So I've found that now that I'm bullet journalling it's easier to remember what to blog about. I have all of my events and appointments in one place, and each month has a page specifically for me to write what I want to blog about from that month.
Early in February we got to watch the 2 episodes of Family Feud that our friend, Heidi, was on. We enjoyed getting to see it and hearing about how hot her husband is (ha ha).
Caleb went to a gun show with his uncle and cousin. He bought himself a hunting journal and a set of throwing knives. He is so excited to be old enough to start hunting this fall. Where has the time gone?
I bought a kitchen table for $10 that I'm going to refinish this spring. I'm really excited about this project.
We brought my drafting desk in to the house and it sits right in front of our big living room window. I love having something of mine in here.
Things got pretty rough for Caleb for a while. His anxiety and depression reared their ugly heads. We stayed right on top of it. His psychiatrist put him on an antidepressant, we met with the teachers at the school about it and he will start counselling next month as well. We can already see the medication making a big difference for him and are so glad we dealt with things immediately. We are also blessed with him having such a wonderful pediatric psychiatrist.
We had a nasty cold go through our house this month. It started with Brettley having croup and ending up in the ER one night. I joked that it's not winter until one of our kids goes to the ER with severe croup. It spread to his chest and from there we all took turns being sick. I'm still fighting mine off.
Ty sang the US and Canadian national anthems at the Hurricanes game with the school choir this month. They did very well, and he loved it.
John and I managed to find time to have a lunch date at Tony Roma's this month. We also played my original D&D campaign for the first time in years. I loved it.
For the first time since last May, I dyed my hair. It is a really fun shade of red and I am loving it. I really needed a pick-me-up, and it helped a lot.
Ty and Brettley started basketball camp on Saturdays at the school. They aren't terribly coordinated, but they had fun. I also registered Brettley for soccer starting in late April. He is super excited about it.
This evening we got to go to the grade 1 project-based learning showcase at the school. Brettley showed us a bunch of stuff about animals he did. He was so proud of himself.
Also, I am currently going through a change with my meds. While we got my anxiety mostly under control, my depression was/is still extremely bad. So the psychiatrist lowered my Seroquel from 75 mg back down to 50 mg, because I'm tired all of the time. I have now started taking Cipralex (an antidepressant) in addition to that. Hopefully we will figure out what will work best for me. For now, I'm just taking things 1 day at a time, sometimes 1 hour at a time. My bullet journal gives me something to focus on that helps me find a bit of happiness, so I'm really grateful that I took a chance and tried it out.
The goings on of our geeky little family and the musings and soapbox moments of the lone female in the group.
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Thursday, February 1, 2018
January 2018
January began with the passing of the prophet, President Thomas S Monson. I loved hearing him talk and tell stories in his comforting grandfather voice. He was a shining example of humble service. He will be greatly missed. My boys were very sad. Caleb was only a toddler when President Hinckley passed away, so this is the first time he has gone through this, really. It was so comforting to know that the Lord already had a plan in place for who would next lead the church, under His direction. I could see in the past couple of years how President Nelson was being prepared to take up the task, and grew in my love for him and his devotion to doing the work of the Lord.
I started reading again this past month, which was a big deal. I had stopped reading when I got really sick last year, so it's nice to be enjoying something that has been a lifelong hobby for me. Brettley also hit a reading milestone and is officially reading grade 2 level books now. I suspect he'll get to grade 3 books before the end of the year. Caleb is now reading high school level books, and apparently asking college level questions in science class. Ty has grown to love reading so much this year, which is such a joy to see.
I began my calling in nursery and was surprised by how quickly I fell in love with it. I had been in nursery when we left Edmonton and it had never been a happy place for me there, but here I instantly felt connected to these young ones and love their sweet little spirits. They are truly a joy to be around.
I discovered bullet journaling this month. It's a system that was made for me, I'm sure. I love lists, calendars, being organized, office supplies, and this combines them all. I've been loving it!
I finally got around to making a large wall calendar project that I'd been wanting to make for the past several years. John was a big help with it.
I got to see C, L's mom, when we were out shopping one day, which was a wonderful experience.
I have started walking more, outside and doing steps inside when it's too cold or icy. I found this really cool thing where it tells you the distances between locations from Middle Earth (Tolkien's world), so I'm using that to set goals for myself.
Last weekend I attended our Stake Relief Society Conference, which was amazing. I attended 2 classes. The first was 'The Courage to be Imperfect' which referenced Elder Holland's October 2017 talk quite a bit. The second class I went to was 'Don't Look Around, Look Up' where we talked a lot about the need to look to the Lord instead of comparing ourselves to others. We all got to listen to Dr Wayne Burton talk as well as play and sing for us. There was a wonderful luncheon afterward. I'm so glad I got to have that uplifting experience.
Yesterday was Bell Let's Talk, which I actively participated in to help fundraise, but also to bring awareness about the need that still exists for more education for the general public, more research and better access to supports. Obviously, this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. Caleb had a psychiatrist appointment yesterday and he gets to come off of his last medication. It was a very happy victory to see him have come this far from where we were even 2 years ago. He is such a brave little fighter.
I started reading again this past month, which was a big deal. I had stopped reading when I got really sick last year, so it's nice to be enjoying something that has been a lifelong hobby for me. Brettley also hit a reading milestone and is officially reading grade 2 level books now. I suspect he'll get to grade 3 books before the end of the year. Caleb is now reading high school level books, and apparently asking college level questions in science class. Ty has grown to love reading so much this year, which is such a joy to see.
I began my calling in nursery and was surprised by how quickly I fell in love with it. I had been in nursery when we left Edmonton and it had never been a happy place for me there, but here I instantly felt connected to these young ones and love their sweet little spirits. They are truly a joy to be around.
I discovered bullet journaling this month. It's a system that was made for me, I'm sure. I love lists, calendars, being organized, office supplies, and this combines them all. I've been loving it!
I finally got around to making a large wall calendar project that I'd been wanting to make for the past several years. John was a big help with it.
I got to see C, L's mom, when we were out shopping one day, which was a wonderful experience.
I have started walking more, outside and doing steps inside when it's too cold or icy. I found this really cool thing where it tells you the distances between locations from Middle Earth (Tolkien's world), so I'm using that to set goals for myself.
Last weekend I attended our Stake Relief Society Conference, which was amazing. I attended 2 classes. The first was 'The Courage to be Imperfect' which referenced Elder Holland's October 2017 talk quite a bit. The second class I went to was 'Don't Look Around, Look Up' where we talked a lot about the need to look to the Lord instead of comparing ourselves to others. We all got to listen to Dr Wayne Burton talk as well as play and sing for us. There was a wonderful luncheon afterward. I'm so glad I got to have that uplifting experience.
Yesterday was Bell Let's Talk, which I actively participated in to help fundraise, but also to bring awareness about the need that still exists for more education for the general public, more research and better access to supports. Obviously, this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. Caleb had a psychiatrist appointment yesterday and he gets to come off of his last medication. It was a very happy victory to see him have come this far from where we were even 2 years ago. He is such a brave little fighter.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
October 2017
The first few days of October our region had a massive snow storm. The boys even got to experience their first official snow day. Snow seems to make many people in my life sad, angry and other negative emotions. I'm generally indifferent to it. It looks super pretty sometimes, but mostly it's just part of living in Alberta and that's how I see it. This time, the snow felt like home. I live in the desert of Alberta now. It's hot, it's dry and it's crazy windy in this Chinook region. Snow gave me a sense of familiarity.
John and the boys stayed home on our snow day. I baked super amazing massive chewy chocolate chip cookies as well as some diabetic friendly peanut butter cookies for John. I also baked a Saskatoon Berry Pie that week. That's my favourite kind of pie in the whole world, but it was the first time I've ever made one. I also had my birthday that week, which I mentioned in my previous post. The highlight of that day was a surprise visit from my brother. Love that guy!
John and the boys stayed home on our snow day. I baked super amazing massive chewy chocolate chip cookies as well as some diabetic friendly peanut butter cookies for John. I also baked a Saskatoon Berry Pie that week. That's my favourite kind of pie in the whole world, but it was the first time I've ever made one. I also had my birthday that week, which I mentioned in my previous post. The highlight of that day was a surprise visit from my brother. Love that guy!
John and I actually were able to find Rod's grove. It's a bench surrounded by trees and flowers that was made by John's dad's friends after he passed away. I kept asking family here where it was and they'd always say something like "oh, it's by so-and-so's house". Um... I don't know where people live here. But anyway, we finally found it and we love it!
We had our municipal election. Holy doodle, I've never heard people in Canada get that nasty about an election in Canada ever before. It was not fun and I was glad when it was over. There was some humour though when someone grabbed some of the election signs from a neighbouring town (that we apparently have a bit of a rivalry with) and put them up here in town.
We had a heartwarming experience in the pharmacy mid-month. John and I were in the pharmacy to get my prescription for my meds filled. The store was having some system issues with their debit machine while they were ringing through the lady ahead of us. The cashier let us know what the total was for my pills in case we had the cash to cover it. We both realized we had no cash and kind of figured John would have to go to the bank to take out money for it. Then, the kind lady in front of us put down the cash on the counter to cover the cost of my meds and told the cashier she was paying for them. Neither of us knew her, but she was willing to pay for my meds for me, no questions asked. It was a bright ray of light in what has been a very dark time for me.
John and I have been going on Saturday date in to Lethbridge in conjunction with our weekly grocery shopping. 2 weekends ago I got some jeans that fit (I had none) and then we went for brunch at Firestone. I had half of a club sandwich and cheddar broccoli soup. So delicious! We LOVE Firestone. It was my belated birthday meal since I wasn't doing well around my actual birthday.
The boys did their annual Primary Presentation. It was Caleb's last one. They all did great. Brettley even complimented Ty loudly after he said his part. It made us chuckle.
Ty turned 9 and I did a post saying 9 things about him on Facebook. Here they are:
1) He is, hands down, the winner for recipient of 'most lines I never thought I'd have to use as a parent'.
2) His favourite colour is blue.
