We are sending the kids back to the preschool until probably the end of next week and put them as "Drop In" status. "N" really didn't want to get up and dressed, he's already starting to act like a teenager. "O" was just getting out of her room as I was walking up the stairs. I have really been trying to work with her and the potty training, every hour I put her on (while we're home) and she sits there. This morning though she didn't pee like she did on Monday. I know that I shouldn't push her but I'm just really tired of being the one changing diapers all the time and all that fun stuff.

So we also have a bunch of other kick butt sites and I feel bad because I haven't worked on them lately, when the kids are home playing with them, and so now I have learned that I won't tell "The Hubby" about cool ideas for sites since I can never finish them. He's been working on them and I hope to be able to start helping again.

Do you ever get in those moods where you really don't want to work on your sites? That's how I've been feeling with the newer ones because there is sooo much stuff that I have to do that it overwhelms me and really puts me out of the mood to work on it. The sites that we are working on have to do with natural remedies and places for kids. Fun things but the kid thing, overwhelming and it's just the two of us working on it.

Yesterday I also tried to get "N" to read a whole book by himself. He read up to page 15 of Green Eggs and Ham. I tried the Nick Jr. books we bought from Scholastic but those had pretty big words for him to read.  "O" has been letting us see her smarter side lately. We have different plates for the kids, plastic colored ones, and we give her a choice and if she says the right color then she gets that plate. Either way she does eat but it gives her incentive to know the colors.

Yesterday I told you that I was going to take the kids to The Play Factory so they would run off some energy and also give "The Hubby" the house, that didn't work so well. We were only there for just under an hour and the "N" said he had to go to the bathroom and I'm all like COOL no accidents (unlike Friday night there). NOPE he had already had the accident and so we had to leave. I could have taken them back since I did spend $18 for an hour but thought, no because then that's teaching him that it's ok to do that and you get to still have fun. Never mind you were bad to begin with.

I was pretty upset that I wasted that money and if I would have known I could've taken them out to lunch instead. I know that accidents happen but he's been having more lately. I told him that we are not going back at all. He will sit on the toilet like his sister (every hour), he will not go to school (that is a treat for him) and he will not be going out in public again until this is under control. I mean it's bad enough that "O" peed through 1 pull up and 2 diapers yesterday. What's worse with "N" was I made sure he went to the bathroom before we left.

I don't want to talk about that anymore. I can't believe how nice it's been here weather wise. You could go either way with a short or long sleeve shirt. If you're going to be in the sun then wear a t-shirt but if not then wear a long sleeve.

But I wanted to tell you that I haven't been going to Walmart to do my shopping because it's far, the people are trashy and I'm treated like crap. But this past Sunday I went and bought a lot of groceries and I bought two Zoom-O's and still walked out at $80 (each of those Zoom-O's was $10 each too). Plus my fiber cereal that "O" and I love to eat, Smart Bran, is way cheaper there. PLUS!!! I guess I'm going to start going back to Walmart so I can save a little. I would shop Whole Foods but there isn't one that close to my house yet. Hopefully there will be one less then 8 miles from the house soon.

I'm about to head out the door and take the kids to The Play Factory and thought I should probably blog about something. We are now growing our own organic herbs. Since I run the risk of have colon cancer (runs in the family and they found a few during the colonoscopy) that we are trying to increase fiber our intake and decrease the chemical intake as well. Since I really don't know that the store brand does with the herbs, whether they are chemically treated or not, we thought it would be healthier to grow our own. It will take about two weeks for the herbs to start growing. I'll tell you as things progress. We also let "N" buy a cup to grow a sunflower. Hopefully it'll grow.

Ok well the kids are very excited so I should probably take them before they pee themselves.

So I have good news, "O" sat on the toilet this morning and actually peed. I told her that if she peed then she could go to school and she asked me if she could wear underwear. Of course I told her yes she could and then if she still had her underwear on when she got home then she could have her new bedding on too. We'll see how she does.

"N's" birthday is a few days before Easter this year and so we are trying to get some family out here for that. Hopefully that will happen because normally there isn't any out here for either a holiday or a birthday. I'm debating on what to do for his birthday since he turns 5 this year. I guess we'll figure something out right?

