A Diary of a S.A.H.M

Lookin' up!

2014-11-08T19:40:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted in a while. I haven't really had time with 3 kids and all. I used to update this blog on a daily basis, but then decided to do it on a monthly basis, now I might do it every 3 months. I really need to start doing this again. It's actually pretty relaxing and let's me get my feelings out.

Anyway, I have a couple of things that have happened in my life that I am very proud about.

1. I wrote a book about 2 years ago. A little children's book. I have always said I was going to get it published. Two years later, I have finally found someone to publish my book and it's here in Lincoln. I will have my hard copy of my book by Christmas. Keira, my oldest daughter is my illustrator. She is pretty proud that she will have her name on a book. I am an author. I have a book.

2. I have wanted to go back to school and get my Masters, but just haven't had time. My youngest starts kindergarten in the Fall of 2015 and so I will be able to do my homework during the day and go to school during the evening one night a week. I will get my degree and psychology license in 2 years.

Mission Trip Tokio, North Dakota 2014

2014-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Youth Mission trip diary. Saturday, June 21st- Friday, June 27th 2014.

Saturday, June 21st

Early morning! Had to be up at 5:30 a.m. Of course, I couldn't sleep last night because I was making sure I had everything packed and everything ready to go. I got to the church at 6:30, where I met up with everyone. We got the truck packed up with all the suit cases, blankets and food. On the road at 7 a.m.

It was supposed to take us 10 hours, but took us 14 hours. We had to take a detour because of road construction. We managed to out run the bad storm.

As we were driving out, we saw a lot of flooding.

I guess this is normal for them. They didn't seem too concerned. They just keep raising the roads. At one of our tours, the resident said that the water was actually 'seeping' under the road to the other side of the street.

Got to our destination at 9 p.m. We met with the pastor of the church and other people that were going to help us along the way. After we met with the pastor and took a little tour, we did our own devotionals for the night ( our time to reflect on the day, the days' work and the people we met through out the day.) One question we have to think about is..."How has someone else helped you in life?" This question is because we do so much to help other people , but who actually helps us? Finally, it's midnight and it's bedtime.

We are at Tokio, ND. On an Indian Reservation. It doesn't look any different, it just looks like a regular small town. We are here to help the pastor and Sunday School director fix up the manse (where the SS director is living). We will be painting some walls, pulling up carpet, putting wood floors down on the stair landing, putting tread on the stairs, cleaning up the yard...mowing, pulling weeds, raking. This week we have something planned every night after our work day. It will be interesting to learn the culture, help this town, take tours and help rebuild the manse.

Sunday, June 22nd

Didn't sleep very good last night. Found out they have really bad ticks (like our flies, they are everywhere, literally!) and mosquitos. I don't do bugs of any kind. I think I finally fell asleep but then kept waking up and just looking around to see if there were any bugs on me. We are actually supposed to be sleeping in bunk trailers, but they were not ready for us (didn't have electricity). So, we are staying in the Church sanctuary. Which, is probably much better! Today, we are attending the church's service and having a cookout; potluck with their congregation. The service was pretty short, they had a guest pastor. No work today.

This is the church we slept in. Bdecan (B-D-Chun)

This is where we slept every night. In the pews. The grey pillow/blanket is mine. One of the other youth slept on the other side where the pink blanket is.

11:30-2:00
Had lunch with the congregation. They only had about 9 people today. They said they usually have about 20 people who come. Went over to the manse to check out what work needed to be done. Had a little time, so we went to look at the cemetery, right across the street. We are going on a tour of all the towns on the reservation later today about 3 p.m

This is the inside of the church. I thought it was pretty cute!

This is the Manse that we had to fix up on the inside.

3-5:30
Went on the tour of the reservations. The reservation is made up of about 4 towns, with housing units. Which consists of about 10-20 double wide trailers, FEMA houses or houses that were old and run down. The "White" people had nice farm houses. The "white" people are considered rich there. The most interesting facts to me was that, these houses on the Indian reservation can be rented out only to the tribes for less than $10 a month. They go by your income. Another interesting fact is that the families don't have to work at all. 90% of the houses are single family with only the women and children. The kids are not disciplined. I saw kids everywhere! I was driving down the highway going 55-60 and the tour guy told me to slow down because there might be kids playing in the street. Most of the houses had boards on them because the guys get drunk and knock out the windows. All the headstart schools were boarded up because the kids would knock the windows out.

This is one of the reservations and the housing units.

This is on one of the headstarts with some of the windows and doors boarded up.

6:00-10:30
Had supper together. We had pulled pork, hot dogs, peaches and chips. After supper, the youth cleaned up and then we sat around the table just talking, playing games, and playing cards. We relaxed until about 10:30 then did our devotions for the day.

