Update

Oh to be in such a good ward and to have family and friends who take such good care of us when we're down! Thank You to everyone who had a hand in making sure our kids had a nice Christmas and in doing so, made it possible for Scott and I to have a nice Christmas as well. We had our very first experience this month of receiving a food order from the church. Scott arrived to get our order filled and the lady asked him if he had ever done this before? He told her, "Not from this side of the fence." It was a very humbling experience for us and we are most thankful.
I finally gave in and the kids got a PS2 and a game each for Christmas, courtesy of my Mom and Dad in-law. The church, along with a couple of anonymous angels, made sure that we had the money to have a nice Christmas dinner and stocking stuffers. Brian and Maria bought our family a new printer, scanner, copier, fax machine. I'm SO excited. Our old printer was just that, a printer, and sometimes it would actually work!
We told the kids last night that we ARE moving at the end of January 2009. We just don't know where yet. If Scott gets the job with T-Mobile, then we'll be moving to Missouri. If not, then we'll be moving into my Dad's house that is sitting empty in Las Vegas. Of course, if the right job drops in Scott's lap right here, then we'll stay in Upland, CA. That would make Aubree happy! I just want Scott's next job to be the one where he stays for 20 plus years and our kids have a place that they can refer to as "home".
Richard is still going to Loma Linda for therapy as well as Scott and I, 3 days a week from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. Whenever I get discouraged, I make myself think back to how things were a month and half ago and realize how far we have all come. Richard starts a new school On Jan. 5th in Rancho Cucamonga. I love saying that name! Rancho Cucamonga! Scott took Richard to tour the campus and although they don't have choir, he is looking forward to a fresh start.
As for me, I will continue to work with the little autistic 5 year old for the first couple of weeks or so at HER new school. Then I'LL be out of a job! Ugh! I'm hoping to get reassigned to another student or at least keep working in the sub pool as an instructional aide or office clerk with the school district.
So that's about it! Scott got an email the other day from T-Mobile saying that they look forward to meeting with him in person. If he does get this job; well, as Forest Gump says, "Good. One less thang to worry aobut."

Up In The Air

Well Scott has put out about 160 applications. He got a call from a guy for a company in upstate NY a few weeks ago, but hasn't heard from him since. Last week, he got a call from a guy with T-Mobile for a job in Springfield, Missouri. This one just might go somewhere. Scott had an informal interview with the hiring manager today and is supposed to be contacted sometime next week for a formal interview. Everything is so up in the air right now. I don't know where Scott's next job will be or where we'll be living, or where my kids will be going to school or what is out there for Richard? Speaking of Richard, we have been going to counseling 3 times a week and I can see where it's helping not only Richard, but how Scott and I deal with Richard. It's 3 hours of counseling, 3 days a week. Pretty intense! He's still struggling. We had to bring him home early yesterday because he was having a hard time. But it is still better than it was a few weeks ago.

United No Longer

Scott has decided that he wants to stay right where we are. This has completely taken the wind out of my sails in the hopes that we will ever get back to New Hampshire. He says that we'll go wherever the Lord takes us, but is really hoping that he finds a job here. I feel like I have nothing to look forward to in the long run anymore. Sorry folks, I'm not like my friend Shannon who finds happiness wherever she is. Maybe after Richard, Scott and I finish our therapy sessions, life in SoCal will be happier. Ugh. Guess I'll go get ready for work now.

Healing

So I went to my first physical therapy session today and YES I am very sore! Apparently, part of my right hip joint is stuck and probably has been for years. After about an hour of massaging, poking, bending, stretching and basically an overall pummeling. He told me that I was free to go, but not before I made two appointments for next week to be worked over. Getting well is such a PAIN.

Back in the saddle

Yay! I got to go back to work today! I'm still a tiny bit tender in my back. But as long as I don't do anything dumb, I should be OK. Scott and I took Richard to his first group therapy session today and then after that, we went to a meeting with all of the teens and parents. I think there were 7 kids in the group Richard's in. We will do this 3 times a week for the next 6 to 8 weeks and it goes from 3:30 to 6:30p.m. Thankfully, I have my Aubree who is responsible and made sure that Jason and Caroline had dinner. We got home just in time to run her over to mutual and Jason arranged himself a ride to scouts. Is my life crazy or am I just a wimp?

