Goodbye 2008.... Hello 2009!!!

I thought I'd just take a moment to remember this past year... its not been the greatest year for our family but there were some very good things that happened in 2008. We got married, Ava turned 3, had several fun camping trips with friends and a fabulous Lake Powell trip. I'm so very close with my family and I'm very thankful for that. I have some of the greatest friends in the world. I've also met some great new friends through blogging. We've overcome some very significant trials this past year and Kyle and I are still close and probably closer then ever. Although there are still days I could tell him to go live in the trailer out back. However, I did get one more kick in the teeth for 2008 in the mail yesterday. I guess the trail of bad luck needed to go out with a bang as well. I won't post about it right now but I will later.

So... goodbye 2008, bring on 2009. I have a feeling that 2009 is going to be a great year for us! We are going to welcome in the New Year with friends. We're having dinner at Shanan's house then going to the local pub. It's going to be a blast! I hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year. See you all next year!!!! Loves....

Shopping

So I went shopping with my sister today to see if we could find any good deals. We did not succeed. First of all, we took our kids with us BIG MISTAKE!!!!! Ava was the instigator today, not Kyden and she was a full on stinker. She'll either stay home or Kyden will stay home next time. It seems like we can take one of them and they're perfect little angels but when you take both, it's a recipe for disaster.

We started at Old Navy and from there, made our way over to the mall. Once we got to the mall, there was a great big sign in Victoria Secret that said SALE.... so of course we needed to browse. We both found us a really cute pair of PINK sweats that we both wanted. We tried to order them online but they were out of stock so we were both like SWEET, they have our size. In the mean time, I had to take Ava and Kyden out of the store to spare the other shoppers with their behavior. So I'm sitting out on a bench waiting for my sister to come out with our cute pants and I've finally got the girls calmed down when the cleaning lady who doesn't speak very much English comes over to our bench to clean. We were sitting by some semi dead poinsettia's and the girls were playing with the leaves that had fallen on the ground. The lady looks at me and comes uncorked that that girls "picked" the leaves. She was seriously freaking out and then started pointing at Ava telling her bad girl, bad... I then come completely uncorked as they hadn't picked anything. I won't tell you exactly what I told her but I wasn't very nice and I speak just enough Spanish that she knew exactly what I said. I'm not that type of a parent that lets my child pick flower or plant leaves in a mall or for that matter anywhere to keep them entertained. She could have asked me before she yelled and pointed at my child. I'm really surprised that I didn't get kicked out of the mall today! So then out comes my sister with NO pants... I'm floored! I ask her why? Well she gets told that they don't have the same sales in stores that they do online so if we were to buy them in the store, they would be $40 instead of $18 if we ordered them online. SPARE ME!!!! No wonders stores are going out of business when they can't even compete with their own online stores!

We now venture over to The Buckle and I decided that I was finally going to suck it up and buy me new pants since I haven't bought a new pair in over a year. I was going to wait until I lost a little more weight but I really needed some now. They'll just be a little looser here in a month! We go in and I get the BKE Wendi Jeans and pay for them. Well when we get to the car, I realize that I bought the wrong size. I bought the extra long length instead of the regular length. I'm really not that tall and the extra long ones were probably the length of my entire body. At this point, my sister and I are going to the Provo Mall to meet my dad who took my nephew to his house to stay for a few days. I just figured I change the pants at the other store.... FIRST NOTE TO SELF don't ever try on the Jean's the sales lady thinks you will like better ever ever ever again. I now do not like the BKE Wendi's as much as the Big Star Maddie's and well... there's $30 difference in price between the two and yes, the Big Star's were more but I LOVE THEM!!!!! SECOND NOTE TO SELF don't tell husband how much you paid for them or he will choke you! THIRD NOTE TO SELF remember just how cute they look before you think about the price! FORTH NOTE TO SELF never take children shopping with you again! As of this point, Ava will not have any siblings. I might change my mind tomorrow but right now I'm pretty set on Ava being an only child.

So tomorrow is New Year's Eve. My grandma is taking Ava for the night so we can go out and do something. We are going up to my really good friend Shanan's house for dinner then most likely the local pub. We have a good time there. So I'll post some picture of our little get together on Thursday. Does anyone have any fun plans this year????

Well that pretty much sums up my day and our New Year's plans. I'm ready for a big glass of wine or might just skip the wine and dive right into the Crown tonight. I've got this week off of work so if I want, I can go on a week long party. I probably won't but it sounds fun.... Loves

Happy Holiday's....

