A Challenge

Before we get started, you need to go here to read this amazing post.

Done? Don't cheat - you have to read it first ;)

I met this lovely lady almost 14 years ago, right here in Monterey.  I remember when she announced to everyone that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  I was shocked, and scared for her.  I followed her journey as she shared each step of it (treatments, losing her hair, etc.) I gathered with mutual friends to raise money and Race for the Cure in her honor.

(Yes, that's a pregnant belly I have there)

I was so happy when she was finally able to announce her remission some time later. 

My Mom's mother passed away from breast cancer.  You also probably know someone who has, or has had breast cancer, and if you don't, you probably will in the future.  As my friend said in her post, it might be your neighbor, your sister, your aunt, your husband’s grandmother, your niece.......or it might be you.  When we lived in Korea I had a little bit of a scare when I found a lump in my own breast.  I was lucky it was nothing.  You never know when and where it will strike.

Do you do self-exams monthly?  That's how my friend found her lump.  That's how I found mine.  Do it!

Anyway, I shared this post on fb a while back, and got so much positive feedback from ladies at church, that I decided to organize a service project to contribute to this good cause.

The tutorial she links to is SUPER easy, so I'm challenging all of you to think about joining in.  Even if you only send in one, that's one more woman who will feel loved.

I especially like that she said, "Perhaps, as you sew it, keep a prayer in your heart for the woman who will clutch it as she leaves the exam room to face an unsteady future."

Happy Sewing!

Last Call

Last call for visitors!  We're not going to be here that much longer.  Actually, we're trying to move out of our house in about a month. 

My sisters Rebekah, Lorraine, and Lorraine's kids came around for their Spring Break.  We went to the beach a couple of times.  The first time was to what I call Sand Dollar beach.  You can usually find a few sand dollars if you spend the time hunting.  This time, however, we didn't have to hunt.  They were literally strewn ALL over the beach.  It was the most amazing thing.  We got a ton of them.

The second time we went to the beach where we had the bonfire.  There was a huge cruise ship docked in the bay. 

There were also MILLIONS of baby sand crabs. 

My kids usually try to catch the bigger ones, but they'd never seen so many baby ones before.  They were getting all over the kids as they swam in the surf, and it was kind of grossing them out.

We went back to Phil's Fish Market for dinner, and The Wharf for clam chowder.  At the wharf there were a whole bunch of people who had just finished up with some kind of art conference, and they were all out painting, sketching, etc. 

Some of the them were soooooo beautiful.  I wish I could have bought one.  I learned that Cora enjoys abstract and impressionism over realism.  Good to know.

We went to the San Juan Bautista mission, the Rock Shop, and ate at a delicious diner.

Finally, we decided to try out Six Flags. Never been.

 

It's possible that the above picture was the best part of the day for me. I'm not a fan of the twisty, flippy, upside-down roller coasters, or all the kiddie rides, or the carnival games.  The only ride I REALLY wanted to go on was the wooden roller coaster, which was closed :(  However, my kids had a great time, and that's the most important thing. Oh, except for the time that Alex got LOST!  Why does he try to kill me?  It was our fault.  He was still looking at the snakes, and I guess we didn't do a head count when the rest of us took off to see the butterflies.  We actually found him within about 10 minutes, but it felt like a lot longer than that. Such a not good feeling.

 

And then it was over.  And they went back to UT. 

 

The End.

Can We Go Back Yet?

Before Spring Break there was the whole month of February.  And also there was March.  Kind of skipped those.  Oops.

Dear February and March, you were good months.  I'm sorry I let you down.  Please accept this blog post as a token of my affection.

In February we camped at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  The camping spots are on top of the hillsides overlooking the Salinas valley. 

We played at the park and watched the formula one cars practicing on the track.

In February we spent Valentine's day at Disneyland.  It was the first time that all of our kids were old enough to go on all the rides.

It was the first time that we traded pins. I highly recommend it.

 

It was the first time that we went on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  Ummmm, why have I never been on this awesome ride before?!

It was the first time we saw Marvel at Disneyland.

As soon as we got home, we wanted to go back.  We pretty much want to go back every day.

In February we celebrated Cora's 13th birthday!

