Is 2008 over yet?

This has been a hard year medically for John and I. I'm hoping that 2009 is better. In March I broke my foot and ankle stepping into a hole. Then I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis (like Rheumatoid, but it also involves the spine), then John started getting really sore and sick. After many blood tests, PT, etc, he was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. He saw Dr. Amy (my doc too) in August and is doing really well now. Then in September I had my gallbladder removed. Then December 3 I had a hysterectomy. I'm off until we go back to school in January. I'm very sore today, more than yesterday. I'm hoping I get to feeling better soon. 

The kids are doing great. Natalie has a swim meet in Grand Island this saturday. John will take her and Nolan is going to my parents house for the day. I'll have the house to my self to rest. The dogs are very good at taking care of me when everyone is gone. 

I hope 2008 was better for you and that 2009 is better for everyone!!!

It's almost "Turkey Day"

We don't have a lot of news to share. We are trying to stay warm. The kids are keeping us busy with their activities and birthday parties. Nolan had three this weekend. He had so much fun. 

Is it too early to wish for a snow day? I think it is the cold weather making me think about it. Maybe it will happen before December. It's so fun to have a surprise day at home with the kids. 

Weightloss update:  I started limiting my carbs last week and I've lost 6 pounds. My doctor said I had to eliminate the carbs as much as possible. The first few days are horrible, but I'm doing okay now and I'm not having a ton of cravings anymore.

In an earlier post I said I had an upcoming surgery. On December 3 I am having a hysterectomy and bladder suspension. Apparently, my uterus is falling and pressing on my bladder. This causes some issues that will only get worse if we don't fix it. John and I had decided that our family is complete so this isn't a sad thing for us. If we need to add to our family we will just add a four legged friend down the road (after ours are gone of course).

Take care.

Karen

IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!!

I can't tell you how happy I am right now. This is an amazing event for our country. Either way it was going to be a huge step for our country, first minority or first woman VP. I never thought that I would see either in my lifetime. I really feel like we would have been alright with either candidate. My heart was with Obama though. I think that McCain should have been elected in 2000. I truly feel that our lives would be different if he had been our president. I was even willing to vote outside of my party back in 2000 if he had been the candidate. I respect John McCain. I think this night would be different if he had chosen a stronger VP. 

I don't envy Obama. I wouldn't want to clean up the mess our country is in right now. I do believe that we will see the positive outcome of this election in time. Change can't happen overnight regardless of who gets elected. We will need to be patient for awhile. I think that the task at hand will be handled well by Obama and will support and respect his decisions. Natalie was able to witness this and she is very excited. We have tried very hard to inform our kids about the election and tell them the issues and how each candidate felt about each. We didn't push them to believe what we believe and didn't actually tell them who we were voting for until they had their school vote. They could even feel the excitement he brought to the election. I'm so proud that my kids were able to be so involved in this. I don't care who they voted for, I'm just glad they are into it. 

I'm never going to be able to sleep tonight. I go from smiling uncontrollably to crying tears of joy. 

I'll be back on Wed to update you on the family. We are all good, I am having another surgery though.

Who wants to join me on my weight loss adventure?!!

Today I joined Weight Watchers. I've done this before, but this time it's different. I can feel the motivation in me. I just know I can do this and will eventually get to my goal weight. I'm not going to set any records for how long it takes, but it will happen.

Did that sound convincing enough? I hope so because I'm not really all that excited about it. I mean I want to lose weight, but I hate the slow process. For my health I have to do this or I will have Diabetes or have a heart attack or something. Also, I can't have this much weight on my joints. I don't want to be in a wheelchair ever, let alone before I'm 40. 

I came to this decision when I found out my insurance doesn't cover Lap Band surgery. Can you believe I was thinking of this? I still wish I could have it because I would have to lose weight then. I hate to throw up so I would never overeat because I would be too scared to throw up. 

So, anyone who wants to join me on my weight loss journey is welcome to comment and keep track of your success. I will blog my good weeks and bad. There will be some bad weeks I'm sure. We are almost to the Holidays. 

