Updates!

WOW! It's been so long since I have blogged. I can't believe it. Sorry about that folks. Life has been a bit crazy since moving to Washington so I haven't had time to really update. I know you all have been foaming at the mouth for a little look see at my house so I guess I will let you see it.

This was right before we moved in when it snowed here in Kennewick. It's not everything we want (houses move FAST around here), but it works for right now and we couldn't be happier.


Anessa and Peyton have both started at the local elementary here and have really enjoyed it. Of course there was some apprehension about starting at a new school, but both have found great friends and that's what matters. Schools in Utah were a lot more behind than here in WA so the kids have had to play catch up since being here, but they seem to be doing okay. Anessa will be starting middle school in the fall! Hope we survive. She is now officially taller than me for all of you wondering. She's raiding my shirts all the time and has started wearing a bit of makeup. She's getting so big. Peyton is pretty much the same. Hasn't grown much, but is a big hit with the ladies! He says he gets chased around the playground a couple times a week by a couple different little girls. Funny how they show "affection" at that age.

Cohen has started at the Discovery Center here and he is thriving. He makes us laugh all the time. I can't believe he will be starting Kindergarten soon! It brings tears to my eyes. I'm happy to say that he has earned his title of "The Kennewick Pimp". He certainly has a way with the ladies and always talks about his "girlfriends". Yesterday, while I was teaching Zumba, a friend of mines daughter and him were ballroom dancing around the gym. It was pretty funny.

Aja is a running, dancing, sneaky little girl. She recently got her first hair cut (pics to come soon) and looks SO SO CUTE! She's in love with her daddy and has him wrapped around her finger. She's always saying something funny that she's overheard from one of the family. She's still as tiny as ever, but getting a little bit tall. We have the best pediatrician here and she's been really good on keeping up with Aja and her needs.

Mitch is enjoying his job and recently got a bit of a promotion. We are happy about that. He really loves Kennewick and he really loves living in Washington. I'm so glad he's happy here. He's been hanging out with a good group of guys and goes and plays poker and basketball often. He recently got called to be Assistant Cubscout Master and he's really excited about his calling. He's been really involved in helping Peyton get his badges and passing off things. He's gotten back into running which makes me happy. He has always loved running and the weather here in Kennewick is AWESOME.

I've been doing really good. I've settled here in WA a lot better than I thought. I just decided that even though I'm far away from a lot of great friends, that it doesn't mean I can't make great friends here and keep the ones in UT too! It's been so fun to hang out with different groups of awesome ladies! I couldn't ask for a better life right now. I've been teaching Zumba for free at my church, but recently got a subbing job at a local gym here. I'm really excited about it. It's a great opportunity. Also, I've been training for a body competition in July. I've been working out at Gold's for about 1.5 hours daily and then come home and either teach Zumba or participate with my friends doing P90X six days a week. Everyone calls me the workout queen. HAHA! It makes me laugh. Some days it really wipes me out (like today), but I've really enjoyed the changes my body has made and how it makes me feel. Mitch has been 100% supportive the whole time and helps keep me motivated.

Anyway, that is a quick update. I will post more pictures in the future. I just had a minute to update. I hope all is well with you and yours!

Hard Times:

This post is very personal and actually really hard to write, but I kind of wanted to let people know what was going on with me so they could understand.

About 4 months ago, things at Mitch's work were not going well (not any fault of his own) and it started looking like things weren't going to last. Now most people who know me know that I can roll with the punches pretty good, but for some reason I was not bouncing back from this one. I started to have a lot of headaches and crying spells. I had been having a lot of problems with my sinuses so I went to an ENT who diagnosed me with an enlarged turbinate and eustacian tube dysfunction. Yay. It was easy to deal with although having a constant stuffy ear is never any fun. They did a CT of my sinuses and all was clear.

A few days later I started having a pain in the back of my head that wasn't going away, and the crying spells were getting worse. As in, I couldn't get off the couch and could barely take care of the kids worse. So I made an appointment with one of the local doctors who told me I had an anxiety disorder and put me on 20 mg of Prozac. The first night I was on that drug I was walking the house until 3 a.m. crying, scratching my skin until it was bleeding and not sleeping. So Mitch sat up with me and helped me to try and calm down.

I was on that drug for three weeks until it got way worse. I had lost 7 pounds, was very shaky and had even more anxiety than before. Then the "itch" started. It felt like an itch in my brain and it was driving me crazy. I couldn't function. The "itch" was basically consuming me. There was a day when Mitch had to come home and take care of the kids so that I could lock myself in my room and sleep it off in a Xanax induced coma. I called my doctor and he told me to just stop the medication cold turkey. Not smart. Less than a week later it happened again, this time I was on the verge of taking a knife to my head so that I could get the "itch". It scared Mitch enough that he ended up taking me to the emergency department. They did a full check of my blood and a CT scan of my brain. All normal. I was going through Prozac withdrawl AND on top of it all I am "allergic" to it.

