Earrings

Shannyn came up to me yesterday and told me that she wanted to get her ears pierced.

I got mine re-done (they had grown closed) back in June and she has been asking me for quite a while to get hers done. I would always tell her how they would do it and that it would hurt but if she still wanted to, I would take her to get them done. She would always change her mind and decide not to do them...until yesterday.

I talked to her again and told her what would happen and that it would hurt but only for a little while. She still wanted to go for it so I told her we would go after school. When I picked her up from school, I asked her again and also asked her to tell me what would happen. She told me that she knew it would hurt, but only for a while, and that she would be very brave. So off to the mall we went!

She was so calm and collected sitting in the chair waiting. She picked out a cute pair of little pink daisy earrings and waited while the girl got everything ready. Then the first one was pierced. That's when things got a little loud and very sad. She started crying and I wanted to cry too. But she held still and let the girl pierce the other ear too. After just a couple minutes of crying Shannyn calmed right down when she saw herself in the mirror. Of course the ice cream we got afterward helped too! She was so excited to call both sets of grandparents and to show them off today at school. I guess this is just one more thing that proves that my little girl is growing up and time is barreling forward!

I'm Done, I'm Done, I'm Done!!!

almost.............

The academic part of my massage therapy training is over. I graduated on Saturday in a short and sweet ceremony! I still have about 115 clinical hours to do but am hoping to get them finished up by the end of March at the latest.

In other news.....Balanced Touch LLC is organized and ready to start accepting new clients....as soon as my hours are finished. I have my business accounts all set up and ordered my table, chair and other supplies yesterday. A big THANK YOU to all of my friends and family out there that contributed!!!! I really appreciate all the love and support I received through this past year. I am so excited to be finishing up and ready to do something that I love to do. You are all the best friends and family a girl could ask for!

Ups and Downs

Ups for the week

one more week of school
my sister-in-law had her baby girl yesterday
only one more week of school
a teacher I worked on yesterday said I was better than one of the CMTs at the clinic
school is done in 1 week
did I mention that I'm almost done with school?

Downs

mom and dad have to put down one of their kitties that I grew up with.......very sad
my microwave shot a big blue spark at me this morning and stopped working........total bummer


More ups than downs. That's always good!

Bike rides and awesome clients

Oops! It's been a while! Sorry 'bout that!

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately. I'm finishing up school and am graduating on the 31st (yeah!), Shannyn is back in kindergarten and Leo is......well being Leo.

The weather was finally nice enough last weekend to take the kids out to the park and try out their new bikes they got for Christmas. That was quite the adventure. Neither one has ever really ridden a bike before and I knew this was going to be tricky when they got tangled up just walking their bikes down the driveway. But we finally got to the park (with some whining and fussing) and the lessons began. Leo wasn't really interested once we got to the park; he wanted to go play on the slides. Shannyn was really starting to get the hang of it when she went down and bashed the handlebar into her ribs. She was okay after some well deserved tears and loves from mom but was done riding for a while.

While we were at the park, a couple of little girls arrived in their Barbie Jeep power wheel car. Leo was so enthralled with it and he was just following the girls around in their car, running down the hill after them and pushing them back up, that I couldn't resist taking a picture of my little man. The girls were so sweet and they let him have a turn driving too. I didn't think we were ever going to be able to leave but the thing started running low on power and the girls had to go home.

I think the kids had a great time riding and they haven't stopped bugging me to go back to the park since Saturday. Hopefully the sun will be out this weekend too. I guess I need to get Bryan's bike fixed up so I can join them on their excursions!

And now for something completely different..........................(ha ha Monty Python reference)

I have been having a great time in the clinic the past few days. I have one regular client that comes in to see me about every other week and I've had four other clients request me for future appointments since last Thursday. It makes me feel really great that these people want to come back and see me! They've had nothing but praise for me and are disappointed when we can't make our schedules match up. One client today told me that I was done being a student and ready to get out of school. How cool is that?! My confidence is at a pretty high level today and I am so excited to get out of school and start into my own practice! Hopefully I'll be done with my hours by the end of March. I can't wait!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas! (a little late)

Merry Christmas all! Also, Happy 2009!

I can't believe how fast the last part of 2008 went. But now it's a new year and with that comes the standard resolutions and hopes for better things than last year brought.

We had a great Christmas with my brother and Carrie and Hailey in Grand Junction. We took the train over and back. It was a lot of fun but a really long ride. I was just glad that I didn't have to deal with traffic or weather or fighting kids in the back seat. We'll probably do it again but not for a while! I got a ton of pictures at Christmas and will be posting a slide show soon so keep your eyes open!!!!

