Going Private

So, I really hate to do this because there are people that don't have google accounts that read my blog but it has come to my attention that there are people out there that are using information in my blog to cause me stress. I find this a little surprising because I don't feel like I post anything terribly exciting or revealing. But, I think that for the time being the best thing to do for me and Kai is to go private so that I know our lives are only being shared with those I know and love. I will be closing my blog to the public on Sunday December 21st. Please, please give me your email so that I can give you access and know that if I know your name then you are not the ones I am worried about. You can leave your email in a comment or email me at krista_creer@yahoo.com! Love you all!

Poor Dexter

I finally had to put Dexter down. It was a sad day. I came home from work early Saturday morning and he wasn't in his house in the garage. I went out back to look for him and found that he had fallen off our porch steps and was stuck between the house and the steps. He had been having trouble with arthritis in his back legs but when I got him out from under the stairs he couldn't even stand up on his own. Nothing seemed broken or hurt because he let me carry him into the garage. I knew that it was time. I called my mom and went to bed knowing there was nothing I could do until the vet opened. My mom called and got an appointment at 2. She came over and helped me get Dex cleaned up and loaded into the car. Poor thing still couldn't stand on his own. I have never had to put a pet down before and as much as I joked about how he was supposed to be dead 3 years ago it was still emotional. I had that dog for 14 years. I got him shortly after my dad died.

The only good thing about it happening on Saturday when I had to go back to work that night was that Malakai was with his dad. When he got home on Sunday I pulled into the garage and Kai said "I need out to go pet my doggy." I had been pondering what I was going to tell him. Finally I just told him that Dexter got sick and went to be with Jesus. Malakai still looked in his dog house. Today when he asked when Dexter was coming back I reminded him that he had to go live with Jesus. I think he might have it now because he told my mom that "Dexter is going to be fine. He is with Jesus." I sure hope so Buddy, cause I kind of feel like a doggy murderer!

I'm Taking Applications...

So I have decided that I need a dating sponsor. You know kind of like an AA sponsor but for dating. I think that AA and NA are really onto something. What a good idea to have someone there to hold your hand as you struggle through, someone who has been there and knows the challenges that you are facing. So I am applying that concept to my life. I don't think that this job will be as difficult as an AA sponsor. I don't foresee there being a big problem with drunken 2 am phone calls that result in them pulling me out of a bar in Payson (I don't even think there is a bar in Payson...is there?). No, this job will be more along the lines of keeping me dateable.

Primary job responsibilities will include:

• Briefing me on proper adult conversation topics (No, he won't care how long you breastfed for or how long it took to potty train Malakai)
• Wardrobe. (No, scrubs are not proper dating attire. I don't care if they are comfortable. Yes, that goes for pajama pants too!)
• Grooming. (This pointy stick looking thing is called eyeliner...Next I am going to introduce you to lipstick! No, chapstick is not the same thing!)
• Fine Dining Etiquette. (No, it doesn't class things up to actually go in to the McDonald's rather than the drive thru.)
• Talking me down from the edge. This will probably be where the 2 am part comes into play with this sponsor. I do foresee lots and lots of late night phone calls! (No, I don't know what he meant by that. No, I don't know why he hasn't called you. No, you definitely don't look fat! Put the Ben and Jerry's ice cream away, Krista!)

If any of you are interested in the job let me know. I am warning you though, until someone steps up you are all going to have to deal with my confusion and incessant questioning.

My Guitar Heroes!

I can't believe that it is December already! It seems like time is just flying by and Malakai keeps getting bigger. He is such a "good" helper and the week of Thanksgiving he was bound and determined to prove it to grandma. I don't think that the chair left the kitchen once in the 3 days that he was over there. My mom is so good to watch him for me while I work even when her life is crazy! I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving which meant that there was virtually no time for her to cook or bake without her little helper. We did find that he makes a great sampler and also a really good beater licker! At least, those seemed to be the things he enjoyed the most.

Thanksgiving has always been a really big event for my family. It usually involves the entire extended family and goes through the whole weekend. This year work kind of ruined that for us. Lisa, Wyatt, Trent and I all had to work on Friday and of course my mom was babysitter extraordinaire! But, we did make it up to Logan for the day. My aunt has a new gorgeous and rather large home there that we put to good use. It was a wonderful day full of food, family and Guitar Hero World Tour!

This is a picture of Kai Kai getting down! I hope that boy has more rhythm than his mom. I got demoted from drums to vocals pretty quickly.

