Johnsons' Journey

Here’s coming to you live (well, at least for now) from Silver Falls State Park. I thought I should check in from here at least once, before we head over to the Prineville Reservoir tomorrow.

Anyhoo…

Yesterday was a busy day… It was Joe’s last day of work, before his vacation, and I was busy getting ready for our camping trip. We had been out late on Thursday, so I didn’t get much of a head start. Also, we had invited the twins to come with us to Silver Falls, since the Johnson Reunion was today, They spent the one night with us here, and then went home with Scott and Debbie this evening… So we had a couple extra kids in the house while I was trying to get things ready.

I was up and into the shower by 6:30, and I just kept on going… I had to make the cupcakes for Amanda’s birthday party (which was today, after the reunion), wash a ton of laundry, fold it all, and put it away. I had to pack for all 6 of us, clean the kitchen, get the kitties set for the week, and load the trailer. It doesn’t sound like much, but I was going from 6:30 until around 3:30, when Joe finally got home and started hooking the trailer to the Durango, etc. I only stopped long enough for some breakfast at around 10 o’clock.

By that point I was too pooped to pop! *lol*

Andrea asked about the cats… Only Cuddles was allowed full run of the house. At 6 years old, she is very well trained, and just too lazy to get into mischief. *lol* We left her one of the litter boxes in the laundry room, a casserole dish full of water, and a round cake pan filled with food. (We have someone coming by on Tuesday to check on the cats and make sure they still have enough food and water.) … As for Buddy, he is spending the week in the kids’ bathroom. I’m sure he’s not happy in there, but we can’t trust him in the house unsupervised, and there is no way we’re leaving him outside, day and night, for a week. He probably wouldn’t survive that, not with coyotes and cougars running around. Anyway, we put a litter box in there, gave him a bed, and he had the same amount of water and food as Cuddles, though he doesn’t eat as much as she does. *lol* … As for Tootsie and CeeCee, we put the both of them in our bathroom, with a litter box and twice the amount of food and water as the other two got. We also made sure they had some toys to play with, since they are still extremely playful… I took every last thing out of the bathroom, so they wouldn’t break anything. *lol*

On a side note… Speaking of cougars, Joe actually saw the cougar on Friday morning!!!!! Turns out that there must be more than one. The one that friends of ours has seen is full grown, but the one Joe saw was only about half grown. It was about a half mile down the road, and was running along side the street. Joe said it’s paws were huge!

Scary stuff!

Anyway, back to our vacation… I think it was sometime after 4:00 when we were finally able to leave the house… Since the kids and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, we made a quick run to Mickey D’s for a burger, before heading out to Silver Creek Falls.

I’m not sure what time it was when we got here… Maybe 6-ish??? … Once we were in our site, the kids ran off to play in Grandma and Grandpa’s campsite, while Joe and I got our campsite ready to go. Then we grabbed our chairs and moseyed over there. We pretty much spent the evening chatting with the relatives around the campfire, being too tired to do anything else. *lol*

Sleeping two extra people in the trailer was an interesting feat! There is a triple bunk bed in the back of the trailer. Jared sleeps on the top, Josh in the middle, and Alicia used to sleep on the bottom (but now I use it to hold the kids’ duffle bags with their clothes). Anyway, we had Jacob sleep in the bottom bunk… Now Jacob is a big kid… And that bed never looked so small, until Jacob climbed into it! I don’t know how he did it! I would have been way too claustrophobic! He never complained and said he slept well, but MAN! *lol* … While we’ve never done it before last night, the table turns into a bed, and that is where Alicia and Amanda slept. It was quite roomy enough for them, and they were very happy there… The couch turns into a bed as well (it’s where the girls usually sleep), and that is where we put Jamie. She is too tall for the table/bed, so this was the best option for her… But the funny thing was, she is so tall that her feet hung over the end of the bed. Every time I came out to use the bathroom at night, I would accidentally run into her feet.

Since we had gotten to bed late, we ended up sleeping in until around 8 o’clock. We had the kids get dressed real quick, and then sent them outside… There was no way I could cook breakfast with that many bodies in the trailer. It just isn’t humanly possible. As soon as they were out, Joe and I turned the beds back into the table and couch, and picked up the trailer. Then I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast… After we ate, I did the dishes and took a shower.

It was 11:30 before I was done. *lol*

I was able to kick back for half an hour, and then back to the trailer I went. The potluck was at 1 o’clock, and I needed to make the spaghetti that I planned on taking.

After lunch, and after the kids played a game of “Apples to Apples” with their cousins, Joe and I decided that we wanted to go on a walk to the South Falls. So we, along with our nephew, Shandon, took off… From our campsite, it is probably 3/4th to a mile walk to the top of the falls. It was a nice walk. It wasn’t too hot, and it’s really pretty around Silver Creek… But MAN, was the park busy! … When we got to the top of the falls, we stopped to take some pictures, then we turned around and came back. There is a nice trail down to the bottom of the falls, but while it’s nice going down, the trek back up makes me literally feel like I am going to have a heart attack. *lol* I have some more weight to lose before I try that again!