On the hunt

OK, so my back is still stiff from when I wrenched it a week ago. I feel like I have a touch of the stomach flu. Money is so tight these days that I'm doing almost ALL of my grocery shopping at the 99 Cent Only Store. Richard is in the hospital so that the doctors can figure out which meds are, aren't and MIGHT work. Oh and by the way, if anyone knows of any job openings for a training manager, PLEASE let us know, as Scott was laid off yesterday. The company he worked for had to cut the budget and although they've been very pleased with Scott's job performance, they feel that training is something they don't HAVE to have over the next 12 months. We're covered financially until the end of the year and we have benefits until the end of January. He did have a phone interview yesterday with the headhunter for a company in upstate NY that he felt good about. I'm spending my time on the internet searching for training manager jobs ANYWHERE. Come on now, SING with me! A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go. Scott Bowler needs a job, a hunting we will go! I know, it's lame. But it does help me while I'm sifting through what's out there. Oh and uh for those who don't live in CA. We're on fire AGAIN!

Caroline's 8th Birthday

Caroline and her Care Bear were ready and waiting in the van when I went outside.

Aubree & Caroline on the tram to Disneyland.

I just thought this was a cute one of Caroline walking up to the gate at Disneyland with her Daddy.

She was SO excited to sit right in front of Cinderella and listen to her story.

Kaeli did Caroline's pretty face paint.

Daddy, getting Caroline to sit still while having her hair done.

Quyen did Caroline's hair. She didn't want to at first, but gave in to Mommy's plea.

The back view of Caroline's do!

Caroline on the Jolly Trolley at ToonTowne.

Mommy and Goofy giving Caroline a sandwich hug!

Having a tea party at Minnie's House.

Getting a well deserved foot massage!

Making a silly face!

My beautiful Caroline!

Our Stake had a dessert party to thank everyone who helped in getting Prop. 8 to pass. This is Connie our Stake President's wife and Kathy Carter, the wife of our former Bishop, making root beer floats.

Our Stake President Rod Hulet led everyone in singing happy birthday to Caroline. She was SO embarrassed! I told her to thank everyone for coming to her party.LOL We brought an ice-cream birthday cake with a #8 candle on it.

Jason with my friend Darci. She's also the wife of our Bishop.

Richard finished his dessert pretty quick. No surprise there!

Caroline and Jason enjoying root beer float & treats with Bishop Hiatt.

Halloween 2008

Caroline as Hermione Granger


Aubree as a vampire and a cute little girl from church.


Jason as a Jedi and my friend Sara's son as Woody.


Our neighbor Tracy and her two boys came to our trunk or treat.


Richard as Indiana Jones


Scott and I ended Halloween by getting Vote Yes on Prop. 8 door hangers ready to go out the next morning after the rally.

Two rallies under my belt.

I went to my second Vote Yes on Prop. 8 rally tonight. These rallies are SO out of my comfort zone. Couldn't I just bake cookies? I LIKE baking cookies. I can feel my heart race whenever people come over to yell at us and tell us what evil people we are. Every time someone would yell out "F-You". I would just reply. "No thanks! I'm good!" Then another guy who was stopped at the traffic light asked me, "Why shouldn't gays be allowed to get married and be happy?" I said, "Whoever said that MARRIAGE made ANYONE happy? You want happiness? That's what CHOCOLATE is for my friend!"

Makes Me Sad

I didn't realize until today that Google along with Apple are against Prop. 8. I'm not surprised, just sad. Is there anyone or any company out there that is well known who is NOT afraid to come out and say that they're for traditional marriage? I've already told Scott that if prop. 8 doesn't pass I will pull my kids out and home school the moment I get the first inkling that they are being taught sin. Sorry if coming right out and saying what I think offends anyone. Wait a minute! I'm not sorry! If someone finds what I think offensive, then that is THEIR problem, not mine. We fought this same battle in Nevada and in New Hampshire, but this time it's different. This time it feels less like a battle and more like a war. I would like to quote Gordon B. Hinckley from the Sept. 2004 Ensign. "Legal restraints against deviant moral behavior are eroding under legislative enactments and court opinions. This is done in the name of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of choice in so-called personal matters. But the bitter fruit of these so-called freedoms has been enslavement to debauching habits and behavior that leads only to destruction. A prophet, speaking long ago, aptly described the process when he said, "And thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." (2 Nephi 28:21) Amen.

I can get through this!...right?

