A little health update...

Those of you on Facebook will already know this information. But for those of you not on Facebook, this is what is going on with me.

As you know, I have had issues with a heart skip for the last two years. When I visited my dr in Wisconsin he checked me over and told me I was fine. 

I asked him if I could do tests to make sure so he had me wear a heart monitor for one day and do an echo. My heart did not skip during either thing so I have always been worried that maybe if it had they would have seen something. So I was told I was fine and just tried to move on.

But it has haunted me.

So, Doug's mom told us about a place here in Utah that specialized in Heart rhythm. And they took our insurance. 

Monday I went in and met with the dr. He noticed my thyroid was enlarged. I had the WI doctor tell me that too but never do test so I figured it was fine. 

But this dr wanted to do tests. 

I also wore a heart rate monitor again, this time for two days. And it did skip this time so I know they have all the info.

I am also going in next Monday morning for a stress test.

But fast forward to the next day- Tuesday.

The doctor called me and said that my thyroid labs were showing a problem. He set me up with an endocrinologist in Salt Lake City.

He also had me go on heart meds. 

My heart rate has been fast for a long time. I don't even remember when it wasn't.

Like 120 beats per minute. 

I didn't know that was a problem until a few weeks ago when I saw something online about what it should be. 

My blood pressure has always been perfect too. 115ish. Every time.

But Monday it was 145. 

I do think that was partly because of how nervous I was but we didn't want to risk it.

So, Tuesday night I started taking 25mg of the heart med because I was too nervous to take the whole pill. 50mg.

The Thyroid dr called and set up my appt for Wednesday.

My sister watched my kids both days by the way.

THANK YOU STEPH for being there for me both days!

So, got to the appt in downtown Salt Lake City.

They took my blood pressure. Back down to 120. Still not as low but much better.

My heart rate was 97. 

I talked to him about my heart med and he assured me it is a safe one and told me to go ahead and take the whole 50mg.

He checked my thyroid and said it was indeed enlarged, showed me the labs and what the numbers should have been, and he noticed something that I noticed just about a week ago. That my left eye is bigger than my right eye.

He took me back to a room for an echo of my neck.

I have Graves' disease.

It all made sense once he started explaining it to me.

This causes eye issues (hence the one eye bigger than the other and my dry eyes), it can cause anxiety, skin issues, muscle and joint issues, irregular periods (I thought I was going through menopause the past few months), thin hair, being sensitive to temperature so for me being hot all the time, fatigue, inability to lose weight or lose too much weight depending on what your body is doing. He said for me it has a lot to do with my inability to lose weight fast no matter what I do, and lots of other things... but it can also cause heart issues.

He put me on a thyroid med and in a few months I have to do a radiation iodine treatment and then go on another pill for the rest of my life.

We are hoping that once it gets under control that I will stop having to take the heart med and that it won't have issues anymore.

I had to do more labs that day and found that my vitamin D levels were down so now I have to take that too .. because this disease can suck the calcium out of your bones.

So, I have gone from the girl that never takes meds of any kind to taking them three times a day.

I do feel good most of the day. My heart has still had little flutters about once a day but yesterday I checked my heart rate and it was in the eighties.

I also feel kind of calm and that is pretty abnormal for me.

I had someone tell me that their family member died from heart failure because of this disease which made me nervous but then I was contacted by my WI friend Holly and told that she has it too so that made me feel much better about what I can expect. 

I think that we caught it relatively early... not sure how long I have had it. If it has been from before my heart started skipping or if that was caused by something else and this is recent and made it worse....

Thank you Holly for telling me about your experience.

I have also found out since Wednesday that a lot of people on my King side have thyroid issues.

This is where I am now.

I will update after my stress test.

My birthday

 I made some fun plans for the girls and I since it fell on the first day of Spring Break for Abi. But that all changed when Easter night Abi woke up around midnight throwing up.

 So, my birthday we spent at home making sure Abi wasn't really sick. I have no idea what it was all about but she never threw up again and was her normal self all day.

