Discovery Channel

We've discovered lots of things at our home this month.

#1 - I was diagnosed with Polycycstic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS (link here for more info) about four years ago. I didn't realize until recently that it could have a very real effect on my weight concerns. I've been VERY frustrated lately because I watch my calories closely and exercise daily, with ZERO results - but PCOS women are considered insulin resistant, making it very difficult to lose weight unless you are eating the RIGHT combination of foods. Lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and just a little lean protein with every meal/snack. Sound familiar? Like every diet out there, right? But this has been a wonderful discovery for me and I hope that it can help. I have checked out multiple books from the library on my condition and am now taking an active approach to dealing with it. I have control of my body. I do.

#2 - Emma is very easy to please on Valentines Day. "Cupid" came to visit with some dollar store items and a little stuffed Minnie and Donald - which she has not let out of her clutches since receiving them.

# 3 - Emma REALLY loves getting her hands in paint and smacking the crap out of her art paper. Here are some of her recent "art class" projects. Again, so glad that this messy stuff is done outside of my home. And for $1. Very nice.

#4 - Family. Isn't it about... Valentines Dinner? As V-day was on a Sunday and we wouldn't have eaten out anyway, we invited Greg's family over for some romantic fajitas and heart shaped Jell-0. Would have been nice to show the table with the smiling faces of our guests, huh? You don't really believe me that we had people over? Well we did. I just spaced the camera thing once we sat down. I was hungry and just DUG IN.

#5 - The only way to attend a Suns game is in luxurious box seats, which you free loaded off your friends. We parked about 100 steps from our seats and ate yummy food. The best part? Our very own private bathroom folks. I know. I know. Simple minds... yadda yadda. We really enjoyed ourselves last Friday! The Suns won and we had a blast. Thanks Michael and Katie!

#6 - Egg White are better than Egg Substitute. We have been using egg substitute for years - but recently I discovered liquid egg whites at Wal-Mart and we have been in heaven. There is nothing processed about them, the ingredient list says: egg whites. They come straight from eggs and just take out the yolk. Super yummy scrambled or on egg sandwiches (think Sausage Egg McMuffin without all the fat). YUM! Give them a try, if you dare.

Who needs cable when you can have the real world Discovery Channel in your very own life?

Miss Independent

Kelly Clarkson must have known Emma was coming into the world when she performed these lyrics:

Miss Independent, Miss Self-Sufficient, Miss Keep-Your-Distance, Miss Unafraid, Miss Out-Of-My-Way, Miss On Her Own, Miss Almost Grown...

She is now 25 months... and I do believe I jinxed myself by writing in our Christmas Card that we hope Emma turning 2 does not turn her "terrible". Is she truly "terrible"? Of course not. But she has certainly decided that she is her own person and has an opinion on EVERYTHING and can do ANYTHING on her own.

She insists on dressing herself, putting on her own socks and shoes, getting in and out of her car seat by herself, and pretty much any activity. We hear the phrases, "I do it I Myself" or "Mommy No Help" or "Emma do it" hundreds of times a day.

We still love her dearly and have tried to "step up" our parenting skills. Here she is with her Valentine craft projects done in her art class. I just love her precious grin.

Emma has recently begun "Mickey Mouse" and "Horse Racing" obsessions. This is one passionate child. When she likes something, she REALLY REALLY likes it. She found a few Mickey Mouse books and soon started to fixate on this adorable large eared rodent. Go figure. The horse racing ADORATION began after watching the movie "Dreamer" with Laura and my Mom. I guess it's just her Mother's Kentucky heritage shining through. She talks about horses racing all the time now and BEGS to watch the movie. She asked Greg tonight if she could have a race horse. We're thinking a 10 Million Dollar Thoroughbred would be appropriate.
She now screams. And I mean screams. "NO!" Multiple times a day. It is just so lovely and endearing. (UGH!)
When she wakes up, the first thing we hear from her crib is singing. After about 10-15 minutes of her darling refrains, we generally hear, "Mommy/Daddy where are you?" She will repeat this multiple times until we come to her room. When I knock on her door and ask, "Emma, where are you?" she will reply, "I right here!" - As if she really had any other options of where she could be. :)
For any of you "Three Amigos" fans out there, we affectionately have named her our "Singing Bush". She seriously NEVER stops singing. EVER. It is really so cute. Most of the time it is made up songs, or a medley of her favorites. If you think I'm kidding - just come over for an afternoon and you'll experience the phenomenon of continual singing. It's really quite amazing she has the fortitude to maintain the music. And for the record, Christmas never dies in our home, because Emma is still singing "Jingle Bells" and " Away in a Manger". Happy Holidays!

