homemade play dough

I love to make homemade play dough, especially Kool-Aid play dough because it's much cheaper to make than peanut butter play dough. Both are edible, but with Kool-Aid play dough, you get to pick the color and flavor depending on the flavor of Kool-Aid you pick.

First, you have to fill the measuring cup full of flour,

using one spoonful at a time. Then you carefully add the salt.

And some vegetable oil and stir. You really don't have to stir, but it gives your helper something to do while you wait for the water to boil.

Add the Kool-Aid whenever you want. We sprinkle ours in with the dry ingredients and add the water last. I stir the water and finish making the dough because it's hot for the first five minutes or so.

It looks kind of nasty when you first start to stir. This batch was orange.

Once it's cooled, let your little ones play in it, roll it out, and use any simple household items to use while playing. We use orange peelers for knives, measuring cups to fill, cookie cutters to cut out, and rolling pins. Sometimes for the older kids I give them toothpicks.

After the dough is about done, I usually add another 1-2 spoonfuls of flour, just to make the dough a little less sticky.

Even the older kids love play dough.

Like I said, measuring cups and orange peelers make for some simple toys.

The imaginative play has been going on for over 3 hours now. No lie. Play dough is such a good stress reliever for kids because they can squeeze it and mold it and it also works so many of their senses. It can be kept in the fridge for a long time in bags.

Kool-Aid Play Dough

2 1/2 C Flour

1/2 C Salt

3 TB Vegetable Oil

2 Packets Kool-Aid

2 Cups Boiling Water

Mix it all together and you have lots of fun on a rainy day! Like I said, you can add more flour or water, depending on if it's too sticky or too dry. I always add extra flour. Enjoy!

taking back control

Jayden has continued to be uncooperative today. He threw himself down on the clinic floor, grunted, said no, and refused to cooperate for me, Mike or the doctor. But it's typical. And the doctor told me pretty much what I expected him to tell me. That Jayden is in control and he has us paralyzed. Oh and that he does have an infection, so he's on antibiotics.

Our doctor recommends we get use a family counselor to learn ways to get control of Jayden. This is so ironic, since this is something I would be telling one of the families I work with. However, doctor said many times with our own children we don't see it. I do see it, which is why my life is an open book to anyone who will listen about it. We've known about these problems with Jayden for years and have reached out for help, but once again, I guess the changes that need to be made are on us.

I imagine this will be tough. Jayden has had some special treatments all of his life because of our traumatic his life was for the first year. He has gained control and we have lost it. Cracking down and meaning what we say and treating everyone equal (as bad as that sounds) will be the new attempted norm until we figure out what to do with a counselor.

We started tonight. Actually continued from last night. Meaning what we say. Cleaning his room. Simply, putting his toys in his toy box. He's trying to prove he won't do it by not doing it and we're trying to prove he will do this. It could be a long weekend. Slamming his door, opening and closing, and asking questions are some of his ways of controlling us in this situation. And locking us out of his room. We changed that. His door knob is now switched around, so he cannot lock him out, but we can lock him in. In a nicer put way, he cannot continually open the door, slam it, or ask questions. He has lost that control.

So let's see how this goes, shall we?

parenting is hard

Oh my goodness is parenting hard. At some point a few years ago I thought parenting was hard, but I think I have crossed a whole new era. Jayden has been completely defiant since 12:30 today. He was uncooperative the entire day at preschool and just kept it up at home. He refuses to do anything anyone asks. Me, his teachers, his dad. He has spent the entire afternoon and evening in his room, simply because he won't pick up his toys or throw away the garbage.

Now don't shake your head at me like that....I can tell what some of you are probably thinking and that's why I hate to put the brutal truth on here. But I'm so done letting him run my life and him choosing where we can go or what we can do. I don't think it's too much to ask for a 4 year old to pick up a few toys and put them in the toy box and to throw away the wipes that he has strewn all around his room.

However, Jayden doesn't think he needs to do this either. All we have heard tonight is "NO" in refusing to do this.