My sister surprised me by coming over that morning with my nieces McKenna and Courtney to bring me gifts. My sister gave me this awesome welcome mat and McKenna gave me that perfect wooden block! So, I did celebrate a little for my birthday!

I also had the book and card from my mom.

Tuesday Abi was still good and none of the rest of has had caught anything so we did a little late celebrating that day. 

We went to IHOP for breakfast.

I got a card from my Grandma and my Aunt Celia in the mail!

That night I made Cafe Rio Salads and got to open the rest of my presents: a few great things from Abi (that belonged to her but she wanted to give to me), some books (of course!), and the X-men movies.

I really enjoyed the day. 36!

Mom's Play

As everyone who knows me knows, I don't believe it can ever be too early to plan or make things. So, with that in mind I began making some things for upcoming birthdays and holidays over the past few weeks.
First, I saw this idea on Pinterest of making dolls out of popsicle sticks and washi tape. I thought it was adorable and a really good way to give Maddy something she will like but won't take up a lot of room.
This is what I came up with....

They were really fun to make so I started brainstorming what else I could make. I decided to do another set but this time they would be Disney princesses. I didn't use any of the tape this time. Just markers.

In order: Jane, Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White, Aurora, Alice, Tinkerbell, Tiana, Cinderella, and Brave.

They didn't all turn out exactly how I wanted but I think they are really cute. 

Abi loved watching me make them and decided to make some of her own. She came out of her room a few minutes later with these...

I also started on Halloween costumes. I let Maddy pick from my Pinterest board and was so happy that she picked the scarecrow. I took my inspiration from this idea.

I couldn't figure out how to make the hat so I decided to just get a straw hat and sew some felt on it. It was a long process but I watched Doctor Who while I did it so it was fun!

Here is a picture mid process...

and the finished hat...

The big 35

Sunday was my 35th birthday. I really had the whole weekend count as my birthday since it was on a Sunday this year. Doug and I went on a date to see the Hunger Games on Friday night, we went out to eat on Saturday, and Sunday was spent as a birthday should be- in pajamas, reading, and eating junk food. :)
The one low point of the day was when Maddy decided to get into her soiled diaper during naptime and paint on the walls... I'm sure she was just trying to make a birthday message for me. She got a bath and then we got back to the fun... like presents and cupcakes!

and boy did she enjoy that cupcake!

My loot:

I got the yellow and purple flowers for myself so we could have some pretty flowers and then the next day I got the most beautiful bouquet ever from my sister's family. She said yellow always makes her think of me and the bouquet contained all of my most favorite flowers! I got 3 of the books with the gift card to B&N from my parents. Then the cookies, Diet Pepsi, and Beyonders book are from my little family. I also got some cash from my grandma and aunt and gift cards from Doug's parents that I am still working on using!

Thanks everyone. It was a great birthday.

Hair cut

For all those who have asked .... here is my hair cut..

Not the best picture in the world but you can tell how it is quite a bit longer in the front in the back. I love it. It is so much easier now.

Reaching my goal and looking back

I am so glad to hear that Jocelyn is going to continue having Book of Mormon forum blog hops after this month because I enjoyed posting about the Book of Mormon. 

I have been really immersed in it this month and it has been a great experience. However, there were so many things I still meant to post about. I sat down numerous times over the past two weeks to write out an idea I had and the inspiration just wouldn't come. I didn't want to write anything if I didn't feel that push to it. I hope that makes sense. But there was one more thing I really wanted to write about and since today is the last day of October.. today is the day!

I had a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by today. There were days when I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I finished yesterday. Like I have said before, even though I have read it before many times, this time felt like the first time for some reason. It has changed me. I still have so far to go. As Jo in Little Women says, " I am hopelessly flawed." but I feel like this experience has given me a new perspective and a stronger desire to work on those flaws.

I had so many testimony building moments over these months. I have had so many in just the past few days. I know this Book is true and therefore I know this Church is true.

I have found a happiness and purpose that I never had before. 

