Yeah Me!!!

Thursday was T-Day or test day for the loving husband and I. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we have been practicing our butts off for this one. Normal time between tests is usually 3-4 months depending on when our master instructor can make it down from North Dakota. I'm not quite sure exactly when we tested last but I'm pretty sure it was in November. Silly me I assumed that the holiday season would mean that we would do testing sometime in February. WRONG! We were informed at the beginning of this month that the test would be the last Thursday of the same month. Needless to say we had our work cut out for us. As upper belts, more is expected of us than when we were in the lower ranks. We have more complex techniques to learn and we are expected to be able to do any of the previous techniques that we have learned. Combine that with difficult board breaks, any manner of physical fitness testing and required knowledge of Korean terminology and the result is one mother of a test. This test did not disappoint. We knew going in that the test to Red Belt was going to be tough since this is the last belt before testing for the Black Belt. The kids class was testing before the adults so I planned on arriving and dropping the kids off around 7:30. Hubby had called earlier in the evening to let me know that his plane had landed and he was going to be able to help out with the kids testing. We were both worried that he might be late to our test so this was a real relief. I got there and got the kids off OK and then warmed up and waited for the test to begin. The hardest part for me is the waiting. I have horrible test anxiety and have on many occasions worried myself into a tizzy during this time--I know it doesn't take much. Not having the hubby there also makes things more difficult in terms of me calming down since we are the only two Brown Belts. I have no one to help me review the stuff one last time. Fortunately, the class is composed of a great bunch of people so there was much lighthearted bantering going on amongst those of us waiting outside the testing area. Nerves on edge, I decided I needed more hairspray which brought laughs from the males. Hey, I did not want my hairstyle to come undone in the middle of the test. Last test I lost half of my braid and it was flopping in my face: very annoying. This test I skipped the braid and went for the ponytail. After returning from the locker room (hairspray is provided) I felt quite confident that there would be no floppy hair. I really drew the laughs when someone commented on whether or not I had spent time earlier in the day painting my toenails. Of course I did. I have to do the test barefoot so I'm not going to have naked toes or chipped polish. I will admit that it was my nerves that were making me a little more neurotic than usual. The kids test went late as expected so we didn't get started until around 8:30. I had seen a little bit of the kids test and knew that our Master Instructor was in a physical fitness kind of mood. The upper belts had spent time doing push-ups, sit-ups and other tasks while they were waiting for the lower ranks to do their stuff. I was hoping that he would be merciful to us---NOT! We started out the test by all of us doing our pattern at the same time. Not a big deal, I do patterns really well and don't get screwed up when several people do different patterns at the same time I'm doing mine. We were also informed that Brown Belts were to keep moving at all times during the test. This meant there was going to be no real rest period for us while the lower ranks were testing. OK, I can handle this.... We of course were the first up to do our techniques. We had one set of 30 that we needed to do, another set of 6, and a third set of 7 completely different combinations of blocks, kicks, and punches. To keep things straight we have nicknames for about 90% of what we do. This comes in really handy when one forgets the technique. A quick whisper from the pad holder or person next to you is usually all it takes. Hubby and I are known for our colorful and sometimes R-rated nicknames. I will admit that my use of the nickname "fake it" sounds dirty but actually is a song in my ipod That particular sequence involves faking the kick and then doing the kick for real. One nickname that we did not make up but decided to use was the term "Chuck Norris" to describe a low fist to the groin area followed by the same hand backfasting the person in the face Ala Chuck Norris. I was pretty nervous that I would have a massive brain fart and totally forget my stuff or my anxiety would get a hold of me and I'd get the deer in the headlight look and freeze up. I'm happy to say that did not happen. It sounds strange but if I think about what it is I'm doing then I usually screw up. What I have to do is go on autopilot and just do the technique, kinda like a dancer remembering his or her routine and doing it without thinking. Once we finished then the hard part began. We were instructed to go down to knuckle push-up position and stay there. Knuckle push-up position is hard enough as it is but we were on a hardwood floor, no mat. While we were in that position, the lower belts did their testing. I will come out right now and say I'm a total wuss. I