We had leftover stuff from her last luau, and she paid for the rest herself. She has been getting paid for babysitting, and she is getting good at managing her money. She is also very generous, and loves buying gifts for the family.  She has made a lot of good friends here, and I know she is sad about moving again.  But I know she'll make new friends in Germany, and she is also looking forward to new adventures, especially being able to go to Paris.  We will be in Germany until she graduates high school, and that's pretty crazy to think about. I anticipate Cora's teenage years to be quite enjoyable for everyone involved.

In March we....ummmm....what the heck happened in March?  Oh yes, now I remember.

In March we went camping at Pinto Lake Park.

We watched the sun rise.

We fed the ducks.

We played at the park, and walked around, and just enjoyed being outdoors.

In March I cut off the tip of my thumb, which I sort of successfully reattached.

And Joe slammed his finger in the door. His fingernail is weirdly bent now at the cuticle, which you can't see in this picture.

In March we had our first bonfire on the beach with a bunch of friends, and sent of some floating lanterns over the water, just like in Tangled.

 

In March we FINALLY got all our paperwork done to get our orders to Germany!  It's coming up fast folks.  Don't blink ;)

Last Day

Can you believe it?  By the last day of Spring Break I still wanted my kids around.  I wasn't ready for them to go back to school.  After such a rocky start, who would've thunk it?

Can I just say it?  I really like my kids :)

I like Cora because she's old enough to make delicious chocolate peanut butter cake, but young enough to still want to make a huge blanket fort in the living room.

I like Cora because, even though she gets annoyed with the other kids sometimes (like when she's babysitting and they won't listen to anything she says), she still loves them, and wants to spend time with them and roll them into burritos.

I like Cora because other people like Cora and they tell me all the time.  They remind of all the reasons why she is such an amazing person, and how lucky I am to be her mother.

I like Joseph because he has a tender heart.  He FEELS things.  Sometimes that's hard to get a lid on, but it's also one of his greatest strengths.

I like Joseph because he marches to the beat of his own drum.  He might not be the leader, but he's not just a follower either.  The kid is completely comfortable doing his own thing, and he enjoys his alone time.

I like Joseph because he has a great sense of humor.  He makes up his own jokes (which are usually spot on), and if one flops, he says something like "I need better material to work with."

I like Madelyn because she reminds me that I'm not perfect.  We all need to be humbled sometimes, right?

I like Madelyn because she's as girly as they come, but she's not afraid to play with the boys, get dirty, and catch gross things at the beach.

I like Madelyn because she does everything 100%.  If she is mad, get out of her way.  If she's just met you, you're her new best friend.  If she's riding her bike, she will break the sound barrier, and you will see her little life flash before your eyes.  If it's worth doing, it worth doing it with all she's got.

I like Alex because he's my cuddle bug.  He'll let me kiss his cheeks as much as I want, which is a lot.

I like Alex because he takes his art very seriously.  He puts in his hours, because practice makes perfect.  We go through a lot of paper around here.

I like Alex because he loves to dance as much as I do.  He hears the music and he just can't help himself.  The music is inside of him.

Second Day

Annie was right, the sun came out.  Everything was going great today.  Great breakfast.  We cleaned the house.  Babysat a cute little boy.  I wasn't mad anyone or anything.  Feeling good.

Then I went to the dentist.

I've always had a fear of the dentist.  Why would any sane person NOT be afraid of  pain, sickening smells, and horrible noises that cost you hundreds of dollars.  It's why I ALWAYS had to use gas (not just to take the edge off the pain, but to take the edge off my fear).  It's why I don't like certain flavors (that I associate with the gas).  It's why I have rarely been to the dentist during my adult years.

All of that changed when I went to Korea.  My dentist in Korea......I love him.  He should be sainted.  After the first couple of visits I was never afraid to go again, and I went regularly.  The pain was minimal, even when giving those stupid shots for numbing (his method was perfection), even when doing a root canal.  I never needed the gas, because there wasn't pain and fear.  I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it was a pleasant experience, but it was definitely a whole new world for me.

Sooooo, when I went to the dentist yesterday (which was just for the initial exam and x-rays) I wasn't nervous.  It's like I had forgotten all the years previous to Korea.  And when I went today to have a filling done, I wasn't nervous either.  I just sat back, breathed deep, and was ready to go.

