oh catching some heat....

Wow! Ok - I caught it from both Shauna and Paris and then Angie today... So guess I need to keep everyone caught up on what is really going on with me... I will work on that. It just isn't the easiest thing for me to do. I am not one to ask for help and I hate going to the doctor and the dentist. So it is better to live in denial until I have no other choice. But I really shouldn't be afraid of letting my friends know what is going on. Over the years, I have learned who those true friends are and you all mean so very much to me. Why would I be afraid of telling you what is going on with me. I guess my answer is that we all have so much going on in our lives, that I don't want to worry anyone or bother anyone with my troubles. I just rather be available to help others when they need me. It makes things simpler. So anyway, I hear by promise to keep you all posted of things going on with me. Hang in there everyone - it will take me little baby steps...

Tonight Tom and the boys are off to scouts so a couple hours to myself - what will I do???

Enjoy the rest of the evening!
Til next time,
Laura

busy day for posts....

I called my doc's office today.  Results of my blood work were back.  Everything was normal, just glucose was a bit elevated.  Guess too much easter candy...  But nothing to be concerned about.  So that is a relief.  Guess the next thing is to see what the neurologist has to say...  

Tom got ahold of someone today with some answers about the IRS thing.  Sounds like there was a $1300 thing that he didn't file a 1099 for.  So need to refile that and should clear up the problem. Not sure how the whole 401K thing got involved.  Hopefully it will all go through smoothly....

Laura

photo opps of course...

Here are just a few pics from our day yesterday.


Laura

is it really friday already?

This is spring break week and it has been a crazy one to say the least.  Our weather has just been bizarre.  We have everything from sun to rain to hail to even SNOW!  That's right - snow...  It is almost April!  What's up with that?  

So what has happened this week...  well, Monday I finally went to see my doctor.  I have 

convinced myself that  it is nothing - so that is what we are going with.  But I went anyway.  This big 40 is sneaking up on me and just feel like I am falling apart.  For the past couple of weeks, I have been having some numbness in my face.  Then I started to have some pain in my neck.  Just thought maybe I slept wrong.  But it has been constant for the past couple of weeks.  Guess I saw enough commercials about stroke signals to call my doc, I guess.  He doesn't

 think I have any worries about that.  I have movement in my face and neck and he is not thinking that way.  So he ordered some blood work and has referred me to a neurologist.  May just be a pinched nerve or something.  I haven't heard any results on the blood work and they said if you don't hear anything - that is good news.  Well, what if they are just lost in the mail?? Anyway, will probably give them a call today to just see how they came out.  I have an appointment with the neurologist on the 3rd.  Supposed to plan on a 2 hour appt.  What are 

they going to do to me for 2 hours???  And people wonder why I just hate to go the doctor....  

Stress probably has something to do with it too....  I got home from work Wednesday night to a letter from the IRS....  Apparently "others" have claimed income that we did not claim on our 2006 taxes.   So they think now that we owe $23,000 dollars.  Yes, you read that right - THOUSAND!!!!!  oh and that is due no later than April 23rd.  Oh just let me go get that for you -  um, from WHERE!!!!!  So needless to say, we made a call to the accountant that filed those taxes for us.  He was stumped so Tom faxed the letter to him Thursday.  Apparently it has something to do with Tom's 401K from Intel.  When he left there he didn't do anything with it I guess.  (I don't really understand how this all works...)  So Intel has reported that as income.  The funny thing about this too - well, funny probably isn't the word, it is a coincidence that just last week, Tom has requested that the 401K be transferred to a different retirement account that he has now.  And then this happens.  Now we need to respond back to the IRS - and explain what happened. Will let Tom and the accountant handle this one....  Oh but wait - it is time to file for 2007 now.  We were going to just use Turbo Tax and do them on our own, but now maybe having the accountant to back us up when other letters come isn't such a bad idea...

