Wow, it's March already.
How is it that I haven't blogged? It seems like time is just getting away from me. I guess I've been updating my facebook more and more and spending little time here.
What's been going on?
Well....
I took the kids bowling for the first time the other day. They had great fun and of course I only got one picture on my phone and none with my camera because I was too busy making sure the kids didn't drop any bowling balls on their toes. I hope my friend Marissa posts some pictures on her blog so I can steal them. :)
We have seedlings. We bought a bunch of different veggies to plant and already we have some seedlings. As soon as we know the last frost has happened these suckers are going in the ground. We aren't too ambtious though we do hope that we get some veggies this year.
We have 3 weeks of classes left and and our second homestudy left before we are done with the foster parent training. It has flown by even with all the paperwork, classes, etc. We have a space almost ready for kids in the house. We still have to get a few things. A second mattress, a lamp, some hardware to finish putting the bunkbeds together, and some little things too. Overall it's coming right along. Oh course one of the best perks to this whole process is meeting some really awesome people. I've gotten a chance to get to know a few people and it's really exciting to know there are people who think about kids the way that we do and who are willing to step out of their comfort zone to help someone else.
I went on a women's mini retreat with my church a couple weekends ago. That was a very different experience for me as I can count on one hand how many times I've left my kiddos overnight while I was gone. I missed the kids greatly but I knew they were in good hands since they stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Montgomery. The retreat was awesome and it really helped me refocus and center myself. A really great thing and I'm glad I was able to go to it on such short notice.
We have decided to sell the tv. It's currently pending sale I guess. A few people have expressed interest in it. Todd and I agreed that the tv was better suited outside our house. The amount of tv viewing is now a non issue and nobody wants to watch tv even when they have time. We've found ways to fill our time with more meaningful activities and seem to be better off for it. Not to say that sometime in the future we wouldn't buy one again but for now the decision to get rid of the tv is the best choice for us. Oh the cooler things that has happend with less tv viewing is that the kids are playing more and playing together better. :)
I'm sure there is more I'm just drawing a blank at the moment. I promise I'll try to update more and do it a little more frequently in the future.
Nikki is CA bound
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
3:30am
I've been up since 3:30am. The dog woke me up because he wanted to go out. He's asleep now and I'm still up. Got a chill I couldn't shake and then got to thinking about somethings. Funny how that happens huh?
Anyways here are just a few things on my mind...
1. Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program -- We couldn't afford to attend any of the seminars we heard about last year but I did check out the books from the library for free and we've been plugging away at that. So far 3 debts eliminated (2 credit cards and 1 small student loan) Woohoo! Moving on to the next several things.
2. Thinking about gardening and stuff. Wondering if it's more cost efficient to grow some of our own stuff and how to get started. hmm...checked out some books from the library on it so we have the basics down we just have to decide if we are going to do it or not.
3. Foster Care training and preparation. loads of paperwork. It's a slow but steady process of events and paper work that have to be done. We've completed the orientation, the initial profile packet (37pages!), gave them our info for references, completed 2 classes of training (6hrs) and still have 8 more classes (24hours) and more paperwork. This coming week we have our first of two home studies and also go and do a fingerprinting session/background check. Whew! lots to do there. Also we are re-arranging the house so the kids go back downstairs to their old rooms and we try and make the upstairs room ready for a kid(s). Not that we will get placed right away but it could be as early as late May or early June that we could get a placement. We aren't taking any chances and are trying to do our best to prepare for that.
4. Simplify. Yeah I know it sounds weird to say that when we've got the above stuff going on, but really it's more about eliminating unnecessary distractions. I've deleted my myspace page (I never used it) will be eliminating probably one of my other blogs, and am considering getting rid of my twitter. Maybe being too connected isn't a great thing. I understand the value in it, but maybe if we can't access people in 800 ways then the connections we do make with people will be more meaningful.