Actually, there is an even longer hike down there… the short hike takes you behind South Falls, and then down to the bottom and back up. There is also a 7 mile hike that takes you on the “Trail of 10 Falls” … Someday, when I am closer to my goal weight, and when Amanda gets old enough to handle that long of a walk, I want to go on that hike and see all the water falls.

When we got back to camp, we let Amanda open her birthday presents… She had been bugging me about it All. Day. Long! I was so glad that I no longer had to listen to it! *lol*

She got some nice things… Joe and I got her a Hannah Montana fleece blanket, a Hannah Montana beach towel, and two Tinkerbell DVDs. Josh got her a Hannah Montana shirt, and Jared got her some Hannah Montana jeans to go with the shirt Josh bought. Alicia gave her some Hannah Montana headphones and a Hannah Montana mini purse thing, that is meant to carry cell phones or mp3 players. Grandma and Grandpa gave her an outfit with a 3 pack of socks and a Hannah Montana place mat. Gene and Dorothy gave her a Hannah Montana sticker book, a Hannah Montana bag thing, with a mini notebook and pen, as well as a shirt. Bob and DeeDee gave her $15, and Scott and Debbie gave her a Hannah Montana bike helmet and a couple of those fuzzy posters that you can color with markers.

She is one spoiled girl!

After roasting hotdogs for dinner, and getting into the cupcakes, I took the girls down to the showers… I had wanted them to just bathe in the trailer, but they begged to be able to go down to the showers… But I swear, they will be using the trailer from now on! (and I think they agree with me!) … As soon as we got in there, a huge group of teenagers came in, and the girls had to hurry to make sure they got hot water. Also, the water pressure was so hard, they were extra loud about their complaints. It was embarrassing! I was glad to leave and get back to the trailer.

When we got back, I settled the girls into bed with the portable DVD player and one of Amanda’s new Tinkerbell movies, while Joe and the boys went to take their shower… It was late when they got back, so everyone, expect for me, went to bed… But I am about to head there in a couple minutes! *lol* … I’ll check in with you next from Prineville! (I sure hope our phones get service there, as they don’t here… I haven’t been able to post on face book!)

Man, yesterday was a looooooong day!

The kids and I were up, showered & dressed, the house picked up, and ready to go when Joe got home from work at 9:45-ish. As soon as Joe got home, we all hopped into the Durango and headed back into town to the bowling alley. We wanted to try their breakfast there… Every week we see parents of the bowlers with these yummy looking breakfasts, and we were wanting to try it… It was yummy too! *lol*

The girls and their new friends

The boys can practice (for their league) from 10 am until 11 am for free, and the league bowling starts at 11, so we always end up being at the bowling alley for around 2.5 – 3 hours. The boys love it, and we bring things (like coloring books) for the girls to do, so they won’t get bored… Yesterday a couple little girls who do the bumper bowling on the league came over to the girls, pulled some chairs up to the table, and invited themselves to some coloring. *lol* Alicia and Amanda were thrilled, and they all looked so cute, sitting around the table coloring.

Josh seemed to be having a bad day, as far as his bowling went, but he was improving by the time the day was done… Jared did well though, and I think he even improved his average a little… Jared is really getting good… Josh has problems, because of his strength issues… His pediatrician says that Josh has some kind of muscle disease, which is what caused delays with his gross motor skills as a baby (he didn’t walk well until he was 18 months old). Dr. Gyerko said that Josh would never do really well in sports and things, because of his lower muscle tone… Josh doesn’t let it get him down though. He’s just out there to have fun… I am proud of him for not getting discouraged… Not that he bowls badly… He would just knock down more pins if he could just throw the ball a bit harder.

Read the rest of this entry »

Alicia, our little toothless wonder!

On Thursday we took the kids back to the pool… While we were in route, we decided to call Debbie (Joe’s sister) and invite them to come join us, and they excepted (They live just a couple minutes from the aquatic center).

The kids were thrilled to have their cousins there to swim with, and all 6 of them had a great time… I don’t think they were ready to leave at 5 pm when all the kids started coming for their lessons.

It was nice for me too, because I got someone to talk to while Joe and the kids swam. *lol* Debbie and I sat on the bleachers and chatted while we watched them swim.

At 5 pm we bid them goodbye, and then buckled the kids into the Durango… We were all getting hungry, and trying to decided what to make for dinner. Both Joe and I decided that we would just eat out, because we hadn’t pulled anything out for dinner, and everyone was pretty hungry. We also decided just to grab something fast and take it home to eat it.

