Sleds + Snow = FUN!!

Even though Garet spent most of his time crashing and burning he was still a happy camper!

The human train

Jeff, Easton, Kaleb, Jace and Uncle Bryan

Kaleb with Easton....these two were so brave! Poor Kaleb got the wind knocked out of him, it scared him a little but he was right back up to the top of the hill to try again!

Luckily we didn't have to take Jeff to the ER! :)
We missed you Mommy and Maddie!!

TWILIGHT!!!

Okay, I know I am a little lame and behind.... BUT, I vow to start catching up this second (Saturday 5:28am)...

YES, I am one on those moms that was enthralled, engrossed... okay, maybe even consumed with the torrid (is that even a word?? K, maybe not exactly what I mean, but it sounded good...) love affair between vampire Edward and normal gal Bella... aka: Twilight. My awesome, also "consumed" friend Candis counted down the days till the movie came out and threw an awesome bash for us:

Our lovely dinner: notice the platter of apples in the middle(my favorite touch!!) Our course consisted of ravioli and Coke.... a must have "first dinner" for any Twilight fan!

Hanging out playing Twilight trivia games before heading to the theater.

At the theater...eagerly awaiting 12:01 am!! (Look at end seat, and count up 4...there I am sitting by my friend Bobby)

Still waiting...

Okay, I LOVED the movie....maybe some of you that re-read the book right before weren't as impressed,; but, I've only read all four books once and I loved it!! Some of the cheesy parts were a little over the top, but, for the most part, I would give it a thumbs up....maybe it's because I love teenager movies?? Anyway, I am hoping to go see it again next Friday. YAY Christina!! I'm glad you want to go see it!!

Don't you hate it when....

...you call the gas company and vacate your house for Family Home Evening because of a "bad odor"...and then, the gas technician comes out to check for leaks to find only a very minor one ...and then, after he leaves you get ambitious and decide to unload your dishwasher to find this melted in the bottom:

Well, this is kind of the predecessor for my crazy first 6 weeks of working. We are well, and I am loving my job...I really don't know if I'd like it as much if I wasn't in management; but, I am very grateful!! Hopefully, things will start turning around for Jeff's business soon, too, and all will be well. I feel like I am finally "adjusting" to working at night. This week my house is actually clean and laundry done before the weekend.... a BIG THANKS to my dear husband who has been stepping up and helping out more! I really couldn't do this without him!! We have had a fun October with family parties and all and I am hoping to start catching up on posting soon. Sorry to all that I have been MIA lately, but I hope to remedy this soon. I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs!! 8)

"You're Hired!!"

After a LONG two-week 5 interview process, I got the job at Target!! I start tomorrow! I will be a "Team Lead" (aka: Assistant Manager) for the night crew. The next two and a half months are going to be kind of crazy with the holidays and getting adjusted to my new schedule, but I look forward to this opportunity to work for a great company with great benefits and a promising future! (Don't I sound like a model employee already??)

Just a little pat on my back...

Don't you love how our kids get to be spotlighted and what-not in their classes?? What it should really be called is: "Mommy Homework." I think I did okay, how about you??

OOPS!!

Okay, so I'm not THIS crazy:

I like to think of it more as INDEPENDENT.... Today I decided to "finish" cleaning our outside windows. Equipment required: ladder, glass cleaner, and lots of paper towels...another person(optional?). Well, to make a long story short: I fell off of the ladder, heard a "popping" noise and hurt my knee. I did not break anything; but, I need to go in Monday morning for an MRI. The doctor is almost certain I tore my ACL..."OUCH!!"

Next time:
Heels, sleek pants and all!!

Kaleb ROCKS at TaeKwonDo!!

I don't know if I've mentioned enough how proud I am of Kaleb and his accomplishments and dedication to TaeKwonDo. A couple of weeks ago, he tested again and has earned his red belt. He is now one belt ranking below a black belt!! He has worked so hard on his focusing skills and has really learned to pay attention so much better than I could ever teach him. I am so grateful that he is able to do this and loves it!

