Our Disneyland Trip 2014

In June of this year, Peter's work was sending him down to California, right near Disneyland, so Peter thought that we should make a family vacation out of it when he found out.  The conference was during the last week of school, so we decided to make it a surprise and didn't tell the girls anything.  When the time came close, we told the girls that Peter was leaving for his yearly trip for work.  We even played it up a lot talking about maybe he'd make a trip to Disneyland one of the times.  Boy were the girls jealous!  We found out that the weekend we came back, was the weekend the Skating Regionals was down in Portland, OR so we figured we'd fly out and back in from there.  As the time came we said that we would drive down Dad down and visit Grandma Sara for the weekend.  It was great convincing the girls that we needed to pack 10 days worth of clothes for a one night stay at Grandma's house.  After all, we all know that grandma loves to play outside and get dirty and they might need a bunch of change of clothes.  They knew that we weren't staying a week, they still had a week left of school... :)

 
We drove down to Vancouver on Saturday and hung out the night with Auntie Kathi.... Grandma was in Mexico.  Early, early Sunday morning Peter and I woke up, pre-loaded the baggage so the girls wouldn't see that we were bringing in all of the baggage, and got the girls up and ready to go.  The girls still thought we were just taking Dad to the airport to say goodbye for the week.  They were getting so sad that we were going to say goodbye, it was so difficult not to just tell them, but I'm glad we didn't give in!  We told the girls that we had made special arrangements to get through security so we could say goodbye to Dad at the gate.  Natalie got a little worried at this point, thinking we were going to get into trouble, but luckily, after much convincing she was able to calm down enough to go through security without us having to tell her the surprise.  Peter went first and told the security officer that they girls didn't know that they were going and to please help keep it a secret.  She did great!  She even made a comment that it must be difficult to have to say goodbye to Dad!  When it came time to board the airplane, we waited to be one of the last people on the plane, Peter went through the motions to say goodbye to the girls and boarded the plane.  At this point, both girls were in tears.  Peter stopped in the loading dock, waved for the girls to come to him.  They were so confused, they just looked at me.  I pulled out our tickets and told them that we were going to!  They were so shocked they were speechless!  The walked as if in a trance to the loading dock and didn't say a word until we took off.

We took an early flight, so when we got to California we'd have time to play.  We landed at 9:30 am and was in Disneyland by 11:30.  We would have been there by 11, but we walked from our hotel and got slightly turned around.  The first thing we did was ride on the pirate boat The Columbia.  After all that extra walking around, we needed a calm ride.  After that we wend and did Splash Mountain.  In retrospect, we probably should have done some smaller rides and work up to this because Alexis freaked out!  I was concerned that she wouldn't be willing to do other rides, I'm glad she did.  After that, we did some walking around, getting our bearings and caught the daily Mickey's Soundsational Parade by accident.  It was wonderful!  At that point, we had been in Disneyland for 5 hours.  After the early morning travels, the extra wandering just trying to get into the park, and all the walking around in the park, we were all exhausted!

Our second day in Disneyland was our long day, 12+ hours.  We rode many rides, visited many characters, saw a few shows (the favorite being the Star Wars Jedi Trainees show) and had a great day.  We got the Hopper pass so we were also able to go to California Adventure Park.  So we wandered over there and did a bunch of stuff over there.

The third day, was our most successful day by far.  We spent about 9 hours there, but we got in the most rides and characters that day.  We had breakfast with Minnie and friends that morning.  The girls LOVED that, especially Alexis.  We didn't buy the autograph books to get all character autographs, but we did buy the girls hats and they had Mickey and Minnie sign the bills.

One of the first rides we did on our last day, the third day, was the Pirates of the Caribbean.  That was an adventure!  We got through the ride, and were about the 5th boat back to unload when the ride broke down.  We were stuck on the ride for about 45 minutes and the Disneyland firefighters had to "rescue" us.  But they gave us two fast passes for any ride for the troubles.  So we got off the ride, grabbed a fast pass for another ride and then went and used those.