3) He loves Disney Princess movies.
4) He is doing choir in school this year. He also likes to serenade the shower-head regularly.
5) He is my only boy who has hazel eyes or who is a south paw. Both are traits he shares with his dad.
6) Ty loves math, it is by far his favourite school subject.
7) He loves to talk randomly about cotton candy and/or pigs. He also randomly likes to rotate.
8) Well, really, he's just incredibly random in general.
9) Ty is an extremely happy person. I'm sure Heavenly Father gave him to me as my own personal ray of sunshine.
I had quite a few comments from people after my last blog post. It made me grateful that I chose to break my public silence about my struggles. Things seem a lot more positive having that added support. THANKS, GUYS!
Today we're enjoying Halloween, so here is our annual picture. Caleb is a military pilot, Ty is Harry Potter and Brettley is Boba Fett.
Friday, September 1, 2017
August 2017 Pt 2
John came home to stay on Friday 18 August. He got in super late, but it was such a happy moment for us. The next day we cleaned at the church and got a new (to us) barbecue. We haven't had one for a few years, so we are very excited to have one again. Then John and I went on a date to Firestone (yum, my favourite) to celebrate him finally being home with us.
I got to help can my 20 pints of kernel corn from our garden. It's fun learning these new skills that are so useful.
John's mom was home briefly on the 25th before they took off to bring her to her mission field. John was able to give her a blessing before she left. The kids miss her a lot. We send her an email every week to update her on how we are.
On Sunday I saw that they announced that they are rolling "Come, Follow Me" in to the Priesthood and Relief Society lessons next year. I am super excited about this. I loved this when I taught the youth and think it will be an amazing thing for these adult classes.
We've spent most of the last week under a heat warning here and several days with air quality issues from the smoke as well. I'm really looking forward to after Thanksgiving.
Yesterday we went the the school and the boys got to take a tour of it. They each saw their new classrooms and met their new teachers. Brettley is very excited that his classroom has fish in it. Ty has opted to go by Tyrell this year since there will be another Ty in his class. Caleb has 2 teacher, but only was able to meet 1 of them yesterday. They also got to spend a couple of minutes playing in the school's new indoor playground. We brought their school supplies home and got them all labeled and ready to go for Tuesday. I also sorted and labeled all of the school supplies for my sister-in-law's kids yesterday. I do love me some school supplies. However, I'm really going to miss having my kids at home. I was so spoiled last year in getting to do things on our own schedule and having them to keep me company as we learned things together.
Fun note, just as I finished writing the previous paragraph, our heat warning was finally lifted. Why? Because it's ONLY going to get up to 28C today, ha ha. I'm so grateful that my bedroom is in the basement.
I got to help can my 20 pints of kernel corn from our garden. It's fun learning these new skills that are so useful.
John's mom was home briefly on the 25th before they took off to bring her to her mission field. John was able to give her a blessing before she left. The kids miss her a lot. We send her an email every week to update her on how we are.
On Sunday I saw that they announced that they are rolling "Come, Follow Me" in to the Priesthood and Relief Society lessons next year. I am super excited about this. I loved this when I taught the youth and think it will be an amazing thing for these adult classes.
We've spent most of the last week under a heat warning here and several days with air quality issues from the smoke as well. I'm really looking forward to after Thanksgiving.
Yesterday we went the the school and the boys got to take a tour of it. They each saw their new classrooms and met their new teachers. Brettley is very excited that his classroom has fish in it. Ty has opted to go by Tyrell this year since there will be another Ty in his class. Caleb has 2 teacher, but only was able to meet 1 of them yesterday. They also got to spend a couple of minutes playing in the school's new indoor playground. We brought their school supplies home and got them all labeled and ready to go for Tuesday. I also sorted and labeled all of the school supplies for my sister-in-law's kids yesterday. I do love me some school supplies. However, I'm really going to miss having my kids at home. I was so spoiled last year in getting to do things on our own schedule and having them to keep me company as we learned things together.
Fun note, just as I finished writing the previous paragraph, our heat warning was finally lifted. Why? Because it's ONLY going to get up to 28C today, ha ha. I'm so grateful that my bedroom is in the basement.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
August 2017 Pt 1
We got a tiny bit of rain the first night in August. We'd been praying and praying for rain, so it was very welcome.
The older boys finished up their swimming lessons. Caleb passed level 4 and Ty passed level 2. Brettley wasn't able to do more than 2 classes since his croup was so bad. Caleb has asked to do 2 levels of swimming next year, which I'm totally fine with.
I finished up the last bit of school supply shopping I had to do for the kids. We also bought 2 huge Moses Lake watermelons, which were delicious.
John's mom left for her 10 days in the MTC before she heads to her mission at the end of this week. I got to be her companion for her last evening here after she was set apart.
We started harvesting the garden. I ended up with 16 pints of green beans. I snapped them all and my brother-in-law canned them for me. We are starting on the corn tomorrow.
My niece and I took the boys to the corn maze last week. We had fun and got to see and pet some animals. Ty especially loved the pigs. Brettley really loved the very tall slide that they had there.
We got the best news ever last week. John was approved to work remotely for his company from the Lethbridge office. He got here late on Friday night. It was a very happy day in our house. We are so happy to have him here with us and to be a complete family again. I have learned to not take the little things for granted. The things I ended up missing the most were getting to grocery shop together, getting to have a hug in the evening after a tough day and having John joke around and tease us. We feel very blessed to all be together again.
The older boys finished up their swimming lessons. Caleb passed level 4 and Ty passed level 2. Brettley wasn't able to do more than 2 classes since his croup was so bad. Caleb has asked to do 2 levels of swimming next year, which I'm totally fine with.
I finished up the last bit of school supply shopping I had to do for the kids. We also bought 2 huge Moses Lake watermelons, which were delicious.
John's mom left for her 10 days in the MTC before she heads to her mission at the end of this week. I got to be her companion for her last evening here after she was set apart.
We started harvesting the garden. I ended up with 16 pints of green beans. I snapped them all and my brother-in-law canned them for me. We are starting on the corn tomorrow.
My niece and I took the boys to the corn maze last week. We had fun and got to see and pet some animals. Ty especially loved the pigs. Brettley really loved the very tall slide that they had there.
We got the best news ever last week. John was approved to work remotely for his company from the Lethbridge office. He got here late on Friday night. It was a very happy day in our house. We are so happy to have him here with us and to be a complete family again. I have learned to not take the little things for granted. The things I ended up missing the most were getting to grocery shop together, getting to have a hug in the evening after a tough day and having John joke around and tease us. We feel very blessed to all be together again.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
July 2017
On Canada Day we headed back up north. The boys went to stay with my mum and step-dad for the week and I went to E-town for a visit. That next Tuesday I went to see the Queen + Adam Lambert concert with my friend. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I went. I also got through the entire evening without a single anxiety issue, which completely amazed me. I spent the next few days after that visiting with my best friend and her family, before we all headed back home.
My niece has been staying with me for the summer to help out with the kids, which has been the hugest blessing. John is still working up in Edmonton for now, which has been very difficult.
I switched my cell number to a local one so that the kids can call me from the house phone if they need to. We spent a lot of time in the irrigation sprinklers before they asked us to start restricting our use. It's been extremely hot and we've only had a dribble of rain 1 night in the past month.
Caleb started seeing a doctor here and we are going to start dealing with the anxiety itself, which will be a huge help to him. He's also being referred to a child psychiatrist, which will be good. I got the go ahead to get my Pertussis shot, which was a huge relief. I ended up with 2 needles that day, since apparently my MMR wasn't up to date.
Ty and I slept out on the deck one evening. Well, I made it until 3:30. He made it the whole night.
John came home for a week and we got to be with him for town celebrations and his birthday. The kids loved the parade, but they loved the fireworks the most. I managed to sprain my ankle after church, so I was barely moving for several days. I felt so bad for being injured during John's week here. However, on the Wednesday we finally were able to go in to Lethbridge to visit a few stores together and have supper at Firestone (yum!). Brettley ended up with croup and is just now getting over it.
The other two boys were doing swimming lessons last week and this week. Tomorrow is their last day.
John took the bus back to Edmonton so that my niece and I have the van to use for this month. And that pretty much sums up July.
My niece has been staying with me for the summer to help out with the kids, which has been the hugest blessing. John is still working up in Edmonton for now, which has been very difficult.
I switched my cell number to a local one so that the kids can call me from the house phone if they need to. We spent a lot of time in the irrigation sprinklers before they asked us to start restricting our use. It's been extremely hot and we've only had a dribble of rain 1 night in the past month.
Caleb started seeing a doctor here and we are going to start dealing with the anxiety itself, which will be a huge help to him. He's also being referred to a child psychiatrist, which will be good. I got the go ahead to get my Pertussis shot, which was a huge relief. I ended up with 2 needles that day, since apparently my MMR wasn't up to date.
Ty and I slept out on the deck one evening. Well, I made it until 3:30. He made it the whole night.
John came home for a week and we got to be with him for town celebrations and his birthday. The kids loved the parade, but they loved the fireworks the most. I managed to sprain my ankle after church, so I was barely moving for several days. I felt so bad for being injured during John's week here. However, on the Wednesday we finally were able to go in to Lethbridge to visit a few stores together and have supper at Firestone (yum!). Brettley ended up with croup and is just now getting over it.
The other two boys were doing swimming lessons last week and this week. Tomorrow is their last day.
John took the bus back to Edmonton so that my niece and I have the van to use for this month. And that pretty much sums up July.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
June Part 2: We've Officially Moved
I decided to get this done today since I have gardening and cleaning to do tomorrow and John will be here on Friday.
We got here on the evening of Fri 16 June. The next day a few men from the ward came to help us unload the moving van. I was meant to be helping direct where things were going, but Ty injured his knee pretty badly right as people showed up so I was busy calming him down and trying my best to clean his knee up for most of that time. We've been through a few minor injuries down here already, ha ha.
