The McIntire's

Head "boo boo" and a little craftiness

2012-02-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Kyra has fallen off things and hurt herself before but today was the first "head" injury that involved blood. Poor little girl fell and hit the corner of a toy box.

I'm amazed that she hasn't had more injuries because she is constantly climbing on something. Yesterday she wanted to be in the baby swing so she climbed up into it and began to swing. I had to stop her because she was swinging sooo high I was afraid she was going to tip it over. The smile she had on her face was priceless. She is such a cutie.

My children are so funny. The other day Tristan put his hat over his face and placed his glasses over it and than told me that he was a criminal. Too cute.

Kyra is my little eater and LOVES to feed herself. She was eating Mac and Cheese and had it everywhere. It wasn't bath night but that changed. I also gave her a bath in the big tub for the first time. She is so small that the sink has been her bathtub for the last 13 months. Kyra was scared at first, but once she sat down and was able to play with a few toys and her brother--getting her out of the bath was a nightmare. She really enjoyed it.

I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for the crafts I've completed in the last few weeks. I'm not a huge craft person---but I thought they turned out really well.

Valentine Garland

I cut a couple of Cortlynn's dance t-shirts and than weaved them for a different look. She loves wearing them to Jazz and for warm-ups during her ballet classes. The other girls in the class were shocked that Cortlynn's mom knows how to do these shirts. I don't know what Cortlynn was doing in this photo--being goofy I guess. The red shirt is the back and the white is shown in the front.

I found a few pairs of big girl socks that I turned into baby leg warmers. Kyra's little chubby thighs are adorable in these lip/zebra print socks.

Great Flood.......

2012-01-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Do you ever sit and wonder how evil the world really was before the "Big Flood"--you know, the flood where Noah built the Ark and everyone and everything was covered in water except for what was on the ark??? I do-and I can't imagine how bad it was based on the world today. Believe me-I'm not perfect or holier than thou: I occasionally say a bad word or two...or three:-) I enjoy Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, The Walking Dead, Rescue Me; I watch rated R movies, I gossip, enjoy a cup of coffee some times, I have strong feelings of hate for a few people, I get jealous; and these are just a few of my "flaws"---BUT I can't get over how much "trash" we put up with in our day to day lives.
A few months ago there was a huge debate over the airing of the show "The Playboy Club" or something like that--I don't know I didn't watch it. With all the flack the show received and I doubt it was any good-it was cancelled. No complaints about that. I want to complain about another show that has a target audience of family. It is a little show called "Family Feud". I absolutely HATE, despise this show but I find myself watching it every so often and I end up ticked that the show is on during the day when children can watch it. It should be called "Nasty Puzzle Feud" or "Sexual Innuendo Feud". I think about 90% of the puzzles have answers pertaining to male and female anatomy and the word sex. Just a few examples:
****Name one thing you would buy a male stripper for his birthday.
****What could an airline pilot have in his hand during a 24 hour flight?
****What could your wife find if you were cheating on her?
****What could happen if you have a one night stand?
***Name something you need on your wedding night.
These are just a few examples and I'm not even putting the answers. YES-the answers are what you are thinking. They even have "slang" names for the anatomy answers. It irritates the crap out of me. I can't believe people don't complain about this show. I'm getting irritated now just writing about it. AAAHHHH!!!!!
This little example doesn't scream, REASONS FOR A GREAT FLOOD- but it is just one little example of what we now find appropriate.

The other day I received one of those shopping magazines in the mail. Like the ones that have the inexpensive gifts, items for the home, etc. This one was different---Cortlynn was looking at it in the car and all of a sudden got this strange look on her face and put it down. I asked her what was going on and she told me that kids shouldn't look at that magazine. When I got home I looked at it....there were Cards, socks, bathmats, pet products, and all of a sudden in the middle of it---there were 4 pages of sexual products. Yep-you read that correctly. Videos, pills, and other "items" that I couldn't believe was in a magazine that was sent to "Neighbor at...." No wonder Cortlynn was a little embarrassed. Some of the items are items that you would find behind a locked cabinet at Karnation Intimate Apparel.....Now I need to look at the "innocent" shopping magazines prior to letting anyone look at them. When did this become the new normal???

(a little spoiler alert)
I just finished reading the book "Heaven is for Real" and it was written by a father of a little 4 year old boy that went to Heaven. I know-it seems far fetched-but some of the things in the book really makes you think that maybe he did go to heaven. It was a nice little book to read and when I was done with it-I wanted to wake up my kids and give them a huge hug and tell them how much I love them. The little boy told his parents that he had two sisters-one of which died in his moms tummy. (this happened prior to his birth and they had never told him about it) He met her in Heaven and she couldn't wait to have her family in Heaven with her. His mom miscarried at two months and didn't even know that it was a girl. I stopped and thought for a moment about all of those women that have lost a baby due to a miscarriage. The pain I can't imagine but to be able to have the hope to see that child in heaven just put a smile on my face.

One last thing---we watched "Courageous" the other night as a family. What a powerful little Christian film on love and family. I really enjoyed it and Cortlynn keeps telling me how good that movie was. If you haven't seen it-I would recommend it. It is by the same studio that made "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". It was nice to watch a movie knowing that Tristan wouldn't have to cover his eyes or plug his ears. (please don't think I have my children on my lap while I watch rated R movies---even PG movies have moments of eye covering for kids) I really believe PG/PG-13 movies were at least R 20 years ago.

Sorry about the soap box posting--if you don't like it, forget you read it and move on. :-)

Dance, new Baby, and crazy Hair

2012-01-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago it was parent observation week at Cortlynn's dance classes so it was a perfect opportunity for me to get a few photos of her. She is doing so good and I can't believe how flexible she is. (She doesn't believe me when I tell her I used to be able to do the splits.) I watched two ballet classes and one jazz class. The jazz class was sooooooo loud. The music actually shook the benches we were sitting on. I didn't get any photos of that class.

She can actually touch her foot to the ground if there is a person helping her push it down, while she has a smile on her face. This stretch is a little disturbing to me---I hurt just watching her do it.

Check out her posture. :-)

This last week I became an aunt again and I couldn't be more excited. Dan and Jen had their baby on Monday January 16th. Little Bridger Garrett is such a cutie! We were able to meet him last night. What a beautiful addition to their family. Kyra wasn't too sure what to think while I was holding him. I think she was a little jealous.

Kyra woke up from a nap yesterday and her hair was CRAZY!!! I just had to take a picture of it. Unfortunately you don't get the true feel of what it looked like. OUT of CONTROL!

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Swanson were able to spend a few days at house over the New Years Holiday. We ate so much yummy food; which included bacon wrapped lil' smokies AKA "Meat Candy" (my brother's name for them). We enjoyed sitting around and relaxing, opening a few presents, and also playing several games. Cortlynn and Tristan talked grandma into Just Dance and even GhostBusters on the Wii.
All of us stayed up way too late multiple nights playing Apples to Apples and Phase 10- which Devin continued winning; even though he had never played Phase 10 before. Beginners luck I think.
I can't believe how fast the holiday past and that Cortlynn is already back to school. Overall we had a wonderful Holiday and enjoyed being able to spend time with family.

Just a few photos of the kids opening gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Swanson.

Kyra has decided that she isn't afraid of hanging out with people other than mom and dad. She LOVED to spend time with grandma and grandpa. Kyra fell asleep on grandpa one night: my mom and I couldn't decide if she was so tired from playing or bored watching "Gold Rush" with grandpa....I'm thinking boredom. :-)
The morning they left Kyra had a death grip on grandpa: She wouldn't let go even to come to me or Devin. I don't think she wanted them to leave.

Christmas and Birthday.....2011

2011-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been busy ones at our house. Kyra turned one on Friday and I didn't want her to think that we didn't have a birthday party for her so I decided to have a small one on Christmas Eve. I feel bad that Kyra's birthday is so close to Christmas and I hope she has her own special day(s) every year. We had a Christmas Eve party with Devin's family and thought we would open presents and have a cake for her. Making a cake in the middle of the holiday baking was challenging-but I think it turned out pretty cute.

Kyra wasn't sure what she was supposed to do when I set her in the highchair with a cake on the tray. It was too cute-she just stared at me until I gave her a little taste. After that first taste it was all over. She stuck her face in the cake and couldn't get enough of it.

Of course I had to get a picture of her in the sink after eating the cake. The water turned pink she had so much on her. The presents were a hit as well. I had to help her quite a bit-but she loved her gifts.

I took a few photos of the decorations before the craziness of the party and gifts opening.

Christmas Eve was fun. We enjoyed a lot of good food and treats. We also had a special visit from Santa. The look on Tristan's face when Santa came down the stairs was priceless. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that thanks to my batteries being dead in the camera. Tristan sat on his lap and couldn't believe he was at our house! Kyra was terrified and wouldn't let go of her cousin Hayden. When Santa left-Tristan wanted everyone to leave so he could go to bed and Santa would stop by again.

This year we had a special guest at our house during the month of December. A lot of families have an "Elf on the Shelf" which I think is cute-but I wanted to do something different. Tinsel the Magical Reindeer arrived at our home while we were gone and he had a note attached. The note explained who he was and that he reports to Santa every day. He also likes to hide and spy on the kids so every morning Tristan has to find him. Tristan loved Tinsel and was excited every morning to hunt for him in his secret hiding spots. (tree, lamps, stockings, refrigerator, cupboards, etc) When Santa stopped by he took Tinsel with him. Tristan was sad until we told him that he would come back again next Christmas. On Christmas morning-there was a note on Santa's plate from Santa telling the kids that Tinsel left them special gifts---a pooping Santa,a pooping reindeer, and a pooping snowman.

Christmas morning was nice-the kids didn't wake us up until 9:15am!!! I know-I was shocked too. We opened gifts and had a nice relaxing morning. That evening we traveled to Idaho Falls to enjoy dinner with Devin's family and open gifts.

Kyra LOVES her new baby doll. She is such a sweet mommy.

The kids are modeling their new Christmas Eve pajamas. This was a new tradition I wanted to start this year and I almost forgot. I had to get the kids out of bed for us to open our pajama gifts.

Overall-we had a great Christmas and I get a little sad when it's "over". I wish the Christmas spirit stayed throughout the year....minus the stress and crowds. :-)

Happy 1st Birthday Kyra!!!!

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

A year ago today at 10:02am, Kyra Crystal was born. She was 20.5 inches long, 8lbs 4 oz. I can't believe she is already 1. Where does the time go?? Kyra is such a spunky little sweetheart and our lives couldn't be better with her in it. She LOVES her brother and sister and can't get enough mommy and daddy time. She is beginning to walk everywhere and is in to everything. Kyra loves to play with her baby doll and will cover her up with a blanket and carry her around like a real baby. She may not be a sleeper or a napper but when you look at her face and her big smile-you don't care how tired you are. I love her sooooo much and am thankful each and every day that she joined our family on December 23, 2010.

Happy 1st Birthday Kyra!!!

Nutcracker 2011 and Trix on the floor

2011-12-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday was the last performance of the Nutcracker and in a way I'm so glad it is over. Over the last two weeks she was in 4 performances and 2 mini performances for the schools. She has also been practicing for a minimum of 2 hours each week since October-on top of her 3 days a week dance classes. Every performance of the Nutcracker was sold out; and they actually set up folding chairs in the aisles. On Saturday they had a waiting list for even more folding chairs. All of the dancers do such a great job and it is very professional looking. I'm so proud of her and the talent she has. Even though she can only hear in one ear-her musicality is amazing. It isn't just me being a proud mother saying this-but also the academy owners/instructors. They can't believe how well she does with one ear.

I decided to help out backstage with the little "chefs" this year because none of their mothers signed up. I helped last Friday and thanks to one of the other mothers of a "cherub"-I almost went crazy. She was beyond obnoxious. Cortlynn told me that she was up there every night-even when she wasn't supposed to be. She's one of those people that has to be the center of attention and doesn't follow the rules or instructions. She actually told the dance instructor what to do and how to choreograph the dance. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

Cortlynn was a rat this year and was in the fan favorite "battle scene"

This week we made some ornaments with the kids. The ornaments came in prepackaged kits and I think someone or the machine had a sense of humor. The gingerbread man that went on Kyra's ornament had some stars and twirls in places that shouldn't have them. Cortlynn was the one that pointed this out.

Check out the "naughty" gingerbread man on the right.

I think I've mentioned in a past blog how Kyra has discovered the cereal cabinet. This is Kyra digging into the Trix box. She will actually move the Pops, and Rice Krispies to get to the Trix.

She spilled the cereal in this picture and the look on her face is hilarious. (I think she also had a mouth full of cereal)

We have a baby swing that Kyra was never interested in until I started watching baby Kloe. Now-she plays with it all the time. She will put her baby doll in the swing and swing it high. Last week I turned around and she had climbed into the swing by herself and started to swing it back and forth. She is such a little stinker but I love her.

Don't you dare sit on your (bleep) ...Oh the Drama!

2011-12-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

These last few days I've wondered how people can be so mean to each other-especially little girls. I was 10 once and in 5th grade, but I honestly don't remember being so mean and full of drama. Perhaps I blocked it from my memories and my mom remembers my pre-teen years differently. I don't know-but Cortlynn sure has had a few moments that have caused me to consider never allowing her to leave the house.

A few weeks ago a girl in her class was having a birthday party and invited every girl in the class except Cortlynn and her friend. This is alright-I don't expect her to be invited to all parties but the birthday girl and her "posse" actually went up to Cortlynn and the other girl and made a point to tell them that they were the only ones not invited. I guess the birthday girl and her friend didn't like Cortlynn's friend and were very mean to her at school. They even called her up at home and said horrible things. (not sure why--- caller ID and they left messages; easy to trace) The moms got involved and made the trouble makers apologize. Fast forward a week---now Cortlynn is the odd one out. Her "best" friend is now best friends with the other girls that were so nasty to her. (can anyone say "Heathers"???? a cult classic movie)

I've actually been dragged into the new drama filled blow up. A few nights ago-a dance mom approached me and told me how her daughter was accused of saying a bad word to another dancer and Cortlynn was the "witness". That night I sat down with Cortlynn and asked her the deal between the two girls. She rolled her eyes and told me how they are always being snotty to each other and that she tries to stay out of it. I asked her if she had ever heard either one of them say any bad words and she told me no. (Just the older girls and adults :-0 I talk to the mom again last night at dress rehearsal and told her that Cortlynn has never HEARD any bad words come out of either girls mouths. End of story. Nope--the girl making the accusation actually came up to me and told me that Maddi did say a bad word and that I need to say that. OH no you didn't little missy! I had to explain to her that I wasn't there and Cortlynn didn't hear anything so neither one of us would say anything different. The "funny" thing is the fact this has been going on for a week now and the incident took place 2 months ago. You would think that the word used was the mother of all words or even one of the other words that is used to describe certain women. Nope----the phrase in question is: "All she does is sit on her @$$"

Yep-that is it. Who would have thought WW III would have been started with the word @$$? Don't get me wrong, I don't think it is appropriate for little girls to have potty mouths and the world is full of to many "F" words--but stating that she sits on her butt???? The girl wasn't even called a "butt".... I don't know. I guess some women have to have drama in their lives and if their lives are boring they have to invent something to bitch about. (oh yes-I went there)

Birthday, Thanksgiving, Photos, and Raaawwrrrr

2011-12-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

This past week I "celebrated" my 36th birthday. 36!!! I can't believe that I am 36 years old. Just 4 more years before I am 40. I think because of that reason-I had a difficult time with this birthday. The kids were cute-they wanted to make sure they gave me my hugs and kisses, my birthday spanking, and Tristan even thought I should make myself a cake so I could blow out the candles. Devin gave me one of the best gifts I've ever received....a Kitchen Aid mixer. YEAH!!!! I am so excited to finally have a mixer that works. I've had several hand mixers, but unfortunately have burned the motors up. I just can't get over how much I LOVE my mixer. Thank you so much DEVIN!

For Thanksgiving the kids and I went up to Angela and Jeff's house for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and loved being able to sit back and relax. Devin came up after work: and I ate some more. YUMMY! Thanks guys-for having such a great Thanksgiving dinner!

I tried to take pictures of Tristan and Cortlynn this week and I can't believe how old they look. My little babies are growing up. :-(

A few weeks ago I took Kyra in for her 1 year photo. WOW-I can't believe she will be 1 in a few weeks. Anywhooo- She wasn't very cooperative this time. Most of the photos she was sitting on my lap. Thank goodness the photographer was able to crop me out. The following are just a few of the pictures-I am pretty happy with them. She is just so photogenic.

Several people made comments on Cortlynn's Halloween costume and the resemblance between her and me-so I looked thru my old photo albums and found one of me in the same costume. It's amazing how camera's have improved over the last 17 years---the photo quality has definitely improved.

1994 2011

11-20-2006

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little boy is 5 years old. Time sure flies by quickly. I remember the day he was born just like it was yesterday---November 20, 2006 was one of the happiest days of my life. Tristan is a special little boy who is full of laughs and love. He is constantly moving, playing, and being silly. His dad, sisters, and I love him so very much and wish him a very happy birthday!

Since my parents were going to be at our house after dropping my sisters off at the MTC--I decided to have a birthday party with the grandparents on Wednesday. Tristan chose to have hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. We opened gifts and ate his 1st birthday cake.

On Saturday we had a "boy" birthday party and he invited a few friends and his favorite boy cousin Brayden to come over and play. They played hard, opened gifts, and we ate birthday cake #2. He had a great time and enjoyed playing with his friends.

Cake #1

Cake #2

I was so happy that the little boys and Daniel knew what the cake was supposed to be (Batman and the Green Lantern)

Just a few photos of Tristan during the years.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy week at the McIntire home. Kyra has been fighting an ear infection, fever, and a variety of rashes and now some nasty hives. Poor little girl. She is such a trooper and will still have that big smile on her face even when she has a 104plus temperature.

With Halloween being this week we had several activities the kids participated in. On Saturday we had our Ward's trunk or Treat. It was a little cold and I didn't plan on as many kids tat showed up so we ran out of candy after 20 minutes. oops. I even dressed up for this one. We carved pumpkins that night as well. I even stuck my hand in the pumpkin and cleaned it out. I hate this and having nasty, slimy stuff on my hands makes me sick-but I did it. (there is a photo to prove I did it) The kids and I made sugar cookies on Halloween and they had so much fun and can't believe how good they are. The kids got all dressed up and I was an idiot and took them to the mall for some trick or treating.....STUPID! This will be the last time I do this. You can't pay me enough in money and/or candy to stand in line for 30plus minutes to get one jolly rancher from 20 different stores. It was awful and I can't believe some of the costumes little girls and teens were wearing. It was like I was on the "rd light" district.(If you know what I mean) I would never let Cortlynn wear some of that stuff.

We came back home, ate dinner, and went around the neighborhood. Kyra and I didn't last very long since she wasn't feeling the best and the hives were pretty miserable. We came back home and handed out candy. Funny story about the candy this year. Devin had a huge container of jaw-breakers that I decided to hand out rather than candy bars. So we handed out a handful to each kid----I asked Devin how old they were and he chuckled....He was given the container from Dan at the A+A Market probably 16+years ago. ;-0 Hopefully back than the dyes they used were safe.

This was completely full of 16+yr old jawbreakers ;-)

Devin, Cortlynn, and Tristan walked everywhere and came home with two huge bags full of goodies---some of which were big sized candy bars (who does this??). They were so worn out that both were snoring in their beds when I went and checked on them later that night.

Kyra looking cute with her hives everywhere. They aren't that dark in these photos b/c I had just given her a baking soda bath.

I've started babysitting 3 children on Mondays. They belong to a long0time family friend and they are so cute. This is Kloe-the 6 month old little girl. Cortlynn only has a little jealousy going on. The two little boys (4 and 2) wouldn't sit still long enough for a photo.

Too cute---enjoying the bubbles in her bath.

Rawwwwrrrrrr (she's actually a cave women)

Tristan AKA Green Lantern

Gotta love her blue tongue (from a blue dum-dum sucker she tasted)

Look---I am putting my hand inside the pumpkin. eeek

Tristan was begging his dad not to kill the pumpkin and take its heart out. Too funny!

Cortlynn dressed as a flapper to the Trunk or Treat

Trunk or Treat night

Trip to Colstrip, Montana

2011-10-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Before my sister Nicole goes on her mission in November I had promised the kids a trip to Montana to visit my parents and sister. Last week Cortlynn had a short week at school and I decided that would be the perfect time to travel for a visit. Since it takes such a long time-I planned on driving half way and staying Wednesday night in Bozeman. I'm so glad I did that. I wasn't feeling very well and driving for 8 hours didn't sound too exciting. We arrived in Bozeman a little after 7:00, found some food for dinner, and checked into our room. I found a sweet deal at a Ramada that was cheaper than a Super 8 AND they had a pool with a water slide. The kids were so excited. We went to the pool and Cortlynn couldn't wait to try out the water slide. The pool was a little deep for Tristan but he had fun hanging on the his sister. After a few turns down the slide I had to try it out myself. I think it has been 25plus years since I've gone down a water slide and it was so much fun! Kyra didn't know what to think about mom looking like a drowned rat and freaked out. She couldn't be consoled. She looked at me like she didn't know me and would just shake and scream. Poor girl! It took her about 20 minutes to calm down and that was after I changed and dried off.