Over all we had a BLAST in Disneyland!  Our favorite rides were the Indiana Jones ride, Star Tours and the Thunder Mountain ride.  We rode each of those twice.  We never were able to convince Alexis to try Splash Mountain again, after she had a better idea what to expect.  I was bummed that they had Space Mountain closed down while we were there.

The rest of the week the girls and I were on our own for the majority of the time because Peter's conference started.  We spent a day with friends who had just recently moved down there, spent a lot of time in the pool, and just had a relaxing second half of the week.



Enjoy the pictures.  They are not in any particular order.  I apologize if there are some weird formatting issues, I tried to get it to fit properly....

13 Things

On Facebook there was a challenge that when some body gave you a number, you had to share that number of things about yourself that people might not know about yourself.  I got the number 13.  It took me a long time to come up with 13 things about myself that I thought was both unique, and was willing to share with the world.  I learned a lot about myself doing this so it's an interesting process.

1. I love elephants! I think they are beautiful!
2. My favorite color is purple. Just NEVER pair it with gold! ... Purple is very closely followed by crimson/red as my second favorite color.
3. I hate conflict of any sort! I will avoid it almost at all cost. However, if I am riled enough to cause or get in the middle of conflict, watch out! I don't back down easily!
4. Politically, I look and research my options and vote for the person/idea I most agree and relate with. I tend to lean toward republican even though I was raised in a democrat house.  However I HATE discussing politics with people.  I feel it's almost too personal, and I feel that I believe what I believe and it's my own business.  Very rarely will I discuss politics with others outside of my circle of friends and family, and I rarely discuss it with them as well.
5. I truly care about other people and how they are feeling. Often times this means I will do anything to help them and help them feel better. I hate to tell people "no" even when I'm inconvenienced.
6. I've known how to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious since third grade.
7. I'm a reader. I love to read. But once I've started reading a book the first time, I'm absorbed in it. Every spare moment I have, I'm reading that book until it's finished. I will also not read a series of books until all of them have been written and released. Then I will sit and read them all. I have to know how things end!
8. The above being said, I will re-read a book I enjoyed multiple times, but I'm not as obsessed after that first read. Many times I'll immediately re-read a book/series after finishing, but slower the second time, and catch the smaller details I missed the first time through.
9. I like my coffee hidden in chocolate and with some fruity flavor. My favorite is black cherry mochas. Yummmmmmm!
10. I love my children unconditionally and irrevocably. But I refuse to stop and do everything for them.  They need to learn how to problem solve and figure things out for themselves, therefore, I will not make them the center of my world. That may sound harsh, but this explains what I mean exactly: http://themetzfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2013/10/why-my-kids-are-not-center-of-my-world.html?m=1
11. My favorite number is 9.
12. I love to play cards. I'm excited that Natalie is finally getting to the age she can learn rummy and cribbage.
13. I worried too much in doing this about offending people (see #3 & 5 for reasons why). But this is me and take me as I am... (I wish it were easier to have that motto in life...)

Alexis's Summer

I know this post is long over due!  But I want to get the story down so that I can remember the events later on.  It is an important event in Alexis's life.

Memorial Day weekend, Peter and I had our tradition of having fresh lobster for dinner!  Yum and yay!  So delicious.  The girls have both tried lobster before, but neither are crazy about it, so we don't get them their own, we share a few bites of ours.  So the night we had the lobsters for dinner, we gave some to each of them.  Alexis said she liked it and came back for a few more bites.  Right after dinner, she started complaining of a sore throat.  At first we wrote it off as a kid complaint and didn't take it too seriously.  After awhile of her complaining about it though, and her saying the pain was getting worse, we thought that maybe she was having a slight allergic reaction to the lobster, so we gave her some Benadryl and put her to bed.  She couldn't sleep and, at this point, was sobbing.  So Peter and I were worried that maybe it was a more severe allergic reaction, or maybe a piece of shell got lodged into her throat, so we took her to the United General emergency room.  After waiting hours, we finally got to see the Dr. and she looked with a flashlight in Alexis's throat and said she didn't see anything that concerned her and that it was just probably an allergic reaction and we did the right thing of giving Alexis the Benadryl.  She had the nurse give Alexis a dose of Tylenol and then sent us home.  That was Saturday night.