Now there isn’t much to choose from in Molalla, for fast food. You either have McDonald’s or Subway. Well, not a one of us wanted the golden arches, so Subway was decided and we headed over there… When we pulled into the parking lot, who should be there but Debbie and the kids! (Scott hadn’t come to the pool because he had still been at work when they left.) The kids all thought that was cool, and while I stayed in the car, they all went in with Joe to say hi to Jamie and Jacob while Joe got our dinner.

As you know, I spent the entire day on Friday painting Josh’s room, then I fell into bed exhausted by 9 pm…

Josh loves his wolf border!

On Saturday I got the wallpaper trim up in Josh’s room… I think it turned out pretty nice! I can tell that Josh loves it, if him kissing the wallpaper trim is any indication!

After Joe got home and I BBQd some chicken, potatoes, and corn-on-the-cobb for a late lunch, Joe and I got Josh’s furniture put back in his room. After the heavy stuff was in the room, Joe headed to the bed and his TV set, and Josh and I started getting his toys and things organized and put in his room… We only got around half of it done, because I was quickly getting out of the mood. *lol* … I convinced him that it would be a good time to settle in with a movie (by then it was around 8:30), and I ended up going to bed early on Saturday as well.

I woke up early on Mother’s Day, and turned on iTunes and vegged in front of an episode of “In Plain Sight” while waiting for the kids to wake up… Joe was at work, though he did send me a “Happy Mother’s Day” text.

After all the kids were awake, Josh and I got the rest of his things put away in his bedroom… I don’t have any pictures yet, because we haven’t had a chance to hang his pictures/posters yet… But as soon as we do (Joe always helps with that), I will be sure to take some and post them… I also need to make the valance for his window, and runners for the dresser and the bedstand we want to buy him (his old side table lost a leg *lol*).

Joe got off work at 8 am (he requested to get off early), and he went to Wal*Mart to pick up a few groceries (and a last minute Mother’s Day gift *lol*)… When we were last at Wal*Mart, I had pointed out a couple DVDs on the $5 rack that I wouldn’t mind having (Ever After and Aquamarine), so he picked those up along with Bedtime Stories for the kids to give me as a gift… I think he grabbed that one because he’s a big Adam Sandler fan. *lol* … But I did want to see that one too.

Debbie, Alicia, Amanda, and Jamie

At around noon we packed up the Durango and headed to Feyrer Park (a campground which is 5 miles from the house). We met Scott, Debbie, and the kids there for a Mother’s Day BBQ. We had a really nice time, just chatting and relaxing while the kids played to their hearts’ content.

You can tell that the kids are all growing up… It used to be that the 6 of them would spend a majority of their time on the playground equipment, but not anymore… Now only Alicia and Amanda are interested, while the boys and the twins would rather do things like volleyball… It’s kind of sad to see them leaving the joys of childhood behind… *sigh*

After a couple hours we put everything away in the SUVs and walked down to the Molalla River. We stayed there for a while, and let the kids play along the river bank, while we talked some more… We headed home at around 4:15.

There should be 5 candles. *lol*

Sunday was also Cuddles’ 5th birthday … It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve had her for almost 5 years now (we got her when she was 6 weeks old)! … As per tradition, we had to celebrate her birthday with a can of soft cat food and a singing of Happy Birthday. *lol* … The kids would be very upset if we forgot to celebrate her birthday… In fact, they had been telling her “Happy Birthday” all day long.

And yes, Buddy got a can of soft food too.

So far, Buddy hasn’t had anymore “spraying issues”, but we aren’t taking any chances. We’ve moved his “snip-snip” appointment from the 23rd to this coming Saturday… That will give us 2 weeks of observation before our vacation, to see if we’ve nipped the problem in the bud… Or he may be spending the week in the bathroom, which I really don’t want to do, but I will if we have to.

For now, he’s being watched All. The. Time… At all times one of the kids is on “Buddy Duty”, and if we’re all too busy to watch him, he goes in the kennel.

Here’s praying this ends soon!

In other (bad) news, we’re having troubles with the Durango… For a while now it’s been making some strange noises… Since we’ll be pulling the trailer quite a ways on our vacation, Joe wanted to get it looked at before we headed out, so last night he took it to a place in town. They messed around and told him it was his transmission. I guess where he took it don’t do transmissions or something, so they suggested a place in Sandy… When Joe went to leave Eriksons, the Durango started making a terrible noise… To make a long story short, the people from Canby had to have the Durango towed to their shop. *sigh*

What really sucks is that it’s going to cost $500 ALONE, just to have them take the transmission out and see what’s wrong. Plus we’ll have the cost of the repair on top of that. *sigh* … If our vacation wasn’t already reserved and paid for, we probably wouldn’t (shouldn’t) go… Mainly because the money for the car repair has to come out of our line of credit… It feels wrong to be going on vacation when we can’t afford to fix the car.