We let the boys play alone for most the afternoon but then we crashed their party. I love the loook on Trent's face. He was kind of annoyed with our lack of musical ability. We can't all be blessed with that much talent!

So, once he gave up on trying to get me to hit the right notes at the right time he focused on teaching Malakai his signature Rockstar face!

He still needs some practice. It is hard trying to look tough with that baby face!

I'll stick to the book...

The fates conspired together and I did end up going to see Twilight at midnight yesterday. I had told Denae a week or so ago that I didn't think I would be up to going. I thought I would be exhausted having worked Tuesday and Wednesday but I ended up getting sent home at midnight on Wednesday eventhough I didn't go to bed until 4am. It is impossible to turn off your brain once you have convinced it that it must stay awake all night long! Lisa had Malakai on Thursday so I was able to get some sleep. My friend Leya has been going a little stir crazy since her husband has been out of town for business ALOT and she is left home alone with 6 teenagers so we decided to see if we could find some tickets. She also threw in one of her teenage daughters as a free babysitter...SOLD! Luckily, the theater in Spanish Fork still had tickets. They opened all 8 theaters for the showing so it wasn't even very crowded. I even convinced my mom to go see it with us!

We showed up at the theater a little after 11 and got good seats and then we waited...and waited...and waited...and wasn't this supposed to be a midnight showing?!...and at 12:25 started watching the movie. Edward had just barely graced the screen when a strange siren and lights started going off. I was thinking, "boy, they sure are making his entrance dramatic." when I realized it was the fire alarm. Stupid! Most people's reaction would be to calmly evacuate the theater especially since there was a voice on the intercom saying "Please calmly evacuate the theater." But, not us. No, the entire theater just looked around blankly. We had waited an hour and a half for this movie and we knew one of two things would happen; either the alarm would shut off and the movie would resume or we would eventually burn to death. We were too tired to care which. After a couple minutes the alarm shut off and the movie started again. In hind sight, I can see that this was really the best option.

So what did I think of the movie? Eh, it was ok. Not nearly as good as the book! There was some serious over acting. Rosalie had a jiggle butt and I could hardly call her the most beautiful girl in the world and Carlisle's hair was a very unnatural color of blonde. But, all that aside I thought it followed the story relatively well and surprisingly I really liked the Victoria. My recomendation would be to go see the movie but also read the book because the movie leaves out so much. I guess it is kind of hard to pack a 600 page book into 2 hours.

The "Ex" Factor

Well, it is official. As of November 18th, 2008 I am now divorced. It took 13 days from the time I filed...my lawyer said that was fast and I had to agree. It was relatively good timing though. I started full time this week and got my benefits all straightened out. I am doing good. It was a bittersweet day. To be honest, not a whole lot changed for me. It wasn't like I had the papers in my hands and everything hit me. I went through that in early September when Charlie moved out and I had to come to the reality that we were done. This was more like closure, though I would hardly admit that I am completely healed. It is going to take time for all 3 of us to be completly healed from this divorce. Charlie and I are working hard at trying to be friends and keep Kai's life as stable as possible. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and thoughts...please don't stop them just because the divorce is over! If anything I need them more now than ever!!!

Haircut

This is going to be a short post. I just had to say that I did it again! I don't know how Kai is every going to have decent hair with his mom always giving him crazy haircuts that usually lead to a buzzcut. His hair has been looking rather fuzzy lately so I thought I would just trim a little off the sides and top but I got distracted and ended up taking a little too much off the top. I did my best to save it. He now has a mohawk! Goodness, when will I learn?!

Sorry...

So I am apologizing in advance. I haven't blogged this week...again. It wasn't because I didn't think about it. I went to my blog several times this week hoping that something had magically been posted but sadly there are no magic blogging elves. The truth is...my life has been fairly tame this week. I spent time working in my basement with my wonderful family. I suppose I could have blogged about that. But, I am pretty sure that the only people that find bead board that exciting are me and my mom and we got to see it in person.

Kai and Brynlee had fun playing in the bouncy house. I got put on call again this week. Counted my shifts for the month, been on call for 5 of my 6 shifts! Thank Heaven I go full time on Tuesday.