On Sunday, Alexis seemed better, but was still complaining of a slight sore throat.  But that night, it got really sore again, but we just gave her some more Tylenol and she seemed ok.  But by Monday morning, she was crying again of a sore throat and was now throwing up.  Peter took a flashlight and looked in her throat and saw that it was swollen.  It being Memorial Day, I knew the Dr. office was closed, so I called the emergency room triage nurse at United General and explained what was happening, to see if we needed to come back in.  She refused to give me any advice and insisted that the only way they could help was if we were to come in.  So I called our regular Dr. office to see if maybe there was a Dr. or nurse on call.  There was a phone number for a triage nurse so I called that.  Turns out it was the number for Children's in Seattle.  So I talked to that nurse, who was super helpful, and after answering all her questions, she thought that she would be OK, but if things got worse to take her into the hospital.  On Tuesday, Alexis stayed home with my mother in law because she still was not feeling well.  I called the doctor that morning and Kathy took her in.  I got a call from Peter later saying that Alexis was being taken back into the hospital, Skagit Valley Hospital this time, and there was a strong possibility of surgery that day.  So I  left school and headed there.  They put Alexis on an IV for fluids, nausea and pain medicine, and did a test for strep throat.  When that came back negative, they looked at her throat and said her tonsils were swollen and it was probably tonsillitis.  So they gave her some aggressive antibiotics and steroids and sent us home.  They weren't recommending that she have the tonsils removed at this point because usually you get it once and treat it and it won't come back.  They said that if Alexis were to get it again, they would consider that option.

We had an appointment to come back in two days, when the swelling had a chance to go down, to make sure that was all it was and there wasn't some other underlying issue.  So we did and they said the swelling had gone down and things were much better.  The steroids were only a three day regimen, but the antibiotics were for the full week +.  The steroids ended on Thursday and Alexis was her normal, playful self, but by Saturday, (which happened to be her birthday), she was in tears and complaining of the sore throat again.  I looked in her throat and sure enough it was swelling up again.  So we just took her back to the ER.  This time, I was going to demand that they just take them out.  This time they did a CT scan and they were a bit shocked at the results.  They came back saying that normally, with tonsillitis there is one pocket of infection behind one side.  Sometimes there's two or three and/or sometimes there's an infection behind both sides of the tonsils.  Alexis, however, had nine pockets of infection on one side and eight on the other.  The doctor said he had never seen a case that bad before.  So (without my having to demand it) he said the plan was to remove the tonsils.  But they had the get the infection healed before they could do that.  So they sent her home with a longer regime of steroids and the aggressive antibiotics.  This time they seemed to do the job.

We learned a lot during the next month.  It turns out the adenoids were also affected so they were going to take those out as well.  Alexis had been complaining of headaches for awhile before this all had happened.  We had actually started seeing a neurologist about the headaches.  But it turns out that the adenoids had probably been swollen for awhile, and they were the cause of the headaches.  Alexis has always had stinky breath.  Sometimes worse than others.  Again, it turns out that the tonsils probably would flare up with a minor infection from time to time, but usually heal naturally, and when she'd have the really bad bad breath, would be the times when they were infected.  It's funny.  I've been to the doctor a couple times about the bad breath, and obviously, for the headaches, and never would the adenoids or tonsils be brought up as a possibility.  Even when the neurologist said that there wasn't a concern for the headaches on their end, nothing was said that the adenoids could be a possible problem.  It was just assumed it was food or allergy induced and we were to take a log when she'd complain of headaches.  Now that is a large possibility, but not once was there a mention of "Hmmmm, I wonder if the adenoids are a problem?"  Especially, when combined with the bad breath....  Sorry, just it just seems like part of this could have been avoided if they were to put all the complaints together and look at the entire picture, rather than just focusing on one individual complaint at a time.  But honestly, I wasn't looking at the bad breath and the headaches as being related either.... but then again, I'm not a trained doctor...