In the continuum of music stories, the ward choir director, must report on my little assistant. A few weeks ago after carefully watching me lead the choir for 15 minutes, she promptly walked up to my podium, hopped on, positioned her feet just like mine, and proceeded to wildly wave her arms and sing at the top of her lungs to lead the choir. I tried to make it through the piece of music, but had to stop because I was laughing/crying so hard, I couldn't see the notes. And never mind the choir members who were also laughing and having a hard time knowing who to watch. She was even singing some of the right notes and some of the right words. She will however need to learn to "follow" her choir directors for cut offs, because when I cut the rest of the choir off, she held the last note out for an extra 3-4 beats. Guess she is already wanting to audition for the choir solo. Must have gotten that from her Daddy.

We have also been told that she leads the other nursery kids in singing time and wanders around the nursery room waving her arms and singing at the top of her lungs.
She still copies most things we say. Emma will frequently turn to me and say, "Mommy, we don't say that." I also over heard her telling her dolly, "One more dolly - you've had enough." When Laura was taking a picture of her she told Emma, "Say Cheese and Look up Here" to which Emma promptly retorted, "Cheese and Look up Here!".

Emma is really starting to "take care" of her toys and stuffed animals and dolls. If you have 36 seconds, view the following video where she is "reading" to her doll. We can't understand much when she is reading to herself or others, but she is reading "Snow White" which is why she keeps saying, "Hi Ho".

Visiting Hours are Open

Before I begin the "real" post: I would like to sincerely THANK all of my readers who offered tips and suggestions for locating my Valentines conversation hearts. SHOP YOUR LOCAL BASHA'S because that is where I found mine... FINALLY!!!
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There are weeks and months that go by in my life, where I just go through the motions, live out my daily/weekly routine, and wait for the next exciting trip or event. Then there are times when I MAX out my fun quota all at once. We were blessed with multiple visitors over the last few weeks. Spreading out the JOY, would make my usually boring life have more pockets of PIZAZZ... but I just love visitors whenever I can get them!!

Visitor #1 - Anna Kearl

I got a wonderful email a few weeks ago from Anna Kearl. She informed me that she was coming to Phoenix last minute for a work meeting! We had the delight to dine with this darling friend last Sunday evening (Jan 31)... and I wish it could have lasted for MANY MANY more hours. I grew up directly across the street from Anna's family - and they are like MY family. I haven't seen a real live / in the flesh / face to face Kearl family member in a few years... so Anna was a breath of fresh Kearl air. Her visit made my heart so happy and brought me back to the happiness of childhood. Running across the street at any given time to escape the crazies of my family. I seriously LOVE this family. Thanks Anna for the visit!

I forgot to snap of pic of Anna with us in Phoenix and stole this pic from her sister's blog... but pictured below (L to R) are: Katie, Gary and Anna Kearl.


Visitors #2 - Trent, Sarah and Baby Rowan

They abandoned us in November to move to Vegas, and we have been down trodden ever since. These guys are the BEST and we were thrilled when they decided to make a visit to Phoenix and ecstatic when they agreed to stay in the Adams Hotel. We warned them that they would be staying in our guest room/food storage suite - but they graciously agreed to share space with the canned meat and soup.

How could you not want to just nibble on those sweet Baby Rowan cheeks all day? We took advantage of the Phoenix "Culture Pass" from the library and went to the Desert Botanical Garden. Good thing we went with fun friends, because I would have been TERRIBLY bored otherwise. Once I've seen ONE cactus, I've seen them all. Thank goodness the tickets were free.