Kaleb doing his form.

Kaleb performing "Attack and Defense" moves on a much bigger kid. Way to go, Kaleb!!

The "I" Tag

I know I have lots to catch up on.... So, here's one of the tags. My friend Susie tagged me on this.

If you've been tagged, copy this and erase my answers, then post it on your own blog.

I: Bonnie Heather Francis Halliday
I am: a mom, a wife, a homemaker, a daughter of God, a (hopefully, soon-to-be) an assistant manager at Target...
I think: too much and get overwhelmed...
I know: a lot more than I used to, and I know that I don't know much.
I want: to feel financially secure.
I wish: a lot of things that were out of my control could have gone differently in my life.
I hate: feeling like a victim.
I miss: my sisters and hanging out with friends more.
I fear: for my children.
I feel: tired all the time.
I hear: Gizmo cleaning himself...everyone else is with Jeff at the church setting up chairs in their jammies....
I smell: Jeff's omelet from breakfast...ick!
I crave: a treat.
I search: for good books to read and enough time and energy to accomplish everything.
I wonder: what I'll be when I grow up.
I regret: not being a better wife and mother sometimes.
I love: my family!
I care about: how my children develop and learn...
I always: have more to do.
I am not: perfect.
I believe: that I have much to offer others.
I dance: in my car running errands or while cleaning.
I sing: in my car very loudly and when I get tired...watch out Target!
I don't always: get ready for the day.
I write: a lot of blog posts.
I win: ??
I lose: many games to my children...
I never: stay quiet when I feel something is wrong.
I listen: to everyone...
I can usually be found: in bed with a book, in the kitchen, in the car....
I am scared of: someone hurting my children.
I need: help more often than I ask for it.
I am happy about: how settled I feel now and my new calling in the Young Women's.
I tag: Everyone!!

MILLIONS of.....

Peaches, Pears, Plums and Apples!!!

Sorry to all that I have been a little slacking on my blogging.....I've been a little busy. When we planned our landscaping, we decided to do an orchard. We planted: a cherry tree, a pear tree, a plum tree, a peach tree, and not one but TWO apple trees. Last year they started producing. I was not inspired to learn how to bottle yet, so we fed most of it to the pigs. This year my goal was to bottle everything and not let anything go to waste... So, this is what my life was like for a LONG two weeks:

It's impressive to me that the pictures made it look all clean and organized. In reality it felt like a giant sticky mess!

Maddie was a really good sport about mommy being so busy...she found good use for all of the extra bottle rings... I could never get her to be still long enough to get a picture of her when both arms were full up to her elbows where she couldn't even bend them.

The end results: 48 pints of pears, 21 quarts of apples, 35 pints of apples,

21 quarts of applesauce, 63 pints of pureed plums for juice, 49 pints of peaches,

and a fourth of my deep freeze full of bags of sliced peaches.

All in all a HUGE success! I learned many things to help it all go smoother for next year....not that I'm looking forward to it, yet!!

"The Office"

Last Thursday night was "The Office" season 5 premiere. Some of my friends and I had a dinner party to celebrate the occasion:

We dressed up for the occasion. Here are our renditions of the characters:

Pam Beasley by Ella:

Michael Scott by Matt:

Angela Martin by Christina:

Meredith Kapoor by Candis:

Jan Levinson by yours truly:

The definite winner:

Dwight Schrute by Jake!!

Jake graced us with "Schrute-isms" throughout the evening!

We had a great time and enjoyed the premiere!! We ran out of time to do "Office Olympics." Can we plan on next week??

In case you've ever wondered...

...what would happen if your six-year-old forgot that he started running a bath for himself...for at least 45 minutes...the water spouting from your light fixtures is your first clue that it's NOT good!

Kaleb's room:

Garet's room:
Another view on that:
Yep, that's the carpet pulled up from the padding...

(Breathe in, Breathe out...)

