Merry Christmas.

I did not sent out cards this year so I am now wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!! I hope you all get your Christmas Wishes!!! What ever they may be. Love You All

BURRRR

It is freezing here today. It's like 15 degrees outside right now and yesterday it was tank top weather. Crazy. Thanksgiving was nice. Beki and George were here. Peyton and Beki kicked our butts at Pictionary. No fair! The next day our friends Travis and Rebel came down and stayed a few days. That was cool, and they want to move here after seeing the city and all it has to offer. That would be my dream come true. I so need a friend down here to do girly things with. I have an interview today, it is the 2nd at the community outreach center. So I think that is a good sign. (knock on wood). Wish me luck! It sounds like an ok job. Not my dream job by far, but a job. I heard there is something like 148000 people looking for work in the State, so beggars can't be choosers at this point. We still have not sold or rented out the house in Casper, it is such a bad market up there, I don't know what we will do if it does not go soon. I can't believe that Brooke's wedding and ring ceremony is less than two weeks away. It will be great to see all of you there. Drive Safe. I hope the weather is good for all of our drives. See you all then.

Snow Man Army

So last weekend I don't know what got into me but I put up the snow men. Not all but some, I even had Josh do some lights. So I guess I will be in the X-mas spirit once again. I'm still looking for a job, however I have an interview on Monday at the Community Outreach Center, being a receptionist. Its a center that places people with IQs under 70 in foster homes and group homes. Its better than nothing, but still not what I want to do. However anything is better than nothing right now. Its kind of in a bad part of town also, the South side. I put the house in Casper up for rent, and I put an add in the Casper paper and on Craig's list. I have gotten more responses from the add on Craig's list. I never checked out Craig's list before, its kind of neat, however stay away from the personal adds. There is some Freaks out there, especially in Colorado Springs. FREAKS!
I'm looking forward to seeing Beki and George next week, they are going to come down for turkey day and to spend some time with us. That will be nice. Cant wait to see some familiar faces.

More Positive Today

It is Friday the 13th Masons Birthday! He is now 7 can you believe that. It is so funny he lost both of his two front teeth in one day. So I guess he could sing that old song all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. So things here have been sort of hard. Finding a job for me is not as easy as I would of hoped. I have gone to all the job services, scoured the paper daily and yes even applied at a crematorium. You know where you burn the dead. So not what I went to college for. The traffic here is crazy, the other day it took me 40 minutes to drive 7.5 miles. Other times its smooth sailing. I'm very home sick, and I miss my friends, and my old house. It is killing us making these two house payments along with all the bills for each. We are so broke it hurts. I'm afraid that if we don't sell that house soon we may have to go into foreclosure and file bankruptcy. I so don't want that, but what do we do, I mean we have to eat. My depression has been out of control, today is the first day in weeks that I have felt like myself. I spent days in bed just crying and sleeping. Its been hard on me moving here. Its hard to except that my house is gone forever. But......I'm trying to stay positive, lets see, the radio stations here kick ass and are so much better that Wyo. I live in a very nice house, my family is still together and even though we are struggling we are still a family. There is a lot to do here if you have money. People here are nice, and marijuana is legal here. (not that I can afford any) So there are some things to look forward to. I am so not in the Christmas spirit this year, can you believe that not one snow man is on display. I know so not like me. I want to boycott the Holidays this year, Bah hum bug.

Blah blah blah

I have tried to write a blog post over and over and over again. But it just comes out way to blah blah blah and negative so I have written down some words from a song I love by Seether called Fine Again and it sort of sums up how I am feeling about this life and where Im at right now.

It seems like every days the same and Im left to discover on my own. It seems like everything is gray and theres no color to behold. They say its over and Im fine agin here. Try to stay sober, feels like im dying here. And I am aware now how everythings gonna be fine one day, too late Im in hell. I am prepared now seems everyones gonna be fine one day too late. Just as well.
I feel the dream in me expire and theres no one left to blame it on. I hear you label me a liar cuz I cant seem to get this threw. You say its over I can sigh again here. Why try to stay sober, when im dying here.
If you want to hear the whole song go to myspace/seether.

Trick or Treat

Halloween was once again nice and warm. Here are some fun picutres from Last night.

