts and tanks for the afternoon. Okay, maybe the shorts and tanks are a slight exaggeration, but this weather is driving me mad! When we leave the house in the morning, it is approximately 46-50 degrees. It is quite cool. This afternoon, on my way home, the thermometer in the car read 86 degrees. So, where is fall? I am longing for cool crisp days and hot drinks (ciders, teas, coffees). Sure I can drink the drinks now, but it is not nearly as fun as drinking them knowing the weather is cool outside. It is the end of October. It is time for the weather to change!

My children did not get a nap today and I am now paying the price for that. I will be putting them to bed early tonight because they are acting like crazy people right now. Those of you who are moms will understand. When children get tired, they lose all judgement. They scream, they yell. They jump on the furniture. They cry and fight with each other. I was unable to put them down for their naps today because I had to go to a doctor's appointment. They stayed with my mom and they came home acting like they had never heard of rules before. To maintain my sanity and to avoid an appearance by Crazy Mommy, I sent them to their rooms. I love the sound of nothing.

I am sitting here just trying to come up with something more to write about. I have writers block...so I won't bore you with random ramblings. Instead I will leave you with a random question.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

Do you collect anything?

Not really. I mean if you consider crafting supplies a collection, then yes I do collect something. I am not a real nick-knack person however, so I am not a "collector." I do have a collection of Mary's Moo-Moo's that was started for me in high school. I loved cows and the collection of figurines (with names like Chip and Patty) began. I am over the cow thing though. I have kept them. They are in my office. I have no desire to collect any more of them though, because they are starting their own collection of dust.

I HATE IT WHEN...

I can't think of anything to write about. I would hate to bore my huge audience.

Aaaahhhhh(sigh of relief)....Routine

2007-10-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Preston started back to school today after being off for a week of Fall intercession. As you will recall from last week, my normal routine was really upset by this week off of school for Preston. Now, I am happy to say that we are settled right back into our routine. I love routine. I love organization. I love order. Don't get me wrong, I can function, and often do, in chaos and disarray, but life is so much better when there is order. In fact, I believe very much so that we serve a God of order. He isn't random and chaotic, but organized and orderly.

Preston came home with a coin today and was happy to share that they have re-arranged the playground at his school and added a new bridge from one section to the other. He also stated that he was very happy to be back at school and that he had a good time today. Last week, he told me he didn't like school and that he didn't want to go back. How quickly he changed his tune today!

I feel I got a lot accomplished today. I got some studying done. I posted my first submission at www.wordsinspired.com (have you checked out our site yet?). I got some work done for the church. I got some work done for the upcoming ladies retreat. Not to mention all of the regular things I do in a day (IE feeding my kids, dressing my kids, taking the kids to school, picking the kids up from school, going to school myself...you get the picture). It always feels good to get a lot done. I love it when I can whittle my to do list down to nothing.

I had a quiz in my history class today. I got nine out of ten. There is always, without fail, that one question that I second guess myself on and get wrong. I really thought one of the questions was a trick question. The wording just didn't seem quite right. That's the one I got wrong. I really hate that. But I am proud to report, for those of you who care, that school is going well. I am managing to keep up on my work and am maintaining good grades in both of my classes.

And now, I am going to give a shout out to my DH, because he deserves it. I won't be mushy, but I will give him props for the following...
*He has seen to it for the past two weeks, that our kids get their medicines (they are each taking at least three).
*He does the dishes.
*He gently prods me to get my blog done.
*He took my boots off for me today when I was too lazy to bend down and do it myself.
*He lets me play couch commando with the remote from time to time.
*He acts like he cares when I tell him about what I am learning about in my classes.
*He tells me I am pretty even without makeup!
There are many other things that my DH is good at. I am very proud of him. I just wanted to say, that these are the things that are really sticking out in my mind today. Thanks James! I love you!

So now it's your turn. Give a shout out to someone in your life who has done something good for you lately (your mom, your friend, your spouse). Who keeps you going? Who helps you out? Chances are, they don't read my blog, but that's okay. Give a shout out to them anyway and then you can tell them you gave them a shout out on my blog. Shout it out in the comments section! You guys are still reading, right?

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"You take too long."

---This coming from the pokiest person I know! She dawdles and I really mean dawdles!

You Would Be So Proud

2007-10-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Procrastinator no longer! Thursday afternoon, following my midterm in nursing, I marched myself right over to the library (which they call some sort of "Learning Center" or something now) and began the process of gathering my sources for my term paper in my nursing class. I was thinking, after I had completed my work for the day, "Now this is something to blog about." I really am proud of myself for taking the first step towards getting this daunting project completed. I now have $8.00 worth of photocopies to show for my work (the photocopies are 10 cents each, luckily, I had a couple rolls of dimes laying around the house). Now all I have to do is read them and write the paper, which is on the Japanese Culture and their health and illness views, practices, diet, etc.

This afternoon, I did my assigned reading for my history class. We are now on to the Cold War. While I don't always enjoy reading all of the fine details about this events in history, I am enjoying the discovery process that comes as a result of understanding these historical events. I now understand where a lot of our modern systems and ideas originated and I understand better how my life is shaped by them. This is why history is important. It helps us understand who we are.

I don't have a lot of time to "dawdle" (I tell my children not to dawdle), so I will wrap this one up quick and hope to return tomorrow with some fantastic story of my day or some very inspiring words for you. Speaking of "words", have you checked out www.wordsinspired.com yet? I have a topic brewing in my mind that I will be posting. It is on a subject that God has been speaking to me about for the past year or so. The posts I have read thus far are wonderful and I hope that you are reading them and enjoying them!

Have a wonderful evening!

STOP The INSANITY!

2007-10-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

I have had it with this whole fall intercession thing. My kids are insane. They are bored and they are fighting and they are running around screaming. I am so ready for school to begin again. I miss my routine, my precious routine! Oh, how I long for my old, boring, predictable schedule back. Crazy mommy has reared her ugly head this morning, as she has had to break up numerous fights while trying to clean the house. For the sake of all that is good and wonderful in the world, please make school start again!

The encouraging part is that fall intercession is almost over. I have had to shuffle the kids from grandma to grandma this week while I have gone to school (Elliot could have been in school if it wasn't for her fever). Thank God Elli is well now and she will be attending school tomorrow. I have a pedicure at 8:30 tomorrow morning and I think I may just take Preston with me. I am feeling extreme guilt because I have asked so many people for help this week and I just don't want to ask again!