Monday, June 23rd
Work day- Slept a little better last night. Didn't feel like I woke up as much. Got up about 7:30 a.m., had our breakfast then headed to do our work. We can walk to the job site so, it's really nice not to get up so early and have to drive far away. We worked until noon, came back to the church and ate lunch. Went back to work after lunch then worked until 3:30. Had to get cleaned up (shower and change) to leave by 5:00 to be in another town for prayer worship.
This prayer worship was a small get together of some of the Indian people who lit sage to keep the bad spirits out. This is the circle that they would light the sage.

Tuesday, June 24th
Didn't sleep too well last night. The youth girls and I stayed up until almost 1 o'clock in the morning telling ghost stories. By the end we were all scared, so we put the pews together and all slept together. Slept until 9 a.m. Had our morning coffee and breakfast then headed to work. It was cold and dreary today. The high was 51 degrees and raining. As I mentioned on Monday, we got most of our work done yesterday. Today, we had to clean up the stairs and landing (from pulling up the carpet) to get ready to lay the laminate and tread on the stairs. Swept, vaccumed the stairs and landing, washed them with bleach and water, so we had to let them air dry. We went outside after cleaning the stairs. It stopped raining. We did a lot of yard work today. Mowed, raked up the grass from mowing, picked up the grass piles, pulled weeds, cut the weeds with sheers- (had 4 weed wackers, but none of them worked.) We had our tour planned for tonight, but already did that on Monday, so tonight we were on our own. We went into the closest town (Devil's lake) took the kids to Dairy Queen then went to Wal mart (our WAM-Walmart At Midnight tradition). We came back to the church. We have a new tradition, thanks to one of the youth- Coffee at midnight! :) I lead devotions then just relaxed. Tonight's devotion question... "How has someone helped you today?)

Wednesday, June 25th
I slept really good last night. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until it was light outside. We don't have much work left to do so, we are pacing ourselves. This morning, we woke up at 8:30, ate breakfast and just hung around the church and played UNO, and yahtzee. We mostly just had yard work left to do and it was raining, so we waited until it stopped raining. We ate lunch then went to work. Got done about 3:30. Tonight they had a program called KICK-Kids in Christ Kingdom. It's a Sunday School service for the kids on Wednesday evenings. The youth hung out outside with the Sunday School kids, had some supper with the Sunday school kids and parents. Everyone left and we were on our own again. The youth sang songs and danced and had a really good night of bonding. We tried to take a shower, but the water heater was not working. So, we don't have showers the rest of the week. BOO!
10:30
Time for devotions. Our nightly coffee hour and devotions. Tonight our question was...."What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Thursday, June 26th
Stayed up pretty late last night with the youth girls. Slept until 11 a.m. Since we ran out of things to do Monday and was pacing ourselves, we were not in a big hurry to get to work. Finished the stairs today (out the tred on the stairs) and cleaned up the Manse's kitchen and did some more yard work. We stopped at 5p.m. and had a cultural dinner and they showed us some of the traditional Indian clothes, drums, knife holders and bow and arrows. We sat around and talked. Haven't taken a shower in 3 days. I'm ready to be home. Got to talk to the kids and hubby today. Makes me miss them more.

Friday, June 27th

Officially done with all the work today. No work today! Today is our fun day. We woke up at 9:30, sat around and talked. Went into Devil's Lake to take a tour of Fort Totten (a Military Camp). We got done about 3:30 then we took the youth to the lake to go swimming. Today, was a little warmer, maybe about 70 degrees. It started raining while the kids were in the water, so we had to be done. We took the kids to the casino and ate at the buffet. Came back to the church and cleaned it up to get ready to leave in the morning. Our devotion question...."How has someone helped you in life?" We have a tradition on the mission trips to light a candle on the last day of the trip and tell everyone how we feel about the trip, about each other and what we learned through the mission.

Saturday, June 28th
Got up about 7:30 a.m. and left Tokio by 9 a.m. A long day of driving. Finally, got home about 9:00 p.m. Got the kids from grandma's and back home at about 9:30p.m.

Even though this is my 3rd mission trip, nothing ever changes. None of them are the same. They just keep getting better and better. I would have to say that my favorite parts of this mission trip were sitting around the table in the mornings-drinking our coffee, talking, chatting and laughing, Sitting in our pews (beds) until midnight or later talking and laughing, and our devotion times usually started around 9:30-10:00. We talked about everything. Getting to know the youth is a big, important part of me because I am the Youth director, I need to be able to bond with the kids and the kids have to be able to trust me and be able to talk to me about anything and everything. One of the youth actually texted her mom saying, "Amber is awesome!" That made my week!

Many more years to come!

I'm Scared....

2014-05-10T17:50:00.004-07:00

Yes, you heard me. I'm scared.