Adjustment Disorder

Ok so maybe moving and getting away from it all is not as easy as I thought. I still love the house, however am starting to not like the white carpet. Yes White, who in in their right mind would want to have white carpet in their house. Maybe if you were like 110 years old and never had anyone visit, walk, eat, or anything than that wouldn't be so bad. That is the least of it all. I got the kids all in their new schools. Im not to thrilled with Peyton and Masons school. The whole Medicare thing is a nightmare, trying to transfer or get medical for the kids has not been easy and is still not happening. Such a head ache and stressful. Josh's insurance does not kick in for 6 months, and with Jayden's braces, that's another ordeal and a stress. Plus Alltel has been giving me the run around, because surprise there is no alltel store here in the Springs and Im constantly roaming even though Im on the national plan. Jayden's school is alright, big High School and im not complaining or saying that it is a bad thing but at his school he is the minority. Such diversity here, I think im in culture shock. Living most of my life in Wyoming where there is hardly any diversity and then coming here where there is everyone is going to take some getting use to. I like it and think it's cool and all I just need to learn Spanish, and Ebonics. LOL So there is a lot left to figure out. Im home sick, I don't do well with so many changes at once. It is all setting in now, this is my life now, this is where we live. I know we will be ok, its just hard right now.
Josh likes his job, but he commutes 2 hours a day, that is hard on him, He seems to be getting it all figured out and comfortable. He is going to do well there, and hopefully will bring home the big bucks. I already have many ideas about spending those bucks. After all that's what this is all about right, more money, new opportunities. New shopping for me, Gucci here I come. NOT. We have to sell that house in Casper, its going to be very cumbersome until we do. But a girl can still dream, can't I? I need to find a job, and something to do with the lil ones after school while we work. I need to make some friends, I love Josh and all but hes not the best listener, hes a man, enough said. So just a little lonely and frustrated, but I guess all that is to be expected when you rearrange your life.

Im Beat

Moving is sooo not fun. I remember back in the day I could have everything packed in 9o min and be gone. I was so unorganized with this move, I even left the entire silverware drawer behind. I had the flew, way bad, don't recommend it. So I spent three days in bed and before I knew it there was only two days to pack. What a cluster****. Anyway a crew came up and loaded it all up for us, even things that we didn't want packed, of course only one spoke broken English, so it was hard to communicate. But they were super efficient and they even drove the U-haul down here and my van. Josh, I and the kids came down the next day along with Kathy and James. They were so much help. We all worked our butts off. There are nick knacks, boxes, clothes, ect everywhere. Its a mess. However it is the most beautiful home that I have ever lived in. The back fence needs a little help as well as the yard. But Im in AWE and can't believe that this is actually my house, well rental, but mine for now. It is fabulous. I am so spoiled. I love love love it. However we have already had some issues with Comcast, the cable company, not sure what to do about that.
Josh drove all the way back up to Casper today to go get his last check. His old boss called him and said, You have been a great employee so I think that you deserve a severance package. Guess what, he got all the way up there and just got his ass chewed out and by Dick (names have been changed to protect the bastard) and no severance. Im so glad he is done with him, and we can move on to better and brighter tomorrows. I hope he remembers the silver ware drawer content this time. James and Kathy also left this morning so I have been working my ass of trying to get this place together while trying to deal with the kids. Who by the way were not very good today. Hopefully Josh will get back at a decent hour tomorrow so we can at least enrol the kids in school. But I may wait another week just to torture myself. There is just so much to do, and this traffic sucks here. It is going to take lot to adjust to for me. But Im sure in no time I will get use to it. So thats how its been so far. I have decided that I dont like moving, I put it up there with root canals and child birth, It sucks. But what a beautiful house. Some of the colors need changed but thats nothin but a thing for me. I love to paint. So there you go everyone, we made it, and it is a great city. Come see us soon family, well Beki anyway. The rest of you live way to far away.

Two weeks to go.

