Sleep Study

After much wait, she finally had her sleep study last night. Nice thing about it was that it didn't take place in the hospital, they did it at the Marriott. She was comfortable and relaxed. What more could you ask for as a parent?! Doctor tried calling with the results today, but I missed the call because I was busy with work. Hope to hear from him tomorrow.

Wedding Update

I have discovered Pinterest!! What can I say...I'm addicted!! So many wonderful ideas on there. I have done a lot of planning and it is all becoming a realization. Monday my mom and I went up to Troutdale and met with the florist and photographer with my good friend Heather, who is amazing to say the least. As soon as I realized that I had to plan everything, I almost freaked out because I have never ever planned a wedding!! Mind you, I was the maid of honor at one wedding, however I missed the whole thing because I was in the hospital with Emily after I gave birth to her! Heather used to be a wedding planner and is my life saver at this moment! Things I have decided on: The location: The Troutdale House. Amazing to say the very least! The Date: September 15th, 2013 The Wedding Party: My maid of honor is my very best friend Alicia. Bridesmaids will be my friends Jennifer, Tiffany and Heather. And of course Fiona and Emily will be my flower girls!! Flowers: Sunflowers (been my favorite flower since I was 10!) Colors: Pale yellow and Sage I am so excited! I have not even looked into wedding dresses because I would like to lose some weight, ok...a lot of weight. I know realistically I won't lose a whole lot, but any weight I can lose, I will be thrilled with. The dieting has already begun and have already gotten comments on weight loss. Success to me! May I figure I will start looking at dresses. On Wednesday next week I am taking the girls and we are going to Portland to do some cake testing. What 7 and 9 year wouldn't love to skip school for the day to taste cake?! Plus...we will already have to be up there any ways for Emily's appointment. Oh, which leads me to Emily's appointment! I FINALLY got a call from Dorenbecher...she has her consult next Wednesday and the sleep study on March 10th (is that a Monday?!) Whatever that Monday is! I am so happy. Finally, we are getting somewhere. Emily is scared to pieces, but she is not a fan of doctors. She hates hospitals even more. I do believe she hates hospitals now because she associates them all with her papa's death. Poor kid. That is what is new with me. I promise, I will post pictures soon! Lot's of fun stuff going on!

ENGAGED!!!

Just a quick update...Greg proposed! We are planning on getting married in September after we get through the summer rush with both of our jobs. Yes, sadly we plan everything around work! His mom wanted me to have her ring, which is the ring that he proposed with. He is making payments on another ring, which I have no clue as to what it looks like. His mom's ring is yellow gold and is stunning. I am not a big fan of yellow gold, and he knows that. Which is why he is getting another ring. I do plan on wearing his mom's ring on my right hand just because of the thought behind it. The kids are all excited, especially Emily. She is so excited to finally have a dad. She loves Greg to pieces. The other three kids are excited as well and are already planning their roles in the wedding. (I think the girls are the most excited!) Emily refers to Quinn as the "ring boy!" We know we want to do it in the Portland area because the weather is more dependable and I would love nothing more than an outdoor wedding. Plus it is centrally located for all of his family who are coming from Spokane, Seattle and Kentucky! We looked at the Troutdale House yesterday and I fell in love! Now to sit down and budget everything...AAGGHH!! But I am sure it will all come together. Haven't figured out to many details yet...I know my flowers will be a sunflower arrangement, since those are my favorite flowers! And I know my maid of honor will be my best friend Alicia! She has been there for me for so many years...love her to pieces! After everything I have been through the past couple of years, I never thought that I would see this day nor meet a guy like Greg. They say you meet the one when you least expect it...boy isn't that the truth! I love him for all that he does for me, but I am most grateful for being Emily's dad. She loves him so much and can't wait to call him dad. She said she can't call him dad until we are married!! I love the thought process of a 6 year old..well, now 7. As worried as I was with her adapting to not getting all of my attention and having to share the attention with 3 other kids, she has transitioned quite well. She loves having siblings. In other news: we are still trying to get through to the hospital in Portland. Emily had her at home sleep study and it showed her decrease in O2 at night. But, they need to do a sleep study at the hospital in Portland. Why is she having issues and why are we having to go through all of this? Because her tonsils are HUGE and they won't take them out unless there is a health issue. Ummm...HELLO...My child quits breathing at night!! This has been an ongoing battle for months and is growing old. Just take out the dang tonsils already! Emily is excelling in school this year. She has finally picked up on reading and is doing wonderfully in math. The state changed the requirements for schools this year and are on a accelerated learning curriculum. Been a rough start for Emily, but she is catching up. Pictures of random happenings to follow soon...I hope!!

