Thankful Thursday

Shay did an A-Z Thankful Thursday last week and told me to give it a try. I am sure it looks easier than it is. I have a lot to be thankful for so this should be a lot of fun! Stay warm today!

THANKFUL THURSDAY A-Z

A. Apples- They are now part of my daily diet while I am on weight watchers.

B. Bear Hugs- Carter gives me one every morning to help start our day off right.

C. Chantix- This is the medicine that made it possible for me to quit smoking! On DAY 8!

D. Durango- I don't know what I would do without our vehicle that seats eight.

E. Energy- I sometimes need more of this but have had a lot this past week to keep up with life.

F. Family- Without family, I don't know what I would do. They are so important to me!

G. Girls Night Out- We ALL NEED THESE once in awhile!

H. Hair Ties- I could not live without these! It's a big necessity in our house.

I. Inspiration- Being inspired by something or someone really makes a difference to me.

J. Josh- I love the life we have traveled together the past 13 years. He is my best friend!

K. Kids- My kids are my world! You can never receive too much reward from them.

L. Love- We all know we can't live without it.

M. Mom- My mother is one of the greatest people you will ever meet.

N. Nibs- These are one of my favorite candies...Haven't ate them though since I started WW.

O. Opinions- It never hurts for me to receive these from friends and family.

P. Puzzles- Our family LOVES to put puzzles together. Just finished one yesterday actually.

Q. Quietness- It is nice for me to have some peace & quiet at night from my loud, hectic days.

R. Reliv- My powder in a can has made a HUGE difference in my back and Kylah's life.

S. Sirius Radio- We listen to this at home, in the vehicle, cleaning, basically all the time.

T. Taco John's- Love their food! Can you tell I am hungry!??

U. Umbrellas- The kids love to dance in the rain with them the 3 times a year in rains here.

V. Vacations- These little breaks in the year help to keep me motivated.

W. Watermelon- This is my absolute favorite fruit ever! I can just taste it now-lol!

X. Xylophone- The kids have spent many hours occupied by this toy instrument we have.

Y. Youth- My childrens' youth is wonderful to watch.

Z. Zoos- I LOVE animals and would go to the zoo weekly if I lived closer to one.

These are what I found that I am thankful for. I thought of many others but didn't want to keep you here an hour reading all of them. Hope you have a great day!

Pictures

Chair-it is the same color as the couch but you can't tell in these pics. Light changes their color throughout the day.

This couch is a lot taller than our old one.

Couch (not sure why light spots showed up)

Carter HAD to be in one of these pictures.


Many of you requested that I post pictures of the new furniture we FINALLY got. So here they are!

New Furniture Here

Josh, Carter, and Josh's mom went to Scottsbluff today to pick up our new couch and recliner. My back has been sore so I didn't want to make the car ride if I didn't have to. I stayed home and got the house cleaned so the new furniture could be brought right in.

After Josh and his mom got the furniture into the house, they took our old furniture to the dump. Then later this evening, Josh had a guy come over and help move our entertainment center around and rearranged things to my liking. I have to admit, it looks kind of bare in our living room now. We gave the guy who helped us our computer desk that was in the living room so I think that is why it looks so sparse. This way there is more room for the kids to play. =)

I had a good day of cleaning a bit, relaxing with Kaitlin and one of her friends while we worked on a puzzle, and listened to some music with Kylah. I got caught up on a some laundry and other than that, took it pretty easy. I just wish I had one more day to this weekend as it went by so fast. Have a great Monday!

Top Five Things I Am Thankful For This Week

1. No sickness in our household.

2. The good roads for Josh to travel to work.

3. Sticking with my weight watchers 100%.

4. Smoking less and less each day.

5. The fun ice cream trip we took last night for a bedtime snack.

Hope you are all having a great week! Mine started off bad and is getting better. We are going to get our new furniture on Sunday. I am going to remove our old furniture and everything in our living room and completely shampoo our carpet really good before our new furniture gets here. Have a great day everyone!

Furniture!!!