I can't believe that in exactly two weeks from now we will be Colorado residents. Our new house is all ready to welcome our family, we still have to put the utilities and all that fun stuff in our name, but wow things are moving fast now. The kid's last day of school here will be on the 25th along with Josh's last day of work at Western. I have become the crazy don't make a mess lady, as our house hasn't sold yet, but we get calls almost every day for it to be shown to someone new. We do however have two interested parties, but they are in the process of figuring out their financing. I wish they would hurry up already, I don't like this don't make a mess lady, she is way too up-tight about house cleaning and she is driving me crazy.
Update, James is out of rehab and back with Kathy. He came over yesterday to borrow some money so he could go look for a job. I gave in, he seemed sober and down on his luck so I felt a little sorry for him. I hope the best for him, but........... you get the point, no need to say anything else. Where should we have Thanksgiving this year, should it be at Sybil's new haunted Victorian Mansion or our humble new abode? Unless Beki insists we do it at her house again, but I think she deserves this year off. Wouldn't you all agree? Anyway we are beside ourselves with excitement and lets hope the stars align just right so we can have this house under contract before we make the mad dash to Colorado.

all that glitters is gold?

We had a great and productive trip to Colorado Springs. However we found out that we don't qualify for the dream house, however the second one on our list is basically ours. It is still a super nice 3 level with a beautiful kitchen with Spanish tile and filled with vaulted ceilings with sky lights, plus two full baths and a nice sun room off the back with lots of windows. You all know how I love to decorate windows. I know I need help. Josh is beside himself with excitement, as well he should be. His new company is even going to pay for full benefit's for all of us, which is a huge relief, and a great incentive for all of us.
Trying to sell this house is a whole other ordeal. You don't realize how much you are owned by the things you own until something like this comes up. We have had a few interested people but nothing substantial so far. We are going to have another open house this Sunday, but after that I'm not sure what will happen. We have decided that if it doesn't sell by Halloween then we will start to rent it out, and ask someone we trust up here to be the property manager.
Raider is going to come with us, I just cant do it, I cant put him down. Sometimes he runs around and looks at me and I remember that cute little puppy that I fell in love with 7 years ago. He still has at least another 6 years left in him, so I will not be the executioner.....yet....But he better shape up and quit being a mad pisser.
I have not talked to my mother in a year, and I called her and left a message letting her know that we were moving and if she wanted to see her grand kids one last time before we leave she could have that option. What do you think happened, of course she did not call. Our achievements for her must only mirror her failures. That is all I will say about that, because I know they have blogger Spies who watch for excessive bad language and derogatory content. Why give her the satisfaction. I know all of you love me and my kids not matter what and that is all that matters. So here we go on the roller coaster, right now we are just heading up the hill, I can see the twists and upside down turns ahead and the butterflies are starting in the pit of my sole, but one good thing about roller coaster rides is that they eventually end.

Thank God for Xanex

Our house is looking so clean and uncluttered, it's like I don't live here anymore. This Sunday while we are in Colorado our house will be having an open house. Let's hope someone loves it as much as we have and decides to buy it. If not we are going to have to rent it out, which hurts me worse than a tooth ache or even having a baby. We all know how MOST people treat rentals. All these changes, you think I would be a mess, however I have discovered the magic of Xanex, it is the wonder drug for me. All the stress melts away and I can still function and think clearly, but all of the moodiness and anxiety are gone. Im on a very low dose along with some Valium, so life is good now that I am properly medicated. LOL. We will meet Josh's new boss on Sunday and they will work out all the details of his employment. I guess his Secretary will be there to entertain me while they haggle, and do what ever they are going to do. I didn't want to go because I didn't think it was my place to be at his Interview or negotiations but Russ the new boss insisted that I come. Which makes me feel good because his current boss treats me like ****. Russ even wanted us to bring our kids, but if you know my kids, than you know that would be a huge undertaking. Saturday we meet with a Realtor who will take us around and show us some rentals that I picked out from Colorado Springs MLS. Most of them are within 30 miles or so from where Josh will be working. We are not sure that Raider will make the move with us. He is losing his mind., He has seizures, bites everyone but me, growls, snarls, pees on furniture and beds, and hes just senile. So I hate to say it, but he may be put down before we move. No one else would take a dog like for very long, so maybe its for the best, or maybe Grandma Julie could make a fancy diaper for him like what she has for Maggie. Lots of tough decisions right now. Lots going on.
For the first time in my life, I feel like an adult. Making some very grown up decisions, and weighing the risk and options. Sometimes you have to take the chance even it means giving up everything and everyone you know. Even if it means giving up the home you love, and leaving it all behind. I don't want to look back 10 years from now and wonder what if. We are just going to dive in head first and see what happens. It could be the best thing ever or the worst, but if we don't try then we will never know.