On July 10th, her surgery was scheduled.  She was such a trooper!  She was nervous for it, but was more anxious to have the sore throat be gone.  The swelling had gone down, but the sore throat was a constant during the month of June.  We went in, she had the surgery to have her adenoids and tonsils removed and were home two hours later.  She slept a lot the first two days, but that third day the pain really kicked in.  But she said it wasn't as bad as the times that she was in the hospital, and said the pain was worth it and tolerable if she didn't have to ever do that again!  Such a brave, strong, wonderful young lady!

November Thanks

I know it has been forever since I've updated this. In fact it was a full year ago! I can't believe it. But it's time for the November of thanks, and that's something I like to go back and look back on later in the year. So I'm going to share them here too. And I'm going to try to do better at updating stories and snippets of my life here again, too. It is nice to go back through and look back at stories that might have slipped out of our memories!

Day 1 - A friend started me on this tradition of sharing the things I'm thankful every day in November. So in honor of that, I'm thankful for friends who are there through thick and thin. Friends that I can laugh, cry, vent and celebrate with. Friends that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, we can pick up like it was yesterday. Thank you too those that I am lucky enough to call a friend. 

Day 2 - I'm thankful to have a wonderful, loving, funny husband. A husband, that even after 13 years of being together, still walks beside me unconditionally and always tells me how beautiful I am. Thank you, Peter, for always loving me, even in my insane moments! I love you lots and lots and lots!

Day 3 - Today I'm thankful for that extra hour of sleep! After the last two week's craziness, I needed to sleep in one day!

Day 4 - Today I'm thankful for secretaries! I've worked almost full time in October and am booked nearly everyday in November thanks to secretaries calling me or finding me at their school to ask if I'm available on such and such date. December is empty, but even January is half booked. I've hardly had to log on to the online sub finder to find jobs. Love it!

Day 5 - I'm thankful for having the privilege to be a mom to my two wonderful, beautiful, intelligent daughters! Where else would I get the full on hugs, the pure joy and excitement just because I came home, the constant "I love you"s? Being a mother isn't always easy, but it's ALWAYS worth it! I love my girls!

Day 6 - Today I'm thankful for my first born, Natalie. She is such a loving, caring, intelligent, wonderful young lady. She taught me the importance and loveliness of a mother's love. Sometimes our relationship is more challenging than others, but I love you always and I forever will!

Day 7 - Today I'm thankful for my baby, Alexis! I thought I was an expert in the mother's love but when she was born she taught me that there is no such thing. A mother's love is different for each of her children. Alexis is constantly keeping me on my toes, she is funny, loving, genuine and whole heartedly a wonderful human being! She is my little sunshine!

Day 8 - Today I'm thankful for my mom. She is a wonderful lady and I can only hope I'm half the person she is when I grow up! I'm also thankful that she's a strong fighter and has beaten cancer three times now. I love my mommy so very much!

Day 9 - I'm thankful for the best sister anyone could ask for. We don't talk or get to see each other nearly enough for my liking, but I know that if I ever need her, she'll be there and vice versa. I love you kiddo!

Day 10 - Today I'm thankful that I have the wonderful family I have! I get to be myself and they love me in spite of that! They are a bunch of loving, crazy, hilarious people that I'm extremely proud and lucky to be a part of! Thank you too everyone I'm privileged to call family!

Day 11 - Thank you to all the Veterans out there who have fought and are fighting for our country! Thank you for my freedom! Thank you for my children's safe country! Thank you and your families for your sacrifices

Day 12 - Hahaha Alexis and I are at Subway before she goes to the dentist to get a tooth pulled. She pulls out our cookies and takes a bite of mine. When I gasp in protest, she looks at me and says, "I'm just testing it to make sure it's not poisoned! I could be saving your life, Mom! - I'm thankful for a sense of humor in anyone, especially when faced with a scary situation like having a tooth pulled.

Day 13 - Today I'm thankful I work somewhere where there's a steam room that I can sit in during my breaks on nights where I have a headache. It helps me relax and I swear it sweats the poisons out! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Day 14 - Today I'm thankful for fantasy and child innocence. I'm thankful for the excitement that comes after the Tooth Fairy comes and responds to a note you left, or the pleasure of watching a sister's excitement. I'm thinking that Natalie is starting to suspect and figure things out which makes me sad, but I know she'll try to help keep her sister's fantasy world alive for a little bit longer.