My goal is to lose 70 pounds. I don't have a timeline for this. Hopefully, it won't take me 10 years, but if it does then so be it:-)

Tuesday

Did I tell you that my Gallbladder did not weigh 60 pounds like I was hoping? Bummer huh? I guess I'm going to have to lose weight the hard way. I am still not allowed to go back to work since my surgeon hasn't signed the form to be faxed to our risk management office. It isn't because I'm not well enough, it is because he has been too busy. So I still sit and wait. I'm feeling great though. I just wish I could sleep on my right side again. I always sleep on my right. I'm not sure what hurts because my incisions aren't over there. It must be organs moving around. Maybe they are dancing around doing aerobics in there so I can lose weight in my sleep. You'd think that I would be cleaning or doing something else that is constructive since I feel pretty good but can't work. Nope, I'm sleeping. Today I slept until 11:00. I get up with the kids from 7-8 and then crawl right back into bed. 

So, I decided to start weight watchers on Monday. It started off great. I had my Fiber One bar and then a WW meal at Applebees. Then I came home to my homemade choc chip cookies and I had like 10. They were my best batch ever. Why would I bake these on Sunday when I know I'm starting WW on Monday? Good question. It's one of the ways I sabotage myself into being fat. Will I always be fat? I hate that word, but I feel like I have officially earned it at this point. I can be called that. On the BMI charts I am "seriously obese". Isn't that sad? Is it sadder that I would be happy to just be "obese"? I haven't been on the healthy weight range on their chart since a few months after I got married nine and a half years ago. Even when I lost a bunch of weight a few years ago I was still "overweight". Okay, enough about that.

On to some funnier topics. Nolan had a friend over tonight and Nolan asked him what his dad looked like and his friend said, "my dad has big poop!" I bet his dad would be thrilled to know that we now know he has big BMs. The play date went well and the boys were funny. I'm used to girl play dates so this was interesting.  Boys and girls do play differently. John took the boys to the park while I stayed home and did nothing. I should have cleaned, but I sat on the couch and watched part of a TLC show about people who have babies and didn't know they were pregnant. How do you not know? I gained 50 pounds during pregnancy and had a big belly. Maybe if I didn't know I wouldn't have given myself permission to eat for 2. 

Natalie had swimming and cheerleading tonight. She normally loves both but she is so tired this week. I think this warm weather is throwing everyone off. I know I'm ready for cool weather. 

Boji loses some of his manhood on Friday. He goes in on Thursday night and gets fixed on Friday. I hope he recovers alright. He likes his crate so he may be spending some time shut up so he doesn't try to wrestle with the dogs. The other day Sadie (collie) was laying on the floor sleeping and Boji took a running start and pounced on her. It was pretty funny actually. Sadie wasn't sure what hit her. They proceeded to wrestle for another hour or so. Those two are close. Bailey is still the boss though and just barks now when she feels they need to settle down. 

Do you ever feel like you are losing your mind? I dropped something in my room yesterday and I can't find it. I know the area it fell, but it is gone. I'm thinking of it because it is my memory card for my camera. It is a new one. I never delete pictures, I just get new memory cards. I know this is so dumb, but I don't want to lose pictures. Even though sometimes I'll have 5 pictures of the same pose and could easily delete 4. And I still have pictures that need developed from 3 years ago. 

Are you all excited that the new shows are back on? My favorite new one is "worst week". It is so flippin' funny. We watched CSI:Miami last night. I won't say anything to ruin it in case you haven't watched it, but I found myself wondering why I watch such a dumb show. I'll keep watching it because I'm hooked. My mother-in-law has be hooked on House Hunters on HGTV too. I watched one from Boston and this lady was so excited because she found a great 2 bedroom apartment for $480,000. Can you even imagine? I will never even afford a whole house for that and she is excited about an apartment. Grey's Anatomy is the one I'm most looking forward to. I saw the preview though and am already irritated by it. Why can't Derek and Meredith just be happy? I think she is just destined to be one of those unhappy people.

