Injury Prone Much?

As most of you know, I'm fairly injury prone. Silly little accidents and owies all over. Well, I haven't been having injury causing accidents....just getting injured doing normal things. I'm starting to get really frustrated and I'm not understanding why I seem to be falling apart all of a sudden.

Two days ago, I threw out my lower back simply by getting up out of a chair. I had to stay still for about 12 hours and it still hurts, although I can function provided I don't bend down to do anything. This afternoon, I was walking down the hallway when my knee suddenly went out. And it wasn't the torn meniscus knee either - that would have made sense. I've been continually putting off treatment and possibly surgery, so why wouldn't it go out? But no, inexplicably it was the other one.

Prayers for these apparently weak parts of my body would be appreciated. I have kiddos to keep up with and hobbling around the house isn't really my thing. I was in tears earlier from a mix of frustration and pain. My dad is coming into town on Sunday night and we had all sort of things planned. Things are going to be hard to do if I can barely move.

Red Light, Green Light

We have some very health conscious children in our household. So much so, it has begun to transform our eating habits entirely. While I'd love to take all the credit for teaching my children good nutrition, part of the credit goes to their preschool. During the spring when it was time to plant veggies, Aiden's class had a discussion about red light, yellow light, and green light food. Red light food is food that you shouldn't eat at all (junk food). Yellow light is food that's not as good for you as veggies, but that eating SOMETIMES is ok. And of course, green light food is food that is healthy for you to eat all the time.

We are asked during each meal if what they are being served is green light food. It definitely makes us think about what we put on our plates each day, and what I'm buying at the store is changing. In fact, during our last grocery store trip, all we had in the cart was milk, bread, and vegetables (that's partially because it wasn't a full blown shopping trip, but you get the idea). If we want something sweet or snacky, I'll bake cookies or muffins. And John's learned how to make jumbo pretzels! And even though I was hungry this afternoon while we were out because I hadn't had a chance to eat lunch yet, I resisted stopping at fast food and just made myself a sandwich as soon as I got home. And you know what? It was filling, satisfying, and I don't feel like my arteries are clogged.

I am hoping that the more we make healthy changes and stick to creating weekly menus so I only buy what we'll eat, we'll see a positive change in our food expenses as well. I guess I should thank my kids for helping to push our family in a healthy direction!

Handy or Crazy?

Our couch is quite comfortable. So comfortable that my dad prefers to sleep on it rather than the air mattress when he visits. But the couch is also quite old - it was my in-laws' couch from I believe the beginning of their marriage and we took it from them when they got a new one. The frame is in good condition and is intact. But the seat cushions are another story. The fabric is ripped, the foam is coming out and falling apart, and between potty training children, a kitten, and a puppy....oh boy. Those cushions have taken a lot of abuse.

So I've cleaned and cleaned and cleaned as much as I could, but it's finally gotten to a point where I can clean them no more. The smell is there to stay. I ultimately decided that instead of spending $600 on a new couch at Ikea, I'd replace the cushions. Where to buy replacement cushions...? No where? Oh. I can order replacement cushions made to my specifications, but that will cost me $200. If I'm doing that, I'll just buy a new couch. I will MAKE new cushions. That's right. I'm making them.

One trip to Joann's Fabric and I've got the padding for them for just $25 (thanks to some great clearance prices). Looking good so far. I will need to cut the padding myself and wrap it in the batting, but I did a lot of sewing in high school which included stuffed animals, so I'm not totally in over my head. I am going to add a waterproof cover to each cushion that can be removed if it needs to be washed, which I will probably cut out of a queen bed size waterproof cover (estimated cost: $20). Since we have a full couch cover and do plan on fully replacing the couch in a few years anyway, I'm not going to worry about actual upholstery fabric which runs around $35 per yard, but just use a basic cotton covering (like for cotton sheets) which I can take off and wash (estimated cost: $10-$15). Total estimated cost for DIY replacement couch cushions: $60. Total cost of having a couch that doesn't stink to high heaven: Priceless.

I say all this now before I've actually started the project. Later tonight, I may have some different thoughts towards this whole thing. Fingers crossed that I don't totally mangle the couch.

It's Official

I am officially a registered student. Yikes. The test yesterday went so much faster than I expected and I felt quite calm once I got started. I tested into a higher level writing, tested out of all reading courses, and didn't get the absolute lowest math, but it's just the next one up. So I have at least four terms of math ahead of me. I won't be meeting with anyone from the library/media certification program until sometime in the fall, after I've gotten settled into my one course that I'm taking. Yes, I'm starting out taking things slow. I haven't done this in a really long time and I don't want to overwhelm myself. So starting at the end of September, I'll be heading to PCC twice a week to take my very first math course. I can't believe I'm actually going back to school!!

Smarty Pants

I know some of you will read this after it happens, but today at 1pm PST, I will be taking my placement test at PCC. John and I have been discussing this happening for two years now and I'm finally making it happen. John graduated, we're enjoying our summer, and come this fall, I will hopefully be enrolled in the Library/Media Assistant program at PCC. There are a few things that need to happen after I take my placement test, before I can sign up for classes. Orientation, meeting with a general adviser, then applying to the program and meeting with the program adviser. Then I can sign up for classes. I'm hoping to get that all taken care of in the next two weeks.

Anyway, I'm asking for prayers and good thoughts sent my way this afternoon. I woke up this morning with a stress rash (sorry if that's too much info!) and I'm really nervous about this. Not just the test, but the whole idea of starting school. I'm feeling overwhelmed.....but ready!

Bible Stories

Due to continuing illnesses and insane schedules, we hadn't made it to church in quite a while. But now that things have calmed down a little, it was time to get back into the habit. So we all got up and went this morning. And by what Aiden told us after church, I think we really need to work on some things.

Aiden: Today in children's church, I learned the story of when Jesus was flying an airplane, then the storm took down the airplane, and Jesus was sucked into a tornado.

John: Must be one of those new edition bibles.

Oh my.

Wow

The past week and a half have been an absolute whirlwind. My sister-in-law's bachelorette party, the last minute wedding prep right after, the wedding rehearsal, the wedding (a 20 hour day for me), and a "let's all recover" trip to the coast with extended family. We returned today and I've been sitting on the couch in shock for about an hour. The past 15 months were all leading up to the past week and a half and I can't believe it's over. I have so many stories and pictures to share, but I need to ease back into normalcy first. So yeah.....wow.

Bunk Beds

Last summer, a trip to Home Depot was made. Afterwards, a large pile of lumber sat in our garage. That unimportant looking pile of lumber sat there for about a year, slowly getting smaller every few months. Over by John's work bench, pieces slowly began to take shape. And then, last night, it all came together.

Here's the bunk beds! Excuse the weird spots of light - some sawdust ended up on the lens. We'll paint them later on in the summer.

The nice, removable slats to keep the mattresses up.

The hard-working daddy and his two happy little boys.

And finally, they get to sleep in their bunk beds!

Even though it took a year, having to work on it with the very little free time he had between school and work and basic family life, we are super proud of John for taking a pile of wood and turning it into a gorgeous piece of furniture for our children. Bunk beds are not easy to make, and John said that if he knew how hard it was going to be, he would have just gone to IKEA (which was my suggestion in the first place). But now the boys get to show the beds off to everyone and tell them proudly that their daddy made it for them.