My house is finally clean and laundry has piled back up. Of course it doesn't help when there are pillows and huge comforters that have to be washed at well. I should be able to get that pretty much caught back up by tomorrow. I'm just trying to do what I can to keep myself busy for the next week when I get my results back from my colonoscopy. I doubt I have anything to worry about since I'm sure they already have the results back and I haven't heard anything.

It's so weird because the kids aren't home and the house is pretty quiet. I'm probably going to keep them home tomorrow and if "O" goes on the toilet then I probably will take them to The Play Factory tomorrow. That place is so much fun and they have this thing every Friday and Saturday night that you can have them watch your kids for $25 a child from 6-11 pm and they eat pizza, play on all the equipment and can watch TV. Basically, your kids are pooped when they get home, go right to bed and sleep in the next day.  I guess they also offer "Drop and Shop" for the same price every week day so you can shop without the kids for a few hours and they have fun playing.

Once I find out for sure if I have the job at Whole Foods (my favorite grocery store, EVER) or not then I'll pull the kids out and buy a membership to The Play Factory so that way we can play everyday and have tons of fun. I figured that we can do that and the zoo a few times a week, among other fun things, and they'd have fun.

I have been trying to post a blog since last week and every time I get close to posting, something comes up and I save it and forget to finish the blog and post it. It just seems that if it isn't one thing then it's another. Right now is a frustrating time because we just want to get rid of stuff that we don't have a need for anymore (baby things, music cd's) and just trying to list and sell things. Very time consuming. Hopefully the stuff I have for sale will sell soon so that way it means less stuff that we have to move.

So today I woke up and realized that I am really sick. It obviously is a viral thing and you know how that can't be treated with antibiotics. So now it's just a waiting game. Since I am sick and most likely contagious I decided that I'm going to keep the kids home today. It's been interesting because I have been spending a lot of time today with "N" so we can improve his writing. He can write his letters pretty good and also his numbers. Last night we started doing basic addition and subtraction. I also had him write his colors after I showed him how to write them himself. He's so good and eager to learn.

We are trying to sell a bunch of stuff that we either no longer need or just really don't feel like moving when move to Chicago. It's difficult trying to sell some of this stuff but at least we're listing the stuff now and trying to get what we want out of it instead of struggling a month before trying to get rid of it and not getting what we feel we deserve. In doing so, it was difficult because I brought home seven boxes of baby toys and having to go through it knowing that we probably aren't going to have anymore was hard. Plus also realizing how much cat fur was on everything. OMG that is bad.

So right now the kids are napping and I'm debating on doing the same thing. I'm just so worn out with all of the needles and blood testing to see if I have the gene that causes colon cancer. Not a whole lot of fun. I'm trying to talk my dad into taking the kids for a week or two just so I can have some time with "The Hubby" and trying to deal with the results I'll be getting in a few weeks. Right now I really try not to think about it and I've been told that because of what's going on and since I won't be getting the results for a while that it's not such a bad thing until March 4th.

So I have been increasing my fiber intake and water consumption too. I have been trying to do better with the kids and increasing their fiber as well. I eat Activa yogurt with All Bran bran pellets and a teaspoon of Fibersure. Last night "The Hubby" made US Senate Bean Soup and have eaten that a few times the past couple of days with the Fibersure. Just remember that you are supposed to consume a total of 25-30 grams a day of fiber and you can always add the Fibersure into water, soups or any thing that is a liquid up to three times a day.

Ok, so please don't forget about my giveaway, it ends February 25, 2008.

So today is the day after my colonoscopy and so far so good. They did find polyps and took them out to be looked at closer and since they found a few (very small ones) that I guess there's a blood test out that will tell them if it could turn into colon cancer. My doctor said that they didn't look cancerous and they probably aren't but that's why we are doing the extra testing.

The colonoscopy isn't as scary as I thought it was going to be but I did wake up part way through the procedure and they had to give me more medicine. I remember telling them to stop but what had happened was I'm not sure if they didn't give me enough drugs the first time or just because my intestines are not shaped like normal and I woke up from them trying to maneuver through it. Either way they gave me more drugs and I gave everyone a laugh yesterday.

