Christmas Happenings

This year I pulled out the video camera instead of the still, so I got absolutely no pics of Christmas. I don't know how to edit and post video, so y'all will just have to use your imaginations...
It doesn't matter how many times I tell myself that I am NOT going to wait until Christmas Eve to take care of all the Santa duties, inevitably, EVERY year - Rob and I spend most of the night wrapping everything that 'Santa' brought. This year wasn't so bad though, we were only up til' 12:30 a.m. We cleaned up and headed for bed around 1 a.m. At 2 a.m. we are awoken to shouts from Cade..."Santa came, everyone! Santa came!" Rob ran down to stop him before he started tearing in to everything, but it was too late - all three olders were up, thankfully, Quentin was still snoring and unaware even with all the racket that Cade was making. Rob sent everyone back to their respective beds and told them to go back to sleep. Yeah, right! Cade tossed and turned and he and Jaron whispered and giggled about what Santa might have brought them, oh, and Brenna was sitting bolt upright in her bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as well....
Finally Rob relented and let them go down to choose one present to take back to their beds. That appeased them for all of two minutes, then we were once again listening to Cade's restless tumblings and the occasional sneaking down the stairs. He peeked...EVERYWHERE. There were things in the garage..he ran up and reported to his siblings, there was a note from Santa by the cookies..he reported that in the loudest stage whisper possible. He checked out the stockings and gave report as well. That was the last straw - Daddy told him that he was ruining Christmas for everyone, and that he had better get to sleep in a hurry or risk Santa coming back to reclaim all the presents. He finally settled down and I think everyone finally fell asleep around 4 a.m.
Rob and I woke up again around 7:30 a.m. and decided that we would let Quentin have first crack at the presents...this is where I started filming...he didn't care that Santa had come..he was just ultra-tweaked that he had been woken up! He cried and cried, layed on the stairs and cried some more. He finally got over his upset, however and made it downstairs the rest of the way. He was more than happy when he saw all the presents and kept looking at me, saying,"Christmas? Santa?" Then Rob handed him one of his presents.."Mine?" "Yes, yours", we said - and the melee began!
The older kids came down shortly after, and I do believe that all of Santa's handiwork was completely undone in about 15 minutes flat. Everyone was pleased with what they got and Christmas was declared a success, once again!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a wonderful New Year!

I Guess I should Post SOMETHING...

I visited my 'required bed rest til' delivery' sister in law the other day and we were talking about internet and blogs and such and I mentioned that I had been neglecting mine......and she said "I KNOW!!!!!" Sorry...just haven't thought that there was much to say of late, I've been on Facebook quite a bit and most of the recent stuff is put in my status.
Everything is going fine..I am done with Chemistry, I got a C-, which apparently they don't like in the nursing program, but I am beyond caring. A C is a C as far as I am concerned...*sigh* but I will probably end up taking it again along with Anatomy and Physiology because I got a straight C in those two...I can see where A&P would come in handy with the nursing career, but Chemistry??? Seriously folks, I am quite certain that my knowledge of Chemistry will not determine whether or not I will make a good nurse! I can just see it now....patient: "It is absolutely IMPERATIVE that you know the molar weight of the sodium in the saline drip you are putting into me! At least the Lewis structure....." Me: "Uh...sure...draw that one right up for you..just a second..." Whatever..not gonna happen. EVER!
On the pregnancy side of things...well..I am definitely expanding. I had yet another ultrasound a week ago, and things look great - BUT - they want me to come back in another month..just to "make sure". This is all concerning her heart..yes..most definitely a 'she' - made them check again while they were looking around. They say that everything looks good as far as they can tell, but that the heart images are 'sub-optimal', so they want another look when she is 'bigger'. They actually made a deal with me..if I agreed to come back to them, then they wouldn't refer me to Primary Children's for a fetal echocardiogram, so I agreed. Why are they making such a big deal of this? Most of you know, that Rob had a wee heart defect when he was born, known as coarctation of the aorta. It was actually quite serious at the time and most likely could have taken his life, but some miraculous surgery was performed, blessings given, prayers said and everything turned out wonderfully. He is seriously one of the healthiest people I know, and I am grateful to Heavenly Father and all those who had a hand in keeping him here. Because without him..I wouldn't be experiencing all these wonderful 'blessings' that I have been priveleged to bring to this earth...
But I digress, back to the unborn one...
So, due to that hiccup in my husband's life, we have a higher chance of any sort of heart defect AND the fact that I am over 35, makes the doctors just a wee bit over-cautious. Nevermind that I have four perfectly healthy children, there is always a chance that THIS could be the one with problems. The end result is, they can see that she has four perfectly normal chambers, and that all the valves are functioning properly, but they cannot see the aortic outflow....because she clamps her hands down on her face whenever they try to 'take a peek', and won't budge, for anything. So her left arm obstructs their view, and they find that just a bit frustrating. The doctor did finally admit to me that most of these types of defects don't show up until after birth anyway, and that there is definitely no sign of catastrophic defect...but they want to be 'sure'. So, back I go on Jan. 2nd for another look, and hope that my insurance doesn't start hollering too loudly about it!
We are slowly but surely getting Christmas decorations out. The lights are on the house, the tree is up, maybe the decorations will get on it tomorrow night, we shall see.
I am doing this entry from my home computer, as I have been cancelled at the hospital yet again. A lot of the float pool personnel are beginning to grumble and I have heard a few other CNA's talking about getting another job to ride this out. I am not surprised at this turn of events...with the economy the way it is, everyone is going to feel the pinch. I am just grateful the gas prices have dropped to a reasonable level and that I have a back up to fall back on!
So, sorry, nothing much exciting happening here, but hey, I posted something new!