Yesterday, I took the day off.  Lucas had his ultrasound to check for a thick bladder and to look at his kidneys.  I am thinking we will probably have results of that back early next week and 

then possibly schedule the surgery for his tethered cord.  Since we were in Portland already, we decided to make a day of it and go to OMSI.  Well, with Spring Break, a few other people decided to go too.  It was pretty crowded.  Parking was crazy and there was a line to get in.  Food was hard to get at the cafe, but other than that, the exhibits were good.  People just kind of disperse and it doesn't feel like such a crowd anymore.  We went to the dinosaur exhibit and that was pretty cool.  I was kind of hoping it would be a little more like the Walking with Dinosaurs that was recently here at the Rose Garden and not so much skeletons.  But it was still cool though.  I think I had more fun just hanging with the boys.  It was pretty funny when we walked into the Human Development exhibit.  They did a very quick walk through and didn't really make eye contact with the displays about babies being born, the anatomy of the male, but oh wait - let's stop at the body with all the systems of the body.  And there are buttons to press to light up that area.  What button do you possibly think my 12 year old pressed first?  With full force giggling because he couldn't keep a straight face - he went for the breasts button and they lit up.  Dad would be so proud...

We made it home in time to think of something for dinner.  Absolutely my worst favorite time of the day anymore.  I hate to think - what is for dinner....  Threw something together with chicken in a skillet and then we decided to go check out cars.  The Tahoe is a great vehicle, but it is really killing us on gas.  So thought we would downsize a bit.  Well, our fears were confirmed.  Our "awesome" deal that we got on it wasn't so awesome.  Looks like we are in a situation where we owe more on it than it is worth.  I can't really afford to trade it in and have a higher payment.  So think we are going to hang on to it and look for a little puddle jumper (dependable, I hope...) for me to drive to work.  Then we will have the Tahoe for a family vehicle.  So looks like now I need to go to DEQ and get the tags, those expire end of the month.  

Today, we are just kind of hanging out at home.  I have some baseball projects to do for work and hope to get some house chores done out of the boys.  We will see how far bribery will go with that.  

So enjoy the rest of your day!

Til next time,

Laura

the results are back...

We had the appointment yesterday with the neurosurgeon. We went over Lucas' MRI. It is so overwhelming to listen to a doctor talk about your kid. I hope I can explain all that she said. She was really nice. Talked to Lucas instead of to me about him when he was in the room. It looks like Lucas does have a tethered cord. The MRI showed that the curve of his spine is at about 90 degrees. A normal curve is about 30 degrees. With that and the pain he has been having in his leg is a sign that he is in traction. He is compensating for the fact that the cord is short. There is also a small area of spinibifida. But she said that was not an area for concern. He hasn't had an ultrasound of his bladder so before anything else she wants to check that to see if he has a "thick" bladder. That is scheduled for thursday morning. Then it looks like we will schedule his surgery after that. If he doesn't have the surgery, this can lead to continued issues as he grows older. The surgery will actually be pretty brief. He will need to stay one night because he will need to stay flat. But then she thinks in about 2-3 months, he will no longer have the issues with the bowels, bladder and the leg pain will work itself out. Will be great to see him without the limp and pain again. Will keep you posted as the next steps come about.



Now to get to my saturday... We are going to try to get some house chores done today. Pass the ball around with Jake. Rent some movies and get some projects done for work. Just kind of hang out this weekend at home after a crazy week.

Happy Easter to you all!
Laura

losing track of time...

Well, this week is almost over and it is all a blur. So will just hit the highlights - that I can remember....

Lacrosse has started for Jake and we are trying to figure out how to get him to practice. He is playing on a different league this year so they are conflicting with field schedules. So Jake's practice is at 4 and now three days a week instead of 2. So on top of that, we have scouts, homework and tutoring. Resulting in now no free evenings during the week. Not even friday! I am still unsure about his coach and not sure what to do about that.

Tuesday, I took Lucas for his MRI and we will meet with the neurosurgeon tomorrow afternoon to get the results. I am hoping for the best and maybe get some answers on what is going on with him.

