What We've Been Up To

I'm on an 8 day countdown to turn in the Yearbook to the publishers.  Eight days of chaos.  Eight days of stress.  Eight days of freaking out until the yearbook is safely out of my hands.

I needed a small break from designing pages, so I thought I'd update things here.

We took the junior high kiddos to the Chrism Mass before Easter.  It is our tradition to get a picture with the Bishop.

Hudson had a soccer game with his team.  I don't know any of these kids.  Everyone is new.

My partner teacher is AMAZING and thought up a whole new way to portray the Live Stations of the Cross.  I was her sounding board.  This shadow telling was brilliant...and a lot of work!

Still taking selfies.

*A few weeks ago, I ended up in the ER at the hospital for severe abdominal pain.  After 8 1/2 hours at the hospital, I was sent home with a diagnosis of pain.  Hmmmmm.  Helpful.  In any case, it dramatically changed my eating habits for the next three weeks.  I was feeling pretty skinny there!

Snuggles with the big one. First official day of our shortened Easter Break.

I've been coveting these shoes.  On sale and a coupon made them a great deal!  Love them!

Ignore the dirty mirror and focus on the adorable shoes!  They are a much taller heel than I normally wear, but they are so worth it!

My friend Stacey got married in Pismo on Saturday, so we headed to the coast for a mini vacation.

My men.  Eric bought them both a cheap pair of sunglasses to combat the pretty beachy days!  I love Evan's choice.

All of us sporting our shades.

Ready for a wedding.

Back at the hotel, wearing Evan's glasses, lounging by the pool and reading a book.  I purposely didn't take any yearbook stuff to work on while we were away.  Instead, I finished three books and got through most of a fourth.  Rather than losing myself in tv this year, I've been losing myself in books.  Luckily, I've been reading a wide variety, including self improvement books.

The hotel had complimentary wine and snacks in the evening.  Kids got soda.

Pool time is always fun on vacation.

Everyone likes Evan's choice of sunglasses.

Easter lunch at Chili's. Evan was a grump.  I forget why.  He snapped out of it later.

On the way home, we stopped at Bravo Farms in Kettleman City.  Hudson asked me to take a picture of his sorbet.  It really was tasty.

Enough catching up. Gotta get back to the yearbook.  I'm trying to stay positive about the work load ahead.  Smiles!

Love My Teaching Partner

This girl gets me through the days!

Our principal is out of town on an accreditation visit for another school.  Nothing major is going on, but it's always crazy when the boss is away.  I sent him this picture of us to show him we are chugging along and still smiling.

He said we are awesome (well, duh!) and that he wanted to see how we were at 3:30!

So I sent him this picture!  We made it through another day.

Amanda is truly one of the most organized, enthusiastic, and sweetest people around.  She loves to plan things weeks, months, and years in advance.  She loves bright happy spaces.  That is her classroom in the background.  She loves to color and decorate.  She loves to take pictures!  I can always count on her for a selfie!

In any case, she makes the days so much more fun!

Thank goodness for great coworkers who keep each other going!

A Pretty Crummy Ordeal

I haven't had the easiest of weeks.  I can't discuss the details here, but we had a major issue at school that had to be dealt with on Monday and it left me exhausted.

Tuesday through Thursday were just busy with school and night time practices and meetings.

Then on Thursday night I started feeling stomach pain twinges.  This happened to me a few weeks ago after a day of really bad eating and I narrowed it down to too much dairy in one day.  I thought maybe this was the same thing happening again.

I went to bed but was up every hour in the bathroom (sorry TMI, but it's life) and dealing with horrible stomach cramping that felt like knives in my gut.  I took two children's Pepto tablets (it's all we had and it worked last time), but it didn't help at all.

I got up in the morning intending to go to work, but after feeling weak in the shower, I knew there was no way I was going to make it through a day at school.

The pain continued to get even worse throughout the morning and I was running a fever.  My symptoms seemed to be pointing at something more severe than bad food.  I was scared it could be appendicitis, intestinal blockages or any number of stomach troubles.  Eric and I made the decision to go to the ER.  We didn't know we were in for the longest day ever. Ugh.

So tired after being up all night.  It's hard to sleep in an ER waiting room.

When they called me back to triage, I at least got a reclining chair.  I tried to curl up in that chair to sleep.

It took over an hour and a half to be called back the first time.  They took blood (I cried the whole time) and gave me pain meds, anti spasm meds, and anti nausea meds.  The medicine definitely helped with the pain.  I could  have stayed in my reclining chair under a blanket for the rest of the day, but they sent me out to the waiting room.  Ugh.

Long story short: they sent me in and out three times.  They mishandled my first urine sample, so I had to do that again.  Hard to pee when you are completely dehydrated.  It was suggested that I would get an IV, but that never happened.  I'm not sure why they didn't do this for me.  I hadn't had anything to drink all day and was feeling terrible.  It took two hours to get me to the CT scan.