Kai has been going through daddy withdrawls. The other night he threw an all out temper tantrum that he couldn't go to his daddy's house at 9:30 at night! I knew this wouldn't be easy but seeing my baby crying for something that I did...that I chose, nearly broke my heart! I pray to God that someday he understands and can forgive me. So in a vain attempt to make it up to him I took him to Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday. Charlie came and met us. It was nice to see the two of them playing together. That night helped me put things into perspective. Yeah I am hurting...yeah Charlie is hurting but that is all SO very secondary. This little boy is the most important thing in our lives and he needs to know how much his mom and dad love him. I am glad that Charlie and I are still friends, that we can go and eat pizza together and not fight over Kai. I have seen first hand what a nasty divorce with nasty people can do to kids (I lived with them! I'll tell you the stories later.)

So on that note, I talked to my lawyer on Friday. Paperwork has been submitted to the judge. We are now just waiting for a signature. My lawyer was hopeful that it would only be a couple more weeks.

I mentioned before that I was on call a lot so on Friday when staffing called I wasn't really surprised. But, I had dropped Kai off with Charlie and being home alone didn't sound like much fun. Hanging out with Denae did sound like fun. She and I went and saw The Duchess. It was pretty good. Then on Saturday my mom and I went to the Provo temple. It was so nice to go and feel peace. I never really liked the Provo temple. I thought it was a little outdated. But since I have started attending there I have grown to love it! I guess it really is whats on the inside that counts.

After our temple trip we went to lunch and then hit the mall...ahh unfortunately, neither of us were really in a shopping mood. Isn't that unfair?! I get to go to the mall without my crazy little boy and I don't want to shop! So we went and saw HSM3 again...I got the crazy love of all things musical gene from her! I remember as a little girl on the drive home from visiting my grandparents in Idaho we would be singing show tunes at the top of our lungs. Oh, how the boys loved it!!!

Well, that was my week in review again. Sorry it was kind of boring. Maybe I will think of something zanny to do this week...Hmmm.

Deja Vu

Well, I went to my blog today and lo and behold it has been a week since I posted last. Hmm interesting since I said I was going to do better. That got me thinking about my week and I realized that this has been a week of repeats. To start with I got put on call for both of my shifts this week...same as last week. This has been a little frustrating. Charlie has been my lifesaver. He gave me our allotment (so I could pay the mortgage! YAY!) and his first paycheck for the month which was bigger than usual due to his annual clothing allowance. I also got my check which wasn't huge because I only had 2 shifts on there but it was big enough. So bills are paid as of now and I am hoping that this week will be a little better for hours...that or I won't get a check at all! I did finally get a hold of Human Resources and applied for the full time position. I will start that on the 18th so no more worries about hours...I hope. I did have to take a HUGE pay cut. That hurt a little but I suppose the benefits are worth it.

Second repeat of the week. I finished reading Twilight again. I know! For someone who kicked so furiously against the trend I sure have embraced the series. I owe everyone an apology for all my whining about it. You were right! I was wrong! Good books and hopefully good movie. I think that I enjoyed it even more the second time around. I wasn't so wraped up in the action and was able to focus on relationships and such. Maybe I should put this much effort into my real life. I might even get out of the house a little with an attitude like that.

Third repeat. I have decided to start work in the basement again. The little extra cash in my bank account (thanks again Char!) and the fact that half my house was unusable finally pushed me to do it! My mom, Kai and I have spent many a night this week covered in paint. She is the GREATEST mom in the world! I am so truly blessed to have my best friend as my mom...it helps when I have to call in free babysitting...not that she has had to do a lot of that lately with the lack of working hours. But, we have made MAJOR progress. The walls and doors are all painted. I bought trim yesterday and Wyatt is picking that up today for me in his truck. Proper planning was not evident when I showed up at Home Depot last night to get the trim and realized that 12 feet of board will NOT fit in my van...interesting. He is going to help me out today and tomorrow on his day off. What an amazing family I have! Heavenly Father must have realized that I would need a LOT of help down here. I am determined to have a party when it is all done. I think I will shoot for a Christmas party!

Fourth repeat...kind of. So with all the painting and not working and reading Kai has been pretty housebound so my mom and I decided to take a night off and go to Madagascar 2 on Friday. He did pretty well. He really enjoyed the music and more than once was up in the aisle dancing...guess he likes to move it move it too!

I did have a few firsts this week. I got to celebrate Christin and Stephanie's birthdays with them and other coworkers at Pizza Factory. I had a lot of fun. I also threw the diet out the window. Though, this whole throwing diet out the window thing isn't new to me, cheating on the 11 Day Diet was. I have been very vigilant for 3 rotations but this one was just not happening. Ask Maureen who watched me snarf down Fetuccini Alfredo for lunch. I think it has to do with monthly timing...hehe. Yeah, I am definately going to blame it on that! But, it is a GOOD diet and it has been working so I am going to rededicate myself...just going to take a little break before.