I know that God says he will not give us more than we can handle. That being said, I must have some kind of inner strength that I'm not even aware of. Never mind that last Monday while I was at a Vote Yes on Prop. 8 rally, our group was flipped off, swore at and had garbage tossed at us. Actually THAT part was kind of funny because the girl who threw the garbage out her car window, lost control of her car and hit the curb bending her rim and blowing out her tire. One of the guys in our group went over to see if she was alright and though she didn't apologize for throwing trash, her attitude went from anger to that of being humble in the time of about a minute. In fact, we had many more people give us a thumbs up sign of approval than we middle fingers of non-approval. Still, I can handle people yelling junk at me when I know in my heart that what I'm doing is right. I don't even know them, so who cares! Where I have about reached my limit is in my personal life. I think everyone is aware of Richard and how challenging he can be. 2 Sundays ago, I was sitting in my bathroom sobbing uncontrollably. Scott asked me if there was anything he could do. I said, "How about you turn the clock back 16 years!" Don't get me wrong, I would still have married Scott and had our children. But I would have been a tyrant when it came to getting Richard the proper diagnosis earlier than he did. I knew by the time he was 9 months old that something was not right and was brushed off by his pediatrician. I brought my concerns to the doctor again when he was 14 months old and was assured that he was just fine. I didn't know anything about autism at that point. All I knew about it is that my cousin was autistic and severely mentally retarded and I knew that Richard was not like my cousin. When your child will not hold eye contact with you. When your child starts screaming at a high pitch and YOU can't figure out why. When the only play your child engages in is lining items up in a straight line according to size. When the only time your child uses words is when he/she repeats what you said. THAT is NOT FINE. I don't care what the doctor says. I diagnosed Richard myself as autistic by the time he was 4 years old. It took the specialists until he was 7 years old to diagnose him as A-typical autistic with Asperger like symptoms. By then he had already gone through a year of special pre-k and was mainstreamed into 1st grade with a very weak IEP (individualized education plan). In hindsight he should have been in a restricted school setting with intensive therapy. I remember taking Richard to his first back to school night and hearing a girl say to her mom as she pointed in our direction, "That's the BAD kid. He yells all the time." My heart broke. By the time Richard was about 8 years old, he could tell me things that were happening at school. How the boys would follow him into the bathroom and bang on the stall doors and yell at him "Hey Richard!! What's the matter?!! Does THIS bother you?!!", to hear him scream and cry. We also found out why he was coming home with bruises on his back. This was because the boys would form a semi-circle around him by the fence. Then push him to the ground and kick him because they thought they could get away with it. They did until I finally got out of Richard what was going on and demanded that the school staff watch him on the playground to see what was going on. It took Scott and I until he got an official, clinical diagnosis to light a fire under us in getting Richard the resources he needed and was entitled to through the school district. By the way, if you have an autistic child and live in Las Vegas, NV? MOVE!! California is better than NV, but I highly recommend New Hampshire where we lived for 2 1/2 years and long to go back to more than words can tell. Even though we got a late start in getting Richard the attention he needed. I feel like we've tried our best to make up for it. The thing now is this; Richard is now an autistic with asperger like symptoms, is bipolar AND a teenager. This combination is making life very hard for he and our entire family. The past two weeks have been especially difficult. Richards' impulse control has been zero and his anger/rage has been at plus 10! He has been getting into fights at school and taking off without a word to anyone. The other day he was missing for nearly an hour and a half. His doctor has added another medication to take with the one he is already on and said that we should see some kind of change(hopefully for the better) after 3 or 4 days. He had his first dose on Thursday night. Scott worked from home on Friday so that we could keep Richard home. He had gotten into another fight the day before and was told that if he put his hands on another student once more that he would be suspended. The kids don't have school on Monday so that will give him 5 days for the new medication to work before he heads back to school. I realize that many of my friends read my blog. I would ask you not to tell Richard that you read about him and to use discretion when talking to your kids, etc... I have the best friends and family that anyone could ask for. At this time, I'm asking "You" my friends and family to mention Richard in your prayers and I will continue to pray for Richard and for the inner strength I apparently have somewhere deep inside to manifest itself to get me through this and to keep going. Oh yeah, and Vote Yes on Prop. 8!!