Okay, this post is so scattered and confusing. I'm so tired and it is showing in my writing. I apologize about that. I'll come back soon to write a new one that is easier to read:)

Life without a Gallbladder

Well, surgery was a week ago and I am feeling pretty good. I was in a bit more pain than I thought I would be when I woke up from surgery. Morphine is a good friend:) Once back to my room I just wanted to sleep so they said I could go home as soon as I kept some fluids down. Luckily I didn't ever get sick so I was good to go two hours after surgery ended. I then spent the weekend in bed. John was a saint and kept the kids busy so I could rest. He also lifted my little brat Boji into bed when he cried so I could cuddle with him. John and the kids were going to John and Debbi's on Friday night so John wanted to put Boji in his kennel. Well, when John tried to pick him up he snapped at him and wouldn't let him take him away. He is so sweet and protective:) You know John loves this dog when that didn't even make him mad. If Sadie did something like that he would still be mad at her. 

My mom came over on Monday to spend the day with me. We had a nice time and chatted the day away. The rest of the week was just full of resting. I feel refreshed today and am ready to drive again. I haven't even left our yard since last Friday. I've never stayed home this long. If it weren't for the internet, I would have gone crazy by now:)

The kids are doing well. Natalie has started back to swim team, cheerleading and Girl Scouts. The latter two started this week. We have the best girl scout troop. Our leaders are phenomenal. Both kids are invited to a free Karate party this weekend with friends. Maybe Nolan will decide he likes it after that. I'm not pushing it though. 

I am healed just in time for Nolan's first field trip. We are going to the Chet Ager Nature Center tomorrow. I am hoping I have the energy for a group of 5 year olds. With our without surgery, that can be a task. He gets to ride in a bus for the first time. He has been doing the countdown all week. I'm so glad I can go. I didn't tell him until he got home today. His teacher told me he had told her he didn't 'sink I could go. He is so sweet, he said, "how are you going to get there? you can't drive." 

John is doing well. His medicine is working well for his RA. His pain started coming back a few weeks ago so they added Prednisone. He goes back in October for a re-check. 

We are enjoying the Husker football season so far. And this is a great fall season we are having. The kids have been playing outside a lot. All week I would go from the bed to the couch to the front porch to watch the kids. John will be so surprised that the kitchen is clean and some of the laundry has been done. 

Well, I better run. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Karen

Pictures

This is Nolan at fan day at the stadium. Look at those eyes!
Look at the stuff he talked John into buying him.
He wanted this hat, John drew the line here.
Here he is on the field. He looks so little.
This is Boji on the day we got him. He's had a haircut since this picture. He is so sweet.
I love this picture of Bailey Sue. She looks like she is smiling. 
Here is Natalie and Boji. She loves him so much!!

Read the post from yesterday because it is new.

Surgery

Well, I am having surgery on Friday. I went to the ER 3 years ago because I had a ton of pain on my right side by my rib. I thought I had Pneumonia or something because it hurt when I would breathe. The doctor did a ton of tests and was sure it was my Appendix or my Gallbladder. When blood work came back looking okay, he thought I had a blood clot in my lung. Luckily, that was not the case. Anyway, he sent me home with meds for an infection of unknown cause and told me I'd be in for gallbladder surgery within the year. Well, fast forward one year. I was sent to a GI doctor due to constant indigestion and burning in my chest. The doctor did some tests and asks me to do a Pipida scan. I chicken out until this month. I finally had the test a few weeks ago and my Gallbladder is not functioning. I don't have stones, but it doesn't empty. It's the reason I feel like there is a baby's foot stuck in my rib non-stop. 

I think I'm the only person I know that can gain weight with a bad Gallbladder. Most people feel sick and don't want to eat. I, on the other hand, mistake that feeling for hunger and try to feed away the pain. So in 3 years I have gained 60 pounds. Yes, you read it right, 60 pounds. I'm just praying that my Gallbladder weighs 60 pounds and I magically get back to a decent weight. If you want, you can say a little prayer for that too!! :)  All in all, I am ready to get it over with. Plus, I get a week off. I just hope I feel better afterward. I have been feeling crappy for so long I think I forget what it's like to feel normal. The downside to surgery is that I can't take my arthritis medicine so I am in pain. It goes from joint to joint. At least I know it is short lived and that I will be better soon. 