BUT… We haven’t had a “real” vacation since before the kids were born. We’ve gone on a lot of camping trips (4 days at the most, but usually just weekend trips), but this is the first time we’ll be gone for an entire week, and we had lots of things planned (which I will get into AFTER we come home, the internet being what it is)… The kids are REALLY looking forward to it, and we feel like we can’t cancel now… *sigh*

Pontiac Grand Am

Anyway, since our only vehicle got towed, Joe had to rent a car from Ericksons… I guess they were out of the $25 a night cheap cars, so Joe ended up with a red Pontiac Grand Am (for $35 a night)… When Joe got home the kids ran to the door to see what car Daddy had rented, and Amanda came back to me with a snicker in her voice…

“Daddy bought a girl’s car!”

Snicker

Today I feel  Cold, tired, sore, have a headache, and hungry (Sometimes diets bite…)
Reading: “Little House in the Highlands” by Melissa Wiley
It rained today, and is currently 54º

Quote of the day:
Cousin LeRoy was giving Alicia one of his stern looks that he is so terribly fond of, and Alicia says to him, ” Don’t look at me hard!”

As you know we had Alicia’s birthday party today. Due to the tiny nature of our house, and Joe’s big family (which isn’t a comfortable combination) we have the kid’s birthday parties at Joe’s parent’s house. (It’s very nice of Joe’s parents to let us borrow their house!! )

Anyway, We all had a pleasant evening. Alicia was spoiled, and of course, loved every minute of it. We gave her the princess bike with matching helmet and gear. She got a kitchen cookware set, and a cute pink outfit from Grandma and Grandpa. From Uncle Gene and Aunt Dorothy, she got a Pooh Bear piano book (which she loves) and some play jewelry, a tiara and play shoes. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jennifer gave her a Barbie doll (From the new Princess and the Pauper movie). Uncle Bob and Aunt Dee Dee got her an over the door hanger thing, that says Princess on it. We had seen it at Fred Meyers the other day, but didn’t have the money to get it. I guess Joe mentioned it to Dee Dee, and she got it. Alicia thinks it’s very pretty. Uncle Scott and Aunt Debbie got her an adorable baby Cinderella doll (I guess cousin Jamie would like to have one too! LOL!). And Great Grandma Johnson gave her $5.00… All in all, I’d say she was one spoiled little girl!! After church in the morning I will have to get her picture with her new stuff, and then get them all opened up for her.

Oh, I am SO SORE tonight….. When Joe got hired on at Target I ordered this new workout system from Leslie Sansone:

Well, it finally came on Thursday evening. So on Friday I put in the “Slim & Burn” DVD, which is a 30 minute introductory workout. Other than having to get used to using the platform (Which is an inclined step, so it’s kind of like you’re walking up hill.), the workout was very easy, and I barely broke a sweat. So I checked out the other two DVDs, and saw that the last one, the “Sculpt & Burn” is the only one where you use the hand weights. I wanted that so I could get both upper and lower body strength training, and not just cardio. My metabolism is VERY slow, and I need the muscle to boost it. So anyway, this morning I popped in that one to do…. It is a 40 minute workout, and I had watched it first, early this morning and it didn’t look to difficult. So, as a result, I used heavier weights than they did, and used them in some segments where they didn’t…

… Let me tell you, by the time I was done with those 40 minutes I was about dead. I was completely out of breath, my whole body was sore and I was sweating so badly that my glasses fogged up! WHAT A WORKOUT!!! The funny part is that my arms are relatively unaffected, so it wasn’t my choice of heavier weights and using them more often that is getting me. It’s that Walkblaster and all the lunges and things you have to do with it… It is designed to firm up your fanny and legs, and believe me, it knows what it is doing!!!!!

I took a shower as soon as I was done, and afterwards I slowly sat down in the recliner, as I could barely move… Then (jokingly) I called the thing evil! Joe was just laughing at me the whole time, and all day kept telling me I was moving slowly, and asking my why I would groan when I sat down (which I WASN’T! )… So I affectionately told him that I was going to use the thing until I was firm and strong, and then I was going to kick his fanny! So he says, “Oh, so you’re only doing this to hurt me?” and I said, “What?! Did you think I was doing this for YOUR benefit?!” It was funny!

Anyway, on to other things….

Look what I found in my inbox today!!!!

Thank you Antonia! You’re very sweet!!!!

I think Joshy is getting close to accepting Jesus into his heart. He has been asking me a lot of questions during our Bible classes in school, but says he’s going to wait until he’s 5 like Jared was. (Don’t know why)…. He so cute though. We have Christmas music playing, and the other day Josh said that he didn’t like the Santa Claus one because it says that “Santa sees you when you’re sleeping, and knows when you’re awake…” Joshy says that “Only Jesus knows everything!” Then the next song was one that says that Jesus is the reason for the season. So Josh says that he liked that one because it talked about Jesus… Isn’t that just too sweet?