I am now a contributor on another blog. It is www.wordsinspired.com. You should check it out! I was really honored to be asked to be a part of it. It will be really different from what I am doing here. But I think that you will find it beneficial and uplifting. It won't be me writing all the time, so you will get a perspectives from different people. Tim has already launched it and has written the first post and I must say, it is wonderful!

Well...I better run! I have to get my kids to my mom and then head off to take my midterm. I feel prepared for it, but who knows. You can only ever guess what the professor will expect of you.

I Hate It When...

I feel stressed out!

But don't we all?

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

What is something that you have accomplished this week that you are happy about?

I am really thrilled that I got my kids' rooms cleaned up and purged. I love that feeling that you get when I rid myself and my house of excess clutter. Clutter is just not good for your mind!

Hef and His Bunny

2007-10-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, you probably weren't expecting that title. My kids got new robes today and of course, they were eager to bathe and put their robes on this evening. Preston had his new pajama pants on under the robe and James and I couldn't help but be reminded of Hugh Hefner. He wore it as long as he could, then changed his clothes for church. When he got home from church, he immediately ran to his room to change back into his robe and pajama pants. Elliot had to get a boy's robe because there were no little girl robes at the store.

Speaking of Elliot, she has been sick since Sunday night. She had a fever and it has been on and off since Sunday night. I took her to the doctor on Tuesday morning and she has an infection in her throat and lungs. She is coughing like crazy and she sounds like a little smoker. James and I have been calling her Marge. With a hack like that, she could easily work in some dive of a diner, smacking gum and calling men honey.

I have been missing out on a lot the last couple of days due to Elli's illness. Luckily, I have been able to get to class, but I have missed Bible Study and I missed church tonight. I couldn't take her to church and have her getting all of the other little kids sick. I know that I don't appreciate it when people bring their sick kids to infect all of the rest of us.

I did manage to make a card tonight. I have been itching to get in my craft room and do my "thang", but I have been so busy lately, that I just haven't had the time. I think it turned out to be a total flop though (that is, by my standards). I just kept thinking, it needs something else, then I added the snowflakes on the right side and I think it went a little far. You can tell me what you think, but I am not really happy with it. It will probably be one of those that I send when I am in a rush and don't have time to make a better one. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. What if I send it to you?

I have a midterm in the "movie class" tomorrow. The midterm, unlike the quizzes, are not open book, so I decided that I should actually study. Although, I don't feel that there is really a lot of content to study. I have, however, seen more movies in that class than I have in the last year for pleasure.

I better go rescue my husband. He is waiting on me to watch our shows for tonight and he is watching random things. He started watching Waterworld with Kevin Costner, until I complained about him watching it AGAIN. How many times can they play that movie on television? I think James watches it every time it is on t.v. and I despise it (although I have never actually seen it). I can't stand movies with horrible backdrops through the whole thing. It's kind of like the kids' movie Happy Feet. The backdrop is white the whole time. I realize it is set in Antarctica, hence the white backdrop, but it just isn't interesting to stare at for two hours.

Wish me luck on my midterm!

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"When is James and Preston going to be home?"

---Yes, she called James, James.

I Hate It When...

My husband watches Waterworld and Quigly Down Under.

If either one is on any random station, he will manage to find it, watch it and drive me mad!

The Little Drummer Boy

2007-10-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Preston has always loved the drums. He is truly the Little Drummer Boy. I can remember him barely able to walk, making his way to the front of the church to beat on the drums. He is constantly beating something in the car or using pencils as his sticks, keeping beat with the music. His love for the drums has been set aflame by the parade on Saturday. Since the parade, he has been in his room beating the fire out of his little electronic set. On Saturday afternoon, he was carrying a little drum around, complaining that it didn't have a strap. I think it may be time for him to get a real set. We shall see. Christmas is coming.

Can you believe that? Christmas is just around the corner. Time is flying by so quickly. I feel so busy and I already have a knot in my stomach thinking of all that needs to be accomplished by the end of December. The knot is my stomach is only made worse when I walk into a store and see Christmas items everywhere. Can we get through Halloween first? Every year the Christmas stuff comes out earlier. Do they not know the anxiety that this causes for some? Even when I get things done early (which I seem to be good at) I feel like I will never get it all done.

On top of Christmas, I have a term paper to do for my nursing class. I think I am bipolar, because while I usually insist on getting things done early, I can't seem to bring myself to even begin the research for my paper. It seems like such a daunting task. I am officially procrastinating, which by the way, does not help that knot in my stomach. I should really get to work on this. Maybe Friday I will drag myself to the library and begin gathering sources for my paper on the Japanese culture and their health and illness practices and beliefs. Sounds interesting doesn't it?

Okay, here is my official "rant" for the week. I am going to entitle this "The Horrible Conditions of Room 154." I am in a history class on Monday and Wednesdays at C.O.S. that meets in room 154. This room is upstairs, has a huge window that the morning sun comes pouring through, and no individual room temperature control. Factor in, there are approximately 40 to 50 students in this class, all of which produce heat, as a natural function of their body. I said all of this to say, it is really hot and humid in that room. On mornings that it is cool and crisp outside, you walk into the room and a wall of hot, muggy air smacks you in the face. It is horrible. The lectures, which aren't bad, are lengthy. The class is an hour and fifteen minutes long. I just have to say, the conditions of Room 154 are almost unbearable. I would have said they are unbearable, but the fact that I have succeeded in sitting through all of the classes so far, proves that they are in fact bearable.

The Bachelor is on the television tonight. I usually watch in on Tuesdays though, so don't tell me what happened if you see me before I have watched it. But I am telling you this because, although my husband thinks the Bachelor is getting old, I don't. I realize that in Bachelor history, there are very few couples who have stayed together, but I don't watch it in hopes that one day this guy and this girl will grow old together. I watch it because, it never ceases to amaze me when these girls do stupid stuff to impress the man that they all "love" so much. I mean really, they barely know him. Yet, after a couple of dates, they are professing undying love and devotion (I realize two dates was probably the extent of James and my courtship, but we are not talking about me right now!). It cracks me up to see what they say to each other, what they say to the camera and what they say to the Bachelor. It's like a train wreck...you can't not watch. And, if we are all being really truthful, it makes us feel a little bit better about ourselves. It's natural to say, "well, I know I am not that stupid." So, if you watch it for no other reason, watch it to feel good about you!

