Biting Friends

My husband got home from his trip early this week. We were all very happy to have him home...
When he got home, I noticed about 100 bites all over his arms legs and neck. He thought they were mosquito bites, but they weren't as big as the normal mosquito bites. I promptly emptied his bag and did all of his laundry as soon as we got home. The next day, his bites were itching more. He was going crazy. I had him smothered in hydrocortizone to help with the itching. It seemed to work a little bit. His parents came over that night and his mom looked at him and asked if he was sure it wasn't "Chiggers". Never heard of them and so it didn't really register for either of us. The following day, he started blistering on some of his bites. I looked up chigger bites, and his bites looked EXACTLY like them. And chiggers are known to be in lake areas in the Southern states, which was where he was. Sure enough, he has chigger bites all over him...
But now I am freaked out. I stayed up a lot of the night on Tuesday because I was doing research on these microscopic creatures. These creatures can stay on your skin for 2-5 days. He was in Louisiana less than 5 days ago when I realized what he had! I kept thinking I was having things crawl all over me that night. Questions I have been asking myself: what if he still has some on him and they start living in our bed? I stripped the bed this morning and wiped it down with Lysol. But remember the previous paragraph where I mentioned that I promptly emptied his bag? His bag was on the bed on the comforter that cannot be machine washed. Do I need to fumigate the room? Are these things going to start taking over Arizona like the Africanized bee because he brought them with him?(Probably not, but you never know) And why on Earth did God create these things??? They are nasty!

Other than the Chigger bites and all that goes with it, I am so happy to have my husband home! We have not been apart for a very long time. It was good for him to be away for a few days. The last time we were apart from each other for longer than 1 night was when I was in the hospital after having Nolan, which was almost 5 years ago. As much as I really enjoyed having a Queen-sized bed all to myself, I really enjoy sharing it more...And having meaningful conversations at dinnertime!

Welcome home Honey! We missed you and love you!

Entertainment for the Boys

I am trying to entertain the boys while the hubby is away. So many times, I end up giving in to their requests for TV or Video Games. I really want to do something fun with them while he is gone AND while they are on summer break with their mom. I want them to be able to have memories of summer vacation of doing fun and inexpensive or free things. I had the oldest in Swim Team, Basketball Camp and Karate, but Basketball camp will be over after today and I really want to do something really great this Saturday...Any ideas?

PS. I deleted my last post because it was just too depressing for me to read over and over.

My Birthday today!

Thank you Brenda for all you have done for my birthday! You really know how to pull someone out of their funk!

As I woke up today to say bye to my husband (He is on a golf trip with our neighbor in Louisiana), he said that it looked like we got a visit from the Birthday princess (That would be BRENDA) I looked outside and saw the great balloons and chalk on the sidewalk. Immediately, I knew it would be a better day, even though Rob is not here to celebrate it with me.

After Rob left, I went to my computer and saw all the wonderful wishes from everyone on Facebook. Thanks Everyone!

Then, after taking the boys to swim lessons and Basketball Camp, I saw that Brenda devoted a post just to me...It's great to have friends who care so much about you!

Rob's Broken Leg

Rob broke his leg a couple weeks ago riding Nate's Ripstik. He has been in a bit of pain. The hardest part for him is not working out in the yard. I don't remember the last time our yard looked this bad! I wouldn't mind taking it on, but Rob comes from the old school where the man takes care of the yard (Although he helps me with the inside too.) He's my Wonderful Rob...
He went to the doctor today, and the doc said that it looks like it is healing OK. Rob has to wear the boot for 6 weeks. So now there are 5 weeks left...Hopefully. His foot/leg is bruised in spots that I didn't know bruised! Poor guy. The photos that I posted are from last week, which was 5 days after the accident. This week, he has bruising going up his shin,all along the side and on the bottom of the foot, on top of the toes. But he is a trooper. If it were me, I would get a doctor's note to get me out of work for several weeks, but not Rob. He went back to work last week, the day after he got his walking boot!

So Close!

Nate got 1 B. He was so upset. He just couldn't seem to be happy with himself. I was proud of him, but I guess I played it up too much before he got his report card that he COULD possibly get straight A's. Now, he feels that he won't be rewarded at all! But he got A's in reading and writing, 2 subjects that he has gotten B's and C's in his entire elementary school life, So WAY TO GO NATE!

A kid who gets straight A's???

We got Nate's progress report this week and saw that he is on track to get straight A's! He has struggled with attention issues at school since day 1 and his report cards have reflected on this deficit. I was so happy to see that he is doing so well, but now I feel like I should reward him.

