Poor Ashleigh

Nick is better, Preston is better (90%), but now Ash is sick. Last night after school she just seemed off...when we asked her if she was sick she said "No". We think she was just in denial. This morning she woke up when her alarm went off, turned it off, then basically just collapsed at the end of her bed and went back to sleep. Nick decided she needed to stay home. When I woke up later, she was a little warm. She told me she was really hot, but then a couple min later would say she was really cold. So, I fed her some food and put her back to bed...she is taking her 3rd nap of the day. I really think sleep and lots of water/juice will make her feel better in no time.

She has really poor timing....today at Ballet they were able to wear their Halloween costumes, tomorrow at school too, then after school is a carnival. Saturday is trunk or treat and then trick or treating in the evening....it's a lot of stuff that she is going to have to miss if she doesn't get better soon! Poor kid.... every year, with out fail, she gets sick on or around her birthday. sigh.

Poor Preston

Nick was just starting to feel better from the flu when Preston started showing the same symptoms. Poor kid was really sick on Monday, but today (Tuesday) he has improved considerably! He has a runny nose and a small cough, but otherwise was up and playing and talking a mile a minute like usual. Lol. On Monday though, all he wanted to do was watch movies and play with his trains and lay around and sleep. Poor little kid. It's so much harder watching kids be sick.

So far, Ash and I have been able to avoid catching this and we are spraying Lysol and washing our hands constantly! Hope this is the last of it that we will see this winter--wishful thinking, right? Hey, a mom can dream!

First Snow of the Season

I had a work meeting this morning and when I left work there was a light flurry of snow flakes falling. By the time I got home they were gone, but about an hour or so later there it was, coming down.....and SO beautiful!!! Aside from the fact that people get the flu, and my kids always get sick and have to do breathing treatments, Nick and I just LOVE winter and especially the snow! I am so glad he and I were both home to watch it and enjoy the moment of pure beauty! :-)


The weather channel predicts snow on and off for the next few days....Ahhhhh....sweet joy! :)

Caught!

I heard a strange noise on Saturday night in the kitchen, but it was late and Nick was sick so I didn't bother him to go look to see what it was. On Monday, our kitchen started to smell really bad, I thought it was the dishes, so I did them, but the smell was still there, then I remembered the noise I heard on Saturday, so since Nick was feeling a little better I asked him to go check it out for me.Low and behold, we caught that stupid mouse that was in our dishwasher last week! Yipee! The sticky traps we set did the job and the mouse was dead and decomposing! No wonder it stunk! ick!

Ash was kind enough to take some pictures of the joyful mouse catching day! :) We cleaned behind the vent and sprayed Lysol and then set out another trap for any future mice who would like to follow suit! Such dumb animals! We have a HUGE field and a bunch of mountains behind our house, why don't they just stay out there?!?!

HaHaHaHa....
at least we caught one.
It makes me giddy inside just thinking about it. :-)

Prestons Army Men

Preston loves setting up his little Army Men. So that's what he did today......(and of course he couldn't let go of his trains!)

End result

Bats

Ash wanted to show off what she made at school last week.

She showed me that Bats sleep upsidedown, so she wanted us to pin it up in her room upside down while she sleeps and then she would pin it right side up when she is awake.

But, so far, the bat is just hanging out on my desk. lol. She's cute!

Ashleigh LOVES art....and is coloring, drawing, painting, writing, cutting, etc pretty much any chance she gets. I need to get her in to an art class! I think she may have some of her Great Grandma Leslie and Grandma Call in her. :) It would be great if she explored her art and figured out if its something that she really loves or not.

Sick

Wednesday night when Nick got home from work, we cleaned out the cold storage and the whole basement and vacuumed, etc. We got laundry going and did all sorts of other things around the house. Then Nick disappeared. When I found him, he told me he was really really tired and didn't feel good, so I sent him to bed. He planned on taking only a 1/2 day at work on Thursday, but at noon, realized he wasn't getting any better and decided to stay home the whole day. Friday he was really sick--aches, fever, sinus pain/pressure, headache, tired, etc. I kept the kids away and tried to help him feel as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, I had to leave him Thurs and Fri night to go to work. Today, he is feeling much better--still slight fever, and little bits of everything else, but better, none the less. For which I am very grateful!