5. Simplify more. Last year (ha that sounds so long ago but it was just in Nov/December) that I took all my Cd's and sold them. Yep. I have only a handful of Cd's left. The rest I downloaded to my Ipod and said the heck with the Cd's. I didn't need them and they were just in the way. Gone. I also got rid of a ton of books that I had sitting around waiting for the day for me to read them. The sad reality was that I wasn't probably ever going to read them since most of them I had forever and hadn't gotten to. What I did is just write a list of books though down to checkout from the library and read them as I get to them. I don't know why we have to feel like we have to own everything we enjoy but I'm glad that we are getting away from that. Dvds have also been majorly purged down. Sold lots of stuff that we liked but didn't enjoy anymore. No point collecting stuff. Even the kids have gotten on board with this and told me which toys/books they no longer want to play with or need. Very cool to see your kids getting that you don't need stuff to be happy.
6. Be different. Ok so I'm going to assume that most of you know that Todd and I gave up our microwave last fall, that we became vegetarian, and that we got rid of our cable. I know we are majorly weird. Those few changes have made a big difference though. We eat better (even though I've been sick off and on for 2 months and put on a few lbs the stuff that goes into my body is still better than it was before) and we are more intentional about things. Which is awesome! We've also changed our schedules around so we go to Church twice a week. We're getting plugged into our community and it feels good. I have a feeling even more changes are coming. Maybe we will get rid of the TV all together?! I dunno, but I can feel more change is coming and we have to be open to it. I think we really are ok with the idea that people think we are weird. We are different. We don't ask that people do what we are doing or make changes like us but we do ask you be positive and support us as we figure things out.
7. Church. Wow! We are loving our church. http://www.bridgelexington.com/ We haven't had a place where we have felt called to be in a really long time and it's great to feel that again. Like I said before we made some schedule changes and we go to Church on Sunday's as a family and then also do Small Groups on Wed. night. Every time we leave the door there are a million reasons not to go and/or struggles but we don't give up and every time we go we are really blessed. I know our church isn't for everyone but if you don't have a place to go on Sunday's and you really want to try something new or you know that you do I encourage you to come with us and check it out.
8. Kids. I love my kids. Sam is becoming such a great little guy. I heard him encouraging Sophia the other night when she kept screaming "I can't" over something she was trying to do. It was awesome to see him being so kind, offering to help, and being so reassuring. Granted his sister hit him and wasn't having any of it, but still he has such a sweet heart and it makes me so happy. Sophia is sassy. Yes sassy, she told me the other day 'to get out of my face because I've got Jesus'. lol. She cracks me up and is trying to hold her own. Gotta love the sassy and the strength that comes with this age.
9. Rufus (AKA the dog). Trying to figure out what to do about him. We love him. He is very much a puppy still and it's very hard to give him all the attention that he craves especially with having small kids. The kids aren't very nice to the dog and so it's a constant struggle to figure out how to teach them to be nice, how to get Rufus to settle down (and not bite when he's playing), and how to give everyone the time and attention they need. Not only that even with being a short haired dog there is lots of sneezing going on around here. Sam often complains that his eyes are itchy after playing with the dog so I have to wondered if he (and I have dog allergies too).
10. Weight/health. It's been on my mind a lot lately. December was not kind to most of us in the house. Me especially I had the flu and a respiratory infection and then January I had a double ear ache, sinus infection, and pretty much a constant fever. That's all in check at the moment and I'm feeling ok (though tired but that's from getting up at 3:30am and not being able to go back to sleep). I'm up a few lbs but still have to lose about 20ish lbs to be considered healthy. I had been making good strides but then getting sick threw me down and I've not found my motivation to get back to it again. Don't get me wrong I'm eating well it's just the no exercise part that has me keeping this weight on. Anyways I need some motivation to keep it up. I also decided that I wasn't going to be a Beachbody coach anymore (I love the products) I just didn't want to be a salesman anymore and I just really don't have hours upon hours to focus on it when there are other things that are a whole lot more pressing like spending time with my kids while they are still kids. :)
So yeah that's probably not all of it but it's a chunk of stuff. Anyways I'd be curious to hear how you my readers are doing? If I've said anything that made total sense to you or if you have any questions?