The next morning we finished the journey to Colstrip. The weather was nasty most of the time so some of the plans we had changed but we had a good visit. We ate a lot of good food and played some fun games. Kyra actually warmed up to my parents and Nicole and let them hold her. The last night she wouldn't let go of grandpa. Too cute.

We left Sunday morning for the LONG trip home. It took even longer thanks to the fact I got sick a few times. (I swear I payed for my gall bladder to be removed 13 yrs ago I think it grew back or was never removed.) WOW-what a long trip. Kyra handled sitting in her car seat for almost 10 hrs extremely well. The kids had a great time and Tristan has already asked me when we can visit them again.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Nicole for letting us stay.

Kyra's first sucker and she loved it.
I think Cortlynn borrowed my camera and took the picture of Nicole.

This is the water slide. It felt like it turned forever!

Kyra and I even enjoyed the water before Kyra's total break down.

Look- here is proof they actually love each other.

Parade, SCARY doll, Peas and Carrots

2011-10-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the ISU Homecoming parade yesterday and they had so much fun; for the first hour at least. After that they wanted to know when it would be over. It lasted 1 1/2hrs. It's funny to see people that were in the parade actually watching the parade: I actually saw one boy on two different floats (one towards the beginning and one towards the end.) Tristan and Cortlynn collected SOOOOOOOO much candy. All the candy was thrown at us...I wouldn't let them run out to grab it, and neither would the police patrolling the parade route. Tristan also found a $1 bill. He was beyond excited on this one. Too cute. He is now saving for a $50 batman cave/castle.

This is the bowl of candy collected at the parade.

On Friday I decided to decorate for Halloween. I've had to make a few adjustments since my little girl is into EVERYTHING. There is nothing that is safe from Kyra. I have lights plugged into an outlet in our living room and she goes right to it. So I thought I would cover it by a large scary pumpkin. Nope-didn't work. She isn't scared of the scary pumpkin, the walking hand, the big scary, walking spider, or the scary candles I have. Nope-she is terrified of this doll in a wedding dress that was my moms. So- Cortlynn thought we could place it by the outlet. That worked. She won't go near it. Not sure why-but she doesn't like that doll. Too bad I don't have a few more to help out with the Christmas decorations. ;-)
This is as close as she will get to the doll-and she will keep her back to it.
Kyra is looking at the doll and wondering why we put her there.

I've had issues with Cortlynn and Tristan eating different types of food. Tristan even has a new food chart and every time he tries a new food he gets a sticker. After 20 stickers he can get a treat from daddy's store. That boy....he will take a bite of a new food and gag. Kyra-she is the opposite. She LOVES food. ALL kinds of foods. This week I gave her peas and carrots from my plate. She thought she was so big.
Look at that smile~no gagging from her.

Well Hmmmmm......

2011-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Wow-it's been awhile since my last post and I'm afraid this post might just be a "venting" post. It has been a difficult couple of weeks. First I have had several quality Mom of the Year moments. Kyra fell off the stairs and bumped the back of her head on our wood floor. After a few minutes she stopped crying, her eyes rolled back and she started shaking. That lasted for only a few seconds and than she would open her eyes, cry for a second, than close her eyes and not cry. SCARED me to death! I called my doctor uncle and aunt and they calmed my mommy nerves. She probably just knocked herself out. It was an awful feeling. Kyra is my baby that gets into EVERYTHING! You have to watch her 24/7 and if you turn your head for one moment-you better make sure what is around. The other day-I turned my head for a second and I heard her yell. When I located her-she had crawled behind the couch and found an old mouse trap. It snapped down on her right hand. I know it hurt but I think she was more upset. I can't believe she moves so fast and can locate things like this. I didn't even remember we had that trap back there. Poor little girl.

Tristan has been a hand full this week as well. He is a walking accident. That boy constantly has a bruise, cut, or scrape somewhere on his body. We walked up to the school to get Cortlynn and he was running on the sidewalk and fell. He skinned his knee and elbow up so bad. There was blood everywhere. It was nice to see all of the other kids run over to him and make sure he was alright. He is such a boy-anything having to do with bodily functions fascinates him. :( He made a mess in the bathroom the other day and when I asked him, "Tristan, why is there pee everywhere?" he responded with the following "Mom, I was trying to get the fly" I think I'm in some serious trouble with this little man. He'll keep me on my toes.

Cortlynn is doing well in school and loves going to dance-3 days a week. She was stretching the other night and she is soooooo flexible. I'm completely impressed. She has decided to run for class representative and is giving her speech tomorrow----we will have to see how that goes. (UDATE) She is disappointed that she didn't get enough votes to be the classroom rep. The boy that won brought suckers and told the class that he would give every person one if they voted for him. I feel bad-maybe I should have made some rice krispie treats or something but they technically weren't supposed to do that. Oh well-

Our basement is still causing me stress. The company came and fixed our carpet and steam cleaned last Friday and that night I found out that the wrong company did it. On Monday when I spoke to the restoration company to find out why there was such a mix up-the woman actually had the nerve to tell me she didn't know anything about the carpet company or what I was talking about. It took everything I had not to rip her a new one...I paused for a few breathes and informed her the days I spoke to her and refreshed her memory on our conversation. "Oh, that's right. I do remember. Hmmmmm, oops." So she tells me she will contact the insurance company and the carpet company and explain to them what happened. Well-I get home last night and I have a call from the carpet guy-he has no idea what is going on. Nice! I love it when people don't do what they say they are going to do. $100 bucks says she hasn't called the insurance company to get the funding switched so I will freak out again when I get he bill from the restoration company.

This past week there have been several horrific accidents that have killed several people and unfortunately Devin and I have known a couple of the victims. The first was a 23 year old man that Devin knew and who has been to our house on several occasions; he some how fell out of his moving truck and was killed. (there was alcohol involved so this one could have been avoided; but Devin was upset by it.) Two days later I heard that the interstate was closed due to an accident and I found out 3 hours later who was involved. The sweetest women named Cathy works at Fred Meyer with Devin and I've known her for years; her 17 year old daughter and her 18 year old boyfriend was driving down the freeway, something happened and she went thru the median, flipped the car upside down, and hit a semi head on. The car shattered. It didn't even look like a car-just pieces of metal. I feel so bad for Cathy-we would talk about her daughter Micah a lot because she was born with a hearing impairment too so she would give me advice on Cortynn's hearing loss. This has been a horrific week and I just hope this is the last of it.

On a positive note: Cortlynn took this cute picture the other day and it just brings a smile to my face. What cuties.

E.I.S.F. 2011

2011-09-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we took the kids to the fair and they had a great time. I ate so much food and enjoyed watching all of the interesting people. We didn't fork over $ to go on the rides instead I promised I would take them to the water park the next day. I think their favorite part was milking the fake cow and sitting in "bumble bee" aka the yellow camaro.

Tristan did it: he found enough money metal detecting with his dad to buy the batman car from Fred Meyer. He has been saving for this purchase for months and was so excited to finally have enough to buy it. What a cutie.

Tristan with his new car

Isn't she so cute

Kyra LOVES to play with her baby doll. She hugs her, kisses her, and will talk to her in a really high pitched squeal. It is too cute.

I took this picture of Tristan at the water park and it is so cute.

Maybe I should buy a cow and have the kids milk it. They did such a great job.

Kyra looking adorable while enjoying the fair

Tristan could have stayed at this booth all day. He ran around and looked at all the "Transformer" cars. Every time I turned around he was missing and I would find him sitting in this car. He keeps telling us that when he is big, his dad will buy him a Black Bumblebee car. Hmmmm, I doubt that honey. :-)

First Day of 5th Grade: 2011

2011-09-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Cortlynn is looking so old.... :-(

Tristan had to have his 1st day of "school" picture too.

This is just too cute of Kyra.

The first day of school was today and Cortlynn was so excited to start 5th grade. I can't believe she is in 5th grade already! Tristan was a little disappointed that he couldn't go to school but was more upset that he could go to daycare (he still hasn't caught on that mommy isn't working and is staying home with the kiddos). Cortlynn liked her teacher, loved seeing her friends and hopefully is ready to get back into the school year schedule. I just don't know if I' ready for the school year schedule: early mornings, homework, school activities, dance, etc.

Camping weekend and my swimsuit beauty.

2011-08-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not working at the bank anymore, we have a little bit more time to do family things when Devin has a day or two off: Last week we decided to go camping. We left Friday night after Devin got off work and drove up to Mackay. We camped down from the reservoir in our camper and had a fund couple of days. The kids were able to fish and go metal detecting. We also drove them up to the 1983 earthquake site and took some photos. I don't think either child really understood what they were looking at but oh well. We roasted marshmallows and I made some tasty foil dinners.

On our way back we stopped by the deli in Arco for a sandwich. We really should have kept on driving....there was the annual mens softball tournament going on and with only 2 places to eat in Arco on a Sunday the odds of it being busy were pretty high. UNDERSTATEMENT! There were people everywhere waiting for their food and when I went to order the girl was so snotty! There were two women working (1 being the owner) and she had to pull her husband and 2 kids to work. That poor guy had no clue what he was doing and they were all sweating up a storm (don't think you really are supposed to wipe the sweat off your head and hair with the plastic gloves than continue to make sandwiches--but ow well. After a 40 minute wait we finally get our meals (listening to the workers complain on how busy they were and that they couldn't believe how busy they were, etc.....hmmm I don't live there an I knew there was a tournament in town) I ordered a sandwich and some wild rice w/chicken soup. I took one bite and it was clam chowder. Devin tasted his and the same thing (I can't eat clam chowder, I can get sick) he takes it to them and tells them that there is clam chowder in it and they said, "No there isn't" ummmm yes there is.... "Well, I didn't do it. I don't know how that happened. It is soup at the bottom of the pot so maybe that's what happened." Really??? You think???

Photos at the earthquake "site"

Tristan was SOOOOO dirty by the 2nd night

Kyra outside in her bikini playing with the kids on the slip n/slide

Swanson Reunion 2011

2011-08-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

We were able to travel to Island Park for the 2nd Annual Swanson Family Reunion. We arrived to our cabin on Saturday, unpacked, and was ready for our vacation. Tristan and Cortlynn were so excited to hang out with their cousins and also aunt Nicole. We ate so much good food and snacks I think I left 20 pounds heavier.
This year we decided to decorate T-Shirts. The children decorated their own and the "adults" drew names and decorated that person's shirt. I was quite impressed by the talent and craftiness some of them had. The men may have been griping about the craft portion of the trip but the shirts turned out too cute.
The kids went fishing with their dads and grandpa, some went metal detecting, we had a water fight, cooked smores over the fire, had sno-cones, played cards, and other fun games. The adults had a Wii bowling tournament and I've decided NOT to lose the first game because than you have to come back from behind to try to win. I was so sore the next day. The Wii was a hit as well. The boys loved the hunting game and the girls couldn't get enough of the dancing game. My parents even "Walked like an Egyptian" with huge smiles on their faces. Nicole, dad, Daniel, Josh, and I also decided to play a game of Risk while Devin was out with Tristan(metal detecting). At the beginning Nicole and I decided to team up against the guys and it was the best thing we could have done. We didn't attack each other once the entire game and we slowly took each man out. Needless to say none of them were too happy with us. We didn't even play to see who won: we felt like winners for beating the boys. Teeheeheee
On Wednesday we left and decided to take the kids to Mesa Falls. Cortlynn and Tristan thought they were pretty but were ready to get home. We stopped in Idaho Falls and took them to "Bodies, The Exhibition". Tristan wasn't sure about it and wondered where all of these "monsters" came from: but still enjoyed it. Cortlynn really got into it and enjoyed it as well. All in all we had a great time away and spending it with family made it even better. Can't wait until next year!

Mesa Falls

BFF's Devin and Josh---metal detecting outside the cabin

Parents "dancing"

Nicole winning the favorite aunt title with taking all the kids to the hot tub (by herself) crazy women

The siblings modeling our T-Shirts

ALL the grandkids.

Look at the "sexy" grandparents

I drew Daniel's name and really put my heart into it. :-) Not sure if he appreciated the look I went for. (classy, sexy, diva)

Josh sure looks thrilled in this photo

Josh doing some serious thinking while working on the T-Shirt craft

(Do you like the craft shirts the kids are wearing? They are old Wamu and Chase work shirts. Something good came out of 13 years.)

Clayton and Kyra loved playing on the floor with each other.

Deja Vu: Attack of the Spinkler System Round 2, or 3, or 4??

2011-08-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well it has been over a month since my last post: Reasons- 1. We've been too busy for me to blog. 2. I've been pretty pissy about things and didn't want to vent to everyone on the blog. 3. When I have any spare time I've been trying to actually read a book instead of play on the computer.

This morning was the last straw; I'm going to vent....I woke up early to get ready for the kids (that I babysit)to show up and I was sitting on the chair wondering why Devin was taking a shower again. After an hour I'm upset because I could only dream of taking an hour long shower so I go outside to look at something and realized that I could hear a loud stream of water. The light bulb went on and I ran downstairs to discover that our window well was half way full of water, we had about an inch of water in the bathroom, the carpet was soppy, and the water was still gushing into the window. I run upstairs to find Devin and inform him of our good news and for him to turn off the water. Thank goodness we have a wet-vac; Devin sucked water out for close to two + hours. I jumped on the phone to call a restoration company, insurance company, sprinkler man----EEEEKKK!

We are pretty certain the sprinkler system is the culprit AGAIN!!! Our basement flooded two years ago but unfortunately this time is worse. They had to cut away part of the wall and remove the insulation. It also went into a storage closet where we keep the Christmas decorations. Fun, Fun, Fun.... I hate, Hate, HATE our sprinkler system and I've told Devin NO MORE! We will be using the good ol'fashion watering: green hose and sprinkler heads. The amount of money we've spent and will be spending could have been used for a nice vacation or at least have the sprinkler system completely redone.

The fans have been set up and we will know a little more tomorrow. I'm just thankful this happened today and not this weekend when we will be out of town. I can only imagine the lake we would have come home to based on the amount of water coming into the window. We would have lost soooooo much.

The plastic barriers and our "new" Storage area

Our Bathroom

Here you can see the parts of the walls they removed and all of the fans

Kyra and Tristan

2011-06-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Kyra is getting so big. Some days it is hard to remember she's only 6 months old because she acts like she is older. She had her 6 month appointment last week and is 15lbs12 ounces: still not double her birth weight but she is so active she has probably lost some. She LOVES to get in bags and purses. The other night she crawled over to the diaper bag and pulled the diapers out to play with them. She is obsessed with diapers--not on her bottom but in her mouth.

Kyra has also learned how to pull herself up on things. The first time was on her car seat. She is so determined and stubborn. When she puts her mind to something, she will succeed. The following photos are of her getting up into her car seat.

Tristan had his first two T-Ball games last week and they are so funny! The helmets are usually too big and when he runs in one he reminds me of Dark Helmet from "Spaceballs". too cute. He hit very well but is still confused as to where the bases are. It doesn't help when most of the teams decided to be green this year and you can't see the bases thru 20 little kids in green. I am still in shock as to how psycho some parents can be with little4 year olds. Yelling at them and telling them how bad they are playing. There were some HUGE jerks at the first game and the biggest one I knew from the bank. He was a jerk there so I shouldn't be surprised at him treating his son like garbage. There was also a grandparent who thought it was a good idea to take photos from the pitcher mound during the game! WHAT??? They asked her to leave and she said, "But this is the best angle." and stomped off. Too bad they didn't let her stay and get hit in the head with a ball. Some people are so stupid! Tristan had fun and doesn't quite understand that when you're playing 3rd base, you can't leave and find mom to get a drink or tell her how you want to play the DS when you get home. Yes--he did this. ;- )

This is Tristan with his hand up saying, "Where is the base???"

This little boy kept hitting the top of Tristan's helmet.

Date....What???

2011-06-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

When Devin and I were dating we would go on a date 2,3, sometimes 4 times a week. Before we got married we made a pact that we would have a date night every week. Than Cortlynn was born and the weekly date became more like a monthly date. Fast forward a few years and I need to look in a dictionary to see what the definition of "date" is. Our Anniversary was no different. :-) In October I placed a bid on a 1 night stay at a themed hotel at Cortlynns Halloween Carnival; expecting someone to outbid me. Nope-I won it. I thought I would have a year to use it but it actually expired June 30. So=Anniversary here we come.
Kyra doesn't like a bottle anymore and I didn't want to leave her so I knew she would be coming with us. Everyone is so busy that I wasn't sure what to do with the other two kids. Hmmmmm....So Devin worked and told me he would get off earlier than 5:00: nope-he got home closer to 7:00. We decided that we would sneak out for a few minutes and get some ice cream-just the two of us. Ice cream was good. We came home, picked up the kiddos and went to the hotel. (the kids LOVE to stay in hotels-so why not) You're really not supposed to have kids at the hotel so we "snuck" them in. We actually had a back door so it was easy. Everyone was hungry so we decided to get pizza. Too bad the first place closed at 10 and the other place closed the door at 10 and you had to go thru the drive-thru. We finally got back to the room with pizza at 11:00.
The next morning we woke up, snuck the kids out, and headed to Idaho Falls for Kyra's 6 month check-up/shots. Yep that summed it up. Ah well, spending time with the family can't be beat and the kids enjoyed a night away from home.

Happy 11 Years

2011-06-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

On June 24th 2000 I married my best friend Devin McIntire. I cannot believe we have been married for 11 years and have been blessed with three beautiful children. Unlike last year we will not be walking 23+ miles on the streets of Paris trying to locate the Paris, France Hard Rock Cafe (darn it) but we will be celebrating it by taking Kyra in for her 6 month shots. Yippee...Oh well----

Happy 11th Anniversary Devin and I love you!

Everything Homemade

2011-06-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

This week has been good. It seems like it just flew by. It was rainy most of the week so the kids had to stay in the house and entertain themselves. They were so happy when the weather changed and they could enjoy going outside on Friday. I took Cortlynn, Tristan, and Kyra to the movie Gnomeo and Juliet on Thursday for a kid discounted pass day and I am happy to say my
three children were the best behaved....even out of the adults. The movie was cute and they really like to be able to hang out with mom. Have I mentioned how happy I am I made the decision to quit my job??? Best decision!
This week Devin's father celebrated his birthday and I offered to make the cake. I had a different idea for the cake but with a 5 month old who doesn't nap, watching 2 other children, and making all of it from scratch---I ran out of time. I was happy with it and Devin's family seemed to enjoy it. There wasn't much left. The bottom layer was a yellow cake with Cinnamon cream cheese filling and butter cream. The second layer was chocolate with the same filling...all with fondant covering it. (EVERYTHING was homemade) I ordered a set of round pans that will work better than what I have so I'm excited to get those.
Kyra has decided that she wants to crawl. I think since she has older siblings-she is progressing quicker to keep up. Anyway-her favorite thing to do is crawl onto our table in the living room and than crawling thru to the other side. She is constantly doing this. She also enjoys to crawl over to the diaper bag and dig in it for diapers. While at the store the other day I was checking out with her in my left arm. I turned away for a moment and she decided to dig in the purse of the women behind us. How embarrassing.... ;-) She has also moved to her highchair. She looks so tiny in her seat but she thinks she is such a big girl. What a cutie.

Catching up....

2011-06-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

The problem with not blogging every day/week is that when you finally sit down to write there is a TON of stuff to write about and I don't know if people want to read a 10 page blog on the McIntire happenings. I'm not going to write 10 pages but I'm afraid it may be close.

We have been one busy family. Cortlynn had her end of year dance recital two weeks ago and I think both of us are glad we have a break. That Saturday was so long! Her first rehearsal was at 11:15am with a short break before she performed at 2:00. It ended at 3:00 and we had a little over an hour until rehearsal #2 took place before the evening performance at 7:00. By 9:00 all the kids and their mom were exhausted. She did such a good job and she looked so pretty.
School ended last week and she had a talent show on one of the days. Cortlynn and her friend Abby had been practicing their dance after school for a week preparing for the show: most of it was their jazz dance but they also made up parts of it. Right before it starts 2 other girls walk in with their jazz costumes on and my heart sinks. Yep- they are doing the same dance. with the same music. Cortlynn and Abby took it in stride and kept their heads high. I was a proud mom because I thought they were better. ;-) It's funny but when I was in school there were a few that really thought they would go to Nashville to be singers so it was difficult for the rest of us to "show" any talents. Kinda felt like you were 2nd class; anywhoo- Cortlynn has a girl in her class that takes clogging (her mom was part of the Fab Five on America's got Talent) Sweet girl and her mom is great BUT going up against a very loud CLOGGER is difficult. Last year and this year there was a "problem" with the music so they had to postpone the performance, go out in the hall, shut the door, and practice. When they came back in one of the kids was showing his things he built with legos (not singing or dancing but a talent to him and to me) and one of the other clogging moms whispered, "I sure wish they would filter some of this and only pick the good ones." I seriously wanted to smack her! Who has the right to determine what a talent is. It takes a lot of guts to get in front of people. It was long-but I enjoyed seeing all of the little 4th graders get excited to share their talents with their classmates, teachers, and the few parents that were able to make it.
This weekend the fire department had an open house so I took the kids. Tristan LOVED the firetrucks and had to sit in every single one of them. Cortlynn enjoyed the smoke house where she learned how to leave a burning building.
Last week we had a little family get together with my family. My uncle Larry (moms brother) who I haven't seen in 9 years and my cousin Abby (who I haven't seen in 25+ years) were able to come up here from Texas and spend some time with my grandparents. This was a perfect time for us to get together and celebrate my grandma's 85 birthday and my grandparents 65th anniversary. It turned out to be a lovely day and we enjoyed some great food.