Preston has a little bit of a runny nose, but otherwise the rest of us are doing well and avoiding this illness. We've been spraying Lysol all over the house a couple times a day, and washing our hands/faces a lot, so I think all of that is helping.

I keep reading that lots of other people are sick....this flu is hitting hard this year. For me, this is the only thing I "hate" about winter....however, personally, I would rather have the flu than a cold!

Mice....AGAIN!!!!!

This morning I went to use my computer, but the battery was dead so I went to find the cord. When I unplugged it, I noticed something out the corner of my eye moving.... it was a mouse inside one of our sticky traps that we had set up behind our couch to catch spiders. It's little leg moved like twice before I flipped out and ran to the kitchen for a big Tupperware to put it in. When I got back, it blinked its eye at me once then closed it's eyes...and I assumed it was dead. I carefully picked up the sticky trap and stuck it in the tupperware, put the lid on, and put it in our outside garbage can.

Ick....

Then I went about my day. I ran lots of errands, put my groceries away, got Ash from school, did homework with her, and just finished helping her get ready to go outside to play when, as I am typing on the computer, I noticed something moving and when I looked I saw a mouse climbing around on the inside of the dishwasher door....I sat frozen for a sec, just watching it, when it started to go back inside the dishwasher, I got up enough nerve to go and close the dishwasher door with my foot.

Then I got a bunch of sticky traps and lined around the dishwasher. Meanwhile, the kids freaked out and were sitting on the kitchen table. After about 20 min I decided I couldn't wait 3 more hours on the table until Nick got home, so I called my dad-in-law to come over and help...thankfully, he lives only 5 min away now so he was here in a flash.

While I was waiting though, the mouse showed up again, only this time, it's like it knew that I put the "death traps" down cause it wouldn't go on the ground, but I saw it climb just above the floor moldings from the dishwasher to the vent under the sink and it disappeared. Grrr...

Randy came over, took off the bottom front part of the dishwasher and took off the vent cover. We both looked, but didn't see the mouse....it had long since escaped back to wherever it came from....our basement somewhere for sure! Randy lined the openings with sticky traps for me, did another thorough look and then left.

As for me, I am sure the mouse is gone (at least not in the kitchen anymore) but I can't seem to pry myself away from the table...I am afraid that it will come back and I will miss it. I have to pee REALLY bad, but I am perfectly willing to wait until Nick gets home (in 2 hours) before I do. Meanwhile, I am being a bad mom....snapping at the kids, and making them stay out of the kitchen! They are watching a movie...Team Geo Tracks....AGAIN!

I HATE MICE!!!!! I am going to give Orkin a call again to come back and refresh all the traps. I can't live like this!!!!! I know I am going to have a VERY hard time sleeping tonight. *sigh*

Review

Here is a review from a fellow blogger about the new WinCo store that opened in Midvale....hope you all check it out! I am excited to actually shop there (despite the distance) once it is less crowded!

Winco review-#1

Winco review-#2

Deals this week

WINCO FOODS

All you from Washington, guess what!?!!?!?!?! Winco foods in coming to UTAH!!! YIPEE!

Go here to see the locations!

The one in Midvale opens on Monday! :-)

They always had the best bulk food selection and the best prices in town! As far as I remember they don't price match, and I don't remember if they take coupons, but think they do....but their prices don't need it!

Anyone who is a Winco virgin, you absolutely HAVE to go!!! You'll love it! I will definitely be there on Monday (asking for a job, lol) and to check out my old favorite store! Ah, it's nice to have a little piece of Washington here in Utah! :)

My perfect day!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows I absolutely LOVE the snow!!!

I love winter, and bundling all up, and warm apple cider, books to read, cuddling under a blanket, etc...

Equally, I LOVE the ocean!!!

the smells, the breeze, the waves, the crispness, the never ending beauty, etc....

Well....just put those two together and you have just seen my Perfect day!

Ah, I love this picture!!!

To brighten your day

Moving

No, We are not moving, but Nick's parents bought a house in Eagle Mountain only 2 miles away from us and we went over to help them move some boxes. Nick mainly, me, just a little :-) I failed to get a picture of their whole house, but wanted to put up here the pics I did get. I'll post more pics later.