And then my dentist got started.

Even as I'm writing this, my heart is starting to beat faster, and my hands are shaking a little.

As soon as he started giving those stupid shots to numb me, I started to scream inside my head.  It's not like he was barbaric, but he was just like EVERY other dentist I had ever had before Korea - that is to say, he was NOT my dentist in Korea.  He did not have the perfect, magical method, where I could hardly feel anything.  It hurt.  Is it the worst pain I've ever felt?  Of course not!  The problem is, that specific type of pain is tied in directly to my fear of dentists.  As soon as I felt that pain, all the fear came rushing back.  They gave me a few minutes alone to wait while I got good and numb, and I sat there in a panic, my hands shaking, and a few tears escaping before they came back in.  I held it together on the outside, but on the inside my fear was magnified by the smell of the anesthetic, and then by the sound of the drill against my teeth.  And then it got worse, because this particular cavity just happened to be right up against a nerve, so the drilling started to hurt.  He had to stop and give me more shots, which didn't work, and then MORE SHOTS, which didn't work.  He finally put on a temporary filling and said I need to come back when the nerve has had time to retract.

I cried all the way home.  Like, ugly crying.  Of course, I'm still raging with hormones, so I'm sure that contributed somewhat.  I had to pull over to the side of the road just before I got home so I could pull myself together.  None of my kids are scared of the dentist, and I didn't want them to see me so upset, and then maybe get scared themselves the next time they have to go.

I'm asking for gas next time.

First Day

Ugh.  First day of a two-week Spring Break.  Usually I like having my kids home during the breaks.....and then I like it when they go back;)  But today was a rough start.  If this is any indication of the next two weeks, then I quit.

Kids fighting first thing in the morning.  Very. First. Thing.  There was a 15 minute ban on talking.  It's a good thing they took me serious, because I was ready to get out the duct tape (I'm not even kidding).

I may or may not have said, "I hope when you have kids you have one that's just like you."

Checked our finances, and we are not doing as good as we thought. (deep sigh).  Going to have to get creative this week.

Dentist appointment this morning, and 4 future appointments scheduled (including one tomorrow).  Lots of money that we don't have.  Thank goodness none of the kids had cavities. That's right, it's all me.

The dog peed on the couch, because she was so excited when I got home from the dentist.  I was not as excited to see her. Pretty much not at all. Pretty much I wanted to kill her.

Diarrhea.  Enough said.

The dinner I made was bland.  Actually, nobody complained but me, but I just wanted a nice dinner after a poopy day, and I didn't get it.

Thought we were all done with paperwork for our new assignment.  Not quite.

And to top it all off, hormones are raging.  Thanks Mother Nature.  Perfect timing. 

Because of the above mentioned hormones, I was just mad all day.  Just mad, for no reason.  It was irrational.  I even got mad at a stupid article on Yahoo that was trying to tell me how to make the perfect toast.  Toast?!  Are you kidding me?  That is the stupidest thing ever.  Doesn't it just make you mad?  No?  Whatever.

I should not be around people for a couple of days, but I have four little people that are here to stay.  It almost makes me look forward to my second dentist appointment tomorrow.  How sad is that?

I can just hear Annie in my head now....."The sun'll come out, tomorrow!"

It always does.

Get Your Groove On

If you know me, then you might know that I love to dance.  A lot.  Really.  A lot. 

It's very sad that my talent in this area does not equal my enthusiasm.  I am not a good dancer. 

I think I mentioned once that I broke up with a guy because I didn't like the way he danced.  It makes me cringe every time I think of it - not his dancing, but how dumb I was.  Did you know that the first date Joe and I ever went on was Latin dancing?  Joe is not as dumb as me, so he didn't break up with me for that.

So I was thinking of those memes I keep seeing on facebook - the one's that say, "What my friends think I do, what society thinks I do, what I think I do...."  Do you know what I'm talking about?  Anyway, I'm going to use that idea here about my dancing, in video form.  Do enjoy.

What society thinks I do.

What my husband thinks I do.....he might be a little biased ;)

What my friends think I do.

What my kids think I do.

What I wish I could do.

What I think I do.

What I actually do.

Or maybe it's more like this.

Or this.

And this is what I'll do someday.

The end.