Hay!

We made an important discovery yesterday. Thursday and Friday we had fierce wind storms. Yesterday morning the wind was calm and the sun was shining so I took the kids outside to help me clean up. We swept out the garage and shoveled off the front step. Then I decided to put up a fence at one end of the house to help block the wind in the future. Morgan was keeping Zane safe by holding his hand while I worked. She led him up on to a wooden pallet that Scott had kept hay on. Zane tripped and fell on to the pallet, getting his arm stuck between the boards. He was kicking and screaming and flailing like a fish out of water but could not get his arm out. I finally reached him and helped him get up. I brushed him off and assessed the damage. He seemed to be fine and he hurried off to find Morgan.

Later, after his nap, I noticed some small welts on the side of his face and a bruise on his forehead. I thought it must have been from the fall – it is always the head that hits first. A half hour later Scott came home and asked what was wrong with him. By now his face was puffy, his cheeks were red, and he had welts from head to toe. I had a flash back to all my times as a child when I had hives and I knew instantly what it was. I gave him a bath and a dose of allergy medicine. At bedtime he was still pretty itchy. Even today he still has a few lingering spots on his arms and legs.

Our important discovery is that Zane is allergic to HAY. Scott’s dreams of having a little cowboy were dashed in an instant. Fortunately Morgan doesn’t seem to be bothered by hay. She will be Dad’s little cowgirl and Zane will help me bake cookies for them.

If you don't like my driving get off the sidewalk!

We were up early, dropped the little ones off at a friends, and met the driving tester, Debi, at 8:30 last Tuesday morning. Brittany was nervous but I knew she would be fine. Debi was writing down the vehicle information and Brittany popped the trunk. Debi had a worried look on her face and asked me if Brittany meant to do that. I told her that I needed to put a car seat in the trunk and she was quite relieved. She was concerned that Brittany didn't even know what button did what in the car.

Debi also drives bus and she took Brittany's track team to Boise for State last year - how convenient. I rode in the back seat and we all chatted about track and dance while Brittany drove for 30 minutes. When we finished, Debi said "You did very well and even remebered to set your parking break when you parked and that is where I mark down most kids." We celebrated with a breakfast buritto and drove to the sheriff's office so Brittany could get her picture taken. Her picture even turned out better than her school pictures!

We Are Alive

Yes, we are still alive. We have been busy running around and getting nothing done. Do you ever feel like that? I swear it was just January and now April is almost over. The weather has us so confused! It is supposed to be Spring but it keeps snowing. I feel like a bear who hibernated too long and completely missed Summer. Is it already time to hibernate again?

Last weekend Scott and I went to a concert with some friends. I honestly had never heard of Jimmy Eat World but we decided to go just to get out of the house. It was a lot of fun and the music was okay. We were the oldest ones there, that felt a little weird, and we stood on the floor in front of the stage with all the kids. When the kids starting shoving to get in front of us I wanted to shout “Respect your elders!” but I didn’t – not that they could have heard me because it was so loud! But we really did have a good time. And I told Brittany that she could never go to a concert with her friends ‘cause I saw kids doing things that MY child better never do.

This week is already promising to be over before I get started. So much to share so I promise to post more later. (I am waiting on another picture of Brittany – hehehe.)

A New Couch

After years of having an old, multi-colored, ugly couch, we finally made a change. We agreed on a black leather couch and it is so much more comfortable. It is amazing how a simple thing like a couch changes the entire look of the room . We sent the old one to the D.I. with a load of stuff. (I am still working on cleaning out!) Now, we all fight to sit on the new couch.

Track Meet

Some are Soccer Moms but I am a Track Mom!

(Brittany at state last year.)

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Brittany decided to do track again this year. Like last year, she is hoping to get out of the running events and focus on the high jump. Her first track meet was 2 weeks ago on the coldest, windiest day of the month. I sat huddled in the car with Morgan and Zane so we could see her jump. It came down to her and one other girl. The other girl jumped 5 feet and it was Brittany’s turn. The force of the wind was about to knock Brittany over and she was being pelted by pouring rain. She did her best but her tiny frame was no match for the gale-force winds and she didn’t make it over. She was bummed but I think second place is pretty darn good. And she has lots of time to improve before Districts next month. She has another track meet today. So far, the weather is sunny with only a slight breeze. I hope it lasts!

"I go potty?"

For about a month now Zane has been asking to sit on the potty. He usually follows Morgan into the bathroom and wants a turn too. Occasionally I sit him on there but nothing has happened. Then this morning it happened – he peed! We were both so excited he immediately wanted to try it again. My friend told me to go with it and start potty training him. He’s not even 2 yet and it seems too early. But it would be nice to be done with diapers! (Dad will have to teach him how to stand.)

I've Been Tagged

Thank you Tia for tagging me. Here goes. . .

10 years ago:
I was 26 and finishing my Associates degree in Accounting at CSI in Twin Falls, ID. I had my life planned as a single mom – just Brittany and I.

5 Things on my to-do list:
1. Clean out my garage
2. Paint my house inside and out
3. Pay my state taxes before the 15th
4. Get Morgan ready to start Kindergarten in the fall (they have to know sooo much!)
5. Make banana bread before the bananas on my counter are completely rotten

5 Places lived:
1. LaGrande, OR
2. Melba, ID
3. Filer, ID
4. Jerome, ID
5. Murtaugh, ID

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Mom – the lowest paying but the most rewarding!
2. Cooper Norman, accounting firm
3. MGM Contractors, construction company ( I was the office manager)
4. US Forest Service (again, I was in the office)
5. My own bookkeeping business; I’m up to 3 clients and soon to be 4 - that doesn’t count the consulting I do for my brother Mike in Georgia :)

5 Things people don't know:
1. I hate to wash dishes
2. I would love to write a children’s book
3. I hate to spend money
4. I love to work in the garden
5. I pluck my eyebrows (if I didn’t I wouldn’t have to grow bangs)

That is probably enough information.

Since everyone else has been tagged I tag Dawn. (I have to hurry before Rachel does.)

Confessions of a Hoarder

I have boxes in my garage that have not been opened since we first moved to Idaho, seven years ago. I have boxes of stuff that I have not used since Brittany was little. I have boxes of dishes and silverware that have never been used. And I have almost all of Morgan and Zane’s baby clothes.

This is a problem that I have always had. I saved everything as a kid and wanted my Halloween candy to last all year. And my children are the same way.

Last week Brittany turned on Oprah and it was about a woman who shopped everyday and had filled their home (over 3,000 square feet) full of stuff. She had trails through some of the rooms but many of the rooms you could not even get into. After much pleading from her children she realized she had a problem.

I am nothing like this woman but it did make me start to think. If I need something that is stored in my garage I have to search through boxes to find it. And if I am storing things and not using them I am really wasting them. If I don’t need something maybe someone else could use it. Clothes stored in the garage for 10 years are just out of style and dirty so why not give them to someone who can use them while they are still good.

I have started cleaning out and have a pickup load for goodwill already. I have only had a couple panic attacks (the fear that I will need something as soon as I get rid of it) but I think I will feel better once it is all cleaned out. I even convinced Brittany to toss her 5th grade papers and notes from friends.

I have a lot of work to do but it honestly feels good to de-clutter!