Anyways here are just a few things on my mind...
1. Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program -- We couldn't afford to attend any of the seminars we heard about last year but I did check out the books from the library for free and we've been plugging away at that. So far 3 debts eliminated (2 credit cards and 1 small student loan) Woohoo! Moving on to the next several things.
2. Thinking about gardening and stuff. Wondering if it's more cost efficient to grow some of our own stuff and how to get started. hmm...checked out some books from the library on it so we have the basics down we just have to decide if we are going to do it or not.
3. Foster Care training and preparation. loads of paperwork. It's a slow but steady process of events and paper work that have to be done. We've completed the orientation, the initial profile packet (37pages!), gave them our info for references, completed 2 classes of training (6hrs) and still have 8 more classes (24hours) and more paperwork. This coming week we have our first of two home studies and also go and do a fingerprinting session/background check. Whew! lots to do there. Also we are re-arranging the house so the kids go back downstairs to their old rooms and we try and make the upstairs room ready for a kid(s). Not that we will get placed right away but it could be as early as late May or early June that we could get a placement. We aren't taking any chances and are trying to do our best to prepare for that.
4. Simplify. Yeah I know it sounds weird to say that when we've got the above stuff going on, but really it's more about eliminating unnecessary distractions. I've deleted my myspace page (I never used it) will be eliminating probably one of my other blogs, and am considering getting rid of my twitter. Maybe being too connected isn't a great thing. I understand the value in it, but maybe if we can't access people in 800 ways then the connections we do make with people will be more meaningful.
5. Simplify more. Last year (ha that sounds so long ago but it was just in Nov/December) that I took all my Cd's and sold them. Yep. I have only a handful of Cd's left. The rest I downloaded to my Ipod and said the heck with the Cd's. I didn't need them and they were just in the way. Gone. I also got rid of a ton of books that I had sitting around waiting for the day for me to read them. The sad reality was that I wasn't probably ever going to read them since most of them I had forever and hadn't gotten to. What I did is just write a list of books though down to checkout from the library and read them as I get to them. I don't know why we have to feel like we have to own everything we enjoy but I'm glad that we are getting away from that. Dvds have also been majorly purged down. Sold lots of stuff that we liked but didn't enjoy anymore. No point collecting stuff. Even the kids have gotten on board with this and told me which toys/books they no longer want to play with or need. Very cool to see your kids getting that you don't need stuff to be happy.
6. Be different. Ok so I'm going to assume that most of you know that Todd and I gave up our microwave last fall, that we became vegetarian, and that we got rid of our cable. I know we are majorly weird. Those few changes have made a big difference though. We eat better (even though I've been sick off and on for 2 months and put on a few lbs the stuff that goes into my body is still better than it was before) and we are more intentional about things. Which is awesome! We've also changed our schedules around so we go to Church twice a week. We're getting plugged into our community and it feels good. I have a feeling even more changes are coming. Maybe we will get rid of the TV all together?! I dunno, but I can feel more change is coming and we have to be open to it. I think we really are ok with the idea that people think we are weird. We are different. We don't ask that people do what we are doing or make changes like us but we do ask you be positive and support us as we figure things out.
7. Church. Wow! We are loving our church. http://www.bridgelexington.com/ We haven't had a place where we have felt called to be in a really long time and it's great to feel that again. Like I said before we made some schedule changes and we go to Church on Sunday's as a family and then also do Small Groups on Wed. night. Every time we leave the door there are a million reasons not to go and/or struggles but we don't give up and every time we go we are really blessed. I know our church isn't for everyone but if you don't have a place to go on Sunday's and you really want to try something new or you know that you do I encourage you to come with us and check it out.
