In case anyone asks......

LEGO video games are not the reason I have not been posting in awhile.  

Really, we've been so busy with Irish Dance, work, contemplating moving AGAIN and just life in general.  I'm not sure why 5 children keep me so busy.  You would have thought I'd have figured out all that time management stuff by now.  

I've also had a huge writers block.  Not that I write about anything interesting anyway.  I just haven't felt like doing much more than surfing my favorite blogs when I'm online...oh and researching Cognitive Left Brain Disability.   More on that in another post.

Anyway- after writing about my LEGO adventures I've realized my kids are still up.  So, I guess I must remove myself from my comfy chair and put my kids in bed (it's almost 11 pm) and then (since hubby is still at work) I guess I could go play a few more levels to see if I can get a bit further into my game.  Oh, I should also eat something since all I've eaten all day is a handful of chips, half a hot dog and a diet coke.  Yeah....healthy huh?  A sure fire way for me to hold on to the extra 10 lbs I've gained in the past 6 months.  I have been walking more though.  Thought I'd through in a positive tidbit.

Can't life just stop for a few days?  I really need time to catch up. 

Oh, and just so you can see what I'm up against.  Here's a picture of my LEGO bully sporting the sign for "I Love You!"  Just remember he's the one who pushes you off cliffs and wouldn't think twice about cutting you in half with a light saber.  Don't say I didn't warn ya.

 

My newest addiction.....

Da dadada, da da dum, dadadada, da da da da dum.............

Yep.  LEGO Indiana Jones.  That's my latest, newest......most worthwhile addiction.  I absolutely love the LEGO Xbox 360 games.  We have them all.  

LEGO Star Wars 1, 2, and 3,

LEGO Star Wars 4, 5, and 6,

LEGO the COMPLETE SAGA (both Legos compiled into one...it's SWEET!!!!!) and

LEGO Indiana Jones

There's just something very satisfying about demolishing everything in your path, building things that give you a prize or lead you somewhere and earning MONEY!  Right now I have a little over 1 million with the x2 feature.  I'm working my way up to 2 million so I can buy the x4 thus giving me x8.  HEHE.  I love collecting all the coins. 

There is one thing I do not like about these games.  My 6 year old and I actually argue about them.  He's mean.  He beats me up so I break apart and then grabs the thing I was going for.  How rude!  He'll jump on a rope or do something so I can't do it.  Oh, and one time (this was the final straw) we actually had a fight about who was going to build the object and we both sat there.....for like 5 minutes......saying:  "You build it!" "NO!  You build it!"  "That's not fair! You get to do everything!"  "It's my game"  "Fine!  I'm not playing with you anymore.  You're mean!"  Then I threw down the controller and stomped upstairs.  The nerve of that child.   I swear!  

And coming in September to further my LEGO addiction and quite possibly prolong the LEGO battles with my 6 year old son.............

Please Pray for the Fahmer family

I haven't ever blogged about Jacob, but I'm a huge fan of his and read his blog daily.  I've been following his life for a few months now.  My heart is truly heavy.  

The Life of Jacob Ryan Fahmer

It is with a weird combination of a heavy heart and sense of celebration that we are sad to announce that Jacob went home to be with the Lord today around 5:30 PM. Please pray that his life continues to be celebrated and that others draw close to Christ as a result of his passing.

Red Butte Gardens Field Trip

Spring in Utah hasn't been very warm. We are planning on going back...maybe in June when the surroundings will be a bit more green. The weather on this day was one of the better days we've had...and that's not saying much. It was warm in the sun and by 1 pm I wanted to take my jacket off. I had a great time being in charge of five girls from Chloe's third grade class (including Chloe). Here are some photographs from our trip. I'm really proud of the flower ones I took. I think I'm getting a bit better on my camera. Maybe hubby will buy me that extra lens I want. :)

How it all began.

This is the first performance for Casey & Chloe. I was so happy when I found this picture. It's amazing to think they had been dancing for some time by the time this photo was taken. Oh, and Chloe had been dancing for about 2.5 years before!!

Just because I love him. "He got me."

Monday, Rob came home from work saying that he was having some pain. He mentioned that it might be a "kidney stone".  I lovingly rubbed his back "where he said it hurt" while we watched t.v.  I know the pain of having a stone....it is not fun.

  

Tuesday, he was complaining a bit when I would call him at work. I wasn't quite sure he had a stone though.  The pain is unbearable and he sounded like he had some bad gas.   Uncomfortable, but not necessarily "kidney stone" painful.  