do not like pain and I do not like sweating for extended periods of time. Holding myself up in that position for an extended period of time was not fun. I decided to do the one hand knuckle one hand flat and alternate hands technique after it became apparent that we were going to be there for a while. I'm so glad I lost three pounds last week. For those who want six-pack abs, just go into the push -up position and hold it there. I'm not sure how long we were there (at least 10 minutes) but it felt like forever. After an eternity he decided that we should do jumping jacks--oh goody. I did not even bother to count them. Let's just say when you are doing jumping jacks for 10-15 minutes straight there is no need to count. Actually, the calf cramps got to me so I alternated between jumping and twisting side to side and running in place. Poor hubby also had to do his Hapkido test so after he had us stop the motion hubby got to spend the next 10 or so minutes doing that test. I spent my time pacing back and forth--we were supposed to keep moving and I did not want to get consequenced for not doing so. After he finished it was time for the breaking. The nursery was due to close so I excused myself and got the kids. We had arraigned for our babysitter (she's a member of the Wellness Center) to meet us and keep an eye on the kids for the last part of the test since it is very difficult to watch kids and break boards at the same time. Hubby and I were last to go. I knew there was going to be two breaks and I knew that one of them involved concrete but that was all I knew. Hubby went first. Our break was a twin kick. There are a few ways to do this one. One can jump up like a cheerleader doing the splits and break the boards , one could run forward and jump and kick through the boards as seen in cheesy Kung-Fu movies, or one could stand there and do a front jump kick with each foot and break the boards. Hubby and I chose method number three. The only rule of the break is that both feet must be off the ground for the entire break. This one was a little tricky for the hubby. He would break the first board with one foot but not break with the other foot. It took about three tries for him to succeed--very unusual. It was my turn next. This is a hard break but for some reason this one did not freak me out like the previous ones did. My first attempt broke the left board but not the right, DRAT! My second attempt was a success. Both boards snapped in half and I jumped up and down screaming with joy. I also got a hug from hubby. Next up concrete. There were supposed to be four paving bricks ( not the really tiny ones , the kind you use as edgers in the garden or landscaping) but one had gotten broken accidentally while we were setting up. This setback threw our Master Instructor off a bit since he had in his head how he wanted usto do the break. OK, Plan B. Poor hubby, he got to do the "Kill Bill" break. Two slabs were placed on top of each other with spacers and he was supposed to punch through them. He only was given the distance from the tip of his fingers to a closed fist to do the punch. In other words put fingers down, curl into fist and punch, just like in the movie "Kill Bill" After several painful tries, he managed to break the top brick. It was my turn next. I have never broken concrete before so I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. My break was the karate chop through one brick. To do this successfully requires using the whole body and body weight, not just an up and down arm motion. After getting a few pointers from the Master Instructor I was as ready as I could be. Once again I should have been totally freaked out by this break, I mean the self-hold knife break really messed with me but I wasn't feeling the fear. My comment as I began was something to the effect of "Well , what the heck, here goes". Much to my complete and total surprise the brick broke in half and almost landed on my foot. I really wish someone would have had a camera and taken my picture at that moment because I'm sure I had this totally stunned look on my face. I got a big hug and kiss from the husband. My hand didn't even hurt. I guess when you do the break right it doesn't matter what it is you are breaking it doesn't really hurt. Hubby had one more breaking attempt and this time it was same punch but no space between hand and brick. Just put fingertips down and punch. The difference between the two breaks was in the first break, Jim could curl his fingers up into a fist and then punch down and in this break he had to curl his fingers into the fist while punching through the brick. Sorry to say that after several painful attempts by both hands he was forced to stop. He was given one last chance with a different break---the head break. A towel was placed over the brick for some cushioning and he was given instructions on how to correctly do the break without injuring himself. Thankfully he broke on the first try. Finally and hour after we first started the test we were awarded our Red Belts. I'm going to be sooo sore in the morning.

For those who watch the Disney Channel there is a character named London Tipton played by the actress Brenda Song who's catchphrase is "yeah me" so that is where the title comes from.

Oh where oh where is my.....

