Halloween Fun

Another successful Halloween under our belt. I don't think you can top trick or treating with the temps in the 80's. Ahhhhhh. I'll say it again. Ahhhhhh. I've just had too many Utah blizzards on this night. I can appreciate AZ nights so much more:)
We carved the punkins on Wednesday. Well, Nate and the girls carved. I became a genius this year. I bought a vinyl sticker. Slapped it on and I was done! Plus I have a decoration that will last me through Thanksgiving. Unless it stays really hot:)

This was a first for us this year. Besides Nate cutting the top off of Megan and Sammy's pumpkins, they did it all themselves! Yay! I think they did a fabulous job.

Sammy's pumpkin...like the hair bow?

And Megan's masterpiece...

And Nate. He just has to do things with his own special touch:)
Pumpkin carving for him involves food coloring, a blow torch and a power drill.
Here is the finished result. Gross gun shot, eh? I thought for sure we would have roaches all over the place, but I guess they dont' like corn syrup and pumpkin seeds.

Afterwards we headed across the street. Dana's had been baking pumpkin cookies and they saved some for us to decorate.How did we exist before Dana's moved in?

Tonight finally came. My kids keep telling me that they've waited all year for today. Ummm, yeah, I know you have. I guess once you hit fifth grade you don't get Halloween parties anymore. You still get em in third grade! It was mass chaos so I forgot to take pictures but it was fun.
Sammy was Silvermist for Halloween, Tinkerbell's friend. Pretty fancy!
And Megan was Julie Allbright, American Girl Doll.

Blondes have more fun! She said that next year she is going as something that everyone knows what she is:) I'm thinking it is hard to look like that doll when you have dark eyes and eybrows, and when your mom buys you a crappy blonde wig:)
One of our neighbors had a smoke machine that all the kids had fun dancing in.
I dressed as a devil, this is as dressed up as I get:)
And last, but not least, Nate and his costume!

And what better way to end the night than to watch Pumpkin Chunkin on the Discovery Channel!

Big News

I have big and exciting news! Yesterday I had a very important appointment, so I decided that it was important enough to shave my legs. I broke out a brand new razor and promptly sliced up the tendon right there behind my knee. Yowzaa. That will remind you alllll day.
Anyway, yesterday I went and got signed up for school! It is time. I've never been to college and I was a little nervous, I have to admit. But now I am just excited. I am going to be going into the Dental Assistant program starting on November 24 and will graduate on July 3. WooHoo! I'm very thrilled to be taking this step into the next chapter of my life. Hey, any job that I can wear sneakers, scrubs and a ponytail everyday is my dream job.

Last night I got signed up on Facebook. Any of you on there? Addicting! I finally had to just turn the computer off. It was so fun to see people from high school and see who is on there already. I was able to chat live with my friend Melanie and my nephew Brett. (I'm thinking he shouldn't have been up so late ;) hahahaha) Plus, I found quite a few of the young women that I worked with in our old ward. One has a baby!!!

New subject: This week at the school, they have had a theme day every day. We all know how much I hate these days and how much my kids love these days. Wednesday was pajama day. Thursday was red day for Red Ribbon Week. Today. Today is Halloween. However, they can't dress up in their costumes for school. Unless they dress up as a pirate, Peter Pan, or Tinker Bell. Seriously. The theme of the day is "Make drugs walk the plank". Really???? My kids can't wear their Halloween costumes to school, but I can feel free to come up with yet another costume for this stupid day? Really???? Obviously a person with children did not come up with this idea. Megan came to me late last night wanting to put together a costume and it really bugged me. Not Megan, the whole theme thing. I'm done.

Happy Halloween to everyone! Can't wait to see all the cute costumes!

Finished

Done. Finito. Completed. Ended. Succeeded. Over. This morning Sammy took her last dose of Cipro. Yay! No more fighting or begging. Hopefully no more infection. It was a week ago today that we headed to the hospital. I will need to take her in for another culture, but I am crossing my fingers and toes that she is all better.

We got home from Salt Lake and I spent two days scrubbing the house and doing a lot of laundry. Then I was off to the hospital. I got home and faced more scrubbing the house and doing a lot of laundry. Had the kids head back to school, I had work and then the regular stuff like making dinner, homework and activity days for the girls. I have had a lot spinning around in my head. This may be hard to believe, but I was a tad bit crabby yesterday. I know, that never happens. Sammy was too. Everything that Megan did or said rubbed Sam the wrong way and I eventually had to ban her from talking to Megan for the rest of the day. And bless Megan's heart. Yesterday was the day that she had millions of questions about things that I couldn't possibly answer. Questions about why and how they did things back in pioneer times. How old is this actress? How is that a true story? Did that really happen? Crap like that. And Sammy. She wants to get rid of our house and build a log cabin and live like Laura Ingalls. I may have to stop DVR'ing Little House on the Prarie.