Just so you know.....I'm always the one who is sick or has something serious happen.  

Such as the time I was pregnant and began spotting during my 5th week and cramping really badly.  I was still pregnant according to my doctor, but my "dates were off".  Three weeks later I was rushed into surgery for a ruptured fallopian tube. 

 

Then, when my 4th child was born, I began having severe chest pains.  Rob took me to the ER after a couple attacks and they said it was my gallbladder.  My tiny baby girl was only 3 weeks old when I had that sucker removed.  I ended up staying in the hospital overnight because they were having trouble waking me up. 

In 2005, my oldest son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that required surgery.  Having spent so many weeks in the hospital clinics running tests for his upcoming surgery...not to mention the stress of knowing my baby was going to have his heart worked on got the best of me.  We spent 24 hours in the PICU and another 4 days on the cardiac floor. I didn't leave his side very often.  I ended up getting an undetected raging strep infection that made my immune system crazy.  After several misdiagnosis' in 10 months,  I finally found someone who could figure it all out.  Sarcoidosis.  Luckily, it hasn't affected my lungs, brain or other major organs.  It might be in my liver (major I know, but still...it's not my brain!) and I know it's in my muscles and possibly my bones.  I still have flare ups and will always have Sarcoid.  I just like it better when it's in remission. 

Anyway-I'm acutely aware of the "universal pain scale".

When he came home from work last night,  I was in the basement with the kids cleaning up/organizing.  He sounded like he was in pain so I went upstairs to check on him.  I was thinking we should go to the InstaCare or ER.  He said he had to go to the bathroom, that it was starting to hurt and he had to urinate very often.  I heard him groaning and opened the bathroom door to see what was wrong.  He had blood all over his hands and his boy bits.  I *almost* started to freak out when I saw what looked like a blood clot at the bottom of the toilet.  That is until I noticed the blood drips on the inside of the toilet.  They weren't red, but more of a darker pink color.  I then looked at his hands and noticed the bright red tint soaking into the skin of his finger tips.

  

I began laughing so hard and told him it wasn't even real blood.  I even touched his hand and the ink instantly soaked into my skin, was thin, not coagulated and was turning dark pink. Coming from a woman who has been menstruating since she was 11 years old.  That is not blood.  Come on!  Are you seriously going to try and pass off PINK blood?  He was so mad that I caught him in his joke.  He told me I wasn't any fun because I could have just let him think he got me for once. 

 

Babe- I am the QUEEN of April Fool's Day!  There is none better than me and you know that.  Had you just played it off and let me drive you to the doctor, you could have totally gotten me.  Instead, you had to add blood.  Big mistake. That ruined it for you.  I'm sorry.

  

In a way, you did get me, though.  You received one night of just laying on the couch without me hassling you to do this or that.  You also got a pretty decent back rub.  Oh and because you were "sick" I decided early April 1st that I couldn't get you with a REAL April Fool's joke because that would make me cruel.  I couldn't bear being cruel.  

Just so you know.  Next year is full on! 

 

Oh, I do love you!!  

Muahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

*Edited to add* That photo is not of me...that's Kathy Bates in Misery.  

You know..to scare the poor fellow. He deserves it.  ;)

  This one does happen to be a photo of me.  Cute, huh?:

The Blog Fog

I have an annoying tendency to just up and leave the things I love to do.  Like blogging.  Mainly because I get too overwhelmed with things going on in my life.  My brain shuts down and I can only focus on the here and now.  Oh, and the other things that drain me when I'm stressed. 

For instance....

1) Taxes.  They were finally finished and filed last night, thanks to the help of a friend of ours. When I did my taxes on TurboTax last January, it notified me that I would owe the state close to $500 dollars.  After mulling it over in my mind for a few weeks, I quietly shoved it away because it was just one more thing added to my plate.  Our friend helped us realize that the reason behind the "First in our lifetime" payment was that we ever so slightly jumped to a higher tax bracket due to my job.  So, instead of paying the government 15% of our wages, we are paying 25%.  That's how it was explained to me, at least.    

2) Finances.  Just going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University has helped a lot. 

It's now just implementing what we are learning in the course.  That's the hard part, but gives me hope that we'll one day be completely out of debt.  I can't wait till our federal return and the dreaded stimulus package arrive.  We'll finally finish Baby Step 1 and really debt snowball, too. Whoo-hoo! 

It's funny how a tiny bit of the fog lifts when something once stressful is now accomplished and checked off the "To Do" list.  It lifted enough for me to blog this.  Hallelujah!!