When I quit my job I thought that I could watch a few children-just to bring in a little money. I posted an add in the paper (which I don't think anyone reads the paper anymore-that was money down the drain) and I also posted on Craig's List. This add was another mistake- I had 2 people call and were pissed when I told them I don't accept assistance from the state (a program that will pay a portion of childcare for individuals-I didn't even know this existed). I also had a sick psycho from England contact me requesting my picture and information so I could take care of his son while he was here on a secret mission. And than I received a phone call and a NASTY letter from the police department telling me that if I receive money to watch any child other than my own for ANY amount of time-I'm required to get a city license and if I don't I could possible receive a misdemeanor citation. (Sorry Cortlynn, I guess babysitting isn't an option for you) After this I pulled the adds. Last week a friend of mine asked if I was still willing to watch children and I was excited. Her children are 9 and 7 and my kids were so excited to have kids over to play. On Friday they didn't want to leave and my kids were bummed that they left. This made me feel good.

I decided to take a First day of school picture and a Last day of school picture and see how much the kids have changed in just a short period of time. Granted Cortlynn had a lot of her hair cut off-but she looks so much older-so does Tristan

Tristan took the camera and wanted to get a picture of me and Devin. He was so excited that the picture was "GREAT"

Kyra can sit up by herself now and will probably be crawling with the next couple of weeks--She is 5 1/2 months old but she is growing so fast.

These are a few photos of the kids at the fire station open house.

The other night we took a ride and stopped outside McKees to look at the animals. The sheep and goats were so funny I bet we sat and watched them for a good 15 minutes.They would chase each other and than jump up in the air. I was amazed how high they could get. This is a picture of one of them jumping.

A couple of family photos . The first one is my grandparents with their kids. The second one is of all 7 grand kids. The first time all seven of us have been in the same room. It was awesome

Kyra LOVES men and she hung out with Don (Tony's dad) for a good hour. This is a great picture of the two of them.

Josh and Clayton hanging out. He may be younger than Kyra but he looks so much bigger. He's such a cutie. The other kids wouldn't sit still so I wasn't able to get any pictures of them.

I made a birthday cake for grandma. This was my 3rd cake I've decorated with fondant and the little owl is made out of fondant too. I was pretty happy with it. The main cake was also homemade---NOT out of a box. I need to pick up actual cake pans so I can make more---I don't have a lot of sizes so for the top tier I used a loaf pan.

Kyra LOVES music and will play the piano with Cortlynn. I took a couple of pictures the other day and it really looks like she is playing the piano.

These are photos of Cortlynn in her Jazz costume the day of her recitals. So pretty.

All 3 kids sitting on the couch reading a book. Too cute.

Kyra being adorable.

Mothers Day and the Kiddos

2011-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

You would think being a stay at home mom I would find more time to blog; that is so far from the truth. The dishes, laundry, cleaning is never ending and that doesn't include the playtime for all the kids and spending time teaching Tristan his shapes, letters, colors, and reading endless books. Over the last couple of days I made time to put together a 69 page photo book for my grandparents: kinda a anniversary/birthday/just because gift and there are a TON of photos. I sure home they like it.
Cortlynn won a Mothers Day writing contest and we were able to pick out a $300 gem from a local jewelry store. She was SOOOOO excited. She wrote it in a poem form and unfortunately the jewelry store kept it or I would have posted it on here. She is such a sweet girl. She also made me a lovely mothers day gift at her activity days. It is a bath night gift: Loofa, bubble bath, razor, all placed in a sundae cup so it actually looks like a sundae. So cute.
Tristan is still getting used to the fact he stays home with mom instead of going to his sitters. He did have a play date this week because the one sitter and his really good friend Casey was having Tristan withdrawals. I've never seen a 4 year old so excited.
Kyra is growing like a weed. She refuses to stay on her back. Nope-it is tummy time ALL of the time. She doesn't crawl yet but she pushes, rolls, kicks, and even tries to pull herself to where she wants to go. Nothing is going to be out of her reach. She has started eating cereal every night and she looks like a baby bird: mouth wide open waiting for the next spoon full of "yummy" rice cereal.

These are the kids on mothers day. What a cute bunch of children.

My bath time "sundae"

Not a great photo: but this is the gem we chose

Kyra with her cousin Clayton

Kyra getting ready to eat her cereal

Sleeping Beauty, Easter, and funny, funny Tristan

2011-04-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

This last week has been crazy! Cortlynn had her spring ballet performance on Saturday which meant there were many nights of practices and hours of dress rehearsals until the big evening performance of "Sleeping Beauty". She did such a good job. Aunt Nicole was fortunate to attend; although after sitting next to my son I'm not sure if she thought she was "fortunate". Both Kyra and Tristan were so tired; 5 minutes into the performance Kyra proceeds to poop her pants and it leaked onto me. What a mess....Tristan didn't want to be there let alone sit on his bum for 2 1/2 hours. After Cortlynn was done he wanted to go home because all of this dancing was causing his tummy to hurt. (That kid and his tummy issues :-) He actually put his head down and fell asleep. He was not the happiest when he woke up and the ballet was STILL going on. Too funny. Kyra slept for maybe 15/20 minutes. The rest of the time she wanted Nicole to pay attention to her. She would squeal, laugh, make weird noises to get her attention and when Nicole had the nerve to watch the ballet-Kyra would get her pouty face and start to cry. Little stinker.

We decorated Easter eggs on Friday night and I think Cortlynn and Tristan had fun. Everything is a race for Tristan so he made sure he finished his eggs first and yelled, "I win!!" I've decided to use my old Chase shirts as craft shirts and they work wonderfully....I'll have craft shirts until my grand kids are grown: bags of Chase shirts. On Saturday Cortlynn and I used them while we were coloring and rolling fondant. So thankful I did-I had powdered sugar from my fingertips to my nose...it was everywhere!! and my lovely daughter just stood there and laughed. The fondant turned out great and my special Easter cake was cute. I made it in the shape of an egg. I made everything from scratch (including the cake batter). It was a butter/yellow cake layered with butter cream icing and fresh strawberries. We covered it in lilac colored fondant with yellow ducks and pink eggs. I thought it was a success. (there is a photo below)

Devin had Easter off so we decided to go out to Moore and spend the day with my grandparents. Heather and her family were there and so was Nicole. We had a nice dinner and the kids had an Easter egg hunt. Grandma Norma was so silly----some of the things she says really make no sense and the baking pan full of "funeral" potatoes was scooped up and placed in a different bowl??? What???? We just looked at each other and smiled. Grandpa Bud was funny too....he would mumble things under his breath (or at least he tried to be quiet); of course some of it may not have been that nice and grandma would hear it wrong and make a totally off the wall comment in response. There were a lot of interesting looks, laughs, wide eyes, and giggles during dinner. The kids had fun going to the park with Josh and Devin while they were metal detecting. (you can never leave home without the metal detector)

Today Kyra had her 4 month check up. She is growing like a weed and is getting such an attitude. She is now 13lbs 3oz and 24 1/2 inches long. Tristan was with us and was nervous for the shots. He kept telling me how he wasn't going to watch the shots. He would also tell Kyra not to cry, and the shots are going to hurt real, real bad. He is such a "helper".

Tristan is the pickiest eater unless it is in candy form. He will try any type of candy there is. He is also a freak with having dirty hands---he hates it. The reason I bring this up is this morning he did one of the grossest things he has ever done to date: he was eating a "push up" yogurt and had to go to the bathroom. I hear him go in, flush the toilet, and come back out. A minute later (while EATING the yogurt) he says, "Mom-I dropped the yogurt in the potty, it's ok-it was an accident." ME "Tristan, did you drop it in the toilet while you were peeing?" Tristan "Yes-but it's alright." ME "Tristan-QUIT eating that and throw it away right NOW!!!! That is so gross." Tristan "Mom-no it's not" ME "Tristan, you dropped it in the toilet and eating it so you're basically eating PEE!" Tristan than breaks into uncontrollable laughter and I wanted to go throw up. NASTY!!!

A few pictures of Easter. Cortlynn and grandpa look like they are up to something.

These are the infamous funeral potatoes in a bowl.

Grandma holding Kyra.

Cortlynn in her Sleeping Beauty costume

Cute Kyra

My Easter Egg cake with matching Easter grass. (this was not planned by the way)

Aunt Nicole and Kyra

Easter Egg Coloring

Cortlynn was walking around with Kyra the other night and she ended up putting her to sleep.

The Last Week.....

2011-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a week since I said goodbye to my job and I'm only looking forward. The last couple of days was difficult....not at work :-) but at the babysitters. There were tears from everyone except Tristan; he really didn't know what was going on. Picking the kids up for the last time at both Kari's and Katie's was seriously the hardest thing I've had to do. Sure made me feel good that my children were loved and taken care of by wonderful "second" mommies. Wednesday was my official last day and sitting at work watching the minutes tick by was torture. Everyone was great at work: they had a nice card for me, a balloon arrangement, and the yummiest cake. I won't miss my job but I will miss my co-workers. The last week has been quite an adjustment: I'm still not used to getting up in the morning to get Cortlynn to school but not having to rush to drop off the other two and get to work. It's nice to come home and read books to Tristan, play with the kids, actually clean the house, and stay caught up on the laundry and dishes. Kyra is getting so big and she knows it. She rolled over the other night and had the biggest smile on her face. I rolled her back over and she looked at me, smiled, and did it again. Wow can she talk. She has a lot to say already. We can't wait until we can understand everything and our house will never be quiet. Cortlynn has been busy with her dance and her "Sleeping Beauty" practices but she is loving all of it. Her instructor is always telling me how well she does with only having one good ear and that she must feel the music. I'm continuing with my coupon shopping and I think I'm getting better at it. Yesterday I had a 62% savings and that included 4 boxes of Golden Grahams cereal for $4.00. I'll just keep trying to save... balloon arrangement from work Kyra loves her baths in the sink and enjoys being naked. The other night Kyra was on the chair lounging with her thumb in her mouth and the other arm behind her head. Too cute.

We dressed Kyra up in green for St Patricks Day and it was so cute. Cortlynn's spring pictures were really pretty this year. She is becoming such a beautiful young lady.

A change is a Coming....

2011-04-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

There are some big changes in the McIntire household. They are big yet VERY exciting. As most of you know I went back to work on March 17. It was awful!!! There had been tears daily for two months prior to the return date and the morning of my return was no exception. Devin and I have been racking our brains since Kyra's birth to figure out a way for me to quit my job. Start a new business, babysit, work at night, work from home, book keeping, etc.....anything-but nothing really came up. I decided to go back to work and see what happens in the future. Back to the 17th----I did not want to leave the house. I cried and cried and looking at Kyra's face just made it ten times worse. When I went back to work after having Cortlynn and Tristan I was emotional and cried-but nothing like this. Maybe it's because I'm older, maybe it is because the world is such a different place and I think it is important to try to stay home with your kids, maybe it's because I don't have fun at my job anymore and my job made me feel negative all the time--whatever the reason-I was a mess. The first couple of days were difficult. I would text the sitter throughout the day to make sure Kyra was alright: of course she was, but I had to know for sure. On Monday March 21 (the 4th day back) my manager visited and after his visit my mind was made up. Sometimes you just need that final "thing" to take place that will make up your mind and that is what happened. I've put up with a lot over the last couple of years, but I drew the line and am saying Good Bye to my job. I am SOOOOO excited. I've been working since high school, and working with the bank for 12 1/2 years so this will be an adjustment for me: but I believe it was the right time and the right thing for us to do. Tristan counts down the days until he can stay home with me; and Cortlynn isn't quite sure of "why" I'm quiting to stay home. On the news the other night there was a story on a local job fair and she told Devin that "Mom can go there and find a job". Too funny! The morning I was planning on turning in my notice, Cortlynn came up to me and asked me why I was so happy. You know it is time for a change when your children can see how unhappy you are and it effects the entire family. Now the count down is on: just a few more days and I will be "free".

Yesterday was April Fools and Cortlynn thought I had plans to trick her all day. I picked up the kids after work and told them we were going to take pictures in front of the Weinermobile. Cortlynn thought for sure that I was joking because it was April Fools and didn't believe me until she saw it parked in the Fred Meyer parking lot. I took a few photos and none of the kids wanted to be there. Tristan ended up in tears and

Kyra's blessing

2011-03-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day of baby blessings. My sister Heather and I decided to bless our two children on the same day to make it a easier for people to travel only once rather than twice. Everyone came down to Pocatello for the blessings and light refreshments afterward. Both Kyra and Clayton were so good. I can't believe how they have both changed in just a short amount of time. We would like to thank all of our family that was able to make it down for the day.

Kyra's hair bow was almost bigger than her head.

These are too cute. Clayton is a few weeks younger but you can clearly see he is bigger. He may be bigger but Kyra is going to pick on him. She kept trying to pull his hair. Too funny and they will hate this picture in a few years.

The two moms and the two babies. My dad looks like he has his arms full.

Smile! I was lucky to get a picture with all of my kids and my grandparents.

Happy parents. A photo opportunity with Devin's parents who will also complain about getting their pictures taken.

Look. my little girl has a Buddha belly. Too funny.

Mom- enough pictures already.

Scrape goes the dentist

2011-03-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment for my 6 month cleaning. I really dislike the dentist. While I was pregnant I had a few things that would cause me to be sick if I smelled it or tasted it; I've found I have MORE of them now that I'm not pregnant. Weird isn't it. Probably the worst, is scraping sounds. I was sitting in the dentist chair and cute Kristin was cleaning my teeth with her purple instrumets. Holy CRAP! I almost jumped out of the chair. The scraping sounds of the metal against my teeth actually made me gag. It took everything I had to stay and not be a big baby. Than I was going to scrape my toilets with one of those stone things that you can buy: nope not going to happen. I used it once and cringed. That sound....I can't handle it. Tonight when I was telling Devin about it-I shivered just thinking about it. That is so pathetic!!!

After the dentist Devin, Kyra, an I stopped by Devin's parents house to visit. They wanted to go to lunch and asked where we would like to go. (Devin's dad kept saying Perkins; so that's where we ended up going) When I walked thru that restaurants front door---the smell of old people was overwhelming. I swear it was a fog of smell. Don't kid yourself---you know what that smell is: a combination of aqua net, orange lipstick, and dog urine. Wow-it was almost too much. While walking to our table I look around and realize that Kyra and I are the youngest people in the restaurant. For a moment I thought we had made a wrong turn and we were eating at a nursing home. Oh well---Devin's parents were happy and that's what matters. ;-)

Driving home I was counting how many people were texting while diving. I lost count. It is crazy that as a society we make sure our children wear bike helmets, protective gear when playing sports, seat belts, and have laws on what type of seats children should be sitting in while in the car: but people will text while driving 85MPH down a freeway while it is snowing with their children in car?? Does this make any sense?? I get so angry!

Went grocery shopping today for the week (we are having company this weekend so I had to shop early)----I saved 53%.....Iam slowly increasing that number...who knows-maybe someday I will be up to the 80/90% One can dream...

Couponing tryout...

2011-03-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I've decided to jump on the coupon bandwagon and try to save some money. I have researched some coupon blogs, watched "Extreme Couponing", and have spent a few hours trying to figure out how so many people are saving hundreds and some even thousands of dollars with coupons. I still don't understand how it is possible for people to purchase $2000 worth of groceries and only spend $60---with all the coupons I have there is a limit of how many items you can buy, how many coupons you can use etc; how does a person go in and buy 60 jars of spaghetti sauce and 200 boxes of cereal? Hmmmmmm- Anywhoo-I went to the store on Saturday. I made the mistake and took all the kids---not a good idea if you want to have a coupon system and you need to read and check off your list---next time at least 2 of them will stay home. I will also choose a better time to go--in the morning during the week-not as many crazy people who will actually run you over with their cart. Who cares if you have a cart full of groceries, 2 children following behind, and trying to hold a baby while pushing the cart; I can't believe how rude people can be. I wouldn't say I'm an extreme coupon expert-but I did alright. I chose to shop at Fred Meyer because they had a special cart buster sale going on and I get a discount on certain things since Devin is an employee---for me, a better shopping trip than dragging the family to Walmat. I ended up purchasing 45 items, with a savings of $41.00 with aprox a 48% savings rate. Not too shabby.

The other day I got the camera out and took some photos of Kyra and me. I'm not looking too supermodel like-but Kyra sure is a cutie.

Look how big she's getting.

I just had to take a few pictures of the kids-they are all such hams when it comes to the camera.

March 3, 2011

2011-03-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that Kyra is 10 weeks old today. Time flies by so quickly and I just have 2 weeks before I go back to work. I'm dreading going back and want to stay home so bad. I think all my kids would like to have me stay home, not just Kyra.
I've been looking for ways to save some money (with gas prices and food going up-saving $ is probably a good idea). I purchased some hair clippers and attempted to cut Tristan's hair the other day. Good grief---what I nightmare. Now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if paying $10 for each haircut would be worth it. He freaked out! He has such sensitive skin that when hair touches it-it turns red and itches and actually breaks out in a rash. This caused him to cry. He wasn't holding still and the clipper comb wasn't hooked on correctly; so it fell off-while I was cutting the top of his hair. OOPS! Thanks to the almost bald spot-I had to cut his hair a lot shorter to cover up the big oops. Cortlynn just stood there and laughed at me. I wanted to cry. Than when I saw that I actually cut his ear with the stupid clippers I did cry. Maybe the next time will be better.

Happy 10th Birthday Cortlynn Jade

2011-02-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago at 11:38am my little girl Cortlynn was born. It seems like yesterday and I can't believe how fast time as flown by. Cortlynn is such a joy to her mom, dad, brother, and sister. She is very smart, talented, sweet, and loves everyone.

This year she wanted to invite a few friends over to celebrate her big day. On Saturday 5 of her friends came over for a 4 hour party. (almost 4 hours too long) ;-) I can't get over how uncontrollable little girls can be. I honestly think boys would be better: less drama, tears, boys don't gang up on each other....These girls weren't as bad as my sisters friends/parties were but it was a stressful and noisy evening. They played, ran around the house like maniacs, dressed up in heels and dresses, screamed, watched part of a movie, locked a girl out of the room, "popped Cortlynn's ears so hard she cried, stained the carpet which took me an hour to shampoo and it's still there, ran around some more, ate ice cream (by the way 9/10 yr old girls HATE strawberry ice cream and are very vocal about it) and ate cake. By 9:30pm Devin and I were both ready for the evening to end. Tristan had fun flirting with all the girls-he prefers blonde's by the way.

On Sunday we invited grandma and grandpa McIntire over for Cortlynn's favorite dinner: BBQ chicken, funeral potatoes, and homemade rolls. She opened more gifts, ate more cake, and had a good time.

I wanted to decorate her cake different but unfortunately the fondant recipe I used didn't work and trying to decorate a cake with a 8 wk old on your hip doesn't work. So-the cake isn't what we planned on. Oh well-she was happy with it.

I thought she would like the Justin Bieber CD but I'm not too sure based on her facial expression.

Kyra is getting so big and "spoiled": she doesn't like to be put down. She thinks she needs to be held all of the time.

Tristan has a new issue....called Geographic Tongue. This isn't a good photo of it but it sure scared his mom and dad. Come to find out it is harmless and just looks gross....it can come and go throughout life....

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Valentines Day and we were able to have a nice quiet evening as a family. Devin and I went to a Valentines Lunch, ate too much, so my plans on making dinner were postponed. In its place-we had heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum! The day before we made heart shaped sugar cookies and a red velvet cake. In the middle of baking my oven door handle came off and than the entire front door fell off. It was great! I still had the cake in the oven and had a difficult time getting it out. Thankfully Devin was able to fix it when he returned home from work.
Cortlynn's birthday is coming up and I want to make her cake. I've been wanting to try fondant and told Cortlynn her cake would have it on. I didn't want to mess it up or have it not even work the day of her party, so I decided to make a valentines cake. I thought about buying the fondant already made-but I made it myself. It actually turned out pretty good. Cortlynn was impressed and Tristan loved just eating the fondant off the cake. We'll have to see how her birthday cake turns out.
For Cortlynn's valentine box she had to take to school couldn't be a valentine theme-it had to be based on a book they have read in class. She chose a book about a little boy that couldn't see, or people couldn't see him (I'm not sure-a little confused) he would place a spoon on his nose, look at himself in a mirror, etc. So I helped her come up with a box that had a "mirror" on it, taped a spoon to it, drew a red cross on it to represent a hospital, and made a straw into a walking stick. We were pretty proud. When she brought it home last night from school I was looking at it and told Devin that the walking stick looked more like a cigarette. His response, "Well actually it looks more like the supplies for a drug addict." Holy crap he was right! It did look like supplies for a drug addict. Too funny. Good thing 9/10 year olds don't see things like us.

heart shaped sandwich

My cake

Valentine Box aka drug addict supply kit

my oven door

Kyra holding up her head and looking too cute.