We ended up being in the ER for 8 1/2 hours!  I was so tired, exhausted, and in pain that I was in tears at various points.  They finally called me back to tell me I had acute stomach pain, but there seemed to be no apparent reason.  Great.

The only good things are that I don't have a more serious problem like appendicitis and I got medicine.  Still, it was a pretty bad day.

I'm home, sleeping a lot, and still dealing with a bit of pain.  I think it is time to take a serious look at my diet.  No sweet, fatty or comfort food is worth the pain and misery I am experiencing.

I really need the next two weeks to proceed without bumps.  I am going to pray for two weeks of steady, easy going days!

Life Lately

I've been busy.  But so has everyone else.

I've been tired.  But so has everyone else.

I've been stressed.  But so has everyone else.

I need a dash of humor.  I think we all do.  I'm going to share things that strike me as funny.  Hopefully, someone else will smile as well!

This made me laugh because we met Spiderman in Disneyland, but I half jokingly wanted to meet Thor.  We didn't wait in line for him though.

Ha!  We've said this to our dogs many times!  However, Eric asks Harry daily, "Who's an idiot dog?"  Harry just wags his tail and takes it as a compliment.

That would be no.  I signed up to walk 10 miles.  Long story.  I was excited about it a few weeks ago.  As it gets closer, my excitement is dampening a bit.

And that's all for today!

March Goals

Before I get into my March goals, let's recap February.

1. Read at least five books. Done and accomplished!  I actually smashed this goal and read SEVEN books!  Go me!  I don't think I'll be able to accomplish that many books this March with all that is going on in life, but we'll see.  Check HERE for my February book review.

2. Write in my new journal.  I did this several times.  I am happy to report that I not only wrote when I was stressed out or upset (which is usually when I journal), but also when I was happy.  I fear someday when I'm gone that some random relative will come upon my journals and think I was this morbidly depressed and perpetually sad person!  I'm not!  It's just that journaling helps me sort through the darker emotions.  I don't really need to process happy!

3. Decide on a Bible study.  Done!  Bought! Studying!  I bought the Book of Daniel by Beth Moore and LOVE it!  I finished Week 3 today.  (I took a bit of a break while on vacation but am back at it.)  I am so excited to be delving into a Bible study and have loved every minute of my learning.  I'm also trying not to do too much at once.  I don't want to turn a good intention into something I am reluctant to do.  So far so good.

4. Get to the next milestone in weight loss.  Fail.  I went overboard with eating on vacation and even the miles of walking we did each day did not stop me from gaining seven pounds while we were gone. To make things worse, I got sick when we got back from the trip and have been using food as comfort and to alleviate anxiety. This is something I have to work through on my own.  It is never fun to be brutally honest with myself about my habits, but it's necessary.

5. Task a day. Fail.  I don't really feel bad about this one.  I just didn't do it.  No harm no foul.

6. Start the Yearbook.  I did this.  Started.  Nowhere near finished, but definitely started.

I have one massive, major, overriding goal for the Month of March: FINISH THE YEARBOOK!

The book is due to the publisher on April 6, but I'd like to be done in March for breathing space and to be able to enjoy a few days of Easter vacation.

Of course there are the smaller daily things I'd like to continue: read ten pages of a self improvement book, read daily Bible passages, do Daniel study, track food to lose weight, blog, keep up with minor housework so we don't lose control of the house, and exercise.

Along with my goal, I also want to keep sight of the fact that this time each year I start to freak out and ignore every other area of my life.  I alienate my family, I refuse to cook, I don't attend events, I cry, and it's just a very unpleasant experience right to the bitter end.  I end up with a beautiful yearbook, but I don't want the negative stuff to happen.  I'd like for the process to just come together without the rest of my life falling apart.  Hopefully, with God's help, I can make that happen.

Disneyland Day 4 - Final Day

Monday was our last day at Disneyland.  It was a very relaxed day with no rush or hurry. We woke up without alarms, got ready slowly, packed up, and headed to the park.  We didn't get into Disneyland until 11 a.m.  Not the best time to beat the rush, but it was nice not to be so tired.

I still had not ridden Hyper Space Mountain, so we went there first thing to grab a fast pass.  The rest of the day was spent going to various attractions.

We started in the Super Hero HQ building.  (That building used to be the America the Beautiful show.)  I did not like the Super Hero building, but the kids enjoyed it quite a bit.  For that reason alone, it was worth it.

Hudson had to pick the "best" Ironman suit to pose in front of.

This one is very concerned with his appearance lately, and that means spending time gelling his hair!  It's really cute to watch!

Just hanging out with a bunch of Super Heroes.

We stood in a 20-minute line to see Spiderman.  Until we were allowed around the corner, I really wasn't sure what it was we were going to see.  Oh, the actual Spiderman!  Thrill.

We did the web thing pose.  The boys seemed to enjoy it.