Emma was absolutely enamored with Rowan and gave him hugs and kisses constantly. She was pretty gentle with him, but we had to keep a close eye on her, because she likes to treat "real" babies like her stuffed babies and can get a little aggressive.

We laughed and laughed with the Porters. We enjoyed yummy food, and TWO game nights with friends! As fun as the trip was, it only made us more sad that they now live so far away. sniff sniff. Come back and visit us soon!

Visitor #3 - Lara (Saville) Dahl (Don't hate me Lara for using this picture... )

I stole this picture from Lara's blog, of she and her wonderful hubby Greg. These were gag gifts at Christmas time, but I love the picture because it shows what a fun couple they are! :) And I do LOVE ME some fun friends!!

Lara's visit was the most unexpected and SHORT. She called on Thursday afternoon with a horrible story of traveling woes. She lives in Atlanta and was trying to get to Salt Lake for her cousin's wedding. One snafu after another, and she ended up stuck in Phoenix for Thursday evening only. Instead of stay in a BORING hotel, she called to see if she could land at our pad for the night. OF COURSE we were thrilled to have her... even if it was for less than 9 hours. So fun to see good friends like Lara, whenever I can. So, although I feel bad for her nasty day of airplane problems, I was glad that I got to benefit from her misfortune!

Visitors #4 and #5 - My Mom and her sister came into town! My mom was here for 10 whole days! I guess it shows how much fun we had because this was the ONLY picture we got the entire time she was here! DARN. I hate it when I forget my camera!

We just LOVE having my Mom visit. We have lots of yummy meals together, play at lots of parks together, shop together and just enjoy being together! Thankfully, my Mom's parents live in Mesa and so we get to see her more than usual. Emma just LOVED having Grandma Krebs around and is going to have some serious withdrawal issues now that she is gone. Grandma Krebs babysat Emma a TON for me, while I taught my class, went to Symphony and played with friends. Grandma even came with us to Art Class yesterday and helped Emma glue hearts and stickers onto her Valentines. THANK YOU Mom for all the great times during your visit. What a wonderful woman my Mom is. I hope I can grow up to be 1/2 the caring, genuine, loving mother that she is!!

WE LOVED OUR VISITORS and WELCOME YOU ANY TIME you would like to drop in!!

Conspiracy Theory!

I've never been one to follow along with supposed governmental "conspiracy theories". I believe Elvis is dead, JFK was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, and 9/11 was not an inside job.

However, we have a VERY serious conspiracy theory in our midst and I am going to get to the bottom of it.

WHERE IN THE WORLD HAVE ALL THE CONVERSATION HEARTS GONE?

I'm talking about the good ol' Brach's and Necco brands. Not the yucky Sweetheart sweet-tart ones that are consuming the stores.

I love holidays and mostly because of the food associated with them. 4th of July BBQ's, Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Cookies... you get my point. My food associated with Valentines Day are conversation hearts. The really soft ones. The ones that are filled with straight sugar and coat my throat and teeth with layers of yummy-ness. During my lonely single days they gave my heart something to be happy about during this generally bleak day. You think I'm kidding? I seriously look forward to them as much as Cadbury Eggs at Easter.

I have been to MANY MANY stores in the last few weeks and each stop, I take one browsing glance through the Valentines section, avoiding all other sweets, but DESPERATELY looking for my beloved Brachs or Necco conversation hearts. Nothing. Nada. Zero selection at Fry's, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Dollar Store, CVS, Gas Stations, Costco, and MORE. How could a Valentines Day STAPLE go missing like this? Are Brachs and Necco going bankrupt? Surely I keep them afloat with my mass consumption of hearty heart heart goodness?

Again, not talking about the Sweetheart Sweet-tart CRAPOLA that is currently monopolizing the conversation heart shelf.

Where or where could be conversation hearts be? And how can I possibly celebrate this holiday with any ounce of love in my heart without my sugar induced coma from eating an entire bag?