A quick update

2011-02-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how time flies by and writing on my blog is at the bottom of my list of things to do. I have a few minutes this morning and Kyra is asleep so I thought I'd write a quick update. Kyra is now 6 weeks old and is getting such a cute personality. She is struggling gaining weight but at her appointment last week she was almost 9lbs. Grow little Kyra. I need to continue to supplement formula once a day and she doesn't like it. Most of it will be spit up within minutes of finishing it. She will smile at you not just with her mouth but her eyes smile too. It is so cute. The last couple of days it almost sounds like she laughs. Cortlynn and Tristan can't get enough of her and she loves being around her older siblings.

Devin went back to work a little over a week ago and it has been tough adjusting to getting the kids up and where they need to be in the morning after getting no sleep. My little girl loves to be up and socialize. Now she has decided that she doesn't need to sleep during the day.

My parents were able to stop by on their way back to Montana and the kids loved being able to spend just a little more time with them. Thanks again mom for helping us out when the baby came!

Tristan loves taking pictures, sorry dad-I just had to post this.
Kyra loves to stare at people

Kyra in the tutu aunt Jen made. She was a hit at Cortlynn's ballet class.

The kids sledding-Tristan was scared @first but wants to go every day now.

This picture just cracks me up. She's so full of personality.

Tristan fell asleep on the couch and we had to get a picture of it.

Stuff

2011-01-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Keeping up with a blog is quite difficult when you have a little one needing all of your attention. ;-) This last week has been hectic. My mom had to cut her visit at our house a little short because my sister's baby decided he was so eager to join the family he came 4 weeks early. He was born Tuesday Jan 4 at 7:05pm. He has had a few struggles and is still in the NICU so Josh and Heather have had to stay in Idaho Falls and my mom is in Mackay helping with the two girls. I don't have a picture of him but he is such a cute little boy. They named him Clayton Bo and he looks like a little old man/farmer who fits the name. We pray he can leave the hospital; this week.

My little angel has had a struggle of her own. She is not gaining weight and it has been stressing me out. We have taken her back to the doctor 5 times since she has been born and until she is back to her birth weight we will be taking her in every other day. This past Saturday she had only gained 2 ounces since she was released from the hospital over 2 wks prior so I need to feed her formula as a supplement after nursing. This has actually been a little tough because you feel that you are the mom and you are here to give your children what they need to grow and when it's not working you feel as if you have failed. I've never had issues in the past and I'm not sure what the issue is this time. Kyra takes the formula with no problems at first but then will spit almost all of it out a half hour later and it has caused her tummy to hurt. She will sit up at night and cry and scream because of the bubbles and the gas she has and I just have to try to comfort her. Not a lot of sleep for me or for Kyra. BUT at the appointment today she had gained 2 ounces since Saturday so we're heading in the right direction.

Below are a few photos of the past week. Kyra is wearing a hat that was WAY TOO big for her head but she looked so cute. Devin took the kids to church yesterday and Tristan was so excited to wear his new suit. He LOVED his tie and thought he was such a grown up. The bottom picture shows Tristan holding Kyra and she has her tongue stinking out. He thought this was hilarious.

The first week...

2010-12-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

A week has passed since little Kyra came into our family and it has been a busy week. Having Christmas be a day after bringing the baby home was a little crazy. Santa Clause came and the kids were so excited to wake up and open presents. Kyra is a total night owl and slept for maybe 3 hours so I guess she was excited for Christmas morning too. We opened presents and tried to rest throughout the day. My mom prepared a wonderful dinner for us that we could heat up and eat that evening. They spent a few days out in Arco over Christmas and we had a few days to get used to becoming a family of five.

We are slowly adjusting to having a baby and not getting any sleep. Kyra was always up in the night while in my tummy and I don't know why I thought it would be different when she was born. A few nights she woke up just to hang out with mom...this is great except for the fact it was 230 in the morning and it went on until after 5:30. Dan, Jen, Brayden. and Ashlyn stopped by to see the baby and the kids loved being able to play with their cousins. Tristan asks us every day when Brayden can come over and play. Thanks guys for the dinner and the cute outfit.

This post is a little choppy because it is difficult to type with a baby on your lap...but a few funny things I've heard this past week pertaining to the baby or birth of the baby....most of which came from my husband...

"Devin almost missed the birth of his daughter because he was asleep in the car for two hours" Devin's response: "You sent me out to get you chap stick"

Regarding my "little" episiotomy" "Well it was just a little cut, nothing to it. You didn't have a circumsision." (another Devin quote) My response was just having my jaw drop and say really??

After Devin held Kyra and let her suck on his thumb: " Wow-she has quite a strong suction-she really had my thumb." (ya think?? try having that "suction" on your sensitive chest parts)

On Monday Kyra had a doctors appointment and Tristan was quite upset; when I asked him why he said: "Mom, don't let them put the baby back in your tummy"

Kyra's first bath @home

Tristans Iron Man Toy from Christmas

Cortlynns cheesy smiles

Kyra sucking her thumb...too cute

Tristan loves holding his sister and has the same grin on his face

Welcome Kyra Crystal McIntire

2010-12-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

I was scheduled to be induced this morning at 8:00am in Idaho Falls, but Mother Nature had other plans for me. I woke up at 2am with contractions and decided to paint my nails and take a shower just to wait and see what happens. 2 hours later and 7 minutes apart, I decided to wake Devin up and tell him that we should travel to the hospital. We packed the car and headed to Idaho Falls. We arrived around 6:00 checked in and was ready for what the morning had in store; or were we. ;-) Each time I'm in labor I like to see how long I can go without any pain medication. I don't know why---perhaps I'm stubborn or think that maybe I can handle it. Whatever the reason I always seem to regret the length of time I go without medication. Around 8:00 I was still around a 4 and I asked Devin to get my chapstick from the car and maybe go get himself some breakfast. By 9:00 the contractions were so strong that if I could have ran away with my elephant feet I would have. Whoooo--ouch! So I requested an epidural. Well- 15 minutes later they were prepping me for the epidural (which I had a bunch of swelling in my back thanks to all the water I was retaining) and Devin was no where in site. Usually I hang on to Devin while I'm getting the "shot" thru the contractions-this time I had to squeeze my poor nurse. During the process I knew I had waited too long.....I felt like the baby was coming. They laid me down and the pain was EXTREME and the pressure was even worse. To top it off...Devin could not be located. By 9:50--the baby was coming without the epidural taking effect, without the doctor being there, and without Devin. I honestly don't know what was worse. When the doctor came in-my water exploded---and I just had to push. I push a couple of times and here walks my husband. Hmmmmmm-----glad you could make it honey. ;-) So I pushed aprox 10 more times--and since I'm not a screamer I took out my pain management on my pillow with my teeth-and delivered my beautiful little girl Kyra Crystal McIntire at 10:02am. She is 20.5 inches long, 8lbs 4 oz, and is such a sweetheart. Once she was in my arms-the epidural final was "working"--perfect timing right?! She is great and has been such a good baby. I'm so glad Devin made it: come to find out he went to the car to get my chapstick, sat to look at the baby name book and fell asleep. WHAT??? He is sooooooo lucky he made it. Anyway-the kids were able to come visit with grandma and grandpa Swanson and Nicole and they were so excited. Both of them are so happy to have a little sister. Below are a few photos and I'm sure I will post more when I have a little bit more time and I'm not so tired.

She hated her first bath

Heads up....Ima venting

2010-12-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

This week sure has been one for the "books". I don't know if it's the pregnancy, my hormones completely out of wack, the Holiday season, or what---but my patience does not exist. I hate almost everyone (family not included) and I would be happy to sit in my bed with the lights out and ignore everything. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm HUGE! My legs and feet have retained so much water that I seriously thought I was going to have to cut my pants off the other night. I have 1 pair of shoes for work and if I don't get them on my ginormous feet by 8:30am-they won't go on. After that--well, fuzzy pink socks are the only thing that fits. The other night we were going to go to the store and I couldn't wear any shoes-even my crocs from my feet surgeries couldn't get past my toes- I sat in my closet and cried. Cortlynn came in and suggested that I wear some of dads shoes. ;-( I know I am being a big baby-but.....I really don't care. I pray that the swelling goes away once the baby is here---can your feet get so big that the skin pops?? Just wondering because they have popped the backs of my work shoes.
With the constant leg and feet pain mixed in with fatigue, a cold, (a husband who is now sick), I am in no mood for the butt heads that come into my place of employment. The things I've been called this week is ridiculous. I don't understand how someone can treat another person so bad when they don't even know them. One guy kept shaking his finger in my face; I came about 3 seconds from either biting it (but he was gross) or grabbing it and breaking it. I really thought about it. That is sad. Years ago I loved working with the public now, not so much. Sure wish Devin would win the lottery so I could stay at home with the kids and find a hobby to keep me busy. Is all of this added stress really worth it in the end?? I don't think it is-I come home and end up taking it out on the people I love the most--Devin and the kids. The days of coming home from work with a smile on my face are long gone. I think if I came home with a smile on my face my family would ask me what I was on....I don't know--I need to quit venting and try to get some sleep.
I'm having contractions on and off almost nightly now-and they are quite strong. I'm dilated to a two so I don't think I will be going to my due date which is Dec. 30. I feel like it will be next week sometime. We can't wait to meet our new addition to the family---we just need to come up with a name.

The ONLY pregnant photo of me and it was taken tonight. The other one Cortlynn took of my swollen legs and feet----too bad I don't have a photo of an elephant or hippo to compare the legs too.....they may not look that big but holy crap-they are....

Dr's and feet....

2010-12-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

This has been one of those weeks that I don't care to relive and or comment on so I will keep this post brief. Tristan and I both had doctor appointments this week and he was HILARIOUS! While we were at mine he was sitting on the floor and the nurse was listening to the babies heartbeat; the heartbeat was really fast and she made a comment that I must have had a good breakfast. Tristan pops up and says, "Yep-she had a cheeseburger" No I didn't Tristan...."Yes you did mom, You had a cheeseburger." The look on the nurses face was priceless thinking that I had eaten a cheeseburger at 9:00 in the morning.
While at his appointment he wouldn't perform. He just looked at the doctor and acted like he didn't know how to do anything and couldn't answer any of the doctor's questions. Tristan even told him that he couldn't jump, stand on one foot, that he lived in Idaho Falls, didn't know the ABC's or count. My "special" child did tell the doctor that his mom says all candy is crap and that his dad drinks a lot of soda because it's good for you. Gotta love what kids say.
This week my feet and legs have been swelling SO BAD! They hurt, are gross looking, and I'm just so over it. I'm beginning to wonder if they keep getting bigger if they will actually break my shoes....I'm almost to the point I'm going to have to wear extra wide slippers since none of my shoes fit. I've posted a couple of pictures, you can't really get a true picture of them but you'll get an idea. We all know how much I love feet and to have them look like Flintstones feet makes it that much better.

Happy 4th Birthday Tristan Phoenix

2010-11-21T19:09:00.000-08:00

My little boy turned 4 years old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast time flies by and how big he is getting. Tristan is such a special little man and I love him so much! He was so excited for his birthday because he knew daddy would be home. Devin actually came home late Friday night and was here in the morning. When Tristan saw him he was so happy and gave him the biggest hug. All day long Tristan was Devin's little shadow. Devin bought everyone a Boise State shirt and Tristan was so excited to wear his. At first he was concerned that it was a girls shirt because it was long on him but we assured him that it was ALL BOY.
We had planned a birthday party for him but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and no one was able to come. I felt bad for him but we made sure to make it a special day for him. We opened presents and took him to McDonald's than we came back home to eat cake and ice cream and than watch "The Last Airbender". I think he had a good day.

Tristan @McDonald's Tristan w/the Iron Man toys

Eating his cake and ice cream

such a cheesy grin

His Star Wars Cake

Slumber parties and Donuts with Dad

2010-11-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

Devin has been gone for just over a week and we have 3 more days to go. It has been such a long and exhausting week! I had most of this week scheduled off prior to Devin's trip was scheduled and I'm so glad it worked out this way. Trying to juggle work and the kids schedule by myself last week was tough!

For my vacation I have a huge to-do list and so far I've completed none of them. I am SO tired! All I want to do is sleep--I think it is my bodies way of getting ready for the baby to arrive. Good for the baby but not good for my list. Tomorrow I WILL get something done!
Last Friday and Saturday night the kids and I had a slumber party. We all piled up in my bed with treats and watched a movie until we all fell asleep. Tristan is so cute he wants to have a slumber party every night now. I've created a monster! Not sure where Devin will sleep when he gets home.... ;-)
Yesterday I helped out at Cortlynn's school for about an hour. This is fun because I get to know the teacher and the other students. I almost wonder if helping stresses Cortlynn out a little bit. Yesterday I was timing different students on their multiplication tables and poor Cortlynn was so upset when she didn't finish hers: she was only 1 off and she completely broke down. I felt so bad for her. I tried to talk to her about it later in the day but of course she didn't have answers for me---just that she was tired and had a bad day.... Since she had such a bad day I decided to have today be a "Cortlynn Day".
To start off the day they had a Donuts with Dad morning at her school. Since Devin is out of town I decided to take her. I was shocked by how many dads actually showed up. We had to wait outside for about 5 minutes to even get into the school there were so many dads. It was fun-we had juice, a donut, and than we sat in the library and read a book for a few minutes. Cortlynn was glad I was able to go with her. After school I took her to get a haircut. She loves to get her haircut so I knew this would make her day. I hope this made up for yesterday.

Cortlynn eating her donut at the school today.....

Tristan's FIRST (professional) haircut

2010-11-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Since today was Veterans Day the bank was closed and so was Tristan's daycare so it became a mommy and son day. First thing on the agenda was getting Tristan an actual professional haircut. I was putting this off forever because he is such a drama king I knew it would be an exhausting appointment. I tried to make it a positive trip--and told him we would go to McDonalds for lunch when he was all done. That seemed to work until we pulled up to the salon. When he saw the front door he began to cry and tell me that only girls get their haircut there and he didn't want a girls haircut. (oh great, what am I doing?) We get inside and I explain that this is his first time and that it may be slightly traumatic. He was really good for the first 10 minutes. 10 minutes was his limit.....she pulled out the clippers (with a purple comb on it) and he freaks out. "I DON'T WANT a GIRLS HAIRCUT!!!!" We tried to console him and the tears that came out were HUGE! The poor little boy. I took the camera but I knew that would make it even worse. She continued to cut the back while she combed the rest to the front--ooohhh-this was not good. He really had a girls look and he wasn't too happy about it. A few more minutes past and I held his hand while she attempted to clean up the stray hairs and make it even. At this point he looked at all the hair on the floor and the cape he was wearing and began to cry again, "Mom, I don't want all my hair gone. I want my hair back." Too late for that. I'm glad that is over and next time he will be going with Devin.
Cortlynn came home from school and told him how much she liked it and than touched his hair and he preceded to tell her not to touch his hair because she was going to mess it up. I'm happy with the haircut but he looks like he aged about 2 years. He really looks like a little man, not my little boy. ;-(

Below are a couple of photos I took in the car right after the event. If you look close you can see that his eyes are red and he is still pretty mad at me.

hmmmmmm...

2010-11-09T19:37:00.001-08:00

I swear I tell myself I'm not going to go a week without updating the blog-but here it is over two weeks since my last post. So much has gone on so I'm not going to bore you with me trying to update all of you with the last two weeks; I'll just vent. ;-)

Tristan and Cortlynn had a good Halloween and have been so busy. With school, dance, preschool, and Tristan being too big for naps--these kids are exhausted by the end of the day. This pregnancy is kicking my butt. It could be that I'm not young anymore or it could be that I don't take the time to take good care of myself; either way--good grief, I'm so tired, sore, itchy, big, waddling, you name it. Today I had a doctor appointment and everything is progressing normally. She hid from the nurse again and trying to hear the heartbeat was almost impossible. The baby is low and her head is in position for the big event. Not too sure if I will go until my due date or not. Based on her lack of patience-I would say she is eager to come into this world.

Devin was volunteered to travel to Twin Falls to help with the Fred Meyer Re-Grand Opening. Lucky us. He was told it would be from Nov. 10 thru the 19th (he would be back in time to celebrate Tristan's birthday). Well-wouldn't you know it--he gets part of his itinerary and it shows him checking in on the 9th and checking out on the 20th. So that was the plan; until we get home from the doctor and there is a message on the phone wondering where he is.... WHAT?! Yep-someone messed up (surprise) and he was supposed to be there this morning. He packed his bag and away he went. How frustrating. It only went down hill from there. We were told that the hotel was all paid for and not to worry about it. NOPE-he gave them his debit card for incidentals (using the phone or renting a movie) and the hotel has charged almost $400 to his account so far....NICE! Hopefully that gets corrected and they don't decide to charge his debit card for the entire 10 nights. Tristan is having a hard time understanding that he won't be home and cries. It's pretty sad--I guess I'm going to have a roommate while Devin is gone and maybe his feelings won't be hurt as much.

The week in review

2010-10-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

This has been such a busy week. Between doctor appointments for me and the kids and dentist appointments for the kids; it didn't leave a lot of time to get the bedrooms rearranged before the baby gets here. The dentist visits went well and Tristan is getting better every time we go. He is such a sensitive little man that X-Rays were not an option. His gag reflex is too strong and they didn't want to traumatize him. He also couldn't watch the movie on the ceiling because the lights were too bright and the two pairs of sun glasses weren't cutting it. He did ok with the cleaning part but refused to lay down-nope, he had to sit up and have them cleaned. Too funny. Cortlynn had another No Cavity visit and was so proud of herself.

On Thursday I woke up early to help at the school and than I came home to bake cakes for the Harvest Hoedown. Four cakes later (I decorated them but didn't go all out like the last couple of years) I was done baking and moved on to cleaning out the toy room. Switching out rooms for the kids is so much work. I had an entire truck load of items I took to the DI which included an old mattress. WOW---I really shouldn't have carried all of that stuff-I sure paid for it later. The Harvest Hoedown was fun. The kids were able to dress up and play carnival games. Texas Roadhouse catered the evening and it was very tasty. Mmmmm mmmm good!

Earlier in the week I went to the doctor for a baby appointment and failed my blood sugar test. So-I had to wake up early and be in Idaho Falls by 8:00am Friday morning for a morning of blood tests. Talk about a boring morning! Since you really can't do anything or eat anything-all I did was sit there and watch awful morning shows which included Kathy Lee on the today show. This was such torture! It was almost as bad as listening to one of the women getting her blood tested---holy cow what a drama queen! I seriously thought she would have an ambulance come and pick her up because she was such so tired and in such pain where the IV was placed...She acted like she was on her death bed---such a whiner. After the tests were done I went to Subway in the mall to get something to eat. I was starving! While there a women that was at the ear doctor on Monday walked in. How weird is that to run into the same person 5 days later at a completely different location?! The funny thing is I should have tried to take her picture because I swear she is the model for the Polly Pocket toys. No joke! She had the hair cut and the painted on smile. It was hilarious to see... I was waiting for her snap on clothes to come off and her plastic dog to bark...

This is the kids all dressed up for the carnival. My little Iron Man and my little Pirate cheerleader. Too cute!

A Few Days Off

2010-10-19T12:29:00.001-07:00

I am taking a few days off from work and decided to take a few minutes to update the blog. Actually I created a "To-Do" list and this was included. I'm putting off the rest of the list because I'm just tired and want to rest.
Devin has this week off as well BUT has it in his head that he should be able to go hunting all week....he is mistaken! I need things done and he needs to help me with them. He did wake up at the bum crack of dawn today to go hunting....Yippee! 5:00am was the time and he wasn't the only one up. Nope---let's turn on all the lights and open all the drawers at 5:00 in the morning!!! I wanted to scream. Tristan heard him and thought it was time to wake up and watch cartoons----nope-mom is the bad guy and made him get back to bed. He needs all the sleep he can get since he is too big to take naps now. What a little man he is becoming.
Yesterday I had a baby doctor appointment and this little bundle HATES the visits. She will not sit still long enough to have her heartbeat counted; in fact-she will kick the nurse away. What a little stinker and she's not even out in the real worl yet--I think I'm going to be in trouble.
We also took both kids to the ear doctor yesterday and they were too funny. The first thing Tristan said when the doctor came in was, "My ears are all fixed!" He was right-they are fixed-yeah! Cortlynn has no change in her ears/hearing--the doctor just wants to make sure that she sits at the front of the class and when I told him that she starts in the front-but the teacher will always forget and move her to the back. Well-this isn't acceptable so he will be writing a note to the school to make sure she doesn't get moved. Sometimes the school will do what they think is best and you have to put them back in their place.