Day 15 - Today I'm thankful for wonderful in-laws! They have put up with me for over 13 years, almost six of those living with them! They are wonderful people who have helped me so much over the years!

Day 16 - Today I'm thankful for coffee! I. can't. wake. up. Zzzzzzzzzz

Day 17 - Today I'm thankful to have a roof over my head. Our situation may often be chaotic, but at least we're warm, dry and safe. Unfortunately, that's more than many can say.

Day 18 - I'm thankful for music. Music does so much for us, we can dance to it when we're happy, it lifts us when we're sad, soothes us when we're angry, calms us when we're nervous, distracts us when we're scared, relaxes us when we're annoyed, etc. Music is a wonderful thing!

Day 19 - This is one I've been working on for awhile. I'm very thankful for Peter's employer, Pacific Power Batteries, especially the owner, Steve Ahmann. Peter loves his job, and enjoys going to work every day. But more than that, they are a company that takes care of their employees, as well as their family. That is a special, unique, wonderful company to work for! Steve has done so much for our family, that I am beyond words to express how thankful I am. Thank you so much for taking care of Peter, as well as my family!

Day 20 - I'm thankful I have a reliable, safe car. A car that I KNOW will start every time, a car that will get me from point A to point B without any problems, a car that gets an average of 41.3 mpg. I love my car!

Day 21 - Today I'm double thankful.
       1. I'm thankful for Children's Tylenol that is helping my baby keep her body temperature level so she can be a bit more comfortable while being sick. The switch between extreme shivers to sweating and back again is no fun.  
       2. I'm also getting to help install flooring in the addition. I'm getting to play with power tools! So fun!

Day 22 - Today's thankful moment is not one I'm always thankful for, but today I am. I'm thankful that I'm not committed to a full time job where I would have to call in when I have a sick kid. It is nice to have that flexibility so I can sit up all night and comfort a sick child and not have to worry about work the next day. There's no way I'd be able to function today after two nights of hardly any sleep. In fact, my bed is calling for another nap...

Day 23 - Today I'm thankful for Don Hower and the Cougar Marching Band! If it weren't for the CMB, my husband and I wouldn't be, I wouldn't have the wonderful memories of GAME DAY!, the tunnel, or cold night practices! Today, Don is putting on his last home half time show and is retiring. Congratulations, Don! I'm proud to say I'm a CMB alum and am very thankful for the time that I was fortunate enough to have you as a part of my life.

I missed yesterday. Well I didn't really, I had one all typed up, but I was annoyed and it was sarcastic and snarky, but that's not what this is about so I deleted it. Instead here is one that has the same meaning, just without the snarkiness Day 24 - I'm thankful that we have the freedom of speech. I'm thankful that we're allowed to voice our views on politics, religion, economics, etc. without the fear of persecution.

Day 25 - I'm thankful for the girls' teachers, Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Georgio. They are wonderful, loving, intelligent ladies who I admire very much! Thank you for keeping my girls challenged and for sustaining their interest in their education.

Day 26 - I'm thankful for hugs. They can help in so many situations. Comfort when you're sad or angry, can celebrate with you, soothes when you're ill. I love hugs!

Day 27 - I'm thankful that I've been entrusted to be our parent group's treasurer. I'm really enjoying this responsibility and am enjoying that I'm able to play a more active role in my children's school in this way. I love that I'm a fixture at the school now, how almost all the students know who I am and are excited when they see me! Thank you, Samish Elementary Parent Group for trusting me enough to partake in this role, it means a lot to me!

Day 28 - Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends! I hope you all have a wonderful peaceful day! Today I'm thankful for the food on our table. Not just today but every day. It's not usually the fancy, gourmet food, but it fills us up and keeps us going.

Day 29 - Today I'm thankful that the girls both have something they love: skating. I'm thankful for all of their coaches, Dale, Caroline and Toby. They are excellent at challenging my girls and that is so needed! Both of my girls have high self esteem, are confident, and (most of the time) well mannered, and a lot of that, especially the first two, is due to their skating! So thank you! -- And honestly, I'm VERY thankful that they've chosen the same extra curricular to love. My schedule is hectic enough without having to do two different things every week.