Okay, enough about me! Everyone else is doing well. John is responding to his meds very well and seems back to his ornery self. He is golfing now and then. Not always well, but that isn't the arthritis. We watched the Huskers play on Saturday. It was touch and go until the 4th quarter. 

The kids have their first illness of the year. They both have sinus infections. We spent some time and money at Target pharmacy and they are getting back to normal now. Natalie starts swim team at the YMCA tomorrow. She is so excited. Nolan is still set on just going to school and being a "plain old brother".  He is so exhausted from school so I think an extra activity would be too much for him. He bought his Halloween costume already. He is the white power ranger. He looks way too cute. This will be year three of being a Power Ranger. First it was green, then red, and now white. Natalie isn't sure what she wants to be yet. 

Well, I better run. I will try to get on to post some pictures this week. Remember, pray for a sixty pound Gallbladder:)

Karen

Finally, an update!

Hello everyone! We are getting into the new school year and the kids are loving it. Nolan has five girlfriends already. What are we going to do with him? Natalie is having a great year and is glad to be back with her friends. She actually said she doesn't like weekends because she misses school. Who's kid is she? I've heard nothing about anything to do with academics yet though.

In an earlier post I mentioned that John wasn't feeling well. After a battery of tests that included, West Nile and Lyme disease among others, it was determined that he has Rheumatoid Arthritis. He saw the Rheumatologist and is now on Methotrexate and Celebrex. He seems a lot better. I am so happy to have my husband back. I was getting so worried. The diagnostic phase is always so horrible, even if the diagnosis isn't great, it's better to get to a treatment phase.

I don't know if you all know that I also have a form of inflammatory arthritis. I was diagnosed in March. Mine is Psoriatic Arthritis. I take an anti- inflammatory for now. PA is a lot like RA, but PA also affects your spine and includes Psoriasis, but isn't as progressive. The doctor wants me to also start on Methotrexate as soon as I can, but I found out this week that I need to have my Gallbladder out. Three years ago today I was in the ER with side pain and a high fever. They kept me over night and were sure it was my Gallbladder. They didn't find any stones so they sent me home. Since then I have had bouts of pain and have been on high dose Prilosec for two years. My GI doctor had me do a Pipida test to see if my Gallbladder was functioning. Apparently mine is only functioning at 8%. So out it goes. H0pefully, my pain and heartburn will go away after surgery. My doc said there is always a chance that the pain is from something else so we won't know until it is out. I meet with the surgeon this week to find out when I have it done. Two weeks after surgery I can go on the Methotrexate. It is an immune suppressant so it wouldn't be a good idea to have surgery with a lowered immune system. 

Our new puppy is doing great. Boji just seems like he has always belonged here. Potty training is going very well. He does have an accident here and there, but that is to be expected. He sleeps in his crate while we work and runs the house when we are home. He has completely learned to boss Sadie around. So far, Bailey is the Queen dog in the house. Sadie and Boji like to wrestle and play but if they get too wild, big sister Bailey breaks it up by getting between them and pushing Boji away with her head. It's so cute. She constantly looks like she is thinking, "how immature!"

The kids are well and love school, hopefully that continues. Natalie starts cheerleading next week and swim team at the Y on the 8th. She will be busy, but she needs that. Nolan just wants to be a 'plain old brother'. All day kindergarten is wearing him out so he is beat at the end of the day. Maybe this spring or winter he will be ready for an after school activity, but we'll just have to wait and see. 

John and I went to see the Huskers first game last night. It was Bo's debut and it was really exciting. He has brought new life to the Husker nation. We had a great time. My dad found us in the second half and sat by us. My mom was at our house watching the kids, which they love. Then today John's parents stopped by to see us and then we ordered pizza. We had a nice visit. The kids love when they get to see all of their grandparents. 

Tomorrow is a stay home day!! I love those. I hope you all have a great Labor Day!! Don't do too much, you need to rest.

Also, add comments if you get a chance. I'd love to see if anyone is reading the blog. 

Thanks,

Karen

First Day of School!

    Nolan and Natalie ready to go!
Nolan outside the gym ready to meet his class!

Natalie looking cool outside her classroom doors. She didn't really want lots of hugs and kisses, she was ready for mom and dad to leave:)
The whole neighborhood crew. Nolan is so excited to be a part of this bunch.