More droppings, a rat, and a magic doctor...

2010-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

This has been another one of those "weeks". We have not caught any of our mice and I'm quite disgusted by this. We know they are still around thanks to the droppings we find and have to clean up...I know that vacuuming mice crap isn't the safest thing for a pregnant women to do but neither is going completely nuts in thinking that she sleeps in a bed with them. Maybe I should invest in some cats.
Ironically, Cortlynn found out that she will be a rat in the 4 Nutcracker performances this December. Too funny! She is so excited to be a rat AND to be able to perform in all the performances including on "tour" in Blackfoot. Now the extra classes and running around begins; but it is worth it in the end.
Tristan has been too funny again this week. He has so many questions pertaining to the baby and I laugh at every one of them. A few of them include:
"Mom-does the baby pee and poop in your tummy?"
"When I was in your tummy did I fart?"
"Will the baby like to listen to Michael Jackson?"
"Can the baby listen to Michael Jackson now?" (I place headphones on my belly @night and the baby listens to Mozart)
"Did the baby get in your tummy by a magic doctor?"

These are just a few of the funnier ones....what a cutie.

I had a few meetings in Salt Lake this week so I had to stay in a hotel for 2 days. I really dislike travelling when I have so many other things to do at home and at work. This coming week is the same way---more traveling. I guess I need to get the traveling done before I'm not able to in a few weeks.
The baby has really seemed to grow the last little bit. I've actually had to break down and wear a maternity shirt at work because my other shirts are getting a little snug. My tummy has really popped out this week too....there is no denying that I'm expecting. Customers have made comments the last 2 days and were shocked to find out that I've hid it for so long. Tonight I had a regular customer come in and actually tell me that I'm too old to have a baby! Who says stuff like this??? I'm 34 for crying out loud! I can't believe the nerve of some people.

Rodents are Satan's pets

2010-09-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

The other night I woke up at 5am thinking that something or someone was nibbling on my finger. At first I thought Tristan was in bed with me so I patted around trying to feel for him. Come to find out-I was alone. Well this freaked me out because the nibbling felt so real. I jumped (OK-jumped as much as a 26 week pregnant women can jump) out of bed and turned on all the lights in my bedroom and bathroom. I preceded to look everywhere for what was nibbling on my finger....nothing was there. Needless to say I was too "scared" and confused to sleep so I went back to bed-fingers rolled up in fists-and stayed awake until 6:00. I told Devin about it last night and he basically laughed in my face and thought I was going nuts: maybe I am. Before I went to bed I hunted for the cause. (You know when you imagine what a rodent nibbling on your finger would feel like? that's what it was like) So I'm on my hands and knees underneath my bed and guess what I came across......disgusting mouse poop. I knew it! I'm not a psycho freak who is losing her mind---I just have a mouse problem-and to think that I possibly had a mouse in my bed while I was sleeping NIBBLING on my finger.......makes me want to vomit! I am completely disgusted---I try to keep a clean house and I have rodents?
So gross, gross, gross, eeeekkkkkk! I think I will sleep in a hammock.

Just a few little funnies...

2010-09-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

It is only Thursday and I feel like it should be Friday of NEXT week already. This has been and still is a very long week. I can't wait until Saturday at 4:10 when I will be done with work for day a and can catch up on my sleep.

Last Thursday Devin and I took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa McIntire's house while we went to the Foreigner concert at the fair. Of course it was another chilly day at the fair but we also had a down poor. We had purchased our tickets for the track "standing" so I was excited to see what the rain did to the track. WOW-this was nasty. We would walk in the nasty mud/horse poop and just sink. I thought I was going to lose my shoes a couple of times. I made Devin take a chair for me to sit on and I'm so glad I did. I don't think I would have enjoyed the concert if I would have had to stand the entire time in mud. The concert was good and I was happy that I knew all of the songs--sometimes when I go to a concert with Devin, I only know 1/2 of the songs. I find it funny how the founder of the group was there and he isn't young anymore....I joked and said he was 80-but really- he was quite a bit older, wearing ripped jeans, and being a "rock star". Do rock stars ever grow up?

Cortlynn has discovered the telephone and talks to a friend everyday. She has even tracked down a phone number of her "boyfriend" from the daycare she used to go to. A boyfriend? at age 9??? I'm seriously looking into sending her to an all girls private school on a closed campus located on a remote island.

Tristan has been such a silly little boy this week. He has found his singing voice (it's quite monotone)-but is quite the singer of ALL songs played on the radio. He has decided that he loves his baby sister and that he can't wait until Christmas. The other night he came over to me and asked me if I ate my baby sister and if that is how she got inside my tummy. Mmmmmm-hopefully he doesn't ask the other question of how his baby sister will come out of my tummy.

EISF 2010---Fun? Cheap? Day of Frstration?!

2010-09-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take the kids on a "family date" to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. WOW-did we choose a chilly and WINDY day to attend the fair. The wind was out of control-some of the rides were closed because it wasn't safe. As soon as we got to the fair we headed straight to the Hansen Hoagie booth for a little ham, cheese hoagie completely filled with yummy, delicious, tasty, mouth watering onions. I would almost kill for one of these sandwiches and wish I could just have them delivered to my car rather than fight thru the crowds of weird people. I guess it was worth it. I was also able to feast on scone nuggets and hand cut french fries. There were a lot of choices in the food; I just didn't exercise those choices as much as I would have liked. Devin and I are going again- so watch out Tiger Ears and deep fried snicker bars----pregnant women on the prowl and will use that "status" to eat whatever I want.

We went over to the rides and took a walk around to see what was there and what Tristan could ride-there looked like quite a few-especially since he would be riding with Cortlynn. We decided to purchase 2 wrist bands since we figured it would be cheaper in the long run. We were SOOOOO wrong. Cortlynn got her money's worth. She went off on her own and road all the big kid rides. Tristan was a complete different story. He had a total of 3 rides he could ride on because of his height. He couldn't ride on anything else without an ADULT with him---having his sister didn't qualify. (I watched other kids his size get on rides with their brother or sister-but Tristan was always stopped and turned away in TEARS!) Even the stupid Merry Go Round was a rejected moment for my almost 4 year old. He couldn't ride on a horse. Hey- let's place a 4 month old on a horse but let's kick a 4 year old off. Classy! Needless to say- his little heart was broken and didn't understand why he wasn't a big boy. It made me so sad. It was made worse by the two rides that used to be on Neverland Ranch so there were pictures of Michael Jackson on them. Mom-I want to ride the Michael Jackson balloon ride: sorry Tristan-you're too small. But mom, why can that little boy ride it? Hmmmmm-I don't know. He couldn't even get on the helicopter ride that was enclosed! We were very upset----if they are going to sell little kids wrist bands-they need to have more than 3 rides that they are able to go on OR have a cheaper wrist band. It was such a rip off.

Another thing that irritated the crap out of me is the fact I believe every person in south-east Idaho has no clue what a line is for. I lost count on how many times the kids were waiting in line for a ride and some other kids cut right in front of them. I'm thinking that maybe these kids were excited or maybe just plain rude---but nope- it happened to me as well: multiple times! I was waiting outside an ATM for the women in front of me to finish getting her $ out. I don't like to breathe down peoples necks so I gave her some space and wasn't staring at her while she put in her card and pin number. I'm standing there, in the wind and noticeably pregnant when this big, fat, white trash man walks up (beer in hand), cuts in front of me and is waiting in the doorway for the women to get done. Literally breathing down her neck. I stood there in shock! The women actually turned around and told the guy I was waiting to use the machine and he turned and looked at me and said, "Oh- I didn't even see her." Yeah you didn't---take off your beer goggles and wake up jerk!

I have many more things to go on about the fair but I won't. The kids had fun (for the most part) so I guess that is what matters. Seriously for the money that was spent and the not so quality we got out of it-we should invest in a Disneyland vacation next year. At least at Disney it is family friendly and Tristan could ride on more than 3 rides. Oh well-I really am thinking about hiring someone to go inside the fair, fight thru the crowds, and purchase my favorite fair food than bring it to my vehicle waiting outside the gates. My stress level would be so much lower. ;-)

Ooops- I have another thing to vent about. I thought in the past if you purchased a beer you had to stay close to the beer garden area. I guess that is not the case this year. It was shocking to see parents waiting for their kids at the ride area with a beer in each hand and being vocal idiots. Devin and I lost count of how many intoxicated people were stumbling along the midway with a beer or TWO in hand. WHAT????!!!! Let's limit the smoking to a designated area-but hey-grab a beer in each hand and stroll all over the fair. Bunch of drunk rednecks.

Cortlynn and Tristan waiting in line for the truck ride- and yes the boy in front was one of them that cut in front of them. Prior to them getting on the ride- two more kids cut in front of them! no kidding. The middle photo is of the kids enjoying the truck ride. The final picture is Tristan having enough of being kicked off the rides for being too short and just taking a nap. Even in sleep he looked like he was pissed off.

Summer is over-

2010-09-02T18:14:00.001-07:00

It is officially the end of summer with school starting Thursday/yesterday. I can't believe another summer has come and gone. Cortlynn is in 4th grade and was so excited to go back to school to see her friends and her teacher. She has wanted this teacher for years and was fortunate enough to get her. I took her to school the first day to make sure the teacher was aware Cortlynn was deaf in one ear and that she needs to sit near the front of the class. The teacher was excited by it because she has a hearing issue too and she is a very loud person; than she turned to Cortlynn and gave her a high five. A little awkward, but everyone seems happy.
I've attached a few photos of our summer and also the first day of school-enjoy.

Cortlynn's sign for our "baseball evening" nice appropriate sign for a 9 year old don't you think?? ;-) The ball player in the middle is the one we were there to admire. Cortlynn thought he was pretty cute and was shy to have her picture taken with him. Those are the 2 DJ's that hosted the event and made the posters.

Us at the game. the kids fishing w/Devin

Fun times in the spinkler

Cortlynn all cute at the Atomic Days parade

Cortlynn and Tristan-1st day of school

Tristan fishing at island park

The kids boating with their aunts

This is Tristan after playing in the nasty dirt at the Island Park cabin

All the grandkids with grandma and grandpa

A few random happenings

2010-08-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with this blog is sure tough when you have a million other things going on in life. Work has been hectic and full of changes. Last week we had an audit and the results won't be known for a few weeks....a little nervous. It's amazing how we do the same thing day after day and as soon as the auditor walks in-our minds become noodles: my mind included.
This week I'm 23 weeks pregnant and I am exhausted! Maybe it's because I'm older; I don't know-I just can't find any energy. This little girl is constantly moving until you place your hands on my belly and she stops. I'm not too big yet but my back hurts--I'm so thankful for 2 children and a husband that will rub my back when I beg.
Tristan has become such a funny little man. He is constantly saying things that we laugh at and wonder where he gets it. The other night I was going thru the mail and I had a pile of junk mail sitting on the chair next to me. Tristan came up to me, looked at the pile and sees an envelope. This is what he said after seeing a Geico envelope.
Look mom, that is Geico. (I looked at him and asked him how he knew that) He continues to say- "Yeah mom-that is Geico and they will save you a lot of money in car insurance."
I just sat there and laughed. It's so funny what he remembers and what he repeats. He is so full of "it".
Cortlynn had a talk in primary Sunday so I helped her come up with a talk. She came home from church and I asked her how it went. She told me that it went really well and that the primary president liked it so much she made a copy of it and asked Cortlynn if she will read it at the next primary program in sacrament. I'm so happy for her---but dang---now I need to get up early and go to sacrament to support her with her talk. ;-)

Baby's first photo

2010-08-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

I had my ultrasound last week and we believe our little bundle is a girl. She is a very modest and shy girl who wouldn't let us see anything to confirm 100% that she is indeed a girl. Tristan was all about showing off his business during the ultrsound, so I'm pretty confident a girl is in my tummy (I'll hang onto the receipts just in case). Below are two pictures from my appointment...needless to say they freaked Tristan out-but they are a little weird looking. The one is a profile picture and the other is the arm with the thumbs-up sign. We are just so excited.

19 weeks + 55(+)hours+no breaks=Stupidity

2010-08-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last week at work we were short handed so I had the opportunity to work extra hours. Yeah! I guess being the boss has its perks----I so enjoy working 55 hours but actually being scheduled for 60 hours. Unfortunately I forgot to take care of myself and thought working without taking food and drink breaks was the best way to succeed and my body decided to show me who was in control early Saturday morning. I woke up around 6:30am in the worst pain. No matter what I did- it wouldn't go away. I tried to go back to sleep to ignore it-but that was not possible. I decided to get up and get ready for work. That was fun-the pain got so bad I couldn't walk and than got really sick. That should have been a sign to stay home-but that wasn't an option. I had to open the office. I spoke to Devin when I got to the store and couldn't walk, talk, or even concentrate. Since I was so useless we figured out how to get some coverage into the office for me to go to urgent care. Ahhhh-they did the normal tests and thought it would be fun to see just how bad my left side hurt---let's pound on her back and see if we can make her cry and wet her pants. Once this was complete I was left in the room by myself to cry in pain and listen to them call around for a consult and/or a second opinion. After a few minutes that seemed like hours- the doctor came in and told me I had some sort of infection and they were pretty sure it was settling in my kidneys. Yipee---now it was time to find an antibiotic that I'm not allergic to and ease my pain with Tylenol. I came home and tried to rest before I had to go back into the office and close. I thought I was doing better until I walked from my car to the pharmacy and I almost had to sit down in the middle of the aisle to cry. Now that would have been quite a sight to see. Now it is Monday and I can walk, talk, and carry a conversation, but still have pain. Another 8 days of medicine and that should cure it.....I hope. Now I just need to listen to my husband, co-workers, and mothers lectures on how I need to take care of myself. Sometimes I hate it when they are right.

Days 12 (continuation), 13, 14, and 15

2010-07-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Day 12 continued: When we arrived back in London we were supposed to meet our pre-paid transfer to our hotel. After waiting 20 minutes I called the company and they didn't know why the driver wasn't there. Another 10 minutes past and I received a call stating he was stuck in traffic and would be there asap. We finally find the driver and give him the papers stating the address of our hotel. He griped because it was clear out by the airport but whatever---you got paid for it. We arrive at the hotel- FINALLY- and he drops us off and leaves. I wait in line to check in for 15 minutes and when I get to the counter I was told that we were at the wrong Holiday Inn. WHAT?! So she gets us a driver and we go to the correct hotel--just a few blocks a way. This trip cost us an extra 10 pounds. Aaahhhhh! We get to our room and just wanted take our shoes off and relax. Well that was gross- I took my shoes off and found that my socks were full of blood and I had a toe nail that was actually black. I guess walking all that time the night before and that morning was too hard on my feet.

Day 13: We woke up early to go to the airport for our trip home. We arrived way too early and since we didn't pay the extra $120 we wouldn't get our seat assignments until right before the departure. Talk about stressful! In the London airport everyone sits in the same area until your gates are assigned which isn't until 20-25 minutes before your flight. Depending on where your gate is- it could possibly take you 20 minutes to get there. I think next time I'll pay the extra money just to relieve my stress from having to run to the gate and try to get seat assignments; and hope you're sitting by each other. Oh well- Live and Learn.
The plane ride was exhausting. Traveling during the day is a lot harder on a person than traveling when it is dark. Not very easy to sleep when people keep their window shades open. The flight was pretty smooth and we made it to Denver in good time. Thank goodness we arrived early since going thru customs, immigration, getting your luggage, rechecking your luggage, going thru the security screening process again, catching a train to the gate to catch your plane; took a lot longer than I had expected. I really think if we would have landed at the time we were supposed to, we may have been pushing it too close and missed our plane.
Denver had some nasty weather and caused all the planes to be re-routed. Too bad this decision wasn't made prior to boarding the plane because we were on the plane, on the run way, for close to an hour. This flight was a little bumpy and Devin and I didn't have seats by each other--so grabbing onto the army guy next to me wasn't an option. We arrived in Billings late so my poor dad didn't know what to think. Thanks to the airport not giving an update to the flight- no one knew where our flight was or when we would arrive. We retrieved our luggage and loaded into the car to travel to Colstrip to see our kids. When we arrived in Colstrip the kids, Nicole, and grandma were at the school watching a fireworks display; so we decided to surprise them. I was exhausted so I sat in the car and waited for the show to be over. A few minutes of waiting Tristan runs over to the car and jumps up in my lap. He looked so old- he had a new haircut and looked like he had aged 2 years. He gave me the biggest hug and told me, "Mom. I'm a big boy-I'm potty trained!" YEAH!!!! Thank you grandparents for potty training my very stubborn 3 year old.
It was so nice to see Tristan and Cortlynn and they were excited to hear about our trip-unfortunately all we wanted to do was sleep.
Day 14: Pretty much this day was a day of sleep. I'm not sure about Devin, but I woke up late, stayed awake long enough to eat a lovely lunch my mom made including dessert, and than went back to bed for another 3+ hours. I was done--my eyes would not stay open. Nothing like having your parents back from a long 12 days and all you see of them is a few hours to eat.
Day 15: Monday was the day we traveled back to Idaho. What a long 8 hours drive. The kids were excited to get back home to their friends, their own beds, and of course their toys. We had one minor set back when Tristan decided to throw up in the car outside of Bozeman. That is always a treat to have a child get sick while you're driving down the road. We arrived in Pocatello around 6:30. When we pulled up to the house our neighbor ran across the road to talk to Devin. (this was a bad sign) He told Devin how we had a sprinkler malfunction and they wouldn't shut off causing the yard on the side of the house to flood. It took 3 different neighbors and over 50,000 gallons of water before they were able to turn the water off. AAAHHHHH!!! Needless to say-I was upset and fed up with our crappy sprinkler systems. At least our house didn't flood this time--that would have put me into an institution with a padded room. Once we got settled we had to go visit Tastee Treet for ice cream. I can't get enough ice cream--What a nice way to end our trip--

Days 11 and 12

2010-07-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Day 11: Thursday June 24th was our 10 year Anniversary. Devin and I woke up and traveled to the train station to catch the Eurostar Train that would take us to Paris. This train station was CRAZY! There was really no way to know where to go- you would just wonder around and hope you arrive at the correct counter. The train was cool. We paid a little bit extra for an upgraded cabin. The seats were comfortable, you were served free drinks (and these were ANYTHING you wanted), and a lovely lunch and dessert, a hot washcloth to clean your face prior to arriving in France, and just a lovely trip. The trip took a little over 2 hours and we traveled under the channel. It's not like Disneyland-you're not encased in see-thru glass--it's just a dark tunnel and after a few blinks you're out. The French countryside was really pretty. The train traveled over 200 miles an hour-so taking any pictures was not an option. When we arrived in Paris we had to wait in line for a taxi. This line was so long! It began inside the building and went back so far. Once you get outside you get excited thinking that soon you will be on your way; nope-not the case. You exit the door and realize the line loops back and forth and your wait time is close to 45 minutes if not longer. It was just like waiting in line at Disney World for a ride in the hot sun. It didn't help that a lot of the taxi drivers would refuse to take a person to their destination and there would be a heated argument between the cab driver, the tourist, and the attendant trying to get the cabs thru. This happened a lot! We just hoped we wouldn't be one of those the drivers refused. We finally got in a taxi and was on our way to the hotel. The driving in Paris is out of control! Cars are going in every direction, the lanes are tiny, motorcycles are weaving in and out, pedestrians and bicycles are in the road, and there are "round- abouts" everywhere. The round- abouts aren't actually round: they are more oval, half circle, square, moon shaped-basically any shape they felt like placing in the middle of the road. SCARY! Taking the metro system (subway/Train) wasn't an option for us, since they were actually on strike the days we were there. I guess we were lucky the Eurostar Train was still running.
Our hotel in Paris was by far the smallest. It was a Best Western and had a grand total of 25 rooms. The staircase you had to walk up was so small you had to walk sideways and they placed 2 rooms at the end of the hall-again, you had to enter the room sideways. The room itself was so small that we had to place our luggage on top of the table. I tried to take a picture, but to even get half the room I would have had to hang out the window. We decided to walk-map in hand-to find-you've guessed it, the Hard Rock Cafe. AAAAahhhhh!! The map was no help-the streets were all in french and the street signs were very confusing--we walked for over 2 hours and I finally told Devin that it was ridiculous to walk around for so long to find a stupid restaurant and get a stupid T-Shirt. So I sat on a bus bench while he continued on for a few more minutes. While I was sitting there a guy named Mopet began to hit on me. Since I was American he assumed I was from New York and wanted to get to know me. Too bad he only knew 5 words in English. He even tried to get an Australian to interpret. Poor, Poor Mopet---hopefully someday he will find himself a nice-single women from New York. Devin had no luck and we decided to actually see the sights of Paris. Unfortunately where we had been walking-all of the sights were in the other direction, miles away. We found a nice cafe and decided that we had to get me something to eat before I went crazy on some poor French person. The food was good and our waiter was great. Devin ordered a coke and asked for the biggest one they had. Holy Crap! He was brought out a coke in a pitcher that was bigger than his head. Oh- and it was $15.00. We continued our way to the Eiffel Tower. This was pretty-for a big steel structure. What really irritated me were all of the street people selling lead based Eiffel Tower souvenirs. They would gang up on you and follow you trying to get your 2 Euros. I was even harassed by 4 of them while coming out of the restroom. It was so annoying that we left the area just as fast as we had arrived. We continued walking along the river for hours. The city is very pretty at night-all of the lights-the Eiffel Tower at night is breathtaking-the older buildings, beautiful-but quite dirty. Paris really isn't the City of Lights- it's the City of Let's Pee in the Streets. We were constantly walking over pee puddles. Come on people! We finally arrived at the Louve around 12:30 am. This was an awesome sight to see at night- the lights, the pyramid thing, just cool---until I looked over at the shrubs on the side of the Louve and realized what was going on. I will not be going in detail about what takes place in the shrubs at the Louve in the darkness of night- but I will say that a certain Idaho Senator who is innocent until proven guilty about a certain airport restroom incident, would LOVE the shrub activity. EEEEKKKKK!!!!
We continued to walk and realized we were MILES away from our hotel. It was now past 1:30am and there was no possible way I could walk all the way back to the hotel. I actually began to cry because I was so tired and exhausted. We made it back to the Eiffel Tower (which they turn the lights out after 1:00am) to wait in a taxi line for 20 minutes. I would have waited forever and paid whatever to get a ride back to the hotel. Around 2:30am we finally made it back to our room. Hallelujah!