Today the kids went with Josh and I to Scottsbluff. The weather was great when we woke up so we headed there to spend a few hours. We went to the mall to the furniture store. We found a couch and recliner we liked. We didn't know if they would even be open since it was Sunday so we didn't take a pick-up down with us. Well we found the furniture and bought it. We have 30 days to pick it up. We are planning on going to get it next Sunday. I was so excited we found some we liked at a great price!

We ate Chinese for lunch and then took the kids to the arcade in the mall. I counted 19 machines that were 'Out of Order' and I think 17 that were working. The kids had fun for the half hour we spent in there. We of course did a Walmart stop when we first got to town and the kids picked out a toy for Valentine's Day.

We had a great time and even got home early. We did a quick-clean of the house. That is when everyone has a couple things to do and we get it done fast so we have the evening for fun. My jobs were more time-consuming. I was lucky enough to vacuum, sweep, and mop the floors.

Now Kaitlin is building her new puzzle she got, Carter is playing a game, and Kylah is coloring. I am now off to help Josh with supper. We are having Fajitas. Yum!

Still Hunting

This morning Josh and I headed south towards Scottsbluff or Alliance to go furniture shopping. We didn't even get five miles out of town and the snow was covering the highway so we turned around and came home. I went out coyote hunting with him and our two dogs for awhile. We didn't see any coyotes but we did let the dogs run around in the snow through the fields to get some exercise. They are both over weight so we knew it would do them some good to run around.

About 10am we headed to Chadron and went to Angela's to eat lunch for Valentine's Day. Then we went to Bruce Hill to look at their selection of furniture. I didn't see anything that I really, really liked, so we then went to Sears to see what they had. I thought they sold furniture but only mattresses and appliances...bummer!!!

We then went and got our kids from their Grandma Dana's and came home. I must have been really tired because I took a 3 hour nap. It was so nice except for when I woke up it was dark and nearly suppertime. It kind of threw me out of routine. We are hoping the stores in Scottsbluff are open tomorrow and may go there to take a look. If not, I guess it will be another weekend. That is okay too. I got my hopes up for new furniture this weekend, so of course in my mind I think I have to have it NOW. Oh well, I would rather wait and spend the money on something I like a lot than just settling with a quick choice.

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it is a special one for you.

Friday Night Movie Trip

Earlier this week Josh, his mom, and I decided to take the kids to the movies tonight. We hadn't went since Christmas and thought they would enjoy Hotel For Dogs. Well..............that movie ended Thursday night so we had only a couple of choices for the kids. We decided to go see Coraline. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE!!!!!!!

The movie was 3D so we thought the kids would really like it. If I had to sum that movie up into one word, my choice would be STRANGE. It had some scarier parts for Kylah and Carter and didn't make a whole lot of sense. I wish I had seen the previews before we decided to watch it. It is a movie that we will never own.

The kids stayed at Dana's so we are going to get up in the morning and head out to go furniture shopping. I would love to get a new couch and two new recliners but we aren't too sure yet. For sure, I want a couch right away. Ours is totally worn out and ready to retire to the dump.

The roads were great tonight so hopefully they stay that way tomorrow through the snow we are supposed to get. Have a great weekend and a special ♥Valentine's Day!♥

Eye Madness

I have been having trouble with my left eye since Sunday. I woke up to it watering profusely and I couldn't get it to stop. After a shower and making sure there was nothing in it, I felt better. By Sunday evening it was back to the waterfall of tears on my cheek. I couldn't read, watch television, or handle the lights being on in the house.

Yesterday I made a doctor's appointment and went to see what was wrong. The doctor flushed it out and said there was a tiny piece of hair in there. I was prescribed some eye drops and came home.

I woke up this morning feeling the same way as before so I made an appointment with the eye doctor in Chadron. Thank goodness Shay could drive me over because I couldn't handle the sunlight at all. I think I talked to Shay 90% of the way with my hand over my eye. I know I looked ridiculous but there was nothing I could do to keep the tears from pouring. Lol... I was very fortunate to have Chip and Alisha come over and watch the daycare kids for me while I had my appointment. THANK YOU!!

When I arrived at the eye doctor, he stained my eye and began looking for the problem. He first flipped my eye lid up since that is where I felt the most pain, itch, scratch, or basically the BOULDER I felt was in there. OUCH! Then he looked at my eye through a lense with different colors of light. Shortly after, he told me the problem.