Bidding A Fond Farewell to My Toes

I have officially hit the 20 week mark in this pregnancy, and it has been blessedly uneventful! I had moderate morning (all day and night)sickness that completely disappeared by week 15, which was promptly followed by intermittent heartburn. I have experienced some contractions already, but that is normal for me, so I don't pay too much attention to them. I have finally begun to feel the baby move on a regular basis, which was a huge relief for me! At my last appointment, my midwife informed me that I have gained a whole pound, and that they would take what they could get. I guess they wanted me to have gained more by this point...I was thrilled with that news! Afterall, I'm already carrying around quiet a bit of excess weight from all my 'other' babies, the less I gain, the better! I am enjoying this pregnancy so far, and am grateful that I can! Above is a shot of my belly, I can't see my toes when I stand up, and don't expect to for the next 5 months!
I attended parent teacher conferences this afternoon with my husband. The kids are all doing well. Brenna got all A's and one B, this is the first year that letter grades are assigned for her. She loves school, and it shows! The boys are doing well, right where they need to be at this point in the year. All three of them have some wonderful teachers that are just what they need, and I am happy with that!
Quentin just celebrated his third birthday this month. I can't believe how big he has gotten! I still see him as my baby, and I guess I will until the new one arrives.

Here's his latest escapade of the day, and he actually didn't make that much of a mess!

Here he is playing with some of his birthday presents from us and grandma...this boy LOVES trains and just about any type of vehicle...


Well, that's all I have for now! I'm tired, so I'm going to take a Zantac, and go to bed!

Proud Mom Moments

A few things have happened in the last few weeks that make a mother proud. First, Jaron got his Bobcat award after working really hard for the last few weeks!

Quentin has decided that maybe potty training IS for him!



And last, it isn't really a proud moment, but just something that has made me really, really happy!

A Quick Announcement...

IT'S A GIRL!! Will post more details when I have more time...A Chemistry midterm is calling my name!

Most of you already know....

That I am pregnant with our fifth child. Fifth, and final. This is it, no more for me..no matter what the outcome. I used to have this thing about even numbers and that I didn't want a middle child, blah blah blah....and blah. Nope, five is just fine! We get to find out what the lil' stranger is come this Thursday...I, of course, am hoping for a girl, but am fairly certain that I will be adding yet another brother for my only daughter to enjoy. I will most happily be wrong, and she would be overjoyed to have a sister, and not another pesky little brother. Like I said, no matter the outcome, there will be no more!

I am still working for IHC, and still enjoying it for the most part. I have an opportunity coming up here in the next couple of weeks to cross-train over to maternity. I am very excited about this, as this is originally where I wanted to be. I might have had to go a round about way, but I am finally getting there!

I am still taking Chemistry and still wondering why. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment. I really want to get my nursing degree at some point, and this is required. But, ask any nurse if he/she EVER uses any of that miserable subject, and the answer is always a resounding 'NO!' followed by 'worst/hardest class I ever took' sigh....so I will continue to soldier through and hope that I pass, so that I can promptly do mass file delete in the cranial area as soon as I am done!

Halloween is around the corner, and the kiddos are excited! Brenna is a dressy devil, Jaron is a Whoopie Cushion, Cade is the grim reaper/scream guy, and Quentin is a train engineer. We had a test run on the costumes with our ward Halloween carnival, I took pictures, I guess I should post them...maybe I will, at some point.

My mother in law was here for almost two weeks and it was nice to see her again. Each one of the kids got their own 'day' with grandma and greatly enjoyed it. I even got to spend some time with her putting a little something special together for someone, which I enjoyed immensely! Of course, she helped out as well, which is always appreciated. I hope she had a quick and safe trip home, as I didn't get to say goodbye!

So, there, I have posted something for my public...is everyone happy now?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

So, I got Tagged

My friend and neighbor Haley tagged me. And I thought that since I have taken nearly two days to think about it, I should attempt to post on it. The deal is, that I am supposed to list 6 of my quirks. I am sure I have way more than that, but some of them are a little hard to put into words. So, here goes....

1. I hate to plan parties!! I am NOT an event organizer, if I am put in charge of something, then it is almost a guarantee that it will flop! It is inevitable that everyone will either be out of town on that date, or will completely forget/have an emergency.

2. I don't like needles, and I can't stand to watch the first few cuts of a surgical procedure. Why is this quirky? Well, I am going to be a nurse..so this could be a problem..so let me clarify..I don't like needles coming at me, in me, etc. I have absolutely no problem administering them to others! The other issue, well, let's just say that the OR will NOT be my specialty! I am fine once everything is laid open, it just gives me the willies to watch someone being cut, don't ask me why...it just does.

3. I have never looked my age. I haven't starting enjoying this particular aspect of my genetic makeup just yet. All the middle aged women I have ever talked to keep telling me how much I'll enjoy it when the time comes. Right now it can just be downright annoying when other talk down to me, or I get passed over for certain things because I 'look' too young. Though it is fun to watch the jaws drop when they finally get around to finding out my actual age!!

4. I, along with my pal Haley, LOATHE making decisions! It seriously puts me under major stress, and it drives my poor husband crazy. Maybe subconciously it is a way to shift blame from myself. If I don't make the decision, and everything ends up in a big mess...hey - not my fault! I didn't make the decision!!!!!! I'm sure part of it also has to do with the fact that I am a people pleaser, and don't want anyone mad at me if my decision is a bad one. So, basic point, I try not to be the one making decisions...(Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..I'm such a good little ewe!)