This morning I woke up feeling clear headed and ready to get on with stuff.
Now we can look forward towards the fun stuff. Carving pumpkins, Halloween and looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday....the Right Way

We had the big birthday dinner tonight. Megan loves to go out for sushi on her birthday, so we went to the same place we went last year for her dinner, Sekai. Nate is in Heaven that his daughter loves to eat interesting food like he does. I'm thrilled that Sam and I could share a steak. :)

We love sitting at the bar so we can watch them make the food. I think it is pretty fascinating. Sammy loves her edamame.

Cuddly little caterpillar.

Nate noticed that they were serving oysters on the half shell, so he ordered two of them so Megan could give them a try.

Yummy ???
Nate shows her how it is done....


Ready...


Set...

And spit!
The exact quote from her would be, "That is NOT good!!!" I love that she is always willing to try new foods. Not my strongest point. It was a very fun dinner. We picked out our pumpkins on the way home, now we just need to find a good night to get them carved. Thanks for the fun night Megan!

TA DA! Megan is 11!

My sweet baby girl had a birthday this week! She is growing up way too fast, but we couldn't be happier with the young woman she is becoming. Megan is truly a pleasure to have around, always happy and smiling. This probably wasn't the most spectacular birthday, seeing how Sammy and I were at the hospital, but she didn't let that get her down!
The morning started out with Nate and Megan going to IHOP for a crepe breakfast. Megan loves going out with her dad! And lucky for her, it was short day at school. Diana picked her up from school and took her to Jamba Juice for a smoothie and a pretzel. Megan has a new love. (Darn, I wish I had more pictures of the day!)

We had presents at the hospital. I think she was pretty happy with what she got!

Snuggles are the best present!
She has been going back and forth on wanting Heelys, but this time she meant it. We can't slow her down! She loved racing through the halls of the hospital.
Sammy gave her the buffalo WebKinz. She named him Stampedey. We also gave her a new book bag with a panda bear on it, but it isn't in the pics.

We still owe her a birthday dinner, she hasn't decided where to go yet. I look forward to properly celebrating her special day. Thank you for your patience sweetie. We love you so much!

How do you blog 4 days in the hospital???

A couple of weeks ago Sammy started complaining of pain when she went to the bathroom. I took her to the Dr. where they thought she may have a UTI. I took her home, a few days later they called to say there was no infection, but there was sugar in the urine. Took her back in, peed in a cup, found no sugar. Then we headed to Utah. I received a call from the Dr. that Sammy had a rare and serious bladder infection that was very aggressive and would quickly move to her kidneys and cause damage. She called in a prescription to Utah and we had no luck getting Sammy to take it. We get back to AZ, take her in again, pee in cup again and realize that this is real and we need to take care of it. And when I say we need to take care of it, that means we take her to the hospital right away and have her admitted for IV antibiotics. Remember my post about the finger poke to check for glucose? And now I need to have an IV put in? So off to Banner Desert we go.

She loved the bed that moves up and down!
We got the IV put in and she was very, very brave. They let her pick a new toy out of the special closet.
Passing time with mom:)
Sammy really missed Megan. She was thrilled when Megan finally made it in to visit. I guess they really do love each other!!!
Megan brought presents for Sammy. Sam loved the fuzzy socks! (It looks like her feet are on backwards!)

Grandma and Grandpa sent Sammy a cookie bouquet and brightened her day! Yummy Yummy!


The second day the kids were able to go to the playroom for medical play. They decorated a doll with the emotions they were feeling about being in the hospital.

Sammy put an IV in her doll, took her blood pressure and made her take yucky medicine.

Happy Doll!

Sad Doll :(

We had a tragedy happen that night. Sammy complained of her hand hurting while the antibiotics were hooked up. The nurse said it could cause some irritation, and lets be honest. My girls can be a little dramatic. Imagine how bad I felt when I realized that the IV had been messed up and her meds were going in under the skin. Her hand was very swollen.


The worst part? They had to take her IV out. Now what? Do we put another in? Can we get her to take it orally? The next morning the nurse tried to get her to take it. It took half an hour of fighting, but she took it.
Later that morning Sammy got another delivery. Thanks to her aunts, uncles and cousins!