Yesterday we were getting ready to run to Home Depot when Malakai started panicing and talking about his "tiny baby" that we were forgetting. I had no idea what he was talking about. We went upstairs to try and find this elusive baby and he picked up the monkey and baby tiger. Apparently, they are now his "tiny babies." He wrapped them in blankets and we all took off to the store. He even took them to bed with him last night. This morning we got up and got ready to go to church. I thought that he had forgotten about them but as we were walking out the door he suddenly turned around and goes "Oh NO! My tiny babies are gone!" I couldn't help but snicker. I told him that his babies were still sleeping and we would wake them up when we got home for church. This is the one and only time that I am glad we have 9 o'clock church. The boy makes me laugh!

Well I'll Be...

So an interesting thing happened last night at Walmart. Charlie had Malakai for the weekend and I had to go to Walmart to buy paint rollers. I realized this was the first time that I had been to Walmart without Kai since...well I can't remember so that tells you something. I thought I would take advantage of the time I had. I wandered to the women's department. I fully intended on taking my sweet time, strolling casually, holding things up that I thought were nice...maybe even trying something on. To my disappointment I was bored. I was not in a shopping mood. My first and last stop was a clearance rack where I picked up two sets of workout pants, held them up to see how long they were and made the fastest shopping decision I have ever made! $10 sure...why not?!

This is the weird part...I then walked back to the toy department!!! I know! I had no reason to go there. I took my sweet time in this department. I strolled casually through the aisles. I held up toys that I thought might be nice for Kai...I even tried the automated dinosaur out! I guess that just goes to show how priorities can change. Like they say you can take the kid away from the mom, but you can't take the mom out of the woman.

8 is Great

So Denae tagged me on this. I tried to tell her that 2 is terrific but apparently that isn't as cute as 8 is great so here is my best attempt.

8 Favorite Restaraunts:

• Applebees
• Brick Oven
• Cafe Rio
• Zupas
• Chili's
• Hogi Yogi (Philly Cheese Steak...Yum!)
• Wendy's
• Wyatt and Lisa's on Sunday

8 Things that happened yesterday:

• Slept in
• Watched real TV (not Scooby)
• Missed Kai Kai when I realized I wasn't watching Scooby
• Got put on call at work
• Went to Walmart and bought paint rollers and cute workout pants for $5! SCORE!!!
• Ate Pizza (Diet starts again tomorrow...down about 15 pounds!)
• Ate Ice cream and oreos (Yeah I am living up my 3 days off!)
• Played Scrabble with Denae online (She won this time so we are all tied up 1:1)

8 Things I look forward to:

• Watching Kai learn something new
• Listening to Kai tell me about what he learned
• Seeing how Kai reacts to being in trouble for learning something new and not ok with mom (for instance the toilet brush is not a good sword and should not be used to fight Tigers...plunger also falls into this category. Yes, kitchen chairs will help you climb onto the counters but mom said to stay down!)
• When I actually work (going full time on Nov. 17th)
• Wednesdays (My mom has them off so we get to hang and usually we have Brynlee too!)
• Finishing the Book of Mormon (I am on 3 Nephi 20...the BEST part of the whole book!)
• Having the divorce finalized (not because it ends something that was wonderful at times and brought me the best thing in this world, Malakai. But, because I will finally be able to think about something else.)
• Falling in love again!

8 Favorite TV Shows:

• Grey's Anatomy
• ER
• Samantha Who?
• The Unit
• Desperate Housewives
• Ghost Whisperer
• So You Think You Can Dance/American Idol (I LOVE these because I watch them with my family! That makes everything better.)
• America's Next Top Model

8 Things I love about Fall:

• The gorgeous scenery
• The little nip in the air
• Lisa's hot apple cider
• Pumpkin as an ingredient (Mmm pie!)
• Getting Kai ready for Halloween
• Being around family for the Holidays
• Snuggling up in a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and a great book
• General Conference

8 Things on my wishlist: This stupid question made me cry like a baby!

• Charlie in a good happy place in his life.
• My basement finished
• Enough hours at work to keep my bank account sufficiently full to pay all the bills.
• A strong testimony for Malakai to help him fight all the evil in this world.
• My mom to outlive me! I don't think I could go on without her.
• Someone who loves me for who I am and works with me to make our family celestial. Who finds as much joy in the gospel and in the temple as I do.
• Another baby!
• The dome light in my van to work.