8. Kids. I love my kids. Sam is becoming such a great little guy. I heard him encouraging Sophia the other night when she kept screaming "I can't" over something she was trying to do. It was awesome to see him being so kind, offering to help, and being so reassuring. Granted his sister hit him and wasn't having any of it, but still he has such a sweet heart and it makes me so happy. Sophia is sassy. Yes sassy, she told me the other day 'to get out of my face because I've got Jesus'. lol. She cracks me up and is trying to hold her own. Gotta love the sassy and the strength that comes with this age.
9. Rufus (AKA the dog). Trying to figure out what to do about him. We love him. He is very much a puppy still and it's very hard to give him all the attention that he craves especially with having small kids. The kids aren't very nice to the dog and so it's a constant struggle to figure out how to teach them to be nice, how to get Rufus to settle down (and not bite when he's playing), and how to give everyone the time and attention they need. Not only that even with being a short haired dog there is lots of sneezing going on around here. Sam often complains that his eyes are itchy after playing with the dog so I have to wondered if he (and I have dog allergies too).
10. Weight/health. It's been on my mind a lot lately. December was not kind to most of us in the house. Me especially I had the flu and a respiratory infection and then January I had a double ear ache, sinus infection, and pretty much a constant fever. That's all in check at the moment and I'm feeling ok (though tired but that's from getting up at 3:30am and not being able to go back to sleep). I'm up a few lbs but still have to lose about 20ish lbs to be considered healthy. I had been making good strides but then getting sick threw me down and I've not found my motivation to get back to it again. Don't get me wrong I'm eating well it's just the no exercise part that has me keeping this weight on. Anyways I need some motivation to keep it up. I also decided that I wasn't going to be a Beachbody coach anymore (I love the products) I just didn't want to be a salesman anymore and I just really don't have hours upon hours to focus on it when there are other things that are a whole lot more pressing like spending time with my kids while they are still kids. :)
So yeah that's probably not all of it but it's a chunk of stuff. Anyways I'd be curious to hear how you my readers are doing? If I've said anything that made total sense to you or if you have any questions?
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Random things that Nikki has been enjoying
This is going to be a bit random, but I thought it would be fun to tell you all about a few things that I've been enjoying lately.
1. Music:
The band Metric. I love them. I had been listening to them off and on but after we (Todd and I) saw them open for Muse I really started listening to them even more. My favorite song by them right now is called Gimmie Sympathy. You can check it out here: Metric Gimmie Sympathy Music Video
A friend got me into the group called XX. They label themselves as being pop/experimental. At first I wasn't sure what I thought but the more I listened the more I liked them. What I like about them is that they are a little funky. Here is one of their songs that I really like called Crystalised Crystalised Music Video and another one called Basic Space Basic Space Music Video
2. Reading.
Since we got rid of the cable I've been doing a lot of it. Not always the same type of stuff but the last book I finished was called Dracula in Love by Karen Essex. It takes the classic story of Dracula and turns it around so it's in the female perspective. I picked up this book at random when I was at the library last time and I'm glad I did. It was a very enjoyable read. The best part of it was all the historical refrences. The author really took the time to make sure she stayed true to the essence of the classic story and I thought that showed in her work. Oh and this book isn't as innocent as Twilight as far as the romance stuff goes so if you plan on letting your kid read it be warned there is some sultry scenes in there. You can see more about the book here: Dracula in Love
I've also just finished the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (well all 7 of the books that are out currently anyways). This is a vampire series but it's set in a high school realm. I wasn't really sure what to think of the series when I started it but as I read more I found that I liked the good and evil/light and dark thing that they were doing and how it touches on lots of subjects that affect kids now. The only thing I wasn't crazy about in the beginning was the 'teen speak' that was going on. After awhile though I didn't mind it and got use to it I think. You can learn more about the House of Night series here: House of Night Series
Besides my reading about Vampires I've also been doing lots of reading about becoming Vegetarian, Raw food eating, mindful eating, and just general educating my self on how the food industry works. It's really interesting reading and I have to offset it with my other reading since some of the books can get to be very heavy in information. Here are some of the books that I've been reading: Being Vegetarian, The Everything Guide to Being Vegetarian, Super Natural Cooking, Raw Food, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Eating Animals, Omnivore's Dilemma, Savor, and 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian. As you can see lots of reading and lots of information.