Hi everyone... sorry I haven't posted anything for the holiday's but I've been sick for a few days. Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Ava had so much fun and got WAY too much stuff. She's had so much fun playing with her new toys. I've been working on the new camera and not very happy or impressed with it right now. It didn't come with an instruction book and it won't switch over from internal memory to my SD card so I can only get a few pictures before it's full. It doesn't have some of the features that my other camera had and so I'm kinda sad that one is broke. This one would be great for Kyle, just not great for what I want it for. Maybe I'll get lucky and get my "wish" camera for Mother's Day. It's a Nikon and kinda pricey so I'm sure that I won't be getting one anytime soon. Oh well... a girl can wish though can't she?????

Also, my friend Kaci over at My Three Sons needs some words of wisdom and prayers right now. Her youngest Carson who's 2 is very sick and could possibly be having some heart problems as well. I'm crossing my fingers that's not the case. Anyhow, please visit her blog you can get to it from my side bar and leave her a little message. She loves meeting new people especially her fellow bloggers and needs all the support she can get right now.

Guess who finally has a new camera.....

I do and couldn't be more excited! It's not the nicest camera in the world but will do exactly what I need it to do. Here are a few pictures that I took before the other one died.... oh and for those that asked, I found my other camera at my mom's and have no idea how it got there!

For sale....

or free! husband and three year old.... any takers? Must be willing to return at a later date!

I know I know....

I'm WAY overdue for a post. First I found my camera but it's caputs. The batteries go dead after one picture so it's pretty much gone. What that means is that the camera that I bought Kyle for Christmas, is officially now mine. However, it's at my aunts house so I have no pictures to post right now. I tried to get them off of the SD card last night but I did something wrong and they didn't save. Oh well... they're still on there so I'll post them later! However, that means I need to find something else for Kyle for Christmas and have no idea what to get him or really any extra moola either but I'll come up with something. He might just get a homemade card and a picture colored by Ava. That will probably be the best gift anyway.

Ava is doing so good and is so excited for Christmas this year. I can't put any presents under the tree because she keeps opening them. It's pretty funny. We put lights up on our house and every time we leave the house, she tells the lights "by Christmas lights, I love you" and then blows them a kiss... so dang cute. She also does the same thing with the tree and everything else in the house for that matter.

Kyle is still looking for a job and we are still just plugging along and hoping for the best. We really never thought that I'd be the bread winner of the home but that's okay. I deal with it better then he does. He's become a pretty good "stay at home daddy" in the mornings. Ava has only been going to daycare for a few hours each day so she can still have the interaction with the other children and so we don't loose her spot at daycare... and Ava LOVES daycare and we really like Marcia, our daycare provider.

Well that pretty much sums up what's going on a my house right now... not much and I know, boring! Hope all is well with everyone. I promise I will post again very soon! Loves....

Weekend Update...

So we had a pretty good weekend at my house. My dad came down on Friday and took me and Ava to lunch for Ava's birthday. On Saturday, I went to SLC to see all of my old friends that I used to work with; it was so nice to see and visit with all of them. We are all now married and have children. Santa was at the party and by protest, Ava sat on his lap. She didn't scream though so that was good. We had a little birthday party with Kyle's family for Ava yesterday and she had so much fun. We're going to have one with my family tonight. I'd love to post some pictures right now but it's just not possible since my camera is missing! I've looked everywhere for it and can't find it. I'm sure it will turn up sooner or later. I have Kyle a "Christmas" present that I could open now that is for him that might become mine but I won't do that just yet.. wink wink!!!

I'm going to have my mom take some pictures tonight of Ava's little party so I will get those from her and post them soon. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I will post again very soon. Loves....

Happy Birthday Princess Ava....

Three years ago today I was laying on the couch looking at my toes wondering if the "vienna sausage" toes would ever go away. The week prior, I was diagnosed with Toxemia so my feet were pretty swelled. Little did I know that night while looking at my toes that in less then 24 hours my life would change forever! I woke up the next morning thinking to myself just how good I felt that day and got ready for my doctor's appointment. When I got into the exam room, the nurse took my blood pressure twice and then immediately left the room. She came back with my ob/gyn and my family doctor who both also took my blood pressure. I laughed at them that it was wrong because I felt great. Within several minutes, I was on the table getting a stress test. However, I was apparently already having some contractions. The nurse kept asking me if I could feel any contractions and I couldn't feel anything (lucky me I guess). They then took me in for an ultrasound and once it was over, decided they weren't going to wait until my due date which was December 23rd, they were going to induce labor that day. The doctor told me to call Kyle to let him know. However, he didn't think she'd come before 2:00am the next day so I figured I'd tell him that he didn't need to hurry since he hates hospitals. I told him to just finish what he was doing at work, go home and grab the bag and just be there by 5:00pm so he would know what it was like for me to be in labor but he was there long before 5:00pm. The next thing was the epidural which I was so excited for however, within 30 minutes of the epidural, I went in for an emergency c-section. They think that I was allergic to something that was in the epidural. All I can remember from the delivery room was her little cry and the doctor that said look at those cheeks and look at that hair. I only vaguely remember seeing Ava.