5. I am an agressive driver. Anyone who has ever been in the car with me knows this. If you are having an oblivious day, or you are majorly distracted, or if you just LOVE going slow and/or have nothing better to do, PLEASE (and this is the nicest I will get in regards to this subject) STAY AWAY FROM ME!! I will buzz you, give you crusties, and shake my head at you as well as yell things that I know you will never hear because that is just how I move past it....and you. To my friends who have commented about my comments...yes, I KNOW they can't hear me, but I DON'T CARE!! Hee Hee...

6. I am not an organized person in the least bit, but if I have my own personal belongings set up a certain way, please be a decent human being and DON'T TOUCH!!! I can be very anal about the way I 'organize' things. My husband learned this while we were dating. I had some knick knacks on a desk, and he innocently switched them around in looking at them. I came in sometime later, saw them, made a disgruntled noise, and could not relax until I had them back in their proper places. Rob thought, and still does think, that this quirk is ridiculous and hilarious. My mother-in-law will come visit from time to time and re-organize my kitchen, and it doesn't bother me at all...to me, this is communal property, not my personal stuff. What really annoys me is when my clothes/toiletries/craft supplies/scrapping crap/stuff that is mine-and-mine-alone gets shuffled. It just really unsettles me, I know...stupid, but it does.

Okay..so there are six quirks that might be new to some and old hat to others. Now I am supposed to 'tag' six other people on their blogs...trouble is, I don't really know 6 people who blog....owell!

Life's Been Busy....

Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long....but as this post title states, it's been a little nutso around here! My new job is going well, I didn't run across one 'evil step-mother' floor like I feared. Everyone was really nice and made sure that I had plenty of opportunities to reinforce old skills and learn plenty of new ones! I have decided that I will stick it out for my 3 months, and at the EARLIEST opportunity, I will ask to be cross trained into Maternity and then transfer into the Women's Float Pool from there. I have worked a variety of different floors already, and none of them have really grabbed my interest as somewhere I would want to stay. I really like the float pool and can't really see any reason as to why I would ever want to be on a fixed unit.

I have gone and enrolled myself at SLCC and signed up for a Chemistry lecture and lab, and I am now wondering if I really want to get into this. My lecture is online, which is cool, because I don't have to be anywhere at any fixed time, but I am already a week behind and have not yet been able to get the book...this will not bode well for me. My lab is Weds. evenings...that's tomorrow..so we will see if I have a snowball's chance of making this work!

I cannot believe how expensive community colleges have gotten! I thought that maybe things were up around $50 a unit...guess I live in the stone age...try $100 a unit! Here I was, blithely signing up for my Chemistry class, absolutely thrilled that there were openings...5 units..no big deal..I can make this work...until I looked at my account and saw the total *faint* $649.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least they were nice enough to break it down for me....$25 lab fee, $135.50 Student fees (since I'll just be the life of the campus activities..NOT!), and 499.00 for the classes.....DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG! I immediately turned around and filled out the FAFSA, with some hope that I will get some financial something before the end of the semester, so far the process seems to be moving faster than I was told it would, but I am not getting my hopes up too high in that department!

My kiddos have returned to school! Brenna is in 5th grade, Jaron in 3rd, and Cade in 2nd. They have been in one full week already. Brenna has been placed in Advanced Spelling and Math, and is running for Student Council. I don't know where she gets it from. I was fairly bright in the language arts and was a basically good student, never the top of the class, but somewhere in the upper ranks. I most definitely was not EVER interested in school politics...in fact, I would run as hard and fast as I could (and I don't run) away from those types of opportunities. As far as I know, Rob was never involved with student leadership either. Now, she did mention something about treats, and I have a sneaking suspicion that that is a strong motivating factor, but she does seem really interested and excited - so I will let her have at it. It will really look good on her record if she is chosen and I am sure it will be an awesome learning opportunity for her. Jaron is plugging along and seems to be doing really well so far. He reads like a champ and is able to do most of his homework independently...YAY! I am assuming that Cade is having the same success...I haven't gotten any notes home to tell me otherwise. He is in a class that has no assigned homework..which has been the bane of his existence...I see all sorts of COMPLETED worksheets arriving home daily in his backpack with almost everything correct. He still doesn't like to read or tie his shoes...doesn't mean he can't..he just won't. "I'm just a seven year old! I can't know that yet!" or my all time favorite when I tell him he needs to make better choices and control himself..."Mom, I told you! I'm trying, but my brain won't let me!" Sometimes...I wish I could just pop the top off and do some re-wiring......he is the one kid that just isn't affected by anything...my little behavioral mystery, that one.

Quentin has been stepping up the antics lately. I had just finished a puppet show when my phone rang. It was Rob on the other end. I have told far too many stories that have started in this fashion...so y'all know it can't be good! Sure enough, Mr. Q had decided to make himself some chocolate milk with the brand new bottle of chocolate syrup I had just bought. I came home to a smallish pond of chocolate on my table, and a near lake of the stuff on my kitchen floor. Thank goodness he stuck to the kitchen and also that Rob came upon him within minutes of him starting this. He is an awfully quick little fellow, and within just a couple of minutes time, he made the said pools on the floor AND covered his entire front side with the stuff. He had a cup and everything all ready (it was covered too), he knew what he was doing, he just lacked the particular fine muscle control to have it work for him. He even recognized that he made a HUGE mess, and attempted to clean it up with one of my good kitchen towels, all the while saying, "Uh oh, MESS!" This time I didn't take pictures of it, I have enough of those..thank you very much (or little?) Plus, I just wanted to go to bed, I had just finished an 11p to 7 a.m shift followed by a puppet show at 9 a.m. - I was in no mood for nostalgic documentation.

