Like boxes of sh*t in your house?

Apparently we do because we rescued a kitten this week. I like to say "rescued" because it makes me feel all noble instead of just being idiotic. Last Sunday I was looking out our kitchen window and witness the ground alive with kittens. I gasped (because that's the reaction you should have when you see a lot of kittens) and told the girls to get out there and catch me a kitten to hold. This wasn't hard for them to do because there ended up being about 9 of them living in a pile of tires. There was one in particular that was very sweet and tiny and the perfect color. After discussing with/badgering Ryan about the kittens, "I" decided it was not a good idea. The next day, said cute kitten just happened to show up at our door and I told the girls to put it in a box in the garage. Once they are in a box in the garage, they are pretty much yours unless you want to make your kids really unhappy. So we now have a fish and a cat. Lucy is very sweet and very tiny. The vet weighed her in at 1.3 lbs but she is healthy. We all like her very much and she seems happy to entertain us with her antics.
Little Miss Lucy the day we found her in the tire colony. I must clarify that it is not our pile of tires but the older neighbor man who uses his back lot as a dumping ground.

I tried to take a picture showcasing Lucy's kitten cuteness but the best I got was this out of focus one.

Hey, did you go to Hollywood Upstairs Medical College too?
I've been having some health issues lately that are pretty annoying. One symptom is my skin/hair being so dry it's ridiculous. Oh and I eat 1200 calories/day, run or do spin almost daily, yet still remain the same weight. Yeah I'm superficial like that (according to my cyber-fan out there) but if I'm going to work that hard I want to see some results. I'm pretty sure this is related to my hypothyroidism and I've decided it's time to see an Endocrinologist about it. I was diagnosed by a family doctor 8 years ago and since them have only seen an Endo once years ago and it was mostly to discuss my miscarriage problems. Since then my doctor's visits have gone something like this:

Me: This is what I think is wrong and this is what I read on the internet about how I should be treated.
Family Doc: Sounds good. I will take some blood tests then my nurse will call you with the results. She will not explain what the results mean but will just up your dose.
Me: The internet tells me you should also run this test.
Family Doc: Whatever you want.

While I think my family doctor is a decent doctor, he just doesn't know enough about my hypo to treat me well. Hopefully the Endo will be able to help me feel better.

Stuff it in baby!
I'm kind of liking this new section title thing I'm doing. Helps me sort my thoughts and makes the writing easier. What are your thoughts? Annoying? I went shopping by myself this Saturday and decided I would succumb to my fashion victimness by purchasing some skinny jeans. Only to wear tucked into boots mind you. I'm not delusional enough to think these short ham hocks are going to look good in them unassisted. Remember when we used to peg our jeans? I'd take my Levi's home and sew the bottom half of the leg tight but they weren't tight on top too. Anyway, I will just let you know that unless you are 5'10" and 115 lbs, trying on these jeans can be painful. Also, am I the only one who thinks that the young sales girls are secretly laughing at me behind my back? "Yes, I saw her. Not another 30 something who thinks they are 20 something. HAHAHAH!" Admittedly I'm insecure about my body and especially my legs but still, it was torture. In the end I gave up on my SamRo (for you Beck) look.

Oh Clark, it's beautiful!
I've been getting into the Christmas spirit by decorating the house. We still haven't got our decorations out of storage so I've been using poinsettias to decorate. I love the way they look at they are relatively cheap. So if you haven't given poinsettias a chance, I recommend you do. The new tree is working out nicely also and I'm excited to have a mantle to hang stockings on.

Clark! I don't want to spend the Holidays dead!

Where I break my parent's hearts
I love Christmas time. I thank my parents for making Christmas such a magical time even when I know it was probably financially irresponsible of them to do so. One thing I really liked that we did as a family was cut down our own Christmas tree. We didn't go every year but pretty close. I have some wonderful memories of being in the forest, picking out a tree which would end up being too large for our home (they always look smaller in the forest), dragging a tree many miles back to our truck, only to find that the battery was dead. We made the best of it by starting a fire and roasting weiners until someone rescued us. I tried a few times in Utah to get a permit to cut down a tree but it always seemed like such a big hassle. We would end up spending a lot of money on a tree that wouldn't smell and usually became a fire hazard a few days later. Last year I started to toy with the idea of a fake tree. Ryan has been in my ear about one for years but I was raised with a real tree and it's hard to let those traditions go. Karen saw a tree at Costco that she liked and so I looked at it next time I was there. It looked really good and once I even suggested it to Ryan, he was all over it. So today I bought an artificial tree and I can hear my parents gasp all the way from Canada. I'm already thinking about how easy this tree is going to be and it's making me happy.

