I've been slacking n my blogging duties. And no, I have no pictures to post with this, so you're just going to have to read without pictures. It's like you're 10 again, and someone's making you read a novel when all you want is a darn picture book. Anyways, I DO however, have some good excuses for the lack of blogging! #1-SCHOOL. It's pretty much been killing me this semester. 2 labs, and 3 classes that are all either math or science. Definately a change of pace from my all history days, and it's really hard to get used to! I mean, I seriously haven't studied any of this since high school.....which reminds me that our 10 YEAR reunion is this summer! Makes me feel a bit old. So I've both slacked on my school work at times (I had to do almost 2 weeks of math homework last weekend to catch up in that class....and to understand material for the test yesterday!), and also studied like a mad woman. Monday night, after an FULL day of classes and kids (literally, my Mondays consist of getting me and kids up and ready starting around 6:30am, taking the younger ones to usually my mom's or grandmas, Koda to school, me to my 1st class...Chemistry lab bright and early at 8:30 Monday mornings...don't ask why I did that. A break of about an hour and a half, where I have to race over to wherever Kylee is and feed her, then feed myself, then another class. Then go pick Koda up from school....and pick up Kylee and Brady. Head home to feed them something...unless my mom is here, then she fixes something....man, I love her! And then back off to class until almost 7pm!) Yep...that's my Monday. Monday's suck. Anyways, after I got home this past Monday, I got the kids to bed (8pm-ish), and started studying for my Chemistry midterm. And I seriously didn't stop until 1:30 am! Probably the most I've ever studied at one time. But....I found out this morning that I SET TE CURVE FOR THE CLASS! Yes, a class of almost 100, and I was the *smartest* (read: best guesser) in the class! Yay for padding my grade there! I DO have hope now to pull off an A in this class! Seriously, this is a huge feat for me. I'm pretty used to getting all A's and B's (in fact the only C I ever got was in jr. high....and I'd still argue with Mr. Pargeter that I deserved a B), but I'm usually not at the top of the class! I suppose if there was ever a time to be there, now would be it! A high science GPA would definately help me get into medical school in a couple years!
So yes, that's my big accomplishment for the week.
And in the course of this week, I have had the longest Chemistry lab of my life (seriously, over 3 hours), a brutal Chemistry midterm, a Biology lab exam (since when do labs have exams, anyways? stupid.), a trigonometry midterm, and I'll finish it off on this coming Monday wih a Biology midterm. Phew.
Ok, enough with school. Seriously...I have three kids too.And surprisingly, Brady has been *almost* an angel this week! He's went to bed (and his naps) fairly well, we got him to eat a few new things (almost a miracle), and he's been in a pretty good mood for the most part! Koda is the easiest kid, as always. Seriously, although he doesn't listen very well (Hello! He's 6.), he really is a pretty obedient and very caring kid. And he loves his little brother and sister to death! He's in that stage where he says "Mom, I love you" or "mom, you're the best mom ever" at random times. :) Yeah, he's pretty awesome!
And then there's my little Princess Isabella. Seriously, that's pretty much her nickname. My dad's probably going to KILL me if Isabella ends up really sticking, because he's lectured me numerous times on how to never name your kid something and then call them by their middle name. BTW-did you know his name is actually Carl? No? Thats because his parents wanted to call him David (his middle name) his whole life. It really is a pain when it comes to someone's legal name. But....Kylee Isabella is just so darn cute, and she goes by pretty much anything at this point. Kylee, Isabella, bellabug, belly, izzy, iz, ky-ky, etc. And I just can't get enough of her. She's been my only cuddly baby (so far), and the only one able to breastfeed, so it's been really nice getting to bond with her in a way I wasn't able to with the boys. She's definately a momma's girl too....she recognizes my voice and face and smell, and always quiets down if she's upset when I'm even near!
On another note, we're heading to Homer tomorrow for Koda's first wrestling tournament! It should be interesting. And we're definately taking the video camera, so if we get good footage, I'll make George figure out how to post it on here! :) I'm pretty much a tech-idiot. And.....that also means that I get to spend my 27th birthday in Homer at a tournament all day! Not that I really mind much...my little family will be together, and it's something different! Plus, Tuesday night, we leave for Phoenix for a week! I'm so excited!!! We're staying at our friend's place (Jared and Morgan), and seriously can't wait to visit them and beat the tar out of them at nerts! Yes, that's right Morgan if you're reading this....it's on. And to see George's oldest brother, Alvin, and his family. And the sun. The warm. And a REAL mall. Yeah, just overall excited!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Randomness.
I just transferred my pictures from my iPhone to the computer, and here's some random favorites!
The boys playing airplane...with Curran as the captain!
Dad sure does have some big shoes to fill!
We caught Curran and Koda holding hands in the Southcenter Mall after Christmas. They were so embarassed when they knew we caught them! :) Boys.
First time sitting on the potty. Sorry for the "boy parts" flashing all over. Whatever. We've all seen it before.
He always emulates the boys (dad and Koda) going pee....this ishis version!
My main man and main lady enjoying a soak!