On Sunday we met with our new bishop, which was probably the most relaxed meeting I have ever had with a bishop/branch president. It was really good. He sounded so excited to have a new "young" family in the ward and was so happy when I said I was ready to accept a calling as soon as one came for me. The very next day I was asked if I would be willing to substitute in Primary for the summer until I have an official calling. I felt needed right away and it was a great feeling.
We got the address on our licenses changed, got Caleb's prescription from the pharmacy, got our Shaw hooked up, I met with the principal, registered the boys with the school for the fall and bought a family pool pass for the summer.
John went back to Edmonton and did the final walk through to hand back our townhouse. We officially have no home up there anymore. He bought me a bike last weekend. I'm excited to get it tomorrow!
I have loved being able to send Caleb to the store if I need something and he's really enjoyed picking the mail up for me from the post office each day. I got to substitute teach the Valiant 11 class this past weekend. There are 4 girls in the class, so it was very similar to teaching Beehives. They were a lot of fun.
The boys all camped out in a tent on Sunday night and on Monday it was just Caleb and his cousin, which they really enjoyed. We've started helping in the garden. We spend about an hour out there each morning. I have so many more opportunities to be active down here, which it great. The only downside has been that mine and Caleb's allergies have been way worse down here. Hopefully we'll eventually adapt.
This afternoon I got a surprise visit from one of my nieces. It was a great afternoon and we got some yummy ice cream Slurpee's together. She is going to help watch my kids for most of the summer, so it will be great to have her here so much.
Caleb went to the pool by himself this afternoon and made a friend while he was there. It was such a HUGE step for my boy who struggles so much with anxiety. It was definitely testament to how beneficial this move has been for him. He is thriving! We all are!
We got here on the evening of Fri 16 June. The next day a few men from the ward came to help us unload the moving van. I was meant to be helping direct where things were going, but Ty injured his knee pretty badly right as people showed up so I was busy calming him down and trying my best to clean his knee up for most of that time. We've been through a few minor injuries down here already, ha ha.
On Sunday we met with our new bishop, which was probably the most relaxed meeting I have ever had with a bishop/branch president. It was really good. He sounded so excited to have a new "young" family in the ward and was so happy when I said I was ready to accept a calling as soon as one came for me. The very next day I was asked if I would be willing to substitute in Primary for the summer until I have an official calling. I felt needed right away and it was a great feeling.
We got the address on our licenses changed, got Caleb's prescription from the pharmacy, got our Shaw hooked up, I met with the principal, registered the boys with the school for the fall and bought a family pool pass for the summer.
John went back to Edmonton and did the final walk through to hand back our townhouse. We officially have no home up there anymore. He bought me a bike last weekend. I'm excited to get it tomorrow!
I have loved being able to send Caleb to the store if I need something and he's really enjoyed picking the mail up for me from the post office each day. I got to substitute teach the Valiant 11 class this past weekend. There are 4 girls in the class, so it was very similar to teaching Beehives. They were a lot of fun.
The boys all camped out in a tent on Sunday night and on Monday it was just Caleb and his cousin, which they really enjoyed. We've started helping in the garden. We spend about an hour out there each morning. I have so many more opportunities to be active down here, which it great. The only downside has been that mine and Caleb's allergies have been way worse down here. Hopefully we'll eventually adapt.
This afternoon I got a surprise visit from one of my nieces. It was a great afternoon and we got some yummy ice cream Slurpee's together. She is going to help watch my kids for most of the summer, so it will be great to have her here so much.
Caleb went to the pool by himself this afternoon and made a friend while he was there. It was such a HUGE step for my boy who struggles so much with anxiety. It was definitely testament to how beneficial this move has been for him. He is thriving! We all are!
Monday, May 15, 2017
May Part 1
I feel like I've been giving a way most of what we own. It's not really true, there's just a lot of big stuff we're getting rid of so that we don't have to store it for the next few years. The one sad part is that Rogue is one of the things we've had to find a new home for. She goes there on Wednesday. We'll sure miss her!
We got Moana and the boys love it! I also finally fixed Caleb's bike tires and bought him a new helmet, so he's a happy guy.
After raising a lot of money for the Canadian Cancer Society through a fun fundraising idea, I held up my end of the bargain and currently am rocking teal hair. Luckily, my 3 weeks with it will be up at the end of this month and I can dye it back before the move, ha ha.
Sadly, the Oilers were done in the playoffs after round 2. It's a sore topic up here in Oil Country because of 'certain people and events' involved in a couple of the games, but I'm looking forward to them having another good run next year.
We went to visit my mum for Mother's Day. I woke up in a lot of pain and it continued throughout the day. *sigh* back spasms. I did get treated to a wonderful breakfast of bacon, hashbrowns and eggs, though. The boys gave me a few fun and cute items. I also decided that next year I'll end my annual boycott of Mother's Day and actually go to church that Sunday. (side note - Mother's Day is always my hard day of the year as a birth mother)
John and I went to IKEA for a supper date this evening. Today is 12 years since we first met at church. I still feel like the luckiest person in the world for getting to be his wife!
We got Moana and the boys love it! I also finally fixed Caleb's bike tires and bought him a new helmet, so he's a happy guy.
After raising a lot of money for the Canadian Cancer Society through a fun fundraising idea, I held up my end of the bargain and currently am rocking teal hair. Luckily, my 3 weeks with it will be up at the end of this month and I can dye it back before the move, ha ha.
Sadly, the Oilers were done in the playoffs after round 2. It's a sore topic up here in Oil Country because of 'certain people and events' involved in a couple of the games, but I'm looking forward to them having another good run next year.
We went to visit my mum for Mother's Day. I woke up in a lot of pain and it continued throughout the day. *sigh* back spasms. I did get treated to a wonderful breakfast of bacon, hashbrowns and eggs, though. The boys gave me a few fun and cute items. I also decided that next year I'll end my annual boycott of Mother's Day and actually go to church that Sunday. (side note - Mother's Day is always my hard day of the year as a birth mother)
John and I went to IKEA for a supper date this evening. Today is 12 years since we first met at church. I still feel like the luckiest person in the world for getting to be his wife!
Monday, February 13, 2017
February Part 1
A while back Caleb and Brettley moved Ty in with them, so we had a room that wasn't doing anything. The boys and I talked together and decided we wanted a designated school room. So thanks to John and a few friends, we took out the bed that was in there and moved the desks, bookcase and organizers to our new school room. I like having it a lot more than I liked being in the living room or in the dining room.
My friend decided that she wasn't letting me miss out on a concert I was so disappointed to miss last time, so we got our tickets to Queen + Adam Lambert for July. I am very excited to go with her.
I had a few setbacks with my mental health, but I also had a few victories as well, which is awesome. I braved Costco and was able to get through all 3 hours of church the other weekend. Those are major wins after how tough things have been.
This past week John and I went on a double date with our friends to (finally) see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I loved it. They did an amazing job and it was so refreshing to go in to that movie with no expectations from reading the book first.
The boys and I have also been rewatching the Harry Potter movies since Caleb and Tyrell and both reading the books for free reading during school.
Brettley turned 6 years old on Saturday. The day before he went on his special outting with Grandma and Grandpa to West Edmonton Mall. They went mini golfing, had lunch, went to the Disney store and a few other things. For his birthday he got night vision goggles, beginner Snap Circuits, Classic Lego, money, a lego tank kit, and a Batman shirt.
Brettley has grown so much since he was born 7 weeks early. It's hard to remember now that I was terrified of him when he was first born. He was so tiny and I was so scared I'd somehow manage to break him. Mind you, all of the wires he had that I needed to navigate didn't help much. He is now the sweetest little guy with such a kind heart. He loves the colour red, pizza, PAW Patrol, Frozen and trains. He has taken to reading like a fish to water. I am so impressed with how easily he learns new things. I sure love him. He was the best surprise I've ever had.
My friend decided that she wasn't letting me miss out on a concert I was so disappointed to miss last time, so we got our tickets to Queen + Adam Lambert for July. I am very excited to go with her.
I had a few setbacks with my mental health, but I also had a few victories as well, which is awesome. I braved Costco and was able to get through all 3 hours of church the other weekend. Those are major wins after how tough things have been.
This past week John and I went on a double date with our friends to (finally) see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I loved it. They did an amazing job and it was so refreshing to go in to that movie with no expectations from reading the book first.
The boys and I have also been rewatching the Harry Potter movies since Caleb and Tyrell and both reading the books for free reading during school.
Brettley turned 6 years old on Saturday. The day before he went on his special outting with Grandma and Grandpa to West Edmonton Mall. They went mini golfing, had lunch, went to the Disney store and a few other things. For his birthday he got night vision goggles, beginner Snap Circuits, Classic Lego, money, a lego tank kit, and a Batman shirt.
Brettley has grown so much since he was born 7 weeks early. It's hard to remember now that I was terrified of him when he was first born. He was so tiny and I was so scared I'd somehow manage to break him. Mind you, all of the wires he had that I needed to navigate didn't help much. He is now the sweetest little guy with such a kind heart. He loves the colour red, pizza, PAW Patrol, Frozen and trains. He has taken to reading like a fish to water. I am so impressed with how easily he learns new things. I sure love him. He was the best surprise I've ever had.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Q&A about 2016
C did this on her blog and I really liked it, so I'm stealing it :)
1) What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?
I started home schooling my kids, I taught one of my kids how to read, I buzzed all of my hair off (twice, actually) and I made an impromptu trip with just John.
2) Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I didn't keep mine, I'm horrible for that. This year, I have a goal to play more games with my kids and to work toward being healthier (exercise and food).
3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not super close, no.
4) Did anyone close to you die?
No, I've had a few years off from that, thankfully.
5) What countries did you visit?
None, we stayed here in Canada. We didn't even leave our province, ha ha.
6) What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
A healthier lifestyle.
7) What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 25th. That was the day I woke up with pink eye, found out the government had cancelled the accreditation for the boys' home education administration and also found out that John was being moved to 4 day work weeks the next month.
Also, Ty's baptism on November 12th.
8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Home educating my kids and prioritizing my health above my wants and commitments.
9) What was your biggest failure?
I don't know that I'd call anything a failure, they were all learning experiences.