As a mother, you are not supposed to be scared. You are supposed to be the tough one, the strong one, the one to cry to, not the one who cries. Always being there when your kids have nightmares. When your kids fall and scrape their knees. In my case, when my child cuts open her lip and I'm scared to death, but can't show her because mom's are supposed to make every thing better. When you talk to your kids about bullying. Fighting. Drugs. Mean people. People who offer you candy. People who make bad decisions because they feel like it. When inside I am scared to death because I was once bullied at school and I know how it feels. I know how it feels to talk to mean people. I know how it feels to fight. Fight for your friends. Fight for your friends' attention because they got into the wrong crowd and no longer wants to be your friend because you don't do what the 'cool' people do. No one needs to go through that.

I am very scared for Keira (all my kids really, but Keira is the oldest one and the first one who will be in the Intermediate school). Being older and in higher grade levels come more friends or not friends. It comes more responsibility on the kids' shoulders to fit in. To run with the 'in' crowd. People usually have to make sacrifices to fit in. To some kids it comes natural. I'm really hoping it will come natural to Keira and she will not have to fight for her friends or a 'spot' in society.

Too often, you see young kids go down a wrong path. Whether it's the kids they hang out with. following in their parent's negative habits. Whether they are trying to run away from something that is hurting them. No matter what it is, we as parents, have to be there for our kids. Right now, Keira is still very innocent and likes everyone she talks to even the mean kids and I think that is what they need, is for someone to talk to them because they don't get that a lot at home or with other friends. I just hope that as Keira grows up she realizes that there are a lot of different types of people in this world and not every one are the nice guys.

What this post boils down to is...I just want my kids to be happy, healthy and care free about life and not worry about all the bad things in life that can get in their way. I want my kids to know the difference between good and bad choices. The difference between good and bad people. The difference between good and bad friends.

They say that your children follow in your foot steps. This is what scares the crap out of me. I have suffered from Depression, suicide tendencies/thoughts, anxiety, etc. Keira is already showing signs of anxiety and this scares me. She worries about every little thing, when a child should never have anything to worry about. I am a very impatient person and she has those tendencies. These are things that can be changed and fixed.

We never know what's around the corner. We never know when the last time we are going to see the one's we love. We never know when our kids are in trouble. We never know what our kids are thinking. We never know how much a look, a smile, a wink, a thumbs up, a good job, a pat on the back, a talk will change a kid's day. It can change how a child thinks and acts just by doing something good for them.

It scares me to have my kids grow up! I can't tell you what they will be like when they grow up. If I could tell you what each of my kids will be like right now.... Keira would be a teacher. She loves her teacher she has now (and kindergarten). She loves to be in charge. She loves to be organized. She loves working and reading. She just loves helping people. Aden would be an Engineer like daddy. He loves trying to figure stuff out. He asks dad questions all the time about how to fix stuff. Taygen would be a veterinarian or a doctor. She loves to play with her babies and take care of them. She uses her Doc McStuffins tools on all her babies. But that's now. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the kids, but at the same time it scares me to death. Does Keira's anxiety now, mean something in the future? Does the way Aden move his hands (like turrets) mean something in the future? Does the way Taygen expresses her self, yells sometimes hits her brother, mean something in the future?

I guess for now, the only thing I can do is set a good example and lead the way for them to grow up being loving, caring and passionate people.

Being a Single Mom for 8 days

2014-02-25T10:43:00.001-08:00

I shouldn't have said 'Single' mom in the title because I'm not actually single. My husband was out of town..ok... out of the country for 8 days, 7 nights for work, so I was singly taking care of my 3 kids under 7.

This is my usual schedule... I have 3 kids, 7, 5 & 3. The oldest is in 1st grade. The middle boy is in preschool Monday, Wednesday & Friday. The youngest angel (sometimes) goes to preschool Tuesday & Thursday, so everyday I have at least one kid at all times. I get up at 7 a.m, wake up my oldest daughter, she gets her self dressed, then I wake up the other 2, get them dressed. We all go down stairs for breakfast. While they sit at the table and eat, I go get my self ready (as ready as I can be). After I get dressed and the kids get done eating, I brush their teeth, comb their hair and they all get their shoes and coat on. We are ready to head out the door at 7:40 a.m. I drive to Norris (about 30 minutes away) drop my oldest off for 1st grade. Then drive back to Lincoln and drop a preschooler off (depending what day it is, refer back to the top of this paragraph), then usually go home with the other one and shower then we have our learning session. Leave the house at 11 am and go pick up the preschooler by 11:30. We go home, get lunch, and the kids get to play, watch shows, learn until 2:00 pm when it is time to leave to get my oldest daughter. She doesn't get out of school until 3:25, which means I really do not have to leave my house until 2:50, but I leave at 2 so the other 2 kids sleep in the car....genius! I found this out last year that if I leave the house at 2, the other 2 will fall asleep in the car, I get their at 2:30 and am able to relax and have 'mommy' time for an hour.