Work has been keeping me busy. We finished up the projects today for the Paper Wishes catalog. Always a breath of fresh air when that is finished. I think I am getting everything figured out for the event in Canada that I am teaching at in a few weeks. Besides teaching classes, doing make and takes and a retailer presentation, I am now doing a live tv spot! Oh boy... this will be a first for me. Still some things to finish up, but think it is coming together.

Well, need to get another load of laundry going and load the dishwasher. I wish there was an easy button that would just keep those two chores done regularly. At this point though, there is no such thing. So it is me...

Enjoy the evening. Until next time - hope all is well for you all.
Laura

another sunday...

Wow, seems like the weekends fly by and before I know it, it is sunday. Which means tomorrow is Monday. So going to try to make the most of this day and see what we can get accomplished.

Tuesday night, I came home from work to be notified of a scheduled family meeting for that evening. Jake tells me that they (he and Lucas) have an agenda with some topics that they would like to discuss.... I thought I had walked into Intel or something. But after dinner, we had our little family meeting. Apparently their sleeping arrangement of sharing a bedroom is not working out for them. So we figured out a compromise of moving furniture around and even seating arrangements in the vehicles. We worked out a plan to see how they do with more responsibilities around the house and to earn more allowance. We established that I am not the maid and that one particular job is not one particular person's job. If the garbage can is full - take it out. If the dishwasher needs unloaded, unload it... These boys are growing up and past time to take part in helping more around the house. But it was a productive meeting. Funny how the littlest things can into such turmoil. I wish that so many other issues in the world could be solved by a family meeting at the kitchen table. Now they want to meet more often....

Monday, Jake started lacrosse. So he will be at practice two to three times a week. Then in a few weeks, we will be having games again on saturdays. Busy times. But he likes it. I am a little worried about his coach though and not really sure how to handle that. I have seen this guy coach last year and sportsmanship and the kids having fun, was not the priority. Jake has had two practices with him now and he says that he doesn't like him. "It is all about winning and not being failures..." There is going to be a lot of additional coaching by the guys with Rhino Lacrosse who also play for the Lumberjax. So it will not only be his coach. I like this part of it. So the president of the league is going to be helping with the team over the next couple of weeks, I think I might talk to him a bit and share my concerns. Am I making the right choice with this, or is this a lesson for Jake that things are tough and he needs to find a way to work through it. But sportsmanship is so important. I don't want him to lose the fun though either... I am just not sure what to do.

I finally got my passport application in on thursday. I was going to go to Seattle and do the app in a day process. But found out that you need to show proof of travel. And since my trip is more than 2 weeks away, I wouldn't be able to get an appointment. So went to the office in Hillsboro and paid the expidite fees and sent off for the passport. Now just keeping my fingers crossed that it will be here in time.

Thursday was also a day of conferences. Jake's went well. I really like the team he works with. His teacher is on maternity leave and he really likes his sub. He says that she is stricter than his regular teacher and she is working on "the rules" for the class. Jake is my rule driven kid for sure. He does not like to see kids getting away with things and not going by the rules. So after his conference, we headed to Lucas' school. Wednesday got away from us and we totally missed his conference. I wanted to talk to his teacher though so we just kind of showed up. It worked out that no one else was there. This school is set up so weird with the conferences. It is just kind of walk from class to class and hope that the teacher knows what kid they are there to meet about. But Lucas just hates school. He is having such a hard year. I wanted the teacher to know this and to try to figure out what exactly is going on so we can make the rest of the year better for him. So I told her this and then let Lucas explain to her what was going on. I think it was good. We were able to show Lucas where there were things he could do to make things less stressful on himself with school work. She is going to move some kids around and strategically place Lucas near another kid that he gets along with. So in the end, I think it went well. His grades are really starting to slip and I think the whole attitude of "hating" school is showing. I hope that he can finish the year on an upbeat now.