I Hate It When...

My kids are sick.

They turn into whining, crying messes. Elliot had a fever yesterday, but is feeling better today. Praise the Lord! Preston is still on antibiotics for his ear and sinus infections, but is feeling much better. He is back to tormenting his sister, so that is a good sign of health.

The Belle of the Parade

2007-10-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Exeter Fall Festival parade was yesterday. Little Lambs Preschool (which Preston attended last year and Elliot attends this year) always has a float. This year, the float was Moses parting the Red Sea. It was a little disappointing that the weather wasn't better. It had rained Friday, and it was still very cool and overcast on Saturday. Elliot was definitely the cutest little one on the float! She was smiling and waving like the beauty queen that she is. I have no idea where she gets that from (wink, wink).

Before the parade began, James ran to the donut shop and brought us donuts. Preston chose a sugar coated donut and he had sugar all over him. He didn't eat the whole thing, so when Elliot rejoined us after her parade duty, she ate the rest of it. She had sugar all over her face as well. I have to admit, it was pretty adorable.

Our friends Manuel and Rachel joined us with their kids, Elijah and Ava. We had a really great time. We quickly realized however, that you cannot send a two year old and a three year old into the street to get their own candy. For them, it's all about the candy and they forget that another car or float is on its way. Manuel was on top of it though. He was quick to get them wrangled out of the street before they were just a spot for the street sweeper to clean after the parade.

Preston has fall intercession this week (this means he is out of school all week). I am in the process of finding places for him to go while I go to school this week. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be if you work full time and you have to find childcare for a week right in the middle of the school year. I really think all schools should operate on the same calendar. Unfortunately, James teaches in a different district than Preston's school. All of the breaks for Christmas and Easter start and end at different times and James doesn't get fall intercession. It just makes things so complicated.

I Hate It When...

The Raiders win!

I just really don't like the Raiders. I am sorry if you are a Raiders fan and this totally offends you, but I just really don't like the Raiders. By the way, the Raiders are losing right now! I'll cheer for anyone just to see the Raiders lose.

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"You're a nice mommy."

She finally told me I was nice instead of mean!

Quick Blog

2007-10-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

I only have a few minutes to get this done before I leave for church, so I'll make this quick.

Yesterday, I finally dragged myself and my children to the doctor on my husband's demand (not request). Preston was the only one who needed to have antibiotics. He has an ear infection and a sinus infection. See, I told you I wasn't sick. My DH insisted I was sick. No antibiotics needed! Yay me! I just have to continue with my nasal lavage, nasal sprays, and allergy medicines to keep from getting an infection.

I also took the kids to get a haircut yesterday. Elliot has never had her hair trimmed and we bit the bullet yesterday and trimmed a few inches off. It was in real need. The ends were just not in good health. Her hair is much easier to comb out now. Did you know that damaged hair gets way more tangled than healthy hair? So if your hair seems a little more tangled on the ends, it is time for a trim. Her hair looks so cute by the way! Preston also got his hair cut. Same ol' do.

Today, I was in the car explaining to Elliot what a lie is and that the Bible tells us that we shouldn't lie. I really didn't know until later that she was really paying attention. And with that said, I will leave you with....

Elliot's Quotes of the Day

"The book says you can't be mean Mommy." I responded, "What book?" To which Elliot replied, "The Bible."

Later Elliot told me

"You're a hottie hottie!"

I don't know where she heard this, maybe from my DH.

I Hate It When...

I miss a question on my quiz because I have second guessed my first choice.

I scored 9 out of 10 on my History quiz today (we are now at World War II).

I Can't Believe My Eyes!

2007-10-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Preston brought home a book from school this weekend. They are working on sight words which would be I guess the second step in reading, after learning the sound each letter makes. The words they worked on last week were "I" and "see". Their assignment was to read the book twice and I was to sign a slip saying he had done it. "Oh ye of little faith," is the only phrase I can think of to best tell you how I was thinking. I thought, certainly he is not going to be able to do this without my help. We sat down and off he went. He read the entire book perfectly. Of course, there are pictures that help with the big words, but Preston is reading! I couldn't believe my eyes! (Do you get it? Sight words? Eyes? Okay I know it's lame.)

We had yet another long and exhausting weekend. Oh how I yearn for the weekends of sitting on my tail end with nothing to do. It seems we were gone all weekend long. The kids went without naps all weekend and that makes for really exhausted children come Sunday morning. Oh, the wars of Sunday mornings! Elliot is by far the worst to fight with on Sunday mornings. She never wants to wear what I have picked out for her and she never wants her hair combed the way I think it should be. Usually I concede on one or the other. This morning, I actually resorted to a bribe. Preston was also a bit difficult this morning. Our early riser was exhausted and instead of going back to sleep, he got up and watched t.v. When I finally got the troops mobilized to put on their clothes, I found him putting lotion on his hands (not exactly what you want to find your child doing with church clothes on and in addition, we were running late!).

Elliot went to Sunday school class for the first time today. She is usually in the nursery on Sunday mornings, but I guess they have decided she is ready for class. I am really proud. Her teacher said she did so well. She told me it was like she had been in there the whole year. She behaved and did as she was told. She even cut out her own craft!

I have not been feeling well this weekend. The walnuts are being shaken right now, which puts so much junk in the air. I am certain I have a sinus infection and have resumed my nasal lavage procedures as well and my prescribed nasal sprays. I fear it is too late though. I don't know that I will get through this one without the use of antibiotics. The crazy thing is, I would really like to go to the doctor, but it seems like such a hassle now that my kids and I are in school. I have to drive to Visalia to go to school while they are at school. Then, it's back to Exeter to pick the kids up. If I were to go to the doctor, I would have to go back to Visalia after picking them up and I would have to wait for an appointment that was after lunch (which falls at nap time). Oh, it's a cruel, cruel world!

My new "column" in my blog is going to be the "I hate it when" section. So here I go!

I Hate It When...

I get something in my eye. I am a contact wearer and the tiniest piece of anything can feel like a rock in your eye!

Thoughts for Thursday

2007-10-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

What shall I say tonight?

I actually learned quite a bit in the class of many videos today. We only watched one video and the professor lectured! I was like a sponge, soaking up the knowledge. I was considering skipping today, and boy am I glad I didn't! I would have missed out! And after today's lecture, I feel completely prepared for next week's quiz. It helps that the quizzes are open book and open note. Did you know that hypertension is much higher among African-Americans than Caucasians?