Ava was born on December 5, 2005 at 5:38pm she weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. She didn't need any medical attention and was a healthy baby. Ava had very unique hair, it was platinum blond and she had TONS of it. During my hospital stay, I had tons of hospital staff that just "came" to my room to see this baby with hair they'd never seen on a newborn before. I graciously welcomed the company to show off my new little bundle of joy, for the most part.

Happy Birthday Ava Diane... you're mommy's sunshine and daddy's princess. We love you!!

Happy December..

Happy December!!! Yes, it's in fact December already. We had a pretty good holiday weekend. Went to my grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a disaster LOL.... It didn't matter what grandma touched, it went to crap. It was so funny and at least we can laugh about it. It started with she used the wrong yeast for the rolls, then she almost burned down the house... yes, the turkey started on fire in the oven (it was salvageable). It just went downhill from there but we did have a good dinner though.

The day after, I went with my sister and her husband on our annual "Black Friday" shopping extravaganza. We always go to American Fork because Walmart, Target and Kohl's are in the same shopping area. We started at Walmart at 3:45 am and there were 3xs as many people there this year as there was in past years. We found what we needed and each of us waited patiently by our items for 5:00am. By about 4:50am, people went completely NUTS and started grabbing their items, some out of other peoples carts! We looked down towards the toys and could see them flying up in the air and people trying to grab them so I grab my two items went to the front of the store and was checked out in record breaking time, 4:54am. I checked out before the sale was even supposed to start! We then made our way over to Kohl's and then onto Target. We did get all of the items that we went for and had a lot of fun shopping. Even though Kyle is not working, I had saved some money special for Christmas.... and let me tell you, we got some great deals! and I only made one "want" purchase.

We put up our tree on Saturday night and I'll be honest with you, I'm not much into the Christmas spirit. I don't know if I'll do much more decorating then the tree and the lights on the house. Last week, I was so excited to put up the tree but now that it's up, it just doesn't seem like it should be up already. Did I maybe put it up too soon??? Who knows! Ava was very excited though. She wanted blue ornaments so blue ornaments it was. She loves the lights. She just looks at them and tells people how beautiful they are. After we put up the tree, me and Ava then went to the town lighting ceremony. They had a bunch of activities for the kids and Mr. & Mrs. Claus were there. However, you couldn't get to them. Ava played some games and we put her name into a toy drawing and guess what? Ava won a toy! There were like 400 kids there and maybe 50 names were drawn and she was one of them. She won a Dora toy and she LOVES Dora. It was fun!

I'm still battling a cold or something like a cold. It's horrible and Kyle has it as well. Ava hasn't gotten it yet and we're just crossing her fingers that she doesn't get it. I think I might suck it up and finally go to the doctor today.

I hope everyone is doing well. I will post again soon. Loves....

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I know the wife bought a turkey but where on earth did she put the bird?

Happy Thanskgiving to everyone. I hope you all have a great day!

Uneventful Weekend....

So we had a very uneventful weekend at my house. Friday I had a bit of a cold so I took some medicine and went to bed WAY early. I told Kyle we were just like an old married couple falling asleep on separate couches LOL! It was pretty funny to see when I woke up a midnight and went to bed. Saturday was also very mellow, just did a little housework and not much else. Yesterday we got the Christmas lights up on the house.... and I am so excited to turn them on! However, Kyle told me I can't turn them on until next weekend SUCK! We did turn them on for Ava for a minute last night and she just looked at them and said "my Christmas lights on my house are so beautiful". It was so cute. We've been talking with her about Christmas and why we have Christmas. She is understanding the gift thing but nothing else but that will come when she gets a little bit older. Grandma Janet asked her yesterday what Santa Claus was going to bring her. She told her pink lips, purple lips, orange lips, more pink lips and a puppy! Ok the "lips" are lipstick but I had no idea that she was throwing in a puppy too. So grandma asks her what kind of puppy she wants since she already has two. She tells her one that can swim with her. Ok so I now realize that she wants the puppy from TV that swims and walks. Thank goodness... the last thing I need right now is another dog!