I want to thank Jocelyn for allowing me to be a part of the Book of Mormon forum. She truly does an amazing work with her blog and I feel blessed to have been a part of something like this no matter how small a part it was. 

If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, I urge you to. If you have but it has been a while or you have stopped believing, please pick it up again. 

I was inactive for quite a few years in my twenties and I never prayed to know if the church or scriptures were true at that time. I never asked Heavenly Father if I was on the right path because I didn't want to hear His answer. But I have prayed this time. And I received confirmation. I know it to be true. And you can know too.

Pure bliss

Is there anything as truly wonderful as kissing your sleeping babies on their foreheads?

Just don't tell Abi I called her a baby... she has become SO grown up since starting kindergarten!

Okay, this post may make me a candidate for becoming that mom in Love you forever that climbs into her grown child's room to rock him....

Wait. What was I doing?

Distraction.

Something I deal with often. 

I get distracted easily. 

It is not uncommon for me to be in Target with Abi and have her suddenly say, "Mo-om! You're getting distracted." 

I will have my list but see something cute and wander over to it. And when this happens I usually end up spending more money than I want to or should. 

I have been thinking about distraction a lot lately. 

I recently used a new tool in my scripture study that I will be posting about a few times this month. It is a book by John Bytheway.

I remember going to Education week as a teenager and swooning over John Bytheway from the audience. We even got his autographs and pictures with him. Silly.

A few months ago I heard about this book. 

I was getting close to the war chapters in Alma and thought this might help in my study of it. 

It did!

I would read the chapter in the Book of Mormon and then read the corresponding chapter in this book. It added so much. 

The war chapters that used to just be drudgery to me all of a sudden became interesting and thought provoking and I learned so much from them. 

At the end of the book he has a chapter titled Aftermath. It gives an overview of a lot of the lessons learned in the chapters and then he gives a list of things he came up with that describe the Nephites when they were successful and the Lamanites when their armies failed. 

The first thing on this list is 'Distracted'. 

He then describes their distraction as "not doing nothing but doing something else".

He also quotes Elder Richard G. Scott, "Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction." ("First Things First," Ensign, May 2001,7)

After reading this I had to examine my life. How often am I getting distracted from what is important? Am I neglecting reading my daughter a story because I want to read my own book? Am I missing an opportunity to teach or play so I can surf the internet? Am I neglecting my scripture study so I can watch a tv show?

I don't believe we have to give up these things but it is important to try to recognize when they are coming before or instead of something that should be the priority.

The Book of Mormon is such a great tool in helping us figure out what these priorities should be.

I believe so much in the power of the Book of Mormon and the lessons we will learn from its pages that can apply to our lives today.

To read more about the Book of Mormon:

October Ensign magazine

The Book of Mormon 

Tidbits

Yesterday Abi lost her 2nd tooth! She came home smiling with pursed lips and I knew something was up. I asked her if she lost her tooth. She unzipped her jacket to show me her 'I lost a tooth' sticker on her shirt. They put her tooth in a little tooth shaped box on a necklace. She was so excited. She told me that she almost cried when it fell out because she was so happy.

Abi came into my room this morning with the Tooth fairy box because she wanted me to be with her when she opened it. I thought that was sweet. When she opened it she exclaimed, "50 cents! I can buy two gumballs!"

Maddy is growing up so fast and starting to say so much. Most of what she says is still gibberish sounding but occasionally a word will come out clear and I love that. Last night as were reading her favorite books, Too Purpley and Polly's Pink Pajamas, she was talking right along with the books saying things like "Polka dotty" and "Nink a namas" (Pink Pajamas). Some of the most recent things she has been saying are, "Nickey, Nickey"= Mickey, Minnie (meaning she sees or wants her dolls), "Aggy"= Raggedy Ann or Andy, "baf"= bath, "Apple", "Reassy"= Really (I asked her about something and when I said, "Really?" She said, "Yesss (with her lisp) Reassy."), and my personal favorite- "Yes siree!"