Halloween

Let me tell ya...having 3 children who have never carved pumpkins before all by myself became a "we'll start them, but mommy gets to finish them" project! They were all excited to carve pumpkins, until I took the top off and the realized that they have to clean them out! Good times! Luckily, Halloween I got the night off and was able to go out with the kids. We went to the outlet mall and then the elementary school where they set up a huge thing for the kids. It was so much fun. We also hit up one of the main streets in town and there was a police officer there that pulled over and was handing out glow sticks to all of the kids. It was such a neat idea.

Seattle

We went to this amazing Korean Grill with Greg's brother and sister-in-law. I can't wait to go back. There was so much food and it was a fun dining experience.

Of course we had to go to Pike Street Market and the Space Needle. We even went up top and got to see the fabulous view. Wish we would have went back and night to look at the city at night.

And of course...the game...the whole purpose of going to Seattle! We were in the nose bleed section, but still had a great time at the most controversial game in history!

First Day of 1st Grade!

Ok, ok...I know it's a little late, but hey...it's been slightly busy! Emily is loving 1st grade and her new school. Last year she attended Oceanlake Elementary in Lincoln City. We moved to Neskowin, which is only 10 miles north of Lincoln City, but puts us in a different district. Greg and I decided it was best to just let her finish out the year at Oceanlake before transferring her to the new school with his kids. She was very shy the first couple of weeks, but has since adapted well. Just went to her parent-teacher conference last Thursday and she is learning quickly and doing quite well. Only issue...she talks too much! I wonder where she gets that from?! The only issue as I parent that I am having is that the state has made some changes to education and now have all of the schools on an accelerated learning program. GREAT...if your child is just now starting in kindergarten! However, everyone is S.O.L! Not only are the students having a hard time learning, but the teachers are having a hard time adjusting the curriculum to the students level of understanding so that they can learn. For instance: 1st grade...just grasping the whole reading thing. Putting sounds together to form big words...last weeks C.I.M. assignment for them was to read a 2 page story and then answer multiple questions about the story. HELLO...they are just grasping the idea of sounds to make big words and you want them to read a story and then answer questions like, "how did the mother really feel about the birthday cake?" I am at a loss of words for the whole education system. All in all, I am thrilled with the school and love her teacher. They really are there for the students and not just the paycheck. What more can you ask for?!

Life Lessons

I feel the need to capture this moment, so bare with me: Life has been chaotic to say the very least this year. Between moving into our new home, going from just 2 of us to 6, opening a business, starting a new job, balancing schedules and trying to maintain some sense of normalcy...I feel like life has been wrapped up in work. And as much as I feel as I have lived at all 3 of my jobs this summer and spent very little time at home or with our children, I feel like there is this constant financial strain and we can never get ahead. Something always seems to come up and I feel myself drowning. OK, maybe you feel like I am overreacting, and maybe I am. But as much as we have worked and are still working, I feel as though we should be far more ahead than where we are. As I am venting to a coworker who is sensing my stress, she conveys the same problems she is personally having. We wallow in each others pity for a few moments and we move on. The very next evening as we are at work, and homeless woman walks into the lobby. Mind you, we work a very upscale boutique hotel right on the ocean. As most people would be mortified that this woman is coming into our hotel, my heart just sinks for her. It made me feel about an inch tall. Here is this woman who has no home, no food, no car...etc and I am sitting here frustrated because I can't get ahead with bills. This woman is in our lobby asking to use a phone to call a friend to see if she could come over for her weekly a shower. A shower...not food, not clothes...but a shower. I so desperately wanted to let this woman into one of our rooms and use the shower. She gets in contact with her friend and is denied the use of the shower until the following day. She hands back the phone with a look of disappoint and frustration. She thanks us for being so polite and walks away. It took all I had to hold back tears. This poor woman couldn't even get a simple shower. Here I am wallowing in self pity over stupid things when I should be appreciating what I have. Nope, some months a few bills will be late, but they will be paid. I have an amazing home, heat, water, food, a car and a great family. Some people have nothing. I'm not saying that I won't get upset or stressed out over money, because it is inevitable. But I will take more time to appreciate the simple luxuries that I am blessed to have.