I am pretty much done Christmas shopping. I'm going on Friday with my sister and can't wait! and yes, I know I'm crazy for going on Black Friday but I LOVE IT! However, I will officially be done shopping on Friday as well. Hope all is well with everyone. Loves.....

Thankful....

I'm going to jump on the "thankful" bandwagon! I don't have any fun pictures to post but I'm going to tell you ten things that I am thankful for right now.

1. My family & friends... especially Kyle and Ava. I would be nothing without them!
2. The dishwasher... when I first moved into my home, there wasn't one and Kyle gave me one for Christmas two years ago. It was the greatest gift ever, it just keeps on giving!
3. My job... I may not like it at times but they are really good to me and it's a very stable job.
4. My dogs... they give us all unconditional love.
5. The roof over my head and food on our table. We might not have steak & lobster for dinner every night... wait who am I kidding we never have lobster, I'm allergic to it! but we always have something good to eat.
6. My 1997 Volkswagen Jetta... even with 200k miles on it, it just keeps on ticking and hopefully will for another year or maybe even two!
7. The Internet... where would we be without it?
8. My blogging friends.
9. Satellite television... the Nogin channel can be my best friend at times!
10. Water... yes, water! Any kind of water especially drinking water and the water in Lake Powell for boating!

Shots!!!

So Ava got her very first flu shot this morning. Mommy tried very hard to prepare her for it before we got to the health department. I'm a firm believer that you should tell your kids before they get one to prepare them. So I tell Ava that she is getting a shot so she doesn't get sick this winter. Ava looks at me and says.... you only get shots when you get sick mommy! I again tell her that his is a different kind of shot. Kyle was supposed to take Ava but I ended up taking her since my car broke down on my way to work... this is two days in a row now that I blew a radiator hose on my way to work. Ava tells me that if she has to get a shot, she's going to wear her pajamas and take her Dora doll. I told her that was fine so off we went. I fill out all of the paperwork and she's telling the lady that she's getting a shot today so she won't get sick. The lady in disbelief asks me why I would ever tell my child they were getting a shot? I then have to explain my logic to her. So the nurse takes us back and I give Ava a sucker. The nurse looks at me and asks me why I would give her a sucker before the shot as the sucker is usually used as a reward for being so brave. I tell her just to give her the shot and she'll see why. Ava sucks on her sucker the entire time and only took it out to say "it's not nice to poke people"! She did great! She didn't even let out a whimper. The nurse then tells me that was the greatest idea she's ever heard or seen... and asks if it's ok to use it on other kids throughout the day!! I kind of laughed when she asked me.

Things at my house are a little bit better this week. We've figured out some things with the insurance companies and needless to say, Kyle's old insurance company is finally paying out on a few claims. There are more bills in collections right now then are being paid but we'll just work through it. I'm pretty frustrated with one though... so it got paid but they won't write off what they call "additional charges". I can't seem to get a straight answer on what these charges are though. I'm currently working on those and hoping for the best. This pretty much sums up my week. My sister and I are going "window" Christmas shopping tomorrow and I am pretty excited for that... probably because we don't have to take our kids! Hope all is well with everyone.... Loves!

"8's" tag....

My sister in law Emmalee tagged me to do this.

8 shows I love to watch... (when I have time)
1. CSI - Las Vegas & Miami
2. The Biggest Looser (this show really motivates me)
3. Without a Trace
4. The Amazing Race
5. Cold Case
6. Two and a half men
7. ??
8. ??
Em... I think we really like a lot of the same shows :)

8 favorite restaurants
1. PF Changs
2. Olive Garden
3. Los Amigo's
4. Mimi's
5. Subway
6. Gandolfo's
7. Cafe Rio
8. Macaroni Grill

8 things that happened yesterday
1. I had the day off of work (Veteran's Day)
2. Went to the grocery store
3. Got in the shower and got ready for the day
4. Did a little homework
5. Went to my sister's house
6. Cleaned out part of my China Hutch... it's a bigger job then what I thought it would be.
7. Did a couple loads of laundry
8. Watched the movie "Juno".... it was really a good movie!

8 things I look forward to....
1. Having "one" more child... after the next one, we are totally done!
2. Being done with school
3. Living my life and experiencing new things with Kyle
4. Having a new car someday
5. Being debt free... lol like that will ever happen!!
6. Watching Ava... she's growing up so fast!
7. Being able to spend more time with my dad... we don't get to see him very often :(
8. Kyle finding a job!