10) Did you or someone close suffer illness or injury?
John was diagnosed with diabetes and I had a really tough year mental health-wise.
11) What was the best thing you bought?
My Star Wars laptop. It was the only laptop I could find that had all of the (3) things I wanted out of a laptop. It's been a huge help with home schooling.
12) Where did most of your money go?
Rent and groceries, same as always. Recreation money, most of it went toward stuff for Dungeons and Dragons, which John and I play with our groups about twice per month.
13) What song will always remind you of 2016?
It actually wasn't a stand out year for me with music, so I don't have one.
14) Compared the this time last year are you more happy or more sad?
So much more happy. This time last year was when everything hit a boiling point with Caleb, so I was pretty much a wreck and terrified that we wouldn't find a better solution for him. A year later and he's doing amazing!
15) What do you wish you'd done more of?
More time just playing with my kids and teaching them more life skills, which are a few of the things I'm trying to focus on this year. I also wish I'd blogged more, since it's basically our family journal.
16) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less eating as a coping mechanism and less time spent on social media.
17) How did you spend Christmas?
We were at home for the morning, went to Church and then had my dad over for supper.
18) What was your favourite TV program?
I enjoyed Psych and Switched at Birth a lot in 2016.
19) What were your favourite books of the year?
2016 was probably my worst year ever for reading since I started reading at the age of 4. Nothing at all is standing out to me.
20) What were your favourite treats/food in 2016?
Miss Vickie's Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Chips, Egg Roll Bowl and Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet
21) What were your favourite movies of the year?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Hands down!
22) What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 32. We took a break from school that day. Caleb and I binge watched Gilmore Girls together, which was exactly how I'd wanted to spend the day.
23) What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
Not struggling with severe anxiety for the majority of the year.
24) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
If it fits and it's comfy then we're good, ha ha.
25) What kept you sane?
Those chips, John, Caleb and home schooling.
26) What was a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016?
It's okay to prioritize your mental health above what you want and things that you've said you would do.
I also learned that if something is the right choice for you and/or your family, Heavenly Father will help you do things you never thought you could do. I am one of the most impatient people I've ever met and thought I'd never be able to home school my kids because of it, but Heavenly Father always gives me what I need to make it work for us.
1) What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?
I started home schooling my kids, I taught one of my kids how to read, I buzzed all of my hair off (twice, actually) and I made an impromptu trip with just John.
2) Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I didn't keep mine, I'm horrible for that. This year, I have a goal to play more games with my kids and to work toward being healthier (exercise and food).
3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not super close, no.
4) Did anyone close to you die?
No, I've had a few years off from that, thankfully.
5) What countries did you visit?
None, we stayed here in Canada. We didn't even leave our province, ha ha.
6) What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
A healthier lifestyle.
7) What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 25th. That was the day I woke up with pink eye, found out the government had cancelled the accreditation for the boys' home education administration and also found out that John was being moved to 4 day work weeks the next month.
Also, Ty's baptism on November 12th.
8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Home educating my kids and prioritizing my health above my wants and commitments.
9) What was your biggest failure?
I don't know that I'd call anything a failure, they were all learning experiences.
10) Did you or someone close suffer illness or injury?
John was diagnosed with diabetes and I had a really tough year mental health-wise.
11) What was the best thing you bought?
My Star Wars laptop. It was the only laptop I could find that had all of the (3) things I wanted out of a laptop. It's been a huge help with home schooling.
12) Where did most of your money go?
Rent and groceries, same as always. Recreation money, most of it went toward stuff for Dungeons and Dragons, which John and I play with our groups about twice per month.
13) What song will always remind you of 2016?
It actually wasn't a stand out year for me with music, so I don't have one.
14) Compared the this time last year are you more happy or more sad?
So much more happy. This time last year was when everything hit a boiling point with Caleb, so I was pretty much a wreck and terrified that we wouldn't find a better solution for him. A year later and he's doing amazing!
15) What do you wish you'd done more of?
More time just playing with my kids and teaching them more life skills, which are a few of the things I'm trying to focus on this year. I also wish I'd blogged more, since it's basically our family journal.
16) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less eating as a coping mechanism and less time spent on social media.
17) How did you spend Christmas?
We were at home for the morning, went to Church and then had my dad over for supper.
18) What was your favourite TV program?
I enjoyed Psych and Switched at Birth a lot in 2016.
19) What were your favourite books of the year?
2016 was probably my worst year ever for reading since I started reading at the age of 4. Nothing at all is standing out to me.
20) What were your favourite treats/food in 2016?
Miss Vickie's Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Chips, Egg Roll Bowl and Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet
21) What were your favourite movies of the year?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Hands down!
22) What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 32. We took a break from school that day. Caleb and I binge watched Gilmore Girls together, which was exactly how I'd wanted to spend the day.
23) What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
Not struggling with severe anxiety for the majority of the year.
24) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
If it fits and it's comfy then we're good, ha ha.
25) What kept you sane?
Those chips, John, Caleb and home schooling.
26) What was a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016?
It's okay to prioritize your mental health above what you want and things that you've said you would do.
I also learned that if something is the right choice for you and/or your family, Heavenly Father will help you do things you never thought you could do. I am one of the most impatient people I've ever met and thought I'd never be able to home school my kids because of it, but Heavenly Father always gives me what I need to make it work for us.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
2016 Recap
I'm pretty sure I'm only blogging for myself now, since journaling is not my strong point, ha ha. 2016 was a pretty life-changing year for us. Everything with Caleb came to a boiling point early in January. He was coming home from school more than half of the time either crying or raging. We prayed to know if home schooling was a better option for him and got the strongest revelation we've ever received during our marriage. In early February, he started home schooling. I had to quit doing lunch supervision at the school a month later to help make his days easier, it was 100% worth it. When Caleb met with a psychiatrist later in the year, the psychiatrist told us that switching him to home schooling was probably the best thing we could have done for him. I felt pretty good when I heard that.
Brettley turned 5 and lost his first 2 teeth that day. He lost another a few days before Christmas and has another wiggly one at the moment.
I spent a large portion of the year with a buzz cut. What started as a way of getting really fried hair dealt with ended up being a really big convenience. I'm slowly starting to grow it out a bit now. We also found out that I don't have sleep apnea, after having to do a sleep test.
Caleb ended up with full time glasses. He's still learning to wear them full time but I understand the struggle, I'm still adjusting to wearing mine full time as well.
I did something totally out of character for me. John and I made an impromptu overnight visit to the Calgary area in March. We got to go to a wonderful gaming store, have a delicious dinner and then spend the evening with some family/friends. I'm a planner and don't do well with spontaneity at all, so this was kind of a big deal.
The kids had a lot of dental work done. Ty managed his first filling fine, but then got too stressed out about the extractions, so the extractions and crowns ended up being done under anesthesia. I sincerely pray that we never have to see him like that again. Caleb managed to tough out all of his fillings and his crown with our regular dentist. He was a total rock star!
We decided in March, after more prayer, that Ty and Brettley would home school starting in the fall. We set up a great space for them in the living room, but found pretty quickly that the dining room works a lot better for us, at least while they're this young. Ty was very happy that he could start home schooling since he'd been asking for it since Kindergarten.
Grandpa D built the boys a garden box, and we grew peas, beans, lettuce, spinach and dill. It was great! We're looking forward to planting it again this year. The boys loved snacking out of it.
John taught Caleb, Tyrell and I how to play chess. One of my goals for 2017 is to play more games with the kids.
Brettley started school at home. He grasps things so easily. He is great at math and is learning to read so well. The only two struggles with him are that he hates beating a dead horse (he likes to move on as soon as he's mastered a concept) and that he's still learning to understand structure (that one will come with time). Ty's strongest subject is math. He's improving in Language Arts, but still really struggles with his spelling. Caleb does very well with Social Studies, but is working on improving his Language Arts. We will start our summer vacation early this year, so we're taking that time to focus on strengthening their weaker areas.
I made a goal to participate in the 2017 Relay for Life in Wainwright. My mum and sister are going to participate as well. I'm looking forward to doing this in memory of my amazing father-in-law.
John turned 40. We celebrated by having a gaming session with our Dungeons and Dragons group. It was the perfect way for him to spend the day.
A bit of a sad note about our 2016 is that we tried for another baby and after many months of nothing I had to call it off to focus on my mental health again. On a more positive note, though, I feel more peace about being done having kids than I've ever had before. Maybe that's what I needed to get from the experience.
I was concerned about what to do for school photos, so my mum came and took pictures of the boys. Brettley, grade 1, said he wants to become a firefighter. Tyrell, grade 3, wants to become a scientist. Caleb, grade 5, wants to be an astrophysicist.
Part of school this year was learning how to take care of a home. The boys each have 4 chores to do daily. In the fall we're looking forward to adding cooking lessons in to our school year.
I started watching a friend's son every Thursday. The boys love him, even though I have to keep reminding them that he isn't a toy.
At the end of September, John was diagnosed with diabetes. He's been losing weight again and is currently the lightest that he's been in about 19 years. I'm still learning to eat better, but I'm slowly getting there. I was off of my meds for several months (checking in regularly with my doctor), so food was sort of my way of dealing with anxiety and depression then.
Tyrell turned 8 and started Cubs, which he loves. He was baptized on November 12th and we were blessed to have the man he was named after there to give one of the talks and be one of the witnesses.
We had the whole school fiasco that I blogged about a couple of posts ago. It ended up being a positive thing for us. We really like our new home education administration and the options we have with them, but it was one of the most stressful things we've been through.
The boys did swimming lessons in the fall. Tyrell and Caleb both passed their courses, but Brettley didn't quite get there. They are starting another round of lessons at the end of February.
We were told in November that Caleb doesn't have ADHD. The most likely culprit is severe anxiety that he has a difficult time learning how to process. He's continuing to do amazing on his meds and he hardly ever has rage attacks anymore. He is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was this time last year.
We enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home, but we're really looking forward to spending the next one with my family. We haven't gone there for Christmas since Tyrell's first Christmas.
John and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve. I am so blessed to be married to him.