He came out to eat supper and thought he was going to play after that, but was told he had to pick up his room. How one little person can be so defiant and so stubborn and refuse to do the simplest tasks is beyond me.

I have gone as far as scheduling an appointment with his doctor tomorrow because we are at a loss as to what to do. A long time ago his doctor suggested we try a medication to help reduce the amount of energy or stamina he has during these fits, but we all agreed to wait it out a little longer. Now is the time to figure out what we do next. Is it time for another visit to behavioral health? Medicine? A deeper look into his behavior?

I find all of this to be even more frustrating because I have a degree to work with children and I currently work with several children who exhibit similar tendancies, except with my own child, I cannot figure out what works and what doesn't.

I say parenting is hard for other reasons too, but tonight, Jayden is taking the cake, and is still going strong in refusing to go to bed. It's 9pm and I'm exhausted.

shot of Cortisone

I've had a lack of blogging again I see. Tonight I'm so very tired, but my own husband was kind enough to tell me that it's been almost a week since I updated our blog. Maybe it's because I feel like nobody reads what I write or it's a fear of writing what I really want to say in moments of lull. Either way, here I am.

I went to the Orthopedic Institute on Monday to see the doctor regarding the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my wrist. I've already had the Nerve Conduction Test done, which definitely diagnosed it. On Monday I received my first ever shot of Cortisone. Painful is the best way to describe that. Not the kind of pain where you cry, but the kind where you tense up tight and scream OUCH. That's when the doctor asked me if it felt like he was shooting electricity up my hand. You betcha, that was it. Just like I was holding a high voltage electric fence.

Then he said my hand would feel funny and feel like it was getting full. He had me make a fist and I couldn't really do it. My whole hand felt swollen and full. It was so weird. And then it went numb for several hours. Ever try signing your name when you have zero feeling in your hand? Well, it's quite amusing. Holding the pen is a challenge in itself, yet alone trying to control a pen when you have no feeling.

I'm also in a splint for the next 8 weeks at night. And I have to take 3 Ibuprofen and 2 Tylenol all a the same time 4 times a day. That is 20 pills a day. Crazy, huh! But my hand feels amazing. It hasn't gone to sleep, itched, or tingled since I received the shot.

Devin & Dalton's concert

Devin and Dalton had their concert tonight, which was really super cute, but first you have to see how really super cute they were before the concert.

First, they love each other...

and then one is too cool for the other. But really, this picture was taken first, so the love grew later.

Dalton is sure changing. He's taller and his overall look seems to be changing.

Miss Devin is still petite, but is slowly growing taller. She is very dynamic when taking pictures, so it's tough to find the sweet picture with the sweet dress. But this one was good.

The concert was full of movements that were adorable. And Miss Devin has the drama down to a perfection. I can easily see theater in her future.

carbon monoxide scare

We had a scare with our carbon monoxide detector on Friday night. I was busy cleaning out the laundry room and going through totes of clothes in the garage and was going in and out of the house when the carbon monoxide detector started going off. It said 59 and kept beeping. The only other time we have heard it beep is when is showed LB for low battery. We changed out the batteries and it climbed right back up to 57. The kids were scared, but I figured it out.

Mike had moved the truck back a foot in the garage so I could get to the totes. We never opened the garage doors for that quick 20 second run. Then with me in the garage and Jayden coming in and out, I figured out the exhaust had gotten into the house.

I opened the windows downstairs and the front door, the garage door and the door leading to our laundry room, so we could cycle fresh air through the house. We blew a fan out the window. The numbers slowly started to drop to 0. Once everything was down, we closed up the house and kept a close eye on the detector. It stayed at 0.

As scary as it was, we're glad to see that it actually works and alerted us to carbon monoxide. Thankfully it was just from the garage and wasn't anything else.

road washed away

Driving to a home visit today, I came upon this ugly scene, which used to a road. I needed to get to the other side of this road, but obviously wasn't going to happen.

