Spring day

The last 2 days have been sooo nice! V. has enjoyed running around outside while I l have laid on a quilt, soaking up the warmth and sunshine and reading. I'm currently reading "the Language of Bees", a Mary Russell novel. I'm at the part where it's starting to get hard to put the book down. It's starting to get real good!
Today was the first day of V.'s Easter break. She crawled into bed with me this morning and we both slept in. So nice! Then I helped V. dye some eggs. She had fun and made some very pretty eggs!
We then had grilled chicken and green salad for lunch.
Then we spent a couple hours getting groceries followed by enjoying the sun until Steve got home.
Speaking of Steve, his movie came in the mail today! The Hobbit! We just started it and are only 7 minutes in but already are loving it immensely!
So with that, I'll bid you adieu while I snuggle with my love and enjoy this movie!

March 26th

* Today as I was helping in V.'s classroom the school had a fire drill. So I got to walk outside with her class, holding her hand.

* It has been raining this afternoon and I LOVE it!

* V. has had no cheer, ballet or piano this week. Due to Spring breaks. But our Easter break starts on Thursday. So only 3 days of school this week as well. So, so far it's been a nice week and she is excited for the rest of the week! I think we'll dye Easter eggs on Friday. And she bought a little wooden birdhouse that I told her she could paint over the break. Steve wants to take us to lunch or dinner sometime this weekend. Other than that, it will be a slow, nice weekend.

* Speaking of Steve, I am wildly in love with him.....Just had to say that....

* My back has been feeling really good. Yay!! I'm hoping it just continues to get better from here on!

* I pre-ordered the Hobbit. We have been anxiously awaiting for it to arrive. Steve asks everyday if it has arrived. I got it for a good price by pre-ordering it but waiting for it is driving us nuts!Any day now....

* Next week Steve's family will be in town. We can't wait to see them. Especially our new nephew!!

Father/Daughter

I love my two sweeties! They have such an awesome bond. They share the same interests. They share inside jokes. They enjoy plotting together ways to pull practical jokes on me!
We bought a new toilet a few weeks ago. YAY! The box it came in was big and in the living room. Over the next few days V. had colored it and "moved" in. She has a blanket and stuffed toys in there. She loves playing in there! One day I walked into the living room to see only Steve's legs sticking out of the box. He had crawled in as far as he could with her and all I heard was giggling and talking coming from inside the box. Yes, that box has been sitting in our living room for a few weeks now, but I just can't throw it out yet! ;)
Currently those two little hooligans are out fishing. Yes, we had snow today. But most of it has melted now and they really wanted to go fishing so they went. V.was way excited for Steve to get home and take her out!
These two are my life and I'm so grateful to have them in my life! I hope they continue to enjoy hanging out together and talking so when she is a teenager they are still close!
{I tried to upload a cute picture of the two of them hanging out in the box but for some reason it won't upload. grrr!}

First day of Spring!!

I can't think of a better way to welcome the first day of Spring then by having a spring rain today! No snow, but rain! Okay, it started out as rain then went to a rain/snow mix. But then turned back into rain! I had the heat off for a couple of days. But last night it got just a little too chilly so I turned the heat on just a bit. But I'm hoping in the next few days it will warm up enough to turn the heat all the way off again.

Yesterday we had our lawn care guys come and to their de-thatching, Spring clean up, trimming, etc. The yard looks all clean and neat and ready for warmer weather! It looks so nice!

I am just itching for warmer weather!!

 

V. at cheer

Watching V. during her cheer class makes me envision a little scarecrow doing cheer. Or Woody from Toy Story doing cheer. She's got long, thin, straggly looking arms and legs. I can't help but smile while watching her run, jump, kick, and roll around. Her limbs are flapping every which way!