Now on to 2017 :)
Brettley turned 5 and lost his first 2 teeth that day. He lost another a few days before Christmas and has another wiggly one at the moment.
I spent a large portion of the year with a buzz cut. What started as a way of getting really fried hair dealt with ended up being a really big convenience. I'm slowly starting to grow it out a bit now. We also found out that I don't have sleep apnea, after having to do a sleep test.
Caleb ended up with full time glasses. He's still learning to wear them full time but I understand the struggle, I'm still adjusting to wearing mine full time as well.
I did something totally out of character for me. John and I made an impromptu overnight visit to the Calgary area in March. We got to go to a wonderful gaming store, have a delicious dinner and then spend the evening with some family/friends. I'm a planner and don't do well with spontaneity at all, so this was kind of a big deal.
The kids had a lot of dental work done. Ty managed his first filling fine, but then got too stressed out about the extractions, so the extractions and crowns ended up being done under anesthesia. I sincerely pray that we never have to see him like that again. Caleb managed to tough out all of his fillings and his crown with our regular dentist. He was a total rock star!
We decided in March, after more prayer, that Ty and Brettley would home school starting in the fall. We set up a great space for them in the living room, but found pretty quickly that the dining room works a lot better for us, at least while they're this young. Ty was very happy that he could start home schooling since he'd been asking for it since Kindergarten.
Grandpa D built the boys a garden box, and we grew peas, beans, lettuce, spinach and dill. It was great! We're looking forward to planting it again this year. The boys loved snacking out of it.
John taught Caleb, Tyrell and I how to play chess. One of my goals for 2017 is to play more games with the kids.
Brettley started school at home. He grasps things so easily. He is great at math and is learning to read so well. The only two struggles with him are that he hates beating a dead horse (he likes to move on as soon as he's mastered a concept) and that he's still learning to understand structure (that one will come with time). Ty's strongest subject is math. He's improving in Language Arts, but still really struggles with his spelling. Caleb does very well with Social Studies, but is working on improving his Language Arts. We will start our summer vacation early this year, so we're taking that time to focus on strengthening their weaker areas.
I made a goal to participate in the 2017 Relay for Life in Wainwright. My mum and sister are going to participate as well. I'm looking forward to doing this in memory of my amazing father-in-law.
John turned 40. We celebrated by having a gaming session with our Dungeons and Dragons group. It was the perfect way for him to spend the day.
A bit of a sad note about our 2016 is that we tried for another baby and after many months of nothing I had to call it off to focus on my mental health again. On a more positive note, though, I feel more peace about being done having kids than I've ever had before. Maybe that's what I needed to get from the experience.
I was concerned about what to do for school photos, so my mum came and took pictures of the boys. Brettley, grade 1, said he wants to become a firefighter. Tyrell, grade 3, wants to become a scientist. Caleb, grade 5, wants to be an astrophysicist.
Part of school this year was learning how to take care of a home. The boys each have 4 chores to do daily. In the fall we're looking forward to adding cooking lessons in to our school year.
I started watching a friend's son every Thursday. The boys love him, even though I have to keep reminding them that he isn't a toy.
At the end of September, John was diagnosed with diabetes. He's been losing weight again and is currently the lightest that he's been in about 19 years. I'm still learning to eat better, but I'm slowly getting there. I was off of my meds for several months (checking in regularly with my doctor), so food was sort of my way of dealing with anxiety and depression then.
Tyrell turned 8 and started Cubs, which he loves. He was baptized on November 12th and we were blessed to have the man he was named after there to give one of the talks and be one of the witnesses.
We had the whole school fiasco that I blogged about a couple of posts ago. It ended up being a positive thing for us. We really like our new home education administration and the options we have with them, but it was one of the most stressful things we've been through.
The boys did swimming lessons in the fall. Tyrell and Caleb both passed their courses, but Brettley didn't quite get there. They are starting another round of lessons at the end of February.
We were told in November that Caleb doesn't have ADHD. The most likely culprit is severe anxiety that he has a difficult time learning how to process. He's continuing to do amazing on his meds and he hardly ever has rage attacks anymore. He is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was this time last year.
We enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home, but we're really looking forward to spending the next one with my family. We haven't gone there for Christmas since Tyrell's first Christmas.
John and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve. I am so blessed to be married to him.
Now on to 2017 :)
Saturday, November 26, 2016
A More Positive Update
It's been way too long since my last post, and it wasn't a very happy one. Things got sorted out for us with the school stuff. The boys are now with Vermilion Home Schooling, and we are very happy to be there. Our facilitator is great and very happy to help me know exactly what we need to do to keep the boys parent-directed but still have them receive an Alberta Education High School Diploma.
John started his 4 day work weeks. We are very blessed and he has enough vacation and banked time saved up that we are covered for it until mid-June, at least. We were pretty worried that John would have to get a second job, and now he might not have to get one at all.
Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Presentation. Caleb pleasantly surprised us all and decided to take part in it, despite his anxiety about it. He and Ty did wonderful. Brettley was...very wiggly, ha ha. He moved around a lot, but apparently peoplewho aren't his parents found it entertaining, so it's all good.
Not too much else going on here, just excited to start our daily activities that we have planned for December. My mum bought the boys an elf for this year. I tried to fight it for a few years, but I've found him to be a really easy way of getting the boys to do their chores and listen to what they've been told to do, so I'm loving that side of it.
I hope that everyone is doing well! Is anyone still here?
John started his 4 day work weeks. We are very blessed and he has enough vacation and banked time saved up that we are covered for it until mid-June, at least. We were pretty worried that John would have to get a second job, and now he might not have to get one at all.
Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Presentation. Caleb pleasantly surprised us all and decided to take part in it, despite his anxiety about it. He and Ty did wonderful. Brettley was...very wiggly, ha ha. He moved around a lot, but apparently people
Not too much else going on here, just excited to start our daily activities that we have planned for December. My mum bought the boys an elf for this year. I tried to fight it for a few years, but I've found him to be a really easy way of getting the boys to do their chores and listen to what they've been told to do, so I'm loving that side of it.
I hope that everyone is doing well! Is anyone still here?
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Next Year's Plan
Two weeks ago we (all 5 of us) finally got to meet our home school facilitator in person. We felt that he's a very good fit for our family. Our visit made me very glad that we decided to stick with the traditional (parent-directed) style. It would have been hard to give up that kind of freedom. All 3 of our boys were officially accepted for the 2016-2017 school year. Brettley will be doing mostly Kindergarten level work, but is officially registered for grade 1, just because of when his birthday is and for funding reasons. I ended up changing a bunch of curriculum plans last minute after John and I sat down and talked some things out. So here is what we are doing for next year.
All of our boys will start the day with prayer together and a little reading from the Primary 7 manual (New Testament). Then we will do reading. Caleb and Tyrell can choose what they will read from and read for 15-20 minutes each day. Brettley and I will continue using all of his Bob Books to teach him to read. Eventually during the year he will move on to other phonics sets that we have, but Bob Books are his starting point. After reading is done the boys will do Math. Caleb will be using Switched-On Schoolhouse, which is a computer based curriculum from a Christian publisher. Caleb's best mark is Math, but he doesn't enjoy it, so we decided that if it was computer based he may find it more exciting. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete MathSmart, since he says he loves worksheets the best. Brettley will use workbooks from the dollar store and Walmart in addition to Brain Quest (and their Star Wars line) as well as using lots of different manipulatives.
The boys will then get to do their first 2 chores of the day and have a snack.
After the break they will do English Language Arts. Caleb is going to be using LIFEPAC from the same publisher as his math program and will read Underground to Canada for his novel. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete EnglishSmart as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for his novel. Brettley will use dollar store, Walmart, Brain Quest and Star Wars workbooks.
Next is Social Studies, which has been a big pain, in my opinion. There's no good Canadian curriculum sets similar to other programs. So Caleb will be using the Courage and Conquest Living History Bundle, Discovering Canada's Government and Canadian Geography & Mapping Skills. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Pioneers in Canada. Brettley will be using Brain Quest and online resources. We will be taking a field trip to Fort Edmonton Park.
Caleb and Tyrell will both be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete ScienceSmart for their Science. Brettley will be using iPad apps, online resources and Netflix learning shows for science. We will also be taking 2 trips to the Telus World of Science and a trip to the Valley Zoo. Tyrell will be doing a trip to the John Janzen Nature Center, as well.
Then they will have a break to do their other 2 chores and have another snack.
Caleb and Tyrell will then do their spelling work from the Evan-Moor books. I haven't fully decided what Brettley will be doing during this time yet. Probably work on a Handwriting Without Tears book. After spelling is the Health/Computers block. Depending on the day, they will either do health activities, laptop games, a typing lesson or iPad games. We are using Canadian Health Activities and Canadian Character Education for health. Caleb will also do a unit study about Inside Out. I am still decided on our typing program, but I have it narrowed down to Dance Mat Typing or typing.com
Our last block of the day is Creative Time, where they are free to choose what they want to do, as long as it's something creative related. It could be a craft, drawing, colouring, dancing or something like that.
We should be done by lunch each day, as a few of these blocks will actually only take about 10-15 minutes. I am flexible about how things will work out each day, but this is our general plan, since Caleb and I are both people who require a routine. So that's our plan for next year. Caleb chose to give up French, and I wasn't going to push it. While we will be active regularly and will be doing swimming lessons in the year, we won't have a formal gym class. We aren't taking off nearly as many days as Edmonton Public Schools are, so we should be done the year around mid to late April. The kids were very clear that they'd rather have a longer summer break than lots of breaks during the school year. We are so excited to start!