Yes, it has been one of those weeks and it's not even over yet. Andrew decided to have a screamfest Sunday night which resulted in him sleeping on Daddy downstairs for a good portion of the night. By now I'm pretty good at deciphering the nature of said nocturnal behavior so I decided to make an appointment to get his ears checked. This was more for the reason that I had run out of the ear drops and needed more of them. I decided that early afternoon was a good time. That way I wasn't trying to rush around in the morning getting there and then try to beat Matthew home. Last week Carolyn had swimmers ear and I for reasons unknown took the 10:30 appointment . Matthew gets home by 11:05. I didn't make it, the driver was about three minutes early. Anyway, once I got Matthew off to school and Andrew (who woke up when I got Matthew out of bed) back to sleep and early afternoon doctor appointment made I went back to bed and crashed for an hour or so until Carolyn woke me up. Knowing that there was no reason to rush and get everyone ready I had a casual, laid back morning. Now usually when I have forgotten something there is a little dinging that goes on in the back of my mind. Normally I hear it but have no clue what it is I'm forgetting until it is too late, I just know that I've forgotten something. That morning there was no ding ding. Matthew got home and I got lunch ready and then proceeded to get Carolyn dressed and ready for school. Around noon as I was waiting for the van to show up and wondering why the driver was late I began to wonder if I had made a mistake and maybe there was no school. I knew that this week was a short one due to the Early Childhood Screening but I was sure that was later in the week. I went to the calender and looked. No, it was Monday and the Monday before was the no school holiday and....OH MY GOSH IT'S MONDAY, I'M SUPPOSED TO TAKE CAROLYN TO SCHOOL BECAUSE IT IS MATTHEW AND CAROLYN'S THERAPY DAY!!!!! Did I mention that it was noon and Carolyn's class started at 12:15? I quick finished dressing Andrew and called fro Matthew to come back upstairs and put shoes and coat on. Hubby of course picked this time to call home and got quite a laugh when I told him what I had forgotten to do. Carolyn made it to school on time and I apologised to Marie, the therapist for being an idiot. The rest of the day wasn't too bad.. I made it to the appointment on time and the doctor could not tell if the tube was blocked or had grown shut. I got my drops and some antibiotic. I'm not sure why I filled both prescriptions. I wanted to call the ENT and ask their opinion but since I had to do swimming lessons later that day I opted to call the next day instead. I mention getting the prescriptions filled because after we had done the swimming lesson and met hubby for supper I went home and as I was turning the van off I remembered that I needed to go to the pharmacy. At least I remembered. I'm always so brain fried when I get done on swimming lesson nights. I'm so glad that this was the last week of them. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact the kids are learning how to swim and they totally love going. I was stupid for signing them up in the month of January. Everyone knows that the most popular New Year resolution is to get back into shape so every January morons from all over the three state region come forth and plunk down money for a gym membership because "this year I really am going to work out and lose weight". What ends up is people showing up for swimming lessons that run from 4-8 Monday through Thursday and regular members showing up for fitness classes that run about the same time and then the newly resolutioned idiots showing up to partake in the fitness classes or start a work out routine. Lucky me, our lessons were 4-4:30 so I was able to get a decent spot. Leaving the place at 5 was another story. Last week I was actually stalked in the parking lot by some *&^%*&#@ in a car who literally followed me and the kids all the way down until he saw where my van was parked and then he proceeded to block traffic both ways while he waited for me to load up the kids and back out. Two days later another moron also blocked the flow of traffic waiting on me to back out. After spending the past month rushing over to get there on time and dealing with parking lot imbeciles and selfish bastards who parked in the 10 minute drop off zone for way more than 10 minutes (-15 and snowing and the cars in those spots were turned off covered in snow) I was looking forward to not having to do this anymore. This week is also the one week that the loving husband had to be out of town. Fortunately it's only an overnight trip so no huge deal, except that our next belt test is tomorrow night. Because we are such a high rank, we have a lot of stuff we are expected to know. Some of it we learned these past few months and much of it these past few years. In order for us to not look like total dorks the loving husband and I have been practicing as much as possible whenever we can. In the month of January this means fighting the parking lot traffic and finding a spare room to use---not very easy. We have also been spending our weekends practicing. Big test combined with hubby being gone equals some sort of crisis for me. Tonight was it. Swim lessons were from 4-4:30. My original plan since the husband was in Indiana was to do the lessons and then go home for the rest of the night. Plans changed last night when another student asked me it I wanted to practice tonight. I asked our instructor if she had the evening free and she did so the three of us agreed to meet at 7:30. Hubby was jealous, I got to get in one last practice session and he was stuck in another time zone reviewing the notes in a hotel room. Because of the swim lessons earlier I opted to throw something in the crock pot and then zip home and eat before coming back. Note to self, use the warm setting not low when making goulash. After eating we had about an hour before we needed to go so I spent my time cleaning up supper and reading the paper. Five minutes before we were supposed to leave Matthew comes upstairs and asks Carolyn where his glasses are. It seems that Captain Brainchild gave his glasses to Carolyn so she could give them to me. I have no idea why I was supposed to get them since we were planning on going out for the evening and he was not sleeping or taking a bath during the time we were at home. I of course ask Carolyn what she did with the glasses and she of course doesn't know. I ask her if she has them "no" Did Matthew give them to you? "no" Did you take them from Matthew "no" Do you know where you put them ? "no" Matthew decided that it is Carolyn's fault the glasses are missing since she was supposed to give them to me. I reminded Matthew that no, it is his fault since he gave them to his sister. Needless to say Matthew went without glasses tonight. After coming home and putting three very tiered children to bed I called the loving husband and then set out to find the lost glasses. Matthew was downstairs in the couch so they are there right...one torn up couch later: no luck, Same for the recliner, the playroom, her bedroom, his bedroom, my bedroom, the bathroom. I started looking in the really weird places after that. I finally (pure luck) found them in the living room under a chair. Ironically it was the same chair that I had Carolyn sit in when I was putting her shoes on to leave. Now I'm off to find a few hours of sleep.

