I'm the Cussedest Woman I Know

In honor of the book I just read for book club, that I LOVED ("These is My Words" )I had to start out by saying my new favorite quote, because I feel like I am the only parent in Brooke's kindergarten class that doesn't regularly come, as she informs me a couple of times each week.

So I am feeling the guilt everytime she looks at me with those sad eyes and asks "All the other moms come to my kindergarten class, why don't you come?

In my mind I have had good reasons, but really it comes down to I just have to make time for it.

Now that I am released as Primary President (as of this week) I really do feel like I have a little more time to do stuff like that.

And now that Brian's bowling season is over - cut short at the very end with an AMAZING AWESOME 13-1 season, just to come up short for sectionals and not make it to state - Brian will be home sooner than 8:00 each night and ALL DAY every Saturday.

(Although I DID have to peel him off the couch Saturday from his post sucky sectionals blues, as he was in his depths of despair depression, coupled with the fact that we were stuck watching TWELVE kids for our babysitting co-op and watching some horribly happy "How to Be a Ballerina" show. He showed restraint but let out his frustration while burying his head in a pillow and hitting it now and again.)

So, being the CUSSEDEST (isn't that the BEST word?) woman I know, I will have to make a more valiant effort to be present at the IN place to be - Brooke's kindergarten class!

The WORST VACATION EVER?!?!?!

Well, if you determined the best and worst vacation by how many things go right or wrong, we would be in BIG TROUBLE for this vacation!!!

It started out innocently enough - I left with the kids Sunday Afternoon (to be joined by Brian later) to drive the 3 1/2 hours down to my parents house.

Tyler had a MAJOR and SERIOUS asthma attack the 2nd night there. His immune system was down from being sick, and then he came in contact with lots of DUST and CATS - both of which he is allergic to at my parents house - does not end well. (He has not been treated yet for cats and dust through NAET.) After giving him the albuteral emergency stash for 2 hours straight - burning fever, rapid shallow breathing - at 5 AM I was TOTALLY freaking out. I was told if it was like that to call 911. Finally he improved enough where I was comfortable NOT to have to call them. That DARN CATS - they will never get any love from me!

Tyler's sickness got passed to Brooke, Kylianne, and I. Thoughout the whole house ALL WEEK all you could hear was hacking, barking coughs.

AND my best and only BRA with me - BREAKS! Safety pins are a PAINFULLY sharp replacement.

I had a HORRIBLE eye infection - but STUPID ME - I forgot my back-up glasses. And with a Perscription of -9 (yes, thats right NEGATIVE 9) that is DEBILITATING. I couldn't just not see anything all day, so I kept wearing my contacts - my eye got more and more red, and bloodshot, and weepy so I gave up. By the 3rd day my mom gave me a pair of my dads glasses - they looked really cute I'm sure - but they were just a DROP in the bucket. I could still see nothing. Joking - as an option - I put on my brother's glasses ON TOP of my dads glasses - and it was the perfect perscription. My dad is -5 and my brother is -4.

But then....I had to go everything looking like a mad raving TOTAL lunatic. My dad was doing his annual Christmas vacation cleaning on my teeth and his receptionist walks in and sees me - wearing TWO pairs of glasses, one on top of the other, no makeup because of the eye infection, a RED PUFFY eye, uncoiffed hair (I couldn't really see it to COIF it - I felt like I was seeing life through a fish tank). I could just HEAR her thoughts - " What has HAPPENED to that girl the last year - YIKES?!?!?!?


When we went to go see "Valkerie" I thought to myself that it was awfully cold in the theatre. I wore a winter coat and furry hood the whole movie. I keep the teeth chattering shivering all night - even with EIGHT blankets - until I woke up drenched in sweat and with a NEW PRESENT - a STYE on my eye!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH ME.

So the vision is gone, the well being is gone, and then the VOICE completely disappeared. LARYNGITIS my wintertime friend latched onto me BIGTIME.