Elliot and I ran quite a few errands this morning. Every time we got back in the car, she would say "What next, Mommy?" I was probably just the same when I was little, questioning everything that my mom did. Elliot has to know everything. There are many times that she asks a questions and when you tell her the answer, she tells you that you are wrong. I thought only teenagers thought they knew everything. If this is any indication of her teenage years, I fear what those will be like (I am sure this is an indication). I guess what goes around comes around. Is it too late to apologize for my errors?

I have been so busy this week, that Preston and I had to finish his homework before school this morning. His homework is due on Thursdays. He usually has a few worksheets to complete and they ask that you read at least four books with your child and record the titles on the assignment page. As of last night, we had only read one book. This morning before school, we sat down and quickly read through three books. Not the example I really want to set for my child, but at least we got it done. The thought of lying actually crossed my mind. The catch of it all at this age is, it's not really his fault if he doesn't get his homework done. It is my fault if he doesn't get his homework done. But, he wouldn't get to pick out of the treasure chest if he didn't get the homework done. So, really, it is like punishing him for something he can't control. We all know it would be torture for a kid to watch his friends pick out of the treasure chest while he sat staring longingly at the treasures. I have to get my act together on this! I just have such a hard time getting that reading done every week!

So, let me know what you think? Is it a child's fault if they don't get their homework done, or is it the parents' fault? At what age does it become the child's sole responsibility, or does it ever? Will I have to call my kids while they are away at college and ask them if they have kept up on their school work? By the way Mom, I am keeping up on my school work!

Gotta run! Survivor is on, then Grey's! Thursday is a busy t.v. night. How sad am I?

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"I don't have to go pee-pee. The pee-pee is sleeping."

Preston's Quote of the Day

"That's not bery nice."

Book Fair

2007-10-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the Book fair at Preston's school. We added all of the books up on one ticket, so I don't have a total for Preston's books alone. I do know that it was around forty dollars. It was wonderful to allow him to pick out all those books. I just remember loving the book fair when I was little and I saw the same excitement on Preston's face tonight. He picked out a dinosaur book, a Spongebob Squarepants book, a book about puppies, a Star Wars book and a Pokemon book. Elliot chose a Dora book, a Barbie book and a policeman book. I really hope that my children love reading.

I don't have a lot to say tonight. Truthfully, I am really distracted because I am trying to watch Private Practice right now. So, I think I will just sign off for the night instead of rambling on about meaningless, boring things. Good night!

There Was A Little Girl...

2007-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead,
And when she was good, she was very, very good,
but when she was bad she was horrid.
My mom used to recite this little poem to me all the time when I was little. I remember hating to have my hair curled and my mom putting curlers in my hair in the middle of the night. I would wake up furious! Today, I put my little girl through similar torture and got the exact same reaction that I gave when I was little. Elliot was a sobbing mess all morning before her school pictures. She cried when she saw what she was wearing. She cried when I put hotsticks in her hair (a first for her). She cried when I took them out and tried to pull the curls out of her hair. By the time we got to school for her pictures, she had cried all morning, her eyes were red and puffy and I had resorted to using candy as a means of bribery. Two weeks ago, she was begging for curls so that she could be like Loren, her friend at church.

But, the result was beautiful. Don't you agree? I took this picture after I bribed her with her Pez dispenser. She was happy to have the candy, but soon resumed the sobbing and crying.

I have been really exhausted today and actually napped while my kids napped today. I was in the middle of my history reading, when I couldn't stay awake any longer. Not that FDR's New Deal isn't completely fascinating, I was just worn out. James called at three thirty and I was completely out of it. He caught on quickly (I could barely put together a sentence) and I had to fess up to my mid afternoon nap taking. I am so blessed to have a husband who doesn't seem to mind. Trust me, he wants me to have plenty of sleep, because without it, I am become "Crazy Mommy", my wicked alter ego.

Preston came home with his book fair wish list today. It totaled about $32.00. Aunt Pat was closest (and she was the only one who submitted a guess besides me). Preston did disclose that he ran out of time and could not write down all of the books that he wanted. He had a list of about 6 or 7 and said he wanted more. Tomorrow night is Family Night for the book fair and we will try to make our appearance before we have to be at church. As part of his homework, we have to read at least four books together every week and I am really getting tired of Amazing Sharks and Dinosaur Babies. He has lots of books, but I am looking for some quick, easy reads. I am usually trying to cram four books in on Wednesday. Shame on me for procrastinating! I am not setting a very good example for the little guy!

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

Because love is blind, men aren't!

I'm NOT Afraid of a Little Spider!

2007-10-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Oh my! I was in my garage on Thursday night and I moved my trash can to find a black widow spider! Now, I am not really one to get too freaked out by things of this nature and Thursday's encounter was no exception. I found the spider and immediately ran to grab my camera. This was definitely a blog worthy event. So, here's a picture of my friend. Once I snapped a picture, I ran to get the Raid. I didn't know if that would actually work. I have only ever used Raid for ants. Sommer told me that Raid would kill this little visitor. Once I killed the spider, I used a magazine to flip it over and inspect its belly. Sure enough, there was the red spot that characterizes the black widow. I took a picture of that too! However, I thought this picture of the spider still alive was much better. I am really not afraid of spiders. But, if that had been a mouse, snake or frog, I probably would have totally lost it! Snakes, mice and frogs I "loathe completely" (to quote little Deborah-Loo-Who).

Friday morning, Natalie had a seven o'clock appointment to have four teeth pulled. James took the little ones to school while Nat and I went to the oral surgeon. We chose an oral surgeon because Natalie is what we consider to be a "high anxiety" patient. She cried when we took her to see the regular dentist, so you can imagine her reaction to having teeth pulled. Once in the room, they started Natalie on the "happy gas". This didn't really make her happy though. She was crying and I was ever so patient and reassuring (patting myself on the back). They started an I.V. line in her arm. She was pretty hysterical when they did that. They had me leave the room before they administered the anesthesia.

Once in recovery, I was invited to join Natalie again. This was a really funny experience. She was so rum dumb. She was asking what time it was. She kept saying the same thing over and over again. She thought the heart rate monitor was music and she said "that was quick" over and over again. Then she would ask "Is it over?" She is just like her daddy when she comes out of anesthesia. I really should start taking the video camera with me when someone is having general anesthesia. This would give anyone a good laugh. The picture of Natalie was taken while in the recovery room.