Overall the first day went great. Nolan was excited and ready to go. Natalie was super excited to see her friends. Nolan decided to wear an old outfit instead of any of the new ones I bought. He looks good in green so I agreed. At our school, the kindergarten kids are dropped off and the parents go to the cafeteria for snacks and a talk by the principal. A few minutes later they bring in a video of the first five minutes of kindergarten and they get each kid on there. The kids were singing and dancing. There were no tears by any of the kids, I wish I could say that about the parents:) 

Back from Okoboji

We just got back from my favorite place, Okobjoji!! I just love this place. I've gone almost every year of my life and have so many great memories. I am so excited that I get to share those memories and pass new ones on to my own kids. We stayed at a newer resort called Bridges Bay. There is an indoor water park and a really nice outdoor pool with a swim-up bar. My sister and I swam up to the bar one day and drank Margaritas:) Yum. We had a suite that we shared with my parents and my sister's family. The rooms were beautiful. Natalie liked hanging out with her big cousins, Jake is 19, Ryan is almost 17, and Cory is 13. She felt like big stuff with them. They were so sweet and took her down the water slides. Nolan enjoyed wrestling with them and teasing them. 

On Tuesday my parents rented a boat and a tube. Natalie went tubing for the first time and loved it. She did it the first time with Cory, and then alone the second time. She looked so cute out there on the tube smiling away and giving the thumbs up for my dad to drive faster. John also did it and did very well. He was sore but it was worth it I think. We went to Arnold's Park after we went boating and had a great time. We did one of those log rides with the kids and they loved it so much they wanted to do it again. I only had enough tickets left for two so they did it alone. John was  a nervous wreck with them up there all alone. There is a huge drop and then you get sprayed with water. I've never seen John so nervous. Natalie and I rode the Ferris Wheel while John took Nolan on some kiddie rides. 

We all agreed that one more day would have been nice, but we all came back rested and with great memories. I will post some pictures as soon as I get them uploaded.

My birthday is Saturday, I turn 34. I am finally getting my puppy!! I pick him up on Thursday. We don't know what we are naming him yet. Nolan likes Max. I like Bear or Boji. We'll have to get to know him first. He is a Shih Tzu and he is about 14 weeks. John's b-day is next Tuesday, he'll be 35. He is getting a Boston Celtics watch. 

John has been having some joint pain and swelling the past few months. We are getting him into a Rheumatologist soon. Wish him luck and say a prayer that all is fine. He just isn't himself with all this pain and he is getting very tired of it. I can't blame him. I told him that the puppy could help him feel better:) He didn't quite agree that it would be the cure, but is getting used to the idea of another dog.

Take care!

Karen

Summer is flying by!!

I can't believe it is the middle of July already. Being a teacher, it is always a little sad to see the summer flying by. It feels like we haven't done anything, yet I'm exhausted from being so busy. My kids and I love summer. We love the pool and being able to sleep in and hang out in our pj's until 11:00. We've stayed busy though. Natalie has swim team everyday from 12-1 and up until this week, I've worked a few hours a day while the kids went to day camp. 

Natalie has had two swim meets since the last time I posted. She is really enjoying it. So much so, that we've decided to let her swim for the YMCA's swim team throughout the school year. It should be so fun for her. It will be a great way for her to get her continue seeing her new friends and for me to get a chance to exercise while she swims. Backstroke continues to be her strongest stroke, but she prefers the freestyle. She is in a medley relay too, she swims the backstroke and the other three swim the other strokes. They have a strong medley team so they could do some damage at the city meet. The city meet is in two weeks and is at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex. She is pretty excited for that. I'm excited because it isn't at 8:00am and it is inside (away for the extreme heat/cold or rain). Saturday's meet was so cold. It was 60 degrees when the meet started and by the end, it was raining on them. On Monday, the ribbons get passed out. Natalie was so excited to get a yellow one. The funny thing about that is that it is a 4th place ribbon and she was more excited to get it because it was yellow than she was to get a blue first place ribbon in the relay. Oh the innocence of children.

