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My A, B, C Pantry Supplies
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! Bill the boys and I had a very relaxing morning and then went up to La Center WA to spend time with Bills family. We always love going up there-great food and family!!
Bill and I both have the rest of the weekend off of work. It's so nice to be home together. We were able to sleep in a little, watch a movie and then cleaned the house so the rest of the weekend can be spent relaxing! Yay!
We were also able to get a little Christmas decorating in today-but NO shopping. I think I've only gone shopping on Black Friday once. It was a couple years ago when Bill received a nice Christmas bonus-and Bill and I spent the whole day together shopping. It was actually really fun but oh so tiring! The last couple of years has been a little more difficult financially so the shopping thing is out of the picture. That's OK...I'd rather not deal with the crowds anyway. :)
Bill and I both have the rest of the weekend off of work. It's so nice to be home together. We were able to sleep in a little, watch a movie and then cleaned the house so the rest of the weekend can be spent relaxing! Yay!
We were also able to get a little Christmas decorating in today-but NO shopping. I think I've only gone shopping on Black Friday once. It was a couple years ago when Bill received a nice Christmas bonus-and Bill and I spent the whole day together shopping. It was actually really fun but oh so tiring! The last couple of years has been a little more difficult financially so the shopping thing is out of the picture. That's OK...I'd rather not deal with the crowds anyway. :)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Ok...I guess I'll update this blog. :)
It's been an eventful last couple months! In September the kids went back to school. Brady is in Jr. High now-I still cant believe I have a Jr.Higher and he will be 13 next month!!!! A teenager too? Wow!! He completed another season of football-still our favorite sport! This season was fun and better than last. They had a 2 and 6 season-which was way better than our 0 and 8 season last year!! The kids improved so much and all had so much fun. About halfway through the season Brady ended up in the hospital for a couple days though. He got a cold and when he gets colds his asthma acts up. We've dealt with this for 12 years and nothing seemed out of the ordinary....also, I hesitated taking him to the doctor because at that time we did not have health insurance. But when he was so winded he could barely walk or talk, I took him to the dr and they ended up calling for an ambulance to transport him to Emanuel Hospital in Portland. Thank goodness he didnt have pneumonia but he did end up and air pocket between his lungs and sternum. That was kinda scary but I guess it just resolved itself. Brady actually enjoyed his hospital stay. He loved having the nurses and parents attending to his every need. :) But after two days he improved enough to go home. Then exactly one month later he got H1N1. I thought the timing was weird and I'm really hoping this isnt starting a trend of being sick once a month like that. :) Plus, his brothers-although worried about him when he's sick-might get tired of doing Brady's chores around the house!
Riley and Elliot are both doing well too. Riley is in 6th grade now and Elliot is in 2nd and both are doing well. Thankfully, their lives are more uneventful than Brady's. Their lives lately has been school, legos, x-box, friends etc.
As for me, I am back to work. I actually got my old job back at DHS. I've been back since October 9th and there have been a lot of changes in the last 10 months but it still really feels like I never left. The best thing is that we now have insurance! The three months between my 911 job and DHS were a roller coaster for me but I am so very thankful that I had those three months to recoup. Even though the 911 job didnt work out-It was a great job but I know it just wasnt the right fit for me. I did get to meet some wonderful people and learned a lot of valuable information while I was there. It was such a great experience!
It's been an eventful last couple months! In September the kids went back to school. Brady is in Jr. High now-I still cant believe I have a Jr.Higher and he will be 13 next month!!!! A teenager too? Wow!! He completed another season of football-still our favorite sport! This season was fun and better than last. They had a 2 and 6 season-which was way better than our 0 and 8 season last year!! The kids improved so much and all had so much fun. About halfway through the season Brady ended up in the hospital for a couple days though. He got a cold and when he gets colds his asthma acts up. We've dealt with this for 12 years and nothing seemed out of the ordinary....also, I hesitated taking him to the doctor because at that time we did not have health insurance. But when he was so winded he could barely walk or talk, I took him to the dr and they ended up calling for an ambulance to transport him to Emanuel Hospital in Portland. Thank goodness he didnt have pneumonia but he did end up and air pocket between his lungs and sternum. That was kinda scary but I guess it just resolved itself. Brady actually enjoyed his hospital stay. He loved having the nurses and parents attending to his every need. :) But after two days he improved enough to go home. Then exactly one month later he got H1N1. I thought the timing was weird and I'm really hoping this isnt starting a trend of being sick once a month like that. :) Plus, his brothers-although worried about him when he's sick-might get tired of doing Brady's chores around the house!