3.TV/DVD:
When I have watched tv I have wanted to watch documentaries. Checked out a few from the library. In a few days I managed to watch Bowling for Columbine (documentary about gun control and it's impact on teens and society), Sicko (talks about socialized health care and the state of healthcare in the USA) and Food, Inc. (a closer look at the cost of convience foods and the damage it's doing). All very thought provoking stuff. The first two documentaries are by Michael Moore which I head heard as being very controversial. Despite his political views I thought he made some valid points on some things and at least made me want to find out more about other things.
To continue the Vampire theme from above I was pretty happy when my dvd for Eclipse showed up in the mail. I did get to watch the movie but have yet to explore the bonus features. I love watching all the behind the scenes stuff after I've seen the movie so I get a better look into the filming process. I'm not a fan of that before the film though since that tends to be all I can think about prior to viewing it. Anyways if you are a Twilight fan and haven't gotten your copy the best deal I've seen as far as price and features has been at Target. You can check it out here: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Movie
4. Celebrating:
I love seeing my friends/family doing great things and so I celebrate with them. Here are a few things that I've been celebrating:
Today I got word that my former neighbors (and still great friends) that Hilary had been published. He's been talking about this book for awhile and it was awesome to see that he's now published and his book is being sold on Amazon. Very excited for my friend and to read the book myself. It's a Western which doesn't fit with the Vampire reading I do (hahaha) but I am excited to read it. Check it out here: A Wayward Tale
Todd had his work Christmas Party last weekend and we won a cash prize that allowed us to buy a dryer. Woohoo! It's been too darn cold out to hand laundry up to dry or out so it's nice to have a dryer that works again. When it warms up though I'll be back to line drying. I don't mind the extra work and it did reduce our electric bill so it is worth it.
I was suppose to run the Reindeer Ramble 5K with my sister Siobhan and her teacher crew but was too sick to go. Even though I wasn't able to go Siobhan ran and did great. Her team finished around 35 mins and I'm so proud of her for doing it since I know she wasn't overally excited about since running isn't her thing. Way to go Sis! We have talked about running together in the future since I missed out on this race with her. Looking forward to doing that with her and celebrating that afterwards.
1. Music:
The band Metric. I love them. I had been listening to them off and on but after we (Todd and I) saw them open for Muse I really started listening to them even more. My favorite song by them right now is called Gimmie Sympathy. You can check it out here: Metric Gimmie Sympathy Music Video
A friend got me into the group called XX. They label themselves as being pop/experimental. At first I wasn't sure what I thought but the more I listened the more I liked them. What I like about them is that they are a little funky. Here is one of their songs that I really like called Crystalised Crystalised Music Video and another one called Basic Space Basic Space Music Video
2. Reading.
Since we got rid of the cable I've been doing a lot of it. Not always the same type of stuff but the last book I finished was called Dracula in Love by Karen Essex. It takes the classic story of Dracula and turns it around so it's in the female perspective. I picked up this book at random when I was at the library last time and I'm glad I did. It was a very enjoyable read. The best part of it was all the historical refrences. The author really took the time to make sure she stayed true to the essence of the classic story and I thought that showed in her work. Oh and this book isn't as innocent as Twilight as far as the romance stuff goes so if you plan on letting your kid read it be warned there is some sultry scenes in there. You can see more about the book here: Dracula in Love
I've also just finished the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (well all 7 of the books that are out currently anyways). This is a vampire series but it's set in a high school realm. I wasn't really sure what to think of the series when I started it but as I read more I found that I liked the good and evil/light and dark thing that they were doing and how it touches on lots of subjects that affect kids now. The only thing I wasn't crazy about in the beginning was the 'teen speak' that was going on. After awhile though I didn't mind it and got use to it I think. You can learn more about the House of Night series here: House of Night Series
Besides my reading about Vampires I've also been doing lots of reading about becoming Vegetarian, Raw food eating, mindful eating, and just general educating my self on how the food industry works. It's really interesting reading and I have to offset it with my other reading since some of the books can get to be very heavy in information. Here are some of the books that I've been reading: Being Vegetarian, The Everything Guide to Being Vegetarian, Super Natural Cooking, Raw Food, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Eating Animals, Omnivore's Dilemma, Savor, and 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian. As you can see lots of reading and lots of information.