March 15th

*Driving through town today V. said,"When there's litter on the grass you know Spring is coming because there are more people  outside!"
Wow. I was speechless. How sad that my daughter sees litter as a sign of Spring. How sad that the earth has gotten so dirty and people don't even think twice about littering.
* Also while driving in the car V. asked, " Mom? Have you read ' If you give a pig a pancake'? We read it at school and I really liked it and thought it was a good book."
I love that my daughter is talking to me about books!
* My baby sister and her family are moving to our town! I'm so happy and excited for them to live closer! They've been living in a town 2 1/2 hours away. Her husband found a job up here that starts this next week, so we are heading down with our truck tomorrow to help bring some of their stuff up. I'm so excited!
*Steve went to the dentist this morning to get a cavity filled. He loves the happy gas! He said he likes the feeling that his body is flipping, floating, all relaxed etc. I hate the happy gas and actually prefer not to have it. They say they give it to you to help you relax, but it only makes me more anxious. I don't like feeling like I'm losing control, foggy, not altogether there and aware. Maybe it's a girl thing? But anyway, after Steve's appointment we were texting and I could tell he was flying high and in a good mood. He even texted,"  Oh baby! I LOVE happy gas!!!". Silly boy!
*V. went to piano lessons this morning wearing flip flops, jeans, sweater and a witch's hat. She looked so cute and I love seeing her personality and style come out!
* Today is my older sister's birthday. So V. and I took her and her youngest out to lunch to Rupes. We love Rupes and it was fun visiting with her.
* Steve and V. were outside playing ball this evening. I love watching them together!
* We went for a ride on the 4-wheeler as a family. It is such a lovely Spring evening!
* We also went in to Cal-Ranch to see the chicks and rabbits and ducklings. I can't wait until the day we have enough room to get a few of these!

Sweet smelling girl!

One more thing I have to add to my day that I forgot to in my last post.
This morning as V. was getting ready to go to school I thought I would give her a little spritz of my body spray. She's always asking if she can wear some and so I thought that would make her happy. I just finished her hair, and reached out to where it was sitting on the bathroom counter, grabbed it and then gave her a quick spray only to realize at the same time she did what it was I was spraying on her. She opened her mouth in an "Oh no!" look and I immediately starting apologizing to her.
I had grabbed the room spray, NOT the body spray and sprayed it on her!
I quickly grabbed a wet cloth and tried to wipe it off her neck and collar. It smelled pretty strong! I asked her if she wanted to change shirts but she didn't as it's School Pride day and she was wearing her school shirt. So needless to say she went to school smelling like 'Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin'.
It's just been one of those days!!

Today

*  I'll admit it. I cried a little while watching this video. What an amazing experience these 2 young men are going to have. God works in mysterious ways. But always in miraculous ways!

*  In other news, it's Pi Day. So to celebrate I am thinking of making a chocolate pudding pie. That's the only type of pie all three of us like. But I have a Relief Society thing tonight that is a dinner and program. So I'm hoping when I get home there will still be some pie left for me in the fridge!

*  I moved some furniture around on Monday. I know I shouldn't have. But it's just so hard to sit around all day doing nothing waiting for Steve to get home and help me. I feel bad. He works all day and then comes home and has to help me with stuff that needs done here. I also took out the garbage and vacuumed. Other things I'm not supposed to do. And I am paying for it now. My back has increased in pain the last few days. Alright! I learned my lesson! I won't do ANYTHING until my back is healed. It's just so hard though. And Steve doesn't make me feel guilty for having to help me more. He makes me feel guilty for doing it and not waiting for him. {Okay, he really doesn't make me feel guilty. He just says my name in that small reprimanding way," Mary. You need to not be doing that. Wait for me and I'll do it for you."} He doesn't want me to hurt my back anymore than it already is hurt. He's so good. It's just me and my stubbornness and being too proud to admit that I need to depend on him and V. more. I need to humble myself and let them help me.

*  It's going to be another beautiful Spring day today! The heat is off and soon I'll open the doors to let in the fresh sunshine and fresh air!