Riley and Elliot are both doing well too. Riley is in 6th grade now and Elliot is in 2nd and both are doing well. Thankfully, their lives are more uneventful than Brady's. Their lives lately has been school, legos, x-box, friends etc.
As for me, I am back to work. I actually got my old job back at DHS. I've been back since October 9th and there have been a lot of changes in the last 10 months but it still really feels like I never left. The best thing is that we now have insurance! The three months between my 911 job and DHS were a roller coaster for me but I am so very thankful that I had those three months to recoup. Even though the 911 job didnt work out-It was a great job but I know it just wasnt the right fit for me. I did get to meet some wonderful people and learned a lot of valuable information while I was there. It was such a great experience!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Idle Time is NO good!
The first two weeks of me not working-I did great. Organized my house, had a yard sale and got to go camping with two girlfriends from work. I had so much fun!!
The day after I got back from camping I hit a major low......I'm 3 days into it now. It's been so long that I've felt this way and I really don't like it. The first day was OK-I laid in bed and watched re-runs of Little House on the Prairie. Those are the best.
ANYWAY,
I keep wondering if I did the right thing. It's better for my family is what I keep hearing-this job is hard on families and friends. I liked the job-well, most of it. I loved the people I worked with-I tend to get attached easily to people which is probably one of the reasons why I'm having a hard time. I feel like I failed. I have never failed at a job. I usually do good at things-what happened? Maybe if I would have asked for a couple weeks off and got back on my anxiety meds things would have been OK? And, by the way, what was with that anxiety anyway? Where in the world did it come from? NEVER have I had an issue with it like I did at this job----it wasn't the nature of the job that made me anxious-but the training aspect of it. Weird.
So, anyway, these thoughts and more have been going through my mind over the last few days. I think I could have made it-just needed more time? Did I make the wrong decision? Doesn't matter anyway since I cant take it back. Ugh. I need peace. I need to know I did the right thing and need to be able to forgive myself if I didn't.
The day after I got back from camping I hit a major low......I'm 3 days into it now. It's been so long that I've felt this way and I really don't like it. The first day was OK-I laid in bed and watched re-runs of Little House on the Prairie. Those are the best.
ANYWAY,
I keep wondering if I did the right thing. It's better for my family is what I keep hearing-this job is hard on families and friends. I liked the job-well, most of it. I loved the people I worked with-I tend to get attached easily to people which is probably one of the reasons why I'm having a hard time. I feel like I failed. I have never failed at a job. I usually do good at things-what happened? Maybe if I would have asked for a couple weeks off and got back on my anxiety meds things would have been OK? And, by the way, what was with that anxiety anyway? Where in the world did it come from? NEVER have I had an issue with it like I did at this job----it wasn't the nature of the job that made me anxious-but the training aspect of it. Weird.
So, anyway, these thoughts and more have been going through my mind over the last few days. I think I could have made it-just needed more time? Did I make the wrong decision? Doesn't matter anyway since I cant take it back. Ugh. I need peace. I need to know I did the right thing and need to be able to forgive myself if I didn't.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Disappointment
So, I thought I should FINALLY put an update on here. Lots has happened since the last time I updated and I might as well put it out there.
Right now I am officially a stay-at-home mom (until I can find another job). I actually love being home with my kids. It seems our household runs better and is more organized with me home all the time. Since I stopped working I've been able to clean and organize our rooms and this weekend we are even holding a garage sale! I painted Elliots bedroom from a seahawks theme to blue paint with a cute sports border. I made myself a goal that I would do that no matter what....so last week, while it was a chilly 107 degrees outside, I cleaned out and painted Elliots room! Yes, I was a bit crazy! I wanted to get it done though and I did. I swear I could have lost about 10 pounds of sweat! Oh, did I tell you, we dont have air conditioning?