4th Folder...4th Picture:

Kai on the Heimich Ride at Disneyland.

8 People I tag:

K so see here is the problem. I don't think that there are 8 people that actually read my blog. I blog for me and Kai and for my family. I guess this is my slacker way of keeping a scrapbook. But, I actually enjoyed doing this post. It made me think about my life and what was important to me. So, if any of you want to do this...great...I tag you!

HSM3

Last night after Denae's girls were tucked into bed and Charlie had Kai, Denae and I went out to dinner and a movie. Denae has become my official date night person! I am warming up to the idea of real dating slowly. Just kidding. We decided that we would go see HSM3 mainly because we had seen all the other good movies (Remember our last date? 3 movies in 1 day!) I was curious as to how Disney managed to make 3 different films from the exact same storyline but from the very first moment of song and dance I knew I was going to love it! It was cheesey and innocent and made me smile. Picture a basketball court...16 minutes left in the championship game...East High Wildcats are behind...Cue music...Fade lights...Introduce dramatic tween love scene of Gabriella standing up in the crowd...single spotlight on her...pledging her belief in Troy. Yeah, it was pretty awesome!

I have since decided that life would be a lot funner if it were a musical! I can just imagine...well, I will spare you all my glorious voice and will not narrate my life in song, unless it is in my car or shower then all bets are off!

Trick or Treat?

As a kid I enjoyed Halloween because of the candy and my giant sweet tooth. As I sit here and reminisce I realize it has been an exciting day in my past. I remember the one year when Trent was just little (I think maybe 3-4?) and was a GI Joe. He was so excited that he ran across the street and ran SMACK into a dark blue minivan! The van had seen him and was virtually stopped but he still plowed head long into it. Good thing he was wearing that cheap plastic helmet otherwise he might have had some permanent brain damage...hey wait, I wonder if that is why...Just kidding!

Then there was my senior year when I was dating Michael Chatterton. A couple of my girlfriends and I dressed up and went over to his house for a party. I was a very lovely Tinkerbell. He lived in Lindon and the streets had a lot of really deep dips. I of course, was driving my awesome 1981 Nissan Pulsar and took a dip too fast. I ripped off my muffler, of course I didn't rip it off all the way, that would have been too easy. I just ripped off the front end so that as I drove it would drag on the street. Nothing announces your arrival like a car without a muffler and the grating of the metal muffler on the ground. So being the resourceful girl that I am I climbed under my car and tied the muffler back up with my tinkerbell belt! Mike was sweet enough to take the muffler off all the way when I got to his house. That was a noisy ride home!

After that year Halloween kind of lost its appeal. I was in college and then married. So it was fun to be able to get excited again for Kai. This is our conversation yesterday:

Me: Kai Kai! Today is Halloween. What are you going to say today?
Kai: I'm Scooby Doo!
Me: Yeah...you are going to be Scooby but you need to say Trick or Treat. Can you say that?
Kai: NO! I AM SCOOBY DOO!
Me: K Whatever.

We have had his Scooby costume for a couple weeks and I think he has worn it about 8 times so it was no trouble getting him into costume. I was another story. For Christin's Halloween party Denae and I were Marines. I asked Denae what the plan was and she said Sexy soldier and Maureen was being a sexy cop. I wanted to fall back to my previous plan and go as a nurse but I thought well if they are going to be silly then I will too...hence the sexy nurse! Or atleast, my attempt at sexy. I don't do sexy nearly as well as I do clumsy and awkward.


I am wearing half the clothes that I graduated nursing school in. The cap is really my nursing cap from graduation as is the top. The skirt I bought online to wear to graduation but when I tried it on it was WAY too big so I wore pants. Yesterday I pulled the skirt up over my boobs and wore it as a dress with my tank top over top. It really was that long!

Malakai had a great time hanging out with his "girls". Aren't they adorable? I will readily admit that Bailey is a much cuter Tinkerbell than I ever was.

Kai did really well walking but after a while he got tired and hot. It didn't help that I dressed him in a sweatshirt and then his polyester Scooby costume. He has a paranoid mom that is always cold!

This is him taking off his Scooby hood and telling me his hair is wet. I told him it was just sweat and it would dry...he was not so sure that was ok.

Kai made a pretty good haul. I have already eaten all his little candy bars. Good thing he likes suckers (they must have been on sale somewhere because everybody was handing them out). This is him sitting on a swinging porch bench in front of Denae's uncle's store checking out his loot.