I finally had had enough of this, so I made an appointment with a doctor in SLC who had done a lot of research on SSRI's and the like. He spent an hour with me. Read my CT reports said I did not have MS or a brain tumor (thank heavens!) and told me that I needed to get on something else. He also had me do a type of test that showed that I had a very high suicide risk and needed help. So he tapered me off Prozac while putting me on Lexapro and then gave me Klonopin to help with the constant anxiety I was feeling.

At this point things at Mitch's work had basically ended and he was able to stay home with me and help me with the kids. He was such a huge help during this time. He was just letting me sleep as much as I needed and was very understanding. Unfortunately, the Lexapro made me act like a zombie. I showed no emotion, I felt no emotion and I just sat there on my couch not doing much of anything. So back to the doc we went. Luckily, with the Prozac out of my system and the Lexapro doing it's job, I was no longer a high suicide risk although it's always there. He diagnosed me with "situational depression". He took me off the Lexapro and put me on Celexa which seems to work very well. Now if any of you know my life, you know we have moved...a lot. I guess it had finally taken it's toll. It's hard to admit this, and it's hard for me to "see" myself like this, but I'm glad that I'm getting "better". Situational depression can last anywhere from 3 months to a year. He told me I'm probably going to be on this medication for a year.

I've received many blessings and have been on my knees a lot and I know that I'm not alone during this trial of my life. I'm so thankful for my husband (who at this moment is mooning me and dancing around) who stepped up to the plate and played Mom and Dad for a good two months all while trying to keep his own emotions in check and trying to find a new job. I'm also thankful for my Zumba class and all my students and boss who were there to support me and helped me forget about my problems three times a week. I'm thankful for the Pilates classes that helped to get me out of bed every morning and get going on my day. I'm thankful for supportive friends who stood by me and offered a listening ear and would take my kids any time I needed them to. Most of all I'm so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who helped keep me going even in my most darkest moments. I know this trial will just make me stronger and more sensitive towards those that are going through something like this. Lastly, I'm thankful towards both my moms, my dad and step-dad who all called me daily to check on me just to see how I'm doing.

The Last Supper:

A few days before we moved some of our friends threw us a good-bye dinner. It wasn't very long (I had Zumba to teach), but that 2 hours that we spent together was so much fun. I miss all of them so much. I miss Lisa and Doug and our Hand and Foot nights and dinners we would always get together for. She usually hosted since we have no table. My kids loved playing over there and we always had fun.

Here is my Lisa:


My friend Ginger and her husband Kevin are such a crack-up. It's great when you can be yourself around someone and they don't judge you. For some unknown reason (I'm thinking it's because Ginger finds me unbearably HAWT) we were always grabbing each others butts or doing something off the wall. I also loved to give Kevin, her husband a hard time....Can I get a little WHAT WHAT???


We had just started hanging out with the Hilton's, but man...they are a funny couple. Mitch home taught them and they both would come to my Zumba class. I loved to give Brent a hard time at class and Mindy would just sit there and laugh. Again, it was just awesome to get together with them because we would do nothing but laugh. They had such awesome personalities. I'm going to miss all of our friends, but not to worry we are planning some fun vacations this summer and the laughter will start again.

The Group:

Happy Birthday/Baptism Peyton!!

I'm really late in posting this. Life has been crazy, but I wanted to say a big Happy Birthday/Baptism to my boy Peyton!!

Peyton turned 8 on September 23rd. Eight years since that little boy entered our lives. He was such a cute baby, but definitely hard. I'm happy to say that he has turned into the most sensitive, cute, funny little guy ever.

We had a party for him that Saturday. He wanted to have a Star Wars themed party. I want to thank the following vendors for having what I needed to make this a galactic, wet day. Walmart: For having Star Wars EVERYTHING so I could decorate our backyard. Dollar General: For still having water noodles!!! We cut them in half and made them look like light sabers. They also had water guns that were pretty stars wars-ish looking and water balls for "bombs. Then finally to Family Dollar: For still having water balloons!! Thanks to my friends for the slip n slides and pool. Mitch and I filled and tied over 300 water balloons. They were gone in 15 minutes. We had 5 little boys and 2 girls over here and water was flying everywhere. They had a blast. Then a lunch of hot dogs (*gag*), chips, grapes and of course his favorite drink of root beer. We then did presents and of course he was stoked about everything he got. Then of course we dug into the Star Wars cake that took me 9 hours to make and was devoured in 30 minutes. Oh well. It is how it is. Then of course they trashed my basement (oh well) and home they went. I think he had a fun day. I'm actually positive he had a fun day because he couldn't stop talking about it.

We gave him a Nintendo DSi for his birthday. Boy, was he ever excited. He also got 4 new games to go with it from family members. Thanks! Those games are expensive.