Letting go

I love fall cleaning. I don't love doing it. Many may be surprised to know that I do not enjoy cooking or cleaning. I do them because I do love taking care of my family... otherwise we would eat mac and cheese every meal and live in a messy house. :)
The reason then that I love fall cleaning is because it is such a wonderful feeling to sit back and look at a room you just cleaned and know that not only is it dusted, vacuumed, windexed, and decluttered but that all the fabrics are freshly washed, the walls and baseboard have been washed, the window panes have been cleaned, the vents are cleaned out, there is no dust on the ceiling fan or the tops of furniture, the books have been moved and dusted under, the drawers have been emptied, cleaned and re organized. It makes it feel so much cleaner even if it looks pretty much the same.
I have really purged a lot of stuff this time around. I have only done the two main bathrooms and our master bedroom so far... today I tackle our closet and Maddy's room. Tomorrow will be Abi's room. Then next week I get to do the downstairs.
Yesterday I spent an hour or so going through all of my CD's. I had a period in the late 90's when I bought every CD that had a song I liked on it. And I listened to country music back then. What?!? It's true. I have looked at those CD's so many times thinking I should get rid of them but haven't. They aren't in cases. They were in those black zippered things that hold just the CD and cover. So, yesterday I went through all of them and got rid of so many CD's it is crazy.
I mean really am I ever going to listen to Mariah Carey, P.M Dawn, or Boys 2 Men again? Not likely. I still like some of the songs on the Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and Bryan White CD's but do I ever get them out because I am in the mood to listen to them? Nope. Every CD that went into the pile I thought " If I really want to listen to that song I can look it up on youtube."
Then there were some I really liked but as I looked through the songs in the cover I realized they really weren't appropriate. I like Avril Lavigne. She has been a favorite for years although she has become too much like all the other little pop clones in the past few years. I got out her CD's and contemplated. I decided to keep her first one because I really like it and have listened to it in the last year. The last one though- I got rid of. Why? Every single song except maybe one or two had swear words in it. I realized I would never listen to that entire CD with the girls around and that made me think I shouldn't be listening to it when they aren't around. So, it went in the pile.
Now I have gone from 4 CD holders to 1 1/2.
It felt so good. As I looked at the pile of past country stars, pop stars, and random one hit wonders I felt a weight lifted off of me. I don't know why I had been holding onto those for so long when for the most part I listen to my Mumford and Sons, Taylor Swift, Muse, and Owl City Cd's and every once in a while get out something else. But it did feel so good to look at that pile and know that I didn't need them and I wouldn't miss them.
However, if I had a New Kids on the Block Cd in there I would have totally kept it.