Day 12: We woke up the next morning, left our luggage behind the front desk, and made our journey to some more Paris sights. It was so hot and my feet were on fire! I even considered asking one of the many men we spotted relieving themselves on the sidewalk or wall, to pee on my feet. Gross, I know-but holy cow they hurt!. We had to stop to eat so we chose the closest place to us---McDonalds. Hmmmmm--interesting place-it's not your American McDonalds across the street. We made it to Notre Dame (FINALLY) and took photos. While Devin waited in line to go thru it- I sat on a bench with an umbrella and tried to schedule our taxi pick up for the way back. I was reviewing the Paris map we had and realized the night before we had walked well over 20 miles. No wonder my feet were on fire and I wanted to cry. When Devin came out we had 1 hour before our taxi would pick us up and we had 4 miles to walk---not going to happen; so we hailed a cab. Best decision. While waiting at our hotel I picked up a brochure they had at the front desk and there it was, and advertisement for the Hard Rock. Oops---we were looking on the wrong street and the wrong side of town this entire time. What idiots! The cab ride back to the train station was so scary. It took us forever, and the longer it was taking-the pissier our driver was becoming. He would just lay on the horn at traffic but the traffic had no place to go. I really think he thought about running some people over. SCARY! We go under this tunnel-in a hurried fashion dodging cars and motorcycles and he begins to tell us-look, that is where Princess Diana died. You think? I'm surprised more people don't crash into the cement walls. The train ride was nice and the food was really good-it was nice to have 2 hours of comfortable space to rest our feet. I'm very happy we decided to spend a short amount of time in Paris. I didn't enjoy the city- it was dirty, gross, and I think one visit in my lifetime is enough. Don't get me wrong-there are a lot of people out there that love Paris and would go back again and again; I WILL NOT be one of them.

Since Days 11 and 12 are so long-I'll be finishing Day 12 in a day or two. I'll give you all time to breathe and take in my long-winded account of Paris.

Trip: Days 9 and 10

2010-07-16T20:11:00.001-07:00

Day 9: We left Edinburgh for another long day on the coach. At least this time we weren't in the back of the bus. We toured Floors Castle the home of the Dutch and Duchess of Roxburgh. This was an interesting place. The family lives in the castle but opens it up for tourists to come thru all day long. I would hate it if people walked thru my house. We continued on to York and went on a walking tour of the city. This was a lovely city. We were able to visit the York Minster Abby and walk up and down the streets. I just can't get over how small the streets are in Europe. That evening we stayed in York. Another evening of lost luggage. This time I knew for a fact they had placed it in room 207 instead of 201 but when we brought it to the attention of the front desk- they looked at us like we were freaks. We had no assistance until I got our tour director involved. She couldn't believe it had happened again. What are the odds. We received our bag 2 hours later. That evening we had our last group dinner and it lasted forever!!! The time between the appetizer and the main course was over an hour. And if you requested water---well, we were lucky to see that by the time our dessert arrived. The hotel room was so small. I guess it really didn't matter since we spent 3 hours at dinner and the rest of the time tracking down our bag. This was the worst hotel of the trip.

Day 10: We drove to Anne Hathaways cottage (the wife of William Shakespeare not the actress) and had a chance to take photos. What a pretty cottage. We also visited the birthplace of Shakespeare and had a lovely visit in the town. Lunch was interesting. Everywhere you went had tables to sit at outside BUT you had to pay more to sit at them. WOW---everything cost money. The rest of the afternoon was spent driving along the English countryside on our way back to London. We arrived in London around 4:00 and it was time to say goodbye to our tour group. This hotel was great and on the side of London I really liked. It was an evening on own. We saw the Eye of London, Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and surprise surprise---we found the Hard Rock Cafe. This place was crazy busy! There are two buildings--one to eat in and one to shop in...we had to wait forever. After dinner we walked some more and toured the older section of London. I really enjoyed the Westminster part of London. The funny thing about this evening was the fact Devin and I were asked more than once where something was. I have no idea why--we definitely didn't look like we knew where we were. I'm not sure why people asked us for directions. Crazy!

Days 7 and 8---Scotland

2010-07-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Day 7: We woke early to pile on the bus and make our journey to Scotland. On the way to catch the Ferry we were able to see where the Titanic was built. Interesting--and this brought on conversations of how many people on the bus have not seen the movie. CRAZY! Since the seat rotation on the coach changed each day-it was our turn to sit in the back of the bus. These are the dreaded seats of all seats. There are 5 seats across and we are expected to fit 5 grown adults in them. Not hardly. I was squished between a 94 year old women sitting sideways and my husband who needs 3 times the leg room than a women. Needless to say this was the LONGEST-most difficult leg of our journey. I tried to sleep to make the sickness go away-but that is quite difficult when you have no place to put your head. Oh well- we survived.
We caught the Ferry that would take us from Ireland to Scotland, and this time it only took 2 hours. While on the ferry we decided to have lunch. I was craving a hamburger and fries so is what we ate. We picked up Heinz packets thinking it was ketchup and to our surprise it was vinegar. Still not sure why vinegar was out in the open like ketchup is here in the states. It amazes me how precise the system is they have in place. They had the entire Ferry full of vehicles empty within 15 minutes. Amazing! After the Ferry--we were on solid ground for another 5+ hours of driving in our lovely back seats. The scenery was beautiful and it was just what I had pictured Scotland to be. Green rolling fields, sheep, flowers, rock "fences", blue sky---just really pretty. WE finally arrived at our hotel in Edinburgh--perfect timing too----we had to get off that bus before Devin and I killed each other. The hotel was tiny--tiny is actually an understatement. If you were a larger person-I really think you would have been stuck between the bed(s) and the wall. There was maybe a foot of space between. It was fine- our room overlooked a really pretty park and we could see the old part of Edinburgh very clearly. In fact, we had a perfect view of the castle. We took an evening stroll around the area of our hotel and guess what we came across??? The Hard Rock Cafe. Go figure. Of course we went there (if you travel with Devin-the Hard rock is the only reason to visit a city and/or a country) and had potato skins and ice cream. Dinner of champions. That evening we called the kids to see how they were doing. I think Cortlynn and Tristan were handling the separation better than me.
I actually hung up the phone and cried. I sure did miss my kids.

Day 8: I woke up and was exhausted. I think the traveling from the day before caught up to me and I just looked like someone had beat me. We loaded onto the bus for the tour of the city and a stop at Edinburgh Castle. Since I was in such a "wonderful mood"--I lost it on the bus and told one of the most annoying individuals I've ever met to Chill-Out and be patient. This was in my not so nice tone and when I was finished I sat in my seat and was ticked off. Devin had missed the situation but could tell something was wrong by my face and was probably glad I didn't unleash my fury on him. We toured the castle and our tour guide Richard was great. Kilt and everything. The castle was lovely and we were able to see an actual Scottish wedding--bag pipes, Roles Royce, Kilts, small little ancient church--it was really cool. After the castle we had the entire day to ourselves to explore the city. Devin had it in his head that he was going to buy himself a kilt in his families colors. That was until we went to a wool mill and he was told that for them to make a kilt in his families tartan (which is not an every day tartan) it would be $1000.00! That wouldn't even include the added accessories. That dream was dashed and he decided to get the next best thing: the Family Crest. I heard this will be awesome but we won't receive it for about 8 weeks. He's excited so that is what matters. I loved the older part of Edinburgh. LOVED IT! Everywhere you go is up hill--but it was always worth it. The old buildings, pubs, cathedrals, passageways, just everything was interesting. That evening we did a Ghost tour of the underground taverns and the graveyard the McKenzie Poltergeist frequents. This was on Devin's list of top things he wanted to do. The underground was a little scarier because it was pitch black---the cemetery, not so much. It doesn't get dark there until 11:30pm, so the atmosphere wasn't creepy at all. The tour guide was good but everything he would say would start out like," What I'm about to tell you is true and really happened to me or to someone I am close too"...right! The one story he told us was "true" and happened to some girls he knew-sounded exactly like the movie "The Ruins". Yep-I'm sure that really happened to girls you knew. Of course when you're in a group there is always a person that is obnoxious and ruins it for the rest of us. This tour was no exception. In fact the tour guide came close to kicking the guy out. Why do people think they need to be the center of attention all of the time. Just shut up and enjoy it. Don't spend the money if you're going to be a butt; I didn't pay money to listen to you flap your jaw. Next to the "scary" cemetery was a little diner where the Rowlins chick wrote Harry Potter and the inspiration for the Hogwarts school was on the other side of the cemetery. I really could care less-but I bet a lot of Harry Potter fans would have gone absolutely crazy.

Continuation of Trip- Days 4-6

2010-07-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Day 4: We woke up early, loaded onto the motor coach, and drove around Cardiff do view the beautiful city. We were able to stop and visit Cardiff Castle and do a little shopping before making our way over St. Georges Channel via the slowest ferry ever. After 4 extremely long hours on the ferry we reached solid ground and departed for our next stop-Waterford. Our hotel was right along the river and we had a wonderful view. That evening we had a dinner as a group and enjoyed some of the local Ireland food.

Day 5: We woke up the next morning and took a walking tour of Waterford. Our guide was great and the information he had on Waterford and the early vikings was interesting. Come to find out he has been to 2 states in the United States: Montana and Idaho. How random is that?! Later that day we stopped in Kildare to visit the Irish National Stud. This place would have been my grandfathers dream. What beautiful horses and grounds. While there we were able to "meet" a horse that costs $70,000 for his stud services. WOW!! He just stood in the field as if he knew he was THE STUD. For lunch we didn't understand anything on the menu so I went for the safe bet and ordered a baked potato--I still have no clue what was in that potato. I think everything but the kitchen sink. That evening we stayed in Dublin in a hotel right along the river. It was great until the hotel lost Devin's suitcase for over 3 hours. They had placed it in an empty room and just thought it would miraculously find it's way to the correct owners. Devin and I decided to take a walk and locate the Hard Rock Cafe. We had an enjoyably expensive American meal and toured the city for a little bit longer.

Day 6: After taking an orientation drive of Dublin we stopped at Trinity College and toured the museum and was able to see the Book of Kells. This place was hot and everything smelled like really old musty books. After existing the museum we had to walk thru a gift shop (just like getting off a ride at Disneyland-always a gift shop) and we saw a girl who passed out. She actually looked dead---they dragged her outside and called for help but in the meantime was just trying to wake her up. Devin went over to help and I sat out of the way. After a LONG time-a medical person showed up and looked lost. Not sure what he was planning on doing. Note to others traveling to Ireland: Don't get sick b/c you may not recover and help takes forever! After the college tour we had the entire afternoon to tour the city. Devin and I went to the park and watched the Worlds Best street performers. This was pretty fun and there were even break dancers from New York performing. We walked throughout the streets and enjoyed the atmosphere Dublin had to offer. We went back to the hotel to get ready for our evening dinner and tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Devin was in heaven! We toured the brewery and it was very interesting. Devin was able to taste test a Guinness and taste test some more. Dinner was wonderful and the dessert was even better. Since we were part of a private tour- the building was open late just for us and we were able to do some shopping at the gift shop. We arrived back at the hotel around 10:00 and I needed ice cream. Since there wasn't anything in the hotel, we had to walk to the nearest McDonald's which was blocks away. The long walk was worth it--that was one of the best Sundays I've had.
Overall all Ireland was pretty but not what I expected. I expected rolling hills and rock fences with castles and open green farm land. Nope- this isn't was we experienced. We were probably on the wrong side of the island but Ireland is so commercial. Everywhere you turned there was a KFC, Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, and Starbucks. It was like you were walking down a street in the United States.

Devin and Christina's Vacation Days 1-3

2010-07-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since returning from our vacation and with a few more days of rest I think I will finally recover. Our vacation was wonderful and I've decided that the next few posts will be a brief description of our trip-day by day.

Day 1: Devin and I caught a plane in Billings-flew to Denver, and had to run thru the airport to make our red-eye connection to London. We were excited when we received our seat assignments-we had the two seats-aisle and window with no one on either side. YEAH-until we realized they were located by the restrooms. Yep--10 hours of bathroom lights on-off-on-off...I remembered everything BUT a sleeping mask. Dang! Earplugs? check Sleeping pillow? check Blanket and socks? check Mask? nope Oh well-who needs to sleep?!

Day 2: We arrived in London around noon and it took forever to get our luggage and go thru immigration/customs. We located our transfer and headed to the hotel. There was no time for rest so we went for a walk thru London. This was WITHOUT a map. IDIOTS!!!! Our hotel was located in a section of London that was 100% Muslim. Everything was in Arabic and everywhere we walked was a cloud of nasty smelling smoke (the kind the Cheshire cat smokes in Alice in Wonderland). We found the main road and made a walk for it. What I didn't know was it was the shopping district of London. I am not a shopper and cannot stand people so this was not the most pleasant experience. After a few hours we walked back to our hotel to meet up with our evening tour. That night we joined a group and went to a pub by the River Thames and had a wonderful dinner. After dinner we caught a boat and cruised along the river. We were able to see all the sights along the river---Big Ben, Parliament, London Bridge, London Eye, etc. and towards the end of the cruise the sun was going down and the lights were coming on. It was gorgeous.

Day 3: We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to eat an "English" breakfast and join our tour group. Breakfast was actually very good until an idiot decided to place two croissants into the toaster and start a fire. Who does this? We picked our seats on the motor coach and began our trip. We drove to Stonehenge took a lot of photos. It was so cold!!! The wind wouldn't quit. We drove thru the London country side and stopped for lunch in a cute town called Salisbury. After lunch we traveled on to Bath. I loved Bath; Bath the city, not Bath the roman pools. When we went thru the roman pools all I could think of was fat, dirty, sweaty, Roman dudes sitting in a gross hot pool full of fungus 100's of years ago. (the pools aren't filtered so they are NASTY!) We found a really good ice cream shop and enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. We continued on to Cardiff, Wales where we enjoyed a welcome dinner with our tour group and had time to get lost on a walk thru a neighborhood. No worries-we weren't lost for long. The hotel room was small and cozy and it was our first evening of double beds. I kinda like having a bed all to myself. A little selfish I know- but with my ear plugs on and not having to fight over the covers I actually had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Yeah----

Until the next post---I know; you're all on pins and needles waiting to see what happens.

Toodle Looo Idaho.....

2010-06-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well we are finally packed and almost ready to leave for our vacation. We will be getting up early in the morning to drive to Colstrip, MT to spend a day with the parents, leave the children with the grandparents, and drive to Billings to catch our plane to London. I sure hope I remembered to pack everything.... eek I'll post pictures and write about our trip when we get hope in a few weeks.

A quick recap....

2010-05-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Yet another long week of work. I'm so tired. Every night I come home, hurry and eat something and crash on the couch. Some nights 10:00 is way too late. On Saturday I went to bed as soon as Devin came home from work and didn't wake up for 13 hours. Cortlynn told me the next day that she had never seen a person sleep that long. Mama's tired!

I don't know if it is in the air or just a week of full moons but last week EVERYONE was mean. If they didn't yell at me and tell me to blank, blank....they threatened to sue me. I LOVE the public and how they treat individuals who don't get paid enough to put up with their crap! Yesterday I was sitting in the car during my lunch reading a book and this women pulls up next to me and slams her door into my passenger side. Not once....but TWICE! I looked up at her and was shocked, dropped my mouth and scouled at her. Her response-a smile. She SMILED at me. Are you serious?! I get out of the car to see if there was any damage. There wasn't-good thing because "Karma" would have thrown her ugly face towards her car and than parked in another area of the parking lot. I cannot believe the nerve of some people. I was shocked I didn't get out of the car and kick some serious butt---with a cookie sheet, my fists, a book; but nope-I bit my tongue. The reason, I was in my work shirt and that isn't appropriate behavior.

We have less than 10 days until our big vacation and we cannot wait! I have nothing packed yet and I'm getting a little worried but I'm sure everything will come together. My 3 page checklist will help me out and I have Sunday to throw everything together. Both kids are so excited to visit grandma and grandpa Swanson's house I just hope they are ready for the grandkids. They can be quite a handful. ;-)

Week of Dance

2010-05-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a long couple of weeks since my last post with a few changes. I am now the branch manager of the bank. I've been working A LOT of hours but I hope that will change in the near future. 56+ hours/6 days a week are a killer when you're trying to balance family life too. This is the season of dance for Cortlynn. She performed in Swan Lake last night and did such a beautiful job. It amazes me how much a ballet company in Pocatello can achieve. It was like being at a professional ballet in a major city. Everyone was lovely and it was an enjoyable 3 hours. This week is recital week. More practices and on Saturday she has a matinee and an evening performance. Her instructor is so proud of her and made a point to find Devin in the store the other day to tell him how much she is excelling in dance and that she is very talented. We are so very proud of her. With only having one good ear-I'm impressed on how well she does. She sure can focus with having limited hearing.

Tristan had fun but loved the intermissions the most-he was able to go outside and chase the squirrels. What a little boy he is---can't hold still for more than 5 minutes.

Today Devin finished removing the Christmas lights from the house. YEAH!!!! Now in just 6 short months he will be putting them back up. ;-) The kids played outside for quite a while today enjoying the wonderful spring weather. Cortlynn has finally started riding her big bike and is doing very well except for the fact she doesn't quite understand the hand brakes. Poor Tristan was ran over because she didn't know how to stop. Everyone survived. Cortlynn ran into a pine tree and crashed pretty hard. The nice neighbor lady ran over and helped wipe away the tears.

All in all it has been a weekend full of fun and I can't believe it's almost over.

This is at the dress rehearsal Thursday night.

Prom 2010

2010-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Devin and I went to the 2nd Chance Prom on Saturday with some friends. I don't know what I was expecting but it turned out to be an experience I wasn't expecting. Since there was a real prom in town-every restaurant was busy so we drove across town to the Outback. This was where the old people ate before attending their prom. Dinner was good and than it was off to the dance. We arrived and it was full of people--from all walks of life. We had our pictures taken, watched a ball room group dance, and danced ourselves for a few and than bailed. It reminded me of a really BAD singles ward dance. There was a poor single women there trying to find her long lost love and I don't think realized that everyone there came with a person they loved. This wasn't a place for a person to find true love. There were all walks of life attending the dance and it was a funny place to sit and watch people. We decided since it was early we would drive back to Pocatello and go to Charleys. (this is a fun gay bar that you can dance in ) While here they had a dance competition and you will not believe who participated. Billy Jo Thomas!!! This was something I could have gone my entire life and afterlife with not witnessing. YUCK!!!!!

It was definitely nice to get out and go on a date and we appreciate aunt Nicole staying with the kids. They loved having you here.

These are photos Cortlynn took of us. I'll try and post the professional photos when I get them. What a pretty corsage Devin got for me. What a guy!

One Mans Crap is Devin's Treasure.....

2010-04-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

So my lovely husband Devin is a pack rat, low grade hoarder, a junk collector; I know this and I still love him-but honestly.... One mans junk is Devin's treasure. He comes home from Fred Meyer all the time with random junk they were going to throw away but he didn't want to see it go. This week is no exception. On Sunday I was going on and on about Devin's habits to my parents and I really think I jinxed myself. Monday I came home from work and the first thing I see in my "formal" living room are Avatar movie displays. WHAT??!!! Why Devin? Why?? He told me they are cool and we could display them in the house...Cortlynn thinks we should display them in our picture window for all to see. I don't think so! Oh Devin........