Nick and Randy moving the Washers


















Ash in the window in the Loft....it's the kids' favorite place to play. :)









The kids watching us move boxes...













Then Ash got to go on a ride....Wheeeee
Preston kept saying he didn't want to go on it, but as soon as Randy put the thing away,



he threw a fit! Hopefully someday he'll learn to say "yes" when he actually wants to do something! makes me crazy!!!

Update

Hmmm....not too much is going on that would take up a whole blog, but since I use this as my family journal, I guess I will just write an update on my kiddos and anything else I think of.

Since we got back from Park City, Nick and I have completely given up on ALL fast food (including pizza and sub sandwiches) and Soda. I have also given up junk food, sugar, and processed foods. Nick has been able to drop 5 lbs and I have dropped nearly 10 lbs. It's been a great change for us on the wallet and on the belly since our tummies are shrinking! :-)

PRESTON

Preston is completely potty trained, however, he still doesn't like to poop on the toilet, so we have to fight him to get him to go, but once he's on the toilet, He goes just fine. He has the typical "I don't want to leave what I'm doing to go potty cause I may miss something" syndrome, so we are helping him with that. He is a FUN kid--always saying amazingly funny things and making us laugh constantly. He's VERY dramatic, but not necessarily emotional, and he will repeat anything and everything he hears! He likes to say words correctly, so doesn't mind when I correct him over and over again when he says something incorrectly. (Ash used to cry when I would correct her) He is overly friendly and will strike up a conversation with anyone he meets. I don't mind for now, but I fear that one day he may "make friends" with a bad person! I need to keep my eye on that kid. We got a free DVD in the mail that I requested about 2 months ago--it's Team Geo Tracks movie (train cartoon similar in a way to Thomas the Train) Preston just LOVES the movie and for the last 3 days has talked of nothing else but getting "team Geo tracks" for Christmas. Everyday he asks if tomorrow is Christmas. It's pretty annoying, but so so cute. 2 days ago he found the pamphlet that has all the different Geo Tracks trains you can buy and he looked at that OVER and OVER and OVER the WHOLE day and kept showing me which one's he wants (he wants them all). I went to Walmart.com and found THIS that we're going to get him. It comes with everything in the picture. I know 1 train won't be enough though, so we'll look for more for Christmas. At least that boy is easy to shop for. He is becoming a pretty good eater, but still prefers junk food over anything else. He is SO easy to put to bed at night! Both kids know that bedtime is at 730pm (because of school), so when 730pm comes around, he goes potty, gets his PJ's on and gets in his bed. He'll then holler at us to get him some juice in a sippy and to tuck him in and that's it! We'll get a complaint from him maybe once a week that he's not tired and doesn't want to go to bed, and we just ignore him, and by 830pm, he's in bed anyway! He is such a good little boy....however....since being potty trained, he has decided that it is funny to show anyone and everyone his butt and penis. (yes, he knows the right word for his body parts! I don't believe in teaching them made up names!) sigh. We're trying to break him of that, but it's slow going. He usually does this little dance while shaking his butt at you, or chases after you holding his penis out in front of him like a sword like "It's gonna get you". It's pretty funny...but totally inappropriate, so like I said, we're trying to break him of it. If ever you see him do that to you, my apologies in advance...and try not to laugh, which really does encourage him!