My house,my home

Today was THE best! My family stayed home with me and cleaned the house! OK, so it wasn't voluntary. I announced this morning that there would be no TV, no computer time, no reading and no mowing the lawn until the entire house was cleaned. I work outside the home now and sad to say, it shows. I leave for work before Jason and Caroline leave for school. This means that poor Caroline sometimes has to do her own hair. Although I finish my job at 11:15, most days J and C's school need me to monitor the playground during lunch recess. The extra money is nice, but by the time I finish there at 1:15, it's grab lunch, rotate laundry, check and answer emails, then do the carpool for the high school bunch. At least I only have carpool 3 days a week. When the kids and I get home, it's homework,get dinner going, and rotate laundry again. I've also been so tired for quite awhile now. I went to the doctor and they ran some blood work on me. I still have to go back and see if it showed anything. I'm also scheduled to visit a clinic for a sleep study on Dec. 12th. I wake up on average about 8 to 10 times a night. I don't know WHAT is up with me! So anyhow, just about everyone pitched in and the house looks great! Scott even scrubbed our shower! What a guy! The house isn't QUITE the way I want it. Don't get me wrong. I am a strong supporter of Prop. 8 and I'm glad that Scott is so involved. This issue is more important than the presidential election. If we don't like the President, the longest we have to suffer is 8 years. However, if prop. 8 doesn't pass, the damage will be permanent. On the downside, and I'm being petty here, all of the prop. 8 stuff has taken over my living room. I'm hoping that THIS is the reason we are here and that WHEN prop. 8 passes, we can finally go back home. It's no secret I miss New Hampshire. I miss the seasons, our friends and our favorite restaurants. But I also miss my slower pace of life. My kids were involved in various activities there, but it wasn't the rat race that it is here. I was ABLE to stay home and take care of it and my family. I guess I'm what they call a throwback. I don't need a career to be fulfilled. I loved staying home and making it one. I loved being available to my husband and kids at a moments notice. I loved having hot cocoa and cinnamon & sugar biscuits waiting for my kids when they got home from school in the fall and winter months. I loved cleaning my house and planning meals and inviting friends over for dinner and get togethers often. I loved going to bed at night and not stressing about all the STUFF I had to do the next day. Because I didn't have to do STUFF. I just had to take care of my family. How's that for a whine-fest? No really, today WAS a good day! I need to focus on the joy right? I have my family and a great ward family. For these I am truly thankful. Even if I am in California.

Pix Of The Family

Richard

Aubree

Jason

Caroline

Me & Scott

I can't believe I'm saying this.

Last night for dinner we had Popeye's Fried Chicken. There were a couple of pieces left over because Jason doesn't care for chicken. True to form, I had to keep chasing Richard out of the kitchen after dinner because he wanted to swipe the last of the chicken for himself. I'm really trying to watch his diet and I feel more like a warden than a mother most times. Finally, Richard went to bed. However, about 15 minutes later he comes out in his t-shirt and boxers heading for the kitchen. I asked him what he needed. He said that he wanted a glass of water. This he did, but I noticed on his way back to his room that he had his sheet with him and was holding it in front of himself. I stood up and he insisted that I didn't need to follow him to his room to tuck him in. Yes, I STILL tuck my kids in! Anyhow, I said that I was already up and I didn't mind tucking him in at all. I then asked him what he was hiding behind the sheet. "Nothing", he said. "But really Mom, you DON'T have to follow me to my room!" Again, I explained that I was already up and ready to tuck him in for the night. I pulled the sheet away from him and could tell that he was hiding something inside his boxers. After some arguing, I discovered that he had shoved a piece of fried chicken in his boxer shorts! After a heavy sigh I said, "You know Richard. When I gave birth to you and held you in my arms, there were many things that went through my mind. Things that I could see myself saying to you in the future. NEVER in my freakiest dreams did I EVER think that I would hear myself say, "Richard, get that chicken out of your underwear!!""

Honesty? Are you talking to ME?

So our landlady sent over another guy to check out our AC unit. He came up with the same diagnosis as the first guy. Fan motor and compressor are out and the unit needs to be replaced. She's really put out because the warranty expired on it two months ago. I can understand her not being happy about that. But she actually asked the AC guy to back her up in her lie, changing the date of the warranty. I was proud of the AC guy though. He told her no, that he would not be comfortable doing that. She told him that she would call the other AC guy back and ask him if he could help her with that. The guy then told her, "Please, don't do that. You'll feel shame if you do that. It's not right. It's not right to lie. It's not right to break the law." I was so impressed! Seems like so many people are looking to get something for nothing. Also, I don't think I've ever heard someone talk to another person so plainly about honesty before. Made me feel good to witness it. Anyhow, we still have no AC, but the temp has dropped enough so that it's bearable at least. We might even get rain on Saturday. That would be a great birthday present for Scott!

No AC. Not YET anyhow!

OH was I mistaken! Our landlady just cannot believe that the fan motor AND the compressor are both out on our AC unit. No, no, no. She is sending out ANOTHER guy to look at it tomorrow. She insists that we just need to throw the breaker. You know, because Scott, myself, her husband and the guy she sent out today must not have done it right when we tried it NINE THOUSAND TIMES EACH! So no AC tomorrow either. That will only make five days without it. UGHHHH!