I really like your chocolate chip banana bread mini-muffins, mom!
It's what I came downstairs to! :)
First real smile caught on camera :) We've since captured some better ones....but they're on George's phone!
Funniest thing in a looooong time!
So my new friend, Sassy, posted this on her blog, and I just had to steal it. After the day I had today (I'll blog about it later when I'm not so pissed about it and can think strait!), it was totally what I needed!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.
Colonoscopy Journal:
I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.
A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis .
Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.
I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America 's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.
Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.
Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of sheetrock and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon..
The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'
This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.
At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere.. I was seriously nervous at this point.
Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.
There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.
'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.
'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that IT was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ
On the subject of Colonoscopies...
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1.. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!'
2.. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3.. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4.. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5.. 'You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married.'
6.. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7.. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8.. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9.. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all:
13.. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'
Pick yourself up off the floor now!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.
Colonoscopy Journal:
I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.
A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis .
Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.
I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America 's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.
Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.
Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of sheetrock and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon..
The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'
This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.
At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere.. I was seriously nervous at this point.
Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.
There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.
'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.
'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that IT was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ
On the subject of Colonoscopies...
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1.. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!'
2.. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3.. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4.. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5.. 'You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married.'
6.. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7.. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8.. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9.. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all:
13.. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'
Pick yourself up off the floor now!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Stand Mixers: a Review
When I left home, I spent about 9 months in a college dorm the size of a postage stamp. That I shared. And they didn't allow so much as a hotplate in the room. So needless to say, I lived on things that could be microwaved that year (and ice cream, because who can resist ice cream at -40 degrees F in Fairbanks?). When I came back to Anchorage and actually had my own kitchen, the first thing I thought I really needed was a stand mixer. My mom has ALWAYS had a mixer on the counter. She still has the one my dad bought her the fall after I was born (1984) from the cannery in Larsen Bay. It was a larger, very heavyduty commercial one that had only been used for one summer! And she STILL has it. It has been through more crap than any other mixer I know. We've ground a TON of meat (not lately, but I distinctly remember doing it often while I was younger), ground lots of cheese, and used it for mashed potatoes, cakes, cookies, etc. And it's still in great shape, at 27 years old!
So, naturally, the first larger purchase for my kitchen was a mixer. It was a pretty cobalt-blue kitchenaid. And I loved it. At first. Then it broke a couple years after I got it. I got it fixed....pretty simple fix, but it was somewhere around $75! Then a year later, again. Another $75. Then less than a year after that, again. I was so fed up with it...But, I lived with it because I couldn't see shelling out a good chunk of money on a new mixer. And, I knew I didn't want a kitchenaid....but I didn't know what I wanted.
So, naturally, the first larger purchase for my kitchen was a mixer. It was a pretty cobalt-blue kitchenaid. And I loved it. At first. Then it broke a couple years after I got it. I got it fixed....pretty simple fix, but it was somewhere around $75! Then a year later, again. Another $75. Then less than a year after that, again. I was so fed up with it...But, I lived with it because I couldn't see shelling out a good chunk of money on a new mixer. And, I knew I didn't want a kitchenaid....but I didn't know what I wanted.
But lo and behold (I knew this was my present, actually), I got a new mixer for Christmas! George and I had really researched brands, reviews, prices, etc. We both fell in love with the functionality and SIZE (i's a 7 qt!) of the Cuisinart! It's beautiful, too:
I immediately got it out of the packaging and once it warmed up (George hid it in his car!), I made a batch of cookies. The bowl was so enormous, it looked like I'd barely made anything! And if you know my family, you know that NOTHING is SMALL, especially when it comes to cooking and baking. Every Oberg recipe has to feed at least a small army (as I remembered last week when I made a batch of bread dough with an Oberg recipe I'd never made, and it yielded 5 loaves! And yes, the mixer did great, even with over 10 cups of flower). And, naturally, I'm an Oberg at heart! There isn't a recipe I've found yet that even comes close to filling this bowl up, and I love it! Plus, it has that handy "shield" so the flour doesn't "pouf" up and cover your countertops!
And even at this moment, I'm baking off a batch (actually a half batch...) of cookies for Koda's 1st grade parent lunch today!
Final word: Kitchenaid, NO.......Cuisinart, YES!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
To pierce or not to pierce....
George and I know that we'll get Kylee's ears pierced....we just haven't decided exactly when. Part of it is kinda procrastination and the busy days we've been having. However, my sister-in-law, Heather, came up with a really good, really compelling point the other day. If you get it done early (ie: NOW), Kylee can' consiously mess with her earrings, so they would be able to heal better. I've really been wanting to get it done (but haven't due to lack of time), but wanted to know maybe more input....especially from moms who have girls!
Oh, and the lack of time also stems from George's new big project...he's building a bunk bed for the boys. From scratch. We went and bought a butt-ton of oak this past weekend, and he's been working on it pretty much non-stop! I'll post pictures when there's something more to look at!!
Oh, and the lack of time also stems from George's new big project...he's building a bunk bed for the boys. From scratch. We went and bought a butt-ton of oak this past weekend, and he's been working on it pretty much non-stop! I'll post pictures when there's something more to look at!!
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