School is going well for all of us. Preston is learning to read common words. He has come home with several more gold coins for good behavior. I am learning about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The Great Depression of the 1930's. Elliot is, well, she is quite a character. According to her teacher, she is doing well and is quite popular. Natalie received a letter of commendation for good behavior from her teacher. She is a model fourth grader according to her teacher. I have a lot to be proud of. James seems to be having a good year as well.

Tomorrow Elliot's school pictures will be taken. Hopefully she will be in a good mood.

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"A little help please."--said as she extended one hand to James for assistance getting out of the bath tub.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

Would you rather be in a really cold place or a really hot place?

I am a red-head. Hot, to me, means sun and sun to me means burn! I don't do well in heat at all. I wasn't built for heat. I am a sturdy, heavy boned woman that is well suited for cold weather. I would much rather be cold than hot. I hate to swell. I only like to sweat when I am working really hard on something (it is more a measurement of effort for me). Therefore, I would much rather be in a really cold place than a really hot place. I do have a weird thing in the winter. Once my hands get cold for the winter, they stay that way until the weather warms back up again. I always have cold hands in the winter. YOUR TURN! Answer in the comments section!

You Can't Be Serious

2007-09-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday and that means nursing class. I arrived expecting to see two videos, just as the prof had promised last week. The two videos were over and I thought, "Great. We are going to have some actual discussion." To my dismay, the professor announces a five minute break which will be followed by......you guessed it....ANOTHER VIDEO! It was old last week. Now it's just down right ridiculous.

I took my mom to lunch at the "Grape Place" (Elli speak for the Olive Garden) for her birthday. We weren't able to go yesterday because she had an appointment. They are having their never ending pasta bowl right now. That is just a crazy amount of food. You get all you can eat salad, all you can eat bread and all you can eat pasta! I have never been able to eat more than the first serving of pasta, but it makes no sense to order the regular lunch portion of pasta, because it is more expensive than the same item in the "all-you-can-eat" version. Today, I was only able to eat about half of my fettuccine alfredo (which is what I always order). So, I will give you one good guess at what I am having for dinner.

Tomorrow is a big day for Natalie. Three teeth are coming out, whether they want to or not! I am trying to keep her as calm as possible about the situation. I am also trying to decide what I am going to do while she is having the procedure done. When I try to read in environments like a doctor's office, I get easily distracted and usually don't retain anything I read. I would have to read the same sentence over and over again, so I don't know that reading is a good idea. I thought about taking my laptop. I wonder if they have wireless Internet there. Does anyone have any suggestions for something to do while I am waiting? I think I will be there about an hour or hour and a half.

Preston is still doing well in school. Next week they are having a book fair at his school. I always loved book fairs when I was little. I really enjoyed reading. I know that comes as a shock to those of you who think I don't read at all. Preston likes books too. I am sure he will have quite a wish list when he comes home from school next week.

Preston has been telling me a story for a couple of days now and I am trying to figure out if it is true or not. Why don't you vote in the comments section? Here is the story. He came home the other day and told me that there were animals at his school and he saw an alligator. Today, in a more elaborate version he told to my mother, he said that he went to the cafeteria and there was a man with animals. The last animal this man pulled out was an alligator. My mom asked if it was a big alligator. Preston said it was a baby. He also said that they got to pet the alligator. So what do you think? Is he being serious?

Carissa's Challenge

Guess how much Preston's Book Fair wish list will be. I'll give a shout out to whoever has the closest guess next week.

My guess is about $42.00.

Preston's Quote of the Day

(I decided to give this to Preston today)

"I'm getting a dult tooth."

--his lower front tooth is growing in.

Time OUT!

2007-09-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

First things first. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to my Mom! Happy Birthday to you! My mom's birthday is today! This is my shout out to my mom! I love you mom and hope you have a wonderful birthday. God has blessed me and my brothers with a wonderful mother!

I know I have been gone for a bit, but I am back. I am a very busy gal you know.

The title of this entry is inspired by my role at home for the last few days. I have felt like such the referee. I am constantly breaking up fights between the two little ones. It is unbelievable. Both yesterday and today, I put them down for naps because I had enough. They scream. They yell. They hit. They get on top of each other. They do everything they can to get on each others nerves and they can really drive you mad. I am going out to buy a whistle and a striped shirt, because I have officially changed my title from "Mom" to "Referee."

Tonight is Wednesday night and that means church. Wednesday nights is the night I practice with the Sparks (ages 5-10). I am the Sparks music teacher. Every month we have a performance on the last Sunday night of the month. These kids are doing such a wonderful job. They love to sing and we always add some "moves" to our songs as well. These aren't you average, run-of-the-mill kids' songs. They rock and so do the kids! In case you didn't know, I am a rocker girl at heart! I love some heavy guitar and when we can use it to praise the Lord, it combines my favorite things into one! The kids and I get to rock out, dance and sing together! I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have become attached to the kids and how much I am enjoying it!

I am so looking forward to the series premiere of Private Practice tonight. Will you be watching it too? And tomorrow Grey's Anatomy premieres! I am on overload. I can hardly stand the excitement!

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"There's something in my nose. This side can't smell."--she has allergies too!

"Darkness, Preston. THIS is darkness."--Elli said this as we pulled out of the garage last night after dark.

Carissa's Random Question

How much product, if any, do you use in your hair in the morning?

I am a product girl and my hairdresser insists that's why my hair maintains its health. I use shampoo and conditioner of course. Once I get out of the shower, I use styling mousse and a product by Tigi called Uptight curl enhancer (crazy since my hair is straight, but it gives extra hold and control when I blow out my hair). Once my hair is dried and straightened, I used Rubberizer (a styling compound for texture and shine) and then hairspray on my bangs.

Aaaaa.....Aaaaa....

2007-09-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Aaaallergies! Aaa-choo! That's me! I am the allergy queen and this week they have really put a damper on my energy. Today has been the worst by far I think. I have been sneezing. My eyes are watering. My nose is running. My head hurts! It really stinks to have this problem. Why can't I be more like James? He never gets sick! He has allergies, but according to our allergist, my allergies cannot be treated with shots like his can. When fall and spring are in the air, my allergies are at their worst.