Where I work like a big girl
Today I was observed in class by my principal. I'm the queen of procrastination but I took the advice of other teachers and scheduled it early. I almost emailed him yesterday and told him I wasn't ready because I was so nervous. Ryan got called to a dead body early this morning so the girls came to school really early with me. They were my "students" while I practiced my lesson. I think that really helped as did advice from my teaching team. In the meeting with my principal after he told me I was a great teacher and they were glad to have me. Who doesn't like to hear things like that? Oh and Ryan's Lt. said he was the bestest dead body detective evahs! Look at us being grown up and professional.

Where I don't parent badly
The other day Ryan asked Grace to put away a crayon that he had found in the kitchen. She thought he was accusing her of leaving a crayon in the kitchen (pretty sure he was correct) and told him, "no" she would not put the crayon away. She walked into her room while Ryan stood shocked. He then went into her room and had a "discussion" with her, that I could hear in the living room. A few minutes later she came out looking very sad and when I asked her what was wrong, she told me that "Dad swored at her. Swored in her face!" I tried to suppress laughter as I asked her what "swear" he had used. "He said the D and H swear." I asked Ryan if this was true and he admitted that he had and he didn't feel one bit bad about it. I told Gracie that it was very sad that Dad "swored" at her while I gave Ryan the "I'm the better parent today" look. I think I should add that we don't swear at our children normally but every parent has their breaking point and I think Ryan's was when he found a moldy plastic lunch bag in Grace's jeans laying on the floor.

Where I talk about products I like to purchase
If you had told me a few years ago I'd like wearing blush, I would have said, "SHUT UP!" while I pushed you Elaine style. I do like to wear it! I'm totally into the Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick in Rosy Blush and it's bonus time at Nordstrom now so you can buy it and get a free gift.


Like dark chocolate? Like pomengranates? Like nuts and gum, they can only be delicious together and now they are. Brookside Dark Chocolate Covered Pomegranates are available at Costco and there is a coupon for them this month. Also 20 pieces are only 180 calories. Joy!


Ugh, I feel like such a fashion victim because I wear Uggs. They were my Christmas present to myself last year and I LOVES them. I know they are so 2006 but due to my hypothyroidism, my feet are always cold and they keep them so toasty warm. Ryan HATES the Uggs. He thinks it's like wearing slippers in public. But I wear a lot of things Ryan doesn't like, think flip-flops and ruffles. Oh and here is a tip, they stretch so buy yourself a smaller size than you normally would. I can save money by buying the child's size 4 and they fit perfectly. Hint, hint Ryan.

Write damnit!

Working is definitely cutting into my blogging time and I really think I don't feel as good when I don't write. So I'm writing on my laptop while I watch the season finale of Mad Men. Look at me, multitasking! Work is work. I feel a lot like I did when I first became a mom to a colicky baby girl, overwhelmed. I don't think I'll ever love teaching as much as I love Hanna but I'm hoping that I learn to love it in a different way. I taught a lesson today on the sense of sight and I had one of those teaching moments where I felt like they might actually be learning something and having fun doing it. The cool thing is, almost like your own children, first graders love their teachers even when you maybe aren't exactly loving them. We had a good Halloween but I have to admit I'd rather have my eyes poked out than parade in and out of all 30+ classrooms, parent packed hallways and gym in my Jack Sparrow costume. I'm sure as the years go on I'll get more used to it or I'll just keep going to my happy place.

Happy Halloween!

Grace brought a fun surprise home from school this week, a goldfish! No warning, nothing, just came into my room after school with a goldfish in a bag. Apparently all the kids got one. I won't go into how many ways I think this is wrong but we have the damn goldfish so we are going to take care of it. I secretly hoped it would die in the night. Yep I'm that kind of heartless person, but it lived. I went to Walmart the next morning, got it an aquarium and some food and Kelly seems to be adjusting well to life in our home. I'm kind of digging it now because the kids get a pet they can take care of and I'm not emotionally attached to it. Unfortunately, Ryan and the kids are attached to Kelly so I hope she plans to live for a while.

Saturday night Ryan and I went to a party for the opening of our stylist's salon. That's right, Ryan goes to the same stylist Karen and I got to. I've been going to Chad for about 3 years now. It was after Evie was born and I was feeling the urge to cut all my hair off. Karen took me with her to Chad and he cut my hair all off without an appointment. Plus, it looked great. I tried to break away from Chad when gas was up to $4/gallon and I was driving from Santaquin to Sugarhouse but no one could compare. I heart the Chad. Chad is the only person who has ever cut Ryan's hair where Ryan didn't feel mad after. I think if Ryan were gay, which he isn't, he and Chad would make a nice couple. So if you're looking for a great stylist, check out Chad at bspace salon.