My Little Girl

In 16 days my little girl will be turning twelve years old. My how the time has flown. She has grown up so much and everyday I see new changes in her. Cheyanne was born March 16, 1999, she was so tiny only weighing 6 lbs. 10 oz. She is now almost as tall as me and skinny as a rail. When she was little she was always sick and always getting hurt. She had pneumonia, chronic sinus infections that always went to her chest. dislocated her elbow 4 times, fell and hit her head 3 times and had to have stitches on her forehead from getting hit with a toy horse. She is healthy now, almost never sick and her elbow stopped dislocating a few years back. She is an amazing girl. She is so sweet and helpful to others, always in tune with other peoples sufferings. She's shy and can't bear the thought of having to stand up and do anything in front of anyone but her closest friends. She's funny and loves little kids (except her sister), she is really amazing to watch with young kids and they gravitate to her. She loves animals although she has fear issues with horses she has worked really hard to overcome them and has come along way in one year. She is growing up to be a beautiful young lady and I am so proud and excited for her. She will grow up to do great things, although I think they will be small things. She will touch people with her kindness and and humor those are wonderful things that will make our world a better place.

39 OMG He's Almost 40!

January 22nd will be my baby's 39th birthday, I can't believe its almost here. When we got married, way back in 1998 I swear 40 looked so far off and now (sigh) it is just around the corner. Of course I am 1 year, 2 months and 27 days younger than him but still it is all happening so fast. He's definitely still the man I want to grow old with and spend the rest of my life with its just that 13 years ago growing old still seemed pretty far off. Todd's mom told me when I turned 32 that I was pushing 40 and I laughed at her because by her logic she was pushing 100 but now we really are pushing 40. Ahhhhh! I can tell I am not going to age gracefully or willfully. Most of the time we still act like we are in our 20's, we still like to party with our friends (but now we want to be in bed no latter than midnight or it takes 2 days to recover), we still like toys and doing active things. but sitting down and talking is good now too. We still look pretty good, (I hope) but it definitely takes more effort (and in my case money) than it used to. (Sigh again) I wish we could pick our favorite age and remain that forever. I would be 25 forever because I still looked good with no effort, I could stay up all night and still get through the next day. I was young but had been through enough to not be stupid anymore like in my teens and early 20's. Coincidentally that was when we got married and other than my kids being born it was the happiest time of my life. Oh well I think the fountain of youth is about as out of reach as winning the lottery but just so y'all know I ain't going down fighting (unless I fall and can't get up :).

Something New

     Well today was Cheyanne's school conference which I am usually a pro at only this year we did something new. Cheyanne's middle school does what is called a student led conference. The students and teachers put together a packet of her work from last semester, her report card and they have a script telling them how to go over things with the parents. So at 9:30 this morning I went to the school gym and my child walked me through her packet and grades. We discussed her strengths and weaknesses and what she needs to improve on for the next semester. I think I prefer meeting with the actual teacher but I understand that this is difficult when they have 6 different periods and different teachers so it was still a good idea. I was impressed however with how Cheyanne handled it. I think her having to put it all together was a good thing and made her more aware of her responsibilities as a student and helped her see what she needs to work on. All in all her grades were pretty good, she had all A's and B's except for Math which has always been a struggle that was a C. She didn't make her pay point this quarter as her deal was to have nothing lower than a B- in any subject but she seems eager to work on it.
 

What a Day

We have had quite the month so far and it isn't over. Todd's parents flew down on November 16th and are staying with us until November 29th. I won't lie and say it hasn't been challenging having 2 extra people in the house for over two weeks but it has also been nice getting to see them again. The girls are enjoying it immensely and Cheyanne has even given up her room for them to stay in. Today though was a very tiring day in which we spent about 4 hours at the VA hospital in Loma Linda to get my father in-law's medications filled. It was a lot of driving and waiting we left at 8 am and didn't get home until 5 pm. While I was at the hospital I had a lot of time to look around and I was pretty disappointed with the way some of these vets were treated. We watched one Vietnam Vet in a wheel chair pull himself along for awhile without any help until I watched him try to make it up a handicap ramp and roll back down. I asked if he needed help and ended up pushing him around the entire hospital. I didn't mind that at all, he needed help. What I minded is that before I asked him I watched two orderlies and a security guard walk right past him, look and keep on going. When I pushed him all the way around to the main entrance the concierge lady looked seriously surprised that I did this when I didn't even know who he was (I still don't). I am perplexed, I can't be the only one to of ever helped a guy out there or at least I sure hope not. Both of my grandfather's were vets, my father in-law, my step father, my step sister and brother from my dad's first marriage, my cousin in-law and some people I have been lucky enough to work with in the past and some of the guys and girls I went to school with are vets or are still in the military and if they would of been the one who needed a push I would hope someone would do it. These guys and girls gave up a lot for their country and I wish people would say thanks sometimes not only on Veteran's Day but everyday. When you see someone sporting their Navy, Army, Marine or Air force hat (vets love their hats :) take a good look and if they need a hand offer it or just smile say hello, say thanks. If I am not back on here Happy Thanksgiving! Take Care.

Gotta Love Them

Well it is starting again, the holidays are here. I hate holidays because it brings out the worst in my family. Every year since about 1985 I have bounced around from house to house on Thanksgiving and Christmas spending a few hours here, a few hours there, stuffing myself until I am sick on 2 or 3 different turkey dinners and coming home exhausted and not really happy. I have had to drag my own family around with me since I got married and had kids and I know it is hard on my poor hubby. Sometimes I wish I lived out of state like maybe Vermont or Florida because then it wouldn't be expected that I attend every bodies holiday function. It is just so frustrating. What frustrates me the most is that even though I spend my whole day in the car (especially now since we are an hour away from everyone) nobody is satisfied with the amount of time I spend with them. My mom has her dinner at noon so we will leave here at 10 am then visit, eat, help her clean up and leave to go to Grandma's. Then we eat again at Grandma's, visit and drive home because we need to get home reasonably early because it will be 27 degrees up here and the dogs will be left out while we are gone. Every year I do this it becomes more of an ordeal and every year I listen to someone tell me that next year they will just go out to eat because they want to have their dinner earlier and I can't be in two places at once I want to scream. Next year I think I will stay home and do my own thing, maybe if i have enough "balls", until then here goes another Thanksgiving whoopee oh and Christmas is coming to, I can't freaking wait.