No biggy - I just had to go to be at 10 pm New Years.

But then on the way home from my parents (yes we DID forget to say a prayer before we left) Brian noticed something awry. The car was making weird noises. Luckily we were right by an exit - a good 2 3/4 hours into the trip. We made it onto the offramp BARELY before our TIRE BLEW. IT WAS VERY DARK ...and...Well - we had no flashlight so Brian used his cell phone for a light. My cell phone was dead because I refuse to take my cell phone charger our of the charging station at home. Well, he got the jack on the car, and took the tire off, and then....

THE JACK COLLASPED. There was this FREAKY CRUNCHING and LURCHING noise, and then the minivan shifted its weight in an eery way. My first thought was that it crushed Brian. I rushed out of the minivan in the blustery cold night and found Brian throwing out Mormon curse words (FETCH) - PHEW he was not crushed and he was alive. The minivan did fall on his cell phone and CRUSHED it, so we could not call a tow truck or the police. And of course no one stopped.

So Brian ran to a gas station as we sat in a freakishly lopsided car right next to a huge ravine. We said lots of prayers - especially for what seemed like would be an expensive axle repair with no way to get home before Monday.

It seemed like forever before Brian came back. He said we needed to get out of the car right away. We ran with the kids all the way down the off ramp into the city and into a McDonalds gas station. They had refused to let Brian used the phone even after explaining the situation but a GOOD SAMARITAN eating there let him use the phone. The kids cried as we ran in the dark, windy, cold night, but we got there as Brian raced back to the car to meet the tow truck. Brian's dad was also on his way to come get us.

The kids, especially Kylie, were hungry. We bunkered down in a handicap stall while I pumped to get some milk for Kylie, as here crying filled the bathroom. She has been in here carseat for 9 hours straight by that point - and she was NO HAPPY camper.

LUCKILY our prayer for the axle worked - it was fine. Brian and the tower got the donut on the car and Brians dad followed him in the van.

Its a good thing we didn't stay for one more day (LOVE YA MOM AND DAD) because who know what the HECK else would have happened!?!

Welcome 2009!

Well, it has been an interesting year. We had a great Christmas.

Brian and I did our "12 days of Christmas" for each other again. We just gave each other random stocking stuffer type of things. Brian got me the CD of Twilight which I LOVE. I got him the "Perfect Push-Up" things. I love them. Brian thinks we need to revamp the format for next year and have the items in a stocking and the other person can pick which one. Whereas now we just give each other whatever we want anytime during the day.

We went to our annual "Do it Yourself Messiah" at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. Its a volunteer orchestra and paid conductor, concertmaster, and soloists. It is so fun. Everyone sits in sections when they come in - Sop, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. I sat in the Sop/alto section and just happened to be in an area with no other sops which made things more challenging. We went with my sister Tami and her husband Kevin.

We are vacationing here at my parents house where somehow everyone in the family is suddenly sick. Its the worst to be SICK during vacation. After taking IBProfen I have been taking advantage of watching the "Wasted Spaces" marathon on DIY Network while Brian has been reading "New Moon." He was not looking forward, in his words, of reading about how much Bella misses Edward so when he saw those BLANK PAGES he was relieved.

We did our annual gingerbread houses last night with my parents, my brother Brent, and our kids. At Brooke's request we made a HORSE STABLE out of graham crackers and candy. At Tyler's request, Brian and he made a train and tracks out of graham crackers and candy. My dad got ambitious and did the Saint Louis Arch with wire, foil, graham crackers and candy.

We all as a family decided NOT to go bowling here in the small-town bowling alley, which Brian claims is the worst lanes he has ever seen. There was also bottles and cans of beer in every nook, cranny and counterspace, and a fresh crew of motorcycle Harley Davidson Posse looking to shake things up. So as much as we loved that atmosphere, we decided to leave and went to the theatre and saw Valkerie. Very interesting story.

Welcome in 2009!