Remember last Sunday when Amanda said “thank you” a few times while we played blocks today? Well this evening, she was in my lap at dinner time and I gave her a cracker and she said it again!!!! So I said, “You’re welcome” and Joe got this shocked look on his face and said, “Did she just say thank you??”… I couldn’t believe it either, as she’s not even 14 months old yet. She is just too cute for words, I tell ya.

She is crawling so fast now, and standing for longer and longer stretches…. Though she still needs work on that. She will usually be able to bear weight on her legs for short periods of time, while standing in my lap or on the floor, but only if I am holding her under her arms. This afternoon I stood her up next to Grandma and Grandpa’s coffee table (We don’t have one) and she kind of held on for a little while, though a bit unsteadily…. But she’s getting there!

Did you see any of the presidential debate last night? Joe and I listened to some of it on the radio, on the way home from Wal*Mart…. Now I have to admit (since I never watch the news) that this is the first time that I’ve heard Kerry speak, but it shocked me. Can’t the guy say anything without being downright nasty to President Bush? The guy doesn’t seem to have one ounce of respect in his body. Every question that was directed his way, was answered with a slam on Bush. EVERY ONE! Maybe it’s the way I was raised, but I think he’s just downright mean. He’s NOT going to be getting my vote…. Bush did make me laugh once though. After one of Kerry’s “remarks” Bush says something like, “You almost made me scowl!”… Too funny…. If I was Bush, I would have been scowling for sure!

Well, it’s getting close to midnight, and I still have that headache. Think I’ll get me some Tylenol and hit the hay… Don’t want any sleepyheads in church tomorrow!

Today I feel Tired
Reading: “Little House in the Highlands” by Melissa Wiley
Today it rained and was in the mid 60’s

About the time we left for Champoeg on Friday, I started to feel really nauseated. I thought maybe it was because I ate a Burger King Chicken sandwich for lunch, and it wasn’t sitting well. But I was actually coming down with some kind of stomach virus, because I actually fell asleep in the van on the way there… I never nap during the day, except when I’m pregnant…. I was actually hoping that I was pregnant, especially when I started having these emotional mood swings after we got to the campground. Since I was feeling like crud, I would have liked to have had some help from Joe with the setting up (he always puts the tent trailer up, and I always get everything settled in it), but he kept wandering off, and I still had to do it myself… This put me in a mood, and we ended up having a little spat about it.

The nausea continued through the evening, but then right before bedtime, I started having to make a ton of trips to the bathroom… So that clinched it, I wasn’t having morning sickness. To the best of my knowledge, diarrhea isn’t a sign of pregnancy *sighs*. My queasy/achy stomach kept me up more than half the night with trips to the bathroom, so I was very tired. Plus, I was so embarrassed to keep having to run to the crowded public restroom, so I asked Joe to take me and Amanda home…

Joe wasn’t impressed with that idea at all. He barely spoke to me on the way home, and I could tell he was pissed when he was about to leave to go back to the campground (Joe’s mom had watched the other three kids at her campsite). I said I was sorry, but all he said was, “Life goes on.” as he walked out the door. So, I felt bad that I made him mad, but was happy to have the privacy of my own bathroom to be miserable in! … And I admit, I was a little put out with Joe and his attitude… He did call later that evening, and seemed in a better mood, so I assume that all is forgiven.

After getting home I was very hungry, because I had barely eaten anything for dinner the night before, and had barely gotten one piece of toast down at breakfast. So I got a bowl of cereal, (which is the only thing that sounded good at the moment). Then at 2:00, when Pixie went down for a nap, I took one as well and slept until 3:30… I felt a little better when I woke up.

Turns out it was a good thing that I did come early, as Joe and the kids got rained out. It was raining here pretty hard yesterday evening, and I guess they got some lightning as well. In fact, Joe says that if it’s going to rain next weekend, he’s not going to camp at Beverly Beach, he says we’ll just go to the reunion for the day. He watched the news tonight at said that one station forecasted rain, and the other said it would be clear. We’ll have to see what they say at the end of the week… But it’s so close now, if we don’t go, we won’t get a refund on the campsite we reserved…. That would kind of suck… Wonder if Joe’s thought of that.

I guess my poor little Princess had an accident this morning. They have these brick like pads at Champoeg, where the picnic tables are. Well, she tripped on the edge of it, and hit the bricks face first. I guess she was screaming, and blood was coming out her mouth. When Joe went to get a washcloth, she started throwing up. (She does this if she cried hard after getting hurt) He never did check inside her mouth to see what she did (I don’t know if maybe she wouldn’t let him, or what), so I did when they got home (after he told me about it), but all she did was cut her lip… I was afraid that a tooth would be broken or something.

Weebles!

Amanda had a nice party on Friday night. She got some adorable clothes, and some cute toys. She even got some Weebles… I loved those when I was a kid, but they sure look different now! Heck, I didn’t even know that they made Weebles anymore. Remember that old slogan, Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.”…. *sighs*… Makes me reminisant of my childhood!