Last day; Day 30 - Today I'm thankful that I'm me. I'm not where I'd thought I'd be in life at 30+, but I'm (mostly) happy with where I am. I'm proud to be me and without that, none of my other thankful moments would mean anything!

November of Thanks

A friend of mine is doing a month of thankfulness and posting something she's thankful for everyday of November. I think that that's a great idea!  I started this project on Facebook, and plan to continue it there too, but I thought I’d post it here since there are some people here that aren’t on Facebook and I thought would enjoy reading this too.  It’s not finished (obviously) so keep checking back time to time to catch up.  I can’t promise I’ll update each day, but I’ll try to get the updates on the weekend.

Day 1 - On the day after Halloween, I'm thankful that my sister is so creative and can work wonders with a sewing machine! Thank you, Kathi, for making sure the girls always have a great costume for Halloween!

Day 2 - I am thankful for having a husband who still tells me I'm beautiful, still holds my hand, and loves me almost as much as I love him! Thank you, Peter, for always being there, not only for me, but with me too! And making sure I know you always will.

Day 3 - I'm thankful for my first born Natalie. She is the one who taught me the mothers' love. She is a smart, loving, beautiful young lady. I love her so much!

Day 4 - I'm thankful for my youngest child, Alexis. She is a special young lady! She is intelligent, funny, crazy and caring! She always keeps me on my toes and I love her so very much!

Day 5 - I'm thankful for my parents! I'm proud of the person I am and they've played as integral role in developing me. Thank you Mom and Dad for always supporting me in everything I have done and in everything I've ever wanted to do and be!  I love them so!!!

Day 6 - So I debated about being thankful for the right to vote or that the election is over and that means no more ads! While I am thankful for those, I think I'm going to go a different way.  Today I'm thankful for my father and mother-in-law. They have shared their roof and given us a place to live for the past four years. They help so much with the girls to which I fully appreciate! They have taught me so much and have supported me in so many circumstances. Thank you Bill and Kathy for being so open and loving and wonderful!

Day 7 - I'm thankful for music! There is music for every occasion. Music to brighten your day, to be silly with your children, to dance and feel free, and a million other things!

Day 8 - Today I'm thankful for being able to teach and love my job. Yes it's frustrating at times and there have been times that I've given up on this dream... but I'm never happier than when I'm in a classroom full of eager, youthful minds.

Day 9 - Today, I'm thankful that there are Fridays and weekends! TGIF!

Day 10 - Today I'm thankful for Skagit Skate, and the girls’ skating coaches, Toby, Dale and Caroline! My children are happy, confident young ladies because of all the hard work and dedication they put into skating and they couldn't do it without them! So thank you for making my children have goals and something to work for!

Day 11 - I'm thankful for men and women who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to go protect our country! That includes men and women who serve AND their families who have to give them up for a time. Thank you for your sacrifices and your dedication!

Day 12 - Today I'm thankful for Mochas and home brewing stations that allow me to make a cup of coffee I like! Mmmmmmm having a black cherry mocha today, and I just might have a blackberry mocha this afternoon!

Day 13 - Today I'm thankful that heads don't actually come off. Today I think I'd actually lose it if it did.... Not quite the post I had planned today, but it's what I'm thankful for this morning.

Day 14 - Today I'm thankful that I have children who genuinely love each other! Yes they argue, some days it seems that's all they do, but then Alexis will help her sister out by changing the wheels on her skates because they're running a little late and Natalie still has to change... or Natalie will sit and read with her sister and help her sound out the tough words. They do play well most of the time. I love watching them interact with each other. They are so lucky to have each other and I hope they always realize their special bond!

Day 15 - Today I'm thankful for my health. Working as a substitute, I get exposed to all sorts of icky germs and often have a cold. But that eventually goes away. I'm thankful that I don't have something that won't go away like cancer, or some other debilitating disease. So to honor that today, I'm going to go donate to a cause that helps people who aren't as lucky.

Day 16 - Today I'm thankful for quick, easy and yummy dinner recipes. I like eating yummy food, I just don't always have the time or patience for it.