A girl could be positively spoiled going in to the hospital! Presents, your own TV, arts and crafts, people bringing you food. Would she ever want to leave? That night we had to try and take the meds orally again. This time it took two nurses and the threat of the IV and 45 minutes to get her to take it. The doctor was ready to release her, but I knew that if I took her home she would never take the meds for me. I begged them to keep her in the hospital to ensure that she would get what she needed to be healed. You can just imagine how PO'ed Sam was at me. She was very much looking forward to going home. So was I. But I knew that she needed to stay there to get the help she needed. We were awake at 6:00 this morning for her medicine. She took it right away! Hallelujah! Even though that was at dawn this morning, we still weren't released until about 1:30. The wheels turn so slow. To kind of sum up my week, I had no computer access this week since I didn't leave the hospital. While waiting for the release papers, I was walking down to the play room when I noticed two computers kind of tucked away. AHA! I sat down, booted up the Internet and right at that second the nurse came up to me with the release papers. Awesome.
Oh, happy times when I got home. I am absolutely weary. You would think in a Pediatric Unit, they would expect parents to be spending the night. That being said, you would think that they would provide something nice to sleep on. Not just a crappy recliner. So I've been sharing a twin bed with Sam all week. Good thing we are both tiny. And to get home and shower in my own shower and dry off with a towel that is bigger than a dish towel and softer than sand paper.
I was nervous for tonight and her medicine. She has to take it until Wednesday. Much to my delight, she took it right away and didn't fight me. I guess she realized how serious her illness is and how serious I am when I wouldn't let her go home last night. Seven doses to go!
Many thanks to so many people! Kyle and Diana. Thanks for so much. Getting Megan to and from school and watching her while we were away.
Lori, thanks for taking Megan most of the day on Friday.
Erin, thanks for the six pack of Dr. Pepper! You saved my life!
Tina and Melody, thanks for the visits!
Plus, I received many wonderful phone calls from many wonderful people. Thank you everyone for all of your love and support!

Last day and gettin' Home

No, I am not stranded somewhere in the Navajo Nation. Just trying to regroup. My last day was spent with my mom and sister. The girls were still at Nate's mom's house, so we had just the big girls. Too fun. We went to Target, Old Navy, (where I bought Nate some clothes for $2 each! WooHoo!!!) and had lunch at Olive Garden. It was very lovely. Mindi had to leave to get her kids, so my mom and I did a little bit more shopping, and then she took my girls shopping for stuff to do in the car and I started to pack. Good thing I did it the day before. I may have bought a few things.
My mom made a spaghetti dinner that night and Mindi came back over with her girls. And then it was all over.
I was up early on Saturday. On the road by 8:20, McDonalds by 8:25, Chevron for AAA batteries at 8:30 and then we were on our way. At this point of the trip, I was very thankful for my mom taking the girls shopping. They stayed occupied and happy.
In Page I needed to stretch so I pulled into a parking lot and we saw a road runner. Then I bought a cold banana at the gas station to give me some energy. Gross. We crossed over into the Navajo Nation. *Sidenote-my niece is in the play Peter Pan at her school. She is one of the Indians. But it is not PC to say Indian. So she is a warrior. End sidenote.* I got behind this bus on the reservation and I was cracking up!

I was making really good time. All set to make my new road trip record and get home in 11 1/2 hours. Then I got to Scottsdale where, for no apparent reason, they had the freeway down to one lane. For miles and miles. I was only 40 minutes from home! And tired! And stiff! And desperate! After 50 minutes of that nonsense we flew home in a hurry. I dared any cop to pull me over.
It is always great to be home, in your own bed with your own shower. Thank you everyone for making our trip fabulous! It was perfect!

On the Road Again...

12 hours in the car.
2 kids.
1 dog.
Dr. Pepper
Hopefully lots of Guardian Angels.

Wish me luck!

Can't wait to see you sweetie!

Which Witch is Which???

Another perfect and beautiful fall day here in Salt Lake. We spent the morning at Gardner Village for the Witch Fest. They have all of these fun and clever witches all over the place. I didn't realize that today was not only the first day of the Witch Fest, but also the first day of UEA. Not a good combo we found out. Last year we went on a Sunday and all of the stores were closed, but we were able to see all of the witches. My mom and I met up with my sister and her two daughters. It was great to see all of the little kids in their costumes and there was a lot of activities available. Megan enjoyed a candy apple.

Sammy enjoyed her M&M's. Pink, purple and white, of course!
And I tried my best to get a good picture with my kids. You should see all of the pics my sister took. Me getting mad at Sam, Sammy with a weird look on her face, Megan taking a bite of her apple. I settled for this one.

Here is Sam and her bestest cousin Ryleigh.

And here is one of the four cousins. Ryleigh turned at the last second.

When we were all exhausted, we headed to Chin Wah, our favorite Chinese restaurant. Sammy ordered the small soup. Ryleigh was kind enough to help her:)


After lunch I headed back to my mom's to take a 15 minute power nap, and then the girls were off to Grandma Puppys house for a sleep over. They were excited to see Rachel and Lindsay. My mom and I were off to Tai Pan. I realized that I am running out of time, so I need to cram everything in. I let loose at Tai Pan and feel very satisfied. Don't worry Nate, it isn't that bad. We spend about 2 hours there and it was very blissful.
We stopped at KFC for dinner on the way home. I grabbed the food from the 16 year old working at the window and my mom exclaims, "He's checking you out!" and then proceeds to yell out the window, "She's too old for you!" As if. But it did hurt my feelings that she called me old. :)
Only one more day....I wonder, how much can I accomplish? Wahaahaahaa (evil laughter.)