Jeff told me that while he was sucking up water with the vacuum, Garet leaned over to Kaleb and asked: "Have you ever flooded the house?" Kaleb's reply: "No. But we all make mistakes." Kaleb is such a great older brother! Garet and Maddie are so lucky to have him! Hopefully we are doing some things right!?! Now, back to damage control...

"Cured!"

...a word we don't hear often enough...

As many of you may know, Jeff and I have had our share of medical problems with our children. Kaleb had numerous ear infections between the ages of 2 and 3. When they finally cleared up, after having tubes put in, his ear drums were bulging. This condition caused him to hear everything like he was underwater. After steroids and many trips and tests to the audiologist and ENT doctor, he was eventually better. Maddie should have had surgery on her feet at 6 months of age to correct her ankles and hips. We didn't catch it fast enough, so now she wears orthopedic inserts and does physical therapy to help "open" her hips until she gets bigger. Garet was born with a urological birth defect. He had surgery at 6 months of age to correct this. After many complications following the surgery: blocked urethra, pneumonia, whole body infection, bladder overtaking entire body cavity; he was sent home with a tube coming out of his stomach to aid in emptying his bladder. After 2 more surgeries, we thought we had put these "problems" behind us....until last summer. Garet started peeing blood. We went back to his specialist at Primary Children's and took tests. The findings: Garet had Level I Vesicoureteral Reflux on the right side and Level II on the left. This meant that the urine was refluxing from his bladder back into his kidneys; worse on the left side than the right. He was also not emptying his bladder completely, thus irritating his condition. The doctor's recommendation: antibiotics for a year and retest to see if it has gotten any better or worse. Had he been a Level II on both sides, they would have gone ahead and done the surgery last year.

Today we went up to Primary Children's to repeat the tests. First, they did an ultrasound to check to see what his kidneys and bladder looked like:

Garet was sooo good! He kept perfectly still the whole time!
Next, we had to go into the scary room with the gigantic X-ray machine to do the VCUG. For this test, they place a catheter in him, empty the contents, and "re-fill" his bladder with a solution that they can watch with the x-rays. It was a little scary, and Garet got a little nervous before the test. But, he was a CHAMP!! He was sooo brave! He didn't cry at all while they were inserting the catheter. When they made him "hold it" for a little bit to check to see where "it" would go before he released "it," he had a little bit of a hard time (think drinking an entire Route 44 and holding it for an hour).

I couldn't resist capturing Jeff in this get-up!! :-)

Afterwards, we went up to see his Pediatric Urologist Dr. Snow. The prognosis: "Garet is cured!!" There is no sign of reflux in either side any longer! And, he is now completely emptying his bladder effectively! We are sooooo relieved! He has less that a 2% chance of it re-occurring.

As we left, Dr. Snow told us to keep in mind that any other children we have will have a 33.33% chance of having reflux also. Let's hope our days with Pediatric Urology are over!!

"Non-Essentials"

Jax tagged me on this a while ago...sorry :( it took me so long! Here are 3 Non-Essentials I would love to have if I had a little extra dough. The rule is to keep them under $100.

A great massage...not just a "Massage Envy" one...

Yummy, healthy, fresh dinners for the family that only need to be "popped in the oven."

A romantic weekend getaway with my hubby!

I'm tagging Susie, Ella, Laura, Candis, and Tanya!!

I "HEART" Yard Sales!!

This summer, I have been converted to shopping yard sales. My friend Candis invited me to go one Saturday. I, like many of you, was somewhat wary and mostly went to hang out with my friends. But, little did I know, how fast I would be converted! I have really found some "great buys" and have saved lots of moo-lah.

Here is my new bike. It is a $200 bike that I found for $10. We bought new tubes and "vwallah!" good as new!
I went to a clearance yard sale for Claire's and found this costume for a dollar.
Gizmo hates the hat, but it "fits" him perfectly!!
Brand new shoes for the boys!! Two for $15!
A child seat to hook onto my bike for Maddie to join in the fun: $5!!

Thanks Candis for converting me!! Can't wait to find more great buys!!