Delayed Venting

I know this is late, but I just wanted to vent about something. It bugs me how the media is more concerned about Palin's abilities to be our veep, than they are about Obama's abilities to actually run the country. I saw a clip of an interview with Palin where Katie Couric kept asking her in a very condescending way, how does running (I'm paraphrasing here) a state that borders Canada and Russia give you experience on foreign relations? It also bothered me that Palin was too soft with her answer. If it were me, I would have said to Katie, "Are you freakin kidding me?! I don't know what life is like in "Katie-Land", but I actually communicate with my neighbors! Keeping on good terms with your neighbors and knowing what they're up to is all part of keeping the peace in the neighborhood! So stop asking me such stupid questions or I'll say sputum right here and now! And don't even THINK of slapping ME unless you're ready to roll! (For those not aware, Katie Couric smacked a guy at CBS because he said that word in her presence). I would never make it in politics. I don't say EVERYTHING on my mind, but I do tend to say more than people are comfortable hearing.LOL OK, done venting. On to happy news. Though the temps have been 100 plus degrees these past few days and we have not had any AC to speak of. Tomorrow, we SHOULD be getting a new AC unit! Woo Hoo!!!

"We HAVE to get out of here!!"

Today was my second day on the new job. The little girl I work with is such a cutie. She is more profoundly autistic than Richard. The training I received last week hasn't been all that helpful to me in the classroom. The techniques I learned would be more useful to an in home tutor. What I wished they had taught me was how to handle a meltdown in the classroom. How to restrain a student who is in danger of hurting him/herself or others without causing injury to the child or myself. Her attention span lasts only a few seconds at a time. Today, she kept saying, "We HAVE to get out of here!" over and over again. Sometime I feel the same way!LOL Perhaps it was a way of stimming. I feel like I'm under a microscope with her. I know in my head that if it doesn't work out, I shouldn't take it personally. Being on the parent end of this for 11 years now, I understand how sometimes it (the aide) just isn't working out. Nothing personal. It's just the way it is. Richard has had to go through several aides at several different schools before we found that was a good fit. Right now, Richard is at a workshop at school. He's learning to talk "forsoothy" so that he can audition for Middle Class in the Elizabethan Dinner this year. I hope he makes it. He was very disappointed not to make the school play. Especially since the play is about special needs adults trying to fit in society. When he didn't get a part in the play, he said to me, "I guess I'm just so high functioning now, that they don't think I can act special needs very good." I am relieved that he still wants to continue to audition and be a part of school activities. In 2 weeks he starts voice training at the school. It will last 7 weeks and cost $84. Richard's hope is that it will help him to sing in the lower register. Oh my goodness! It's Sept. 29th! I need to get busy on my Sept. Bowler Bulletin and send it out to you folks! Busy, busy, busy.

Aaannnd, I'm OFF!!!

After two days of getting to be a regular stay at home Mom, I'm back into the swing of things. Right now, I'm enjoying my sourdough english muffin and water. Then I'm out the door on my way to my first day of ABA training. I finally found out yesterday that I will be working morning kindergarten. That's perfect! Otherwise, I would have to work something out for the after school carpool for the high schoolers. I have never been SO busy in my entire life. I told Maria yesterday to just wait until she has kids in 3 different schools! That was the killer for me!

Things are looking up!

OK, so I didn't get the job that I interviewed for face down on the floor at Upland Elementary. It was a let down for me, but I had already made up my mind that I would continue to apply for better paying jobs with the school district until I got SOMETHING. The second week of school, I was in the teacher's lounge and one of the instructional aides told me that there was an opening for an instructional aide position and a daycare position with the school district. I asked her when the deadline was to apply for the jobs? The deadline for both were THAT day (Friday). So I raced home during my break and applied online for both positions. For the instructional aide position, one of the qualifications were that I either have 48 semester credits (I only have 30), or that I have passed the academic assessment test required of paraprofessionals in accordance with the "No Child Left Behind Act." I didn't have that either. So I called the district office and asked how I get certified? I got a call from Becky, the lady at the district office on Monday wanting to know if I could come in the next morning for testing. I did and I PASSED! Woo-Hoo! I had my interview the next day and felt good about it. I got a call a few days later telling me that they had selected someone else for the 6 hour instructional aide position, but would I accept a 3 1/12 hour position? I accepted. This means more money in our bank account and I won't have to watch after 377 kids on the playground anymore! I go in Wed. and Thur. of next week for Applied Behavior Analysis training and then I'll start work at Sycamore Elementary. I'll be working one on one with a kindergarten girl who is autistic. I'm hoping that Friday and Monday they will just let me observe and let her get to me a little. If they pull her current aide out and suddenly put me in, it will almost certainly turn her little world upside down. Autistics thrive on routine, so I'm hoping that they will ease me in as her new aide. So anyhow, life is funny! I was big time bummed that I didn't get the clerical assistant position at the other school and I ended up getting a job that not only pays more money and gives me more hours, but that will really challenge me. One more time now WOO HOO!!!
Obviously, the daycare position is a non-starter. Thank Goodness!!