BIG NEWS

Josh has decided to take a job in Colorado Spring, well out side of there in a town called Yoder. However Im a city girl and I have insisted that we live in or around Colorado Springs. You know I can't live without my nail salons, tanning salons, and malls. I have researched it and C.S has about 400,000 people there. Big change. We put our house on the Market yesterday. There is a big for sale sign in the front yard. We are sort of under pricing it because we need it to move fast. The worst thing will be having to make two house payments until this baby goes. Ive already looked at rentals on line in Colorado Springs and the market is very comparable to Casper, if not a little cheaper. We are already working with an agent down there to help us find something. Im a little heart broken because you all know the hard work that I have put into this house. It will be hard to leave my yard. Im looking forward to making new friends,(better quality people), and a fresh new start. Not looking forward to the traffic, Im so afraid to drive in Denver, and I heard people in Colorado Springs drive just as bad, but Im sure I will get acclimated in no time. I think that kids are very resilient and will adjust just fine. Hopefully if everything goes well Josh will be able to make 6 figures in 5 years or less with this new job, and it is already a big pay increase. So we would be crazy not to go. Plus I looked on line at the job market down there and saw that they have over 1000 job openings, which is great because Casper only has about 12. Hopefully my new degree will pay off down there. Either way Im excited yet terrified. We will be going down there to meet with Josh's new boss over labor day weekend, and checking out rentals also. So wish us the best of luck in our new endeavors.

Back 2 School

First of all I want to say that Brenna's wedding was fabulous. She was so beautiful and her dress was to die for. Dusty seems great and I wish them all the luck in their new life together. It was great to see everyone and to meet everyone. I wish we had more gatherings like that, but Brookies wedding is just around the corner.

The kiddos started school today, what a busy morning we had. For the first time Mason has a male teacher. His name is Mr. Becker, he is such a nice guy and he is about seven feet tall. Peyton's teacher is a nice young lady, her name is eluding me at the moment, but she seems very sweet, and she has two young daughters who go to Paradise Valley elementary also. Im excited for Peyton, 4th grade was my favorite grade ever because we got to go to South Pass on a field trip and pan for gold. All of the class dressed up like cowboys and girls and we got our pictures in the paper. Plus I was the teachers pet, so that was a bonus. I am so going to volunteer to be a parent chaperon if she goes there for a field trip. Jayden was decked out in all his South Pole gear, skulls and all, along with his new piercing. What can I say, he's 14. God help us all.

Josh and I are both actively seeking jobs. He still has his job, but is miserable, and is ready for a change. So if you hear of anything good in your area let us know. We are so not above getting out of Casper, as a matter of fact we would love to get the hell out of here. So don't be shy, I don't care where you live, if you see anything substantial for work post it on the blog.

OMG!

OK so my diploma came in the mail today. It finally feels real to me that yes, I did this. I kept thinking I would get a letter from the registrar office saying our records indicate that you still need 25 credit hours to graduate. But its the real deal. Im so happy. OMG I went to a job interview today for the University of Wyoming Out Reach Center. It would be managing 25 people and an entire building. Needless to say I felt so under qualified that I wanted to sink into the the chair and turn into a puddle of mush and magically disappear. It was like no interview that I have ever gone to before. There were people on the TV, like a tele-conference with people from the UW in Laramie, and someone across town, plus 3 people in the interview room with me. I felt totally out of my element. But I handled it as professionally as possible. I think that the only way I would get that job is if everyone else some how came up with the swine flew and slipped into a coma. One can always hope, right. But on a the bright side, any interview I will have in the future will be a piece of cake after that monstrosity. It was very intimidating, but I did the best I could. Josh and I watched a meteor shower on Tuesday night. It was magnificent, and for ever star that fell I wished that I would get this job that I just interviewed for. Maybe the magic of the meteor shower will help me a little. I can't help but blog now that I have nothing else to do. Hope to see all of Josh's family at Brenna's big day. Peyton is excited to go the the wedding, but she refuses to dance with her dad unless she is compensated by cash. She has made this point abundantly clear. Were not saying that Josh is a bad dancer, but........we will see how much he has to drink at the reception and you all can judge for yourself. Drive safe everyone and we will see you soon.

