Is it Thursday yet?

Let me start be saying that I am 100% supportive of Scott and I am so glad that he got to go hunting. He has been working so hard, and he totally deserves this trip. With that said, I am losing my mind!!! He has been gone since last Tuesday, and he isn't getting home until Thursday afternoon. Of course all four kids have to get sick while he is gone. They have been passing around 103 degree fevers. I am so unbelievable tired, I can't even explain how exhausted I am. It is so hard taking care of four sick kids, going to school, cooking, keeping house, and dealing with chronic pain. The silver lining to this experience is that I get to go to Long Beach this weekend with my friend Sharon for an Esthetics convention. I just need to keep my mind on that, and hopefully I can make it through the next four days! I miss Scott so much though, I'm not used to having him gone now! The kids all miss him too.

My surgery is scheduled for November 11th, but they have me on a cancellation list, so hopefully we can get it moved up and over with. I am not looking forward to the recovery, it will be the same as my hysterectomy, and it was so painful. I really really hope that this will be my last surgery, I don't know if I can take anymore. I also tested positive for interstitial cystitis, which is a chronic condition of the bladder, and I was given a prescription for a medication that I have to take 3 times a day for the rest of my life. I absolutely hate taking medication, but if it will help me feel better, whatever. The prescription costs $100 a month WITH INSURANCE, so it better help! They also put me on a special diet that helps with the condition, and I really cannot eat anything. Vegetables, chicken, and some grains are okay, but almost everything else is off limits. No fruit, sugars, or anything that has any type of acid in it. This is going to be hard. I love my Rice Krispy Treats and Mexican food!

On Friday night Macey, Heidi and I were going to have a big slumber party in my bed and watch movies and eat popcorn (which I am not supposed to have). I had to do a bunch of things before we started, so I was saying, "Let me do the dishes, take out the trash, do this, do that...". Macey said, "Seriously?! Mothers have so much work!" It was nice to be recognized for everything that I am doing around here. I have the sweetest kids on the planet. They make it all worth it. :)

PCA

On Thursday at school we had an 8-hour certification class for a product line called PCA. They are best known for their professional exfoliations, or chemical peels. After a 7-hour product knowledge lecture, we all got to give each other peels! It was so fun! It is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it is definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. Today my skin has started peeling, and I love it! I love knowing that all the sun-damaged skin is going to come off, and there will be fresh, beautiful skin underneath.

I am almost done with the academic portion of school, and I will be on the floor at the end of the month. That is when I will need models! I will let you know when the time comes. Oh, and I got 112% on my last test! Yippee!

Remembering 9/11

I can't help but to think of every little emotion that went through me on September 11, 2001. As with everyone else, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the first plane hit the tower. I was laying in bed, I think I had hit the snooze button on my alarm about 5 times, and the next time it went off I heard the DJ say that a plane had hit the WTC. Immediately I was hit with panic. My dad is a captain for American Airlines, and at the time he was flying out of New York. Then as things got worse and worse over the next few hours, I could barely function. It took several hours to finally find out that my dad was not on one of those planes, and the relief was unimaginable. For several hours I thought that I might have lost my dad in that horror in New York. I was pregnant with Macey at the time, and I remember being so scared that I was going to lose her or deliver her because I was so distraught. Unfortunately, my dad lost very good friends on those planes. Today I am remembering those who died, and those who lost loved ones. I am seeing those pictures in my head of people running, covered in ash and blood, not being able to comprehend what is going on. I am thinking about the firefighters and the police who without a second thought ran into those buildings to get people out safely, but never made it home to their families. I am thinking about my dad, and how I don't know if I could have lived if he had not. I will NEVER forget!

Funny Girl

Jenna has the funniest/cutest little belly laugh, I was able to catch it on video today. You will need to pause the music playlist at the bottom of the page to hear it good.

Also, here are some pictures to show you how much Jake has grown. The first is at 6 weeks, and the second is just a mere 5 weeks later at 11 weeks weighing 28 pounds!

Skin Care Tip of the Week

You should always wash your face twice, two times a day. The first cleanse removes make-up, dirt, and the environment, and the second cleanse prepares your skin for the toners, serums, and creams that you will put on next.

Need some good product recommendations? Email me!

Our Fun Weekend

We had a great weekend as a family. I love having Scott home every weekend, we get so much more family time. On Saturday the girls had gymnastics and then we went to a birthday party for my cousin Melissa's daughter Stori. She is turning one, exactly a month younger than the twins. It has been fun going through pregnancy and babyhood with Melissa and Stori. I got to see some cousins, aunts, and uncles that I haven't seen for a long time. After the birthday party we came home and had a fabulous UFC Fight Night. And what made the night even better was that my brother Jared and my mom watched the fights with us. Jared has been away for quite a while, and it is so nice to have my brother back. Jared, we love you so much and we are so excited for your new life!

But poor little Jakey, he has some hematomas on his ear flaps that we are having taken care of at the vet tomorrow. Our neighbor's pool is green so we are having major mosquito problems, and I think he got bit and itched so much that he caused the hematomas. I can't wait to see how much he weighs though, he is a big big boy! He is 11 weeks old and is almost too heavy to lift now!


Jenna and Jaken

My cousin Scott and his wife Crystal rockin Guitar Hero


Heidi and Naomi

Jared, Macey, and Heidi

Monkey-boy Ryan climbing on the couch

Uh-oh, I got caught!

Yes! I made it!

It's too early for pictures Mom.

Ryan getting another haircut

So big! We get to sit in big boy and big girl carseats now!

He loves to climb into boxes and have us push him around the house.

Twins-in-a-box

We were lucky to have a visit from Grandpa this weekend too!

Silly little Macey

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy around here. Scott leaves on Wednesday to go elk hunting for 10 days in Flagstaff. I'm excited for him, but its going to be a long 10 days, I'm not gonna lie. Then 2 days after he gets back I am going to Long Beach for an Esthetics convention with a friend from my class. I am super excited, we will have a ton of fun.

BTW, can you believe that it's already September? Time is flying!

Macey Brag

I just have to brag a little bit about sweet little Macey. She is in first grade this year. Her teacher emailed me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that she had moved Macey to the second grade reading class because she is such a good reader. Since then, Macey has taken one of those national reading aptitude tests, and we got her results back on Friday. After her first month of first grade, she is reading at the third grade level, and she achieved a national percentile rank of 99%, meaning that Macey scored better than 99% of students nationally in the same grade. We are so proud of her, she is such a little smartie-pants.

I have been having a ton of people asking me for skin care advice, so I was thinking that maybe I would do a "Skin Care Tip of the Week" on my blog. Would that interest any of you?