After the conference, we went to the Beaverton School District about open enrollment schools. Apparently with the Option schools we have, it is creating a low attendance for the smaller schools in the area. The school that Lucas goes to is HUGE!!!! I don't think it will be a good place for Jake to go to next year at all. So he applied to the option schools and neither of them got in. I looked into private schools even. Oh boy - those tuition costs would kill me. I got talking to some other parents and found out that boundary exceptions are not needed anymore. That these open enrollment schools are available. So at the district they tell me the deadline to apply was the 1st. Ok, how was I suppose to know that. What can I do? She tells me I can go to the school and apply for an administrative transfer. So off to Meadow Park we go. This school has been spoken very highly about from many parents that I have talked to. So that was our hope. I go into the office and turn in my applications. The gal at the school said that I was there just in time. That thursday was the deadline for open enrollment. Oh ok... District office told me different and I am starting to feel like I am getting the run around. Anyway, she ended up being very nice. I felt like she was very upfront with me about how the process was going to work. We may run into an issue with Jake's IEP. Lucas may get in but Jake not. Then we would use the Admin transfer as our plan B for Jake. So with spring break coming up, we probably wouldn't hear before the first of April. But in the mail yesterday I got the applications with the note at the bottom that both boys were approved for open enrollment application. Ok, so what does that mean now??? No letter of explanation of the next step... So guess I will call monday and see what we do next. But I think that is good news. I think we got both the boys into Meadow Park for the remaining of middle school. With Open enrollment, we won't have to apply each year and busing may even be available. But think this is good news.

Friday was a day of errands and then got Tom and Jake off for their camping trip. Lucas and I made some really yummy pizza for dinner but we passed on the ice cream run. It was a long crazy day and I was in my pjs before 8!

Friday, I also got the MRI scheduled for Lucas. Apparently there was a mix up with the referral being faxed. They sent it to the wrong office and that office didn't bother to tell anyone that they got it by mistake. anyway, finally got it scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and then friday afternoon we will meet with the neurosurgeon. I am really hoping we can finally figure out what is going on with this kid. It might possibly be a tethered cord. It could be connected with all his issues. But we will see what they find.

Yesterday, I worked some in the am and baked a cake for my dad's 70th birthday dinner. Lucas and I went to my parents house for dinner and then she never served my cake. So brought it home... Guess we will have dessert for tonight!

Brings us to today... Lucas has a speech to finish and I have some projects to work on for work. Then we are going to work on the clean sweep of the boys' bedroom. Time to get rid of more toys in there and clothes that are too small. From our family meeting, Jake is feeling like I made him get rid of all his toys (when we cleaned out the game room) and not any of Lucas'. Jake and I went through the toys together and he decided what was to be given away, but mom takes the fall again... So need to give away some of Lucas' stuff now to balance everything out in the world... But since it is now after 11:30, I should probably get some breakfast going. Lucas wants french toast and sausage. Then we will get to things.

So have a good day today! I think even a nap may be on my agenda today...
Laura

they are off again... at least Tom and Jake...

The Scouts have another camp out this weekend. Lucas didn't want to go this time. He has figured out that he is putting together the menus, doing the shopping and most of the work at camp. So he thought he would pass this time. But Jake wanted to go because they are doing wilderness survival. Seems like that is all they have been watching lately. Every survivorman show available on tv, DVD, or the internet. They even put together their survival kits for the campout.

But they are off. Lucas and I are going to make pizza for dinner and maybe make an ice cream run later. Since it is almost 7:30, we better get to it.

Just a quiet night for a change... I hope you are all enjoying one too.
Laura

oh my.... yummy apple dumplings!

Last night I googled apple dumplings and found a site that even had video along with step by step instructions for making apple dumplings. I did some short cuts and only made 4 instead of the 6 like the recipe. How would we decide who would have the extra two? So 4 it is.... I also didn't make the crust. I had some pie crusts in the fridge so used those. I bet puff pastry would work really well too....

But during dinner Jake was weighing his options. I told him, if he didn't eat his dinner, then no dessert. So he called me on it and said, there isn't any dessert.... I told him what I was planning to make and it was funny to see the wheels turning in his head. He wanted to know exactly what it was he had to do in order to get dessert. He ate just the amount of dinner to sneak by...