Fun Summer Pictures.

Fun in the Yard.

I did it!

As of today I am now officially a college graduate. I earned my Associates of Applied Science in Management with a minor in Information Technology. I want to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, especially Josh. I could not of done this without his support. I am thankful that he allowed me to stay home with the kids while bettering myself by getting an education. It has been hard on us financially and at times it has taken its tole on our relationship, but now it has all been worth it. Now Im done, and it feels great. I have already sent out 4 resumes and am waiting for some call backs any time now.
I have been going threw some heavy things lately. My emotional state is not so good. I went to a doctor last week and he had diagnosed me with PTSD, or crummy child hood syndrome, as he likes to call it. Also PMDD which is 1000 times wore than PMS, and Anxiety disorder. He put me on some pills that I tried to take but they were not the right fit for me. He also gave me a light dose of Valium which I can take when I feel the anxiety coming on. The Valium is ok, and I can take that but the other stuff made me dizzy, sick and zombiefied. I go back in 6 weeks, hopefully he will find something that works. I just can't live with my emotions all over the place any more.
Josh is going threw something also, I don't know if it's mid-life crisis, or just being unhappy at work, or what. He hasn't been sleeping well, he's just not himself. His B-day is on Sunday, perhaps that's what is going on. I always get a little depressed around my B-Day, I hate getting old. I know that right now financially we are not doing so well. There is nothing worse than the stress from finances. How are we going to do this or pay this or... I have probably already said too much. The kids start school on Aug 17th, way too early if you ask me. I hate to beg in cyber space, but if anyone could help with some school clothes for these kids that would be awesome. Hopefully this will be the last year we will ever be so broke. So please readers of the Owens blog send us your good vibes and keep us in your prayers and best wishes. We so need to be lifted up right now. I know good things will come, we just have to be patient, and find the strength in each other to keep it all together.

silence

I am now officially another year older. Sad, Yes, but looking forward to being another year wiser. Congratulation's to Brook and her soon to be hubby. That girl doesn't waste any time does she. Who cares as long as they are happy. I have been all alone this week because Auntie Beki has the children, and Josh couldn't get any time off work. I have done about 20 hours worth of home work in 3 days and enjoyed the quiet. I have heard noises in my house that have never been heard before like the clock ticking and the hum of the refrigerator. Silence is so nice from time to time. I have forgotten the sound of silence as my life is filled with constant noise. I have loved the time alone.
Foxy is in full heat and driving all the neighbor hood dogs crazy, but she only has eyes for Boogie, her white pom boyfriend. She is driving him crazy also, she is such a tease, but I think they will make some super cute puppies if they ever get to that point, I went as far as to pronounce them husband and wife so they could get on with it already. I want puppies so bad. I think my biological clock is ticking loudly, because I've been having baby dreams, and wishing I could have another baby. But that is so not what I want, so I think having some puppies will calm the baby craving. Damn female instincts.

Rain Rain go away, come again some other day.

Did I miss something??? I thought there was something called global warming going on. Hello Mother Nature its me Nikki, could you please let the sun come out to play for a little while? Perhaps the request will get a quicker response through syber space. It is 34 degrees out side right now, maybe the pool could double as an ice skating rink. What happened to summer? Im sorry you guys, I jinxed us by dragging out the pool. I'm afraid Ive doomed us all to perpetual winter. All the rain has been awesome for the yard and Jayden's mowing business. He is highly motivated to mow strangers yards for money. It's nice to see him doing something besides playing games all day long. He is such a good kid (knock on wood). A bit hairy, but I know under all that hair there is a good kid lurking somewhere. His friends at school have started calling him Sasquatch because of his hairiness. I remember just a few short years ago he would come home from school all upset because the kids would call him shrimp or midget. I guess he showed them because now a days there is nothing shrimpy or small about him. Not even his voice, he has the deepest voice Ive ever heard on a 14 year old.
I found Foxy a boy friend, he is a white pom just like Foxy, I hear the sound of puppies in the near future. Little, cute, white fuzy, $350 per puppy with cute puppy breath. If she only knew my plans for her. I can't wait. I love puppies.