So I had to back up the van on a narrow gravel road that had pretty good drop offs on each side in order to get turned around. After venturing around for a few minutes, I found an alternative route.
After hitting what appeared to be nothing, I realized the culverts on this road were sunken in and feeling like massive speed dips. There were four of these so called dips on this gravel road. Taking it slow worked, but wow, what a day!

family tidbits

Mike and I went on an actual date on Friday. I had won some tickets to the benefit for the Humane Society, which was a wine tasting event. Ironically, we don't drink, or very, very rarely if we do. So this was a funny win to us. But we went none the less and had fun. We walked around pretending we knew what we were doing, chatted with a friend who was bar tending, and ate hor d'oeuvres. Oh and we tasted wine. One took my breath away and make me cough, partially because I choked as I swallowed. Embarrassing either way.

Saturday we took the kids and bought some groceries and got Devin her dress and shoes for her concert next week. I still need to find stuff for Dalton to wear, but I have over a week. It looks like there is no concert for Joseph. Sometimes our school is like that...not having concerts for all grades.

Shaylee starts her Oral Interp Contests on Saturday. I'm anxious to see how she does as this will be her first year doing this. She's not thrilled to be up before 6am though. I'm so proud of her for being involved in so many opportunities in school. And she does so well, too!

I've started putting together the kids' summer rec activities and the prices. I've only got them down for ball and a few for swimming lessons and I'm already up to $300. I wish there was a limit on how much you could spend as a family because that amount of money is ridiculous, not to mention all the shoes and sports equipment that comes with each one.

Sunday we drove around and checked out the river, which was just starting to rise to a moderate flood level. Today it has left the banks and started to flow over roads and fields everywhere. So far it's not bad like it was in September last year.

We grilled tonight. Second time in the last week or so. I sure have missed grilled food. But the kids weren't totally impressed because they had hamburgers at school today and then tonight we gave them grilled cheeseburgers. They were big. At least they said our burgers were better than the school. I'm sure that doesn't take much!

do you see what I see

Do you see what I see? That the water is emerging?

And the geese are near?
And the fields are flooded with geese galore? Do you see what I see? The beauty of melting snow, birds returning, temperatures warming?

Remnants of the flood last year with hay bales still surrounded by ice and water?

Do you see what I see? Geese landing on a spot of open water? The sure signs of warmer days ahead?

The work of something ancient, yet so amazing?

Do you see what I see? Better days, hard work, a story told?

The melting snow that fills the fields?

Another attempt to get through a road that has been closed all winter? Do you see?

Because I see the end of winter, the beginning of spring, a year of flooding, warmer temperatures and the amazing beauty in old structures. Do you see what I see?

festival for young voices

Shaylee did a great job in her concert tonight. Of course I had my little 50mm lens on my camera and she was fairly far away from me, so the pictures I did take also include at least 25 other girls. Oh boy...some day I'll learn to take the zoom lens with me to these events.

On my way to work this morning I saw the huge pack of deer along the road again. They were there the other night too. It's just amazing to see over 30 deer together. The other night we stopped and I was making sounds at them and giggling as their ears perked up. Again no camera.

We are currently in a flood watch and are supposed to be in one of the worst floods in many years. We'll see how it effects us. Our sump hole has always been dry and there isn't even a sump pump in the hole. For some reason though, I'm wondering what this year will bring.

I've had a headache for 4 days now and as I was laying in bed tonight, I could feel my nose plugging up and my throat starting to feel funny, so I'm guessing I'm in for another round of sickness. I'm so ready for spring.

time change

The time change sure is hard to get used to. Instead of being tired at my normal time, I'm finding I'm getting tired an hour later. Funny how that works, huh?

Mike is feeling great today. He actually woke up at 1am and was hungry as a dog...yes, that is exactly what he says.

Shaylee has her concert tomorrow for Festival for Young Voices. Only 4 kids from her school are going, so it's another big accomplishment.