The dumplings were a huge hit. Tom had been building a shed all day and kept falling asleep in the chair. So he was going to go to bed. But he kept checking the oven to see when they would be done. At one point, he asked, if the timer says 7 minutes, will they be done in 7 minutes??? I could tell he was weighing whether he was going to go to bed or wait. He waited!

Lucas asked me if I had saved the website with the recipe so I could make it again. Apparently, "this is the best dessert I have ever had!"

They were definitely yummy but alot of sugar in them. Think next time, I could get away with cutting that in half. But it will be a recipe that will be repeated....

Lucas is wanting to save up money for a computer, a guitar, who knows... It changes hourly. But he has put an ad on Craig's list for miscellaneous jobs. He even arranged with a friend's mom to come by and pick up their cans to recycle. Quite the little businessman. So yesterday afternoon, we went and picked them up and took them to Freddies. By the time we were done, he had $3 in his pocket, burning a hole. He is lucky, I didn't take a share for gas $$$. There were cub scouts at the door selling candy and he wanted to buy one... Lucas - you had $ in your pocket less than 2 minutes. He resisted and has actually saved it now for over 24 hours. He is not one that can really save money so this will be a good challenge for him. Jake on the other hand, it is hard to get him to decide what he wants to buy. So he is good with saving money. We will see how this goes for Lucas...

Today we are losing an hour with the time change. I am feeling it already! I didn't realize how many clocks we have in this house until I start to change the time! Why can't they automatically adjust like the cell phone and computers? Will need to change the batteries in the smoke detectors today too.

Tom and Lucas are out working on the shed today. Our old metal shed was falling apart and too small. So Tom is building one like an out building. He will put the same siding on it like the house and we will need to paint it. But I am excited to have shelves in there. Will be easier to store things!

Jake is listening to his Harry Potter on tape today. So he will be "out" for the day. Usually he puts it on his iPod, but today he has three chairs lined up next to the computer in the kitchen. He is lounged out with a blanket and in his land of Hogwarts....

I have some hours to finish up for work. Got a load of towels going again... who uses all these towels? So now time to work....

Enjoy the day!
Laura

thought I would check in....

I thought I would stop in with a quick update.

This week was the usual crazy times.  But Thursday evening while Jake went to tutoring, Lucas and I went for a walk.  Since it was after dark, he was prepared for anything.  He took his ten essentials day pack for boy scouts.  Ready with a flashlight or first aid if either was needed.  Jake didn't want a repeat from our walk in Alaska on the dock, so he told me, "Don't fall down, Mom..."  Thanks for the good words of advice, Jake...  

So off we went.  I wasn't too sure of that area but figured it was probably just one of those neighborhoods that loop around each other and come back to where you started...  Um... not so much.  Wasn't really sure where we were going in the end, but we did end up by the community college where the boys have been for football and lacrosse.  So knew where I was then.  We ran out of sidewalk for part of it, so Lucas stopped our walk to get out his flashlight.  He definitely is a kid that just automatically looks out for you.  He would walk a bit and turn the flashlight backwards so I could see.  But then he realized he couldn't see when the light was behind him.  So he started just saying, "hole....  root.....  rock..... TREE! " as he almost ran into it...   Luckily we made it then to the sidewalk again.

But it was a nice 45 minute walk and nice to just talk to him about what is going on in school, how he likes scouts, and to just hang out with him.  

Wednesday night I made a huge pot of taco soup and took some over to my friend, Loritta's house on thursday afternoon.  She is home recooperating from surgery on her shoulder.  It was great to see her.  She is going through so much right now and I just wish she lived closer so I could see her more.

Friday night we signed the papers for the re-fi on the house.  Wow, we were surprised on what this place appraised for.  We have almost doubled the value in the house since we bought it in December 1999.  As we do more home improvements, the value will just go up.  So guess that is good.  Now just to find the time and money to do the improvements.  Of course, all the big ones are left.  Kitchen, bathrooms....