Summer is here

I awoke this morning dark and early to find Mason already awake, and he had to tell everyone sleeping or not that summer is here. Summer starts today mom he cutely explained, because we have no school for a long long time. I bet Mrs. Pollock is going to miss me he said in his sweet little voice. I don't think that he could get much cuter, he is such a sweetie. Last weekend we put up the pool and wouldn't you know the minute we got it out of the shed it started to rain and hasn't quit since. I need to come up with some fun summertime activities quick so I can occupy these children and hopefully save what sanity I have left. We don't have many plans for this summer but to go to Brenna's wedding. I'm hoping that Josh and I will be able to have a little getaway without the kids sometime this summer. We so need it. I start my last class on the 8th, and in the mean time I've been looking for a job. I had a interview with Broker One, but I don't think I'm going to take that job, it's from 11 am to 8 p.m. and every weekend. I wouldn't get a day off or be able to see my family very often. I think that job would be perfect for me, but perhaps when the kids are a bit older or when I'm a bit older it would be better. I just can't see me missing everything with my kids to do that job. Plus the hours are way to much for someone with a young family. So the search is on for a 9-5. Im still awaiting your reservations with the kids this summer FAMILY. Don't be shy they don't bite, well not hard anyway.

It is fixed

We no longer have a marshy grassland in our front yard. Josh along with his friends Travis and Gary fixed the broken water main. Thank You guys for all your hard work. You don't realize how much of a luxury running water is until you don't have it. Other than that things are back to normal. The kids only have 9 days of school left until summer break. Jayden is considering going to a ROTC camp this summer. He wants to do the ROTC thing next year because he wants to go into the army after he graduates. I would rather him go to college, but when he's 18 I no longer have the say on what he does with his life. Perhaps he will change his mind within the next 4 years. Peyton and Mason don't have any plans, but to socialize and have fun all summer. I just cant wait to put up the pool. It always takes forever to warm up, but this year should be much better than last year because we cut down all the trees that shaded the pool last summer. We have cut down at least 15 trees the past 2 months. There were 48 trees on our property when we moved in, but they are mostly elms that are diseased and infested with elm beetles. Who ever lived here before us went crazy on planting trees. I hope all of you have a great summer and please don't hesitate to book your reservations with the kids in advance.

The Gods are giving me the FINGER!

Do you ever feel like the gods are giving you the finger? Lets see the month before last my boiler needed serious repair. Last month my car broke down twice in one week, and I saved the best for last, this morning we woke up to a marshy grassland in our front yard. We have a busted water main in the front of our house. It is where the rose bushes are right outside our kitchen window. I must of thought out loud that perhaps this month we would actually be able to afford groceries at some point. I feel as if the gods are all up there on their clouds high five -ing each other and flipping us the bird. I thought I was all paid up with Karma, but I guess she has other plans in mind for me. I must of been bad in my other life. So I guess it is true, if its not one thing its another. I'm soo frustrated right now, if you can't tell. Josh seems to think that he can fix it all on his own,. I hope he's right. Stay tuned for further updates or chapter II of The Gods are Giving Me the Finger.

Much needed break

It is official, I finally passed Accounting 1. I am so happy that I will never have to look at that again, however I have to take Accounting II this summer and then I will graduate in August. It has been a long hard road, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am excited to start the new chapter in my life. I have been on my mini vacation for 3 days now and all I have done is spring clean the house. Ive been washing curtains, shampooing carpets, scrubbing down walls and dusting everything. We have been working hard on the yard and it looks so pretty. I got way too excited and have already put out the patio furniture. I know it will be a mad dash to put everything up when we get our late May blizzard, as we always do. It seems like as soon as the flowers are in full bloom and looking beautiful we always get that heavy snow that crushes everything and then we spend the rest of the summer trying to get everything back to the way it was before the horrid snow storm. I would like to have a family gathering here this summer, maybe in early July. We have talked about doing this for years, and perhaps this year will be the year that we all get together and have some fun in the pool.

Just to let you know if anyone wants some children this summer for any reason at all just let me know. I have 3 adorable, hard working, perfect, well behaved, angles that would love to come and work for you. They don't eat much and are programed to do as you ask. OK so I embellished a bit, but you get the point. Their calender is wide open and I will even deliver them to you free of charge. Now thats a deal...