So...that has been my life of late...busy, busy, busy. And goodness knows it's only going to get worse (or better????(seriously, folks)????) But, that's another post for another bat-time on another bat-channel...TTFN!!!

.Cade-isms

My seven year old is sure one unique little boy. He says the oddest things sometimes, and most of the time they get him out of a lot of hot water because one is usually laughing too hard to be mad at him....

Take yesterday, for instance, he had been outside messing with my hose and squirting himself. He can be rather hard on things in general, and a lot of things get broken while in his hands. My poor spray nozzle was yet another victim...come to think of it, he broke last years nozzle and my wand the year before that! Anyway, I found my busted spray nozzle and questioned him as to why he had broken yet another one. "I don't know! It wasn't strong enough! I'm just one little 7 year old boy with a pink eye!" He replied. I couldn't stop giggling long enough to really be upset, and he does have a mild case of pink eye. Poor little 7 year old with a pink eye....

WAHOOOOO!!!

I got the job I interviewed for last Friday!!! Part-time afternoons in the Acute Care Float Pool. I was jumping up and down and screeching like a loon afterwards...Rob said I was acting like a dork, but he was happy for me.

I start next Monday...I am so unbelievably excited!!

I also heard back from SLCC about my transcript evaluation. They said I had to be a registered student in order for them to evaluate any prior records. Whatever...so I applied and am now an official member of the SLCC student body. They said they would begin evaluating my transcripts immediately, as soon as they determined which one of the 6 Shannon Fox's that I was in their system. I had no idea my name was that popular.....

Back in the Saddle...

Well, I refuse to give up. I guess I owe my extreme stubborn streak to my wonderful Norwegian/Irish/Scottish heritage! I got my first CNA job at Placerville Pines out of sheer persistance, I sat in that nursing home lobby every day for almost a week until the staff director finally approached me and said,"You aren't going to go away, are you? You must really want to work here..." "No, I won't, and Yes, I do!", I replied. She said, "Okay..be here at 8 a.m. tomorrow." The rest is history...

IHC has rejected me twice now, but has also called me up for two more interviews. I completed one interview yesterday for an Acute Care Float Pool position. I got my hopes up really high the last time, so I am trying not to be too preoccupied by all of it this time. The interview went well, everyone was really nice just like last time, but I really connected with the two nurses who were making the decisions..so I have a small flicker of hope that that will keep me in the running.

I have another interview at Primary Children's on Tuesday for the Rapid Care Clinic in the ER there...we'll see how that goes.

I figure that if it worked once, it will work again. I will continue to apply for every available CNA position until they a) hire me to stop me from bombarding them with my applications, or b) block me from their site!

My boys come home later this morning, and our family will once again be complete and hopping with activity! Mostly sibling rivalry stuff...I think I might miss the quiet, but I will be glad to have everyone in one place!

Goin' On a Mouster Hunt....

My husband made a comment this evening about how we have suddenly become animal lovers because we suddenly have so many dang animals in our house. 1 temporary Gecko, a dog, and 5 hamsters....well we did have 5...

It is what every parent who allows a rodent into their home dreads. You go to check on said rodent (in our case rodentS) and it is missing, yes....MISSING!!!

Brenna had just returned home from her wonderful adventure in Virginia to find one of her furry friends absent from its home. We searched all over. These hamsters have escaped before, but that was because we thought a guinea pig cage made a good home. So....we looked, and looked, and looked some more...no 'mouster'.

The rest of the family had given up, I was still poking around. I was checking the caller ID in my husband's office when I heard some faint scratching coming from the air vent in the floor. I shined a flashlight down there, but couldn't see anything, so I went down to my craft room which is directly underneath. I was listening for more scratching and scurrying so that I could locate where the hamster was hidden. As I walked over to flip on the light, I saw a set of whiskers sticking out of our air intake/furnace setup....

Can you say "lucky"???? She still was having an incredibly hard time getting out of the hole, so we had to enlarge it a bit and pull back the sharp edges with a pair of needlenose pliers. I went up and grabbed her baby, some food, and of course...my camera! I was able to coax her out with her baby and the food bowl, which she gladly jumped into!


So....I have absolutely no idea how long she had been missing, or WHO helped her into her predicament. Noone in my house is 'fessing up. I am just grateful she was easy to find and that I didn't have to 'smell' her out if she ended up dying in our vents..................ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...that would have made scrapping extremely unpleasant!

You Can't Win Them All...

Well folks, I guess it just isn't meant to be right now...The interview went awesome yesterday, everyone was really nice. But I guess it wasn't awesome enough because they sent me a rejection e-mail this morning. There were five positions open and six of us interviewing and what it came down to was that I hadn't worked in the medical field for 10 years and the other (very) young ladies had all just gotten their CNA's within the last year and were currently working in one facility or another. So....I've been sulking a bit, but I'll get over it! Someone in this town will see that just because I've been out of the field for 10 years doesn't mean I am out of the loop!!!

It's Finally Happening....