My Fab Five

Lots of fun moments this week. Here are my top five faves...

#1 - Emma's new Art Class through the City of Tempe. We go once a week for a month and it costs a WHOPPING $5. Not having to get my house messy with projects is worth 10 times that amount... but don't tell the City of Tempe. $5 is just fine.




#2 - Watching Greg and Emma share a carton of "Samoa Girl Scout Cookie" Ice Cream. When Emma and I purchased the ice cream at the store, I told Emma it was for Daddy because it was his favorite. She was SO excited when he walked in the door from work and ran straight to the freezer to show him his surprise. Of course, her altruism was questioned when she quickly ran to the spoon drawer and grabbed a spoon for herself to indulge.
#3 - I run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6:15am - 3 miles - with my girlfriend Bonnie. When we awoke Thursday morning it was raining. Going back to bed was BLISS.
#4 - My ROCKIN' good deals at Fry's this week. Thank you Mr. Coupon. I purchased all of this food for EIGHT DOLLARS. And two of those dollars were the bananas... so the rest of the food cost me SIX. My receipt said I saved SIXTY FOUR. Nice work Tam Bam. Sometimes coupon cutting is actually worth it's inconvenience.
#5 - Finishing "The Hunger Games" in two days... and then passing it onto Greg who also finished it in two days. I read a lot, but there are not many books that capture my attention enough to skip out on cleaning, parenting, and other such activities. This book was a little gory and gave me some WACKED out dreams, but man was it good. Greg and I are now fighting over who gets to read the sequel first. I just love a good book.
And a special thank you to all you wonderful blogging buddies who left kind, supportive words regarding our upcoming IVF procedure. It really lifted my spirits of hope and encouragement. I'll probably refer to them often. Thank you.

Round Two

In October of 2006 we walked into Dr. Zoneraich's office of Advanced Fertility Care after 3 years of frustrations with infertility. They were a fantastic team of medical professionals. We were immediately told that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) was essentially our only option for pregnancy. After a significant chunk of change - in January of 2008, we held this little angel in our arms.

Yesterday, we walked into Advanced Fertility Care yet again. January 26th. My half birthday :) !! We have saved our pennies and nickels over the last two years and are ready to try our luck again at another baby.

When Dr. Zoneraich opened the door to the reception area, he greeted me with a BIG smile and and even BIGGER hug. I immediately knew we had made the right decision to return to his clinic. He was interested in what we had been doing the last few years and most interested in seeing and hearing about Emma. We felt like we were in the company of old friends. What a blessing, during a time of significant inner unrest.

Our first $700 of MANY was spent - and we left with a plan. If all goes well, the surgery will take place in April. The months preceding April will be filled with blood work, tests, procedures, lots of drugs, and anticipation. If IVF is successful it will be money WELL spent. If the IVF is unsuccessful, it will be money well spent TRYING.

My brain has been battling whether or not to blog about this - but in the end I feel it is worth my emotional exposure. Maybe it can help someone who is also having infertility concerns or maybe it can help educate those people who don't understand the TURMOIL that exists in others who bear the infertility trial. Ignorance can lead to some VERY insensitive comments.

Whatever the cause, you must all be aware, this may not end well. We may spend all this money, and all this time, and all this pain to end up with no pregnancy. It's the chance we are willing to take. I have faith that the Lord is watching over us and will bless us with the experiences we need for growth. My prayers are always that we will be blessed with another baby, if it be His will. Your prayers are always needed and appreciated.

If you would like more information on IVF go HERE.
If you would like more information on Advanced Fertility Care go HERE.

First Day of School

You remember those professors in college who would gather large rings of sweat under their arms visible for the whole class to see?

That was me yesterday.

It's KARMA I tell you. All those years I used to make fun of my teachers and their nasty sweat rings. What goes around, comes around, my friends.

Other than the mortifying sweat fest, my first day of school, in my new role as college teacher was PERFECT. FUN. EXCITING.

As sung by the one and only "Annie" - I think I'm gonna like it here!