So the schedule looks like:
Block 1 - Religion
Block 2 - Free Reading
Block 3 - Math
BREAK AND CHORES
Block 4 - ELA
Block 5 - Social
Block 6 - Science
BREAK AND CHORES
Block 7 - Spelling
Block 8 - Health/Computers
Block 9 - Creative Time
LUNCH AND END OF SCHOOL DAY
All of our boys will start the day with prayer together and a little reading from the Primary 7 manual (New Testament). Then we will do reading. Caleb and Tyrell can choose what they will read from and read for 15-20 minutes each day. Brettley and I will continue using all of his Bob Books to teach him to read. Eventually during the year he will move on to other phonics sets that we have, but Bob Books are his starting point. After reading is done the boys will do Math. Caleb will be using Switched-On Schoolhouse, which is a computer based curriculum from a Christian publisher. Caleb's best mark is Math, but he doesn't enjoy it, so we decided that if it was computer based he may find it more exciting. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete MathSmart, since he says he loves worksheets the best. Brettley will use workbooks from the dollar store and Walmart in addition to Brain Quest (and their Star Wars line) as well as using lots of different manipulatives.
The boys will then get to do their first 2 chores of the day and have a snack.
After the break they will do English Language Arts. Caleb is going to be using LIFEPAC from the same publisher as his math program and will read Underground to Canada for his novel. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete EnglishSmart as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for his novel. Brettley will use dollar store, Walmart, Brain Quest and Star Wars workbooks.
Next is Social Studies, which has been a big pain, in my opinion. There's no good Canadian curriculum sets similar to other programs. So Caleb will be using the Courage and Conquest Living History Bundle, Discovering Canada's Government and Canadian Geography & Mapping Skills. Tyrell will be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Pioneers in Canada. Brettley will be using Brain Quest and online resources. We will be taking a field trip to Fort Edmonton Park.
Caleb and Tyrell will both be using Complete Canadian Curriculum and Complete ScienceSmart for their Science. Brettley will be using iPad apps, online resources and Netflix learning shows for science. We will also be taking 2 trips to the Telus World of Science and a trip to the Valley Zoo. Tyrell will be doing a trip to the John Janzen Nature Center, as well.
Then they will have a break to do their other 2 chores and have another snack.
Caleb and Tyrell will then do their spelling work from the Evan-Moor books. I haven't fully decided what Brettley will be doing during this time yet. Probably work on a Handwriting Without Tears book. After spelling is the Health/Computers block. Depending on the day, they will either do health activities, laptop games, a typing lesson or iPad games. We are using Canadian Health Activities and Canadian Character Education for health. Caleb will also do a unit study about Inside Out. I am still decided on our typing program, but I have it narrowed down to Dance Mat Typing or typing.com
Our last block of the day is Creative Time, where they are free to choose what they want to do, as long as it's something creative related. It could be a craft, drawing, colouring, dancing or something like that.
We should be done by lunch each day, as a few of these blocks will actually only take about 10-15 minutes. I am flexible about how things will work out each day, but this is our general plan, since Caleb and I are both people who require a routine. So that's our plan for next year. Caleb chose to give up French, and I wasn't going to push it. While we will be active regularly and will be doing swimming lessons in the year, we won't have a formal gym class. We aren't taking off nearly as many days as Edmonton Public Schools are, so we should be done the year around mid to late April. The kids were very clear that they'd rather have a longer summer break than lots of breaks during the school year. We are so excited to start!
So the schedule looks like:
Block 1 - Religion
Block 2 - Free Reading
Block 3 - Math
BREAK AND CHORES
Block 4 - ELA
Block 5 - Social
Block 6 - Science
BREAK AND CHORES
Block 7 - Spelling
Block 8 - Health/Computers
Block 9 - Creative Time
LUNCH AND END OF SCHOOL DAY
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Realizing My Capabilities
We've been through a fair bit in the past week. First, my little Brettley turned 5 years old. Where on earth has the time gone? As an extra thought on this, when Caleb was 5 he seemed so big. Because Brettley is the youngest and a little short (or a lot short) for his age, he seems super tiny to me. He wears size 5 tops, but just got into size 4 pants a couple of months ago, so he is quite short for a 5 year old. However, he made up for his lack of height by losing not 1, but 2 teeth on his birthday! Caleb and Ty were both 6 when they lost their first teeth, so Brettley is ahead of the group in that area. Some of the things Brettley got for his birthday were a truck launcher he'd been asking for, 2 Paw Patrol toys and a Paw Patrol bedding set (comforter, sheets and pillowcase). He was a VERY happy boy, and he's finally keeping a pillowcase on his pillow for once.
On Friday, the stress of everything I've been going through the past couple of weeks sort of hit me really hard. John and I decided together a couple of things. First, that because we don't actually need the money I get from doing lunch at the school and because Caleb did straight out tell me that it disrupts his home schooling too much, I will finish working for February, but won't be continuing to do lunch anymore come March. Also, we decided that 5 filling appointments in a month and a half was way too much stress on both out time and finances, so we're going to do 1 filling each month until they're done. Also, we'll get Ty's all done before we start doing any of Caleb's to give Caleb more time to develop some skills to get over his big fear of needles. I felt so much better after we reworked these things to cut down on my stress level a bit.
I think I got into this mentality that because I can handle things a lot better than I could before I started Seroquel that I need to be able to handle everything. One of the first things my doctor ever said to me was that I need to be aware of what I'm capable of and work with that. I'm going to work harder to be aware of my personal capabilities and be more willing to say no when it's necessary.
John was able to have a 4 day weekend, and yesterday we took the kids to the Telus World of Science. The past couple of years, instead of getting lots of toys for the kids, we've asked my dad to instead just fund a family fun day for us. As I've mentioned before, our kids are the only grandkids on my side, so they kind of get spoiled rotten. The boys LOVED going to the TWOS. I was worried Brettley wouldn't like it too much, but he was right in there just as much as his brothers were. After we were done there we took the boys for lunch at Red Robins (their choice). Then we took them to Toys R Us and Mastermind Toys to each get something. Well, Brettley did get a lot since he had birthday money to spend as well. Caleb bought a paratrooper with a no-tangle parachute and a little science experiment kit. Ty got a little space gun, a singing Olaf toy, a Frozen pen and Frozen skin stickers. In case you couldn't tell, he is still quite stuck on Frozen, ha ha. Brettley got himself a grabber claw stick, a red Boogie Board and 6 Paw Patrol toys with badges. He only needs 2 more now to complete his badge collection (Zuma and Marshall).
That's about it for this week. I woke up with a sore throat this morning, so I got an extra day at home with Caleb and Brettley. Now Caleb is finishing up his math for the day and I'm drinking another herbal tea with honey. I'm very much looking forward to March when I get to have days like this (minus the being sick) far more often.
On Friday, the stress of everything I've been going through the past couple of weeks sort of hit me really hard. John and I decided together a couple of things. First, that because we don't actually need the money I get from doing lunch at the school and because Caleb did straight out tell me that it disrupts his home schooling too much, I will finish working for February, but won't be continuing to do lunch anymore come March. Also, we decided that 5 filling appointments in a month and a half was way too much stress on both out time and finances, so we're going to do 1 filling each month until they're done. Also, we'll get Ty's all done before we start doing any of Caleb's to give Caleb more time to develop some skills to get over his big fear of needles. I felt so much better after we reworked these things to cut down on my stress level a bit.
I think I got into this mentality that because I can handle things a lot better than I could before I started Seroquel that I need to be able to handle everything. One of the first things my doctor ever said to me was that I need to be aware of what I'm capable of and work with that. I'm going to work harder to be aware of my personal capabilities and be more willing to say no when it's necessary.
John was able to have a 4 day weekend, and yesterday we took the kids to the Telus World of Science. The past couple of years, instead of getting lots of toys for the kids, we've asked my dad to instead just fund a family fun day for us. As I've mentioned before, our kids are the only grandkids on my side, so they kind of get spoiled rotten. The boys LOVED going to the TWOS. I was worried Brettley wouldn't like it too much, but he was right in there just as much as his brothers were. After we were done there we took the boys for lunch at Red Robins (their choice). Then we took them to Toys R Us and Mastermind Toys to each get something. Well, Brettley did get a lot since he had birthday money to spend as well. Caleb bought a paratrooper with a no-tangle parachute and a little science experiment kit. Ty got a little space gun, a singing Olaf toy, a Frozen pen and Frozen skin stickers. In case you couldn't tell, he is still quite stuck on Frozen, ha ha. Brettley got himself a grabber claw stick, a red Boogie Board and 6 Paw Patrol toys with badges. He only needs 2 more now to complete his badge collection (Zuma and Marshall).
That's about it for this week. I woke up with a sore throat this morning, so I got an extra day at home with Caleb and Brettley. Now Caleb is finishing up his math for the day and I'm drinking another herbal tea with honey. I'm very much looking forward to March when I get to have days like this (minus the being sick) far more often.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
3 Days In
So today is officially day 3 of home school. Monday was kind of odd. It was the first day, we were figuring what works to begin with, and then I had to leave to work at the school, so my dad was over for the tail end of Caleb's work, which was the worst example of it. The last 10 minutes or so were hard for Caleb, he was feeling a bit done.
Yesterday was AMAZING! I didn't have to work because my class was on a field trip, so I didn't have to interrupt our day. I became more conscious of when he needs breaks and snacks. I ensured that he ate a good breakfast before we started. Caleb gets really 'hangry' as of late. It was an all around awesome day and he even helped make supper as well.
Today was a hard day. The day after Cubs is ALWAYS hard. It causes him to get to bed a little bit later than normal (his normal bedtime is 8:45) and has him extremely stimulated in the evening. Looking at how thing are today, I may switch it so that on Wednesdays he does his work in the afternoon when I get home from the school, instead of in the morning. Or split it half and half. We'll see how things go next week and continue to adapt from there.
Tomorrow I go back to working at the school, so our days will be messed up again. I'm REALLY glad that I won't be doing lunch supervision next year, it just isn't working well for us now. I agreed to finish the year out though, so I'm trying really hard to keep that commitment.
***
In other news, my baby boy turns 5 tomorrow! His cake is currently in the oven. He LOVES homemade German chocolate cake with coconut pecan icing. He's my only boy who still prefers for me to make his cake instead of buy it, so I'm going to enjoy that while it lasts :)
I would also like to say that I was super impressed with myself on Monday, that I was able to home school and work at all. The night before was really bad. I have struggled with major back pain since I was a teenager. It's been a lot worse lately since I injured my back at Christmas a few years back. However, that being said, the pain I had on Sunday night was hands down THE WORST back pain I've ever had. If it wasn't for several layers of Tiger Balm, an amazing husband rubbing my back and keeping me as calm as possible, I definitely would have ended up in the ER.