He said I have (I can't remember the first word-I was busy wiping more tears away)- Cornea Erosion. He prescribed me some eye drops with steroids to help coat my eye and ease the pain. He asked me if I slept on my left side and didn't use a humidifer in my bedroom. I told him he was right to both answers. He said occasionally if your eye dries out during sleep and then REM sets in, the rapid eye movement will cause a dry patch of the eye to get irritated. I am not sure if this is what happened but think it's a big possiblity. Whatever happened, I am glad I went to see him.

I have to tell you, those drops are amazing! I take one drop every three hours. They are working rather well. It is so nice to be able to look at my computer screen without the tears and blindness.

Thanks again Shay, Alisha, and Chip for helping me out!

Thankful Thursday

Here it is Thursday again so I thought I would list a quick 5 things I am thanful for this past week.

1. The nice weather today to have good roads to take Kaitlin to Alliance for an orthodontist appt.
2. Our taxes to be done and sent in. (THANKS IRENE!)
3. The health of my family & daycare children. -We all know this is a bad time of year for illness.
4. Josh still having employment with BNSF. (I feel for the families laid off at the moment.)
5. The school for some things going on that they are completely helping me out with.


I have the windows opened today for the kids to enjoy some fresh air. My backyard still has snow melting and mud is everywhere, but they still need some outside weather. I vacummed and the kids and I went through the toys and then rearranged the toy boxes and table. They always think it is fun to do that sort of thing. I am tackling laundry, which I do on a daily basis. Soon we will be laying out our "picnic" blanket in the living room and having a picnic lunch. During the summers, we grill and eat outside a lot. During the winters I try and make up for the cold weather so we try and have picnic lunches inside a couple times a month. We won't be grilling but that will be okay.

I am taking Kaitlin to the orthodontist in Alliance today for a check up. She hasn't had her braces for nearly two years. They wanted more of her teeth to fall out before we had her go back to the office. Her teeth have stayed pretty straight so I am hoping things will be okay. I will see what they say and go from there.

Josh is busy at work still on the day shift. I like it that way but know it will change soon. Suppertime is a big thing I will miss. Josh and I are very strong on the fact that we eat as a family at the kitchen table at least 4-5 times a week, if not more. This is the time we learn the most of what our kids are doing in school and any concerns that may come up, or just fun talk too.

Kaitlin is getting the "itch" already for softball season to get here. That is still nearly 4 months away but she is eager for it to start. She enjoys her bowling on Tuesdays after school but it will be ending next month sometime. Last week she bowled a 150! We were very proud of her!

Kylah and Carter can't wait for this weekend. We have a family birthday party with their cousin at Gramps's and Grandma Mary's. It will be so much fun! Hope all is well with everyone and you are enjoying this nice weather.

TAG! YOU ARE IT!

Rules: It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag 3 people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real. . .nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question. Have Fun!!

I tag: ♥Shay, ♥Shauna, ♥Sara

1. What is your name: JODY
2. A four Letter Word: JUMP
3. A boy's Name: JACK
4. A girl's Name: JANETTE
5. An occupation: JUGGLER
6. A color: JUNIPER
7. Something you wear: JERSEY
8. A food: JERKY
9. Something found in the bathroom: JOCK ITCH CREAM (tee hee)
10. A place: JUNK YARD
11. A reason for being late: JUST WOKE UP
12. Something you shout: JOSH, PHONE!
13. A movie title: JUST MARRIED
14. Something you drink: JUICE
15. A musical group: JOAN JETTE AND THE BLACK HEARTS
16. An animal: JACK RABBIT
17. A street name: JONES DRIVE
18. A type of car: JETTA
19. A song title: JOY TO THE WORLD
20. A verb: JOG

It's Super Bowl Sunday!

Hurray- It's Super Bowl Sunday! I am a big fan of watching pro football so I make sure to watch the Super Bowl every year. Today we are having Josh's Dad, Mary, and Grandma Susie over for the game. Susie is a big football fan so it should be lots of fun! We are going to have that wonderful soup Phae made for us girls a week or so ago and some side foods and of course some chips and dip.