Day 1- Monday- The plan was to take my oldest daughter to school then drop off my son to preschool and just have my youngest daughter home with me. But I woke up my oldest daughter and she felt like she had a fever. She woke up saying that her throat hurt and didn't feel good. I checked her temp and she had a fever, so I called the school and kept her home. I then let the other 2 sleep because preschool doesn't start until 9, so we would have to leave the house at 8:40. My son woke up (the one that was supposed to have preschool) saying that he didn't feel good either. I guessed it worked out that no one had school that day. So I wound up calling both schools and we all stayed home that day.

It was a pretty good day. The kids had pajama day and just lounged around the house all day. Lazy days are allowed....every once in a while :) I am a person that can't sit still and always has to have something to do, so just to sit around drives me crazy.

Day 2- Tuesday- Today was a normal running around day. Every one went to school today, the oldest and youngest. Kind of a normal day... It was snowing like crazy today. The oldest had an early dismissal because of the snow. So, had to go get her at 1:30 today. Went back home and let the kids put on their pj's again and had a movie day. I have pool leagues tonight, so grandma and grandpa are coming over to take over so momma can have some fun ;).

Day 3-Wednesday- Snow day for both kids today. It wasn't snowing today, the roads were just bad from the day/night before. Thought it was going to be another day of pj's and laying around, but momma can't stay in the house for very long, so it's a Children's Museum kind of day. It was kind of nice, because it wasn't over crowded like it usually it on the weekends. The kids played for hours. Too bad the stupid meters do not go any longer than 2 hours. The kids were worn out. Good for momma! On Wednesday nights, my oldest daughter and I usually hang out because that is the night that daddy shoots pool. So, we hung out and played a girlie game, of course, while the other 2 kids were in bed.

Day 4- Thursday- I can actually say that today was a normal day. Every one had school. So, it was my normal running around day. Yay for me! Today was the youngest preschool day. On Thursday's she has swimming with her school, so Aden and I watched her swim. The 2 youngest love coming to child watch at the Y (where they have preschool), so I usually have to find something to do so they can go in there for at least 10-15 minutes. Today, I got in the hot tub and just relaxed! I told the kids I would take them to Fazoli's for supper.

Day 5-Friday- Another normal day today....okay no day is really normal for me. After picking up Aden from preschool, we went to the library and hung out for a while. Not much exciting today. Grandma and grandpa are coming to watch the kids so I can have a night out. Pool tourney tonight.

Day 6- Saturday- The Home and Garden show is here! I love shows like this! I decide to be brave and take all 3 kids to the show by my self! They are actually pretty good. we saw my cousin's (actually hubby's cousin) booth, so we stopped and talked to him for a while, he walked around with us for a minute. We found the kids' corner where the clowns are (no thanks for me!). The kids got balloon animals, face painting and got to do crafts. I also have a friend that had a booth that we got to see. All around a very good day! Aden has been wanting Subway for supper (so they can get a bag and a toy), so we went to Subway for supper. Yay healthy!

Day 7- Sunday- Had Church today. I am the Sunday School director and a teacher, so I had to be there today. We went shopping today for Valentine's for the kids' school. Went back home and relaxed, watched movies, supper, baths then bed.

Day 8- Monday- Daddy home day! Daddy is supposed to be home when I get home from picking up the oldest from school. Talk about a nice surprise for her. Today was as normal and boring as it could be. Nothing exciting to talk about. Daddy got home about 4 and had all kinds of surprises for the kids. The hubby got me a necklace and a snow globe with dolphins in it. Very pretty. I'm very glad to have dad/hubby back.

I am used to being by my self on a daily basis and the hubby is usually home about 5:30-6 to help out at night, but I have not had to be mommy and daddy for 8 days. The hubby is going on another trip, this time for fun, for about 4 days, so I can actually say I can do it this time!

A Life Gone Too Soon

2013-10-29T14:08:00.001-07:00

I found out earlier this week that a girl, who lives in my town, who some of my youth from church know and who some of my family know committed suicide because of depression. I do not personally know this girl. I'm not going to use her name, pictures or anything about her life story because I do not know her and because I do not have permission from the family to use these things!

Instead, I will talk about the impact that depression does have on people and how important it is that it gets recognized as a disease! As a daughter, a depression survivor, mom of two little girls of my own, a psychology major, counselor and therapist I would like to take the time talk about depression.

Family and friends can say, 'she was depressed.' 'She was sad.' She was angry.' But NOBODY, I mean nobody but her can know what she was going through. It doesn't matter how many people she talked to about it or how much medication she was on, nothing is going to help unless she wants/makes it change.

I'm not going to sit here and say that I know exactly how she feels or I know exactly what she went through because even though I did go through the same feelings, actions & medication that she did, everyone's depression is different.