Nolan is as entertaining as ever. He was thinking he may like to do Karate next year. Then he decided he would rather be, "just a plain old brother" instead. He is really starting to like swimming too. Until last week, he would not jump into a pool that his feet couldn't touch. Our pool has zero depth entry and it has spoiled him. Anyway, he was always too scared to jump in if he couldn't touch, even if I was holding him. Well, thanks to some peer pressure from two boys his age, he is now jumping in and swimming about 5 feet on his own. Nolan has met two boys who will go to Kindergarten with him next year. He is a real trooper when it comes to going to Natalie's practice everyday. He plays with his new friend Joe everyday. 

John's bank had its annual company picnic this weekend. We were at the Champions Fun Center, which is like an indoor arcade, bowling, maze. Outside there is a mini golf and go-carts. It is always a lot of fun. John's parents took our kids home with them to spend the night because John and I were playing in the golf outing. I hadn't played in 9 years and it showed. We had a wonderful time with some great people and great weather so it was hard to get too upset about my many whiffs. John's mom Debbi had her hands full with our kids, and all of the cousins. We love that all of the cousins get along so well and that they get the opportunity to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house together.

One more funny Nolan story, then I have to go find my rugrats. Debbi and Josh (brother-in-law) took all six grandkids to church. Since three of the kids are catholic they went to catholic mass. This is where I lower my head in shame and admit that we aren't great church goers, in fact, we are down right horrible. We really have good intentions every week, but well, okay there's no excuse. Anyway, we are on our way home from golf and John says that he is tired and I say the same. Nolan pipes up from the back and says, "ugh, me too. At church, you know the God place?, we had to stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down. My legs were just saying they wanted to sit." Apparently we need to make this our family goal this year:)

I hope this finds you all well!!! Take care and keep in touch.

Karen

Weekend

What a weekend. A huge storm hit Omaha on Friday night. There were a few hours of worry, but thankfully everyone I know is safe and sound.

Natalie had her second swim meet on Saturday. I got to be a timer. It was so fun. I actually got to time Natalie for a race. She did awesome. She swam the backstroke, freestyle and a freestyle relay. In the backstroke she improved her time by 13 seconds. She swam the 25 meters in 30 seconds. I was a very proud mom! She ended up getting a second place ribbon for the relay and would have received the 2nd place in the backstroke but we put her in the novice group so she just got a participation ribbon. She earned 2nd though:)

We went to Omaha on Sunday to my parents house. My nephew Wayne was here from Knoxville Tennessee. He looks so good. He is a personal trainer so he looks very healthy. I need him to train me. Daisy, Randy Jr and Sr, and my sister's family were there as well. It's always fun to see everyone.

It seems we have a ground squirrel making a home under our patio. I've contacted Orkin and hope to solve this issue soon. My neighbors gave me their advice, let's just say I could never do what they want me to do. Their plan involved drowning and stomping. Ooooh! I'll keep you updated on our little problem. Nolan is my nature boy and will be traumatized if he sees anything brought to their death. They are really cute though:)

I better run. I hope this finds you all well and happy:)

HOW EMBARRASSING!

I just read the last entry and just noticed all of my spelling and grammatical errors. I will do a better job of editing from now on!

Weekend Fun

Natalie had her first swim meet on Saturday. I was so nervous for her I thought I might be sick. I wasn't worried she wouldn't win, I just wanted her to do well (and not drown). Her first event was the backstroke. She did so well. She kept looking back to see if she was at the wall. She told John after the meet that she was so excited after the first race that she thought she was going to cry. Her next event was the freestyle. She did her first dive and did very well. She didn't get a ribbon, but she doesn't seem to care. I didn't think she was competitive,  but apparently she has inherited some of my family's trait because she told me today after practice that she WILL get a ribbon next time:) I'm just amazed that anyone can swim like that and not choke on water. I still have to plug my nose.

Now for my funny Nolan moment. As I have stated before, we have been looking at dogs for sale online and in the paper. Well, on Sunday there was a section in the paper with local babies. I pointed out our neighbor girl out to Nolan and he said, "why are they getting rid of her?" I burst out laughing of course because I realized he thought it was just another add in the paper. Of course we explained it to him and then we all had a good laugh. I'm glad he says these things out loud because I would hate for him to think people advertise babies in the paper.