Hold Your Applause

Well I got the email today letting me know that I was NOT selected for the job. I might take Scott and Matthew's advice and write in my experience to Readers Digest. It was still an unusual story. I took Aubree this morning to pick up her school schedule. She seems pretty happy with it. Thank goodness! This teenage girl drama is wearing me down! Tomorrow, I take Richard to pick up his schedule. Here's hoping that they do better than last year when I picked up his schedule to find that he had been placed in 3 classes for English as a second language. After I'm finished at the high school, then I'll be off to help put together back to school packets for Sierra Vista Elem., and then attend a PTA Exec. Board meeting afterwards. Oh yeah, my back is feeling much better now. Aren't prescription meds great?!

Face Down, But Life Is Good!

I had a job interview yesterday at an elementary school for the position of clerical assistant. I took the written and typing test, passing them both. I would really like to get this job, since it would mean more hours and more money per hour. Being little Miss "On the Ball", I arrived 13 minutes early. This wasn't too hard since I only live 3 minutes from the school. I walk in and sit down in the front office. A lady walks in, says hello and asks me if I'm here for the interview. I said yes, and she handed me a paper with questions they plan on asking me in the interview. As I'm looking them over, I cross my legs. Big mistake! I felt a twinge in my lower back. So I uncrossed my legs. Bigger mistake! POW! My back went out! I tried to relax, but it just wasn't happening. I prayed silently to God, "If I'm not supposed to interview for this job. That's cool! Just please let my back feel good enough for me to make it back to my van and get home? Amen".....Nothing happened except that the pain in my back by now was absolutely unbearable. A lady walked into the office just then. She was there to register her daughter for school. I asked her if she would please hand me my purse that was on the floor next to my leg. She asked if I was alright and I told her that my back was out. She handed me my purse AFTER telling me about how she had to have surgery for her own herniated disks. I finally got my purse and pulled out my cell phone. I then managed to get to the floor where I lied faced down. The lady who greeted me when I first got there walked out and asked if I was alright. I told her what had happened and that I had called my husband who should be showing up within the next 45 minutes. She then brought me a pillow for my head and an ice pack for my back. I asked her if she had any Motrin. She told me that she had Advil. I asked for 4. By now, the school Principal was out in the hallway asking if she could do anything. I told her no, that I would be alright until my husband arrived. I was then told that this was the only day they would be holding interviews. I said that I was ready for the interview if they were. So they brought out their chairs into the hallway and said, "Hello Becky, nice to meet you." I said, "Hello, Nice Shoes!" Other than being face down on the floor, I think it went very well. After the interview, Scott arrived and tried to help me up. As much as I wanted to, this was NOT going to happen. I asked for someone to call 911. I was transported to the hospital where they asked my a bunch of questions and gave me some really good drugs! I never take anything stronger than a Tylenol, so they were very effective. Several hours later, I was able to slowly walk out of the hospital and go home. I am still store and tender, but am feeling MUCH better than I was yesterday. I went into my box of cards this morning and found a thank you to send to the school. I thanked them for the opportunity to interview for the job. I thanked them for their willingness to change location for the interview from the back office to the hallway. I thanked them for letting me lie down on their floor, for the pillow, for the ice pack and for the Advil. I ended by saying that if hired, I look forward to seeing them again in an upright position and will be ready to go to work! Sooo, how was your day?

family pix

I'm having WAY too much fun on this ride!

Caroline and Aubree posing in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Cutie pie Gracie playing on Donald Duck's boat wtih Aubree and Jason.

End of a long day for Brian and Gracie.

Caroline playing at the park on a field trip before going to the science museum.

Caroline climbing the rock wall at the science museum.

Richard holding his own against Darth Maul.

This is what I found under the couch AFTER my kids "cleaned the front room".

Richard is learning to cook and made a most delicious cake!

Jason made honor roll!

We let Jason have a mohawk for about 2 minutes. Then Dad finished the buzz cut.

Jason is now an official Boy Scout!

Richard was voted Outstanding First Tenor by his classmates.

Richard posing with soldiers from Toy Story. I feel safer just looking at them.

Aubree and Caroline with Snow White. It looks like Snow White has a Vulcan grip on Caroline's neck.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Pix of the family

Aubree with a teacher from school. She brought her daughter to the Princess Fantasy Faire.

Some Pix of the family.

The Young Women in our ward had a Princess Fantasy Faire as a fundraiser. Here is Caroline with Cinderella and the Prince.