You might think, 'only if I would have talked to someone or took the medication properly or seen a psychologist things would be different.' It doesn't work that way. It doesn't matter how many people you talk to or how much medication you take for your depression or anxiety, it had to be you that changes.

Nine out of ten times it is your friends, family or something that's going on in YOUR life that's making you depressed, angry, sad, mad or hurt. YOU have to be the one that changes. You have to be the one to turn your back on all the negative that's going on in your life and you will feel 10x better! That doesn't mean it's going to be a quick fix. It just means that maybe you need to take a step back and realize you could be happier without all this pain. It's not going to take hours or days, it will take months or years.

People with depression and suicidal thoughts tend to bottle it up until it's too late. Learn to recognize the signs of depression.

-Feelings of worthlessness

-feeling that you don't belong

-Tired

-Loss of interest in activities that you used to love

-being sad all the time

These are just a few. These are the ones you will notice the quickest. Surround yourself with loved ones. Surround this person with love and desire and show them that they are not alone.

You know, we all say "Oh, I'm so depressed today. Just got so much going on." Or "It's such a depressing day. I couldn't get to the Y today." It doesn't matter what context the word 'depression' is in, it's still a serious disease and we need to take it seriously.

My prayers go out to this girl's family and friends. If you need anyone to talk to you can email me at arweyer@gmail.com or leave a comment.

On A Diet!

2013-07-11T20:22:00.002-07:00

Yes, you read the title correct! I am on a diet. Those who actually know me know that I do not need a diet. I am 5'3 and weigh under 110 pounds.

I have been having problems now for over a year. Before I had my surgery in February, I would feel bloated. I would actually feel and look like I was 5-7 months pregnant (not gaining any weight, just digestive issues). I would also feel full really fast. I saw my doctor and I she said I have a twisted uterus and and that my uterus was probably causing the bloating. We scheduled my surgery and after the surgery it didn't change. After the surgery, she said my uterus was bigger than normal. I was excited to hear that because I thought if this huge thing was out of my body, I would go back to a normal, flat stomach. So, I patiently waited a couple of months and it didn't go back to normal.

I finally did some research on bloating and feeling full and found a specific, healthy diet. I am not actually going on a 'typical' diet, I'm just eating and drinking healthier.

These are some of the new things that I am doing now and it has really helped. I have my flat abs/stomach back and it feels great!

- When I eat, I don't drink any fluids. When you drink while you eat, it makes you drink faster and doesn't break down the food properly, so it stays in your stomach longer.
-I don't drink anything until 30 minutes after I eat.
-For breakfast, I drink warm lemon water 30 minutes before I eat. Usually I eat a Special K bar after wards.
-After I drink the lemon water, I do some Yoga poses.
- I eat smaller portions, for supper.
-For lunch, I eat sandwiches, salads or soups
-I'm down to 2 pops a day (diet dr. pepper)
-For snacks I eat peaches, plums, Special K bars
-Drink more Crystal Light. Drank it before, but not as much as I should have.
-I still eat bread and pasta, but I eat wheat bread and wheat pasta.

Before I started this healthier diet, for breakfast I would pop open a pop (diet dr. pepper) and have a Special K bar. For lunch, I would have left overs from supper before. I would purposely make extras the night before so I could have the left overs the next day. But, I would make sure it was something of my favorite. For example, If I made tacos, I would have 2-2 1/2 tacos for lunch the next day. I would actually eat until I was full. I would down a whole can of pop with my lunch then open another one after I was done eating because I was still thirsty. I would have 4-5 cans of pop a day. Not that diet pop is bad, but the bubbles and fizz doesn't digest your food properly. For supper, I would always have seconds and just eat way too much. I would also down a can of pop during supper. For snacks in between meals, I would have cookies, ice cream bars, whatever you could think of.

I ate this way before because I could eat anything I wanted and would never gain any weight. I'm not doing this healthy diet because I need to lose weight, I'm doing it to set a good example for my kids and to have healthier eating habits in the future.

Working so far, so hopefully I can stick with it!!

WAM Youth Mission Trip 2013

2013-06-15T10:52:00.001-07:00

Mission trip 2013

Buchanan, Michigan

Day 1- gonna be honest, it's not what I expected. We were told we were going to a camp. I admit I'm not a camping person. We were also told we were going to be in a cabin with enough beds for everyone. We got here and took a tour with the director. Not going to sugar coat anything here, you can tell this place has been unkept for a while. This is not what I was expecting. It's dirty. Lots of bugs. Inside, I'm freaking out but I have to be strong for the youth because I am a leader! It makes you appreciate what you have at home.

We had our bed situation figured out. The youth (girls) were willing to let us 2 female leaders have the comfy spots ( yes, I said spot.) we decided that I would have a raised cushioned seating area. The other leader was going to have a couch. The youth girls were going to have mattresses on the floor. Even with my sleeping spot high above the ground, I still didn't feel comfortable. Spiders were all over the walls and flying insects were all over the ceiling (because the lights were on.)