Big step, small accomplishment

OK, so this past week I have been trying to figure out how to actually live on 22 points a week without going crazy or going ballistic. For those who missed last post, I joined Weight Watchers this past week. I found out that by going online and tracking everything there it is much much easier to record your food. It still is a megga pain to type things in and try to figure out exactly what it was that I had and how much of it I actually ate. There is a section that lets me save different food choices so I can just drag and paste so that is helpful. The hardest part is making the food choices every day. I know, what's so hard about that...low cal and low fat and you're done right?? Not exactly. I'm a see it and want to eat it type of person so that means eliminating those things that I would most dearly love to eat from my line of vision. This past week on two different occasions the loving husband has brought home donuts for the kids. In one case it was a whole box of powdered sugar covered blueberry donut holes. What saved me was a box of Weight Watchers cakes that were of a much lesser point value so when my willpower was at the breaking point I just had one of those with a half cup of milk and crisis solved. We also eat out more often than we should so that has been a challenge. Salad bars can be both a blessing and a curse depending on what is available. There is only so much lettuce salad one can eat and I really hate it that Hy-Vee only puts real bacon bits out. I'm one of the very few who actually prefer the fake ones on my food. Even the much touted healthy Subway can be a problem. I don't know if I counted everything up right but one 6 inch sub had the potential to cost half my daily points. Thankfully I don't really like the higher calorie ones and I prefer no cheese on my sandwich but I do have to have my mayonnaise. Lets just say that I will not do too many 6 inch grilled chicken with mayo in the future. The other challenge I face is the whole correct serving size/portion control thing. To get the low point values not only do I have to eat that particular food but I can only eat so much of it. Even those foods with a 0 or 1 attached will cause weight gain if I overdo it. Do you know how small 2 or 3 ounces of meat is?? I'm getting used to dumping my cereal into a measuring cup and the same with my milk. I'm also a stress eater so during those times when I'm really stressed out I want to do chocolate or a Coke. I'm glad I had made the resolution to drink more tea and less soda before I decided to do the Weight Watchers thing. I did buy the Coke but it is still in the fridge and I have driven past Casey's all this past week with no stopping in for a pop or donut. I even did McDonald's drive thru (for the kids) and did not get a Coke. Next week Thursday I have another belt test so I have been putting more hours in practicing so that has helped. I'm still wanting to increase my activity level since I have a ton of physical fitness stuff to do for the black belt test this summer. Last night after we got home from a practice session we decided that it would be fun to go to the church spaghetti supper so we loaded up the kids and told them we were going to eat at the church. We got there and the parking lot was full. Just as we were getting ready to get out of the car we both had the same thought---isn't there a 5:30 Mass on Saturday night? We checked the announcement and the cell phone calender and figured out that the supper was the night before--OOPS! Needless to say that with three hungry children we did not go to church. We went to Pizza Ranch instead. If there was a challenge to me then that was it. I actually did better that I thought I would. I did do a large plate of salad with the fat-free dressing and I had iced tea instead of Coke. One can not do Pizza Ranch without having pizza so I had one slice of Canadian Bacon and pineapple to satisfy me. I avoided the yummy fried chicken, ranch fries, homade potato chips and onion rings (great reluctance here) but did take a small helping of mashed potatoes--I love those. Pizza Ranch is also known for cactus bread (a dessert pizza) and that is on my don't want to give up lists so I had a piece. All in all I ate much less than I usually would have and did not do as much greasy deep fried as I wanted to but I did not go away hungry. Of course I did go over points but only by 1.5. I guess if I hadn't eaten that apple for an afternoon snack I would have made it. OK, it was that piece of cactus bread that did it but I chose to eat it knowing how much it was going to "cost". For those who might be wondering if I lost any weight last week. The answer...yes, 3.4 pounds. Not a lot but better than nothing.