* Tonight is our Stake Relief Society birthday dinner and program. They want each ward to have a table set up that shows our R.S. history. So the R.S. president and I have been trying to get things ready and I think it will turn out. You never know until you go over there and actually get setting up. We have framed pictures of each of the R.S. presidents our ward has had as well as their testimonies written down. Sis. Ellis has also put together a very pretty Spring bouquet to have on the table. Then I've put together a little collage of photos we've found. This has made me realize I need to take photos of our R.S. nights we do. Most of the photos we do have are older ones! {Did I tell you I'm the Relief Society night coordinator for our ward? I've had the calling for about 10 months and so far am really enjoying it!} Anyway, we also are both bringing anything we have that we've made or done in Relief Society in this ward to display. So I hope it all comes to together and looks good.....I think it will.... I hope it will!

* If you were to come over to my home right now you'd find me in my sweatpants, one of Steve's sweatshirts, hair pulled back in a bun and paint all over my pants and hands. I have been creating today! Creating items to take into the shop to sell and creating items for our R.S. table tonight. I am frantically trying to get it all done! As well as trying to catch up on dishes and laundry and housework!
 

Pleasant day...

*The weather has been so lovely the last few days!!! The sun is shining, birds are singing...it's just so lovely!! {Maybe a little on the windy side, but when you live in Idaho you get used to that!}
Today I turned off all the heat and have the front door open. It's so nice to let the fresh air come into the house! Tonight I will probably need to turn the heat on a little bit, but that's okay. I'll just turn it off again in the morning when it warms up! Spring is right around the corner!!
I have been wearing flips flops only the last couple of days!

*I also got to help in V.'s class room today. That's always fun!

*After that I stopped in to her school's gym to vote on the new school levy. I always feel good, and proud after voting. I'm grateful we live in a country where we have the freedom to vote!

*In a little bit I'll be picking the little one up from school and heading down to ballet class. Then home to make brinner and enjoy the evening as a family.

A very pleasant day today.
{I also washed our bedding today. Which means a nice, clean, good smelling, comfy bed awaits me for bedtime tonight!}

More snow fun!

We have had such a good Winter for snow this year!

During the Holidays Steve pulled V. and her cousin on a sled behind the 4-wheeler. {And maybe I joined in on the fun as well!}

It was so much fun!

 Almost everyday when V. gets home from school she asks to go play in the snow. She has loved it!

There have been a few times where she'll come in and ask for a spoon or a cup. Or both. When I looked outside I found her digging in the snow with the spoon and I'm not sure what she did the cup!
But I love seeing her imagination at work! Such a cutie!

We always follow snow playing with hot cocoa and sometimes a warm bath. I'm so happy we've had good snow to play in this year!

Winter Fun

In February some friends of ours invited us up to their cabin with them for some snow fun! We drove up to Kilgore then from there we had to take snow machines up into the hills to the cabin. Because of my back I couldn't ride a snowmobile. :(

So I rode up in the snow cat with all the supplies.

V. and the other girls all got along great! They always do! We might not see them for a few months but when we get together the girls pick up right where they left off!

 Steve and V. had fun playing in the snow! The snow was so deep it was up past Steve's knees! He buried V. in the snow in this picture.

 Playing around!

 V. and our friends' girls. They had so much fun!

 Steve and V. on the snowmobile.

I was pretty bummed that I couldn't go for a ride. But I sat by the fire and read and still enjoyed myself.
Thanks to Nic and Jenna for inviting us along! It was fun and we hope to do it again next year! {Maybe I'll be able to "play" next time!}

Justin Bieber

V. is playing and starting to get a little crazy and tired. She was saying something like," ...just in time! Justin! Justin Bieber!" I asked her how she knew about Justin Bieber. She replies," It's a beaver. Named Justin. "
I love it!!!