He settled on Skittles! Then he spilled most of them on the ground. Quick...10 second rule!

I thought this was hilarious! He saw this mask at the craft store and wanted to try it on...Yeah sometimes he can be a little demon but I love him all the same!

*Special thanks to Denae for pictures of yesterday! Love you!

Carving pumpkins...or something

A few weeks ago my mom and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch behind the county jail and let them get pumpkins. Kai's pumpkin has sat on our front porch untouched until tonight when I got put on call at work and was so bored even being crafty sounded good. So, we pulled out the old towels, stripped off Kai's clothes and got down to business. I knew that I couldn't trust him with a knife (Go ahead and give me Mother of the Year right now) so we opted for finger paints. I thought that he would really enjoy taking out the seeds and inside of the pumpkin, after all that is a very messy job and my son has never been one to worry about being dirty. But, he wasn't too interested and let me do the dirty work.

Don't worry though, he got his hands, tummy, legs, arms, kitchen floor and walls messy when it came time to paint. Thank heavens I am a smart mommy who used washable paint.

After the bath, which he really needed we put his super man pj's on. I heard him giggling on the stairs and went to see what he was doing. He goes "Look mommy! I am flying!" and then slid down the stairs on his tummy. He makes me laugh!

In Case You Are Interested...

Twilight: The Movie

Well, the movie comes out on November 21st. I have mixed emotions about this. You know how sometimes you love a book and then you see the movie and it kind of ruins it for you? Well, that is what I am afraid will happen this time. I have seen the trailers and I get where they are going with it but here is my problem...The Edward is not gorgeous, Rosalie isn't a natural blonde or the most beautiful girl in the world and Emmett isn't big enough! Yeah, I know small stuff. I was really frustrated with this right after I read the books but the more I look at the pictures and the closer it gets the more ok I become with the situation. So, I am going to go see the movie. I am going to have an open mind and I am going to enjoy it! That's my resolve.

Update: I just talked to Denae and we now are getting tickets to see Twilight at midnight on the 20th. OK...maybe I am a little excited!

Blogger Slacker!

Ok so I have been a blogger slacker. A lesser person would come up with various excuses as to why they have not blogged in over a week. But not me! Nope, I am going to own it! I have been slacking. So since we have established that I am big enough to admit that I have been slacking here is what my excuses would have been had I not been such a big person:

1) In the last 2 weeks I have read all 4 of the Twilight books and what is available on the internet of Midnight Sun. I know my earlier post said that I was hoping for one of them to get hit by a bus and no that didn't happen although, Bella does almost get flattened by a van. I couldn't believe how VERY much I enjoyed them. No need to panic though. I don't think that I am obssessed. I will not be sending Twilight flair to you all on Facebook or running to the nearest kiosk at the mall to pad my wardrobe with pro Edward shirts and socks. I enjoyed the simple love story, the easy reading and even gasp! the romance. I loved the way the writter described a simple touch or kiss...it made me smile and remember the early days of love. It even made me think a little about the future (No, I don't see a stunningly beautiful vampire in it but, maybe another first kiss!). That idea makes me hyperventilate a little!!! These books were a great escape for me, eventhough I think Kai watched a little too much Scooby Doo as I escaped.

2) I got the divorce stipulation from my lawyer which lead to several INTENSE conversations with Charlie. These conversations did not leave me exactly warm and fuzzy or in the mood to see, talk or breathe around another human being! So, that lead me very easily back to excuse #1! After some compromises the stipulation has been signed and is awaiting the judges approval as I type.

3) We got to watch Brynlee a lot this week! It was very fun having that sweet little girl around. She is so easy to watch and Kai just adores her. On Monday I had to run to Target to change his Halloween costume for a bigger size and Lisa met us there to pick up Brynlee. As soon as she opened the van door Kai started crying and said "No! My baby! My Brynee!" Yeah, I think he is in love!

4) I went to the doctor on Thursday to get the results of my colposcopy. Everything is fine! I wasn't terribly worried but you know anytime anything is abnormal it makes ya a little nervous. HOORAY for not having cancer! I just have cervixitis. The doctor says it mostly happens from having intercourse before the test... Awkward pause followed by slightly hysterical laughing and then profuse apologies to the doctor...Hmm any other causes cause that is NOT the case here!?