I have an interview scheduled with the Murray Women's Center at the new IHC hospital at 1:30 p.m.!!!!! After weeks of waiting, a position finally became available in the Maternal/Newborn unit. It is full-time, and I am hoping they need mostly nights. I have been reassured by my good friend Kim..who is a nurse there..that the nurse managers are wonderful to work with, very kind, and flexible with scheduling and such. I am very excited and extremely nervous at the same time...so I am just going to concentrate on not being a total blithering idiot tomorrow! Wish me luck! I'm sure I'll need it!

The best part about this whole thing is (besides being immersed with new moms and newborns)that in January they are opening a new nursing program through the local community college here. All I really need to do is take Chemistry this Fall (ICK!) and all my pre-requisites should be covered.....

So.....new path opened up, tons of new opportunities - nervewracking? Somewhat...Exciting? You betcha!!!

From the Mouths of Babes

I was bathing my 2 year old this evening, as I seem to be doing every night and sometimes during the day as well. He has just recently acquired an interest in all things dirt. He loves to play in his sandbox, and lay in it...sometimes facedown. He loves to play in our neighbors dirt side yard with his cars and trains..the kid just likes dirt, so he gets lots of baths, which he has decided he definitely does NOT like!

This evening he ended up in the tub because he decided that my compost bucket made a good hat...he might have thought that it made for a fun head covering..but it definitely did not make for a good smell! I guess we should be considering ourselves lucky that a. there wasn't much in there, and b. the scraps were relatively fresh.

So I put him in the tub while I was still trying to carry on a conversation with my sister in law, Shauna. It wasn't very easy because he was protesting loudly..Shauna could probably attest to that! I soon ended my telephone conversation and proceeded to bathe the boy. He got mad at me for soaping him up, and proceeded to throw all his very waterlogged toys on my bathroom floor, creating a small lake in the process. I quickly tossed them all back in and sternly told him "No! Stop that!" then from him.."No! Youstopat!" I then decided that a good rinsing was what he needed so I could get him out of the tub and end his water flinging rampage. So I dumped a huge cup of water over his head, and then I did it again (just trying to get the suds out of his hair) After a few seconds of spluttering, he looks up at me and says, "You Meeniead mommy!"

I was laughing so hard I was almost crying....

Let us hope that that is the worst insult he ever comes up with! It was so dang cute!

Such a proud moment...

Mountain Top Wrestling Club

Last weekend we took the whole family down to Cedar City for the Utah Summer Games. We left early to take in the Manti Temple pageant and visit a friends cabin in Mt. Pleasant. The cabin was awesome, the temple pageant was decent, we were in good company, so it made for an enjoyable experience. We left our friends' cabin at 4:45 a.m. so that we could make it to Cedar City by 8 in the morning. We got outside the gated community only to discover we had a flat tire. Minor inconvenience, Rob and I got it changed in 20 minutes flat. We made it down to SUU where the games were being held, and then the van overheated, but at least we got to our destination first! Rob ran the boys in and got them registered and weighed in, I topped off the engine fluids and changed the baby.

Eventually, we all got to be in the same location. I was a little worried about the boys' ability to compete due to the fact that they hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, but they seemed fine. The first couple of matches the boys had were against one another. We were a bit frustrated by this, as we had not come all this way for the boys to do what they already do at practice. But not as many contestants showed up to the tournament this year, so it was only them and 1 other boy in their weight division, and that boy was in another weight class, so it was really only Jaron and Cade. Cade won all but one of his matches and ended up with a gold and a silver. Jaron lost one more than Cade and ended up with the silver and a bronze. He was not at all happy with that, Rob and I were immensely proud.

I must digress a bit and let you know that the tournament ran for two days and covered 3 different styles of wrestling: Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Folkstyle. So the boys had 3 different opportunities to medal, depending on how many boys were in their division for each style.

We finished with the first day of competition earlier than expected, due to the low turnout, and headed up to Beaver to our hotel. It was fifty miles away, but still the closest place we could find..Cedar City was booked out due to the games and the Shakespearean Festival. There was a pool and hot tub at the hotel, we enjoyed that immensely! We opted to go to bed rather early because we had to get up and out early again the next morning.

We got to the tourney on time and with no incident. The only problem I saw, was that there were A LOT more kids. Sure enough, there were two additional kids in the boys weight bracket, which meant that someone was going home without a medal. The boys did really well, they only had to wrestle each other once. Cade won his first match ever by pinning his opponent! This was the same kid he had lost to at the State Tourney. I tell ya', it was a thing of beauty! Rob was beaming, and I was so excited and happy for him, that I was almost in tears, the best part was, I got pictures of it!

Although Jaron didn't have any such victory, he did have some spectacular moves that I got pictures of as well. check out that bridge!! That's a thing of beauty!
This day ended with Cade getting another silver, and Jaron, a very disappointed Jaron, was the one who didn't place.

All in all, the trip was a very enjoyable one, and I am sure we will probably repeat it next year! At least next year the boys will be in different brackets and won't have to compete against each other!

Kids say the darndest things...

Conversation in my house this afternoon...

Brenna: Is Tomb Raider a Sunday game?

Rob: uhhhh...not really...

Jaron (in the distant background): Yeah it is! Hello...Nature!!! DUH!!

Shannon: I don't think a 57 Magnum, or Glock..or whatever she's shooting, are exactly a part of nature....

We just had to laugh... I mean, you are running around outside through a jungle and all...killing people and other animals..but you are still outside...in nature...

Just Wondering........

Are they polite latinos that deliver and distribute, or do they deliver and distribute polite latinos? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner....SO NOT!!!