As messy as it gets...

But one thing was pretty funny… Pixie DOES NOT LIKE cake… Or at least the frosting. She tasted some and made a face like she was sucking on the worlds most sour pickle. Though she did stick the tips of a few fingers in it (and Joe smooshed her hand into it), she barely made a mess. She just got a little on her face, and in her eye, which must have stung because she fussed after that happened.

Oh well, at least she had fun watching daddy open her presents. She sat in her high chair and kicked her feet and jabbered. It was pretty cute.

When the kids got home today, they barely noticed the cat (who was dying for some attention from them), as they were too busy playing with Amanda’s new toys.

Anyway, back to me feeling sick… The diarrhea seems to be gone now, but I am still slightly nauseated. Mainly when I eat or drink something extra sweet. I hadn’t had any of Pixie’s birthday cake on Friday, so I got myself a piece, but only ate about half of it, before I felt nauseated. Then, a little while ago I grabbed a mini generic cola, and that did it too.

On Friday, I got to stressing how Joe would react if I am indeed pregnant… So I told him that I was scared that he would be mad if I was. He got a stern look and said, “Then I’d have to divorce you!”… Then he laughed and said, “Of course I wouldn’t be mad.”… He’s a great one for joking around… I then told him it would serve him right if I was pregnant, because of all days to skip protection, he shouldn’t have done it on Friday the 13th…. He thought that was funny.

I can’t believe what Joe did though… After Joe took me and Amanda home, Bob (Joe’s BIL), asked Joe what was wrong with me, and Joe said, “Probably morning sickness.” And Bob said, “Joe, you can have sex without getting pregnant!!!”…. Bob doesn’t really approve of kids… And Joe even said that to his sister too… Heck, we don’t even know if we are pregnant, and if we are, I wouldn’t have told anyone until we had seen the doctor… Why is he blabbing it around like that? I just don’t understand that man sometimes…. You can keep some things to yourself sometimes, really you can.

I can just imagine the field day Joe’s family will have with me if I am pregnant. They have made it perfectly clear that they don’t think we should have any more babies. *sighs*

Anyway, when Joe brought me home on Saturday, I only had a few more trips to the bathroom, before the diarrhea started to clear up, and the nausea got some better after that. I also took some Tylenol for an achy back and took a nap from 2:00 to 3:30… Another nap?????…

Even though I don’t know if I’m pregnant or not, I figured out the *possible* due date to be around May 7…. Can you believe I am already obsessing about this???? Of course you can, because I do it all the time! LOL!

I don’t care what anyone thinks… I HOPE I AM PREGNANT.

Well, I am getting VERY tired, so I think I’ll go hit the hay. Hope you have a great night!

Today I feel Wonderful
Reading: “Assassins” by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins
Today it was rainy, and is currently 57º

Once again, I’ve let a few days go by without posting…. Not that there’s been enough going on in our little lives to write home about, but that’s no excuse. Every day I tell myself, “Tonight I’m going to post on my blog, and empty my inbox.”… Well, then I get all distracted with moving stuff to my new domain, that the blog and Emails fall by the wayside… Enough said about that!

We haven’t been doing too terrible much this week…. On Wednesday my friend Talitha had her second (and last) baby. She had another boy, and named him Daniel Steven. He was born at 8:02 in the morning, and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces… And that kid has more hair than I have ever seen on a newborn!!! When Kurt (his daddy) called on Wednesday, to give me the stats, he said that all Daniel needed was a mustache, and he would look like he was from the 70’s. Well, I saw him on Thursday, and Kurt was right! He has sideburns! His hair was past his ears, and his Mommy says that he needs a haircut! But nature will probably take care of some of it, as most babies lose quite a bit of hair.

Anyway, like I said, on Thursday we went to the hospital to see Talitha’s baby. But first we went to Target to get a gift for the baby, and one for our nephew as well (he will be 5 next week). At Target we found Alicia the cutest shirt that says, “I didn’t ask to be a princess, I just am!” Isn’t that just too cute?

After visiting Talitha and Daniel for a while, we took the kids to McDonalds to eat dinner, and let them play on the playground for a while.

Alicia @ Champoeg

Then yesterday we went out to Champoeg State Park. Joe’s parents are camping out there, and wanted us to come out either yesterday or today. So we chose last night, and I’m glad we did, because it’s raining today!!!

Didn’t do too much out there, just sat around the fire and talked. It was nice and relaxing. Joe brought the bikes too, and I was going to go riding with him and the kids while Amanda napped, but the chain was off the track thing. So Joe’s going to have to fix my bike before we go camping this summer. I also want to get a bike seat to put Amanda in, as she’s too small for the bike trailer that Joe pulls behind his bike. Plus, it only hold two kids and Josh and Alicia are both still in it….. Josh is too lazy to use the petals on his bike, and won’t use it…. Need to work on him with that.