I feel a little crampy today but I'm sure I'll feel like that for a few days. After the procedure instead of eating I went home and went to bed for most of the day. When you do that then you pretty much don't go to bed at a good time that night. I felt bad because I couldn't pick the kids up at all yesterday, couldn't clean the house, make dinner or drive. I was completely under "The Hubby's" care and had nothing but amnesia all day.

We were going to go away this weekend but I really didn't want to go anywhere because I'm still pretty tired and San Francisco is 12 hours away that I thought maybe we'll do it in a few weeks when we can take a real extended weekend or something. We were debating on going to Disney but I couldn't swallow paying $800 + the cost of food. I think that San Francisco would be more fun anyway. "N" enjoyed watching the sea lions when we were the a few years ago. Now that he's older he would probably enjoy it more, that and "O" hasn't yet really seen the Pacific ocean yet. So we are going to do the zoo and the Youth Museum of Mesa for the Jim Henson display.

Well that's pretty much it now I wait for three weeks to find out the final results and then we go from there. Have a great weekend!!!

So today is my prep day for my colonoscopy. I'm pretty nervous but everyone is assuring me that nothing bad is going to come from this. We sent the kids to daycare because I'll end up spending most of the day and night in the bathroom, so I figured this way they can have other kids to play with. Nothing says Happy Valentines day like a colonoscopy. I guess it could be worse and now I'll know and my mind will be at ease.

Tonight after the kids get home from school "N" said that he'll write out all the Valentines cards for his and "O's" class. His handwriting is really good too. He is reading now. The way he learns is by us writing the words on a white board. I don't really care as long as he is learning to read. All that we really have to help him with is writing his numbers. He's learning addition right now and doing well with that. Right now as we play bingo we use our fingers for the addition. I can't believe that he's going to start kindergarten this year.

I hope that the kids have fun at the Valentines party tomorrow because I think it will be one of the last days they are going before the go to "Drop-In" status. Yesterday I finally re-cleaned the house and caught up on laundry but I still haven't been able to do the stairs. I swear the next house we get better not have stairs. So since we have decided to move we are listing what we can for sale on Craigslist. I like the fact that it's free but I also don't like the fact that so many people flake out on buying your stuff. So hopefully when we move we will only have just the kids bedroom stuff, cars, and our memories. Since we had "O" we have so much more stuff then we came out here with so we'll see how far down we can get.

Don't forget about my giveaway.

So for the last few days, no matter what I do my skin feels dry and is peeling. "The Hubby" says, "Why do you use all the stuff on your face?" All I use is a face scrub, eye creme, and then either a day or night face lotion that's all natural. Well now nothing seems to be working because I'm dry, breaking out and peeling. I'm wondering if the Prednisone they had me on for six days has screwed up my system. Everything was fine until then.

So now I hate the way I feel and look and I have no idea how to fix it. Here I am thinking that I'm doing better for my body by going natural and now it seems all in vain. I wish I knew what to do.

This morning I woke up and started the day by doing my yoga. It was ok. I still couldn't do two of the poses but maybe in a few days I can. I figure that if I do it twice a day and then do different yoga dvd's then I would be doing better. I'm going to cancel my gym membership because we bought a few things that is like going to a gym but way cheaper.  We'll see how that goes.

So now we also have a new goal of once we have a certain amount of money in the savings account, we are going to move to Chicago. So to help us get there, I'm pulling the kids out of school this week and put them to "Drop-In" status. We are going to start going super cheap on meals and then also get rid of our storage unit. We'll see how long it takes for us to do it.

So today "The Hubby" made homemade english muffins. As usual his food was a huge hit. So now he's making french bread for dinner tonight, lasagna. He pretty much does all the cooking, but that's how he likes to relax. Who am I to complain right? It's healthy, tastes good and it's cheaper than eating out.