Tonight, I made a veggie stir fry for dinner.  It turned out really good.  Now I need to try to find a recipe for apple dumplings or baked apples.  My mom made them when we were growing up and just can't remember how she did it.  Another thing that just really sounded good today.  So off to search through the food network.com   

Hope all is well for all of you that check in with me here...  

Til next time...

Laura

it is only Tuesday....

But I have been trying to make this day Wednesday all day.  Not sure why.  Can only think that it is because Wednesdays are now going to be just an evening at home.  No tutoring.  No Scouts.  Just an open evening.  

But that was not the case.  Today was tuesday.  I lost track of time at work and didn't get out of there til almost 6.  So Tom took Jake to tutoring tonight after the three of them practiced throwing the lacrosse ball around.  

I tried to make dinner tonight but all that turned out was the squash and salad.  Not sure what happened with the chicken.  So Jake bought a jerky from Lucas and thought he was getting his protein.  Not sure what really is in that stuff...  But maybe I don't want to know..

So today's accomplishment was that I completed my class projects for the Canada event I am teaching at for HOTP.  Got the instructions done and sometimes that seems to take as long as putting the projects together.  Now to put together the make and take project and see about the retailer part of it.  But felt like I actually got something done today.

Came home and Lucas actually had unloaded the dishwasher.  Thought that was cool, until I found out Tom told him that he needed to also load it!  Found this out after I had already reloaded it...  Baby steps I guess...  

So going to add some music to my iPod and head to bed.  Was dragging today and just felt like I never really woke up so will call it a night.

Hope your day was productive in some way and you feel you have accomplished something.  I think these little things is what continues to get me through the day to day....

'Til another time...

Laura

been a bad blogger...

so while trying to wake up from what seems like just another short night of sleep and drinking my coffee, thought I would stop in to write a quick update for this past week.

Anymore, I just feel if I can make it through each day with everything that I need to do, the kids are to the places they need to be (with clean clothes on, fed, homework done....) I feel like it was a good day.  My calendar book is covered with something everyday and now that it is turned to a new month - I am overwhelmed to see that March is as full as February!

So guess we will just do a summary of the week here...

Monday, we had the appraisal for the house.  So for the two wild and crazy days of house cleaning, he didn't even spend more than 15 minutes in the house.  Now I guess we have to sign papers this friday night here at the house.  Why?  Don't they have an office?  So once again, going to have to do another mad and crazy day to clean house....   Tom and the boys went to scouts that evening.  It is kind of nice now that I will have that evening to do whatever it is that I need to do.  May go here and there to the meetings to see what they are all about.  While they were gone, I took a huge tub of toys to the Child Outreach.  Jake and I had cleaned out some of their toys last weekend to make more room in their "man cave".  They were very excited to see me there with that.  This is such a great facility.  Jake and I went and volunteered there once with the cub scouts.  You are given a person's name and you pull together, clothes, books, toys, etc for that particular person.  Then it goes to the agency for that child and then directly to them.  Jake felt really good knowing that he had put together all that one particular child would need and that it was free for them.  So we now donate all of our clothing, toys, books, etc. there.  After scouts, both boys came home with boxes of candy!  Apparently it is candy sales fundraiser time.  Lucas hooked up with a friend to see if they could sell more together, so he had two boxes of candy.  So Tom and I have been taking candy with us to work and trying to unload this anywhere that we can.  Because the clincher is, once the box is opened, it is yours.  It can not be returned!  Which means whatever they don't sell, we have to pay for....  So we are selling!  Anyone want a candy bar????  I even took Jake's box with me this weekend to the convention.  Hit the vendors up during tear down and left with only 4 bars left.  So pretty close.  Now just need to get Lucas' box sold.  He has jerky too so will take longer.  

Then Tuesday, Jake had tutoring that night so got some grocery shopping done.  I think of all errands - the grocery store is the worst.  I never feel organized enough to know what I am there for.  Even with a list!  So I ended up getting stuff and apparently Tom went to Costco while I was gone and got many of the same items but in Costco size....  No need to buy dish soap for awhile...  