Last night we spent New Year's Eve with a bunch of my friends from college. We had a lot of fun and did the obligatory toast at midnight (I was drinking sparkling juice instead of champagne of course!) Shannyn crashed out long before 12 but my little stinker, Leo didn't fall asleep until we were in the car and on the way home around 1:30. Luckily they both slept in till after 10 this morning.

Kari and IJ will be here tomorrow to celebrate Christmas again with us. I'm really excited to see the kids open their gifts! I know that Leo is getting a trike and Shannyn is getting a Princess bicycle! I can't wait to see their little faces when they open their presents! It will be a lot of fun. I guess I need to get Bryan's old bike down from the hooks in the garage and get it fixed up so we can all go for bike rides this summer.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday this year and I wish you all the best for 2009!

Santa is coming to town!

This afternoon I took the kids to the mall to see Santa. The kids were so excited and neither one was scared! They both climbed right up on his lap and proceeded to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Of course "Santa's little helpers" wouldn't let me take my own picture and they wanted some ridiculous price for their photo so we didn't get a picture this year. I'm a little bummed by that but oh well! Leo decided he wanted monster trucks and Diego while Shannyn told Santa that she wanted Barbie Diamond Castle.

On the way home, Shannyn informed me that it wasn't the real Santa at the mall. I asked her why she thought that and she told me that his beard was too short and that Santa has a long white beard down to his belly. Cute huh?

The kids have been exceptionally ornery the past few weeks. They've been fighting and arguing with me and each other. Just a few more days and we will be on our way to Grand Junction and hopefully some peace......well maybe not peace but hopefully less stress.

Not much new here

Well it's been a few weeks since I updated but you haven't really missed that much.

Shannyn and I have been busy with school and Leo has been his charming ornery self. I am almost done with school and I have a major case of "senior-itis." I finish up my classroom work at the end of January but will be finishing up some clinical hours for a month or two afterwards. It's been really tough this week to find the motivation to go to class. We get 2 weeks off for the holidays and I just really don't want to go to class!

The kids and I are really looking forward to Christmas this year. I decided to book tickets on the train out to Grand Junction and spend the holiday with my brother's family. I don't know what is going to be more fun, riding the train through the mountains or playing for a week with my kids and niece! At any rate, I will be posting photos and an update about our trip when I get a chance.

Last week we got our Christmas pictures done at Sears and I think they turned out fantastic. The picture in the corner of the kids with the gold background was one of the new photos. I've decided to get over my aversion of pictures of myself and post a Christmas photo of the 3 of us also. I hope you enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

I know I'm a couple of days late but I was out of town. We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Green River for the holiday and spent a lot of time with the Wyoming family. On Saturday, we went over to Evanston and had a big shindig with the extended family. The kids got to play with their cousins that they haven't seen in quite a while and the adults got to catch up too. It was a really fun long weekend but it's good to be home.

I decided some time this weekend that I was going to post a kind of top ten list of the things I'm grateful for this year. It's just a small portion but I thought it would be good to share it with others. So without further ado.....here it goes!

#10-I'm grateful for the opportunity to go to school and learn. I know in some countries, women aren't allowed to go to school and I'm glad I live here and not there.

#9-I'm not much of a walker or public transportation kind of person so I'm grateful I have a nice car to drive and that it gets us safely from point A to point B

#8-I'm grateful for the house we live in. Sure it's messy most of the time, but it's still home.

#7-I'm grateful for my pets. They're my furry kids and I love them!

#6-I'm grateful that we are able to make ends meet. We have nice clothes to wear and good food on our table and enough left over to have some fun on occasion.

#5-I am so thankful for the ward family we've been blessed with. They are always looking out for my family and making sure we are taken care of.

#4-I'm thankful that I am healthy and able to work and do the things I like to do.

#3-I'm grateful for my friends and family. I don't know where I'd be without their unconditional love and support.

#2-I'm grateful for my kids. They mean the world to me. I'm grateful that they are healthy and smart and strong. I feel so lucky that they were sent to me to love and raise. They keep me going and teach me to pay more attention to the little things in life.

#1-I'm grateful for Jesus Christ and my faith. I know that I wouldn't be here without His love and that He is helping me through every day in everything I do. I'm grateful for this life that He has given me. I'm grateful for my knowledge of who I am and where I am headed.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

Casa Bonita Still Sucks

Saturday night we went to Casa Bonita. It's kind of a Denver icon and it's not known for it's food.