I planned on cleaning the house yesterday to prepare for today but a nap sounded so much better, so that is just what Carter and I did- take a long nap.

So today, I am cleaning and getting the food prepared. Hope your team wins if you have a special one you are rooting for. I am however going for the Cardinals! (Sorry Kortney) Have a great day everyone!

Hamburger Night

Thursday nights is Hamburger Night at the Eagles Club here in town so we went down there for supper. We got off to a later start than normal. When Josh, his dad Nick, his Grandma Susie, the three kids and I walked in, the place was packed full of people. We had to add another table and chairs for us to have a spot to eat. When we usually go down, it isn't packed but has a steady group of people enjoying their evening out. Well, all of us must have showed up at once. The cook was frantically tearing around the kitchen to get all the orders done and out to us. We waited an hour and a half before we got our food. One of the waitresses asked in a joking manner if we were disgusted yet. I replied with a smile and said, "not yet." It was a nice evening of us talking upon one another and the kids sat quietly for the most part drinking their Shirley Temples and playing with the mini swords that came in their drinks.

Carter decided tonight that he wanted to "UP" his ketchup sandwich to a hamburger bun with not only ketchup, but a bunch of mustard as well. He loved it and was excited that his sandwich was no longer only red, but red and yellow. I guess small things please kids. Overall, we had a great time and we came home with full bellies in time to get ready for bed.

Tomorrow is Friday and I am excited for the weekend! The kids have been so busy and wild ever since this snow dumped on us a week ago. I am ready for a calm day to hopefully relax for awhile.

Too Funny!

I had to post this picture of Carter. He put on this Cat in the Hat costume tonight and was running around the house having fun. I had noticed the noise volume in the house had dropped but didn't realize why. Then Josh came into the living room and found Carter crashed on the floor still wearing this costume. Too cute! I had to share it with you all!

Still Snowing

It has been snowing here for a couple days now. We have close to a foot of snow on the ground and the kids are loving it! Today we had a scheduled power outage in town so we headed out to Gramps and Grandma Mary's house. The kids and Josh went sledding and tubing. I stayed inside and watched through the windows. Josh pulled them all on the four wheeler. Kylah went first and had the luck of fresh snow in the field so she was showered from head to toe in seconds on her first trip around. Then it was Carter's turn and Josh had to go slower since he doesn't weigh much and the tube slid too easily. Then Kaitlin had her turn and had a ton of fun. Afterwards, all three kids came inside to warm up a bit and then they had warm baths. The plan after they warmed up was to have hot chocolate. Instead, they thought root beer floats sounded better...(Not sure why as they were all FREEZING for awhile.)

We had a great day of relaxing. Gramps and Josh took Carter out to feed cows later in the day before we came home. It was a great time for all of us.

Friday Night Fun

Last night Phae held a candle party at her house. A bunch of us ladies got together and had a great time. Phae made the best Mexican Soup I have ever tasted and an awesome home-made chocolate cake with wonderful frosting for dessert. Thanks Phae! I am sure you will be getting a lot of phone calls for that recipe, with me being one of them....;) It was nice to get out with the ladies and enjoy ourselves. Thanks for the fun and great laughs everyone!

Josh worked today, Kaitlin went to a birthday party until tomorrow, and my other two kids are at Gramps and Grandma's for the night. I didn't know what to do with myself being home all alone. I did the dishes, washed a ton of blankets and then thought to myself...DO SOMETHING YOU ENJOY INSTEAD OF HOUSEWORK! So I read my book, took a nap, went and got a soda to drink, and watche t.v. without any interruptions. It was so nice and relaxing.

I was hoping to go to Chadron to the movies tonight but the snow is falling steadily so I think we will stay home and watch our Netflix movie...Hmmm...maybe Josh will take me out for supper. Now that sounds like a good idea! He just walked in the door so I am going to see what he wants to do.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and stay warm!

My Thankful Thursday List of Five

♥ Deb's surgery going well for her.

♥ The beautiful weather we have had this week.

♥ Josh not being laid off from his job yet.