Then with Snow White.

Helpful Hint

Jason got gum on his dress pants yesterday. I put them in the freezer and tried to pick out the gum, but it wasn't working too well. I checked around on the internet and and read about pouring warm vinegar on it. I tried it and it worked! I poured some white vinegar in a small bowl and heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds. I then poured the warm vinegar over the gum and rubbed it with a cloth and it rolled right off! Yippeee!!

The Dark Side of Light Bulbs

Richard had a meltdown last Thursday night. OK, so that's nothing new. But this time he smacked a lamp on his dresser and the light bulb hit the wall and shattered. Granted, if the lamp shade was actually on the lamp, it probably wouldn't have broken. Yes, a shattered light bulb is a major pain to clean. Throw in the fact that the shattered light bulb was one of those swirly, fluorescent bulbs and it goes from being a major pain to being a MAAAAYJORRRR PAAAAAIIIINNN!!!!
After one of those light bulbs is broken, step #1 is to immediately open a window and leave the room shutting the door behind you so that the room can air out for at least 15 minutes. Remember not to inhale while doing this. Next, dress yourself in long pants and a long sleeved shirt or even better, a pair of coveralls if you have them. Put on disposable gloves that will fit snug over your sleeves and wear a face mask if you have one to keep from inhaling the poisons that were once inside the swirly bulb. Then get yourself a glass jar with a metal lid and pick up as many pieces of the light bulb as you can and put them inside the jar. Go get the duct tape and use it to pick up any pieces that were too small for you to grab with your glvoed hands. Wipe everything around the broken light bulb down with a disposable wet cloth. It is strongly recommended that you DO NOT use a vacuum cleaner. However, if you have carpet then you HAVE to vacuum. If so, vacuum over and over and over again making sure not to inhale anymore that you absolutely have to. Then remove the vacuum bag and place it in a sealed plastic container/bag. If you have a canister vacuum like me, you are to empty the contents into a plastic bag and seal. Be sure to wipe out the vacuum canister inside and out with disposable wet cloths over and over again. Put the sealed glass jar and sealed bags together in another trash bag and call the city to find out if there is someplace in particular you should take this stuff for proper disposal. OK folks, I'm ALL for saving energy and not polluting our planet. On the other hand, I'm also for NOT having to go through this every time a light bulb is broken. By the way, did you know that even if one of those bulbs doesn't break but just burns out that you have to contact your city to find out where to dispose of them? You can't just unscrew it and throw it in the trash. To the environmentalists out there I apologize, but I'm going back to regular old light bulbs and to doing my part in burning up my own little spot in the ozone layer.

Long time no blog

With school finally out for the Summer, I'm hoping to have more time working on my blog. My friend Staci's blog is really cute and I'm going to try and get her to help me pretty mine up too. As for life, we are all doing fine. Well except that Scott's brakes went out on us the other night. Fortunately, we have a friend from church who actually enjoys working on brakes! He was glad to help, but the job took a lot longer than he had anticipated. We'll have to think of some way to thank him. Especially since I also need the brakes done on my van as well. Last Friday night, Scott and I went with Richard to a banquet for all of the Upland High School choir members. Richard was given an award for outstanding first tenor. Of course I didn't have my camera. My friend Staci and her daughter Brooke who we sat with had one and snapped a couple of pix for us. Yesterday was the last day of school, so I took the kids to Disneyland and Scott met us there after work. In my effort to try and save money, I packed dinner for us and we ate in the picnic area instead of buying dinner at the park. I figure we saved about $40 going that route. Nobody complained either. That's probably because I brought my homemade salsa.:o) At 9:00 we were run out of the park to make way for grad night. I had forgotten about that. I guess that's the thing to do here for high school graduates. They run everyone out at 9:00 and bring in the graduates at 10:00. They then have the run of Disneyland until something like 3 a.m. I didn't mind though. After getting soaked on Splash Mountain in the night air, I was more than ready to get into my nice warm van and head home.

(Funny from Aubree)
Aubree is babysitting right now for a friend of mine who is going horseback riding. I heard Aubree say to her, "I LOVE horseback riding. Except that I've never done it."

update on Caroline

The doctor decided that Caroline does not have appendicitis. Unfortunately, they don't know WHAT is wrong. She still has a fever. She still has a rash on her back and chest and she's still complaining that her tummy hurts really bad. They think that she might have a viral infection of some kind. She's sleeping with me tonight and Scott is sleeping on the couch. He insisted on this. When my kids are this sick, I like to have them close to me so that I can check on them. She did say a funny though. When the technician was doing the ultrasound, she asked Caroline if she had any brothers or sisters. Caroline said, "Yes, I have 2 brothers and 1 sis...ummm, ACTUALLY... I'm an ONLY child!" After we had been in the ER for several hours and Caroline was getting every test under the sun, she said to me "This is the WORST day of my life!" Ohhh let's hope so!