A few weeks back, in the merry month of May, a new Chick-Fil-A opened at The District here in South Jordan. It is the tradition of this particular restaurant chain to award the first 100 customers through the doors of the new store with a years worth of free combo meals. Rob had done this a couple years back at the Sandy location when they held some sort of anniversary bash, and we really like their food and it was FREE, for awhile anyway...
Back to the story....

This event was very well publicized, and we knew there would be a crowd, as hopeful first 100 participants could begin lining up 24 hours before the scheduled opening. The store opened at 6 a.m. on the morning of May the 22nd. I drove past on my way to a puppet show at 8:30 a.m. and there were already 3 to 4 good sized tents smack in the middle of the parking lot. As soon as I got home from my show at around noon, Rob headed out to stake out his spot. He called me after he got settled and told me just how serious this whole deal was. Once you showed up, you were required to unload your vehicle of everything you were going to need. They had an area roped off in the middle of the lot. Once you were registered and given a numbered wristband, you were restricted to that lot, and if you were caught crossing the line, you were kicked out. They were very strict with these rules, and would do random roll calls to make sure that no one left. I could not make it until much later in the afternoon, because I had another show, the kids were not yet out of school, and Brenna had piano lessons. The minute all that was done, I grabbed the kids and loaded in with all the gear I had loaded earlier in the day. It ended up that Rob was #10, and I was #30..oh, you had to be 18 or older to win the meal tickets, so our kids were just along for the ride.

It just so happened that the weather turned nasty for our little parking lot campout. It rained and was pretty cold for late May. They fed us well and had lots of fun activities for us. They had a DJ and decided to do a limbo contest for some free movie passes. I was a sucker and decided to participate. Now, for some unknown reason, my back was extremely sore. If I had at least, in some small way, used my brain-I would have listened to that red flag and just watched from the side. But no...I just had to try. I made it through the first round, and even made it under a second time. Upon attempting to stand up after passing under the bar, I lost my balance, and pitched face first towards the asphalt. My body, of course, did the best defensive maneuver it could think of and I threw my hands out in front of me to break my fall and save my face. I am a fairly stout (okay...FAT) woman, and I did not land lightly...oh no...all just under 200 pounds of me landed on my middle finger of my right hand. Yeah...it hurt...pretty darn bad! By the next morning it was really ugly and swollen and bruised. I got up at 6 a.m. and got my free chicken meal coupons and went home. My finger continued to bother me...for weeks. It felt like it was dislocated, so I would have Rob pull on it,(no gas jokes here) and I would pull on it trying to get it back into place. Believe me...that wasn't pleasant either! Finally my mother, who is a chiropractor, took a look at it and told me that I really should go to my doctor. I did just that................. 10 days later!!!!!

Dislocated? Sprained? Oh no...try BROKEN!!! They slapped a splint on me and told me I had to wear that for at least 2 to 3 weeks and that I couldn't do my puppet shows. I laughed at them and told them that wasn't a possibility. They told me to wear it as much as I could then and handed me an extra roll of stretch medical tape, and to come back in 2 weeks to see if it had healed.

So far I am doing well. It hurts more if I have the splint on, but I guess that's because it's holding my finger in the right position.

All this for free chicken? Was it worth it? You bet your tail feathers!! That's some dang good chicken....

And if you have a headache from reading all this rambling...I apologize...but I'll get you one of their lemonades if that will make you feel better!

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A Weight Off My Shoulders....

Well folks, you are viewing the blog of Utah's newest CNA!!! I PASSED! I PASSED!! I PASSED!!!!!!! You should have seen the jumping happy dance I was performing this afternoon in my kitchen...Cade's comment, "Wow Mom! You can jump? I didn't know you could jump!" I guess that is a sorry commentary on my activity level, when one of my children registers excitement over my feet leaving the ground, however momentary!

Also on the venue today was Brenna's birthday. She has achieved her very first decade in life! I am ooooooooooolllllllllllllllldddddd! It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago when I gazed into those big, dark newborn eyes of hers for the first time, and watched Rob proudly feed his firstborn Oreo cream. Sniff....sniff...where did all the time go? Her party today was certainly an event. I had 8 ten year olds in my house simultaneously, two of which were boys! We had a karaoke party, thanks to the assistance of Jesse and Shauna, and it was a screaming success (emphasis on the screaming)! Really, there were a fair amount of kids who could perform reasonably well and only a couple that you just had to pin a smile on your face and sit on your hands. Jaron really got a kick out of the system and put on quite the show pre and post-party!

Brenna got lots of lovely presents and all in all seemed to have a pretty awesome day!

The Wii Fit that Rob got me for my birthday has also been quite the hit in this house. I have been on it everyday, and I wince everytime I have to climb the stairs. Boy am I sore!!! I think this is seriously the most fun I have ever had exercising! I never seem to get on the thing at the same time every day, so my stats are wildly fluctuating, which the computer never ceases to point out. Maybe in a couple of months it will quit telling me what a weak and unbalanced body I have...one can hope, right?

Til' next time...

hippo birdy screw me.....

You must sing the above words to the tune of "Happy Birthday"....I dunno, it made me giggle...REALLY hard!