So last night it became very painful to walk and "The Hubby" tells me, "You really need to exercise more." I have had a problem with my lower back/hips for a number of years and now it's incredibly painful to do anything now. I take a few Tylenol throughout the day and now I have started to do yoga again. It's so bad that I can't even do half of the poses now. I do them as best I can but I just really am not happy. So I did that for an hour and then walked on the elliptical machine for a while and then used this Go Fit Foam roll thing. It's weird and painful for a little while but I use it a few times a day and it sort of helps "massage" my back and hips.

On top of all of this, I still have a sinus infection and can't be seen by my doctor for a week. I'm really starting to hate this doctor's office. What I really don't like is the fact that I've been going there for over three years and I get told I can't be seen for a week all the time or if I do get an appointment in a timely fashion I end up having to wait an hour on top of my appointment time and I don't even get to see my own doctor.

This morning "N" woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He was fine in the fact that he got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth but when we went downstairs that he decided that he was going to be a jerk and push "O". Now "O" has the tendency to over exaggerate what "N" has done to her. So I tell him that if he wants to take his football in for show and tell that he needs to come and talk to me. He mouths back and I go after him and take his ball away. He then proceeds to go into a temper tantrum and I guess when he got to school he tells the teacher that do all of these things when they are just punishments. I guess I'll have to have a talk with him tonight after school.

Today I kept "O" home with me today so I could take her into the doctor for her shot. We ended up staying out for a couple hours and got a few errands done. Still trying to get stuff together for taxes so we can try to lower what we owe. No I don't feel like going into more politics and how I feel about the tax system. Right now we are sitting up in the classroom, "N" is writing on the whiteboard and "O" is coloring in her coloring book. It's pretty cool how calm it is for a few minutes.

"N" has been bugging me to go into the "Classroom" and since "The Hubby" has to work late in the office I thought it would be better to be in the classroom than to watch TV. I'm just a little frustrated because "N" wasn't paying attention and now has non-washable marker on his clothes. He then got mad, ran to his room and started playing with his dinosaur. I forgot how to make the dinosaur do his different characters.

"O" still is refusing to potty train. It's more frustrating than trying to do "N". People who say, "Girls are much easier to potty train.", doesn't have my daughter. She has hit this nasty phase of talking back, not listening and I know she knows her alphabet and colors but refuses to tell me what they are. After 2/14/08 she will be pulled out of her daycare. And I swear to god the the next person who buys her a sticker book I'm giving you fair warning that it will be going into the dumpster.

I did set up the classroom computer but now it doesn't want to connect to the internet and then randomly shuts itself off. It may just need a can of compressed air because I think it's full of dust. Everything I got out of storage has a good amount of dust on it. In the spirit of becoming more organized we bought a HON file cabinet today off of Craigslist for $30. Not bad for a four drawer. We bought an IKEA hutch a year ago but it hasn't really worked out so well, hopefully the new file cabinet will and the hutch will work in our classroom.

It was weird today because it was again sunny but it was actually warm enough to turn the heat off and have a few of the windows open. I should start picking the kids up earlier from school so we can try to go for a walk once a day.

So here I am trying to get my other site done by entering information and come to find out that almost all of it is wrong. So as I'm dealing with that I am also trying to figure out if "O" is up to date on her shots. Yes I know it is my fault for transferring her around and I have now learned my lesson but still this is annoying. The daycare says that she needs her second Hep A shot and so now I'm trying to get her set up for that. I was never told that she needed a second shot six months after the first. Oh well it happens right and she is getting the shot tomorrow morning.

I finally am caught up with laundry but still have yet to finish vacuuming the stairs. I guess it's better that it was. Last night I had to have "The Hubby" put the kids to bed because I had to run an errand for him and also grab myself some ice cream.

So I've been watching the "Super Tuesday" broadcasts and trying to keep up on the candidates and I really don't like who's running. McCain to me is like a warmonger, he's already admitted that if elected President that he's going to start a war with Iran. That's the last thing we need. Romney to me is a flipper and dishonest. He doesn't agree with same sex marriage or civil unions but still supported benefits for partners and then after "The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, Romney lobbied for a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage but allow civil unions." He totally flipped on that one. Plus he had illegal's working on his property.