Fall cleaning, Head colds, and power outages shouldn't mix

This has been quite the week around our house!
I am in the midst of my fall cleaning and fighting a bad cold at the same time. But there have been some pretty funny moments mixed in there!
Wednesday morning I was getting a load of clothes washed in preparation for the day. I had visiting teaching to do at 10am and wanted to wash my jeans. I had more fall cleaning to do at Maddy's naptime (I can only deep clean when she is in for rest time so I have designated a room a day) so I wanted to wash a bunch of washrags. That day I would be cleaning our bedroom so I also had our curtains to wash as well as the sheets, duvet cover, and throw blankets.
The sun was starting to come up, the girls were awake, and I was just trying to get done as much as I could before I had to get Maddy out of her room. Abi was already downstairs watching cartoons. I was about to jump in the shower when the power went out.
I looked outside and there were no storms or anything so I figured it would come back on pretty fast. Abi came running upstairs about it and we got Maddy out of her room.
I decided to hold out on the shower until after breakfast hoping the power would come back on.
I mentioned to Abi after breakfast that I had no idea what time it was so I was going to run up and hurry and get my shower so we would all be ready for the bus when it came. She and Maddy were going to play in Maddy's room while I was doing that.
A few minutes into the shower I hear Maddy in my bathroom. I look out and she is holding the pink toothbrush from under the sink. She is just looking at it. This is the toothbrush I use for cleaning toilets. I had just used it the previous two days on both the upstairs bathrooms. I panicked. I have no idea how long she had that thing. I jumped out and got it from her, put it back in with the cleaning stuff, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth just in case.
Then I got in to finish my shower. Upon getting out and finding that the power was still out I knew I wasn't going to be able to blow dry my hair or get dressed since all my nice clothes were in the washer. I put on some yoga style sweats and a tee shirt and decided to look outside to see if any kids were at the bus stop yet. There was one.
I thought, "Oh I better hurry and get Abi ready." Then I realized the one kid at the bus stop had a Hello Kitty backpack. It was Abi.
I ran down the stairs to find the front door wide open. I yelled for Abi to come back inside. She had got dressed and ready and went out afraid she was going to miss the bus. Her outfit was fine but I helped brush through her hair better and then told her to sit on the couch and watch for other kids.
The power was still out.
At this point I was just stressed out. We had a friend of Doug's from high school stopping by while she was going through Wisconsin and I had told her to come by early in the day because Abi would be getting out of school early and I thought Doug could get home early. But he had told me that morning that he had a meeting at that time and wouldn't be able to get home until normal time.
I needed to tell her that but I couldn't get onto my email or facebook to send her a message.
I couldn't call her or Doug to have him do it because our phone is through our internet and therefore was not working.
I have no cell phone since we lost it at Doug's parents house in Utah and no one has found it yet.
I got Abi on the bus and played with Maddy for a while hoping that any minute the power would go back on.
Pretty soon I started worrying about my visiting teaching. I knew it must be getting close to 10 but I wasn't sure. Then I thought about the garage door. I went to see if it would open. Nope. I was stuck. (I know now what to do if I have to open it manually)
I realized I wasn't going to be able to go and they would have no way of knowing why. I couldn't get a hold of them to tell them I wouldn't be there.
Then suddenly the power came back on! I looked at the clock. 9:45!
I rushed upstairs only to realize I had nothing to wear except the sweats I was wearing or shorts. I opted for the shorts even though it was chilly out. I threw Maddy in the car and we rushed out.
Crazy!
I never did find out why the power was out.
I was able to get a hold of everyone I needed to and the day ended nicely. I was exhausted by the end of it but it is one of those days you look back on and just laugh.

Scripture Study

A while back I was browsing Sugardoodle and found this Scripture Journal idea. I loved it and I decided right then that I was going to do it. I followed the links to the different blogs and one I LOVE. It is the Redheaded Hostess. She has so many awesome study ideas.
I think I have done the normal scripture study where you check out the footnotes when you want to know something extra or looking up scriptures based on a certain subject. I also took seminary for three years in school and did homestudy as well my senior year so I could graduate from it and there was a level of 'study' to that as well.
But I have never studied the scriptures to the extent I have been doing for the last month. I got a cheap copy of the Book of Mormon that I wouldn't mind marking up A LOT and then ordered the seminary study guides. So, I began to read using the workbook. It makes me think about things I hadn't before. I also study by subject on days when I feel like I want to do that.
Here is a picture of my table of contents in my scripture journal- modeled completely after the one in sugardoodle because I liked it so much...

most of my notes are on regular lined paper but occasionally I use one of these sheets that I got from the links to do comparisons or subject study...

These are my main study materials: my seminary study guide, my scripture binder, and my scriptures.

and here are a couple of samples of how marked up they have become...

The reason I really wanted to share this is because it has changed me. That sounds silly but it really has. This study has affected every area of my life. 

I have had inspiration before. Some that I have followed and some that, regrettably, I have not. I know what it feels like. But I have never had it so many days in a row before and so often. There have been so many days over the past month where I have been studying a chapter and had a question pop into my mind and then almost instantly an answer. There have been things I have always wondered about that have been cleared up for me.

There have been nights when I couldn't find an answer right away and I just kept searching and cross referencing and reading over and over again and then suddenly, it's there. 

I have read the Book of Mormon many times but I have missed so much. There have been days when I read something and I'm completely caught off guard and sure that I have never read it before, even though I know I have. 

