And on to the next story...

I just realized that it has been months since I have blogged. It's not that I have nothing to say, it's just that I didn't feel like blogging.

It's been a busy, busy few months. The most exciting thing that went on is that Mark, Emma and I took a trip to Portland, OR to visit Laura. She moved there at the end of July. On the way to Oregon we got to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, a little bit of the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful. Once in Portland we had to pack a lot into 3 days but we managed to do some of the things we wanted to do. We went to a HUGE bookstore that takes up an entire city block and is 4 stories tall. Em loved it! We spent hours there and came home with a ton of books. They sell used and new books so I was able to find some classics which I have been wanting to re-read. The Pearl & Grapes of Wrath are 2 of my favorite. We also stood in line for 45 minutes just to go to Voo Doo Doughnuts which was well worth the wait! It is open 24 hours a day and always busy. My favorite part was watching the sunset over the ocean. It took my breath away. I didn't want to leave! We were at the ocean area where the movie, "The Goonies", was filmed. COOL! We ate at a lot of fun and funky places too. A lot of organic foods which I loved. We bought a bracelet from a sidewalk artist (as I call them) who was very talented, kind and fun to watch. He seemed surprised that we were interested in watching him work and wanted to buy something from him.

While we were there we stayed with Laura and her roommates and their dog, Todd. Huge German Shepherd. Thanks goodness he liked us! He took to Em right away. He loved it whenever I'd go into his master's bedroom to do laundry and I'd scratch his belly.

Of course the best part of Portland was getting to spend time with Laura. I miss her terribly but Portland is a good fit for her. Her friends are really nice I think it was good for her to make a fresh start somewhere new. :)

On to another subject. I am redoing the inside of the house...painting, new furniture, tearing out carpets...you get the picture. Em's room is my project for tomorrow. I am scared to go in there! It is definitely her domain! I stated redoing it about 3 years ago and never got it finished but I am bound and determined to get it done!! She wants to have friends spend the night and right now it is impossible. I plan on getting the 2nd bunk form her bunk bed back from her broseph so there is room for guests again and so her sister has somewhere to sleep when she comes to visit over Christmas. Come on December! Hurry up and come so I can see Laura!

OH!!!! I bought a puppy! Her name is Riley and she is a little go getter! 4 pounds of energy and fun. She is 1/2 dachshund, 1/4 terrier, and 1/4 chihuahua. She is just what I need to make me laugh. She chases the cats we have all over the house but only in fun! She wrestles with our biggest cat, Shadow, a lot. He weighs about 20 pounds and is careful not to hurt her. When she was sick a few nights ago, he let her lay on him to rest. :)

Well, Em is now in 8th grade. She really likes all of her teachers even though a couple of them are pretty tough. She actually likes those 2 the best. Funny thing is, one of them has a reputation of being kind of gruff and a really hard teacher. He has been fantastic for her. They get along wonderfully and he is so kind and always willing to answer any questions she has and explain things that baffle her. From what Allison tells me, that is very unusual for him. Em got to know him last year when he was her study hall teacher and I think that helped. Conferences are next week so I am anxious to meet him.

Things haven't been all roses for the past few months. There have been some thorns along the way. Em is 13 and that should explain a lot of it. I know all kids are different and having to deal with her ADHD has stressed me out more than I like to admit. There are mornings when I go into work so stressed that I have to pray to God to help me make it through the day after an extremely rough morning with Em. She is a real sweetheart but stubborn as all get out--kind of like her mom. I never clashed this badly with my other 2 girls or at least not that I remember. I know that it takes about 20 minutes before her meds. kick in so I should just give her that time to be a little bit loud and disorganized but sometimes we just don't have that time. I told her that from now on she is in charge of getting herself up and making sure she is ready on time to leave because I am tired of fighting with her to get ready and keep focused. She wasn't too happy about it because she really doesn't hear her alarm when she sleeps on her good ear so I did agree to wake her up IF she sleeps through her alarm but I won't keep going in her room to make sure she's up. So far it has worked well for the most part but we've only tried it for the past few days. My alarm for her is letting the puppy jump on her and lick her face until she wakes up. :) Riley loves it but Em isn't too sure that waking up that way is that much fun. LOL. Depends on the day.