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far. It is going to fast, as usual!!!

Take care,

Karen

Back from Kearney

I had a great work trip to Kearney. I love having the opportunity to see my co-workers away from work and the stresses of home. We had a nice time shopping, sitting in the hot tub, eating, having a drink or two, and just having some interesting conversations. On Tuesday night we even had a complete stranger walk in our room and use our restroom. We had all been in a room chatting. Our group had dwindled from about 15 to 5 and we had the door latched so it wouldn't lock. There was a knock and then the door flew open and a very drunk man walked through and proceeded to go to the bathroom with the door wide open. The guy at the front desk was already on his way up because someone else had called to complain about him. This man was part of our conference and was there at the first meeting on Wednesday am. 

I was at swim team and lessons with my kids this morning. They are doing well and loving it. Natalie is competing in her first swim meet on Saturday! She is doing the back stroke and freestyle. Wish her luck!!

I'm signing off for tonight. I 'm very tired.

Karen

Bailey and Sadie

Bailey is the yellow lab mix and Sadie is the collie mix. They are both 9 right now. Bailey has a torn ACL, but she is a trooper and gets around great. They are my fur-babies.

consequences of swmming

Well, it's only been one week of swimming lessons and swim team and Natalie already has swimmer's ear. She is pretty miserable at times. Our doctor told us about a solution you can put in it after swimming to dry the ear canal. She is not able to swim for 3 days, that is like torture for Natalie.

We have had such a busy week. We went to Omaha yesterday to see my friend Molly and her three children. I hadn't met her baby yet, he'll be 1 in July. They are so cute. They play hockey so my kids were able to see them in all of their hockey gear. So cute. After that we went to cookout with some old family friends. Nolan had a great time but Natalie started feeling bad during dinner so we left early.

After a rush filled week we all crashed today for over 2 hours. I don't know if John and Natalie fell asleep, but Nolan and I had a great snooze as we snuggled together. He is so cuddly. 

We are still keeping our options open about a dog. I really want to rescue a dog, but I keep getting e-mails from local people with puppies. So far I've received pictures of ShihTzus, Bishons, Shiba Inus and Shorkies. They are all so cute. If you are interested in a dog, check out the website: hua.org. Read the stories of each dog with a box full of kleenexes near by. My favorite is Hitachi, he is so cute and Hitachi Haney sounds so good:)

John wants me to remind everyone to root for the Celtics on Sunday. He has been a fan for years, back in the Larry Bird days. If they win tomorrow I will ask about the dog again. I know not to bring it up when they lose or during a game. 

This week I attend my yearly meetings in Kearney. It is usually a fun trip. Last year I got sick so I'm hoping I have better luck this year. We leave Monday night and return Wednesday night. 

Natalie's first swim meet is next Saturday. I'm not sure if the young ones compete yet or not. I should find out this week. I'll post when I know more!! 

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all of the dads!!

Karen

The first entry:)

I'm totally copying my sister-in-law, Jamie, but I've always wanted to blog too. This will be a place for us to share pictures and fun stories about our family. With a 7 and a 5 year old, we are always busy and full of stories. 

Today we went to the pool for 5.5 hours. The kids are now sacked out of the couch while I am typing this. Before they crashed, we decided to ride along in my sister and brother-in-law's camper to Beatrice for their oldest son's baseball game. It was really fun. Nolan thought it was amazing that a moving vehicle could have a stove and a bathroom. Oh, how sheltered he is. The kids did nothing but eat crap at the concession stand while we tried to watch the game. Luckily, nobody has thrown up, yet:)

Natalie is becoming quite a fish and thanked me for signing her up for swim team. She loves meeting new people. It has also given me the opportunity to meet some new people too. I've been so lucky to be surrounded by great people in the activities she has chosen. We couldn't have asked for a better group of parents in her girl scout troop and now with swim team. 

Hopefully, this will become a fun place for people to visit. I hope to include some fun pictures of our entire family, including our fur-babies. I would also like to keep you all posted on our possible adoption of a rescue dog from HUA.org. I've almost talked John into it!!!! I'll keep you in the loop!