8 things I love about fall
1. The leaves!
2. Thanksgiving dinner... mmm turkey!
3. Fresh baked rolls... I don't do much baking in the summer.
4. Grandma's house cause she always has goodies
5. Making home maid soups
6. Black Friday Shopping!!!!!
7. Spending time with family and friends
8. Hot Chocolate.... with peppermint schnapps (you can't drink the stuff straight).

8 things on my wish list
1. Kyle finding a job!
2. Buying a new car... I want a new one that's never been driven by ANYONE else before!
3. Going back to somewhere warm: Hawaii, Mexico, Grand Cayman's, ANYWHERE!!!!
4. Loosing weight! We've finally figured out what is wrong with me so I can actually start to loose weight now.
5. Taking Ava somewhere fun when she gets a little bit older.
6. Going back to Lake Powell... I can't wait till next summer!
7. Building onto our house... we only have 2 bedrooms and need one more so we can have another child.
8. Being filthy rich or lets just say debt free!!! I'm either going to win the World Series of Poker next year or the Megabucks. I think I have a better chance at the Poker table. I'm a pretty good player!

I'm supposed to tag 8 people now. However, I'm just going to tag anyone who wants to do this fun tag!!!

Well....

I don't think that I'm officially the worlds worst blogger but I sure haven't been a very good one for a couple of weeks. Not much is new with me same crap; different week. Kyle found out last week that the coal mine that was supposed to be hiring 20 people this month wasn't going to hire until April of next year SUCK! I sure hope that something comes up pretty soon, more for his sake then anyone else's. The lovely economy hit home again with my sister getting laid off from her job. She and I have a joke that we are all going to end up bankrupt and living in one house with me taking care of everyone since my job is very stable. Oh and I don't make that much money so that would totally SUCK! I seriously hope that people don't take us serious about that... I know we shouldn't joke around about things like that but we still need to smile once in a while and try to make light of a bad situation. This is actually something that reminds us that things can always be a lot worse. Her husbands shop also isn't doing very well. So we're really hoping that he is not the next to loose his job. Misty has a strong medical background so we think she'll find something very soon. I'm really trying to talk her into going back to school and finishing her RN. Hopefully she'll agree with me on that :)...

So I officially feel old! I went to the liquor store in Ephraim this week and it was the first time I've never been carded when someone is working that doesn't know me! I usually get the look from the sales clerk like are you sure you're that old... not to toot my own horn but I have good genes!! I really don't look as old as I am. You wouldn't know by looking at my mom that she's 50 and my dad's 58. They both look very good for their age too.

We had a lot of fun at our adult Halloween Party. I had a hard time coming up with a costume. I knew I should have kept all of those jelly shoes! I decided to make something. I think it was a cross between Cindy Lauper and Madonna. It actually looked really cute. We found Kyle a flowing mullet (LOL). I really think that he had one of those years ago when I didn't know him yet. This isn't a very good picture but it's the only one that we got.

Hope all is well with everyone I will post again very soon! Loves to all....

Happy Halloween....

Ava and her cousin, Kyden went trick or treating last night and had a blast! They were both so cute... they'd say trick-or-treat and then thank you every time they were given something. Ava's costume originally started as a bumble bee. She thought it was a butterfly and then decided that it was a fairy princess instead. If you asked her what she was, she'd tell you something different every time you asked her. Mommy didn't really want to put the flower on the costume but what princess Ava wanted for Halloween, she got it! My sister and I had so much fun making the girl's costumes this year and it was such a nice night for trick or treating. Mommy and Daddy's adult Halloween party is tonight and I'm still trying to come up with a costume to wear. The theme is "80's prom" however, I'm struggling. I will find something though and post pictures tomorrow. If anyone has any ideas on a fun 80's prom costume, let me know!

We have a diagnosis...

it wasn't a spider or anything like that after all. I have Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, often pronounced "mersa") also known as the "superbug". My sister who's a nurse explained it to me as a strain of Staph infection that is immune to any antibiotic that has a penicillin base. I had a follow up appointment today and the doctor told me that it was a very good thing that I went to the ER when I did. He said that if I had waited even another day, I probably would have been admitted to the hospital. He said that I am taking the right meds and need bi-daily follow up for about a week. They drained the wound and it feels and looks much better now.

Things are still pretty much the same at my house this week (other then the infection). We are just plugging along. I can't wait to post pictures of Ava in her Halloween costume. She is going to be a bumble bee this year. She will be so cute! Hope all is well for everyone. Loves....

Mommy's been bitten by ummm....