♥ Great talks with our kids during meal times.

♥ Having our bathroom finally painted and finished.

Today has been quite a day of playing outside for the kids. Since the weather has been so nice, we have been taking advantage of being outside as much as possible. It seems so strange that the past three days we have been outside with light jackets or without coats and tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 25 degrees! How fair or should I say, unfair IS THAT!?!

I do need to remember it is January and this sort of thing happens quite frequently. Afterall, we did have a blizzard last May and school was cancelled and by the next evening the snow had melted.

The boys drove their trucks in every possible place that dirt appeared in the backyard today and the girls played on the swingset, sang songs at the top of their lungs, played hide and go seek, and managed to get in a couple games of tag before lunch. We had to smack boots and shoes together off the deck afterwards because there is still some mud in various places. I think they all had a lot of fun though!

Happy Birthday Chaney!

Happy Birthday Chaney! Today is one of my daycare girl's birthday. Since school is getting out at 1pm today, I wanted to make some birthday treats for snacktime for Chaney to enjoy with the kids here. Carter and I made them this morning and then he helped me decorate them. We decided to bake Icecream Cone Cupcakes. They are one of the kids' favorite snacks and we only have them for a birthday or holiday. It has been awhile since we've had them so Chaney was excited to find out this morning what her treats would be later on today.

What a Beautiful Day!

It is so nice out today-FINALLY! I took the kids out this morning to let them burn up some energy and I went to work getting the yard cleaned up. The kids played for nearly two hours before they were ready to come inside. I have all my windows open and am enjoying the fresh air.

I was looking through some pictures I had on my computer and wanted to add these two of my kids with their cousin Brooklynn. This was about a month ago. They are settling in to enjoy the Oreo Shakes that Josh had made for them. Oreo Shakes are a big hit in our house. We probably have them way too often, but everyone loves them so much.

Have a great day! Get out and enjoy the weather if you can. It gave me more momentum to finish painting my bathroom. I have all the green painted, now just the white left and a little bit of the trim.

Windy Days

Dang that wind is horrible today! I drove over to Chadron to get some paint supplies we need to get our bathroom painted. On the way over it was so windy. On my drive back home it was really bad! I have not seen that many tumble weeds flying so high in the air, the fields full of dirt whirling around, and the semi-trucks driving with the front ends near the yellow line and the trailers almost in the ditch in a long time. I even saw two motorcylers riding their bikes with the bikes tipped halfway on their sides from the strong winds.

I wanted to get some stuff done outside today but when I woke up and heard that darn wind howling again, I knew I had to change my plans. I decided we needed to get the bathroom painted. We primed the walls and the trim on the windows and then I lost all ambition to continue. I guess I will finish it during the evenings this week or next Saturday. For some reason, when the wind blows, I feel tired and want to be lazy. SOOOO....that is just what I am going to be this afternoon...lazy.

Have a great afternoon, and Deb, we will be thinking of you during your surgery and sending prayers your way. Good luck!

Our Saturday Night

This afternoon I drove myself and the three kids to Hemingford to visit our friends. We stayed for about 45 minutes and then I went to leave to head to Alliance to meet Josh for our supper at the Legion Club. I was shocked when Carter told me he wanted to come along and not stay with his sisters. Carter and I went to Alliance and met Josh to eat supper. We sat with a friend of his thru work along with his family and had a great meal. They served steak, baked potatoes, salad, green beans, and corn. It was a very tasty meal! Carter had a hamburger and salad. We put our names into a few drawings being held over the evening. Josh won a Varsity Jacket and I won $20 in chamber bucks. We left before my name was drawn so we could get back to Hemingford to visit with our friends some more. We don't see them nearly as often as we would like to.

When it was time to leave, Kylah gave us her "puppy" eyes and asked if she could spend the night since Kaitlin was going to. We ended up leaving with only Carter. Grandma Dana will bring the girls home tomorrow when she heads through Hemingford on her way home from being out of town. We had a great time and now I am ready to go to bed. I don't think Carter is quite ready yet... I can hear him asking Josh to make Oreo Shakes and Josh telling him it's too late and way past our bedtimes. LOL! Have a great rest of the weekend!