Sooooooooo....it was my birthday today. I am officially another year older... It was a very nice day. I had a puppet show in the morning which Rob accompanied me on and afterwards we went to lunch at Chick Fil-A...yummy. Even yummier because it was free, because we camped in their parking lot overnight, in the rain...that's another story. From there we went to our brand new Super Wal Mart and did a little shopping. We had just pulled in to the parking lot when I spied a Great Clips sandwich board stating 'haircut special - $6.99' I mused about this out loud and Rob says "You want to get your hair cut?" Didn't have to ask me twice! We pull up to the store front and Rob asks me,"So..do you want to get a perm, or a style?" My eyes bugged for a second, and I stammered a bit....You see, my hair is REALLY long, and that means much money for a mass of lovely curls. In the end I decided on a haircut and style. Long layers with a long sweeping side bang. I lost about 4 inches+ of nasty damaged hair..(note to self: DO NOT wait 3 1/2 years between haircuts!) It felt really nice to be pampered for a bit, and I was highly flattered when the stylist registered extreme shock upon learning my age. I got to feel glamourous for a little while as well, with my hair all curly and shiny and bouncy....until the blasted wind got a hold of it! We had some humidity today as well..so after a couple of hours it was a far cry from what it started out as. But oh well, it was really fun while it lasted, and I am grateful to my husband for insisting that I do something nice/extravagant for myself, because I really enjoyed it...if you haven't already guessed by my excessive rambling!

Of course, it didn't end there....oh no!!! Rob also got me New Moon by Stephanie Meyer. If you have not read the Twilight series, you are seriously missing out!! Guys..these are chick type vampire/romance novels...VERY AWESOME...so pardon my raving if you think such things are cheesy. I also got a new 12x12 scrapbook album to feed my scrapping addiction, potting soil to darken my slightly green thumb, and a blonde highlighting kit to spur on the new found interest in my hair. Hopefully I don't end up making myself look like Frankensteins' bride.

When we got home, I rested for a little bit and then headed out for another puppet show. When I got home, Rob was making dinner. Wow...am I spoiled or what? After dinner my friend Mindy showed up with a plate of homemade cookies and some balloons, and stayed to watch me open a present which Rob had wrapped for me. Rob got me something great yet again! He got me Wii Fit! Mindy saw that and said that just because I got that didn't mean that I got to stop exercising with her! Yeah..I think I'll take that. This system is one mean video game...it took no time at all for it to tell me I was a morbidly obese fatty with the fitness level of a 49 year old...tell me something I don't know! My kids had a blast setting up their own profiles, and then the game tells them..."It's Mom's birthday! Make sure you do something nice for her!!" HA!!! How 'bout you take back what you called me you..you...you...uh yeah..it's just a video game that is going to help me acheive my fitness goals. Actually, even with the computer jibes, I am looking forward to seeing if I can do an overhaul on this sagging mothership! Then my excellent friend, Karen Fragassi, called me to wish me a happy birthday and get all the afore mentioned details. When she was signing off, she gave me the wondrous title for this post. Love that woman..she has the most awesome witticisms! They make me think, and almost always make me laugh...usually really hard!

So, anywho...that was my day...if you have stuck it out this far..wow..you really must like me..or you are really bored...either way...thanks!

I saw this on a friends blog...

Movie Reviews

This is what they say it takes to read my blog....


Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks....

The Test....

On Wednesday the 16th of May, I went to take my written test for my CNA relicensure. I had studied up on all the terminology and went back through my catalog of memories in nursing homes (pretty self-entertaining..I tell ya')
I had a puppet show in downtown Salt Lake in the late morning, and after the show I decided that it would probably be really smart if I went to find the testing site, as it was also in the South Salt Lake vicinity, and....I am directionally challenged. I finally found the place after driving in just a couple of circles. It was about 11:30 and I was debating on going home and coming back for my 1:30 test. I called Rob to get his opinion..we both concluded that it would be smarter, and cheaper (dang expensive gas!) if I just stayed put. I did happen to have a couple of errands to run that were extremely close, so I went to take care of those. On my way back to the testing center..I decided that I needed some lunch, so I stopped at Wendy's, mmmmmmmm yummy! Now, I have been known to be just slightly lactose intolerant..so I should have known better than to do what I did. I ordered a strawberry shake with my meal. Usually, if there is going to be a problem, I know within 15 minutes and I figured (with my fuzzy logic) that I would be fine time wise. Fifteen minutes came and went with no symptoms, so I marched my happy self into the testing center.
I can talk to just about anyone, and as luck would have it, there was a small crowd waiting outside the testing center doors, and we were all taking the same test. So I chatted with everyone for a bit, and then we were called in to register. I verified that I was who I said I was and showed my picture ID, signed the paperwork and my life away. Then they went over some last minute details and told us from this point on, we could not leave. That's about when my belly started protesting....dun da dun dun. We had two hours to complete the test. Fortunately it was all multiple choice. About 10 minutes into it, I was in some pretty considerable discomfort, and by 20 minutes my belly was emitting such loud roars of disapproval that my test neighbors were beginning to give me side long glances of concern. I zipped through 100 questions in 29 minutes! I ran (quickly hobbled) out the door to get signed out. An administrator came back to log me out, looked at me and the time on the screen and asked if I wanted to review anything. I said a strangled "no!" and managed to make it out to the waiting area. I thought they would give me my results immediately, but no...they changed policy and said I would receive them by mail in 5 to 10 days...whatever! "Um, where is your closest bathroom?" Don't worry, I made it......

Yay Me!