Coming home from town tonight I seen about 30 deer at the end of our road. It was really cool. Of course I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me.

I guess it's time to go lay in bed and try to unwind. Hopefully sleep will come soon!

pictures are finished

I finally have all the pictures that I want to develop uploaded to Snapfish. Of course, only the pictures that are on my computer are uploaded, but that's what counts right now. It was 2 years worth of pictures. I've already bought albums to put the pictures in. Now the hard part is to figure out why I can't burn these pictures to disk. That's been beyond frustrating and pretty much what led me to leaving over 2 years worth of pictures on my computer. Eek!

______________________________


Mike has been really sick today. It started out kind of as a joke with me poking fun at him, but now he's really sick. I've lost track of how many times he's thrown up, but I think he's surpassed 5 times. The reason I started poking fun is because he pukes so often. Seriously! If he ever has a headache, I always ask if he's going to puke. Because that's usually the case. He typically is puking every 2-3 weeks, but for sure once a month. However, today he feels miserable and has kept nothing down.

cleaning

It's a cleaning day and so far so good. Just had to stop to give my body some fuel since I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Every area of my house is a mess, so this could take awhile!

bedtime tantrums

Jayden's bedtime tantrums are really getting old quick. The tantrums in general are getting old. Almost every night I have to fight him to bed...for at least an hour of constant screaming, throwing toys, stomping, throwing things against the door, and yelling for daddy. Then he doesn't sleep through the night and will have a tantrum in the night or just need to be covered up again. He's 4 and I wish he would grow out of these tantrums because I fear he will still be doing this at 8! None of our other kids have tantrums or fight bedtime or throw toys against doors or stomp.

Stewie

Oh Stewie, now that you have been in our home, rescued from the Humane Society, for 1 1/2 years now, we have really started to notice your quirkiness. Like randomly deciding to lay on a tall snow bank leftover from a plow,

or asserting yourself to look like you are tough, even though you roll over on your back because you want your belly rubbed,
or lick your chops and everything else with your 7 inch long tongue,

or refuse to look at the camera when your owner decides to take a picture of you,

or find a live mouse in the snow while you are out for a run and proceed to kill all while looking like the biggest chicken dog ever.
Even though you tip over garbages and have been known to put your paws on the counter to eat a full loaf of bread on my bed and to drink from the toilet and then come offer me a kiss, I have to say Stewie, I am still glad I rescued you and gave you this home.

it's hump day

It's hump day! A reason to celebrate because we are almost to another weekend. Yay! Yesterday was our anniversary. I had guessed I wouldn't see much of him because of the big storm that was coming, but thankfully it went south of us and we only ended up with a dusting. Mike and I went out to eat at Qdoba for lunch and then met up in time to see Shaylee's Honor Band Concert at 7pm last night. That was fun. I'm so proud of her for all of her accomplishments with music. She's got talent that's for sure!

I do have a cute story from yesterday, but I'll have to share later as it's time to get the little guy to daycare and me to work.

another storm

It looks like another winter storm is going to take over the week next week. I shouldn't be surprised anymore, though! However, with Tuesday being our anniversary, it's not looking like we'll be spending it together....and that's a real bummer. :(

tidbits

• I'm very crabby at winter and the lack of time my husband has for our family because of it.
• I'm finally recuperating from my cold, which turned to a near case of laryngitis.
• Jayden continues to have tantrums on a daily basis at all hours of the day or should I say, night?
• All of my kids went to bed early tonight. A consequence for none of them doing anything they were told when they came home from school, including their homework, which is to be done first thing.
• I'm ready for flip flops, but not the heat.
• I'm ready for capri's too.
• I have a tingling hand as I type this.
• I have so many things I want to do personally and things that I want to do to this house, but no money to do either of them.
• Shawndra got a letter in the mail from one of her teachers saying how wonderful she is and what a great job she is doing in class.
• Joseph finally got his glasses fixed after several months with the nose pads missing.