We had worship that night with everybody in our room. I couldn't keep it in any longer. I started crying while worship was going on. One of the guy leaders knew I was upset. On our nightly Walmart runs (hence the WAM name Walmart at midnight) he decided to buy a couple of tents to put up in our room. We got back to the camp and set up the tents and put our sleeping bags inside them. I felt so much better. ;)

Day 2

Today has been better. We went to Walmart last night about midnight and got a couple of tents. We put them up in the cabin. Yes, in the cabin. Then we put our sleeping bags and blankets into them. I slept pretty good in the tent. Woke up at 10 am. Being on the job site meant that we didn't have to get up and drive a half an hour like we had to do last year. Got a lot of stuff done today. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

My intention when writing this post was supposed to be a day by day diary. Meaning that I was going to write about what happened every day. But my nights got busy and I didn't have time during the day because we were working. So, I'm just going to write general things down.

While the director of the camp site gave us the tour, he was telling stuff that they needed done. The things that needed done were... Scraping and painting tables and benches (took us 3 days to do that.) Build a dock (2 days to do that). Put up a pool and fill it with water. Clean up leaves and branches that were on the walking paths. Clean up an area that was called the amphitheater, which was their worship area. Fix the labyrinth, meant weeding all the weeds.

Even with all that work, the youth still kept a positive attitude even though the week didn't start off so good. The youth were scared and disappointed on Sunday when we got there. I felt so bad for them, none of them knew what to expect. When we were getting the tour, the guy gave us a brief description of what the camp was for and why we needed to be there. He said that they used to keep the place up and have youth there almost every weekend, but their pastor left and took all the youth with them. There have been multiple groups that were supposed to come help clean up through out the 5 years that they have been doing this, but they all canceled at the last minute. We were the only group that came out to help them in the last 5 years.

After we had everything cleaned up and done, it looked so nice and some of the youth even said they would go to church camp there. I felt so much better knowing that we made a difference in other people's life. Everything seemed so gloom that Sunday when we arrived and when everyone wanted to give up and leave, God was telling us to stay and help these children.

It was fun and hopefully I'm able to come with this same group next year. We all have a special bond and work really hard a d good together.

Manic Monday, Monday, June 3rd

2013-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 3rd

This is actually an outfit that I wore to church recently. Very Comfy, but elegant!

New York & Company

Pink Chiffon Sleeveless Top

New York & Company

Black Flare pant

New York & Company

Wedge Shoe

Fantastic Friday- Friday, May 31

2013-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Friday

Manic Monday- Outfit of the Week

2013-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 27th

New York & Company

Short Sleeve white Shirt

New York & Company

Dot Shorts

Fantastic Friday- Friday, May 24th

2013-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Friday!

Manic Monday- Outfit of the Week

2013-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 20th

New York & Company

Sleeveless Pink Top

Perfect for Summer

Wear it alone or with a cute jacket

New York & Company

Slim Crop Pants

Cute in white or black

New York & Company

Cute Wedge

Fantastic Friday- Friday, May 17th

2013-05-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Friday

Wednesday, May 15th

2013-05-15T14:19:00.002-07:00

Wednesday, May 15th

Well, it's only Wednesday! Better than yesterday, though I kept thinking it was Wednesday. All day I kept saying, "Oh, it's only Wednesday." Well, for some reason when you are a day off, it makes the rest of the week go super slow.

I don't know why this week is going so slow...maybe it's because tomorrow is my bday and Saturday is my bday party!! :)

Didn't do a dang thing today. Yesterday, I was running around with the kids all day going to different stores, using my gift cards from my bday and taking stuff back and exchanging sizes. Today, we took Keira to school and stayed home the rest of the day...talk about a long day. I don't like staying home all day. I would rather be bogged down with 50 million things to do, it makes the day go faster. We don't have to pick Kiki up until 5:45, so that makes the day even longer. The kids played outside for about an hour today while I worked on church stuff. Don't worry, when I sit at the table, I can see them playing on the swings and slides.

Enough for today.

Ha! Talk about a long week! At the top of the page where is says "Wednesday, May 15th." I had originally put Monday, May 15th. I caught it when I posted it. I guess I can actually say that I have no idea what day it is, but I know it should be Saturday already!

Monday, May 13th

2013-05-13T10:21:00.002-07:00

Well, it's the 13th, 3 more days closer to my birthday. And it's not Friday the 13th, but it is Monday. Well, not sure where I was going with that, but oh well.

I didn't update everyday last week like I have been trying. I was super busy with meetings almost every day.

Not much exciting last week. This week, Keira has volleyball camp at her school, so I don't have to be at her school until 5:45, that's pretty late, but that's okay because she gets out of school next week.