We went with our friends Brian and Nikki and Brian's daughter Jessica. Jessica is in town from California to spend Thanksgiving with her dad. Nikki thought it would be fun to take her to Casa Bonita and invited us to go with them. I hadn't been there in probably 14 or 15 years and the kids have never been. It is a fun place; they have cliff diving, puppet shows and all kinds of fun stuff for the kids to do.

We got a table right next to the cliff diving show so that was pretty neat. After we ate, the kids wanted to go into the cave. We got about 4 steps inside and they all wanted to get out. But the pathway is about 2 feet wide and there were a bunch of people behind us so we had to drag 3 terrified kids through the rest of the cave. But I don't think there was any permanent damage! We watched a few more of the divers and finally headed out around 9:30.

The food there is terrible and Shannyn ended up getting sick Saturday night and again Sunday morning. I'm not totally sure it was from the food but I'm not counting it out. Anyway I think I'm good to avoid that place for another 15 years.

Mother Knows Best

You know that old saying "Mother Knows Best?" Well I have a whole new belief in it.

Monday afternoon I got a call from Leo's daycare telling me that he was favoring his right arm, not letting anyone touch it, and not using it. I figured he'd dislocated his elbow again (he did it back in September) so I picked him up and took him to the ER. I told the nurses there what I thought the problem was and the doctor on call fidgeted with his elbow but didn't think it was dislocated. She ordered some x-rays and those came back normal. Leo was still not using his hand so we got more x-rays of his wrist. Well after about 2 hours, they basically told me "we don't know what's wrong so here's a splint and a phone number for an orthopedist." I called and made an appointment for Thursday but needed a referral from Leo's pediatrician for my insurance to cover it. And home we went.

Tuesday morning, Leo woke up with a fever of 101, and would not move or let me pick him up. So after dropping Shannyn off at Kindergarten, off to the ER we trucked again. The doctor that saw him diagnosed Leo with a cold and wanted to look at his x-rays from the day before and check out his arm while we were there. He didn't find anything on the x-rays and ordered more x-rays with a different view. 2-3 hours later, he came back and told me that Leo had a "bent" ulna in his arm. He said that because he was still young, the bone didn't break because it was still pliable. He said that it's still treated like a fracture and to keep the appointment with the orthopedist for Thursday. So back in the splint and home we went...with a prescription for Tylenol with codeine. Did you know they made Tylenol with codeine for 2 year olds?????

Which brings us to today. I got an appointment with Leo's pediatrician so I could get the referral to the orthopedist for tomorrow. The doctor came in, looked at Leo's arm for all of 2 minutes, fidgeted with it, and popped it back into place. He said there was no break, nothing wrong at all with his x-rays and that, yes, it was dislocated.

WHICH IS THE SAME THING I TOLD THE NURSES AND DOCTORS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM ON...wait for it.........MONDAY AFTERNOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can you tell I'm frustrated?

Anyway, Leo's elbow is back in place, he's using his hand just fine, and doesn't seem to be in any more pain. Needless to say, I will not be taking Leo back to the hospital again for his elbow. I should have just taken him to his doctor in the first place but when your kid is hurt and hurt bad, you don't always think to call the doctor before heading to the ER. You just want your baby to feel better and feel better now.

And that's how my week started...........

The Giving Spirit

Today a local news station was running a huge donation drive across the state. They were collecting food, clothing, toys etc. I talked to Shannyn and Leo this morning and told them about the drive and how some kids weren't going to get any toys for Christmas unless people donated some old ones they didn't play with anymore. I asked them if they thought it would be a good idea to go through their toys and give some away so kids could have a nice Christmas. Shannyn got very excited at the idea and Leo seemed content to put some of his toys into a bucket as well. We spent about an hour this afternoon and filled up a big plastic tote with toys that they decided they wanted to give away. Shannyn decided to part with some little fairies, a baby doll, and even a couple Barbies! Leo put some of his animal toys in and some of his cars too! Of course the first question Shannyn asked was if they could get some new toys since they gave some of their old ones away. I told her that I was pretty sure they would get some new toys for Christmas. I am so proud of them for understanding the idea of charity and for unselfishly deciding to help other kids have a nice holiday this year.

Major Picture Update

So at long last...the pictures I have been promising are here! These first ones are from Jimmy's wedding. We had so much fun and it was such a great day despite all the rain!

Here is the cutest ring bearer ever! Leo did so good and loved carrying the pillow around. He was careful to know where it was at all times.

Shannyn loved dressing up in her "princess" dress!

My mom, Shannyn and me before the wedding. Three Generations!