I love Spring.....

Spring is in the air, and I could not be happier. I think I may have jumped the gun though because I planted 2 new rose bushes in the back yard and 2 tomato plants in pots, just in case they need to be brought inside. After living in Wyoming most of my life I know that old man winter likes to make a vicious appearance in late April and sometimes late May. Lets hope hes on sabbatical for the rest of the season. The Easter Bunny came to my house on Saturday night and left about 80 candy filled eggs in my yard. He also left a cool fire pit that I've always wanted, for back yard evening marshmallows roasts, and ambiance when entertaining company, or myself of course. The kids are still on a sugar high, and funny they all woke up Monday morning saying that they couldn't go to school because they feel sick from eating too much candy. We had a nice family Easter dinner, and enjoyed our time together. Just four more weeks left of school for me, and I am SOOOOO ready to be done. However I have decided to take my last class this summer and be a college graduate by August. Then it's on to the job search for me in September. I just have to make it through the next four weeks and try to finish all my project and hopefully keep my sanity. I am working on a podcast that has to do with Mayan numerology for my Problem solving class, it's pretty interesting, but a big pain in the you know what. The kids are all doing great, and Josh gets to fly out to Saint Joesph Missouri next month to be dazzled by a new company who want to be Westerns new suppliers of building materials. It will be him and his boss for one night and 2 days. Lucky him.

Undone???

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am. The daily things that are my life bog me down and I forget to be thankful for what I do have. Sometimes I feel like my life is a series of undoings. For example the heaps of laundry I do every week are undone as quick as I do it. I cook dinner just for it to be eatin and undone, same with the dishes they are undone as quick as they are done. The housework is undone as soon as the kids get home from school. We pay the bills just so they can be undone and done again. Is that what life is? Just a series of constant undoings? Or are our doings meant to be undone? Do I sound crazy? I know that every woman who is a mother and a wife can relate to this concept of undoings.
What about the relationships in our lives that have been undone? Some of them are for the better, some of them never were for the better, and what about the hurt that they have caused that will never be undone. Will I always carry the baggage of all the undoings until I am done? Don't worry this blog post is now DONE.

Party.

Peyton had her 9th Birthday party on Saturday. We had 5 nine year old girls stay the night, it was a very long night full of scary stories, shrill laughs, and little girl arguments. I was exhausted by Sunday Morning. I took them all skating Saturday night, that was also the longest 2 hours of my life. She had a lot of fun and Josh and I decided to get her a Ginni Pig for her birthday. That was all she asked for and really wanted, so we gave in. It was a little white thing with red eyes. She named it Princess. I am speaking of it in past tense because after 2 days of having it as a pet, Peyton accidental left it on her bed Sunday night and fell asleep with it on her bed. Monday morning I awoke to a lot of screaming and crying. The cat had been let in by a mysterious culprit, and needless to say he had a tasty breakfast of Ginni pig delight. The poor Ginni pig was beyond help by the time we got it from Big Kitty. It took it's last breath in Josh's hands, and then went to the great dark beyond, which we call the dumpster. Peyton was heart broken and said she couldn't believe that she murdered her new pet. I told her it would be alright and that she didn't murder it the cat did. I explained that the Kitty thought it was doing her a great service by protecting her from what he thought was an intruder on his girlie's bed. We decided that we would get her a new one within the next few weeks, but if this one suffers a similar fate as the other, than that's it, no more Ginni rats. Peyton said she would name it Princess 2. I knew that getting a new pet would be an adventure however I didn't realize that it would be over so quickly.