ASHLEIGH

Ashleigh is almost 7 years old...I can hardly believe it! Her birthday is next month. She is truly a little mommy--always willing to help me with Preston, or household chores, or dinner, or laundry, etc. She is and has always been SO good...happy, helpful, loving, empathetic, friendly, etc. She really has no faults, as far as I can tell...except that occasionally she antagonizes Preston, and she is a messy kid--her room gets really messy the very next day after she cleans it-which drives me crazy! (nick and I are not very tidy people though, so I can't blame her too much) she makes friends with anyone else her own age, but is incredibly shy when meeting someone new! Completely opposite Preston. However, she is influenced by those around her--rarely is she the leader...which worries me a little. She'll copy what her friends do or say and she'll let them take the lead. We'll have to keep an eye on that as she gets older. She is ALL girl--loves earrings, rings, necklaces, getting her nails painted, getting me to curl her hair, etc. However, she prefers wearing pants rather than skirts or dresses. She Loves to ride her bike (we have to get her a new one next year--she has outgrown her current one-we'll get Preston one too) and play outside. She is very much in to Hannah Montana right now...very much, but is still young enough that she loves Disney/kid characters too--Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Aurora, Dora, etc. Nick asked her yesterday what she wants for her birthday and she said she hasn't even thought about it yet! What kind of kid isn't even thinking about what she/he wants for their birthday!?! I thought that was pretty strange... She and I will have to stroll through the Wal-mart and Toys R Us websites and see if anything jumps out at her. My problem with her is, she has SO much stuff, but rarely plays with anything longer than a week or so. She loves drawing and art stuff, so I am really trying to encourage her in that. Ash is taking Piano on Tuesdays at her aunt Jana's house and is taking Ballet on Thursday at a studio in Lehi. She loves them both and I think it's been a nice change for her from doing Gymnastics. Our rule is, once she signs up for an outside school class, she is committed to it for a whole year. After that, she can decided to keep doing the same thing, or try something new. But every year she has to take at least 1 outside of school class. I want her to explore all her options and see if there is something that may become a life long activity! In school she is also learning Spanish, Art, and Music, so she is getting influence by a lot of outside things other than just school work. She is GREAT at getting her homework done as soon as she gets home from school. We do math first and then reading. She is a very smart little girl and I love seeing how much she is progressing each day. She is in the 1st grade now--her teacher, Mrs. Clark, told me at our parent-teacher conference that Ashleigh is a GREAT example to the other kids in the class! She said Ash will be sitting in her seat at 8am with her hands folded on her table and she just watches the clock--at exactly 8:05, she'll raise her hand and get her teacher's attention and let her teacher know that it's time for class to start and to do the Pledge of Allegiance. That right there, is the epitome of who Ashleigh is. I am so incredibly proud of that girl and love her SO much!!!

MY KIDS...

I often wonder how different my life would be if Christian had lived...he would have turned 8 this year. I am pretty positive that we would not have had our 2nd child for at least 2-3 years if he had lived, and who knows if we would have had a 3rd child. I can't speculate too much...all I can say is, as hard as it was to lose my first born, I love ALL my kids and am so grateful for how things have worked out.

NICK

Nick is currently working at Wells Fargo in the call center--in-bound customer service for online accounts. He really loved his job at first, but it soon became so repetitive and really hard on his voice. He is talking on the phone for 10 hours a day with very short breaks in between calls--usually less than a minute break. That's got to be hard! He is still looking for another job. He has a very promising job interview tomorrow (please pray for him!!!). It will be more money than he is currently making, and the job is literally 5 min from our house! Right now he travels up to an hour each way to work. ick! But he works 4 10hr shifts so we get him home 3 days a week--which I love! I REALLY hope he gets this new job!!! It will be nice to have him so close to home.

MEGAN

I am still working nights at Wal-mart in Riverton. I have had a lot of challenges lately trying to get my current schedule to continue to be Ok with my "new" boss...things are still up in the air, but I am working really hard at transferring to the Saratoga Springs store which will be only 5 min from my house. Currently, I drive about 20 min to get to work...not too bad, but it would be great if I could work closer to home. I, for the most part, enjoy my job... but am really ready for a change. I have been working there for almost 2 years! There is just WAY too much drama there and I am tired of being in the middle of it. I too have been applying to all sorts of other jobs. Anything from working at the hospitals, to the airport, to call centers, to other grocery stores, etc... Just whatever tickles my fancy. We'll see if anything pans out. I love every second I get to spend at home with my kids and husband.

US

Nick and I had a rocky patch there for a while and it actually looked like our marriage was ending, but we pulled through and now we are stronger than ever and happier than ever! We are coming up on our 9th wedding anniversary in November. I am SO glad we get to celebrate it together rather than beginning our count of how long we have been divorced for. We are both taking time for each other more and showing our appreciation for the other person more, and I am definitely showing him that I am still his "girlfriend" rather than an old lazy wife. Nick has been incredibly loving and giving and complimentary to me which I love! We steal moments to reach out and hold each other's hands, and we are kissing way more and just being more affectionate in general. I LOVE our relationship now. As much as I hate that we had to go through the rocky patch, I am grateful for it cause it's reminded us how much we really do want to be married and how much we love and appreciate each other.