SOMETHING... ok so all of the things that I wanted to get done this weekend, none of them got done! We think that I got bit sometime Friday night. Whatever it was that bit me, put me in the ER and on two HEAVY antibiotics for infection. The doctor's aren't even sure exactly what bit me. By the time I finally sucked it up and went to the hospital (I thought I would just take care of it on my own), it was so inflamed, swollen and infected the doctor just had to take a biopsy of it to find to exactly what it was that bit me. So I have to go back to the doctor later to find out what it was. Needless to say, I didn't get any before pictures but my entire eye was swollen shut and black, blue and red in color. We took this picture about 8 hours after I got home from the doctor and it looks great compared to what it looked like before. I'm still pretty swollen and it's getting red again as I type but nothing like early this morning.

ok ok....

So I am WAY overdue for a post. Sorry I haven't posted for a while but a lot has been going on. I've finished two classes in the last week and plan to finish another before the end of the month. If I kick it in drive, I'll be done with school in 10 months. However, I'm going to give myself 18 months just in case ;). Kyle is still looking for a job and I am still arguing with insurance companies. I'm hoping for the best regarding both circumstances. Here are a few pictures that I took this morning. Ava decided that she wanted to "pose" with Gus. My poor puppy... it's a good thing that he's a good dog. I'm also posting a few from the last week as well. It's been so nice here the last few days. I'm not very looking forward to it getting cold. I think tomorrow that I'll take Ava somewhere and take some pictures in the leaves. I'll post them when we get home. Hope all is well. Loves to everyone....

This was taken a couple of weeks ago. I just thought that it was cute!

These pictures are of Ava making "soup" out of a dozen raw eggs. Mommy was just so thrilled when she saw her. We talked about how to make soup and ingredients that are supposed to be used and the fact that you only make soup in the kitchen from now on!

Please help Kaden

My friend Amy at over at Kaden & Angel Ava's blog needs all of our help. Kaden is a finalist in a competition his mommy put him in for sleeping babies. If he wins, he'll win a brand new bedroom set which he desparetly needs. The picture is so sweet. If you pop over to her blog and look at the post on October 15th, you'll find Kaden's picture. I'll tell you a little bit about it. Amy and her family were staying in the Ronald McDonald house while their sweet Angel Ava was fighting for her life. When Ava was born, they wouldn't let Kaden in to see his baby sister because of illness. One night when she and her husband got back to the Ronald McDonald house, they found Kaden asleep with a picture of his sweet baby sister.

So here's how you vote... go to http://www.5minutesformom.com/ Kaden's is picture #18 and it says Kaden & Angel Ava under the picture. You'll need to scroll down a bit on the page to the post dated October 15, 2008 titled Sleeping Angel Photo Contest Finalists.

Please everyone friends, lurkers, anyone... vote for Kaden!!!!

Update

Just a quick update from my last post. I'm still fighting with insurance companies. Kyle's old company won't pay out anything old on Ava until they had a letter from my insurance company stating they "denied" the claim. However, the claims were never denied, they were paid and now my insurance company is requesting the money back... which, the doctor's and hospitals are doing! Right now I'm just going keep on top of things and hope for the best.

Still nothing on the job front for Kyle yet. I'm feeling more hopeful this week then last so again, everyone keep your fingers crossed for us! Loves....

Frustration.....

Ok this post is out of pure frustration... I'm going to talk about somethings that I have never posted before. I'll start with back on May 27th, a day that we will NEVER forget. We went to SLC for Kyle's grandpa's funeral. I actually rode up with Kyle in the company truck because he was going to go to work for a while after the funeral and I was just going to go over and see my dad. Well our day went from funeral, to worse. My dad came and picked me up from the shop and I was going to his house to borrow one of his cars so we could take that to the funeral instead of the company truck. On my way to my dad's house, my mom who had Ava, called and told me that I needed to call the sitter to see if she could take Ava because her little brother, my uncle had passed away that morning. I called the sitter and she graciously took Ava. As soon as I got of the phone with the sitter, Kyle called to tell me that he had just gotten layed off. Could this day get any worse!!!! The part about him getting layed off really upset us for more then one reason. He had talked with his boss the day before about this "meeting" and he reassured Kyle that the meeting didn't affect him in any way shape or form. He could have just been honest with Kyle and told him that layoffs were possible so I could have followed him in my car so we had a ride home. I'm glad that my dad has more then one car/truck so we could use one of his to get home.