A Couple fun days of Spring

2010-04-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been so nice and we made sure to go outside and enjoy the sun. Tristan has enjoyed riding his bike, driving his jeep, and most of all playing baseball. After having him hit the plastic baseball to the fence multiple times-Devin and I decided not to buy him a real bat and ball because we want to keep the windows in our house and car and I'm almost certain our neighbors like their windows too. That boy can hit! AND he always stands with a smile while waiting to smash the ball out of the yard.

Cortlynn has been scared to death to ride a bike and she has been putting it off for 9 years. This weekend we worked with her until there were tears, and than glares of anger, until finally she showed us. As soon as the training wheels came off the little bike-she was on her way. She can really ride that bike now. She is still hesitant on riding her larger bike-but with practice I know she will get on it sooner rather than later.

Cortlynn's legs are longer than the bike.

The two kids trying to outrun each other.

Cortlynn's spring school photo

Everything Easter

2010-04-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

My Easter photos are posted a few days late but it has been hectic around here. I decided to let the kids decorate eggs---this is really hard for me because I hate the mess of it. You have no idea how hard I had to bite my tongue and let them have their fun. Cortlynn made some really pretty ones and Tristan loved to plop the eggs in the color and get them out all by himself. The Easter bunny hid way too many eggs this year and in fact ran out of places for them to be hidden. Cortlynn seemed to find all the eggs with candy in them and Tristan found the eggs with the money. This only lasted until I made them empty all the eggs in the middle of the floor and we divided everything equally. (I'm such a party pooper) The Easter bunny and helper should communicate better next year becuase they purchased the same movie for the family and the same jump rope for Cortlynn; this was not discovered until the items were being placed for Easter morning. We enjoyed an afternoon at grandma and grandpa McIntire's for food, food, more food, and visiting.

These smiles are priceless.

April Fools and a new kind of Doggie Bag

2010-04-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

My one and only April Fools joke didn't turn out to be the best. I told Cortlynn that we had to get rid of the Durango and she started to cry. When I told her April Fools she really started to cry because she was embarrassed that she fell for it. Being the best mom I am- I stood there and laughed. I had a great time but no one else did. Poor little girl.

To go along with my last post-I have more venting of people that bug me. Today we had a customer come into the bank---he is really creepy and doesn't catch the hint that no one really likes him and that is why we all run for the back when he turns the corner. Anywhooooo------he has a dog--a "service dog" by the way-- (too bad this service dog is packed around)and he brings it everywhere. His dog has been sick and we've heard about this for days. Today he brings in his sick dog and a bag full of the dogs poop. No joke! He actually sets the bag of poop on the counter. WHAT!!!! After he leaves he walks around Fred Meyer (with the poop) and comes back in to chat some more----with the POOP!!!! What are people thinking? Gross--- Do NOT come into a bank with a dog that has diarrhea and definitely don't come in with a bag full of crap. Stay away!

Stupid people and poop

2010-03-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

I've decided that people are pretty stupid and expect things for free. After the last week or so at work I'm getting pretty tired of explaining to people that what they have is counterfeit, what they are doing is illegal, and that there are policies in place for a reason. It never fails- we are always the bad guy and if we have the nerve to tell a person that what they are doing is the definition of money laundering--we get a look of disgust and a "What??? I was told by my employer that it is legitimate." Ok people--we know what we are talking about and go ahead; be an idiot and go to prison. I really could care less. I know if I received $8000 from a stranger--oops, I mean my online employer, and was instructed to send the funds to a foreign country and for my efforts I get to keep a percentage of it---sure I would jump at it. That is the most legitimate job I could have. Stupid-stupid-stupid! Why would anyone want a normal 40 hour a week job if I could make $300 for 10 minutes. Awesome-

Another thing I'm wondering about is what goes thru peoples mind when they are walking their dogs and the dog poops on a strangers yard. Clean up after your pet! I don't appreciate a gift on my front lawn. Would they appreciate it if I walked over to their front lawn, squatted down, and pooped??? I think not! It is the same thing!!!!! Poop is poop----if it wasn't gross, you wouldn't be "walking" your dog-you would let them hang out on your yard. It's even worse when they let the dogs poop on the soccer fields. Really???? Children play on this field---- Make me want to scream!!!!! AAAAAAAHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

A Marathon of a day

2010-03-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have finally figured out how to get my children to help me clean the house; promise them a Twilight Marathon. I've never seen two kids clean so fast and do such a good job. Tristan even told me that he was so excited. Silly little ones.

Prior to starting the movie marathon I microwaved some butter popcorn. Me being the complete idiot, took the bag out of the microwave upside down and preceded to dump All of the boiling butter onto my hand. I just stood there and screamed while the butter burned and dripped all over the stove and the floor. Some days I surprise myself on how "special" I really am. I put burn cream and wrapped three of my fingers up---it's quite difficult typing with injured fingers. We watched the movie--took a break, ran to Tastee Treet, listened to Jr. High aged boys schedule a drug drop, and than returned home to watch "New Moon". Cortlynn and Tristan had a fun evening and are now in bed fast asleep.

St Patricks Day

2010-03-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Since I'm such a "fun" mother I wanted to surprise the kids with green food for St. Patricks Day. I worked late and I cannot make normal pancakes to save my life so I made green German Pancakes. Devin made his yummy potatoes and some bacon and I made green rice krispie treats. Although we didn't eat until 8:00/8:15---Cortlynn and Tristan thought it was pretty cool. That is she thought it was cool until she asked how we made them green and we told her we mix peas, beans, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers,and everything else green we could think of and made pancakes out of it. The look on her face was priceless. We did tell her we were joking---

I've been so proud of Tristan this week. He actually tried the pancakes last night and the night before he ate peaches. On Tuesday has asked me if I would make him Mac & Cheese and he ate it. I think he has finally come to terms that eating a limited amount of food and very few options aren't going to keep a growing boy satisfied.

Clowns are evil!

2010-03-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Another busy week. At work I played a couple of jokes on co-workers; don't know why I didn't think there would be paybacks. I have a lot of fears and one of the big ones I have is a fear of clowns (or anyone with their faces painted white). When I arrived to work on Monday there were clowns EVERYWHERE! I still don't think I've found all of the colored clowns. They were plastered on the walls, the computer, the phone receiver, inside the trash can---EVERYWHERE. I was also left with a freaky clown movie that they sell at the dollar store (why?? Why would a normal person purchase a clown movie) Red balloons fell out of my cupboards when I opened them, with even more clowns in my binders. Paybacks really are a.....well you know. They did plan on someone coming in dressed up as a clown and decided not too when I made a comment on how I would break down in tears if a real clown walked thru the door. My co-workers were nice enough to adjust their plans. Thanks guys....

Both of the kids have been sick. Cortlynn has had the cough since before her birthday and it just won't go away. Now Tristan has it. His nose is yucky and last night he told me that his ear was coughing. I'm thinking he has an ear infection. Great----poor little man.

I will NOT say anything bad......

2010-03-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Busy, busy week it has been. On Monday I worked late and had to drive Devin's truck home from work. I've lost my glasses so I can't see very well at night AND I have no depth perception on a good day; driving in the dark and having to park the truck into the garage at an angle is a disaster waiting to happen. I didn't pull the truck in far enough and the garage door closed on it. I think the safety mechanism worked but when it closed it hooked itself on the gate of the truck and couldn't go back up. OOPS! After a few minutes of loud noises and the house shaking-the door finally went back up and I could pull the truck in. The truck gate/liner is cut up and the garage door is......the top of the door is split and the metal frame is ripped from the door. I'm such an idiot.
On Tuesday I made a goal to not say anything bad about anyone. For an ENTIRE day! This is extremely hard to do and when you work with the public it is almost impossible. Of course because I made this goal for myself every annoying-crazy customer came in and I had to stand there and bite my tongue. I do mean EVERY SINGLE CRAZY!!!! I am happy to say that I did really good but I don't think I will do it again. Sorry-----some individuals need to be talked about. ;-)
Over the last couple of weeks we keep getting phone calls from a company stating that they are required to deliver a summons for a court date. Because the summons has not been delivered the person is in contempt. This was a little annoying---I hate getting some one's calls--but this was more important. After the last one we received this week I called the number back to get to the bottom of it. After getting off the phone I was even more annoyed. Come to find out Devin's stellar ex-wife has been giving our name and phone number out as her family contact. WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! AND the summons is for her to appear in court for some sort of bill that hasn't been paid (surprise surprise) They can't find her and have our name and number down. Great! I informed them that we live in Idaho and she lives somewhere in California and to please stop calling us. Lovely----it is amazing how ex-wives keep haunting you.

Etiquette anyone??

2010-02-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

Today at work was....?? Don't know what word would describe it better. We had an idiot (I use the term lightly) call in and get mad b/c we couldn't do what he asked--his response; Yell at the employee and threaten to rob the bank. Come on dummies----who does that? So, I had to call the cops and deal with that. The worst part of the day was being extremely paranoid at each person that walked thru the door. We have also determined that people in Pocatello love to go to the bank in a hat, sunglasses, a sweatshirt, and act just plain creepy. I can't tell you how many times our hearts skipped a beat because of some man dressed up like a "mug shot" walked thru our front door.

After watching the Olympics for the last two weeks I've come to the conclusion that all of the athletes need to be taught what the proper etiquette is during our National Anthem. I don't know if it's because I'm old, maybe it's because in high school I had to hold the flag, or maybe because when we were in school respecting the flag was actually discussed-but I am so tired of seeing these American athletes goofing around while on the Olympic podium getting their gold medals. Granted they are amazing and have earned their medal----but to point at friends, do hand pumps during the anthem, and the "flying tomato" actually playing air guitar is a little bit disrespectful. Take 2 minutes and cross your heart and pretend that you know the words to the anthem. People may make fun of men's figure skating but at least he handled himself with class.

We went to Wingers last week for Cortlynn's birthday and witnessed some gross things the servers did----so I found a comment site and sent in my thoughts. My final statement expressed that if we ever went there again I would request to sit by the kitchen so I can watch what goes on with my food the entire time. Well- the general manager will not leave me alone. For the last 3 days I keep getting phone calls and messages apologizing profusely and requesting a face to face meeting. WHAT????? He is sending free comps--(eek-hopefully not a free concrete pie-) this was one of the issues---a pie placed on a dish with the man-chicks bare hand AND she/he actually ate pieces off the plate prior to serving it. GROSS! I don't want a face to face meeting that is why I sent a comment via website rather than try to hunt down a manager at the restaurant.

The Big Day!!!!

2010-02-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the rescheduled Elton John and Billy Joel concert. The kids were so excited to stay at a hotel---I don't know why. Children get excited over such simple things. When we arrived--I realized that I had made reservations at the wrong hotel. so instead of being a block away from the Energy Solutions Center---we were BLOCKS away----right by the Olive Garden (for those of you that know SLC). Devin and I had walked 1/2 way when we realized we had forgotten the binoculars. Oops--BUT we didn't have time to walk back and it was too cold. When we finally found the section we were in--we had a short hike to our seats. No joke! We were sitting there and I looked around to see the smoke from the popcorn vendors BELOW us! We were higher than the smoke or I called it the clouds. Totally nosebleed section. We were right over the stage and we had a big screen by us--so our seats could have been a lot worse. The concert was very good. I enjoyed it. It began at 7:40 and ended right before 11:00pm....it was solid singing too. The two of them sang together each others songs than each of them took turns to sing their hits while the other person was off stage probably taking a nap. Than the last 1/2 hr or so-they sang together again. It's nice to sit and listen to music that isn't bleeped out and you can actually understand what they are saying. There were all sorts of interesting people in attendance---from young children to older women with walkers.......I can't say who my favorite was---I'm leaning towards Elton John--he sang the ENTIRE time and listening to him sing took me back to traveling to Wisconsin when I was little. I could actually picture myself in our car traveling at night listening to the music when I was supposed to be asleep. Both of them have a lot of talent!

When we returned to the hotel the kids were still awake watching movies. Of course Tristan wanted to sleep in mommies bed--lucky me! He didn't sleep well at all so that meant I didn't sleep at all. Between Tristan having dreams, kicking me in his sleep, falling out of bed, and Devin snoring in the other bed---I was lucky if I had an hour of sleep. We had to get up and leave the hotel by 7:00 b/c Cortlynn had ballet auditions at 10:00. What a long morning!

After ballet I came home and baked Cortlynn's birthday cake. I added stuff to the cake mix and used different pans so when I went to decorate it ---AFTER stacking the two together-I noticed that the one half didn't cook all the way thru. CRAP!!!!! So-I placed both pieces (icing in the middle included) back in the oven. I had no idea if the cake would even be edible. I hurried to finish the cake and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted. This years b-day theme was a Twilight theme and the cake was supposed to look like the Eclipse book cover. Putting cake baking off till the last minute hasn't worked for me for the last two birthday's. I'm going to have to work harder. Cortlynn had a nice day. Heather and the girls came along with Great Grandma Norma and so did grandma and grandpa McIntire. She received really nice gifts and loved having family visit. Oh-and everyone told me that the cake was really good! sigh of relief-

Probably one of the ONLY photos of my grandmother w/out a finger up in front of her face. Love you grandma!

I'm going to pull All MY HAIR OUT!!!!

2010-02-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today I found out that my wonderful oxygen machine was delivered a week plus early PRIOR to the doctor's office sending the order to my insurance for pre-approval. OOPS!!!!! Who knows if the awesome insurance company I have will pay or hassle me about it. ;-(

I've decided that whatever I put my mother through while in my teens must have been awful because I'm paying for it now. Everyone writes positive things about their children and how great and sweet they are on blogs---I'm NOT going to do that today, children are only human, I'm only human, and not one person on this planet is perfect 100% of the time. I am at a complete loss of what to do with my 8 soon to be 9 year old daughter. She has a horrible attitude that you would have found on me when I was 14/15. She's snappy, secretive, has had issues with lying, and is very mouthy. I don't know what to do. I've done the whole take away the DS, toys, no TV, only homework, grounded---but nothing is working. It is almost as if she doesn't care if she's in trouble---no big woopie-d-doooo. After tonight's little episode I've told her that if she has one more ANYTHING---She will not be able to go to ballet, tap, daycare/friends, activity days-NOTHING!!! When I told her this I just got a blank stare and an "okay" Make me want to pull all of my hair out. I honestly don't know what I will do when she is an actual teenager----I just hope my mother has a spare room in her house... (I'm being completely serious mom!)

For a quick exciting note---my brother and sister in law are expecting a baby!!!!! YIPEE!!! I'm so happy for Dan, Jen, Brayden, and Ashlyn. Can't wait for October.

I CAVED!!!!!

2010-02-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

I did it....I caved to the pressure of the World and watched "Avatar". I was so against it--don't ask me why; I don't have valid reasons-I just had no desire to see it. BUT-Devin and I decided to go on an early Valentines Day date yesterday and that is the movie we chose.
The kids were so excited to visit Grandpa McIntire in Idaho Falls (grandma was in Utah) and the doggies. They were there for 6 hours and everyone survived in 1 piece. Tristan had his diaper on backwards-but other than that; all three were fine.
Devin and I went to my favorite restaurant-Johnny Carinos-and had my favorite meal; Calamari, bread, and Chicken angel hair pasta with Artichokes. Yummy!!!! I always go hungry so I don't leave the restaurant with left overs. So Good----
We had a few minutes-so we went to Alpine Jewelers and updated my wish list. I found a tennis bracelet I fell in love with until i saw the $69,000 price tag. All of it was beautiful.
We wanted to go to a movie and if I'm paying money I want to see a movie that is longer than 1 1/2 hours-so we chose Avatar; and Devin wanted to see it in 3D. $26.00 later we had our tickets. Good thing we purchased them 4 hours early b/c it sold out. There was still a line for the movie and it has been out for 7 weeks---that amazes me. I did like the movie---it isn't my favorite, but I did enjoy it. I won't be seeing it in the theatre 20 times like Titanic-but I'm glad I spent the money and experienced the film in the theatre. There was a women 2 rows in front of me that talked on her cell phone and sent texts throughout the film and I almost went up to her and asked for my $13 back----WHY????? WHY go to the movies if your going to use your cell phone??? STAY HOME obnoxious, annoying people!!!!! While at dinner there was a couple that had the new iPads. Two of them. So the chick was chatting away on hers and he was reading a book......WHY???? Don't get me wrong-I've read books at a restaurant but I was by myself-not with someone! How disconnected the World is becoming.
While we were driving back to the kids-it was dark and foggy and the car in front of us almost ran onto the curb/sidewalk. The car continued to swerve-so we got to the side of it and at the next red light I looked over. AAAHHHHH-the idiot women had food in one hand-was holding the steering wheel with a finger, and texting with the other hand-all while her children were sitting in the back seat. Seriously people-what are your priorities???? 1000 calorie meal from Mcdonalds and texting about it to your friend while driving down the road---or your childrens life and MY LIFE???? Oh how I wish there were strict laws on this.....

The "Exorcist" like flu

2010-02-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been a fiasco.

My first night on oxygen didn't go as planned. Tristan woke up in the middle of the night and was sick all over his room and our room. So I decided not to wear it. Poor Tristan had a horrible night that went into the next day. Devin stayed home with him in the morning and I came home to watch him in the afternoon. By that night he acted like he was feeling better. Since he wasn't as sick as before-it was round two of the oxygen.
I wore it all night-didn't notice any difference in my sleeping better but I did notice that it has caused me to get nosebleeds. Yipeee----That's just great-for a second I thought I would use some Vaseline until I remembered-DON'T use Vaseline-it could react badly and cause burns and/or a slight explosion. Just my luck I would blow my face off with Vaseline and my oxygen..That would be just great!
Friday night we decided to all go to bed early since it had been a long week and I wasn't feeling very good. Yep-at 11:30 I wake up and almost choke myself with the tubing running to the bathroom. I had caught the flu from Tristan. That was a horrible night. I couldn't sleep-between being sick and running to the bathroom, I was fighting a fever and would have the chills one moment and than break out into a sweat the next. This went on ALL NIGHT! I went to work on Saturday and was really not productive. I sat at my desk, sipped 7up, snacked on saltines, and tried to stay awake. That was the longest day ever!!!! After work I came home and crashed on the couch. We were so lazy.
Devin being the model male----decided to go play poker Saturday night; because that is what husbands do when their loved ones aren't feeling well. They eat, sleep, and play poker. AWESOME! Cortlynn tried to keep her distance from me and her brother and went to bed early and Tristan and I crashed on the couch. That is until Tristan became horribly ill again. We barely made it to the bathroom-but the bathroom didn't survive. We're talking the exorcist!!! Aaahhhhhh!!!!!! He slept in my bed and it was another night of no oxygen.
Sunday I thought I was feeling better so I made the mistake to clean my house. Stupid!!!!! I made it so much worse. Should have just rested with the kids.
I went to work today for 15 minutes and came home. I plan to rest before the kids get home and hopefully the flu will pass and I pray Cortlynn and Devin don't get it. (if they do-I know I will eat, sleep, and go play poker;-)

(Shirlee-I can't even imagine what you guys have been going thru with the Pharaohs Revenge-I wanted to die with the Idaho flu....I'm pretty sure I won't visit Cairo----I'll have my parents say hi when they come thru in October)

34 IS the new 84

2010-01-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

It is official---I am the oldest 34 year old I know.

My sleep study came in and my oxygen levels drop tremendously while I sleep-therefore I am required to wear oxygen-not a full mask; yet-but a nasal canula. I am one hot sexy chick when I sleep. ;-) The man who delivered my machine (Tom) couldn't catch his breath walking up my stairs. I really thought he was going to die. Poor man. He asked me how I felt when I was told I need to be on oxygen and I just smiled (didn't want to offend gramps)-he looked at me and said, "When I was told I needed oxygen I felt REALLY OLD, and I was 65". Thanks so much-that made me feel so much better. It's a mystery as to why---I don't see myself as being overweight, I don't snore, I don't have sinus problems-etc. Hmmmmm-my diagnosis is that Devin snores so bad that he sucks out all the oxygen in the room and there is nothing left for me to breathe. We will see if this works and if not will move up to bigger masks===Yipee!
Yesterday I had a Gastric Emptying Study. Exciting-I showed up to the hospital and had to eat eggs with radioactive "juice" on them. I dislike eggs; A LOT! eeekkkk-so I consumed my nasty eggs and had to lay on a table for an hour while a special camera watched these eggs travel thru my stomach and hopefully to my small intestine. Again-Devin being the supportive spouse-told me that he didn't think I could lay there for a week for the process to take place. Aaahhhhh-I'll get those results later as well. Maybe I can be put on a special diet where all my food needs to be processed in a mixer, I have to wear depends, and than instructed to play Bingo every Wednesday night. Oh-the joys of being a senior citizen. ;-) Devin thought he married young-Well I'm going to prove him wrong.

Ghostly "runs" and Polyp on my Fundus....