Oh goodness! This blog has gone on a bit too long. Guess I'll say--to be continued. :)

Thinking about growing up

I think it's about time that I blogged again. I've been thinking a lot today about when I was young and growing up with my 7 brothers and sisters on a farm near Gilbertville. I LOVED the farm. It was my salvation from everything that I wasn't comfortable with.

When I was 3 years old I fell off of the porch onto the cement and broke off my 2 front teeth. If that wasn't bad enough I had to have what was left of those 2 teeth pulled out by our dentist who for some reason didn't give me any anesthetic. I developed quite the lisp after that which I had until sometime in 2nd grade or so. I was terribly shy already and this made me more so. I never wanted to answer questions in school so the teachers thought I wasn't very bright. They sent me to a reading recovery teacher who was supposed to teach me to read. Imagine her surprise when I could read and comprehend perfectly. She continued to work with me anyway to boost my self-confidence. The lisp went away but when I actually started to offer answers in class the stuttering started. I was just so nervous that whenever I had to actually say more than one or two words I stuttered horribly. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly a social butterfly. I did manage to make some really good friends who didn't care about my faults and accepted me for who I was. (Thanks Karen. You were and are the best!) I didn't exactly love school but I was a pretty good student. I had to study my butt off for the good grades I got but I thought everyone did. Studying was difficult for me. I couldn't stay focused for very long on what I was supposed to be studying and often times would have to cram the night before for a huge test even though I'd try to study the material weeks in advance. Try doing that when your mind stays focused on one subject for about a minute and a half. Now, of course, I realize that I was struggling with ADD. I still do. I can't even sit and read for more than 10 or maybe 15 minutes at a time or I have to go back and re-read everything because my mind jumps from one thought to another to another even though I try not to let it.

High school wasn't half bad. I loved my teachers. They seemed to understand my struggle to succeed and the math teachers would often spend extra time trying to get my mind to comprehend what they were teaching me. English/Language Arts was super, super easy for me (not sentence structure but the creative writing and journalism part of it.) I thrived with the written word. It was my thing. I also loved being in plays and chorus. I never stuttered on stage. I was comfortable there. It wasn't me. I was the character I was playing. I was also quite a talented singer. I even sang solos quite often. I loved it.

Fast forward to radiology school. I was still quite shy which isn't exactly a good thing when you have to deal with doctors and patients everyday. I never had a problem with the patients. I really liked interacting with them. I always managed to make them feel at ease. I was also one of the best at putting in IV's and would quite often be asked to do the pediatric and geriatric patients. I never missed.

It took me awhile but I finally became comfortable interacting with 3 of the 4 radiologists I had to work with on a daily basis. One of them however made me SO nervous that I would stutter severely whenever I had to work with him. That kind of sucked. :)

I never quite fit in with my co-workers from the X-Ray department but I didn't really care because my main job was doing CT scans and the people in that department were awesome!

Fast forward to my life now. I know I skipped a lot of years but the stuttering eventually subsided for the most part except when I get really nervous and I found a job where I feel comfortable and needed. I am not the introvert I once was. Yes, I am still on the quiet side compared to a lot of people, but I LOVE my job and the kids I work with and my co-workers. I can be myself and not be judged because the kids kind of like my silliness and the fact that I treat them with respect and they know that I love them. I am also very, very good at what I do. I am not trying to brag. I am just stating a fact. People often tell me that it takes a special kind of person to do what I do. I don't know if this is true. I think it's the special kids at the school I work with who deserve the credit. They inspire me each and every day to do my best and be the best person I can be.