As some of you know, I have always wanted to be a nurse. Specifically, a maternity nurse. Pregnancy facinates me, childbirth even more so. Many of you poor folk have had to listen (tune out) as I rambled on incessantly about the subject...thanks for your support, even if it has been torture...
I became a CNA out in California back in '92 or '93...too long ago for me to remember...I have wanted to be a maternity nurse since I was 10...so it all tends to kind of blur...Anyway...I wanted to see if I had what it takes to be a nurse, so I decided I had better start on the bottom most rung. I worked in a couple of nursing homes...it was tough, but I made it! From this experience I learned that I can handle any bodily fluid except vomit (sorry..tmi) I spent several years working in home health care and gained many invaluable experiences there. However..due to a couple of back injuries that occurred while working in nursing homes, I had to quit doing that and can honestly never go back to that environment. I can't do the lifting and am no longer interested in caring for the elderly...and.....I let my liscense lapse....
Fast forward to now....
I sat for my written CNA exam two weeks ago...that is a separate post all of its own....anyhow, I passed! I passed with flying colors as they said...93%.
There is still a second portion...the skills test. I am a bit nervous about this one...as it has been about 10 years since I have used any of it. There is no margin of error with this test and I have to pass with 100%. I spoke to the head proctor yesterday about a refresher course. I left several messages with her hoping to get in on one...she, of course, never called me back. But she did spend quite a bit of time on the phone with me, after my fourth panic striken call, and gave me all sorts of helpful details and assured me that I would do just fine. All the same, I would appreciate any prayers/good thoughts when I go in for this...June 2nd @ 7:30 a.m.
I am almost assured a job at the new Murray IHC maternity center if I pass everything...I am so excited by the possibility, I can't even begin to describe it...
I am so motivated at this point to FINALLY get going on achieving my dream, that I even called the Salt Lake Community College advisement center. I am going in at noon today to speak with a counselor about getting into the nursing program! 'Bout dang time...I've certainly done enough talking about it to last a lifetime!
Another bonus about this whole situation, is that by working for IHC, they will pay for my nursing school. I work for them 24 hours a week and sign a contract that I will work for them for awhile after I graduate, and I am covered!! What a win - win!!!

Worms....only with legs...

When I brought these adorable furballs home for my daughter to enjoy, I was promised that they were sexed..."so you don't end up with more!" I'm such a sucker!!! We ended up with two males and two females, and by the time I figured it out..one of the girls was pregnant!

Brenna is now the proud hamster grandma of three lil' wriggling red worm things..but with legs. That was her description....she is so proud, and I am looking for hamster homes...


Anyone want one??? They are known as Dwarf Campbells.....

Sigh....thought I would throw that one out there just in case anyone was interested....

Peese Muster??

cBrenna is hamster obsessed. She has been begging for months for us to let her get a hamster. Never mind that her mother is violently allergic to most rodents, she wanted one! After listening to her finageling and various promises, we finally caved. Rob did his shopping homework and found a lady doing pet rescue who was giving away some 'adorable dwarf hamsters'....and they were sexed so that you would not end up with more. What a deal!

So, on a lovely spring day in April, I went to go pick up a hamster. When I got to the house, the lady answered the door, and she was in tears, she had just had to put a cat to sleep and was profusely apologizing about her emotional state. I have been accused a time or two of being too soft hearted, and I couldn't resist giving her a hug and telling her it would be alright. She was a very lovely person and an avid animal lover, her house was full of pets of all kinds. After talking with her awhile, she went down to get the hamsters. She came back up with a cage containing 4 hamsters. They were very small, fluffy, and adorable. I couldn't pick just one. I think the pet lady capitalized on my indecision and told me if I took all 4, I could have the cage as a long term loaner. I was sold and toted the furballs home.

Naturally, the kiddos were obsessed and the hamsters got way overindulged. Quentin was the most intrigued and was into them nonstop. Quentin is way adorable for a 2 1/2 year old and he is gaining quite the vocabulary and his own unique way of pronouncing things. Now, he is my fourth child, and you would think that after going through three other toddlers that I would have the 'toddler speak' thing down.......ummmmmmmmm.....nope.

For three solid days, Quentin would come to me and grab my hand..."peese musters mommy? Musters?" What? You want mustard? How odd..... It wasn't until I was toting a load of folded clothes upstairs to the boys room, that I got it. Quentin was in his sisters room, holding a hamster under her supervision, and laughing gleefully. He saw me, held up the hamster and said,"Wook mommy, muster!!!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! That's what you meant!!

Wow...It's bright.....

The Rob Fox family has finally come out of the dark ages of internet-dom and has obtained high speed internet!!! Until 1:30 p.m. MST we were on Juno's dial-up. Don't get me wrong, we knew about high-speed and all, we just couldn't swallow the astronomical charges.
About a month ago, Rob's laptop took one last feeble gasp and gave up the ghost, it was very sad and might have almost bordered on tragic if not for the wondrous talents of BIL Jesse Harris and his nifty flash drive. We were able to save all our photos, documents and such, but we now had nowhere to put them......so Rob went shopping. Generally in the relationship, the woman is the shopper...not so here! Unless it is a scrapbook store, I hate shopping! I have in mind what I want, I go in the store, get it, and get out! Not Rob, he loves to look for deals and he takes the time to research if it is a major purchase. Me, I'm just too impatient. So for us, it is more economically sound to let Rob do the purchasing. Back to Rob's laptop search......
Rob decided on a MacBook Pro and it was quite the steal, so it was ordered and arrived 2 days later. It is a very nice looking machine, if I do say so myself, and we had some enjoyable moments checking it out. Rob comments..."There is no phone jack..." "What?" I say, "How could that be?" It was at that moment that it hit me....dial up is obsolete! How did we get away with it for this long? Sigh....
A couple of weeks later Rob found another killer deal on a desktop and brought that home...once again, no phone jack...alas....what to do??
Bring on the sunglasses folks and welcome to the future!!!