Next week we're doing our family fun day. John is taking Tuesday off and Ty is being excused from school. We're taking the kids to the Telus World of Science, going out for lunch to Red Robin (as the kids insisted) and then taking them to Toys R Us so they can each pick out a toy. This day is my Dad's Christmas present to the kids. They are super excited for it and so are we!
Yesterday was AMAZING! I didn't have to work because my class was on a field trip, so I didn't have to interrupt our day. I became more conscious of when he needs breaks and snacks. I ensured that he ate a good breakfast before we started. Caleb gets really 'hangry' as of late. It was an all around awesome day and he even helped make supper as well.
Today was a hard day. The day after Cubs is ALWAYS hard. It causes him to get to bed a little bit later than normal (his normal bedtime is 8:45) and has him extremely stimulated in the evening. Looking at how thing are today, I may switch it so that on Wednesdays he does his work in the afternoon when I get home from the school, instead of in the morning. Or split it half and half. We'll see how things go next week and continue to adapt from there.
Tomorrow I go back to working at the school, so our days will be messed up again. I'm REALLY glad that I won't be doing lunch supervision next year, it just isn't working well for us now. I agreed to finish the year out though, so I'm trying really hard to keep that commitment.
***
In other news, my baby boy turns 5 tomorrow! His cake is currently in the oven. He LOVES homemade German chocolate cake with coconut pecan icing. He's my only boy who still prefers for me to make his cake instead of buy it, so I'm going to enjoy that while it lasts :)
I would also like to say that I was super impressed with myself on Monday, that I was able to home school and work at all. The night before was really bad. I have struggled with major back pain since I was a teenager. It's been a lot worse lately since I injured my back at Christmas a few years back. However, that being said, the pain I had on Sunday night was hands down THE WORST back pain I've ever had. If it wasn't for several layers of Tiger Balm, an amazing husband rubbing my back and keeping me as calm as possible, I definitely would have ended up in the ER.
Next week we're doing our family fun day. John is taking Tuesday off and Ty is being excused from school. We're taking the kids to the Telus World of Science, going out for lunch to Red Robin (as the kids insisted) and then taking them to Toys R Us so they can each pick out a toy. This day is my Dad's Christmas present to the kids. They are super excited for it and so are we!
Friday, February 5, 2016
Or Not...
So our plan was to wait until September for Caleb to start home education. Then things started going downhill really fast. Before, Caleb came home from school about 2/5 days each week and was either distraught in tears as he walked through the door, or he'd explode in anger. I eventually figured out that the problem was that he'd tried to stay in control all day long and bottled up 'everything' and it would explode when he got home. Well, it started happening every.single.day. Caleb couldn't handle things. I couldn't handle things. The status quo was clearly not working anymore. So we made a big change, and decided to start home schooling ASAP instead. I found a board that was willing to accept him mid-year. I quickly figured out some curriculum, pieced together an Education Program Plan and sent in his registration information last Friday. On Wednesday this week, I heard from Caleb's facilitator. He was very nice and let me know that he's happy to be involved as much or as little as we're comfortable with. Then yesterday morning the official acceptance letter came. So today is Caleb's last day at the school. Monday he starts doing home school. It's a little bit sad. He'll miss seeing his friends so much. It's sad for him to leave the school he's been at since the first day of Kindergarten. But all 3 of us (John, Caleb and I) know with a deep surety that this was the right decision for Caleb and his specific needs.
For inquiring minds, we are only doing 5 subjects for the rest of grade 4. English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and Health. He was planning on dropping art and music next year anyway, so I wasn't even going to bother with that. He's doing level 1 French in grade 5 as is, so continuing FSL this year wasn't at all necessary. As for Phys Ed, we will still have opportunities for him to be physically active, it's just not an official subject for him for the rest of the year. We may put him in swimming lessons a couple of months down the road, but we'll see how things go.
So that's kind of everything that's been going on, for the most part. Most of my time went into dealing with this and getting everything ready as quickly as possible. I'm sure there are people who think I'm crazy for making this choice, but we got an incredibly strong answer from Heavenly Father and continue to get them, so we feel very confident going into this that we have made the best choice that we could for Caleb. I feel so blessed to be in a position to be able to do this for him, and to do it within a province that (in my opinion) is one of the best places in Canada to home educate.
In the way of other news, Caleb and Tyrell went to the dentist this week. They were both awesome, but they both need fillings, so we'll be doing that next month. Mostly nervous about Caleb, because he has a fear of needles, but we will be bribing him to tough through it. Also, my doctor referred me for a sleep study for sleep apnea, which I have do to at the end of the month. I'm really not looking forward to it, mostly because I have a hard time falling asleep as it is and I'm pretty sure that having a mask strapped to my face isn't going to help much in that area. Oh well, better safe than sorry. Sleep apnea causes a truck load of problems if not treated correctly.
And as a final note, I can't believe that the baby of the family turns 5 next week. In some ways it feels like he's still 2, but in other ways it feels like he's been with us for so much longer than 5 years. Two things are for sure though. 1) We love him so very much and 2) He is still the best surprise I've ever had in my life.
For inquiring minds, we are only doing 5 subjects for the rest of grade 4. English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and Health. He was planning on dropping art and music next year anyway, so I wasn't even going to bother with that. He's doing level 1 French in grade 5 as is, so continuing FSL this year wasn't at all necessary. As for Phys Ed, we will still have opportunities for him to be physically active, it's just not an official subject for him for the rest of the year. We may put him in swimming lessons a couple of months down the road, but we'll see how things go.
So that's kind of everything that's been going on, for the most part. Most of my time went into dealing with this and getting everything ready as quickly as possible. I'm sure there are people who think I'm crazy for making this choice, but we got an incredibly strong answer from Heavenly Father and continue to get them, so we feel very confident going into this that we have made the best choice that we could for Caleb. I feel so blessed to be in a position to be able to do this for him, and to do it within a province that (in my opinion) is one of the best places in Canada to home educate.
In the way of other news, Caleb and Tyrell went to the dentist this week. They were both awesome, but they both need fillings, so we'll be doing that next month. Mostly nervous about Caleb, because he has a fear of needles, but we will be bribing him to tough through it. Also, my doctor referred me for a sleep study for sleep apnea, which I have do to at the end of the month. I'm really not looking forward to it, mostly because I have a hard time falling asleep as it is and I'm pretty sure that having a mask strapped to my face isn't going to help much in that area. Oh well, better safe than sorry. Sleep apnea causes a truck load of problems if not treated correctly.
And as a final note, I can't believe that the baby of the family turns 5 next week. In some ways it feels like he's still 2, but in other ways it feels like he's been with us for so much longer than 5 years. Two things are for sure though. 1) We love him so very much and 2) He is still the best surprise I've ever had in my life.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Oil Love
We're still super excited about doing homeschooling next year. We changed his courses a little bit. We convinced him to keep French, and he will do French and Science online through our board and then the rest of his courses for the year will be parent delivered. It will be a very big change for us, but I can see a difference in the bond between Caleb and I even just having made this decision.
We had our first appointment with his new psychologist on Tuesday. It went well, I think that she'll be a far bigger help than his last one. We've made a few parenting changes since that meeting. John no longer plays games with a rating of T or higher while the boys are awake. I am getting a 'lot' better about keep a calm voice, even when I'm upset. The bedtime routine has changed as well. The boys are not allowed to have screen time within 30 minutes of their bedtime. The TV goes off with the first time, the older boys can use their iPods until their time is up. I also dim the lights downstairs at that time and turn on some relaxing music. It made a world of difference last night! We have a few more changes coming in the next week, that will make things even better in the long run.
Caleb and I have been borrowing an oil diffuser the past few days and testing out different oils. We love it and there has only been 1 oil that we didn't like so far. I spent my Christmas money and ordered myself my own diffuser and a few oils. So Caleb now has the Scentsy warmer that was in my room before. I have one in the basement as well, and told Tyrell that I'd try it out in their room and see how that goes. I'm transitioning them to sleeping with their big light in their room off, and the Scentsy warmers help a lot with that because they are like a nightlight.
Not a lot else going on here. Just the same old stuff, ha ha. Have a good one!
We had our first appointment with his new psychologist on Tuesday. It went well, I think that she'll be a far bigger help than his last one. We've made a few parenting changes since that meeting. John no longer plays games with a rating of T or higher while the boys are awake. I am getting a 'lot' better about keep a calm voice, even when I'm upset. The bedtime routine has changed as well. The boys are not allowed to have screen time within 30 minutes of their bedtime. The TV goes off with the first time, the older boys can use their iPods until their time is up. I also dim the lights downstairs at that time and turn on some relaxing music. It made a world of difference last night! We have a few more changes coming in the next week, that will make things even better in the long run.
Caleb and I have been borrowing an oil diffuser the past few days and testing out different oils. We love it and there has only been 1 oil that we didn't like so far. I spent my Christmas money and ordered myself my own diffuser and a few oils. So Caleb now has the Scentsy warmer that was in my room before. I have one in the basement as well, and told Tyrell that I'd try it out in their room and see how that goes. I'm transitioning them to sleeping with their big light in their room off, and the Scentsy warmers help a lot with that because they are like a nightlight.
Not a lot else going on here. Just the same old stuff, ha ha. Have a good one!
Thursday, October 29, 2015
October Update
So apparently I'm sorely lacking in the 'remember to blog' department. Oops! Here's an update and I will do my best to get back on track next week.
Brettley has been doing eye patching for the past few months. He has one pair of glasses that his cloth patch remains on permanently and then his big boy glasses that have no patch for the rest of the day. He has been working hard at learning all about letters and numbers. If he keeps up the hard work, I may actually get to teach him some sight words before he starts Kindergarten next fall. He is very close to being able to get out of the car seat and into the booster seat, a day we are ALL awaiting.