Clinton would just be disastrous. She is as crazy as they come. She is not as innocent and nice as she makes herself out to be. I'm in the process of reading Rewriting History By Dick Morris. I have to actually buy the book because my Treo broke and really want to finish reading it. Basically it talks about how she manipulates herself to change as she sees fit. She's a liar. She has been investigated so many times, even though she was never charged with anything illegal, I don't see how people could be so blind to not see it.

Don't even get me started on the other candidates. Unfortunately there really isn't a really good one out there. I may go for Obama but I still can't decide if I really want that even though he could be the next JFK. I know it's a little late to be writing this but before you actually go and vote, PLEASE do your own research. Don't be like the people in California who voted for McCain because Giuliani said, "If you were going to vote for me, cast your vote to McCain." And the stupid people did it. If that's really how you're going to vote then please don't vote. Also, if you're going to vote because of the persons sex or color, don't vote either. Vote for the person who will do a good job and get us out of this mess that Bush has gotten us into.

To me this is a matter of life a death. This is our future and this is going to affect our children. Do you really want to go into more debt and another war that we cannot win? Find a candidate that will try to get us out of debt, make our borders more secure, give us back our freedoms, make companies become more green by using more recyclable products in manufacturing, bringing jobs back here, etc. This is what we need, not someone telling me that if I don't have insurance you're going to garnish my wages and call my choice illegal and continue the war in Iraq.

Please, please do your research and vote for who will make us better as a country and not because so and so said to vote or base it on skin color or sex. Think before you go.

So today has been very unproductive. I really wanted to vote today but since I put Independent on my voters card I can't. I woke up and because of the coughing, my back is still very sore. My body is very achy and I need to finish up a few things around the house (vacuuming the stairs, dining room rug, and grabbing more stuff out of storage) that I just really can't do it today. "The Hubby" has said to take it easy today, I have been by folding laundry and this will be the first time I've caught up with it in a long time.

We are starting to feel better. It still feels like we are never going to get better though. I'm positive that once I finish vacuuming the house that we should start feeling better. Tomorrow I should have "N's" computer up and running in our classroom. Their rooms I actually vacuumed yesterday and every morning I'm a nice mom and make their beds. Now if I actually have time to wash my sheets, I would so make my bed everyday too.

It has been a lot more calm now that the cat is gone. It's nice because we can have the doors open all the time and now the heat is able to go through the house better and it just feels warmer. We really can't wait for summer because we are hoping that we will be moved to either Chicago, Columbus (where I really want to go) or if  "The Hubby" has taken off on his own, even Grand Rapids, MI. Either way I don't care as long as we are closer to family.

My depression has set back in and so I've started going to counseling again. I now go every other week and we have come to the conclusion that part of the problem is the fact that since we've had kids that no place has really felt like home. Meaning that we haven't really ever had family around with the kids and giving us that homey feeling. He agrees with me that once we find out "home" that my marriage and family would do 100x's better.

Hopefully soon we'll be able to take a family vacation. I have no idea to where but any place other than here is fine by me. "The Hubby" wants to go skiing, I don't think the kids would have fun. I want to either go to Seattle, WA or maybe even Hawaii. Either way, as long as it's away from Phoenix I really don't care.

Please don't forget about my contest.

So here it is the weekend and I still have yet to clean the house. Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can't or won't focus on anything? Well that's been me. A lot has to to with the fact that I really am lazy and that we've been sick for the past thirty days and are finally starting to get over it. The other night we took the kids to IKEA for a few things that we are doing. We put "N" in the play area because he said he wanted to go there. Anyway, we go and get our stuff and pay and I have no idea how they expect me to ever go back there.

They are now charging ME to use their bags? What the crap?!?!?! Never mind the fact that their stuff is cheap junk and the nickel and dime you for everything, now they are charging you to use bags? And the whole Uscan thing is pretty much stupid there too. I know why uscan exists and it's not for IKEA. You feel like you're in prison because half of the items won't even scan and when it does you can't put it on the scale because it's too heavy. That is the last time I go to IKEA ever. I don't care how bad I want their meatballs.