Uneven wrinkles

V., her cousin and I in front of the Mesa Temple

Taken in Arizona, September 2012

As I'm starting to get older, I'm starting to get wrinkles. Which I'm okay with. Wrinkles are a sign of living life. Laugh lines. Worry lines. Memory lines. I am grateful I am blessed to be living to the age to start getting wrinkles!
I am starting to notice however that the wrinkles around my eyes are not the same. I have more/deeper wrinkles around my left eye than I do around my right one. The only explanation I can think as to why this is happening is that it must have something to do with the fact that I still have a small amount of paralysis on the right side of my face. { you can read about why I have paralysis here }.
Yes, I do feel like I can move my eyebrow more, smile bigger etc. But I think there is always going to be some unhealed nerve damage to that side of my face.
It has me curious to see how my face will look as I continue ageing. Will one side of my face be full of deep wrinkles and the other side be not quite as wrinkly? Who knows! I guess we'll see in another 20 years what happens!

Ramblings

* I'm sitting here outside V.'s classroom at her dance studio. I love listening to the beautiful classical music that is pouring out of the open door!
And I love peeking through the window to see 8 cute little girls stretching and pointing their toes.
I love V.'s instructor, Ms. Kristy. I think she is a wonderful teacher and a wonderful role model for these girls. She always has the class under control, without ever using anything but her quiet, gentle voice. Somehow the girls just know to show her the proper respect in class.
V. has fun in class, but is also learning the basic fundamentals she needs to know.
Her teacher always complements and uplifts the girls.
Her teacher is so very feminine and ladylike. I love the way she carries herself with confidence and grace. But never in a  snooty or sexual manner like so many girls/women do now-a-days.
The students just adore Ms. Kristy!
* The snow is slowly melting! It's still cold, but slowly getting warmer. I've even turned the heat down a little in the house! Yay!
*I've gone a week with very little back pain. I'm now only going to the chiropractor twice a week. Obviously following the restrictions he's given me is working. I'm so hopeful I'll be able to start running again in May!
* Steve wants me to pick up Cafe Rio on the way home for dinner. Sounds great to me!
* I help in V.'s classroom at school on Tuesdays. I'm so grateful that I don't have other obligations to prevent me from doing that. I love helping at her school!
* We have a viewing to go to tonight of a family friend. She was in her 80's. Her husband passed away a few years ago. It's sad, but also wonderful to know she is with him again!
* My phone that I'm typing this on is just about dead. So I guess that's enough rambling for today!

Jackson/YellowStone October 2012

Last October we took our annual trip to Jackson and Yellowstone. Steve's brother Mike came with us. I think he said he'd only been once before.
We went up to Jackson and stayed the night. Then the next morning we drove up to Yellowstone and came home later that night. As always, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
The year before there was snow on the ground. This time there was no snow but it still was very cold!

Here we are in Jackson Hole!

 Looking at Lewis Falls.

 Waiting for Old Faithful to go off!

 Tuckered out.

Steve's brother Mike really enjoyed the trip. And he was a good sport to play knock-knock jokes with V. and let her follow him around. She loves that he calls her kiddo!
I think we all decided we'd like to go back in the Spring when the bears are out. So maybe in a couple months I'll be posting about another trip!

So grateful

Steve spent all day yesterday and into the night working on our bathroom. We are finally getting some updating done! There is still alot to do in there and we are hoping that each month we can get a little more done and hopefully by the end of the summer have the bathroom completely redone! Anyway, he worked so hard and I felt bad I couldn't help him. But because of my back, I couldn't do anything but watch. He also carried all  the laundry downstairs for me so I could wash it.
Then today he vacuumed the entire house for me as well. Yes, it's the Sabbath. But since what I can do with the house cleaning is limited, Sundays are the best days for Steve to help.
{V. has vacuumed a couple times this week as well.}
Plus, the other morning I got in the truck and discovered it was full of gas. Steve had filled it up the night before while I was asleep. Now, I CAN do the gas myself still, but he wanted to do it so I wouldn't have to worry about it.
I'm so grateful for him. He works all week to provide for us. Works all Saturday to get the bathroom done. And he still takes the time to help me. I know he really cares for me. These are all small ways a person can show another how much they love them.
Okay, I'll quit being sappy and bragging about Steve. But I count my blessings to have him as a husband. He's so good to me!