I think Keira is going to have anxiety issues like I do. She worries about everything new. The plan is for her teacher to walk her to the gym, have snack (which I packed) and then meet up with her volleyball coach. She was worried because her teacher will not be there today and she is having a sub. I told her not to worry that her teacher told the sub and every thing will be fine. Then she's worried about her snack. She thinks they will think it is her lunch and she won't get to eat it at snack. I already solved that problem and wrote on her snack bag that it was for Keira's volleyball camp. She was pretty happy about that and felt a little better! I am the exact same way. I get very nervous and anxious if I have to go or do something that I have never done before. She'll be okay, she's a strong willed girl.

Speaking of volleyball, it's Monday that means I play volleyball tonight. Super excited. I am excited about playing every Monday.

That's all of my exciting day for today.

Mother's Day!

2013-05-13T10:08:00.001-07:00

May is a lucky month for me. Not only is it Mother's Day (should be everyday) but My birthday is May 16 and my anniversary is May 25th.

We celebrated my Mother's Day Saturday. The hubby took the kids to the mall to my favorite store, New York and Company and they each picked out something special for me. They all did a great job, I might add. They all know my style pretty well! I think dad might have had something to do with that ;)

Then we went to Applebee's and ate. Yummy! On Sunday (Mother's Day) we spent the day at my mom's. After church, we loaded up the SUV and went to Grand Island.

Here are the items that the kids got me. I took them off the New York & Company website because I don't like taking pics of clothes unless I stand in front of the mirror and it drives me crazy when people do that because it just looks dumb, it looks like they are trying to take a picture of their phone.

Anyway...

This is the shirt that Keira picked out for me

This is the dress that Taygen picked out. They got it in Medium, it's a little bit so I have to take it back and get extra small.

Aden picked out these wedges...except mine are white with brown on the outside.

Manic Monday- Outfit of the Week

2013-05-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 13th

New York & Company

Cute little Floral dress

Perfect by itself or add a cute little black belt and a cardi or jacket

Manic Monday- Outfit of the Week

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

New York and Company

You will find a lot of my outfits of the week at this store, this is my favorite store and currently have most of these outfits! Enjoy

Monday, May 6th

New York & Company

Belted Shirt Dress

Perfect for the Spring/Fall we are still having

Sunday, May 5th

2013-05-05T18:14:00.001-07:00

Sunday, May 5th

Not much happened today. Went to Church this morning. The hubby is running the pool tourney today, so I am home with the kids. Came home from church, ate lunch, then went grocery shopping.

I'm tired of this weather! It feels like it should be February not May! Where is the nice warm 70's weather. Today is was supposed to be 68 degrees, but it felt more like 40 something. Tomorrow (Monday) it is supposed to be 74 degrees. I play volleyball tomorrow night, so the temperature better be right.

I have a busy week ahead of me. I have a meeting Monday morning and a meeting Tuesday evening. I like being busy.

Okay enough rambling for today.

Saturday, May 4th

2013-05-05T18:01:00.002-07:00

Saturday, May 4th

Ugh! got home at 3 a.m this morning. Pretty normal Friday night for Dan or I, whoever runs the pool tourney that night.

Let the hubby sleep in until 11:30 a.m. Was up at 6:20 a.m with my youngest. I guess we are having date night tonight. We haven't' had one of those nights for a while. Nice surprise!

I got to nap from 1:30-4 p.m. while the hubby and kids went shopping. Yes, the hubby went shopping and not grocery shopping, clothes shopping. I know pretty strange, right? Even with all three kids.

Went to Chipotle for supper then went to a movie. Watched The Big Wedding. It was pretty good! The night went really good...other than almost getting ran over by a truck while I was walking in a cross walk that said walk.

Not very much planned for tomorrow. Just Church and then home with the kiddos the rest of the day.

Friday, May 3rd

2013-05-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

Friday, May 3rd

It's finally Friday!!

Well, welcome to my normal Friday. Got up at 6:30 got all the kids ready. Me being last, of course. I forgot to do my hair. Luckily, I had a pony tail holder in my truck.

Anyway, much better. Had a shower after I dropped Kik off at school. The kids are usually really good while I get in the shower. They keep them selves entertained. On any given day, I have at least one kid at home with me, so it's really hard to get time for myself.

I am the pool tourney director at a local hang out here in Lincoln. So, tonight I am going to 'work'. It is fun, but boring at times.

The kids are doing their school stuff on the iPad (ABC Mouse) (stuff that they can do by themselves) and later I will sit down with at the table and go over everything they learned and more.