The big moment!!!!!

My brother, new sister-in-law Carrie and my new niece Hailey

At the reception:

The obligatory cake smash

Shannyn dancing with my dad

Yup that's me catching the bouquet...
man that thing flew right toward me didn't it?

We all had a great time but Leo sums

up the way we all felt at the end of the day

And now for a few Halloween pictures.....

Shannyn was a butterfly
















Leo was a caterpillar. He couldn't wait to get into his candy!































And I was a bug catcher!


We had a lot of fun and I can't wait 'til next year to dress up again. I guess I'm just a big kid at heart when it comes to Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Hey everyone out there in cyber world! I hope that everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! We had fun tonight after a scare with Shannyn. She ate a peanut butter cup at school today and ended up throwing up. She has had mild reactions to nuts in the past; she says her tongue is burning and sometimes gets bumps around her mouth. Well I called the doctor and he called in a prescription for an epi-pen for her to carry with her now. He said that it is a serious reaction when she says her mouth is burning and that if she accidentally eats nuts again, I have to use the pen. I'm not looking forward to ever having to use it, but I'm sure that the day will eventually come.

After the nut fiasco, we piled in the car and went to Aurora to meet my brother and sister-in-law and go trick or treating with my kids and my niece, Hailey. Shannyn was a butterfly, Leo was a caterpillar, and I was a bug catcher. We had a lot of fun and I will get some pictures posted soon!

I am doing much better since my slump a few weeks ago. I have great friends up here and great family that is just a phone call away to help me pick up again.

A Rough Day

I feel bad posting this before I post anything about my brother's wedding (it was great by the way and I will be posting some photos when I get them) but I just need to get this off my chest tonight.

Today was a really rough day for me. I found out this morning that Caleb's sister and brother-in-law died this past week. They were in their cabin near Laramie and died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the heater in the cabin. They were there with their 2 kids age 5 years and 9 months. The 5 year old took care of the baby for 2-3 days before anyone came to the cabin and found them. She was feeding the baby applesauce and bananas and basically keeping them both alive until someone came by the cabin to check the heater and found the parents dead in the bedroom. The coroner figures that they died in their sleep on Monday. The kids were treated for dehydration at the hospital but are in perfect health otherwise. The Lord was definitely looking out for those kids and I know that that is the only reason they are still alive and well.

All this news came on the day before the one year anniversary of my best friend, Marcy, losing her mom to cancer and 3 weeks before the 2 year anniversary of losing Bryan. Needless to say, I am beginning to really dislike this time of year and it's usually my favorite. I called both Caleb and Marcy today and cried over the phone with both of them. I was still having a hard time keeping it together 2 minutes before I had to work on a client at the school. I'm so glad that I went into massage therapy because after my first client today, I felt so much better and was able to make it through the rest of the afternoon. I really feel like it's not only therapeutic to work on people but it is therapeutic to me as well knowing that I can make someone feel better.

I kinda feel like locking the house this weekend and staying in my bedroom but I can't let myself do that. I feel a slump coming on and I refuse to let it get the best of me. Luckily I have a craft day planned at church tomorrow morning and will probably try to get out of the house again tomorrow evening. Sometimes I get so mad at myself when I can't seem to get control but I know that it's okay to get down every once in a while. I just have to remember to keep my head up and looking forward and rely on my family, friends and faith to get me through the rough patches

First concert of the season

The Greeley Chamber Orchestra had our first concert of the 2008-2009 season on Friday. We played quite a variety of pieces and featured the oboe professor from UNC as our soloist. She was fantastic!!! The concert was great and I got a lot of compliments on my playing. I feel like my confidence has returned in force after a 2 year hiatus. I love my new bassoon and am really enjoying playing it.

My mom and dad are still in Colorado and were able to come to my concert. It's the first one they've been to since February 2007! I was so excited that they were there. I felt like I finally had someone there rooting just for me! We brought the kids and they loved the music too. Leo was "conducting" for us and I think Shannyn was just relaxed. She actually fell asleep right at the end!

The GCO's next concert is the weekend before Thanksgiving so I have a few weeks off from rehearsals but I already have my music for the next concert. We are playing a Hayden mass and probably a couple other pieces. The season is off to a great start and I am looking forward to 4 more fantastic concerts!

Labor Day Camping

I know I'm a few weeks late but hey at least I'm still posting right?

Well the Rogers clan descended on Ryan Park, WY (up in the Snowy Range) for Labor Day weekend. It's our usual spot; we've been going there for about 6 years now. This year Rene and Lori and their boys joined us and we all had a lot of fun. We ate dutch oven cooking every day and enjoyed the fresh air and campfire.