Ok, now to why I'm frustrated today and it has to do with Kyle's old job. When I added Kyle to my medical insurance back in August, I got a letter in the mail that they had "deemed" that Kyle's insurance was Ava's primary insurer and my was secondary... me totally confused calls the insurance company because he doesn't even have this insurance anyone. She tells me that insurance law states that since Kyle's birthday is in March and mine is in April his comes first therefore his would be the primary on Ava. Ok... I'm still trying to understand this... so we call his OLD insurance company and they tell us NO, they've paid as the secondary on the old claims for Ava and they tell me that they are the secondary... so I call my insurance company back AGAIN and the rude... I mean very nice lady on the phone gives me the exact same story so I ask her if she can call the other insurance company so we can get this settled. Guess what she tells me??? She can't make any outgoing calls that I am going to need to take care of this problem myself. I tell her that how can we resolve an issue like this if we can't talk to the other company, she now puts me on hold. So I'm now on hold for 48 minutes waiting for someone to get back with me. A supervisor at least he claimed to be a supervisor gets on the phone with me and tells me that he'll call the other insurance company. About 4 hours later I get a call stating that the problem has been resolved. Kyle's insurance company had his birth date wrong on their system and they've acknowledged the mistake.....

Now here's where it gets fun. I get a call yesterday morning from good ole Bonneville Collections. If you're from Utah, you know who I'm talking about! A very very ignorant bitch -- sorry, that's the nicest word I can call her right now... calls and demands that I give her $100.00 today. I am really at a disbelief right now because I honestly have no idea what she's talking about. After I get her to quit talking for a minute, I ask her what in the world she's calling about. She tells me, you already know why I'm calling and me eating a cracker which is now lodged in the back of my throat tells her again, I really don't know. Well she finally tells me that I owe them like $1800.00 in medical bills which, I've never paid. I proceed to tell her that is just not possible, I am insured and she must be calling the wrong person. Again, she starts basically calling me a low life and telling me that I'm just trying to get out of my financial obligation. I now have a complete come apart and told her not to call my f-ing house again and make demands. She then tells me that I can't talk to her like that. I then proceeded to tell her that if she'd call and use some "customer service" instead of a demanding attitude, I might be more willing to listed to what she has to say! She again started to yell at me so I just hung up at that point. Ok... they called my house 36 times yesterday.... and I am NOT over exaggerating about that!

So I go to my mail and what do I find... a hole bunch of bills demanding payment in full right now! I call Kyle's insurance company and they tell me that they paid on the claims as the secondary therefore, they're not responsible for any additional payment since its been more then 45 days since the services were rendered. I am getting bills that go back to 2006 that I thought were paid long ago. My insurance company is now demanding a "refund" from any medical payment they paid out on Ava since April 2006. That means that there's still more bills to come that I don't even know about yet!

I'm really ready to just throw in the towel today! Kyle had an interview at one of the local Coal Mines last Monday and said it was one of the best interviews he'd ever had. They told him that they would let him know yesterday either way about the job. We never heard from them so we're just assuming that he didn't get the job. It's more frustrating for Kyle then anyone else. He's sent out over 100 resumes and not one offer... he keeps getting told that he has "too" much experience and they can't pay him for that experience. Even though he knows how much the jobs pay when he has applied. For now, he'll just keep on looking and hope for the best. No wonders I can't loose any weight.. my stress level on 1-10 scale is at a 15 right now and I'm only averaging like 4 hours or sleep a night. However, things could be a lot worse though. We could be loosing our home like a lot of other people, or we could be without any medical insurance at all.... and we're all healthy and happy! and come tomorrow, I'll probably feel like an idiot for even posting this and delete it!

On a lighter note..... my sister is coming down to watch the SNL presidential "spoof" from Thursday night with me. We've decided that every time the actor that plays Senator McCain says "my friends", we're going to take a shot of crown and make a fun drinking game out of it! LOL we probably won't do that because it's only like 2:00 in the afternoon but it still sounds like fun. Maybe we should wait and watch it tonight instead!!!!

Mascara anyone!!!!

Sorry for the lack of picture posts lately but I've been having problems with my computer. Friday's offically start mommy's weekend (yes, I like the 4 10's). On Friday's, I usually try to get the house cleaned and laundry done so I don't have to do it the rest of the weekend. Today I was in rotating laundry when I thought to myself "it sure is quiet". Anyone who has a 2 year old knows when it's quiet, it can be a bad thing unless you know they're sleeping. So I walk back towards Ava's bedroom and can hear her just giggling. When I went in, this is what I found..... She had found mommy's makeup bag and was making herself "pretty". I tried so hard to be mad at her because we all know how expensive makeup is but I couldn't bring myself to get mad so I grabbed the camera instead! She looked at me and said "mommy I'm so beautiful, I'm as pretty as a princess"! Of course mommy reminded her that she was much prettier then any other princess!