Day 17 - Today I'm thankful for stress. It pushes you to your limits. You would never know what you're capable of without it. Right now, my stress level is super high, but hopefully, I'm proving to be an asset and showing my full capabilities!

Day 18 - I'm thankful for the feeling of home! Nowhere else do you get to feel 100% yourself, or feel 100% safe, or have the joys of doing nothing but be with your family! I love home and there's nowhere else I'd rather be!

Day 19 - Today I'm thankful for inspiration and kindness! The following video is wonderful.  Usually I don't watch the viral videos.  I'm so glad I did on this one!
       Sometimes, security cameras catch something totally different.  Watch '2 Shocking!' here :
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YPhWq_T-P8

Day 20 - I'm thankful for Nancy Rigacci, Karen Kanske, and Alicia Robinson. They have been my support, go to for questions, and comic relief the past few weeks! I could not have gotten through this without them! Thank you ladies for all your help and patience with my incessant questions!!! I appreciate you!

Day 21 - Today I'm thankful to have a family. I know I've thanked each one individually, but today I'm thankful for having a family that I belong to. A family that loves me for me, who I can laugh with, cry with, play with, be lazy with! I couldn't have chosen a better family!

Day 22 - Today I'm thankful for open doors and opportunities! I'm in a situation right now where the door is slightly open and I'm pushing as hard as I can to get though! I'm thankful for this opportunity!

Day 23 - I'm thankful for lazy days. Days when there is nothing you HAVE to do; where everything you do is something you want to do. They don't happen often, but are blissful when they do.

Day 24 - I'm thankful for friends who I can rely on. Some of you I haven't talked to or seen in too long, but it's nice to know that you're still there and when we are able to talk/visit it would be like we see each other every day. And others, who are closer, I love our conversations, outings, and dependability! It's reassuring to know that I can ask for help and I'd get it; and vice versa. Thank you to all of my friends, near and far, for being the wonderful people you are!

Day 25 - Today I'm thankful for patience. Today I seriously think I would have exploded without it. It's been a stressful day! And still not over...

Day 26 - Today I'm thankful for fourth grade made up spelling. Some of them you can't help but laugh at, especially when you figure out what its supposed to be. Prize goes to the first person to figure this one out... took me forever to figure out... ''anxzapel'' Good luck! :-)

Day 27 - I'm thankful for Skagit Valley Dimensions Gymnastics. Alexis has been loving her gymnastics class and her teachers. She looks forward to it every week and in the mean time at home, practices and practices her head stands, cartwheels, and sumersaults. She especially loves climbing the rope "super high."

Day 28 - I'm thankful for grandparents. Grandmas who teach an emerging reader expression while reading. Grandmas who teach knitting. Papas who make special lunch trips to McDonalds and sit for hours in the playarea. Grandmas who send random things in the mail just so they would feel special. Grandparents are very wonderful special people!

Day 29 - I'm thankful for craziness. It keeps life from getting dull. I may be drowning because my life is a little too full of craziness, but at least no one can say I'm living a dull, boring, unsubstantial life!

Day 30 - Last day - Today I'm thankful I'm me! Without that, all that other stuff wouldn't exist or matter. I'm a good mom, wife, and all around person! I like the person I've become to be and can't wait to see how I change as time goes on!

My INSANE Life at the Moment

It's been a while since I've updated.... and here's why.... school has started!  And with it, a crazy (even crazier than previous years) schedule.  Here's an idea of what we do every week:

• Natalie is in 3rd grade and Alexis started Kindergarten this year.  Alexis only goes to school half time, which means I have to pick her up off the bus, or arrange to have someone there for her, at 12:30ish.  So everything I have scheduled for the day has to revolve around that.  I love spending the afternoon with her, but I can't wait until she's in school full time too so that that schedule can not be so crazy.
• Subbing - I never know what my week, subbing wise, will be until the week is already over.  There are times when I get called the morning of to sub, so that schedule is always questionable.
• I work at the club 4 days a week.  W-F evenings and Sunday afternoons.  So on days that I both sub and work at the health club, I work 14 hour days with only about 1.5 hours in between to change, eat and visit with the girls.
• On the days/afternoons that I don't work at the health club.... Natalie has skating M, Tue and Sat.  and Alexis has gymnastics on Tues, with the probability of picking up another day in the next month or so.  Tuesdays, I drop Natalie off at skating, make sure she's all ready to go, and then leave her there to take Alexis to gymnastics.  And then I have to go pick Natalie up from skating and rush back before Alexis's class is over to get her.
• That's the weekly occurrences.  But, like a crazy person, I decided to become a part of Samish's Parent Board so there's all the responsibilities of that, as well as be the yearbook coordinator.  I'm a CRAZY woman!!!