I have said before that I felt like I should say that the Book of Mormon was one of my favorite books but that it wasn't. I always wondered if the people who said it was their favorite book really meant it. Now I understand. It has finally become one of my favorite books. 

I have gone from having scripture study be something that I am supposed to do to something I look forward to doing. I have spent anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours in the scriptures over the course of a day. 

My attitude has changed. My patience, while not perfect, has improved. I feel so much better. 

I really hope that my sharing this can convince someone that may need it to try it out.

Ponderings on Pride

I have never thought of myself as a prideful person. I don't go around thinking I am better than others. In fact, to be honest, I think I go around comparing myself to others the opposite way... wishing I was more like this woman because of this and that woman because of that.
When I have heard talks in church on Pride or lessons given on Pride I haven't really taken them to heart because I didn't need them.
That was until a couple of weeks ago. I was playing around on a website and printing off some talks that she said were "must read".
One of these talks was an old one. It was entitled "Beware of Pride" and was taken from the May 1989 Ensign. It is by President Ezra Taft Benson.
I began the article the way I would any article on pride, half interested.
Then I got to the line, "The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's."
Uh-oh. No, this isn't a normal attitude for me but I have to say there were a few things that have come up in the past few years that it seemed everyone around me felt one way about and I felt the other way about. I just wasn't sure about this thing. So, I rationalized it and kind of half ignored any doctrine I heard that supported the general feeling. This immediately came to mind when I read that sentence which led me to believe I need to re think it a little.
It gets better.
In our religion we are told that each member is a missionary. Not that we have to go around trying to give everyone we see a Book of Mormon but that we shouldn't be afraid to share the gospel with people. I am really afraid of it. I always worry that people will think I don't want to be their friend and just want to convert them when that wouldn't be the case. Did you catch that? I worry what people will think of me.
Excerpt from this talk: "The proud stand more in fear of men's judgement than of God's judgement. 'What will men think of me?' weighs heavier than 'What will God think of me?' "
Oh. Oops. Still, it gets better.
A little further in the talk he states, "Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above them."
Yes, that's me re-thinking my issues with authority..... still gets better....
A little further on..." The proud are not easily taught".
Mom, how many times did you tell me that I wasn't 'teachable'?

"They won't change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong."

I began this talk thinking I had no problem with pride and realized that I guess I do. Just because I have always been known to say, "Don't tell me what to do." doesn't mean I have to continue that attitude. It brought to mind the times I would be walking to my room with the vacuum and hear my mom say, "Don't forget to vacuum your room."What would I do? I would put the vacuum down and go do something else.
I know that part of it is a legitimate part of my personality and I know I will never be perfect at being told what to do but now that I realize it is pride I think I can follow the advice he gave at the end of the talk:

" Alma said, Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble. Let us choose to be humble. We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His , and putting Him first in our lives. Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can."

Good Mail: Birthday and Easter edition

The day after my birthday we got a surprise package in the mail! It was from my sister Stephanie's family. The box was decorated so cute and that made Abi so excited!

Inside there was some Easter goodness for the girls and a birthday present for me. Abi immediately used the stickers to write a thank you note and then dove in to the candy.

These were the things for me...

The necklaces cracked me up! They are completely perfect for me. I have a feeling that a little conversation I had with my sister a few weeks ago when I told her that I freaked out about something the girls did and threw a cardboard box at the door led to the little green necklace! So funny.

April Fools? What's that?