Spring Break

Today starts my spring break. It is much needed and very much appreciated. I am doing quite well this semester and I am possibly thinking about going for my bachelors degree via the Internet through U.W. I'm just toying with the idea, I think I may take it slow and take a class or two a semester while working. I should be done with my Management degree by Christmas time. If all goes well I only have accounting 2 left. I am going to take the entire summer off to work on my yard, finish some house projects, and spend time with the kids. It has been so nice here in Casper, in the high 60's and low 70's which got me to re-evaluate my closet situation, which is quite an undertaking. I think I'm addicted to clothes. I can't help it, maybe I should look into a clothes anonymous group. Today is bitterly cold though, I wish mother nature would make up her mind already. I'm all cabin fevered and ready to go outside and play. I'm also sick of the high gas bills, our dinosaur of a boiler is only about 40% efficient, and a few weeks ago it decided to have a major malfunction. We got it up and running again however it needs replaced by next winter. They quoted us at 4,000. The boiler we have is the original that came with the house, the plummets who came here said they have never seen something so old, and that it out lived its useful life about 35 years ago. Another day another dollar. Such is life.

When Did I get old?

I have not blogged in a while. The school thing has kept me very busy and the kids have kept me frazzled. On top of it all my hair has skipped over gray and went straight to white. What I can't understand is if I'm old enough to have white roots why am I still getting pimples on top of wrinkles? Life is not fair, and I don't like this whole getting old thing. To add insult to injury, last week I was up at the college taking a test for my problem solving class, which I know went totally bad and when I was done I took the elevator because I had on some boots that were not made to walk up 5 flights of stairs. There was a 19 year old boy in there and he started apologizing for being in the elevator because he was too lazy to walk up the stairs. I said You don't have to explain your self to me and he said I know but I feel bad for riding the elevator because I'm young and in good shape. I was thinking what is that suppose to mean, I guess on top of being young and in shape he was also mentally challenged. Some people, they just have no common sense or a social filter. I wish I could go around saying everything I'm thinking and offending people left and right. Wouldn't that be nice? I don't mean to sound negative but for real this getting old thing is no fun, but I know that some time I have to come to terms with it. However I feel that its totally normal to have a transition period where I can morn the death of my youth, before I can celebrate wrinkles, fat, and white hair.

On a more positive note Josh and I just celebrated our 7th Anniversary. We were a little broke so we didn't get to do too much. Beki took all three kids for 3 days, Thank You Beki. So we got to be alone and we got to enjoy each others company. It was nice to have some alone time and to be able to have a conversation without the constant Mom or Dad in the back ground. We came to the consensus that we are happy, and still in love after all this time. My wrinkles and white hair don't bother Josh one bit, I guess hes a keeper.

Its Perfect

What can I say, the b-room project ended yesterday and it is fabulous. Very elegant, so modern, and CLEAN. I will post some before and afters when I figure out how to download pictures off of my camcorder. I had to christen it with a candle lit bubble bath last night, I was aiming for some peace and tranquility. However the entire family had to come see what I was doing, I think a dog even made their presence known to me. So my bath did not last long before each kid and the husband was asking if they could take a candle lit bath when I was done. They each got their turn, and each of us loved it. It's a whole new world in there... Now on to the kitchen.

School is back in full force for me and the kids. I had to take accounting over again, I'm not too happy about that. Jayden turns 14 on Thursday the 22, he also gets braces that day also. I don't think he will ever forget his 14 b-day. I think I'm more worried about the whole braces thing than he is. I just know that it will be a fight to get him to brush his teeth as much as he needs to.
Perhaps he will surprise me though. You never know, these kids grow and change every day. Today Mason told me all about Martin Luther King Jr.and all the great things he did to change the laws and make the world a better place. He even talked about segregation and how that was very mean. He must of paid extra attention when the teacher was talking about this. It's amazing how much he has blossomed this year.

Progress

We have a shower! Josh is doing an awesome job with the remodel. It's going a lot slower than I would of hoped but we are making steady progress. I think that we will be done with the whole process by the beginning of February, or at least I hope. We still have to put in some new drywall, paint, put in the new sink and toilet, and then do tile, plus trim. It's very tedious but so worth it.

School starts on the 12th for me and the kids. I wish I had one more week off, without the kids. I feel like I need a weeks vacation after dealing with the children for 3 weeks straight. Jayden has been very helpful but Peyt and Mace are constantly at each other, fighting, screaming, yelling, you name it. I can't even leave the room without a battle ensuing. Peyton loves to tease Mason, and she knows just what to say and do to push his buttons, as a matter of fact she likes to push every one's buttons. Lets hope that she gets all of this out of her system before she becomes a teen, if not you all may have to make up your spare bedrooms because I will be visiting, a lot. The Joy of Parenting.