lazy day

Just another lazy day in our house, for us anyhow. Poor hubby had to work another 14 hour day. But I think spring is right around the corner and then it will be the end of the snow for awhile and then I'll have to adjust to him being home again. I think I can handle that. :)

All of us who were home stayed in our jammies all day today and it was great. I ventured out to the mailbox in hopes no one would see me because I was still in my capri jammies and messy hair. Thankfully no one drove by and I think most of my neighbors were gone. :)

My cold is getting a little better. Although now I'm fighting with a headache. No plans for tomorrow except maybe a trip to Walmart!

sick again

I'm sick again. The kind of sick where I look like a (stereotyped) stoner with her mouth hanging open, tears running from eyes which are probably glazed over, red nose that runs similar to a faucet but can be stuffy at the same time, cough and just feeling like I'm drugged up, which I'm not.

And now I have to take Jayden to Sioux Falls for an appointment that will likely only last about 3 minutes. More on that later.

carpal tunnel syndrome

I went to Sioux Falls today to the Orthopedic Institute and had a nerve conduction test done. The doctor discovered I have moderate carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. My left hand is ok, thankfully. He said I will likely need surgery. First, I was scheduled to see a surgeon, but that isn't until April. It sounds like we will explore non-surgical options first, such as injections. I have no clue what type of injection, but am hoping it's a possibility because being gone for another surgery is really not an option right now. In the meantime, I will continue to deal with the numb, tingling and itchy hand that is caused by this.

the birthday cake

So my little Jayden doesn't usually like to be the center of attention, unless it's on his own terms. And even then, that can flip faster than a light switch. He was happy and smiling cute for his pictures and admiring his cake, when I think he decided he had enough.

I stopped taking pictures and went back into the living room because I was waiting for Mike to stop in so we could eat cake. (Bad weather, he was working.) The next thing I heard was Joseph screaming that Jayden was pulling the cake towards him, so I flew back into the kitchen just in time for Jayden to take a good smack at his cake.
It wasn't the cutest cake, but it was big. And now it was missing a chunk and there was a birthday boy who refused to come out of his room for over 20 minutes. We ate cake without him, didn't sing happy birthday, and didn't light candles. He came out eventually and ate some cake and opened presents and was fine.

it's over

Well today is over. I prayed for it to come and to leave quickly. I guess it didn't leave quickly, but at least it's done and over with. I sat in the court room for the entire day and testified for over an 1 1/2 hours. Although that time seemed to have gone quickly.

I had a nice quick supper with my husband at The Valley here in town. It was a good way to end a long day. Now bed is sounding delish. I just hope Jayden sleeps. He's got a bad ear infection, fever, runny nose, and cough, so his nights are miserable.

I felt fine when I woke up today, but now tonight, I can tell I have a cold coming on. Besides our family sharing it with each other right now, I'm sure the stress wore me down some.

On a side note, does anybody know what to do when you smell mildew or mold and you suspect it's coming from the attic? We're very afraid of what we're going to find up there and just wondered if anybody knows of any local people we could call?

feeling anxious

I have been so stressed and feeling anxious the last few days and weeks that I didn't even put up a birthday post for my sweet Jayden yesterday. He turned 4. Can you believe that?! I will put up some pictures of the day because it's worth it, trust me. But it will be later today or tomorrow.

Right now I am feeling anxious. I am about to meet with the deputy state's attorney in regards to the subpoena I received. Since it is confidential, I cannot speak of any details, so please understand. What I can say, is that I am feeling very anxious. My stomach is in knots and sick at the same time. My insides are turning. Tomorrow is court. It will take all day.

my feelings

Every year during this time of the winter I find my fuse to be much shorter and my tolerance of many things previously accepted to be much smaller. My children have cabin fever and are wound tighter than a cork screw. As I try to deal with my children while my husband is working because of yet another blizzard, I find my temper is easily set off. Today my feelings are all over the place, along with many other days this winter. I need my husband to be home. He keeps my feelings in check and keeps me more grounded.

