What's Up?

I just tried to get pictures onto my blog so you can see what we've been up to.  But I apparently don't have any more storage space.  Or something.  I don't know what it means.  I just can't pull pictures up.  So you get a wordy update for now.

I am feeling better.  I have been in really bad shape because of my thyroid.  I couldn't walk last week and was in bed most of each day.  Saturday I felt best, but by Sunday I was in pain again.  Today I'm taking it slow.  But I've gotta get stuff done, so it's a busy slow. 

We got to visit with my 99 year old grandma on Saturday night.  She flew in with my aunt so she could go to her new great great grandson's baby blessing.  So many generations!  It was so nice to see her and visit with her for a bit.

Thanksgiving was nice.  I was feeling crappy, but still ate and chatted and had a good time.  My nephew James is home finally.  We was due in October but decided to come in July.  He is a healthy 9 pounds now and getting along just fine.  He looks just like his sister Rebecca, who passed away after her short 3 month visit to earth 3 years ago. 

The day before Thanksgiving I was watching the news and they were showing the Salt Lake airport and talking to people about flying on the busiest travel day of the year.  Outta nowhere Andrea, who turns out to be the only one left in our China travel group, was saying she is going to China to adopt her daughter!!  YAY!  She's in China now. 

Our electrical stuff in the basement is done until we have walls. Tonight Daniel's brother and his boys are coming to help Daniel and our boys put up insulation.  A message has been sent to our neighborhood drywall expert and we hope to have walls up soon.  I hope to have paint on the walls by December 14.  Then the electrician comes back to put all the fixtures in so we have light.  Then during Christmas break and beyond we'll get doors and molding and carpet and other such things to make our basement bright.  Then we start moving boys down.  Woohoo.

That's it for now.  I really need some pictures put on.  I'll get Daniel to work with it tonight to see what the problem is.  Until then, I'm gonna get on with my slow moving busy day.

Is It Just Me?

Or does a

TWINKIE

sound really good right now?

Unpoopular?

Are you tired, rundown, listless?  Do you pop out at parties?  Are you unpoopular?

And if you don't know where that Lucy Vitameatavegamin quote comes from..

Are ya livin' in a cave??

Just kidding.

On a more serious note, I have been feeling all of those things.  Okay, most of them.  I don't pop out at parties.  At least not that I know of.  And unpoopular? C'mon.  Not me!

I have been dragging for months.  Months I tell ya.  I just figured it was because school began and I was beginning each day super duper earlier than I like to and then all the PTA stuff and running and running and running until I would just collapse at the end of the day.  And then if I had time in the middle of the day, I'd collapse and be gone.  Gone!

So I went to my usual 3 month appointment with my Diabetes doctor, well, okay, she's really a nurse practitioner, but she takes good care of me and my Diabetes.  And we're doing fine thanks.  She always feels my throat and around my thyroid.  I have to swallow when she does.  Every 6 months I have blood drawn and they do yearly checks of various and sundry things.  Like my heart, kidneys, thyroid, cholesterol, etc.  I really don't know what else.  But I always look good.  Um, my blood work always looks good.  No complaints from the phlebotomists. 

But this last time I got the call back from the doctors office and the gal said that my thyroid levels were low and to come back in 4 weeks to have it checked again.  "Is that why I'm so tired?" I asked.  "Uh, yeah" she answered back.  So I put it on my calendar.  4 weeks isn't until next week.  But I have been getting worse and worse as each day passes.  So yesterday I called and talked to her assistant and told her I am lambasted.  My legs and back ache and my joints hurt and I think I'm sporting a slightly enlarged thyroid.  Can you say goiter?  She said to come in today and get blood work done and there is a chance they'd have results back by the end  of the day.  This is their last day in the office this week.  So I went in this morning and got lots of vials of blood drawn and just heard back from the assistant.

I have hypothyroidism.  I could'a  told you that.  So I start synthroid tomorrow morning and go back at the first of the year to check it again. 

No more listlessness here.  No more popping out at parties, or anywhere else! I hope to be back on my feet and getting things done soon.  Like clean the house.  And make dinner. My kids are starving. Yay for modern medicine!

Diapers?

Last night I went to the bathroom, took care of business, changed into jammies, began to climb into bed, sneezed and peed my pants.  I was caught off guard by the sneeze you see. And I had just gone to the bathroom.  You would think I had an empty bladder.  And normally I would cross my legs anyway when I sneeze so I don't, you know, pee my pants.  But I didn't have a chance.  So I ran to the bathroom with Daniel unsure if I was laughing or crying.  I was laughing hysterically.  So we discussed the sureness of needing adult diapers in our future and for a while Daniel burst out laughing every time he looked at me.  I changed my clothes and went back to the bathroom to make sure it wouldn't happen again.  So if you were thinking your day was off and you were looking for something uplifting to make you feel good...  There ya go! 

Having A Bad Day?

Come on over to my house.  When you come to my front steps you'll see this...