This post is more for me later on, so I can look back and say, if I managed to pull that schedule off, then whatever I'm doing at that time shouldn't be that hard.  

Why I am Not Religious

I had an acquaintance ask me today if I believed in God.  When I told her that I am not a religious person, she asked me what that meant.  I told her that I don't know the truth.  I don't know if there is a God or if Jesus was a real person, or if Buddhism or Muslim had it correct.  She proceeded to tell me that I was a heathen, and that I was sure to burn in Hell, but she'd do me the favor of praying for my soul so that God will grant me forgiveness when it comes to my final judgement.

That just FRIES me!  I am not a religious person.  But I don't judge people who disagree with me and are religious.  I don't force my thoughts and beliefs on them.  I actually respect them because they do have their beliefs/values/ethics whatever and follow them, just like, I would hope they respect me for having my beliefs.  It really bugs me when people who disagree, especially in their religious beliefs, are judgmental and offer up their prayers for salvation, when and where they are not asked for.  It doesn't bother me that they believe differently than I do.  I can sit down and have a conversation about what I believe and why I believe and am open to hearing their thoughts too.  But when they force their beliefs on me, and/or tell me I'm a bad person for believing differently than they do, and/or offer to pray for me because they're being judgmental, it really, really, really, really bugs the &$^* out of me.  So....

Here's why I'm not a religious person.

Growing up, I went to church occasionally with my mom.  Neither of my parents were religious (especially not my dad).  But my mom believed that there was a higher being and wanted us (my sister and I) to be able to make our own opinion.  So we'd go to church with friends sometimes.  Many of those times, I noticed that there was a lot of religious bashing.  "All Muslims are evil,"  "Buddhists are uneducated,"  "Jewish people are greedy," etc.  It wasn't only the bashing of different religions vs. Christianity.  I've heard the Catholic vs. Protestant vs. Mormon vs. whatever else there is under the "Christianity" umbrella bashing as well.  Ummmmm hello, those all read the Bible, have the same fundamental beliefs, but just interpret the Bible differently and observe in their own ways.  Is that really a bad thing?  Does that necessarily make that Catholic man more right/wrong than that Mormon woman?  Maybe all the Christians have it wrong.  Maybe Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Muslim is the accurate religion.  The thing is, no one knows for sure!  Many times the term "faith" is used to say that the person is religious, but by its very own definition, "faith" is a belief based on the unknown or unproven.  It's a blind belief on what you think happened.  And the thing is, I don't know what to believe.  Do I believe that there is a god?  Yes.  But is that god the Christian "God", the Buddhist "Buddha", the Muslim "Allah" or some other religion's "God" or some god that doesn't have a religion?  The answer is I don't know and neither does anyone else for sure.

And another thing I just want to put out there, because sometimes, when I've talked to people about this, I get the "How can you think that Muslim is a religion that can be correct?  They're all bombers and are all evil."  So here are my thoughts on that.... Sure Muslims have their extremists who do horrible things in the name of their religion, but so do the Christians.  Does Westboro Baptist Church ring any bells?  Every religion has their wackos who take their beliefs and values too far to the extreme.  Does that make one religion better than others?  In my book, no it does not... It just makes those wackos, wackos who like to use their religion to do bad things.

So there you have it.  I am not a religious person.  Think of me as you will.  Will you respect me and my beliefs?  Or, like the woman I mentioned at the beginning of this post, will you judge me and pray for my salvation?  If you do pray for me, that's your right and I encourage you to do so, just please, don't tell me, because I'm not asking for it.  Thanks!