Ryan

Today we had a birthday party to go to. Our nephew, Ryan, will be 5 next Wednesday, but his party was today. His theme was Snoopy, and Crystal had lots of fun games for the kids to play (There were a few boys from Ryan’s Sunday school class there as well). Crystal’s parents were visiting from Canada, so it was nice to see them again.

When we got home we decided to be lazy, as both Joe and I aren’t feeling 100%. So we kicked back with some munchies and watched “Maverick”… We hadn’t watched it an a long time, and we both just love that movie.

Well, not much else going on here. Just busy plugging away at Alicia’s pages on my new domain. I already have Amanda’s caught up. After Alicia’s are done I’m going to get my backside busy on Josh’s pages… His will take a while… I’m redoing the older kid’s birth story pages, and adding pregnancy journals. For Alicia all I had to do for the journal was copy and paste the text from the journal I wrote to her. Well, we didn’t have a computer yet when Josh was born. I have a journal for him, but it’s all hand written until we got the computer when he was 6 months old. So I will have to type it all out… YIKES! Sounds like a lot of work to me!!! But he’s worth it!

Weight wise, I had a better week this week. I had my weigh in on Friday, and I actually lost 2 pounds this last week. Seems like the only way I lose weight is if I continually keep my calories between 1200 and 1300 calories a day… And that is SO hard to do all the time. I really need to give my metabolism a boost, so that I will be able to eat more than I do now. I am tired of going to bed hungry, because I already ate my 1200 for the day, and can’t get anymore…

… Of course, I used to be better at being good about my eating. The first 6 months or so of this weight loss journey, I did awesome. If my hubby wanted to bring home fast food, I let them have it and just made me a “Smart One”… Now I am letting him get it for me too…. And we’ve been out and about more often, and it’s easier to eat less at home, than it is when you’re somewhere else.

I did very badly on Thursday and Friday, and because of that I haven’t lost anything since the beginning of the week… But what do I expect? To eat what I want and still lose the weight? Not going to happen, I know.

Then yesterday, I woke up in a completely unmotivated mood. I just DID NOT feel like working out. So I only did my 2-mile for abs, instead of doing my 4-mile challenge, and a strength training. Then I felt guilty about it for the rest of the day…. This morning I only did a 2-mile again, but that’s because I didn’t have time to do more, as we had to leave the house be a certain time.

Well, come Monday (tomorrow’s my rest day) I will be back to my 4-mile, and starting tomorrow I will eat better again. I want to get to 140 by the 22nd, which is my monthly mark on this journey. I was 145 on April 22, and want to lose at least 5 pounds in the month. (I’d have been happier with 10, but only have myself to blame) So anyway, I have 2 pounds to lose in the next 7 days… Do you think I can do it??????? I better!

Well, I think I am coming down with something. My throat is hurting, my ears feel like they are getting plugged up, and I’m VERY tired. So I think I’ll run for now. Hope you have a great day!

Today I feel Dandy
Reading: “Golden Dreams” by Elaine Schulte
Today it was raining and cold!

Good evening! Thought I’d get online for a few, before heading off to bed. I did a bunch of housework today, and am pretty tired…. Of course, the main reason I’m tired is I didn’t sleep well last night. My body is no longer used to caffeine, but I had some yesterday at Joe’s parent’s house. I was up half the night, wide awake!

Happy Birthday!

Since Jared’s birthday is on January 10, and Grandma’s is on January 2, and Uncle Scott’s is on January 3, we had a combination party this year. Yesterday I baked a couple of birthday cakes and we headed to “Jimmy-Os” (a pizza parlor in Oregon City) to meet the rest of Joe’s family there for dinner… This was a surprise for Grandma, who wasn’t included in the plans.

After dinner we went back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for cake and presents.

One Spoiled Boy!

Jared’s birthday gifts:

Mommy and Daddy :: Rescue Hero URV (Ultimate Robotic Vehicle)
Josh, Alicia and Amanda :: Rescue Hero shoes
Grandma and Grandpa Johnson :: Pajamas, socks and puzzles
The Pence Family :: Jeans and Learning Word Puzzle
The Quamen Family :: Truck with Car
The Mewing Family :: Crayola brand Guitar
Grandma Evans :: $10.00
The Evans Family :: Cat in the Hat shirt
Great Grandma Toepfer :: $10.00
Great Grandma Johnson :: $5.00

Boy, I can’t wait for the stores to settle back down. You’d think that since Christmas is over, it would be quieter in the stores… NOT! We went to Wal*Mart today, and it was a mad house. It was hard to get the cart down the aisles, because people stand right in the middle, and don’t even try to move out of your way, no matter how many times you say, “Excuse me please.”… I was glad when it was over.