OTHER STUFF

My in-laws are moving near us, 1.9 miles away to be exact. I am SO excited to have them close by! Unlike a lot of wives, I LOVE my in-laws and can't wait to have them closer. They just signed the final papers to their new house today and I think they get the keys tomorrow! Nick is going to help them move this weekend. My mom-in-law Juli has always done a great job decorating her house, so I can't wait to see how she decorates this house. The end result is going to be great, I'm sure!

My sister, Emily is due to have her 3rd baby (girl) this month...in a couple weeks, actually. I am REALLY missing Vancouver right now and wish more than anything that I had a bunch of money laying around so I could go visit her and see the new baby. (And my friend Vanessa's baby who was born in July) It's been a year and a half since I was in Vancouver last, and I just REALLY miss it!

(Anyone want to donate to the "help Megan and kids go to Vancouver" fund?) :-)

I think that's about it for now...this has become a lot longer than I expected. Sorry if it bore you...like I said, this is mainly for my journal/memories. ;-)

Cheers!

Preston...

Preston is 3 years old now, completely potty trained (YAY!), and is ALL boy!!! He loves cars/trucks, trains (especially), helicopters and airplanes.

Nick gave Preston one of his "old" model cars and Preston just LOVED it! He has been attached to it completely for nearly a week! So cute!

Here is Preston showing me his strawberry.

My mom took this pic of Preston...he's so cute! :-)
(Just wish I had washed his face first)

The start of a new ME...

Since July, I have been thinking about my weight and how I don't like being the "fat sister" and having all this extra weight on my body and making excuses for why it's there and why it won't go away.

So, while in Park City last weekend I resolved to make a change when I got home. I allowed myself to eat anything and everything I wanted over the weekend, so that when I got home I would be "sick" of the processed foods and feel ready to take on a new lifestyle.

On Monday I started my new way of eating...no more processed foods, no junk food, no sugar, no oil, no butter, etc. And make my portions smaller, and eat less at a time, but more often in the day--usually 5-6 small meals and I am drinking up to 1/2 gallon of water/fluids every day!!!

My short term goal is to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight with Preston which would mean losing about 24 lbs. My long term goal is to get back down to my marriage weight which would mean losing about 40 lbs. Ideally, I would like to lose an additional 15-20 lbs on top of that, but I will be more than happy with a loss of only 40 lbs.

I am focusing on taking thing one day at a time, and so far I have been doing great! However, things like dinner at my parent's (or Nick's parents) house terrifies me! For instance, my dad is making his famous spaghetti (which i absolutely LOVE) tomorrow for a dinner we are invited to. I am going to bring my own dinner since I won't eat the spaghetti noodles, and the sauce has some sugar in it. but I am ok with it....because I know that

"Nothing tastes as good as Skinny feels!"

And frankly, I have seen enough of a weight loss in only 4 days that I am going to stay committed to this! I have lost 4.4 lbs in 4 days!!! Pretty impressive, if you ask me! If i am able to keep this up, I will be down the 24 lbs before the end of October! I am not doing any extra working out...I walk a LOT at work each night--probably 3-4 miles, but otherwise, I am not doing anything else.

The first 2 days were HARD! I felt sluggish, and grumpy and hungry and I was craving literally everything...and when you work in a grocery store, that's hard to avoid the temptations, but I did! Yesterday, day 3, I finally was feeling GREAT! I am happier, more rested, more energetic, etc and I know it's because of the better eating! Yes, I still miss the junk food--chocolate, most of all, but I know I am doing a good thing for my body!

Nick has been a GREAT support, helping me weigh and measure my food, and not letting me cheat, and not getting fast food/pizza with me around. Like I said, I am taking this 1 day at a time, and if I cheat, I won't beat myself up about it, I'll just do better the next day...but for now, I am working hard and eating right and I feel GREAT!