I will be posting about all the fun we have been having around here in a few days when it calms down but for right now I thought I'd post a funny little story.
Being born on April Fools Day I never got pranked. I guess most people realize it's not very nice to prank little kids on their birthday. It never happened.
We never celebrated April Fools with pranks in my home. It was always a birthday celebration day. Because of that I kind of forget about the joke aspect of the day.
So, the first April Fools Day after Doug and I got married we were living in his brothers basement apartment. 
I was getting ready for work and Doug was still in bed asleep. I had the radio on.
The radio hosts were talking very seriously about something so I turned it up and listened more closely as they told us that a whale had fallen off a truck on the freeway near Provo. They were calling for volunteers to come help keep the whale hydrated and pour water over it. 
I flew into a panic.
I started gathering every pitcher, plastic bottle, and bucket I could find to fill with water and woke up Doug telling him we had to get down to Provo to help with this whale. I was about to call into work to let them know I wouldn't be there. 
I was near tears.
Doug calmly says, "Cheryl, are you sure it's real?"
To which I replied, annoyed, "Of course. Why wouldn't it be real?"
Then he reminded me of the date. He told me to think about it for a minute.
I wondered how in the world a whale could "fall" off a truck. Then I felt dumb. 
Doug chuckled and went back to sleep. I went to work.
But I have to admit I was a little nervous all day until I found out for sure that it was a prank.

Caterpillar issues

I want to beat a little caterpillar. There. I said it. There is one caterpillar that I thought was dead earlier that is not. He has been spending the last few hours tormenting the two caterpillars that are in the upside down position ready to get in their chrysalides. He keeps scooting over to them and nudging them. Now he won't leave the one in the chrysalide alone. It almost looks like he is trying to eat it. I'm sure our friend Ryan thinks I'm a crazy woman because he was just on the phone with Doug and I was yelling at the caterpillar to stop being mean and leave the other ones alone. Yeah, I might be a little crazy.

Final Day of the Blog Challenge

In this past month what have you learned?

I have learned that even though I blog a lot, it is really hard to have to blog every day. There were a few days when I didn't get the time and I would quickly do the post the next morning. Then there were times like this one. I should have written this one yesterday but didn't get around to it so I am doing it today.

I have learned that I walk around thinking I am so different from everyone else and I think now I have more in common with those around me than I thought I did. That's nice.

I have learned that I like having a subject to blog about other than just our outings. Although it was hard to blog every single day, I thought it was really fun to dig in to a few of the subjects and open up.

I am glad I did this challenge and glad that a few of you are doing it too!

Blog challenge day 29

The last ten movies you've watched:

These movies span all the way back to the end of last year because most of the time when I have been sitting down to watch something it has been netflix tv shows. I have been watching Greek, Grey's Anatomy, and Lark Rise to Candleford.
But I have seen a few movies too so here we go....

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I have loved the Indiana Jones movies for as long as I can remember. This one was no exception for me. I really like Shia in the Transformers movies and I think he and Harrison Ford played off of each other really well. This one barely made the list because Doug and I watched it last night. We had seen it before but he bought it on blue ray the other day so we had to watch it on the new tv!

I know people who didn't like this one but I really do like it. 

2. P.S. I Love You

I love, love, love this movie. I think it is so romantic. I own it and have watched it many times but was in the mood for it again last week because of Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing Denny on Grey's Anatomy.

I was so sad to see his character go on Greys. I don't know what that guy is like in real life but he just looks like a happy guy.

3. Salt

I really liked this movie too. I thought it was going to be completely predictable... and it was to a point but there were some things I didn't see coming and some things that I guessed and then thought I was wrong. Also I am a die hard Angelia fan so no haters here please! 

I think she is just cool and one of those celebrities that I would love to meet. 

4. Dinner for Schmucks

This movie was dumb. But this movie was hilarious. You really have to like the humor of this group of people. There is a part where Steve Carell is pretending to be a penguin that literally had me laughing so hard I was crying.  If you see it you'll know what I mean. 

5. The Kids are all right

Yeah, I hated this movie. I ended up fast forwarding a few times. I watched it in my yearly quest to watch the best picture nominated films before the Oscars and I have no idea why this one was up for one. And that is not because of the gay couple storyline.. it has everything to do with the fact that they bring in someone that you are supposed to like (I think) and then there is an affair and the person brought in is made out to be the bad guy while the married person can just apologize and everything is back to normal. Blah. I really didn't find the adult characters likable and there was so much garbage in it.. hence the fast forwarding.