Then after I got done giggling with her, it was off to the bath tub she went!

Lagoon

A couple of weeks ago we took a family trip with Ava's grandpa Kent to Lagoon. However, mommy didn't realize that the batteries in the camer were dead so we didn't get very many pictures. Here are a few we got though.

Isn't Ava's "leash" so cute!

Riding with aunt Misty

Ladybug ride with aunt Misty.

Biggest girl, she knows how to have fun on a ride!

Another fun tag....

I'll be honest, this one is going to be a little hard for me. I got this tag from my blogging friends Kaci at my three sons and Amy at Kaden & Angel Ava. Here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and email these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Facts about myself:

1. I never touch ANYTHING when I leave ANY bathroom. I always open the door with a paper towel!
2. I play Texas Holdem every Wednesday night with a group of friends. This is my weekly therapy.
3. I LOVE to blog! It's so much fun... I've met some amazing people that I now consider friends!
4. I am an Amazing Race junkie... I never miss an episode! Someday I will go on that show!
5. I have a very close family and talk to my mom and sister everyday!
6. I am petrified of ANY bird... big or small, I am full on petrified!
7. I have two tattoo's, a butterfly on my foot and daisy on my lower back.

Okay, I know that it says that I am supposed to tag 7 of you. However, I am just going to tag anyone on my buddy list who hasn't done this fun tag yet!

Tag

I got this off of the Harwood Family blog and thought it sounded like fun!

I am... a wife, mother, full time employee and full time student.
I want... to have another child (maybe someday) oh... a little extra money would be nice too :)
I wish... Kyle could find a job. He had an interview today so cross your fingers for us everyone!
I hear... Ava's voice even when she's not around.
I search... for ways to simplify our lives.
I wonder... why people abuse their children (I work for DCFS).
I always... put my family before myself.
I usually... eat chicken at least once a day. It might be for dinner or it might be for lunch but it's a daily thing!
I am not... excited for winter. I don't want it to get cold!
I dance... when Ava and I hear music. She's a pretty good dancing partner!
I sing... in the car where no one but Ava can hear me :)
I never... drink coffee.
I rarely... spend money (we don't have any right now to spend... LOL)!
I cry... when I am sad or frustrated.
I am not always... as happy as I seem.
I lose... "stuff" you name it, I loose it! keys, purse, lipstick etc.
I'm confused... by how smart Ava really is. I had no idea that a 2 1/2 year old could be so smart!
I need... to be more confident in myself.
I should... go back to work but think I'll take off the afternoon.
I dream... of life long happiness.
I TAG... anyone on my buddy list who wants to share a little about themselves.

Picture Tag!

PICTURE Tag! My cute friend Katrina tagged me and so I guess it's my turn to do this. Here's what you have to do. Go to your pictures file, pick the 4th file, and the 4th picture. Post the picture and tag more people. So here is my picture. It was actually a lot of fun to do this because I started looking at all of my pictures when Ava was just a baby. Ava was about 4 months old in this picture, isn't she cute! I can't believe how fast she's grown up!

Now it's my turn to tag 4 more people.
Kaci @ my three sons
Amy @ Kaden & Angel Ava
Sheila @ Porter Family
Mandy @ Cosper Family

Blogging Award!!!

This is my very first blogging award!!! It is my honor to accept this from Kaci at mythreesons. Kaci was one of my first blogging buddies that I didn't actually already know yet. She's a very strong person and has three very cute boys and all of their names start with the letter "C". If you haven't been by Kaci's blog, please stop by and visit any time www.mythreesons9506@blogspot.com Thank you Kaci for this award!

Here are the rules for this award
1. The winner should put the logo on their blog
2.The winner must link the person who gave them the award
3.The winner must nominate 7 other of their favorite blogs
4.The winner must post a link to these blogs on their own blogs
5.The winner must leave a message on the winners blogs
My nominations are:

Mandy
Jen
Katrina
Andrea
Jessica
Carmen
Mary

There are more that I enjoy following so this decision was pretty hard to come up with only 7!

Wedding Pictures!!!

Finally some wedding pictures... Enjoy!

My two best girls... my sister Misty & Shanan

My mom & Stanton

My dad & Jolynne

Kyle's parents

My grandparents

Let it rain!




Adam, Aaron, Kyle, Aimee, Misty & Shanan


My dad

My step-dad

Save the best for last... Isn't she beautiful!!