Rob and I differ a lot on rewarding our boys and have never been close to the same page. He thinks $.25 a day (yes...I said 1 quarter!) is a good allowance and I feel that $5 a week is good. I feel like the kids should have new shoes for school every year and he thinks that if they don't have holes in them, they are still fine as hand-me-down tennis shoes. We rarely spend money on clothes because our neighbors spend an incredible amount of money on their boys and they give us all of the clothes...For instance, I got a bag FULL of Levi jeans, size 8 and 10. Some of the labels were still on the jeans. There were probably 5 to 6 pairs of each size! Don't get me wrong! I am not complaining in any way! I am SO completely grateful for the awesome clothes. We have gotten Sideout t-shirts, Old Navy polo style shirts, skater shoes, Old Navy trousers...NICE STUFF!!! But I just have no sense of reality in spending money for my boys. I feel that we are WAY under the norm (except in sports) on spending for kids, but I see others who are excessive. I want my kids to grow up with a respect for money and material things.

Do you reward your children for their good grades? What type of allowance do you give your kids? And what age do you start?

Update on Rob's new niece

Well, they did an MRI and CT scan on Rob's little niece Katlyn. They diagnosed Retinoblastoma, a very dangerous Cancer that attacts children under the age of 2. She went home yesterday because all of her other issues have gone away with being premature. She is just having problems with her left eye. They have to take her to UCLA soon because it is a rapidly growing Cancer, and I guess UCLA is the only place that specializes in Retinoblastoma.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

Perfect Day for us, Hope for a new niece

Well, we woke up extremely early to get to the early service at church yesterday. There was a special guest worship leader this week. Her name is Kendall Payne. She was so awesome! I have added her to my playlist.

We were home by 9 AM! We were able to relax and enjoy the wonderful holiday without rushing around. I absolutely love Easter! We had our awesome brunch that I was salivating over just thinking about. We were able to take naps. And then I cooked a great dinner for 16 people! It was a fantastic day! We had my family over, minus my "up-North" family, who are all getting ready for their Make-a-wish trip this week! Rob's step-dad, sister, niece and niece's boyfriend came. His mom didn't make it because she was at the hospital with her newest granddaughter, who is having a few complications. She is in good hands, as she is at the local Children's Hospital. They are thinking that she has cancer in the eyes and doing a bunch of tests. Her mom had the same thing when she was a little girl. Mom is now blind and has 2 glass eyes. But there is more hope now in this day and age. I pray that this precious little baby girl will go home soon to his mom and dad.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays!

I love Easter! I love that Jesus died for me and rose again! I love celebrating Him! I love going to Sunrise Service and praising Him!

I also love all the material aspects of Easter too, though and I tend to get caught up in them a little too much. I love having Easter egg hunts with the boys. I love having the Easter Bunny come with candy and small gifts, (but not too extravagant :)) I love having Easter Brunch! My Brunches are always extremely yummy! Not to say that I am a good cook, but I have some fabulous recipes, like chili egg puff, and tater tot casserole that just make my mouth water from thinking about them. I love having a big Easter dinner with ham, potatoes and "Magic muffins". I LOVE having Strawberry pie afterwards! I love having an Easter egg toss after dinner and trying to get egg on someone! I love the memories of going to my parents' friends house every Easter--the Lundbloms. They are truly special people! I could devote a whole post to them, but maybe later!

I think that Easter holds the most memorable place in my heart of all the holidays from growing up. And now that I am older, I am appreciating it more and more.

what are some of your traditions?

Life is getting back on track

For the past several years, I feel as though my life was quickly becoming a train wreck. I was getting older, larger, not so smart, and my spiritual growth was at a standstill. Well, I finally decided to do something about it this past year. First off, I went to Weight Watchers...I lost 15 pounds but gained most of it back...But I started feeling better about myself. Last summer, I made the decision to join a small group at a different church than the one we were going to. It was totally out of my comfort zone, because I enjoyed anonymity. We were at a big church and no one knew us. We could skip Sundays because no one was holding us accountable. But at the same time, I wasn't holding myself accountable either. I wasn't living the Godly life that I had wanted. When we joined this small group, I felt as though it was time to start living the life intended for me. I switched churches and immediately felt God's arms wrapped around me as if to say, "Well done, Good and Faithful Servant." I immediately started feeling better about myself; More confident than I had in a LONG time. I am actually started to turn to God again for my times of trouble. I even feel my husband starting to get it a little bit. He is actually teaching a lesson in a couple weeks. He will need a lot of prayer.

As I start feeling more confident, I realize that I was not put on this earth to be a stay at home mom. As much as I love my kiddos, I love them more when I am not with them all the time. I love teaching other kids the concepts of mathematics that are foreign to a lot of parents. I feel that I have a gift for it and I feel that I now have the opportunity to finally use that gift.

Yesterday, I signed up for some more classes. I have been going to the gym 3 days a week. I have lost 2 whole pounds. I have been reading the Bible and talking to God. I am really excited for this chapter in my life.