6. The Social Network

I thought this movie was really interesting. The opening scene was just painful to watch. I had no idea that this guy was such a jerk but he really was. (Is?) It is so interesting how something like this can grow so fast and then turn into an international phenomenon that has saved people. I mean, I know there is a lot of bad stuff that comes out of facebook too but it has been a huge help in many of the national disasters and revolutions over the past few years. Doug and I were watching 60 minutes a few weeks ago and they were showing the revolution that was going on in Tunisia and how much facebook helped them.  Very interesting.

7. Inception

Great movie. It's not one I want to watch over and over again but it was very interesting. I thought the cast was great. The effects were amazing. 

8. Easy A

This movie has mixed reviews from me. I liked it. I thought it was really funny. But it's not for all audiences so don't see it based on my liking it. I thought the main character and her parents were hilarious.

9. Ramona and Beezus

I really really loved this movie. It is a great family film. If you enjoyed the Ramona books as a kid than I'm pretty sure you will love it too. The little girl did such a good job playing Ramona. It was heartwarming and funny. I will buy this one.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

I loved the concept on this one. I think Michael Cera is hilarious and so many of the characters in this show were really funny. The comic feel to it was great. It seemed original. That said,  I was really into it for the first half and then it started to wear off a little. I still liked it a lot though. His hat was hilarious.

Blog Challenge Day 28

favorite article of clothing:

I have this white blouse that I love. Doug bought it for me when we were dating from Charlotte Russe.

It had a cute design on the front and ties in the back. It was comfortable and casual but I always felt a little bit more dressed up when I had it on. Of course this picture of me wearing it is pre children and it does not fit me right now but I keep it in my closet until the day I can put it on again.
As of right now I have a gray and purple argyle sweater/shirt combo that I like for the same reasons. It is comfortable but makes me feel a little more dressed up.
And I do love me some pajamas and running pants. When I'm at home with nowhere to go you will most likely find me in some kind of sweats or yoga pants and a tee shirt.

Blog Challenge day 27

A picture of you this time last year. How have you changed?

 I am going to change this question a little because I couldn't find a single picture of myself a year ago. I mean, I hate having my picture taken right now and a year ago I was only a few months out from having Madeline so I'm sure it was even worse then. So, instead I am posting this picture of Abigail and Madeline from almost exactly a year ago.
I will also mention things that have changed with them as well.
Almost exactly a year ago we took Abigail to the eye doctor for that first appointment where we were told that she indeed had an eye issue. We went straight to Walmart and blew $100 on the bi-focals that we were told she needed. I was walking past the Walmart eye center the other day and got a sick feeling thinking about spending all that money on something we didn't end up needing.
Now, a year later, after having heard about vision therapy and visiting the wonderful Behavioral Vision Center in Crystal Lake, her eye hardly ever crosses anymore. Occasionally when she is tired or sick we will see it but I don't actually remember the last time I did see it cross. We went for her check up two weeks ago and she has improved so much that we don't have to go back for six months. We will continue doing eye therapy but it's about  20-30 minutes a day now rather than the hour+ it was at the beginning.
It really has been such a learning experience for all of us to experience how, as parents, we didn't feel content with her diagnosis of having to patch, have bi-focals, and possibly surgery and here a year later the issue is almost non-existent. The idea that we may have subjected her to eye surgery when she didn't need it makes me so grateful that we knew it wasn't right and followed that prompting.
Maddy has, of course, changed the most in the past year. She now has a head full of crazy hair instead of being bald the way she was a year ago.
She is completely independent and wants to be on the go at all times. When Abi was this age I could stick her in the travel crib with some toys and get the house clean. Maddy will yell and cry the whole time if I try to do that. It is so hard to get anything done anymore but she is also so much fun.
She is trying to talk all the time. She has started saying Okey Dokey, tickle tickle tickle, Uh-Oh, yeah, no, and making chicken noises among other things.
I don't really know how I've changed in the past year. I am constantly changing. I guess it was about a year ago that I dyed my hair brown and I have an appointment for next week to go back to blonde! That will be a fun change.