I can eat what??!

My good friends Tobi and Shawna invited me to join Weight Watchers with them. I'll admit that Andrew really took a toll on me body wise and I swear the ghost of my pregnancy weight gain still haunts me. I don't do scales, what good is it to look at a number and obsess over it over and over again and give it some magical control over your life. I prefer the clothes method of weight control. If the clothes start getting tight then it's time to do something about it. Well the jeans have been getting a little tighter and I've got some really big events in the next few months so I decided that maybe losing a few pounds wouldn't be such a bad thing. I also know that my eating habits as of late haven't been helping matters very much. I really need to remember that breakfast is not a double chocolate muffin or filled donut and potato chips are not considered vegetables (even Funyons). That being said I approached the loving husband and asked if he would mind if I did Weight Watchers. He of course thought it would be a great idea. Not that he thinks I'm fat or anything..I have been complaining about my flab lately and he knows that my willpower level is about the same as toddler's attention span. The meeting they wanted me to attend was on Saturday morning at 9:30. Tobi told me to come early to get signed up and expect to stay after the meeting to get specific details. The weather Saturday morning was usual January--Icky. The temps had warmed up but the wind was really blowing the snow around and you couldn't tell if you were driving on pavement or black ice. I made it almost on time and got signed up. The meeting itself wasn't too bad. There were all ages and body types so I didn't feel too out of place. Afterwards those of us were were attending their first meeting were asked to stay so we could be given more complete instructions. I was the only one of the 15 or so who had never done Weight Watchers before. I got my books and "tools" and off I went. Tobi stayed behind to let me know that there had been a very bad accident and I-90 was closed so take another route home. I had planned on meeting the loving husband and kids at the Wellness Center instead. We usually do the cardio kickbox class and I was missing it to do the meeting so I told Jim that I'd stop by when I was done. Unfortunately, the meeting in Brandon is at a time I can not make so I need to go to the Sioux Falls meetings. I might try going at an earlier time so I can do the class with Jim. We met up and practiced our Tae Kwan Do stuff for a while and went over to Royal Fork for lunch. I was still quite confused with all the information I had gotten at my meeting so I decided to officially start the next day. I did eat a lot more considerately than I usually do and skipped the Coke with my meal. Hubby had a few errands to do so he took Matthew and Carolyn with him and I took Andrew home with me. When I got home Shawna had left me a message saying that the accident on I-90 involved a blue minivan and she was hoping I had made it home alright. I called her back so she wouldn't worry. I spent much of the rest of the day trying to figure out what it was that I had signed up for. For those who don't know, Weight Watchers uses a point system to track weight loss. You are weighed at every meeting and this determines the amount of points you can use during the week. Every food has a point value depending on what it is and how healthy it is for you. Points that are high in fiber and low in calories have the least point value and those that are high in fat, calories, and sugar have greater values. You are taught how to figure out a food's value at the meeting and given a slide chart to help out. If I want to, they sell a point calculator that does this for you. Tobi swears by hers. They also sell books with lists of foods and how much point value they carry. I paid for those. Every day I start out with my full point value which for me is 22 so my goal is to eat 22 points worth of food without going over. Sounds easy...right? They also give you an extra 35 points a week in case you go over or want to eat something that would put you over on points. Of course if you use all of these points you don't lose weight as fast but they have determined that by giving members this option more people lost the weight and stayed on the plan. If that wasn't confusing enough then you earn activity points throughout the day that counter your food points. There is a sliding scale for that too. So I start the day with my magic number and write down all that I eat or drink and subtract the points as I use them. This is where it gets tricky. If you want to eat a pancake you look it up and determine what kind it is, is it homemade or box--homemade is more points. I ate two so that's two points. 1 egg is 2 points so that is a total of 4 points used on breakfast. Of course I ate my pancakes without butter or syrup (don't worry I actually like plain pancakes) but if I wanted that I'd have to add those points in too. So you get the picture. If I want to eat it, then I need to know how much it will "cost" me and decide if it is worth it. My beloved cream filled donuts are 8 points apiece so I don't think I'll be eating them to much. I was paging though my one book Saturday night looking at all the different foods they have. Some meats are obvious like pork, beef, or chicken. Some of the other meat selections are a little more regional or offbeat. I expected duck, goose, pheasant, deer, and even bear but armadillo??? I did not find porcupine (Carolyn wanted me to find it) but I did find beaver, opossum, raccoon, and squirrel. I'll let you all know how I'm doing as I try to figure out this crazy new lifestyle that I decided to embark on. Oh, 8oz Coke is worth 2 points so I'm going to go get a 6-pack of cans tomorrow when I go shopping. Some things are worth the extra points.