Caroline

Coming up on the holiday weekend (a 4 day weekend for me and the kids), I had all kinds of plans. A barbecue in the backyard, getting extra errands taken care of, deep cleaning the kids' rooms, going to Disneyland. So I jumped in with both feet cleaning, sorting, running errands etc. As much as I wanted us all to make a Disneyland trip, it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Saturday, Caroline wasn't looking good and she had a fever. She was sick and unhappy because us girls were supposed to go shopping. By Sunday morning, her fever had risen and she was complaining of a headache and tummy ache. Scott and I went to church in shifts so that one of us would be at home to take care of Caroline. Last night, our neighbor Don came over and helped Scott give her a blessing. This morning, her fever seemed to have broken and I was hoping that she was on the mend. She spent most of her day in bed and still complained about her tummy hurting. When she finally got out of bed she couldn't even stand up straight. Scott and I took her to the ER. That was around 4 p.m. It is now 10:30 p.m. and she is still there. It looks like our little Caroline has appendicitis. They did an ultrasound and it was inconclusive. That meant she had to have a cat scan. I stayed until 9:45, then Scott took over, (we took separate cars). By the time I got home, by way of McDonald's, Caroline had already had the cat scan and was watching Barbie as Rapunzel on Scott's laptop. Anyhow, it looks like Miss Caroline will be going in for an appendectomy. I'll write later to let everyone know how she's doing.

I will SURVIVE!

Richard and I have joined a fitness club and meet with our trainer Ben twice a week. As I'm sitting here typing this, I am trying very hard to concentrate on my typing instead of how unusual my body feels. At first, it was pain that I felt. Oh my goodness! After our first workout, it honestly felt like my knees wanted to bend the other way! I kept looking down at them to make sure they were going in the direction that my brain was telling them to. I still feel the pain after working out because I'm using muscles that haven't been used since I was about 10. But there is this strange thing that is also happening to me. At first I thought I was leaking somewhere, and became quite concerned. I have since discovered that the proper name for it is "Perspiration". Actually, I'm now starting to feel good at the end of my workouts and not praying for death like I was when I first started. Sometimes it seems kind of pointless to me. I mean, aren't we ALL going to get a new body in the hereafter anyhow?

By the way, yesterday was my last PTA meeting as President! I happily welcomed our new President and wished her well. I will still be 1st VP, but that is SO not a big deal compared to being the Prez. Scott and I still believe that we will eventually move from here. When we do, I need to remember to stay home and keep my mouth shut. I've tried sitting on my hands, but it doesn't work for me. Staying home and not talking to anyone is the only sure fire way NOT to become a slave to volunteering.

Slacker Me

OK, I've been a MAJOR slacker with my blog. The good news is that there are only 4 weeks of school left! Woo Hoo! I think I'll say it again. Woo Hoo!! Between PTA, work, home and all of the school activities, it seems like I barely have time to catch my breath. Anyhow, May 3rd we got to spend some time with the Bowler side of the family in Vegas. Our nephew Glenn was baptized and our niece Whitney came down from Idaho to be baptized also. It was such fun to see our Idaho branch of the family. After the baptism, Whitney decided that she wanted to ride back to Uncle Brian and Aunt Maria's with us. I heard her talking to Caroline in the van saying, "I like water and I like soap. I just don't like them mixed TOGETHER!" Too funny!

Tuesday, Richard came home and informed me that he had paper stuck in his ear. I looked inside his left ear and sure enough he had managed to cram a wad of paper deep inside. I made a doctor's appointment for the next morning in case we couldn't get it out that night. Luckily, between Scott and myself using a flashlight and tweezers, we were able to pull it out and avoided a trip to the doctor. I asked Richard why he did it and he informed me that his math class was too loud and he couldn't concentrate. So he made himself an earplug. Now he goes to school with a pair of "real" earplugs that are much easier to remove.

Miss Caroline

So Caroline is talking to her Dad after dinner and says that she read about Susan B. Anthony at school today. Scott asked her to tell us about her. She talked about how Susan B. Anthony was angry because women couldn't vote, own property, etc... and how she helped pave the way for equal rights. At the end of her spiel she added, "I also got to see a picture of her and she would NOT win any beauty contest!" Funny girl.

Disneyland Pix

Richard mimicking the Beast

Aubree channeling Tinkerbell