Tyrell is loving grade 2. He has the same teacher that Caleb had last year, which I may or may not have fist pumped over (okay, I'll totally own the fact that I did). He is still a big chatterbox and ball of energy when he's not at his desk at school. He just turned 7 last week and keeps talking about how excited he is to turn 8 next year and get baptized and start Cubs. This week he moved into the room with the double bed (Caleb moved in with Brettley), and he is so excited to have a space of his own. Our plan is to have them rotate who gets a room to himself every year.
Caleb is doing alright, after we got him settled into grade 4. He had a hard time adjusting, and so the principal and I have decided to go through trying to have him get coded for next year (due to his ADHD aggression, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and anxiety) so that he will qualify for extra help and so that when he goes to junior high and we have to deal with many teachers instead of just 1, I don't have to fight too hard for him to get the accommodations that he needs. He still absolutely loves science and has shown an interest in computer programming, so he and John are getting books out of the library to introduce him to that. He turned 9 last month and already has a teenage attitude, ha ha.
John is doing fairly well, other than his bout of shingles these past couple of weeks. A huge blessing, though, that it was an extremely mild case and was more of a nuisance to him than anything else. The biggest down side was that because Brettley hasn't had his second chicken pox immunization yet, he has been living at my dad's for over a week. He gets to come home tomorrow.
I am doing pretty well, aside from the case of bronchitis that Caleb so kindly shared with me this week. I have been doing lunchtime supervision at the school (my dad watches Brettley) and I really enjoy it. I am still happily serving away as the Mia Maids adviser in Young Women to a wonderful group of girls. I have been focusing a lot more lately on getting more out of my scripture study and just about increasing my learning in general. It's been a lot of fun and it keeps me very motivated.
So I think that's our updates, or at least the Coles Notes version of it. Have a great Halloween weekend!
Brettley has been doing eye patching for the past few months. He has one pair of glasses that his cloth patch remains on permanently and then his big boy glasses that have no patch for the rest of the day. He has been working hard at learning all about letters and numbers. If he keeps up the hard work, I may actually get to teach him some sight words before he starts Kindergarten next fall. He is very close to being able to get out of the car seat and into the booster seat, a day we are ALL awaiting.
Tyrell is loving grade 2. He has the same teacher that Caleb had last year, which I may or may not have fist pumped over (okay, I'll totally own the fact that I did). He is still a big chatterbox and ball of energy when he's not at his desk at school. He just turned 7 last week and keeps talking about how excited he is to turn 8 next year and get baptized and start Cubs. This week he moved into the room with the double bed (Caleb moved in with Brettley), and he is so excited to have a space of his own. Our plan is to have them rotate who gets a room to himself every year.
Caleb is doing alright, after we got him settled into grade 4. He had a hard time adjusting, and so the principal and I have decided to go through trying to have him get coded for next year (due to his ADHD aggression, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and anxiety) so that he will qualify for extra help and so that when he goes to junior high and we have to deal with many teachers instead of just 1, I don't have to fight too hard for him to get the accommodations that he needs. He still absolutely loves science and has shown an interest in computer programming, so he and John are getting books out of the library to introduce him to that. He turned 9 last month and already has a teenage attitude, ha ha.
John is doing fairly well, other than his bout of shingles these past couple of weeks. A huge blessing, though, that it was an extremely mild case and was more of a nuisance to him than anything else. The biggest down side was that because Brettley hasn't had his second chicken pox immunization yet, he has been living at my dad's for over a week. He gets to come home tomorrow.
I am doing pretty well, aside from the case of bronchitis that Caleb so kindly shared with me this week. I have been doing lunchtime supervision at the school (my dad watches Brettley) and I really enjoy it. I am still happily serving away as the Mia Maids adviser in Young Women to a wonderful group of girls. I have been focusing a lot more lately on getting more out of my scripture study and just about increasing my learning in general. It's been a lot of fun and it keeps me very motivated.
So I think that's our updates, or at least the Coles Notes version of it. Have a great Halloween weekend!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Our July
Wow, I sure haven't been using this as regularly as I'd planned to. Hopefully once the summer is over and we're back in the school routine it will be easier. The day after my last post I had a checkup with my 'new' family physician. We've seen a heck of a lot of each other the past several months, the average was every 2 weeks. I am thrilled to say that he was happy enough with my current medication dosage that I get to go 3 months between that checkup and the next one. That was such amazing news, I got into the van and just cried and cried with happy tears. Of course, I still have tough days, but the difference now is that it takes so much less effort to get back to feeling stable again. Horray!
Last weekend we went to Calgary to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. It was the weekend they were finishing renovating the basement suite of their house, so I even got to help with a few things, including the staging for pictures, which was SO much fun. On the way home on Monday we detoured to Drumheller to check out the Royal Tyrrell Museum (the dinosaur museum). Brettley was very scared at first when he heard dinosaur noises, but after a bit he calmed down and enjoyed himself.
John was off work this past week and is off again this week. Aside from our few days in Calgary, we are holidaying at home this year and it is THE BEST! John's birthday was on Thursday and we had a Dr Pepper themed day. For breakfast we had Strawberry Dr Pepper Jello and whipped cream. For lunch we had Dr Pepper meatballs. Supper was Dr Pepper BBQ ribs and baked potatoes. For the dessert we had Chocolate Cherry Dr Pepper Cobbler with whipped cream. It was a great day. I think I'm still trying to make up for his birthday in 2010 when our van died on the way to Utah.
I met with the surgeon on Friday and he recommended that since my gallstones are asymptomatic, that we just leave them alone for now. He did say, though, that as soon as I actually get symptoms that it will be coming out. I'm pretty happy to not be facing surgery at the moment though, to be honest.
So that's been our month so far. For the last week we plan to have Brettley's eye checkup to see how he's doing with the new prescription, a trip to the pool and a ladies' night in there as well. July has been a great month!
Last weekend we went to Calgary to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. It was the weekend they were finishing renovating the basement suite of their house, so I even got to help with a few things, including the staging for pictures, which was SO much fun. On the way home on Monday we detoured to Drumheller to check out the Royal Tyrrell Museum (the dinosaur museum). Brettley was very scared at first when he heard dinosaur noises, but after a bit he calmed down and enjoyed himself.
John was off work this past week and is off again this week. Aside from our few days in Calgary, we are holidaying at home this year and it is THE BEST! John's birthday was on Thursday and we had a Dr Pepper themed day. For breakfast we had Strawberry Dr Pepper Jello and whipped cream. For lunch we had Dr Pepper meatballs. Supper was Dr Pepper BBQ ribs and baked potatoes. For the dessert we had Chocolate Cherry Dr Pepper Cobbler with whipped cream. It was a great day. I think I'm still trying to make up for his birthday in 2010 when our van died on the way to Utah.
I met with the surgeon on Friday and he recommended that since my gallstones are asymptomatic, that we just leave them alone for now. He did say, though, that as soon as I actually get symptoms that it will be coming out. I'm pretty happy to not be facing surgery at the moment though, to be honest.
So that's been our month so far. For the last week we plan to have Brettley's eye checkup to see how he's doing with the new prescription, a trip to the pool and a ladies' night in there as well. July has been a great month!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
We Got A...
The boys had a great last few weeks of their school year. They maintained the exact same grades that they both had back in March. Both teachers commented to me about just how much progress Caleb and Tyrell have made this year, which is always awesome to hear. Last week all 3 boys were at my mum's. Brettley managed to bust his chin open and had to have it glued shut while he was there, but apparently he was very brave and handled the whole thing incredibly well.
I have been doing well. We went to the park and were out for almost 4 hours straight on Monday. I forgot that my meds make me more susceptible to effects from heat and sun and I got a bit of a sunburn. The boys have been doing chores each day to earn spending money. They also have educational work that they do on John's work days.
Our biggest news is that we got a family pet. While the boys were gone, John and I decided to check out a couple of pet stores to just price out a hamster and all the gear for that. John held a hamster at Petland and I was a goner. She is so adorable. She is mostly black with a bit of white fur on her belly and her name is Rogue. She is very loved by all of us. Caleb helps change her food and water as well as helping to keep her cage clean. Several people have been shocked that I am able to tolerate having her, given my extreme fear of mice. Because her tail is so short, my fear is, thankfully, automatically able to register that she is not a mouse.
I forgot to mention it as I caught up before, but a couple of months back I was told that I have a gallstone as well as fatty deposits on my liver, the results of my abdominal ultrasound. To deal with the fatty deposits, I was ordered to lose weight. It has been almost 9 weeks and I have managed to lose over 16 lbs so far. As for the gallstone, I had the option to have surgery as a preemptive strike before it becomes a serious issue and I decided to take that option, so I meet with the surgeon later this month.
So that's our update for now. Hope you're having a great summer!
I have been doing well. We went to the park and were out for almost 4 hours straight on Monday. I forgot that my meds make me more susceptible to effects from heat and sun and I got a bit of a sunburn. The boys have been doing chores each day to earn spending money. They also have educational work that they do on John's work days.
Our biggest news is that we got a family pet. While the boys were gone, John and I decided to check out a couple of pet stores to just price out a hamster and all the gear for that. John held a hamster at Petland and I was a goner. She is so adorable. She is mostly black with a bit of white fur on her belly and her name is Rogue. She is very loved by all of us. Caleb helps change her food and water as well as helping to keep her cage clean. Several people have been shocked that I am able to tolerate having her, given my extreme fear of mice. Because her tail is so short, my fear is, thankfully, automatically able to register that she is not a mouse.
I forgot to mention it as I caught up before, but a couple of months back I was told that I have a gallstone as well as fatty deposits on my liver, the results of my abdominal ultrasound. To deal with the fatty deposits, I was ordered to lose weight. It has been almost 9 weeks and I have managed to lose over 16 lbs so far. As for the gallstone, I had the option to have surgery as a preemptive strike before it becomes a serious issue and I decided to take that option, so I meet with the surgeon later this month.
So that's our update for now. Hope you're having a great summer!
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