Moving On

Well it was time, I finally did it. What was it I did? I moved the toddler bed from Carolyn's room to Andrew's and Matthew's room. It's not like Carolyn was using it anymore. We got her a "big girl" bed last September so that is what she has been sleeping in these past months. It was just a lot easier to leave the bed in her room and let her play on it and use it to keep the stuffed animals off the floor. For the past few weeks or so I have been letting Andrew sleep on Matthew's bed on occasion and it has worked out OK. Usually it was in the afternoons when I would get home from running errands or grocery shopping and the little guy was passed out in the car seat. It is a lot easier to put him on a bed than try to get him in the crib. He hasn't figured out how to climb in and out yet but it is only a matter of time since Carolyn loves to climb in and play. He is defiantly getting older and more independent. The high chair stands unused in the kitchen, a testament to his wanting to eat at the table with the rest of us. Of course he also likes to sit ON the table when eating meals or helping his siblings color and draw. I really should get out the bleach and clean it up so it can go back to the consignment store for the next family to use. The potty chair is somewhere in the garage and that is next on my to do list. Soon the crib will be all that remains of the baby years and that too will be gone. As much as I have loved the past six years, I know that is time to start moving on and go forth into the next phase of parenting. Andrew is no longer a baby. Today I scheduled Carolyn's kindergarten screening and next month I meet with the school to discuss Matthew's goals for first grade. At times it is hard to believe that the kids are growing up. Part of me just wants to keep them small and here with me but the rest of me knows how incredibly selfish that is. I look forward to my children learning and experiencing new things and going out on their own. I want them to go forth and not be afraid. My job as a mother is to guide them and reassure them as they start their life journey. That being said, I still wonder why God let me have the job in the first place. Maybe it's like the musical "My Fair Lady" only instead of trying to teach me to talk proper English, He is trying to prove that anybody can learn to be a Mother. If that's the point, then He has his work cut out.

Ewww Gross

This has been a very eventful week. Monday was supposed to be my really busy running all over the place day. The kids have therapy at school and after that Matthew had a doctor appointment at 1. Swimming lessons were at 4 and Carolyn gets home at 3:15 so the plan was for Matthew to come home at 11:05, take all kids to school for therapy, leave Carolyn there for preschool, stop by McDonald's for something for Matthew to eat, drive to SF for the appointment, come home around 2, attempt to do a nap (Andrew not me), wait for Carolyn to get off the van and head out for swimming lessons. As you would guess, that didn't quite happen. A snowstorm was in the forecast for that day and was supposed to hit between 1 and 3. When I left for the school the sky was grey and there were a few snow flurries. I got there and as soon as we started, there was an announcement over the PA for teachers to check e-mail. Yes, they decided to do a 1pm dismissal which meant no preschool. OK, I'll just take all 3 kids to the appointment and hope the doctor isn't too miffed. But by the time I was leaving the school at 12:15 the wind was blowing like crazy and snow was coming down. YUCK! I was having some doubts as to my master plan so I decided to do McDonald's and see how bad things were. In town was yucky and I then decided that there was no way I was going to drive in this weather with small children. I went home and rescheduled the appointment. Unfortunately, the next available was in March. I called about the swimming lessons and was told that the Wellness Center only closes when the Mall closes. The mall does not close very often. I still decided that there was no way I was going out in the weather so I called hubby to let him know what was going on and to remind him of the blizzard warning up in Brookings so class up there might not be that good of an idea. He did not go. Of course by the time he did get home from work the sky was clear, the moon was out and the roads were pretty decent. We (he) decided that we should do our cardio kickbox class and let Matthew do his fitness class so we loaded everyone up and off we went. Tuesday morning was not much