5) On Saturday I decided that I had had enough sulking and I needed to get out. Thankfully, Denae was feeling the same way! So we got dressed up in some of Charlie's old cammies and went to Christin's Halloween party. We were glad we were able to be there and represent 6th floor! We had a good time playing games, competing to see who the least coordinated person was on Dance Dance Revolution and having a psychic read our cards. Apparently, I am destined to be poor and depressed...I did not need a psychic to tell me that! I believe that is called Divorce! It was interesting to hear the things she had to say. I still think that I will trust my path to a more omniscient and comforting source. But, it was fun none the less.

My camera has been acting up. I think I need a new battery but here is the one picture that I got of Denae. We both wore cammies so just envision my face over hers. I asked Kai how I looked and he smiled and said "Perfect!" I must be teaching him good.

6) My mom bought Kai Kai foam swords at the dollar store and ever since whatever free time I had after everything else has been spent fighting imaginary tigers, dragons and various monsters on Scooby Doo!

This has been my life. It wasn't a particularly bad week, just an antisocial week. I will get my camera fixed and try harder this week. I promise!

Conflicted

Another round of the 11 day diet has come to a close and though my clothes are fitting looser I still wouldn't feel completely satisfied until I see those numbers drop on the scale. So, it was with a light and slightly anxious heart that I stopped at the gym on the way home for my weigh in. I walked in and....gasp! They changed the scale! What?! But the old one was calibrated...is this one the same? Oh the frustration. OK so I take off my shoes (they were heavy high heels) and step gingerly onto the new scale...down 3 lbs! Ok not exactly the ground breaking results I had hoped for. Now I am miffed at the gym and the new EVIL scale.

I drive home angry at whoever changed the scale. In my head I am concocting situations in which a very fat person stood on the scale and broke it and that is why the gym would do something like change the scale on me. Hmm I think, I have a scale at home. Now that I don't trust the gym anymore maybe I should start using that scale. It would be more convinient. OK so I am home now and I go upstairs. I set my home scale on the ground and step onto it again...silently praying that this is an angel scale and wasn't sent by the devil like the one at the gym! 11 lbs! Yes! That is better...wait....the euphoria is ending....confusion is setting in...8 lbs difference? Hmm which scale to believe? I am not sure but I am going to start using the home scale from now on (you know 'cause it was nice and said I weighed less just like a good friend should do).

So this update on the Battle of the Bulge is a toss up: if you are a pesimist you may side with the evil gym scale and believe I only lost 3 lbs. If you are an optimist and want to live to see tomorrow you will side with me and the home scale and report a record weight loss of 11 lbs! In any case, I am starting again on Monday so on the 31st I hopefully will have a more exact update.

Faith

"And now as I said concerning Faith- faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen which are true. And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word." Alma 32:21-22

I have felt like the last couple of days have been a true test of my faith and yet the amazing part is that each time I have been tested or pushed and I have called upon God, He has answered me and strengthened my faith. I have seen His hand cover and protect me. He has guided my heart and my mind and I pray that as I start this next phase in my life that He will give me the same inspiration.

Twilight

Well, I am reading Twilight.

I know that I am a bit behind the major trend but like most things I had to wait for Denae to introduce it to me. Denae blogs so I start a blog. Denae is on Facebook so I join Facebook. Denae loves Twilight so...I take my time reading really long boring books about the Revolutionary War. Denae has been telling me for months that I should stop reading Prelude to Glory which I complained about often and start reading Twilight, but I just couldn't stop in the middle of book five. I felt like a failure and honestly, a little bit of a traitor. So I stuck it out. I persevered and finally finished the fifth book just 2 weeks over due to the library. This book only took me 8 weeks to read, just four more books in the series to go. OK, do the math...that is 8 months! No way can I read about the British and the pesky rabble rousers aka the Americans for the next year. So I started reading Twilight. Now I have been opposed to reading this because I have not been exactly thrilled about reading about young, beautiful star crossed lovers even if one is a vampire. A friend told me that she liked the books because it gave her hope about love. If this mortal girl and vampire could make it with all their differences, then anyone could. Well, that was not the bait that was going to hook me. After all, I live in my life where this mortal girl and her Marine couldn't even make it and we both have pulses. So as I cracked the cover open I had a silent prayer in my heart that maybe one of them would get hit by a bus!