I picked out the booster seat I want to get Josh. His convertible car seat, that he’s been in since he was 5 months old, is officially outdated. The expiration date on the back is 12/31/03…. Can you believe it, my 4 year old can still fit into a baby car seat! My kids are so small for their age. In Oregon the law states that they have to be in the booster seat until they are 65 pounds (but they recommend 80 pounds). Jared, who’ll be 6 on the 10th, is only 33 pounds…. (Josh is 31 pounds)… Their doctor said that if they follow the same curve they are on now, growth wise, they will be 80 pounds when they are 14! So they’ll go straight from their booster seats, to their drivers permits! … Let’s hope they catch up with their weight before then.

The snow is pretty much all gone. We were supposed to get flurries here and there today, but it didn’t happen. But I guess on Monday they are predicting quite the snow storm… So we’ll see what happens.

Well, I better get to bed. We have church tomorrow… Amanda is getting dedicated…. And I have to get up early to do the church bills. Have a great day!

Josh and Melody

Since cousin Melody’s birthday is November 13, three days after Josh’s birthday, the kids had a little mini-party together on Friday at Uncle Rudy and Auntie Crystal’s house. We brought over the movie “Beauty and the Beast”, which Melody had been wanting to watch. Then, during the movie, we had a “picnic” in the living room. It was fun and the kids loved the movie, even the boys! LOL!

I made a cake for both Melody and Josh to share, and then they opened their presents. It was a nice evening!

Josh's Dinosaur Cake

Then today we went over to Joe’s parents house and had a party with his family over there. Josh got lots on great gifts!!!

We had a bit of a catastrophe with the cake… When I was decorating it at home, after spraying the top with the green cake spray, I had taken green lettering stuff and carefully written “Happy Birthday Joshy Pooh” on the cake, then put the cover on the pan for transport to Grandma and Grandpa’s house….

After the gifts were open, and everyone was ready for cake, I went in to put the dinosaurs on it… I took off the lid and saw (much to my despair! LOL!) that the lid and been pressed down onto the frosting…. Right in the middle of the lettering… What to do! What to do!…. Do I scraped the frosting off the lid, and frosted it back over the writing, smearing it all together, and then put the tree and dinosaurs on that. Then Grandma found some sprinkles and sprinkled Josh’s name on the cake…. Sometimes you just have to make due! LOL! Thank heavens Grandma was there to save the day!

I feel Happy!

Happy birthday Rudy and Shandon!!!! Rudy, my “OLDER” brother turned 40 today! And my nephew Shandon (on Joe’s side) turned 6 years old.

Showing off her presents.

Alicia had a nice birthday party yesterday. She got some nice gifts, and really seemed to enjoy herself… She very much liked the presents! She was so cute. When she would finally get the paper off the present, she would take the gift around and show everyone what she got. It was very funny. One of the presents was a jacket, but she hadn’t even removed the tissue paper from the box, she just pulled the lid off and held it up to show everyone! We’re like, “Nice tissue paper Alicia!” She’s such a doll. Then today she was playing with one of her birthday presents and was singing “Happy Birthday” to herself. So cute!

Down 10 Pounds! (For a total of 19!)

Guess what!?!?!?! I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 10 pounds (for a total of 19, if you consider my pre-pregnancy weight)!!!! Not bad for 3 weeks, huh?!? I am SOOOO excited! And it just encourages me to continue on with it, and not give up! Joe has been great about the whole thing. He always says he loves me no matter what (sweet, huh?)… He keeps telling me how proud he is of me, and that he doesn’t know how I do it. I’m just so excited, and am imagining the new wardrobe I’m gonna get when I’m slim!!!! All I can say is that I highly recommend these “Walk the Walk” videos!

Well, I have some laundry to fold before I go to bed. So I better get my rear in gear!

The Birthday Boy

Today we spent the afternoon at my brother and SIL’s house. Monday is my nephew, Ryan’s 4th birthday, so they had his party today…. Boy, are they brave! Rudy and Crystal teach Ryan’s Sunday School class, so they invited all the kids in the class to his party. There were 12 kids there (including my three) all 6 years old and younger! I could not have done it. I don’t have that kind of patience! But they did great. The kids all had fun, and Crystal kept them well entertained. They played games, and instead of a cake she let them decorate their own cupcakes. The kids loved that. Also, she put out the Munchies on a little table, and they were able to help themselves to the food, in their own little buffet line. Now that was a hit!…. You know what scared me??? When the kids all left, every last toy was picked up and put away, without anyone telling them to do so… What am I doing wrong? My kids never pick up on their own accord. *sighs*

I am hoping to spend tomorrow, after church, on LeRoy’s quilt. Would like to get that one finished this week. Then I’ll have to hurry the ole fanny to get Jason’s done. I think I only have about 3 weeks to finish both of them. Good thing the face of LeRoy’s is done, and the face of Jason’s is 3/4’s of the way done.

Well, my book is calling me! Better run before it gets lonely!