Wednesday evening was the last family activity for Jake's cub scout group.  We met and put shadow boxes together with his shirt and all of his achievements from scouting.  That was fun.  Jake has had an awesome den leader the past 1 1/2 years that he has been in cub scouts.  She was so involved with all the boys and a just an overall wonderful role model for the boys.  This den was the last to cross over for her after 11 years in cub scouts.  We were so very grateful for our time with her.

Thursday - that day is a blur....  Oh I worked setting up the booth at the convention.  Convention weekends for me are almost like a time capsule.  The days are so long when it is finally over, it just felt like a week had passed.  Got home in time to watch the last half of Survivor, get Jake through homework and the boys in bed.  Then I worked on some projects for work and put together - I think it was about 16 pages for an album for Vicki.  She is a friend that I worked with on the Creating Keepsakes convention team.  She has retired from the team so we put together a memory album for her and had the many vendors sign it.  It is still a work in progress though as many are still going to add pages to it.  But finally ended that day about 3 am and caught a couple hour nap on the couch before starting my friday.

Friday - worked the make and takes at the convention.  These are always fun for me through all the work.  I see so many familiar faces and friends that has been just too long since our last visit.  Then this friday was the big day!  It was our 4th "official" wedding anniversary.  Sure does feel like 16 years though, and somedays even longer than that!  (Shauna - thank you so much for your offer to watch the boys that night, but I just would never feel right imposing on you like that - especially with all you have on your plate right now...  But your offer was grately appreciated.)  But we decided to try giving the boys the chance to stay at home together while we went out to dinner.  They are to the age where staying alone is ok, but the two of them together is a challenge.  But this was a special occasion and we thought we could trust them enough to try it....  911 on hold....  or at least speed dial....  food and movie rented....  Should be good for at least hour and a half, right???  So got them a pizza on my way home and they rented a movie with the On Demand.  We were off to dinner at McCormick and Schmicks.  Very nice dinner, table in the back, candles.....  But right next to a table of teenagers.  There were at least 6 girls and two moms.  This was a very expensive bday dinner by the end.  The bday girl was on her phone texting the whole time!  Even when they were singing Happy Birthday to her!  She at one point even shooshed them...  Give me a break!  Does she really have that much to say that is so important that it can't wait....   

But after our dinner, I called home.  I resisted until then.  Almost called them from the corner when I left!  They were doing pretty good.  Their movie had gotten over though so they started watching another.  Ok, you were only supposed to rent one!  But this was a free movie - Charlie's Angels of all things...  These boys are growing up.

Saturday was another day at the convention.  Good day.  We were much busier.  After we tore down, we went to dinner at Rheinlander.  Such a good time.  Amazing yummy food!  And just good times.  I had such a terrible headache all day.  But this wonderful amaretto drink I had seemed to put that headache away.  We ended up closing the restaurant with so many good memories and stories of our trips together and just overall good laughs.  Vicki liked her album and hope now that the rest of the pages get added!

Sunday, I worked some of my hours before going out target shooting with Tom and the boys.  It was a nice little drive and just a good time.  Nice to just hang out with them and talk too.  We left the radio off in the car and got to hear again how much they are growing up.  Jake's wittiness kept us laughing.  Especially Lucas.  Get that kid giggling and he is gone...  

Then last night was another scout night for the boys.  No more candy came home so that was good.  Instead of going to the store when everyone was gone, I used the quiet time to work on my projects for an event I am teaching at in Canada.  That is coming up in April so need to get that done so kits can be made and shipped, etc.  Will finish that up today at work...  

Then it was off to the store at 10pm when the boys were showered, homework done and in bed...  

But now it is tuesday morning and time to do it all over again.  Will try to keep up with the blog updates more than once a week :) !!!  Hope all is going well with you all that check in here with me.  Shauna - I think of you everyday.  I know you have so much to deal with but know that you are in my thoughts and I am sending you all the HOPE that I have to help fight this fight...  I hope that we can have a playdate soon with Paris - even if it is just for coffee....  

Have a good tuesday! Til next time.....

Laura