As if meeting Spiderman wasn't the thrill of a lifetime, Hudson convinced us that we needed to meet Chewbacca.  Again, I could barely contain my excitement.  Look at how tall that guy is!  He towers over Eric!

We rode Hyper Space Mountain and it was awesome!

Then we did a little shopping and eating.  I bought a Small World ornament.  I like getting ornament souvenirs.  As we were walking over to the Golden Horseshoe Revue, I realized we needed a selfie in front of the castle.  It's hard to get all four of us in a selfie and be able to see the background because of the difference in heights.  A nice lady stopped and offered to take the picture for us, and it turned out really nice.

I feel like we made such great memories on this trip.

One thing I really wanted to do on this trip was go to the Golden Horseshoe Revue.  I remember it as a kid and haven't been back since.  We got there at 3, enjoyed ice cream sundaes, and waited for the show at 3:30.

The show was all about how Frontierland came to be.  Eric got called up on stage to be a part of the show!

He played the part of Paul Bunyan!

With the Big Blue Ox!  He would yell, "Timber," whenever they called his name!

Eric was such a good sport and it was so fun to see him up there!

 He did a great job!

At about 4 p.m. we were heading towards Main Street to do our shopping and head home, when we ran into a parade!  We sat down and only had to wait about 7 minutes before it was going to start!  Perfect!  It was Mickey's Rock and Roll parade.  I love parades!

Hudson and I passed the time by taking selfies.

This one makes me laugh!

I was trying to take a picture of my new earrings.  Hudson had to show off his weird face.

He thinks this particular face is hilarious.  I think it's creepy.

Evan had to get in on the fun with his creepy faces.

Aren't my little Mickey earrings super cute?

Then I got sneaky and took pictures of Eric.

I don't think he noticed!

The kids did!

Ooops!  I got caught!

Oh this little face.  I hope he remembers this trip for a long time to come!

Seeing the parade was a great way to end the day.  We did a little shopping and headed out to the trams.  

It was quite a long drive home and we didn't get there until after 11.  That made for a rough Tuesday, but it was worth it for such a great trip!

Disneyland Day 3

Day three at Disneyland was the first day that I was able to be with the family from start to finish.  My conference was over, so it was party time for mom!

Unfortunately, we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning (3 a.m. ish) and I wanted to take advantage of every second at the parks that I could.  That meant I was up at 6ish.  That meant that I crashed BIG time in the afternoon!

We started at California Adventure and got a fast pass first thing at Soaring.  The kids couldn't understand why I was getting a fast pass when the line was only 10 minutes.  It was hard to explain that the fast pass would allow us to hit something else with a short line and still get on Soaring in a timely manner. 

With fast passes in hand, we ran over to Cars and got in the Single Rider line.  The regular line was already 40 minutes long.  I learned the single rider trick from Father Robert last year during the 8th grade Disney trip.  Sure enough, we were on the ride in less than five minutes!  Hudson and I rode with a family of four and Eric and Evan made it into a car together with another four-some.  Perfect!

Eric and Evan's picture.  This ride is a lot of fun. The race at the end is the best!

After Cars, we walked over to Tower of Terror and waited about 40 minutes to ride.  I love/hate this ride.  It is literally the only ride that scares the pants off me.  And I still love it.  Such a thrill when the elevator car drops and leaves your stomach four floors up.  So stinking scary!  And we were in the front row!  Ahhhhh!

See the terrified look on my face?  And the rest of my family is giggling like loons!

After Tower it was time to go back to Soaring.  I love that ride.  We had time to do a bunch of rides in the boardwalk area.  We rode Screaming two times in a row.  We rode a bunch of carnival type rides: swings, rockets, and mouse trap.  Then it was time for lunch at Disneyland. I had made a reservation for us at Cafe Orleans because I was determined to try a Monte Carlo sandwich.

And it was delicious.  Ham and cheese deep fried and covered in powdered sugar.  It was as good as it sounds.  I could only eat one of the four sections.  For shame!

Evan was worn out at this point, but Hudson was so content to just sit and color.  It was very strange!

Hudson had done something earlier to really make Evan mad, so he was not the best lunch companion.  That's okay.  I still enjoyed my lunch.

And this was the last photo I took of Sunday.  

We went back to the hotel room to rest and relax.  I slept for a few hours.  I was so tired from my convention, early mornings, late nights, and constant walking.  The boys went to the pool for a bit while I was dead to the world.

After sleeping, we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner before heading back to Disneyland for more partying.  We were going to go see the Color Wonder show, but ended up just hanging out in Disneyland and having fun.  

At one point we were walking by Pinocchio's ride when a Disney cast member stepped up to us and asked us if we had ridden the ride.  We said no.  He asked us if we wanted to jump on as special guest riders.  Um, sure.  He literally opened the back gate and we got on the ride in front of a bunch of other people that were waiting in line.  It was so weird and so cool!  It was a cute ride.

We also rode Pirates and Indiana Jones that night.  Then we headed to the hotel to crash for the night.