No, not the rotting jack o lantern at the bottom.  Isaac will get rid of it after school today.

When the boys were spray painting their Halloween costumes on the grass, Sam got the can and sprayed "Hi" on the sidewalk.  I started to get after him then thought better of it.  It's a permanent welcome mat.

So come on over to my house if you need a great "Hi". 

But don't come in, my house is a disaster.

A Great Book.

Need a good book to read to your kids?  Heck!  Need a good book to read period??  Here it is..

The Land of Stories

The Wishing Spell

By Chris Colfer

You know, the guy from Glee. 

This is the book I'm reading right now to my kids.  Yes!!  I read to my kids every night when they go to bed.  It's a tradition we've maintained over many years.  I don't know what we'll do when the boys move to the basement.  This is a wonderful story about twins Alex and Conner, who are in 6th grade and just lost their father a year before.  One of their favorite things about their dad was the stories he told.  They get the story book from their grandma and the book.... I'll stop there.  You need to read it.  It is fun, exciting and keeps you interested!!  The only problem is that that chapters are very long. So I usually split a chapter over two or even three nights, depending on the length.  But totally worth the wait each night. 

A Sneak Peek.

Wanna see the basement?  It's still in progress.  But what isn't, right? Let's go down...

Here it is.  It just a lot of wood.

But it's more wood (framing) than we've ever had in the basement.  See the food storage room?  It used to take up much of the open space shown here.  We're in trouble.

A bedroom.  We will have 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a utility room and a very large living space.

Last night the heating stuff went up.  Today, we can feel the heat downstairs.  Aahh.

The plumbers got as much of the bathroom done as they could without walls and vanity.  Here's a sneak peek at the tub.  Oooooh.

And a look out the window.  The flies and gnats and mosquitos better die! DIE!

Next week the heating will be done and electricity should begin soon.  Then the drywall will go up and I will choose paint colors.  Yay!

Did'ya?

This morning Marsha, the eyebrow lady, was here.  To do eyebrows.  Awesome.  She is from Australia and this is her first opportunity to vote since she's been in the states.  She said over and over, "Have you voted? When are you voting?" to everyone who came.  She was so excited for the opportunity to vote and wanted to make sure we were all planning to do it. 

I did.  Did you?

Happy Birthday To You!

Today is the long awaited day.  Ruthie turns 9! Saturday we had a small party with a few friends.  The theme was Hawaiian.  I did the hula.  We had lots of fun!

Today we have a white cake with chocolate icing and..  wait for it.. raspberry filling.  Cake Boss.  Rememba?

We also have had goat club tonight so we offered to bring treats for the special day.  I did little mini sized cakes with powdered sugar on top.  Goat club has since been canceled due to sick people.  So they will be the PTA meeting treat tomorrow.  Come and enjoy some!

Happy birthday beautiful girl.  We love you and are so so so happy you belong to us.

Catching Up Again.

Remember when I said I killed the last fly?  Um.  Never mind.  I wish a cold snap would come and just stay.  It's November for pete's sake.  And I'm not even gonna capitalize that pete.  I still don't know who he is or why we are concerned for his sake. 

So if November is here, must mean October is gone.  And I need to catch up.  On Halloween.  How was yours?  Ours was fun.  We had 2 jack o lantern pizzas from Papa Murph's.   

We do homemade costumes.  Have you seen the prices of costumes?  We have done store bought in the past,  but homemade and ingenuity are far more fun.  Ruthie was a Gypsy.  She didn't have her crystal ball for the picture, but she carried it around with her.  She had loads of fun and loads of candy.

Sam was not committing to anything costume-wise.  He was just gonna go as a person.  When he got home from school Wednesday he said he wanted to be a pumpkin head.  So we cut open the biggest pumpkin we had and cleaned it out and put it on his noggin.  He almost fell over 'cause it was so heavy.  So rather than be spine squashed and not able to stand, he copied his brother's idea.  He found a box and used the rest of the spray paint and we cut out the eyes and he became a creeper.  It's a Mine Craft thing.  You can tell who plays Mine Craft as kids yell out "It's a creeper!" with much enthusiasm. 

Isaac is the original creeper of the night.  He has been planning the outfit for weeks.  Weeks I tell ya.  He stole the box while we were loading up the storage unit.  Now we have to go get another one.  The green spray paint is what had me in Walmart earlier in the week when I met the sweet swearing old lady.  Isaac met up with some friends and apparently got some good houses.  Apparently full size candy bars means you're rich.  Guess where he'll hang out next year?  He got home late and had a haul.

So now November is officially here and that means....  It's Ruthie's month.  This gal will be 9 on Monday and so tonight we went to Jade Buffet for dinner.  Tomorrow she will have some friends over for a little party and Monday, the big day, we will take treats to Goat Club.  Isn't that where you want to spend your birthday?  If there's cake?  Why not?

Ruthie ate some octopus and my boys are creeps.  I mean creepers.  I'm gonna go kill some more flies. For the last time.