I am telling you all of this not to complain, but to tell you a very funny story that goes along with all of this. I have some fluid in my ear as a result of my allergies. I have been able to feel it and hear it for the past couple of days, but today it has been moving around like ocean waves in my ear. I went shopping today, as I told you yesterday that I would. As I was bending over trying on clothes, jeans and boots mainly for the cool weather that has to been right around the corner, I would lose my balance. So, as I am in the dressing room, it went something like this. Bend over to take off my pants, lose my balance due to my equilibrium being off from the fluid in my ear, hit my head on the wall. Bend over to try a pair of pants on, lose my balance, hit my head on the wall. The jeans don't fit, so I bend over to take them off, lose my balance, hit my head on the wall. Next pair of jeans. I hit my head so many times today. I lost count. But it was really funny. I didn't really hurt myself, I just kept hitting my head. I even laughed out loud in the dressing room as this was happening. I can only imagine what the lady in the next room was thinking as she hears thunk after thunk followed by a whole hearted laugh. In the end, I found some jeans and some boots (my husband didn't think I needed boots and he probably didn't think I needed new jeans either), and I have the bumps and bruises to prove it!

Speaking of jeans, does anyone else have as much trouble as I do finding a pair that actually fit right? It is ridiculous! I actually bought a pair of jeans today because they fit and the size on the tag was a whole size smaller than what I usually wear. Don't get me wrong, they look good and they are cute jeans, but when I saw that they were a six instead of an eight, I couldn't resist. Come on, admit it! You've done it too! Why can't they just knock all of the sizes down a number or two? We would all feel so good about ourselves, but the people that wear zeros would have to go to negative numbers. They mess it up for everyone!

James and be on a quest for yard equipment this weekend. We have decided to start taking care of the yard ourselves. I have offered to help with the planter beds, but he is going to have to do all of the "heavy lifting"of yard work. Our yard man just isn't performing the way we think he should and I am tired of dealing with him. This should be an interesting venture, since neither James nor I have done yard work before. We are actually going to have Manuel come over to show us HOW to do it.

Have a great weekend all! You have made it through another week and you deserve good times and a little R and R.

Crazy Busy

2007-09-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today was an incredibly busy and productive day. You know, there are days when I am really busy, but not really that productive. Today was not one of those days. My life revolves around balancing homework and housework right now. I dropped Preston off at school this morning, went directly to the grocery store and came home to put dinner on for tonight. Since I have school on Thursday afternoons, I usually try to do something in the crock pot for dinner. Tonight is roast. I wish you could smell what I am smelling right now. I am hungry and dinner smells delicious. Anyway, as I was saying, crazy busy! I started laundry, took care of some stuff for the church, called to reschedule my hair appointment, did the dishes (some by hand I might add), folded laundry, put laundry away and dealt with Elliot's fever on top of all of that. On my way to pick up Preston, I took my recycling in. $9.45! Yay me! This was all before 11 am, I might add.

Anyway, I have a rant to do...so I should really get it started. It may take a while! I have a class, a nursing class, that I am so incredibly frustrated with. Every week I go, because I am afraid of missing something important. And every week, we watch movies. I honestly believe that the "professor" doesn't know how to teach. I have watched enough "films" as she calls them, to last for a lifetime. I mean how many videos can you watch. The total time the "professor" has spent lecturing adds up to about 30 minutes top, and that would be a cumulative total for the semester. Ladies and Gentlemen, might I remind you that the class is from 2 to 5 every week on Thursday. I have yet to stay until five o'clock. That in and of itself doesn't bother me, because honestly, I am so bored I couldn't stand it if we had to stay until five. The part that bothers me is that I really want to learn something valuable and I don't know that I am. Instead, I feel like I am "doing my time." I know that the one week I don't show up will be the week the professor makes her one profound statement for the semester. I will miss that one life changing statement that she will make and I will never be the person that I could be if I miss it. Could this class be any more boring? The answer, NO! The good news? I don't have to go back for a whole week!

Friday is the official beginning of my weekend because I don't have school and my kids do, so I get three whole hours to indulge myself in anything from pedicures or hair appointments to laundry and house keeping. Tomorrow I have big plans! I am shopping for school clothes....for ME!

I don't know that I can give you anything more entertaining than that rant today, so I am going to call it a night. Oh and dinner is calling!

It's Like Pulling Teeth...

2007-09-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

Actually, it is pulling teeth. I took Natalie to Dr. Crane today for a consultation. She needs to have three teeth pulled and we decided it would be best for her to be under sedation to have this done. Therefore, we needed an oral surgeon. Natalie cried when Dr. McAuliff wanted to look at her teeth, so you can only imagine the reaction we get when we talk about pulling teeth. We need to make room for her very large permanent teeth that are pushing their way in and hopefully, this will keep them from overcrowding and will reduce the amount of orthodontic work she will need in the future. All of this stuff really adds up! Thank God for insurance. Her appointment is set for 7 a.m. next Friday. It's a good thing I am usually an early riser anyway.

Speaking of rising early, I didn't do that this morning. I slept in. I got up at 6:30. It really felt good. I could have stayed in bed until seven, but I have kids to get to school and I have school myself. My normal wake up time is 5:08 am. Yes, you read that right, eight minutes after five. I get up, throw on my clothes and head up to my workout space to do my exercise. I usually finish by about 5:50 am and head downstairs to make coffee and 4 slices of bacon. I have to get that little bit of protein in after I lift or my muscles will just deteriorate. I try to be in the shower by six so that I am not in James' way when he gets ready for work. At seven, it is time to peel the kids away from morning cartoons and get them dressed, hair combed and teeth brushed. Once that's done, I pack Elliot's lunch. At 7:35, we are out the door and headed to Preston's school. So there you go. Now you know all about my morning routine and I really like routines.

Today is Angela's birthday. She is my sister-in-law (James' brother's wife). So, Happy Birthday Angela.

Carissa's Random Question

What was the last thing you purchased?

I bought gas about an hour ago. It really stinks to pay $2.91 for gas. What I would have really liked to have purchased with that money would be some new boots, or jeans, or some more bella stamps (it's an obsession that you may never understand).

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"She's the ker-ker."

Which being translated is she is the cooker.