better and school had a two hour late start. No school for Matthew so he got to sleep in. The bus driver didn't realize that there was no Kindergarten and showed up at 10 to get Matthew. Carolyn did have school and Matthew did have his speech and OT so Andrew and I ran over to the post office and I finally mailed my Christmas letters. One word of caution...we did not get the bad letter finished so those of you who usually enjoy our "so wrong" sense of humor will have to wait until next year. The weather was still pretty crappy but we have Tae Kwan Do testing at the end of the month so off we went. I'm glad Jim was driving because if it was up to me, we would have stayed home. Wednesday was finally sunny but just because the sun is shining doesn't mean that it is warm out. I did not have anywhere to go so I had plans to catch up on housework and get the laundry under control. When I went down to the laundry room I noticed a funny smell. I also looked over to where the cat's area is and noticed that it looked messier than usual.. Thinking the kids had been trying to feed the cat again or Andrew had been playing in the cat's water dish I got a paper towel and prepared to do a quick clean up. I quickly realized that this mess was not something the kids did. It smelled terrible like a cross between cat poop and cat vomit and the spots where I thought were water spills were actually slimy and smelly. We have a dark floor so I have no idea what it actually looked like. What I thought was spilled cat food was actually places where the cat had thrown up her food. The cat had been acting a little funny the past few days and on Wednesday she was pretty content to stay in her room and sleep so I knew something wasn't quite right. New plan...vet appointment. Matthew and Andrew came with me and we took Trina to her favorite place in the whole world (not) to see what was wrong. The verdict, tapeworms. In fact, she had several attached to her fur in the back and the vet had to pick them off. She was also explaining to me that a large or several large tapeworms would cause intestinal distress and the cat would be trying to pass it or them out either by vomiting or the other route. This is Ewww Gross of my title. Worms gross me out and anything in the internal parasite category does double gross out duty. I really like this vet, she has a wonderful sense of humor and spends time explaining things to you. She did tell me that she was pretty sure it was worms and not something Trina swallowed like a string that was causing the problem. Trina got a very delicious pill to swallow. The vet was the one who did the worming--yeah!!! and I was sent home with Pepto Bismol to give her a few hours later. Ever try to give Pepto Bismol to a cat? I wore half of it and the floor looked like something pink died. The other thing I really like about this vet is that she charges reasonable prices for her services. I paid $31 for the exam and treatment. Of course hubby mentioned that he had a 10 cent cure for the worms. I managed to make it home in time for Andrew to nap while I finished up the cleaning downstairs. I had used all of my litter on Sunday when I did the litter box but fortunately I still had some cheap stuff laying around so I was able to bleach out the litter box and put enough in for the night. We did swimming lessons and then met up with Jim at Hy-Vee for supper. Hubby wanted to work out and Matthew had fitness class. Because Andrew had used up an hour of nursery time out of the two hours they allow I decided to take him and run to Wal-Mart for a few things like kitty litter. It is so much easier to do that store with one kid instead of three. We got to the check out line and Andrew was doing his best cute, smiling and flirting with the cashier. All was going great until she asked me if Andrew was my grandson. GRANDSON???? WTF!!!!!!!! I answered "nope, he's mine" and let that stand. She was a little bit off her rocker anyway but do I really look old enough to be a grandma? I guess I should schedule the botox and color treatment. Hubby got a great laugh out of that one. Today I managed to go grocery shopping and did not get mistaken for a grandmother so I was very happy. I'm only hoping that this cold weather goes away. This morning was a balmy -25 with a forecast high of -3. I shouldn't complain too much. If I was still living by Aberdeen then I would have woken up to -45. Adding insult to injury is the fact that over on the other side of the state my parents are enjoying 50 degree weather. Oh well I guess that's winter in South Dakota.