2010-01-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I was talking to my mom on the phone when my lovely 3 year old decided that jumping on the couch and headbutting me would be a perfect idea. Ouch! I heard the crunch of my skull and saw stars in the sky. I was certain blood would begin to stream down my face. I had to tell my mom I would call her back and quickly hung up the phone to cry. Tristan wasn't even fazed-he has a skull made out of iron.
Last night I could not sleep. I went to bed at 12:30 and at 4:00 I was still wide awake. Devin was fast asleep and snoring of course while I tossed and turned. Around 3:30 our toilet downstairs sounded like it was flushing. It kept doing this every 1/2 hour for about 2 hours. How odd is that? I must have a ghost that loves to walk around and also has a case of the ghostly "runs" and uses the restroom in the middle of the night. Crazy! I'm going to need to increase my ambien so I can sleep thru the weirdness. I finally did get to sleep around 6:00/6:30 and woke up to take Cortlynn to church at 9:00. I'm so tired!
My appointment Friday went alright. The doctor removed tissue for biopsies and had a good look at my tummy. He found a polyp in my fundus (I love saying that-it sounds gross and dirty at the same time) ;-0 For those of you that are not in the medical field-that would be a pocket of skin that shouldn't be there located at the top of my stomach. That too was removed and sent for testing. He discovered that my stomach isn't working the way it should. All of those times in high school and beyond when I wasn't the most "lady like" women and could keep up with all the boys in various areas of crudeness-it wasn't my fault. I was born that way-so technically I could blame my parents. tee hee hee
I go in on Tuesday morning for some more testing to see why my tummy isn't normal. Should be an exciting day! I scheduled the appointment at the Pocatello hospital.....WHAT??? They told me not to make any decisions after my procedure Friday and they ask me to schedule a procedure??? I really dislike the hospital here and on a normal day wouldn't schedule to go there, what was I thinking? I'm not going to the ER so maybe everything will go alright. We'll wait and see.

Pathetic

2010-01-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

I haven't had any weird footstep episodes since the other day but I've also been at work more than home. Last night Devin worked late and I actually let Tristan fall asleep on the couch next to me. There we waited until Devin got home close to midnight. What a chicken I am and using my children to "protect" me. Pathetic-
I've come to the conclusion that Pocatello will not have a winter this year. EVERYONE got snow this morning and schools were cancelled-was that the case here? Nope-42 degree weather. Sitting at work I was worried I would see the spandex shorts and clogs on the local Fred Meyer shoppers since it was spring like weather. How frustrating. I bought both children snow pants and boots for Christmas and they haven't had an opportunity to wear them yet.
Cortlynn had dance on Monday BUT when I took her to the studio the front door was locked. Me being the awesome mother that I am-decided that maybe dance was cancelled due the the holiday. I couldn't have been more wrong. She missed the first day on the bars (the ballet bars). Ooooooo-is she mad at me.
Well-tomorrow is my appointment and I am so excited for my EGD. (pls note the sarcasm) I hope-that something comes from it and I could possibly get answers to the issues I've been having for years. We'll just have to wait and see.

A Week full of Crazy's and Craziness

2010-01-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

I survived my sleep study and came to the conclusion that individuals that work at a sleep center are quite weird. There was a lady named Sandy who had so much energy it is not normal at that time of the day. She was talking a 100 miles a minute-stopped mid sentence and began to ask me questions about bank products and asking for advice on what she should do with her business. WHAT??? This was supposed to be about me. Than we had Bob--who came into my room and introduced himself like this: Hi-my name is Bob-I will be your hooker for the evening. Excuse me?? I think he likes working here because he can get away with saying that every night. Hahaha---The evening was uneventful and will have my results in a few weeks. The glue from all of the hookups was a nightmare to get out. I took two showers and still had glue flakes in my hair. Gross-
After the sleep study I took the kids to school and/or daycare and came home to lay down. Around 10:00 I heard Devin walking around downstairs. He kept walking from the couch area into the kitchen and back. I was really confused because he was supposed to be at work-hmmmm, maybe he came home for lunch. I was just about to get out of bed to ask him what he was doing and why he was so loud-when the phone rang. It was Devin-calling from Fred Meyer. ;-0 Ummmmm-if the kids are gone, Devin was at work, and the doors were locked-who was walking around my kitchen??Don't really want to think about it but I was so upset that Devin almost came home to check it out for me. After I hung up the phone I just covered my head with my blanket and stayed in bed. Yes-continued hearing noises and foot steps. After getting ready for work I opened my bedroom door with my cell phone in hand and creaped down the stairs. I could not get out of the house fast enough. WEIRD!!!!
Tomorrow I plan to go to the travel agency and make final arrangements for our trip to Britain. YEAH! I'm so excited-

No worries-I'm still here!!!!! :-)

2010-01-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month-talk about being a slacker but I've been so terribly busy. No need to worry-I'm not going to fill everyone in on the last 3 weeks of McIntire events. :-)
This week Cortlynn was so excited because it is observation week at her dance studio. She is such a cutie and does so well. Tonight was tap and you can tell that she LOVES tap...I love watching her dance.
Tristan was in his first car accident today and it wasn't with me or Devin. It was while he was with his babysitter. I guess some women rear ended them, didn't want Katie to call the cops, and than tried to attack her when she called them. (by the way, she is noticeably pregnant) The cops arrived, the women had 3 warrants, and she was taken away in hand cuffs. No one was hurt and everyone had their seat belts on---whhhoooo! relief! Tristan has had an interesting evening of telling everyone that he was in a car wreck and the cops came. He LOVED the cops. I'm so thankful it wasn't that bad.
Devin and I both have been working too much and we have had no time to sit down and talk let alone try to plan our vacation oversees. We were planning on sitting down tonight-but here I am blogging by myself while Devin is trying to get the kids to bed. I actually think he has fallen asleep before the kids. We will plan our trip, we WILL plan our trip!
Tomorrow night I am going in for a sleep study. I'm a little nervous due to the fact I don't like people watching me. I freak out when I know Devin is watching me sleep-how will I be able to sleep knowing that someone is getting PAID to watch me sleep. Awkward! Next week I'm going in for a different procedure and I don't even want to talk about that one yet. eeekkkk Hopefully with all of these tests, etc- they can figure out what my issue(s) are.
One last thought, comment, question: Why am I the ONLY person that doesn't have a copy of the movie New Moon??? It's still in theatres and I know several individuals that have seen it and/or have it in their possession---how? what? why? SO not fair!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

This has been a very busy week. I worked Monday but only for a few hours which I'm so glad I came home early due to the fact I got so sick that afternoon/evening. WOW---so sick! The next day I began baking. Every year I tell Devin that this is the last year-but nope; I cave and end up baking more than the year before. This year was no exception-I tried gingerbread again---happy to say that they actually were edible BUT I don't have a cookie cutter like my mom has so my gingerbread men looked more like aliens with a skinny neck and a big oval head. I also made two batches of sugar cookies, two batches of peanut butter/chocolate/butterscotch rice krispies, and also two batches of better than oreo cookies. Cortlynn and I finished baking on Wednesday and prepared 25 plates of goodies to give to friends and neighbors. Tristan wasn't feeling very good so I bundled up the kids and made Cortlynn deliver all the plates.... tee hee hee
Devin had to work late shifts this week and I had so much vacation left to use-I took the week off (until tomorrow; ;-( tear) For Christmas Eve we decided to stay home. The main reason b/c Devin had to work until after 6:00. So I fixed Li'l Smokies for the first time and they were SOOOOooo good, 7 layer dip, a meat tray, and hot apple cider. Cortlynn thought this was really cool--and eating the li'l smokies reminded me of Christmas Eve's in the past when my brother would eat so many he would get sick.....oh-those were good times. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights and also finished dropping off plates of goodies. We came home, put the kids to bed and got ready for Santa.
This morning Devin had to go into the store at 6:00 and at 6:30 Cortlynn was asking me if I wanted to get up....Tristan coughed all night so I couldn't sleep-so we stayed in bed until 8:30. The kids were so cute! Tristan saw his jeep and nothing else was in his line of sight. Cortlynn loved all of her gifts and was so thankful for everything. Santa gave the family a ping pong table which I almost purchased 3 different times but didn't because it was too heavy and I didn't know how to get it to the house. Good thing---Devin and I got each other the same movies. I gave Devin a saw which you have to buy the battery separate....WHAT???? Who does this? So he has a saw that he can't use. Classic Christina move. I also realized that I threw away Yoda last night while helping Santa fill the stockings....AAAAhhhhh! I'm such an air head sometimes.
The morning was great and we are so thankful for family, friends, and loved ones. Thanks to all for the gifts and love we received today and every day. Now it's time to clean up, watch a Christmas Story, prepare dinner (I'm attempting to make prime rib and twice baked potatoes) and listen to the kids play with their toys and Devin snore on the couch. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

a bomb hit our house

Prior to the Bomb

Our House

Both

children had

cheesy grins

on their

faces all

morning

The kids last night all

bundled to deliver goodies

Come on People!!!! Where are the Christmas Classics?

2009-12-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

Last week was a busy week. My parents and Nicole were able to visit and attend Cortlynn's Nutcracker performance in Blackfoot. I think they enjoyed it other than the fact my sister had to sit by a huge, HUGE, grumpy man who really should have purchased 2 tickets AND sat in a corner by himself. After the performance my mom told me a few of the things he said to my sister and he is so lucky I didn't hear him. After a long and stressful week, not feeling well, and Tristan not being on his best behavior during the ballet-I would have gone completely nuts on his big back end. Cortlynn did very well and the venue in Blackfoot is gorgeous-----it will be nice to have a few weeks off before she begins practicing for the spring performance of "Swan Lake".

My dad has come up with a new tradition to do with the grand kids-and they will not let him forget it. ;-) Since the weekend was so hectic-the kids and my dad woke up early to create a gingerbread house masterpiece. They had fun and the house turned out really cute.

I love Christmas music and love to sing (or try to sing) the Christmas classics; going to the special Christmas program at church is one of my favorite things to do each year. In Moore-they would have programs and some years would have off the wall Christmas songs that no one knew or would have a huge choir production where the congregation would sing 1 or 2 songs. I mentioned this to my dad one time-and since he was the bishop-he asked if we could sing Christmas songs for the entire meeting. It was one of the best "programs" I've attended. This year I wanted to go to our ward and since my parents and sister were here-it was a perfect opportunity. We sit down in the chapel, open the program, and guess what; the congregation would be singing 3 songs and the rest of it was the Ward Choir. Don't get me wrong; it was beautiful and so much better than the other ward we were in; but AAAHhhhhhhhhh-let me sing a Christmas song already! The Choir did a good job on songs I've never heard before.....one of which was called "Two Austrian Carols"....huh??? Where is "O little Town of Bethlehem", "Silent Night", "Hark the Harold Angels Sing", etc....Classics people-classics.

One of Cortlynn's favorite dancers-the Sugar Plum Fairy

the gingerbread house
Tristan being "scary"

Cortlynn after her performance

Nutcracker Performance and Uuuuh-You want a seat?

2009-12-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

Today was Cortlynn's first performance of the Nutcracker. She was a cherub in the matinee performance and did an awesome job. Aunt Heather, Uncle Josh, Andelyn, and Carys were able to come over and watch too. Each year more and more people come and watch it and this year was no different. EVERY single seat was sold and they were asking for people to bring up their tickets if they knew they wouldn't be used so the tickets could be re-sold. People actually bought "standing" tickets- they paid money to stand and watch a 2 1/2 hr ballet. CRAZY! Tristan slept thru most of the first act and watched the second- without throwing a fit. I was shocked that he behaved as well as he did. Next week she will be performing again but technically will be on "tour". We will be traveling to Blackfoot for her to perform in the Nutcracker at the really nice performing arts center they have there. She is really excited to perform next week because grandma and grandpa McIntire, grandma and grandpa Swanson, and aunt Nicole will be there to watch her. She can't wait.
Tonight she wanted to eat at Johnny B-Goodes aka Johnny B Crappy Service. Holy cow-we walked in and stood there waiting to be seated for at least 5 minutes while the waitresses sat on there behinds eating and texting. When a girl finally looked at me and smiled-yes smiled! I asked if we could actually get a table and sit down. (Uuuuuh-oh-we thought you just came in to enjoy watching us scarf down a burger and ignore customers. ) Make me want to scream!

Cortlynn-

2009-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

This week has been a very busy one. Cortlynn is getting prepared for her first Nutcracker performance tomorrow which means extra practices and dress rehearsals. She loves to dance so much the extra practices don't phase her. Trying to juggle everything makes it difficult for me. I decided that it would be easier to take a day off and finish Christmas shopping, Christmas cards, attending Cortlynn's Christmas program, and just rest a little. Last night she had dress rehearsal and after she was done wanted to sit and watch the older girls dance. She was in awe and even told me what parts she would like to be in a few years. What a sweetie.

Yesterday after picking Cortlynn up from school I noticed a women walking down the middle of the road. She wasn't really walking-staggering was more like it. Cars would actually have to go around her because she was literally IN THE ROAD. I don't know if she was drunk or on something-but she was not alright. With the school being so close and kids walking home-I was upset=so I called the cops. Sure is good to know that when you call 911 you are directed to the wrong city, than you have to be transferred to the correct city, oh and than you have to repeat yourself 3 times before they have any idea what you're talking about. I had to repeat the address 4 times and describe the women 3 times before the dispatcher told me they would send someone out to check. NOPE-didn't happen. I waited, and waited, and waited-not a sign of a cop-in the mean time-crazy women actually got picked up by the 5th car that stopped. A person could be going 2 miles over the speed limit and forget to signal and there would be 3 cops behind you with their guns drawn-but when you really need someone-nope-not a chance. (not saying all cops are like this-just the ones here in Pocatello/Chubbuck) ;-)

Today Cortlynn had her Christmas program. It was shorter than last year, but still 40 minutes too long. I remember our program-we would sing 3 or 4 songs and be done. Nope-not here-it is a 45 minute production and the kids stand up sing, sit down, stand up/ sing, sit down. My thighs were hurting just watching them. Oh well- She had fun and it's nice to be able to see her enjoy herself.

Cortlynn giving me her cheesy smile

This was a cute "African" holiday song

Cortlynn as a Cherub=(look at that posture)

Busy Week

2009-11-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

This week has been a busy one. On Monday I celebrated my birthday by going to "New Moon" with my friend Kim. It was sooooo good! I'm so happy I was able to go-and it was even better to go with a friend. Tuesday night my little sister Nicole and her friend traveled here from Utah and my parents traveled from Montana and stayed at our house. I had to make sure I had all the decorations up and the house cleaned before they arrived. Tristan and Cortlynn LOVED having them visit. Wednesday night Nicole and Kristen were nice enough to invite Cortlynn to New Moon with them. This made her entire year!
Yesterday was Thanksgiving so we traveled up to Idaho Falls to eat until we burst at Jeff and Angela's house. There was so much good food and pies---yummy yummy-I'm still recovering from eating too much. Tristan had fun playing with the cousins (minus the drama of the girls not letting him play dolls) and Cortlynn enjoyed hanging out with the "older" cousins. Everyone had a wonderful day and enjoyed visiting with loved ones. Tomorrow is back to work and to the real world.

Tristan and Bentley being all sneaky.

Happy Birthday Tristan!!! and other ramblings

2009-11-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

I have been such a slacker lately-okay-I wouldn't say slacker, instead horribly busy. I'm not going to take the time to catch up for the last 2+weeks-I'll just write about the last couple of days. Over 3 months ago I decided to purchase concert tickets (no, not Bon Jovi) Elton John and Billy Joel. Devin has been so excited to go. The big concert day was Friday in Salt Lake City. We traveled down to SLC, checked into the hotel, got ready, and than walked down to the Energy Solutions Arena. When we arrived we discovered that the concert has been postponed. WHAT??? That's right-postponed due to Billy Joel thinking he has the swine flu. The concert has been rescheduled for February and we received 2 free Jazz tickets. Yeah----(note the sarcasm) We'll have to wait and see.

Tristan had his big 3rd birthday. I can't believe he is already 3. Since we were in Utah on his actual b-day, he opened his first present at the hotel. Cortlynn was so excited because it was one of his All-Time favorite movies; Alvin and the Chipmunks. His face was priceless.

We traveled back home early Saturday because Cortlynn had Nutcracker practice. We planned on having a party for Tristan so I had to make a cake. (photo to follow) We didn't have a lot of family attend the party-but Tristan had fun with the presents and his cousins. He wasn't too excited for the singing of Happy Birthday: not sure if it was because he's shy and doesn't want the attention on him or because we aren't the best singers....not too sure. It was nice to have those members of the family here to celebrate Tristan's special day.

I've taken a few days off from work-and decided to paint Tristan's room. I began on Thursday and finished yesterday. WOW-I really dislike painting. I'm so sore. Tristan chose a blue color and he seems pretty happy with it. Cortlynn thinks it is her turn now----AAAAAhhhhhh!

This is not by best cake: for those of you that can't tell (not even Daniel knew what it was -tear) Tristan wanted either a Michael Jackson cake (hmmmmmmm) or a Star Wars Clone Wars cake. This is a Star Wars Clone Wars storm trooper helmet. duh!

Tristan's reaction to the movie

Cortlynn being goofy

Recipes, Bathroom Injury, and Halloween fun

2009-11-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

So you know those people that when they share a recipe to another person-they will leave an ingredient out or adjust a measurement? Well-I know my great grandma did-pretty sure my grandma Norma has done this-now I'm going to go out on a limb and place my mom into that category too. Yep mom-YOU! ;-) For years I've tried to make your gingerbread men and have been unsuccessful-there is a new recipe; I decided to make homemade sugar cookies using your recipe and the listed amount of flour was not enough; by 2 cups. I didn't think I would get the dough off of my counter. Geez mom-we're family. tee hee hee

I've heard that the bathroom is one of the most dangerous places in a home; this morning I almost learned first hand why this is. After taking a shower I stepped out and slipped or something and fell down. I must have hit my head on a door knob (I have a bruise) and it knocked me out cold. Devin heard something so he came into the bathroom to find me passed out on the floor in only my birthday suit. (what a site that was I'm sure) He kept calling my name and I finally "woke" up with no memory as to what happened. A little freaky; I got up, wrapped a towel around myself and just sat there confused. Everything is good now.

Halloween is over for another year. Yeah! I took the kids to the mall trick or treating and 10 minutes into I was wishing I had stayed home. I cannot handle crowds and crowds fighting over a piece of candy or a stupid sticker stresses me out like you wouldn't believe. When we got back cousin Brandy took both kids door to door. They came home with lots of candy but Tristan is like me-a home body- and had enough of it. They had a lot of fun staying with Brandy while Devin and I went to a Halloween party. We had fun at the party and had to leave early to meet another group of friends at Charley's for some dancing. It was so crowded that Devin and I had to wait outside for an hour. An HOUR!!!! We finally made it inside and had a fun time dancing and looking at all the crazy costumes. They had costume contests throughout the night and the grand prize contest would be after midnight. I was actually approached by a judge who told me to go on stage for the final contest b/c he thought my costume was great. I didn't win the big money-but they hand out coupons for free drinks of your choice. That was pretty cool. I went as a 1940's pin up girl (bugle boy girl that performed for the troops). I actually wore curlers for the first time since age 8 and wore them proudly for HOURS! Cortlynn was horrified when I told her I was going to the mall with curlers. hehehe I did research on the Internet to figure out how to do the pin curl hairdo and 60 bobby pins and a can of hairspray later-I actually achieved the look I was aiming for. Devin went as a devil and looked kinda spooky.

We caved to Tristan's Halloween costume wish and let him be Michael Jackson. We found a MJ hat and glove and I bought some sequin fabric for the belt and "socks". He thought he was so cool. When he is wearing the hat and sunglasses-you can't call him Tristan; he tells us that he IS Michael Jackson. He is so funny! gotta love kids. (Cortlynn decorated the cake pictured-so talented.)

Christina Who??

2009-10-28T19:35:00.001-07:00

It's only Thursday and it feels like it should be Friday. What a horribly long week this has been. Sunday I went to Cortlynn's primary program at church, came home, slept most of the day, and still went to bed by 9:30. I don't know if I was fighting a sickness or if I'm just plain exhausted. No matter what I did-I couldn't keep my eyes open. Tristan would come up to me and lift my eyelids up while at the same time saying, "mom-wake up now-it's not dark."

For years I have told my family that I plan to write a book on being a loser; since I've been married and have had children I put the plan on hold. Well-things happen almost daily-that puts the book idea back into my head. There are countless situations I could write about now-primarily the awful crappy service I get at restaurants-but this last week I had one of the best/worst ones. I went to the chiropractor on Monday before work-I was hooked up to a machine that would send shock waves into my back muscles and this was supposed to take about 15 minutes. When the time was up the machine automatically turned off but I couldn't get up due to the wires and everything I was hooked up to. Well-they forgot about me. FORGOT about me!!!! After at least 20 minutes-perhaps longer-one of the women opens the door and was embarrassed because she didn't realize I was there. How awkward....It wasn't busy or anything-I guess I'm just not a loud and boisterous individual that people remember. Oh well- what do you do?