I'm extremely sick of one of my kids compulsively lying. This has been an ongoing issue for years, yet nothing changes. Today he let me know that he doesn't think any consequences apply to him, which is why he does what he's not supposed to do, does things without asking, and continues to get under my skin. He is not allowed to be on the computer or Wii and this morning I find him on the computer, without asking, not that it would have mattered since he's grounded from it, and then lied to me saying he wasn't on it. After a quick call to my husband he told me he did this yesterday too while I was gone. My feelings are full of anger and confusion because I don't know what to do anymore.

All I know is my feelings cycle through the same vicious roller coaster every year at almost precisely the same time. :(

wall collage

Finally! We finally got our pictures done in June of 2010 and slowly but surely got them developed and then framed. Then today we got them on the wall. It took me awhile to figure out how I wanted them. The lighting was not good, so this picture is without flash to try to get closer.
This one is with flash and at an angle otherwise you see the light on the ceiling in the big picture. Plus this wall is directly in front of the enormous picture window, so we're having issues with glare anyhow.

The big pictures were professionally done by my mother-in-law with non glare glass. The other frames are from IKEA and are cheap. They don't even have a glass front....it's plastic! So my bad for thinking the frames would work. I guess you pay for what you get. Anyhow, we were too far along and I just wanted them up on the wall, so here they are. Finally. What do you think?

today's tidbits

We stayed quite busy today until late afternoon and then it's been slower. We went to town to wash our comforter at the laundry mat because it's too big for our washer. Then went to a few shops downtown and got the kids some clothes. After that we sat at the laundry mat until it was dry and then we all ate at McDonald's. Then off to Wal-Mart, which was a mad house to say the least, to buy Valentine's. And to end the day we went to the Children's Museum. Fun was had by all.

Since coming home and after supper, Mike has puked, Devin has puked and now I'm not feeling great, so I'm wondering if it's my turn sometime. Whatever this is, whether it is something we ate, or a flu bug, I want it gone. Mike and I didn't eat supper, so we're thinking if it's anything related to what we ate then it is likely McDonald's. And why we ate there since I was served a raw hamburger months ago is beyond me.

Tomorrow will be a lull day I hope, especially if anyone is sick.

my birthday

Today was my birthday. It wasn't anything spectacular, but was good none the less. I worked a half day and then went out to lunch with my dad at Cubby's. That was fun. Yesterday, I walked into my office to see flowers on my desk. They're technically for Valentine's Day, but I consider them birthday as well.

My husband was sweet and had them delivered. He even went into the store, picked them out, and wrote on the card himself. They smell amazing and are so beautiful.
After lunch today, I brought the dog in to get his nails trimmed. I don't do that myself because I'm too scared of getting the quick and hurting him. We had spaghetti for supper followed by ice cream cake for dessert. Mike cut his finger on one of our new knives. I did it the other day. I opened my presents and cards. My husband got me some more James Patterson books, so that's exciting. I love those books!

What I found amusing yesterday is the fact that I had to pull out the calculator to find out how old I would be today. Guess that really is a sign of old age....my mom even said so! :)

random photos

Here are a few pictures I took today and edited. I've been wanting to get these two horses and today they were out!

Again, a very cool old worn down building.

And the little guy who's mane hangs in his eyes. Love him!

old house

If you have really good memory, you may remember that I talked about a really old house I stumbled upon a fair distance from here. And I also said I would try to get some pictures of the house and share them with you. I finally did that. I don't know what it is about this house, but it intrigues me to no end.

crabbiness switches

My husband finally got to feel what it was like last night to be home with all the kids, the fighting, yelling, screaming, and of course, Jayden's tantrums, all while I worked late and then went to Shaylee's basketball game. I came home and I could just feel the tension from him being crabby. Usually it's me. And for the last half of this winter, I keep asking myself, why am I so crabby, why can't I just get over this?