New Year

Wow, a new year!! I still can't believe that the first decade of the new century is almost over with. Unfortunately, the illness that started Christmas didn't go away. Carolyn actually got sicker as the weekend progressed and we were worried that there was something really wrong with her. I took her in that Monday and she tested negative for influenza and appeared to be getting slightly better. We were supposed to go to Chamberlain, SD on Tuesday to meet with my parents. I called Mom and warned her that there was a definite possibility that only myself and the two boys would be coming out due to Carolyn being so sick. Shortly before I was supposed to take off Jim and I decided that Carolyn was well enough to do the trip if we doped her up with Motrin and kept things simple. She did really well. The kids had a blast swimming in the hotel pool and eating supper at Al's Oasis with Grandma and Grandpa. Since there is not a lot to do we spent the evening in our room watching TV and visiting. I do have to laugh because our hotel was across the street from the "Sugar Shack" and Matthew wanted to know what the sign said and of course after learning the name he wanted to visit it. Try telling a 5 year old that a place with a name that sounds like a candy store is only for adults. Actually it wasn't as degenerate a place as I first thought. It was a store that sold adult "toys" and other products and not a topless bar or movie place. We got back on New Year's Eve Day and decided to eat the lasagna that we were supposed to eat the week before. The kids were pretty tired and slept the way home so bedtime was a little more challenging. Andrew passed out minutes before the ball dropped so I wandered back to the computer room and gave hubby the first kiss of the year. I had thought about getting a babysitter and doing something later in the week but by Saturday Andrew and Matthew both were running fevers and not feeling too well. I had taken Andrew in the day before because I thought he had another ear infection but he did not. The strep test cam back negative but when I went to Urgent Care the next day they told me that the strep they were seeing was the kind where the quick test comes back negative so they gave me the antibiotics. Matthew had the ear infection. I also managed to break the passenger side mirror that morning. I was trying to back out of the garage without hitting hubby's car parked in the driveway. He had pulled a little too far forward and to the right so I had to back out at a light angle from the garage to avoid the collision with the car. Unfortunately, I was a little too far over to the right and the mirror smacked the edge of the garage door and broke the plastic on the mirror---oops. Hubby wasn't too happy with me. Monday morning I sent Matthew off to school only to have the school nurse call me at 8:30 because Matt's eye was red and icky looking. I told the nurse that he had been on antibiotics for two days but she still wanted me to call the doctor and have their office speak to her. I made the call to the doctor's office but on a Monday morning it is hard to get a return call within a reasonable amount of time so after about a half hour of waiting I called the school back and the nurse agreed to let Matthew go back to class since it was probably his ear infection that was causing the eye problem. I did get my call back from the nurse at the doctor's office and she agreed that it probably was the ear infection but it could be a viral eye infection too so she called in some drops and I decided to make the school happy and took Matthew home. Unfortunately we did not get to do swimming lessons that night. Hubby went up to Brookings for his class and I stayed home with the kids. I was actually glad I took Matt out of school as he still wasn't feeling very good and spent quite a bit of time sleeping. He finally felt better yesterday as did Andrew. I'm hoping that everything has run it's course and we will be back to full strength. I plan on doing swimming lessons this afternoon. I also got a call from Matthew's speech teacher today. She was concerned with his hearing. He was having problems repeating sentences the day before. I called the South Dakota School for the Deaf and surprisingly got an appointment this afternoon for a hearing test. Today will be busy. I also found out last night that our next belt test for Tae Kwan Do will be at the end of this month. I've had to miss a few classes due to the kids being sick so I need a little extra catch up practice time. I did manage to break my boards though. Just before Christmas I got the hand break to work. One of the black belts gave me some great pointers on how to best hold the board and how to move my hands and body so that I was able to hit the board effectively. Actually, once I figured out how to do it, the break was not that hard. Last night I finally got the two boards to break when I kicked it. That one was a matter of speed and having my kick land at just the right place on the board. I had been trying to push my foot through the boards when I was kicking and that was not working. It took one good quick snap kick and those boards went crack and that was all she wrote. I should mention that my two board holders were making sure that the boards were nice and tight and that if I were to crack them with my kick then they would break apart. No, they didn't deliberately bend them to the point of breaking but it does help when the holder or holders know what they are doing. One final update on the Christmas letters...I have them written and some are printed off. The bad letter is still in need of work so I'm sending the good letters out. I hoping that by this weekend all letters will be out.