I guess I should write about my job and why I'm no longer working. I really like that job-or most parts of it. There were some areas that I was good in and then there were other areas that I was struggling in for WAY too long. I'm not sure why and I find myself very disappointed in myself because in the past, every job I've had I've always done well at. Also, I was having some MAJOR anxiety issues! In the past during certain things I would get nervous but nothing like I was having with this job. My stomach was often upset, I would be shaky and even started having chest pains. This job totally consumed my life. Even on my days off I would think and worry about the job. I knew things werent going well, and one Thursday, I pulled into work and saw my two supervisors cars and my trainers car there already. I had that sick feeling I was often getting while thinking of workp-this time it was even worse. I knew when I walked in they would all be in a meeting with the Operations Manager. I went to my console and started getting ready for my shift and after a few minutes they all came out.....then it was my turn. He asked to see me for a couple of minutes and when I sat down he asked how I was doing and feeling about how things were going. I couldnt talk and broke down.....I was so determined not to cry but I couldnt help it. We talked for about an hour and came up with a plan. I was going to take a couple of administrative days off and think about whether or not I want to come back-if I did, I had two weeks to get to where I need to be. I decided to go back on Saturday-my anxiety was so bad I almost didnt make it through the day but I finished my whole shift. The next morning we went to church and things got much worse-my chest was so tight, I could hardly take a deep breath, I couldnt talk or else I'd break down again-my stomach hurt really bad and I was shaky again. So, Bill and I talked and we decided I couldnt do this anymore. It wasnt really worth my health. I really dont regret leaving, but I do regret not being able to do the job. I wanted to succeed -it's a cool job. I also dont understand where this anxiety reaction came from?! It's not me.
Anyway, now that I'm not working I feel back to normal. I do think I made the right decision-now we just have to figure out what to do. Unless Bill were to cash out his 401K, we cant live on only one income. I need to find a job-but am not feeling so motivated to do so. I really like being home and the boys like it too....in fact, they want me to homeschool them-which I am totally up for if I knew I was going to stay home all the time. We need some guidance-should we try and sell our house? Is there anything else we can do so I can stay home? If you could be praying with and for us we would really appreciate it!
Now, I need to get ready for another day of our garage sale!!
Right now I am officially a stay-at-home mom (until I can find another job). I actually love being home with my kids. It seems our household runs better and is more organized with me home all the time. Since I stopped working I've been able to clean and organize our rooms and this weekend we are even holding a garage sale! I painted Elliots bedroom from a seahawks theme to blue paint with a cute sports border. I made myself a goal that I would do that no matter what....so last week, while it was a chilly 107 degrees outside, I cleaned out and painted Elliots room! Yes, I was a bit crazy! I wanted to get it done though and I did. I swear I could have lost about 10 pounds of sweat! Oh, did I tell you, we dont have air conditioning?
I guess I should write about my job and why I'm no longer working. I really like that job-or most parts of it. There were some areas that I was good in and then there were other areas that I was struggling in for WAY too long. I'm not sure why and I find myself very disappointed in myself because in the past, every job I've had I've always done well at. Also, I was having some MAJOR anxiety issues! In the past during certain things I would get nervous but nothing like I was having with this job. My stomach was often upset, I would be shaky and even started having chest pains. This job totally consumed my life. Even on my days off I would think and worry about the job. I knew things werent going well, and one Thursday, I pulled into work and saw my two supervisors cars and my trainers car there already. I had that sick feeling I was often getting while thinking of workp-this time it was even worse. I knew when I walked in they would all be in a meeting with the Operations Manager. I went to my console and started getting ready for my shift and after a few minutes they all came out.....then it was my turn. He asked to see me for a couple of minutes and when I sat down he asked how I was doing and feeling about how things were going. I couldnt talk and broke down.....I was so determined not to cry but I couldnt help it. We talked for about an hour and came up with a plan. I was going to take a couple of administrative days off and think about whether or not I want to come back-if I did, I had two weeks to get to where I need to be. I decided to go back on Saturday-my anxiety was so bad I almost didnt make it through the day but I finished my whole shift. The next morning we went to church and things got much worse-my chest was so tight, I could hardly take a deep breath, I couldnt talk or else I'd break down again-my stomach hurt really bad and I was shaky again. So, Bill and I talked and we decided I couldnt do this anymore. It wasnt really worth my health. I really dont regret leaving, but I do regret not being able to do the job. I wanted to succeed -it's a cool job. I also dont understand where this anxiety reaction came from?! It's not me.