Now this morning, he had to come home to get Jayden to daycare because I have his IEP meeting in a bit. Again, he got to be reminded of what it's like to be here in the mornings with no help. Dealing with yelling, screaming, and the general chaoticness of the routine of getting ready. Yet he was crabby again.

I just asked him, "so do you remember what it's like to be home in the mornings now?". Ha! I can't wait for spring.

enough snow already

As I was blowing out the driveway and street today, I thought to myself, I really am a tomboy. I look around at the other people who are blowing snow and all I see are men. The ladies must be inside where it's warm, unlike me. Because when there is snow, I'm the Queen B, simply because my husband is working. My recent complaint is there is no where to blow the snow. This is one side of our driveway. Can you see the sign?

And looking the other way is our mailbox. Can you see that?
This is one lucky fire hydrant. he is always cleaned out so if it needs to be used, it's not buried, unlike many other hydrants I've seen. Cleaning this out has been one of things we've endured since we bought our house.

Uh-oh. I didn't do it. Seriously. I think the one time my husband used the snow blower he must have forgotten about the buried extension cord.

I even blow paths in the backyard for the dog.

The swing set is not used, since everything is under snow.

The sign in our yard is buried. The snow has no where else to go. As it blows up the pile, it rolls back down.

I told you there was a sign hiding in there somewhere! I used the ice chisel to scrape away the snow in front of it. Any more snow and I don't know what I will do with it.

Anyone want to come rake my roof? I don't own one of those gadgets and I don't think I could do it with my fear of heights and my rib pain anyhow.

So seriously mother nature, enough with the snow already!!

nail polish

Woke up this fine Saturday morning after dealing with my almost 4 year old at least six times last night with his refusal to sleep to him up playing, screaming, and just being loud at 6am.

And by the looks of things, he found something else to keep him busy...
wouldn't you say?!

working hard

Boy was today full of hard work for me. Started off the day with my monthly child protection team meeting, but then it was off to work for a day full of physical labor, something my body hasn't seen in quite some time.

My morning actually started with a call from the sheriff, letting me know I had a subpoena to pick up. I went and got it, as I knew what it was for. It's the dreaded stress I've wrote about in the past, the one that is confidential, the one I cannot talk about. But yes, I have been subpoenaed to testify in court. This is a big one and one that will be extremely difficult for me because of the relationships involved.

Then it was on to the tiring part of the day....emptying two very large (72x36x24) cabinets, sliding them out of a very small closet, and attempting to get them downstairs, which us ladies couldn't do. So we unloaded more shelves, purged totes, built heavy duty shelves, slid them in to the very small closet, and attempted to put things back together as best we can.

Once the guys came and moved our cabinets downstairs, then I got to fill it up with my incentive stuff from work. I worked up a sweat today and have made myself unbelievably sore. I can't believe that my locked up ribs can cause my chest to hurt. So tired of the pain when I breathe, but have have trust in my chiropractor that the pain is because of my ribs. Maybe.

Speaking of the chiropractor, the lady who was going to do the ultrasound and stim today started working on my left side, which I thought was weird because my pain is on the right side. I asked her and she said she could go ask the doctor if I wanted her to....which I did. Good thing she asked because she was doing the wrong side!

Tomorrow my goal is to bring you a post with some pictures, simply because I just caught a glimpse of my camera, sitting in the dark, covered in dust on the shelf. Time to dust her off and put her to use again!

thursday tidbits again

• Because I've slacked off and haven't updated my blog this week, I'm going to do another tidbits post.
• I have a very sore back area. Technically it's my ribs and the pain goes all the way around to the front of my chest. It's no fun. Seeing the chiropractor regularly.
• We experienced very cold temps this week. Below zero. It was cold.
• Jayden finally got to go to preschool today.
• The other 5 kids finally got to go back to school today after 3 snow days.
• Tomorrow will be a busy day at work for me. Moving shelves and cabinets around to make room for more toys.
• I have made 3 new recipes this week with my Deep Covered Baker from Pampered Chef. It is amazing.
• I promise to make my blog lively again soon.