3.TV/DVD:
When I have watched tv I have wanted to watch documentaries. Checked out a few from the library. In a few days I managed to watch Bowling for Columbine (documentary about gun control and it's impact on teens and society), Sicko (talks about socialized health care and the state of healthcare in the USA) and Food, Inc. (a closer look at the cost of convience foods and the damage it's doing). All very thought provoking stuff. The first two documentaries are by Michael Moore which I head heard as being very controversial. Despite his political views I thought he made some valid points on some things and at least made me want to find out more about other things.
To continue the Vampire theme from above I was pretty happy when my dvd for Eclipse showed up in the mail. I did get to watch the movie but have yet to explore the bonus features. I love watching all the behind the scenes stuff after I've seen the movie so I get a better look into the filming process. I'm not a fan of that before the film though since that tends to be all I can think about prior to viewing it. Anyways if you are a Twilight fan and haven't gotten your copy the best deal I've seen as far as price and features has been at Target. You can check it out here: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Movie
4. Celebrating:
I love seeing my friends/family doing great things and so I celebrate with them. Here are a few things that I've been celebrating:
Today I got word that my former neighbors (and still great friends) that Hilary had been published. He's been talking about this book for awhile and it was awesome to see that he's now published and his book is being sold on Amazon. Very excited for my friend and to read the book myself. It's a Western which doesn't fit with the Vampire reading I do (hahaha) but I am excited to read it. Check it out here: A Wayward Tale
Todd had his work Christmas Party last weekend and we won a cash prize that allowed us to buy a dryer. Woohoo! It's been too darn cold out to hand laundry up to dry or out so it's nice to have a dryer that works again. When it warms up though I'll be back to line drying. I don't mind the extra work and it did reduce our electric bill so it is worth it.
I was suppose to run the Reindeer Ramble 5K with my sister Siobhan and her teacher crew but was too sick to go. Even though I wasn't able to go Siobhan ran and did great. Her team finished around 35 mins and I'm so proud of her for doing it since I know she wasn't overally excited about since running isn't her thing. Way to go Sis! We have talked about running together in the future since I missed out on this race with her. Looking forward to doing that with her and celebrating that afterwards.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Opportunity (and seeing Santa)
We didn't know Santa or that Ronald McDonald was going to be there but the kids were suprised. I didn't take my camera but the pictures above are from Kelly Hamilton the director of Volunteers there at the house. Sam loved seeing Santa and told him for Christmas he wanted an orange dog and a some trees. lol. Sophia was not impressed and wanted nothing to do with Santa. I have bruise marks on my arm from how hard she was holding on to me.
All in all we had a wonderful time despite the freezing snowing temps outside and we are thrilled to join the RM house after the new year as volunteers.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Our newest family member
Besides being the smallest dog he was also the only one that showed in interest in the kids and gave lots of love right off. He's a perfect fit for us (though I don't really think he'll be going on morning runs with me). He's already got a bed and his carrot toy and has been exploring the house like crazy. We have had a handful of accidents but are sure in a couple of days he'll have it figured it and that wont be an issue. It's a learning curve for all of us. Oh and yes Rufus was his orginal name and we decided to keep it. Seems only right to let him keep it since that's the name he's had his whole life.
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