Random Tuesday Ramblings

2007-09-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is Bible Study day and this week, I made it! My car battery didn't die (if you'll remember, that's what happened last week). I was so relieved when I got there without major challenges this morning, I almost broke into tears. I was literally so relieved that my morning went smoothly and I just felt God when I walked in. I really enjoy BSF and Elliot was so disappointed when we couldn't go last week. Her BSF teacher said she did really well today, which is a vast improvement from last year. The norm for last year was to find her sitting in time out with Mrs. Grauman when I came to pick her up.

I had promised Preston yesterday that we would have scrambled eggs for lunch today. I don't like to have to drag out all the stuff to make scrambled eggs every day and yesterday I really wasn't up for cooking anything for lunch that couldn't be done in a microwave. When I make scrambled eggs, I use a bowl to beat the eggs. I don't like it when you just mix them up in the pan, they have to be beat in a bowl. I also add hot dogs to my scrambled eggs, so I have to use a knife and my little mini cutting board. Today, I kept my promise to Preston and made him scrambled eggs. He loves scrambled eggs! When I make scrambled eggs for him, I make them for me too. If you are going to get the dishes dirty, you might as well make enough for everyone!

After lunch, Preston worked on his homework. It is amazing to me how quickly children learn. He can read all the letters of the alphabet. To put it in perspective, the teacher will give them a prize when they can read 13 letters. He can read all the letters, both upper and lower cases. He also does very well with patterns. When I looked at the homework page, I thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but he did it without any help! I am really amazed. I really appreciate his eagerness to learn.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day

Are you registered to vote?

I am absolutely registered to vote. I am registered as a republican voter, but would not vote republican just for the sake of voting republican. I do have to say that I have never voted for a democrat though. I think it is important not only to register to vote, but to participate in the government by actually voting. You see, it doesn't really do much good just to register. I usually vote by absentee ballot. Have you ever tried to drag two kids to a polling place? Most people act like you are in a library. I always feel like you are supposed to be really quiet at the polling place and a three year old doesn't often see the need to be quiet, but usually insists on running circles around you or crawling beneath the tables.

T-I-R-E-D

2007-09-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Today, I believe that is true. This picture of Elliot was taken shortly after noon. We had just returned home from school (all of us go to school on Monday) and she was in the process of eating her chicken dino nuggets. Elliot was what we call "T-I-R-E-D". Often times, we spell out the word tired because if you say you think someone is tired, the kids immediately yell, "I'm not tired!" If I spell it out and say, "I think someone is 'T-I-R-E-D'", they don't know what I am really saying.

We all had a very long weekend and we are all "T-I-R-E-D", myself included. The kids didn't have naps on Saturday or Sunday, and didn't get up at six this morning, as usual. In fact, I had to drag Elli out of bed to get her to preschool on time. I couldn't sleep last night and five o'clock comes pretty quickly when you don't go to sleep until 11 p.m. The kids are down for a nice, hopefully long, nap as I type. Maybe I should have done that instead of typing to my two faithful readers! This picture shows how we are all feeling today!

I turned in yet another paper for "Dr. T's" history class today. I am not feeling so great about this one as I was struggling to focus as I wrote. Hopefully he won't read it too closely and will just grade it based on my previous high quality work. You know, I think teachers do that sometimes. I think they say, "Oh, Ms. Wiley's paper? She is an excellent student and writer. Why waste my time actually reading the paper? I know she knows that material. I'll just give her a ten." Of course, I say this all with the most humble of spirit.

I hope you had a great weekend! I hope you have a great week!

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"My head has broken glass."-said as she pounded the side of her head with her hand.

Carissa's Random Question of the Day-please feel free to share your answer as a comment.

Which season premiere are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to just having some good television to watch. I really hate the television "off-season." I also hate that Monday Night Football throws off all of my Monday night shows. If I have to pick one though, I would say Grey's Anatomy. This is my favorite show by far. I am also looking forward to How I Met Your Mother, Smallville (is Lana really dead?), The Bachelor (you know you can't get enough of this either), Desperate Housewives (Wisteria Lane woes). I am still not over The Class getting cancelled! I can't wait to hear all of your responses!

Gettin' Down and DIRTY

2007-09-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my husband helped our dear friends, Rachel and Manuel, put together a new play set for their back yard. It was quite a chore. They didn't actually get it finished on Saturday. But, this story is really all about the kids. They needed something to do to keep them busy while Rachel and I headed out shopping, so they found something to do. Since the concrete pad in Rachel and Manuel's backyard has not been poured yet, there is a huge dirt area. I don't mean just dirt, it is that really fine, dusty dirt. The kids found their shovels, buckets, wheelbarrows and other toys of the sort and got to work moving dirt. I have never seen my kids so dirty. I know that they really had a wonderful time. They crawled in it. They sat in it. They dug in it. They poured it on each other. As most of you know, I carry a camera in my purse at all times, and it is times like these that it really pays off!

Manuel and James were working under the patio cover to avoid the sun as much as possible during their assembly of the play structure. Preston was checking the status and quality of their work periodically and told his dad several times that he didn't think the piece they added would fit through the opening. Of course, Preston was rebuffed and sent to play. He checked back in and stated his concern about the size of the piece that they would have to move off the patio. Once again, he was sent away to play. To make a long story short, Preston was right. In order to get the piece off the patio, Manuel and James had to disassemble a portion. The moral of this story is, sometimes we should listen to our kids!

In other news, Natalie seems to be doing quite well in fourth grade. She entered a picture in the Tulare County Fair this year and won first prize! It looks like we have quite the artist on our hands. I haven't actually seen the picture yet, but I am hoping to see it soon. Hopefully I can post it on the blog when I get a hold of it.

Finally I would like to say that Elliot has to be the most battered looking kid in the world right now. She got a black eye this week from falling against the arm of the couch. She went to Preschool the next day and hit the same eye on the door frame of the classroom, leaving her with a small scab. On Friday night, she went to her grandparents' house and cut her leg. This girl is tough! I am sure she has had more bangs, bruises and cuts than both the other two children combined. Which brings us to

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"I have blood on my leg. It's blood for Jesus."

You are never to young, or old for that matter, to hear about the blood of Jesus Christ. My three year old understands that Jesus shed His blood for her. Sometimes this comes out in a weird fascination with blood, but nevertheless, I am glad to know that the basics are in her heart. I am so thankful that Jesus' blood covers all. Thank you Jesus!