Through the Still Small Voice

We had a scare last night - and one that reminded us, yet again, that the Lord is constantly watching over us. We are so grateful for this knowledge and blessing.

We put Emma to bed last night, and turned on her space heater. She doesn't do well with blankets in her crib, because she moves around so much at night, they end up off her within 30 minutes. We found a space heater that has an internal thermostat. We generally set it to 75 and then throughout the night, the heater turns off and on to adjust the room to the set temperature.

At around 7am this morning we heard Emma whimpering in her room. This is fairly common and she generally goes back to sleep within seconds. We rarely check on her when this occurs.

This time was different. Greg got out of bed with a feeling that he needed to check on her and make sure the space heater was safe. When he got to her door, she had stopped whimpering and he almost turned around to crawl back in bed. But he felt another prompting to open her door and check on her. Thank goodness he listened. When he opened the door, he was met with a burst of extremely hot air. Emma was sitting up in bed listless. He checked the space heater which indicated that the room temperature was 95 degrees! And sweet Emma was in her footed fleece PJ's!

We quickly stripped off her pajamas and gave her as much water and she could swallow. She appeared to be OK, but we were so scared at what could have happened. We then determined that earlier in the day, Emma had pressed a button on the space heater that keeps it running continuously, with no automatic shut off when the room reaches a certain temperature. So, the ENTIRE night, that space heater was blowing hot air into her room, with a CLOSED door. 95 degrees later, Greg was finally awakened with a feeling to check on his daughter.

We kept Emma in our bed for awhile waiting for her room to cool back down - and finally laid her back into her crib, when she looked up at us with her adorable little eyes and said, "I tired." She slept until I had to wake her up at 10am for church. Poor thing had probably had a very sleepless night in horribly hot and uncomfortable conditions.

I feel so blessed to have a Father in Heaven who loves me and knows my individual needs. I feel so blessed to have a husband who is acutely aware of his family needs and is always ready and willing to act on promptings.

Give your family and friends an extra squeeze today. We are all so blessed.

Scratch That.

"When one door closes, another opens." - Alexander Graham Bell

You'll have to disregard my last post, because it appears that my sabbatical leave has been cut short and I will get to teach at South Mountain Community College after all.

I got a call this afternoon from the Department Chair, informing me that a teacher had cancelled last minute and they were in desperate need of a teacher for two classes beginning next week. The class is called "Creating College Success" and is geared toward entering freshman to teach them basic study skills and effective study habits. Although it's not social work, it is still college teaching, my foot is in the door, and I am THRILLED!!

I will teach two sections of the same class. They will be in the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. The class is right in the middle of Emma's naps and so I'll be putting Emma down to sleep at JJ's and will pay her to keep an eye on my sleeping angel. It will work out PERFECT. I don't miss any fun play time with Emma and I still get to teach and make a little extra cash. "Asics" Running Shoes... HERE I COME!!! The first purchase I will make with my newly acquired wealth. :)

I feel so blessed and know that the Lord is looking out for me. Although seemingly small, this was important to me, and I know it is important to Him. I am so grateful.

Now I best get to cramming. I have to plan an entire course in 3 days. Talk about INeffective study habits. Nice example, huh? YIKES.

My First Sabbatical Leave

SABBATICAL
–noun
1. Also called sabbatical leave. (in a school, college, university, etc.) a year, usually every seventh, of release from normal teaching duties granted to a professor, as for study or travel.

Yea. I'm taking one of those. But, not by choice and not after SEVEN, or FIVE, or ZERO years of teaching. And the "travel part" of the definition will be to such luxurious locations as Mesa, Chandler, or maybe even Queen Creek, although I don't want to get my hopes up.

Alas, I was hired at South Mountain Community College to teach an intro to social work course, but it was for a new program and a new class. The class did not get the registration needed to carry the class. Oh wait. The class did not get ANY students to register for the class. 25 seats out of 25 seats still available. :)

The director of my program says they will begin working on marketing the classes more aggressively. I told her I would help where I could.

Teaching at a college is still something I would really love to do, but for now, I guess I'll wait until next semester and hope for the best.

Darn.