As I'm writing, I am looking back at each sentence, realizing that none of them have anything to do with each other. But then I realized that this is a diary and that nothing will really make sense anyway, so just bare with me. ;)

Each week, along with my daily posts (will try my hardest), I will also have a Manic Monday post each Monday. It will be a fashion post with an outfit of the week. I will also try and do some kind of Fantastic Friday post. It will most likely just be a picture of something fantastic.

Being a stay at home mom

2013-05-02T08:24:00.002-07:00

I wrote this post a while ago, but was looking back on my posts and thought I needed to repost it. Enjoy!!

Being a stay at home mom is the best decision I have ever made. Many people look down on you because you are a stay at home mom.

Being a stay at home mom is very difficult, but also very rewarding. When people ask me what I do, I am not embarrassed or ashamed of what I do. I tell them I am a stay at home mom. I get many different responses. I have gotten a lot of "good for you." or "that's great, I am glad you are able to do that, that is very important for your kids." I have also gotten some not so good responses... "oh, I see." or "well, if you can do it, good for you."

Many people think that just because you are a stay at home mom, you have no skills, can't get a job, don't have any kind of back ground in education, or are just plain lazy. People who think these things usually do not have any idea about being a stay at home mom or the amount of things that we do. They have no idea how much children can benefit from a mom staying home.

I have written a children's book, so I have plenty of skills. I was a therapist, but thought staying at home with my children was more important, so yes, I did have a job. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology, so yes, I have an education. I am also going for my Master's in Child Psychology. One thing I am not, is lazy, you definitely cannot be lazy if you are planning on being a stay at home mom!

I love being a stay at home mom! It gives me a chance to teach my children right from wrong, my way.

I will have plenty of time later in life to work further on my career, right now, I just want to slow down and enjoy the time with my kids. My kids are growing up so fast and I don't want miss any of it!

Thursday, May 2nd

2013-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's been a while! When I started this Diary, I had the intention of posting every day, hence the diary part. I did post every day for a while, but got bored of writing basically the same thing every day, so I thought I would do a weekly post, but then got busy and then decided to just do posts when I had something to say, but then I got lazy and just decided not to do it any more. So, I am back to trying to do it every day, since my life is so exciting and all. I will also post every other day or once a week in the kids' blog... The Sweetest Moments

Thursday, May 2nd

Nothing exciting today. Kiki and Aden have school today, so it's just me and little me. She gets so excited when it's just her and mommy. Even though we just sit down and watch one of her shows then do her "school" work. It's easy to forget that she is only 3. She will be going to preschool in 3 months, so it's really hard to see my sweet little baby going to school.

Anyway, I have been super busy these last couple of weeks. I am the Sunday school director of my church and we have VBS the first week of June. I have to get so much stuff ready and organized, my favorite. I love being organized. I am also the director of the craft fair at my oldest daughter's school. That is not until October, but I have to get all the registration forms out and they have to get their payments in before October 1st. There are usually over 100 booths.

I think that's enough for today, be back tomorrow.

Valentine's Day

2013-02-18T13:36:00.001-08:00

Yes, I finally have a post up. It took me a little bit but here it is.

This Valentine's day was just a normal day for me... Well, that depends on what most people call normal. I had scheduled to do my hysterectomy that day. One reason was because she only does those surgeries Tuesday and Thursday. Keira didn't have school that Friday or Monday, making it easier on the hubby. And I just wanted to get it taken care of.

I didn't think I was having this hysterectomy for any other reason other than vaginal bleeding, pain in my pelvic area, cysts, multiple periods a month. But I had a feeling there was something more. I don't just have irregular bleeding or pelvic pain just because. The surgery went good. My doctor wanted me to stay another night because of the pain and I was running a fever, had to be put on a breathing machine and she was worried pneumonia. She tells me this Friday afternoon when they already have the cathlider out, the IV out, my blood pressure was fine, all my machines were off of me. Why would I say oh ya I'll stay? I went home Friday afternoon. I should have stayed an extra day like she suggested just to have that extra day of down time. I am not a person to just sit still or let everyone else do my work!!

Well, I got "the" call that everyone dreads. I got a call Monday morning from my doctor telling me the results from everything they did during surgery. Come to find out, they found a tumor on my cervix. Which wound up being benign. And I have endometriosis.

Before I even scheduled my hysterectomy, I had multiple ultra sounds. I am talking 3 or 4 in the same spots. 3 pelvic ultra sounds. 2 vaginal probe ultra sounds. Multiple paps. Some of them weeks apart. Found nothing. I was told I could have an abdominal mass. Another ultra sound shows nothing. Was sent to a urologist.. Nothing found there either. So, this whole time I am explaining all my symptoms and why I want a hysterectomy, I was actually doubting myself because nobody is finding anything wrong with me.. Why do I even need this thing done? So, I get off the phone with the doc and just start crying...."they didn't do this for nothing, there was actually something wrong with me!"

Some Fun Psychology eCards

2012-12-10T10:44:00.002-08:00