On October 9th Peyton got baptized. He was the ONLY one in our stake getting baptized that day, so we had to arrange EVERYTHING! It was insane, and to be honest I wasn't too thrilled about it. As if I haven't been going through enough stress as it is, but I'm happy to say that it went really well. I want to thank my friends for bringing food and helping me out with prayers and standing in the circle. My grandpa said a talk on the Holy Ghost and I gave one on Baptism. Then came the dunking. It was such a beautiful experience and I'm so proud of him. He was baptized and confirmed by Mitch. What a great day. He looked like such a stud in his suit. I wish I had pictures of it, but of course I still can't find my disc.

Here is one of Peyton from when we got our family pics taken. So handsome.


We love you Peyton and are so proud of you and your decision to get baptized. You are such a wonderful boy.

Never Again:

Price doesn't have much to do. Seriously. So when we moved here, we had a lot of people tell us a bunch of free things that could be done around here. One was heading over to the local museum and watching them feed the snapping turtle, alligator and big lizards. So a few weeks ago, I asked the kids if they would be up to it. I will admit, I was a bit hesitant because...well...I know what they feed them.

So off we went. I felt pretty lucky in that there was only one other set of people there waiting to see the action. I did explain to the kids how they fed the animals and they seemed intrigued. What came next will forever haunt....all of us. Except for maybe Cohen. He thought it was cool. Weird kid.

First on the menu: A hamster. Apparently the pet store couldn't sell this particular hamster because it kept biting people. Fitting end for said hamster? I'll let you decide. Anyway, he tossed that sucker in and my kids literally gasped. The snapping turtle came right up and snatched it and took it way down into the murky depths of the tank. All you saw was sand billowing out everywhere. Next were a couple of mice. I don't think I have ever seen Peyton more terrified. He sat there with his hands over his mouth, trying not to scream as the alligator attacked each little mouse. The last mouse took a bit to get eaten and we watched the poor thing climb onto a rock...trying to live. Needless to say, my kids were quite well traumatized by the time they started feeding the lizards.

Here are a few of the lines from Peyton that echoed throughout the museum during this display of...nature:

"PLEASE!! We will take the mice home and take care of them if you don't want them!"

"NO! No! NOOOOO!"

"Mom. This is horrible. Will you please take us home?"

Me: So...uh..What did you think?
Peyton: I think I never want to see that again!
Me: Agreed.

So thanks to all of you who recommended this "activity" and said that it was actually pretty "cool". My kids have not forgotten it...and neither have I.

Age Old Question:

The battle has been going on for many years. Man vs. Woman. He-Man vs. She-Ra. Superman vs. WonderWoman. Batman vs. Catwoman.



VS.




I don't know when it happened. I don't know how it happened. But lately Cohen has been very aware of his gender. Not only have I gotten a line like this: "I will do it the MAN way!" but I've gotten a line like this "I want a burrito from a man!".

Seriously?

I'm still here!

It has been a really busy month! First of all my computer died SO SAD! but my awesome hubby surprised me with a new laptop! SWEET! So when I find my little disc to post pictures...I will.

Anessa has started Level 5 of swimming lessons and she's doing really good at it! She's going to be trying out for the swim team here in a few weeks. She has been working hard on her multiplication facts, reading and writing. I can't believe she's going to be in 5th grade!!

Peyton will be starting gymnastics here in a few weeks. The adventures in our house have not ended. Him and Cohen are constantly making up a new story line to entertain us with. He has also been reading up a storm. He reads so well. I'm one proud mom.

Cohen of course has been making us laugh with his quick wit and funny personality. We have been working on sight words this summer and he's catching on quick. He has been helping his dad out with the garden, and when I say that I mean he's been eating the peas out of the garden as quick as we can pick them. I can't get him to eat veggies that I make, but whatever works I guess!! Right?

Aja is doing really good. She's a little actress. She sings songs, dances and bowls us over with those pleading eyes every day. We. Are. Suckers. She's been having fun running around outside trying to keep up with her brothers. The poor girl recently had a run in with a spider or something, but she woke up with bites all over her face. She looks rough. I'm hoping they disappear soon. For now, she's sleeping in our room while we deep clean and hopefully kill whatever has gotten to her.

Mitch and I are doing really good. Just busy with work and raising our kids. I recently had the opportunity to do a Zumba demo here in Price. It was a lot of fun and hopefully will get more people interested in it. Mitch has been really busy at work, but he's managed to keep up on our garden and I'm happy to say that we have some fine pumpkin and squash plants growing and an endless amount of peas. Hopefully we get some tomatoes before it gets too cold. I was excited to hopefully get some raspberries, but the stinkin birds keep getting to them! I curse the birds! Life is good. Price is a great/interesting city. We are trying to learn to sleep through the hours of 2-5 in the morning when it seems that people like to come home or go to work. It's really weird. Price is a whole other world I tell ya!