Well, I am now about 1/3 of the way through it and there has been no tragic bus accidents...but I have enjoyed it. I didn't think that I would. And though, I don't have a new outlook on love it has been fun to read about these two young people and the awkwardness that surrounds them. I have a feeling that awkwardness will be abounding on many of my future dates. And an added bonus, I don't think that anyone will get shot by a 0.75 caliber lead ball coming from a British musket or that I will have it narrated by my very bad British accent in my head. "Eh, who goes 'er?" Yeah it even sounds Canadian to me. Here's to hoping!

Oooh Sugar, sugar!

So for a long time I have known that my child loves the pure white stuff, the addictive drug that is sugar. He wakes up in the morning and asks for a "teat mommy?" During the summer he considered a a popsicle in each hand a balanced breakfast. Potty training went relatively well as long as the treat jar was filled with Hershey's mini candy bars. Yes, my child inherited my weakness, a sweet tooth. Well, it has finally gotten out of hand. My mom keeps her sugar and flour for baking in large drawers in her kitchen. They are lined with tin bins that have sliding lids so the product is just dumped inside. Kai Kai has known for a long time that touching these drawers result in "Oh Bummer." This is mainly because he enjoys making a mess with the flour. Well tonight I was at my mom's house when Kai came over and opened the sugar drawer. I told him No and closed the drawer. He opened it again...ok "Oh Bummer, this is so sad. Looks like Kai needs a little alone time." Well, the sneaky little bugger out manuvered me as I went to grab him, he ducked around me and stuck his hand in the drawer coming up with sugar dusted fingers which he promptly thrust into his mouth..."Mmmm Nummy! It's good!" My mom and I just laughed. So much for the Oh bummer. I agreed, sugar is good but it is bad for your teeth. I washed his hands and face and sent him back to the couch to watch Scooby while my mom and I finished dinner. A few minutes later Kai walked back into the kitchen. I heard the drawer open. "Oh bummer, who is getting into the sugar?" Bummer should have been the trigger word, I am sure in the parenting book the model child would have closed the drawer and walked sheepishly out of the kitchen. My child? He answered "Kai Kai!" and emerged with a small handful of sugar which went immediately into his mouth. Hmm, I think we have a hardcore habit developing.

Cornbelly's

The kids are back in town for a couple of weeks which means that we get to do lots of fun and exciting things like...

going to CORNBELLY'S!!! I always have had sneaking suspicions that these kids were animals. Mine really could have been raised in a barn.

Although, this picture is very deceiving. He is the most melancholy little horse but I swear as soon as I was done taking pictures he ran off like I had given him 3 cans of Coke...which I had not!

Sabina looks like a sheep that really did get its head stuck in a fence! She just cracks me up. She can be so serious sometimes.

I was so surprised at the number of things there were to do there. Kai was just excited they had water. He and water go together like...well like a fish to water.

I think whoever runs Cornbelly's must be a blogger because there were photo ops everywhere! They also have these great little wagons that are free! I mean come on, even the mall charges!

Of course, Kai had to show off his Heman strength.

That lasted for about 3 minutes before mommy convinced him to climb in and hold onto Brynlee. She was standing up and wouldn't sit down. He loves that little girl so much and would do anything to help her.

We went through the kiddie maze. I am going to claim that that was because the kids needed it but to be honest Lisa said that she got lost in the big maze last year and we didn't want to run the risk.

Good thing too because Kai was the one leading! He did find this dead end and was confused as to why I told him we couldn't go that way. Sabina is not insisting we go this route. In fact, she is explaining how this is a short cut and if we took it we would be cheating. Again, she cracks me up. Malakai looks like that is exactly what he has in mind...short cut you say?

This picture just made me laugh! The look on his face is kind of like the one his dad had on his face when he slammed my van into the back of the car in front of us on I 15 and caused a 5 car pile up. Of course, if Kai does that in 14 years I probably won't find this look so cute.

These tire swings were cute but not very stable of comfortable. I am on a horse, Kai is on a moose.

I think that it is appropriate that when you are sitting on a cow you say "MOO" not "cheese" when you are getting your picture taken! So this is all of us saying "MOO!"

And again, she cracks me up!

They had diggers so that and the water pretty much made my kid THE happiest 2 year old in the world! Now, if only his arms were longer.

Oh, and bikes...yeah I think Kai was in love with Cornbelly's.

It is a little pricey to get in normally but Hogi Yogi has 2 for 1 coupons and 2 and under is free. So for the 6 of us (Grandma, mom, Sabina, Trevor, Kai and Brynlee) it was only $20. If the weather stays warm I think I will take Kai back...I have more 2 for 1 coupons. Who wants to be my #2?!