Huge Sighs of Relief

2007-09-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I just finished my third paper for my history class. Whew (sigh of relief)! I am so glad to have that done. I send them off to my lovely friend Jennifer for proofing. She was my roommate during my short stint at Chapman University in Orange, California. She graduated with her degree in English. I don't know anybody more qualified to proof read my papers for me. The great part is that she insists she doesn't mind. Who knows, I might teach her a thing or two about history. (I seriously doubt that.)

Also, for those of you still held in suspense by the laundry situation, it is done. I mean, really done! (Insert another huge sigh of relief here.) I finished up loads nine and ten yesterday. I am currently soaking a pair of white shorts that I squirted mustard on. I have pretreated them several times with all sorts of different stain treatments and still have had no success with the awful yellow stain that sits inconveniently close to my zipper region. If you have the miracle cure for mustard stains, would you please let me know. You should post it in the comments section of my blog so that everyone will know the magic potion! By the way, I tried bleach and it started turning it pink!

I am ready for the weekend! The laundry is done, my homework is caught up and I am having a pedicure in the morning. I should be feeling really good tomorrow about 10 am, barring any major upsets. I am really ready to have a wonderful weekend. My oldest brother, his wife and my adorable little nephew are coming to town and I am looking forward to seeing them and loving on that baby! We will all be attending the Jason Cain benefit Golf Tournament on Sunday to support a long time friend of the family in his recovery from a brain infection. His recovery has been truly miraculous and we are so happy to hear that he is recovering so speedily.

Preston's new teacher has now implemented the coin reward system. He has come home from school twice this week with his "good behavior" coins. He seems to have adjusted to his new class. I was really concerned about such a big change, but Preston is a great student and has done well. He really loves homework. He constantly pressures me to do homework. I think he may be a little like his mommy. He loves to learn and is highly motivated to do well in school.

I have a really great quote from Elliot for today, but it requires a little bit of explaining. At dinner, we were discussing what Elliot's quote of the day should be. She hadn't really said anything terribly cute, so my mom and I started to probe her, hoping to evoke some sort of cute response. We began to ask her about her boyfriend, who she told us a couple weeks ago was Elijah. She told us she didn't have a boyfriend. I said, "What about Elijah?" to which she responded
"I lost it! Huh--lllloooo. I'm talkin' to you." (Think super cute valley girl talk...like totally.)

Just a note, if you scroll to the bottom of my blog and click subscribe, you will automatically get an email every time I update my blog!

Thank God for AAA

2007-09-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

You remember those Bounce commercials, where the lady pulls the clothes out of the dryer and holds them to her nose to smell them? That's me today! I broke and started the daunting task of laundry. I am currently working on load eight. I have one of those front loading super capacity washers, so you can imagine how bad the situation really was. I won't finish today. I will have at least two loads tomorrow. Yay me! I am patting myself on the back for getting down to business and conquering this awful chore.

Today was the first day of BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). Elli and I were very excited to get back to our Tuesday morning Bible study. We dropped Preston off at school and headed out to take care of a couple of errands. After high stress errand number two, with a three year old in tow, I got back to the car, strapped Elliot into her car seat and got in. I turned the key and the car didn't start. I try again and all I hear is this awful clicking noise. I won't keep you in suspense any longer, my battery was dead. I called my mom and after a brief discussion, decided that the best idea was for me to call AAA roadside assistance. My mom was also on her way to Bible Study, but I have to leave early in order to pick up Preston in time and I couldn't think of a good solution to get me there without causing her too much hassle or causing her to miss Bible Study.

AAA got there 3o minutes later. Thirty minutes is a long time when you are roasting in the sun in the parking lot of a title company. The men were very nice and got my car started. They had to push it out of the parking space in order to hook it up for a jump start. I headed straight to the battery shop to get a new battery put in. They got me in and out relatively quickly. Eighty-nine dollars later and with a car that will reliably start, I headed back down the road. I wanted to go to Bible Study, but I ended up missing it entirely. I am so disappointed.

Thank God for AAA. I really mean it. My husband doesn't have a job that he can leave and rush to my rescue when I have car trouble, and I have it quite often. So, for those few times a year when I have to call them, I am really thankful that I have this "insurance"! I really hate that I am so helpless when it comes to cars, but I am. AAA doesn't seem like a big deal, until you need it.

What are you thankful for today? So what do you have that doesn't seem like a big deal until you need it?

Elliot's Quote of the Day

"Those guys are cool."-said of the two AAA guys that came to jump our car.

The Wiley Family's Spot

Summertime Blues

Busy Weekend Equals...

What Will Grow?

HMMMM

Feelin' the heat

Oooohhh! So Cute!

Big Test Tomorrow

Here We Go Again

Quiz 1 Tomorrow

Let The Insanity Begin

Feeling Good

Studius Interruptus

I SHOULD BE STUDYING!

Busy Nights

Is it you?

A Quick Catch You Up

It's Pay Day...

Dreams Are Funny, Aren't They?

How Cool Is That?

My Toilet Runneth Over

V is for Victory

More Questions

Preston's Questions (Second Post of the Day)

Back In The Laundry Business

Preston's First Game

Pictures From Elli's Birthday Party

It's Monday, Monday, Monday

SHE IS RISEN INDEED

The Daily Dose

A Desperate Housewife

The Daily Report with Carissa Wiley

It's Blue

CASTing Call

Elliot Breaks An Arm

Brains

You can imagine my surprise

A Cute Preston Story

Eureka!

Like A Leprechaun....

Not Nearly Enough

Yeah, I know

A LOOOONG Day

What is fluffy and white and soft?

Empty Nest Syndrome

"Happy Balentime's Day"

DONE...DONE...DONE

I woke up this morning....

Study, Rest, Repeat

Did You Know

It's Friday

SUPER TUESDAY

My Handy Man

Creative Juices Are Flowing

The Diagnosis Is In

Rock On

PUPPIES

I've Got A Bone To Pick

The Crazies Are Out

Life Without Email

Sunday Mornings

Catchin You Up

The Lights, The Crowds, Tis the Season

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

HAPPY DANCE TIME

F is for

The Good News and The Bad News

The Haps

CRAZZZZZY

Puppy Love

A Visit From The Tooth Fairy

I GOT A TATTOO--please read on for an explanation

A Gentle Reminder

Time Flies...

A Whole Week!?!?

Pumpkins

The Incident That Changed My Day

Yay Me!

Where Art Thou Fall?

Aaaahhhhh(sigh of relief)....Routine