Soccer Dad{s}?

Soccer {summer 2012 }

I was filling out V's soccer registration online. As that is how you have to do it this year. She was already in the system because she's played in the past. All I was supposed to do was update her info. As I was looking over her info. I saw they had both Steve and I down as her fathers. I corrected it and then printed it out. It still said I was her father. So I tried correcting it again but it seems intent on leaving it where it was.
So, according to V's soccer registration, she has 2 fathers.
{ and she's still 6, has only 1 year experience, has no insurance and doesn't have a school name. As it wouldn't let me correct those errors either!}

Love at first sight

So, So SO excited!! I have been looking for the perfect door for my pantry for like...um... maybe 18 months or longer. I finally came to the conclusion that it might take longer to find exactly what I want. So until then I need to find something else. I fell in love with the idea of a French door for the pantry door. We went to Lowes last night and I found the perfect pine, french door! I knew immediately it was the one! I looked at the price. $135. whoa! Not gonna happen. Then I look up and see there is a sale price above it. $25! Yipee!! THEN, we get to check out and it rings up at $20!! It was meant to be!!!! I now just need to decide on a stain color, get it stained and then installed. Eventually I'll post pictures. But for right now I am thrilled!!!
{ I may have given Steve the big puppy dog eyes and asked to him to please, pretty please buy the last 2 french doors that were on sale as well. I know that in our next home I will use them and LOVE them!!}

I thought maybe I'd let you know how I hurt my back since I've been talking about it a little bit these last few weeks.
Last November I sneezed and immediately had pain shoot through my back. I doubled over and couldn't stand up straight. I walked over to my bed and laid down and was in so much pain. Over that weekend the pain lessened to where I could move around without hurting so much. And it slowly got a little better after that.
But sitting was horrible. If I sat for too long I would get this burning pain along my lower back. I ended up starting to come home from church early because I'd be hurting too much. Over Christmas, I took my rice bag with me wherever I went to warm up and put on my back while sitting.
Then In January I was helping in V.'s classroom and it was almost like torture sitting at the desk reading with her classmates! That's when I told Steve it was time I saw someone. I didn't know if I just needed a really good deep tissue massage or if it was something more serious.
I went to see Dr. Ellis. He is a chiropractor. After letting me explain what was going on he did a few tests. He said he was 80% certain I had a disk problem. So he told me to be careful, take it easy on my back and all and showed me some exercises to do to help strenghten my back/core. He also gave me some pills that are high in manganese {or something}. It's supposed to help disks.  He said most times disk problems will take care of themselves if we let them. However, he said I will need to be gentle with my back for at least a year for it to completely heal.
After seeing him for maybe 1 week I was starting to feel better. Then all of a sudden the pain was back with intensity! That was when he put me on more restrictions. No running/high impact exercising, no lifting over 10 pounds, etc. For at least until May. He said running isn't out entirely for the next year. Just to wait until May and see how I feel then.
This last Sunday was a really bad day. I hurt whether I was sitting, standing, or laying down. The only relief I found was in laying on my back on a heated massager thing we have. So that's what I did all day. Since then, I actually have been doing real good! The last 3-4 days I've only had a little bit of pain while sitting and nothing while standing. So I've been walking, doing the elliptical and still being careful. Dr. Ellis said to just come see him twice a week now instead of 3 times. But he said to be careful. Alot of times people get feeling better and then do too much too soon and go back to the beginning. So I'm still supposed to follow those restrictions he gave me until May. But I'm hoping that by then I'll be healed enough to start running again.
So what I've been doing when I go in to see him is he adjusts my back and neck, and stretches my lower back.  I lay on a heated bed with rollers to massage everything. They also put electricity on my back. And I get a small back massage. I think everything combined is what's been helping my back.
So yeah, that's what's been going on with my back. Steve and V. have been so good to help with the things I can't do right now.