The kids wanted to go fishing while we were up there so we drove to one of the lakes on Saturday and let them "fish." Actually the 5 older kids (Andreas, Demetri, Isaac, Shannyn and Caleb) did fish with worms while Leo and Spencer just played with dipping the pole in the water. Unfortunately, I missed the biggest moment of the day when I had to take Leo back to the car but my little girl caught her first fish!!!!!! She was so excited and I guess she just squealed when the fish got close to the shore and she saw it flipping around. He was just a little guy, about 8 inches, but he swallowed the hook so we ended up keeping him and frying him up for dinner. Shannyn already has the fisherman's tale down. The fish got bigger every time she told the story!

All in all it was a really fun weekend but I was very glad to get back home and into a nice, long, hot shower. With 7 kids up there, I'm not sure if we left any dirt on the mountain! I love going up to that site with everyone and am already looking forward to next year's trip!

School Days

Shannyn started kindergarten last week! I can't believe she's already that old. It seems like just yesterday she was crawling around the floor and learning to talk. She loves going to school and loves her teacher. I'm so glad that she is enjoying it and I hope she always does. She's not too keen on doing her homework but who really does like homework anyway? She is doing great though and was actually sounding out a few short words with me yesterday. It won't be long before she'll be reading the bedtime stories to me! I hope she grows to love reading like her daddy did. Bryan was never seen without a book and would get antsy if he finished a book and didn't have another one to read. I think Shannyn will be like Bryan though. She has always liked to "read" books and lately has started making up her own stories to go along with the pictures in some of the books we have at home.

I did really well last week with getting Shannyn to school. I really didn't get too sad until Thursday when I didn't walk her to the playground. It was so hard for me to watch her walk into the school while I stood by the car. I had a huge moral dilemma going on inside my head! I felt like I was a slacker of a mom because I didn't hold her hand and walk to the playground with her. On the other hand, I was trying to let her go on her own a little bit. It was so tough and it still is, but with me back in school this week, I can't walk her into class and be on time to my classes too. Arggghhh!!! All you out there who don't have kids yet, or kids that aren't in school yet, have no idea of the mental struggle I am having over my "baby" girl!!!!! It's so hard to realize that they are going to grow up and be adults (sooner than I think) and there is nothing I can do to stop it or even slow it down. I only hope and pray that I can prepare them for life and to be responsible, caring, and strong....among other things.

Estes Park

I meant to post this before now but with finals for 2nd quarter last week, I just plain ran out of time. My mom and dad took the three of us to Estes Park last weekend. for some fresh mountain air. We spent three days admiring Estes and all the tourists....well not really admiring the tourists but you know what I mean. The town was pretty full.

We drove to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday and saw some gorgeous bull elk. They were just munching away on the grass and not minding all the cars that had literally stopped on the highway to see them. It was pretty amazing. I've never seen elk that close before! Not ones that were alive anyway! Later Friday afternoon, my dad and I took the kids mini-golfing. They had never been before and we had so much fun! Leo got a hole-in-one at every hole....of course his idea of golfing was to pick up the ball and drop it in the hole at the other end....and Shannyn was getting the hang of it towards the end of the day. Actually, I don't know who was having more fun; the kids or my dad.

Saturday we took the aerial tramway to the top of a mountain...Prospect mountain I think. The views from up there were stunning. The kids had a ball feeding peanuts to the ground squirrels and climbing rocks. Some of those squirrels were so fat and their cheeks were full of nuts too. That didn't stop them though. They kept coming back for more! It rained Saturday afternoon and I caught this picture of a brilliant rainbow near our campground. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

All in all, it was a fun trip. We were only about an hour away from home, but it was still nice to get out of town for a few days.

All I Want for Labor Day?

Is my 2 front teeth!! Shannyn lost her two bottom teeth and the tooth fairy was very generous. She was so excited the next morning when she looked under her pillow and found a whole dollar in the baggie where her tooth was. I am expecting more loose teeth to follow over the next few months. We'll keep you posted!!!

I've got the best friends

Leo and I went to Marcy and James' house last night for a get together with some friends from New Mexico that we haven't seen in quite a while. Shannyn is camping with my mom and dad in case you were wondering. Anyway Marcy spilled the beans and told me that the group of them were going to buy me a massage table for my graduation gift! I am so excited and feel so lucky to have such fantastic friends! Marcy told me to start looking at tables and figure out which one I want. I can't wait!!!!!!!!