Anyway, now that I'm not working I feel back to normal. I do think I made the right decision-now we just have to figure out what to do. Unless Bill were to cash out his 401K, we cant live on only one income. I need to find a job-but am not feeling so motivated to do so. I really like being home and the boys like it too....in fact, they want me to homeschool them-which I am totally up for if I knew I was going to stay home all the time. We need some guidance-should we try and sell our house? Is there anything else we can do so I can stay home? If you could be praying with and for us we would really appreciate it!
Now, I need to get ready for another day of our garage sale!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Trusting God
I havent forgotten about my blog...I was just hoping to have some pictures to post-but I ran over my camera in June-yep, ran over it! I was leaving for my third week at Academy on a Sunday afternoon and while I was backing up, I felt a thump. I was worried that it might have been a small animal or some sort of toy so I got out and went to the back of my van to see.....nothing. So, because I'm so smart, pulled my van up-felt another thump. Looked under the van again and still, nothing! So, once more.....because I'm so smart....backed up all the way, and now could see my camera had been under the front passenger tire!!!! Ugh. It was in its holder so it actually doesnt look so bad, but if you look closely, it doesnt look so good. I wonder if there is actually a camera repairman somewhere?
I have taken some pictures of lots of things with my moms new awesome camera, but we havent downloaded them yet. Some of the pictures are.....my Academy graduation, the boys rock climbing at our gym here in St.Helens, our visit from my Aunt and Uncle from Maine-and more...I just cant remember!!
Things are going ok......kinda. I feel like both our jobs are in limbo. Not sure what God's plan in all this but both Bill and I are experiencing Gods peace right now. I wonder if God is just trying to get our attention or maybe He has something different planned for us?? The waiting and not knowing part is soooo hard! I have to keep reminding myself that His timing is perfect...His ways are not my ways and everything is beautiful in His time. We are trusting Him now.
I will try and get some pictures downloaded soon so I can post them.
I have taken some pictures of lots of things with my moms new awesome camera, but we havent downloaded them yet. Some of the pictures are.....my Academy graduation, the boys rock climbing at our gym here in St.Helens, our visit from my Aunt and Uncle from Maine-and more...I just cant remember!!
Things are going ok......kinda. I feel like both our jobs are in limbo. Not sure what God's plan in all this but both Bill and I are experiencing Gods peace right now. I wonder if God is just trying to get our attention or maybe He has something different planned for us?? The waiting and not knowing part is soooo hard! I have to keep reminding myself that His timing is perfect...His ways are not my ways and everything is beautiful in His time. We are trusting Him now.
I will try and get some pictures downloaded soon so I can post them.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Another update
Brady Riley and Elliot
Riley's birthday party
Riley with the swine flu!
Yep, he really had it!! 
Elliot on firstI know it's been a while since I've posted anything so I thought I'd do a quick update. Things are going well right now. Riley has recovered from H1N1 and is doing great. Brady has not had much of a problem with his Asthma lately and Elliot is just Elliot. :)
Riley turned 11 on June 1st. I cant believe he's that old already. What a great kid. I am so proud of him and love being his mom! Today he had a birthday party at our park here in St.Helens. There were about 20 kids that showed up and they played a few games of capture the flag and snake in the grass (not sure how that one is played). We all had a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. Not too hot or cold and no rain.
Speaking of rain, last Thursday we had an amazing storm. Well, were I was there was an amazing storm. I've been in Salem for police academy to get my certification for my job. I go back tomorrow for a week and then the following week I'm only there for a few days. I'm actually enjoying my time there even though I have to be in uniform and we have to march a little. Anyway, back to the storm. I really wish I could have taken some pictures. It was so raining and windy. There were about 250 lightning strikes and a tornado warning. I guess 10 minutes from where I was, there was an actual tornado. It was so cool!! Our power went out for a short time, but our class kept going. St.Helens did not get hit very hard at all-but baseball games still got canceled.
So, at academy, I've been learning so much. From Criminal law to Oregon Motor Vehicle Code to Ethics and more. Anyway, it's very interesting and I like it but am missing being at work.
The boys have 4 more days left of school. They are all so excited to be out!! Brady earned the presidential fitness award. We are so proud of him and I know he is proud too. His ceremony is on the 12th, but unfortunately I dont get to go. That's my graduation day from academy. I'm bummed about that. Anyway, here are some pictures of the kids. Hope this finds you all well.
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