Hoppy Easter!

Hoppy Easter every bunny!! Brian surprised us by coming home for Easter. He was not going to make it originally.

Ugh....

Please someone come take my Les Miserables DVD away. I LOVE this movie and have watched it like 7 times since I got it on Friday and if I am not watching it, I am still playing it and listening to it. I am obsessed.

Maddy's School Project

Maddy and the whole 2nd grade at her school did a project on American Heroes. They've worked on it for a few weeks. They picked a hero from the list and did a report and a desktop presentation.

Today, they showed the presentations to their parents. They were even allowed to dress up as the person they chose.

Maddy chose Sacagawea.  She and the other 2nd graders did fabulous!!!

They also had members of the Military, Police Officers and Firemen come, because they are also heroes that aren't thanked everyday. :)

The kids sang "God Bless the USA" (which made me tear up) and "This Land is Your Land" to everyone.

Poor Animals

Duchess, Shiloh and Marley all had their spay and neuter surgeries yesterday.  Marley had given birth to 5 cute babies 2 days before. Mama is still resting nicely. Duchess was soooo mad at me for the whole day yesterday. She wouldn't even look at me. Shiloh loves playing outside and I can't let him for another day. He is mad at me, too. He keeps howling and crying at the door. The life of a responsible pet owner is hard sometimes.

What has happened lately.

So I downloaded the blogger app to my phone. Hopefully I will remember to keep this updated now. :-)

Our little family has gone through a MAJOR change. Brian got in a wreck on Christmas Eve in his semi. He hit a patch of ice on a bridge and tipped over on his side. His driver side window shattered and his arm was being dragged along. Luckily he thought that (with all this chaos) he needed to pull his arm back in. He suffered scrapes and bruises but nothing more. He was fired on 12-27-12. Thankfully he was able to find another job. But he now works on the oil fields in North Dakota. He is gone for a month or more and home for a week or two then goes back up. It's been hard on our family, especially Maddy.

Tawni is in high school (10th grade) now and thriving. She is doing better academically than she ever has. Almost straight A's. :) She is planning on graduating early and taking college courses next year in Cosmetology.
She also got her Drivers License on December 21, 2012.
Tawni also got her first job at Arctic Circle in November. Yesterday, after being there only three months, got Employee of the Month!
Her and Brandon are still together.  It will be 2 years in June.  They are still so cute. :-)

Haylee is doing great in 8th grade. She is in Science Club at school and LOVES Science.  She is trying to step out of her shell by trying out for various things at school like school plays and jazz band. She didn't make either but she gets an A for effort. Believe me I know how hard it is to overcome shyness. No boyfriend yet.... thank goodness... but she is totally boy crazy like her Mommy was at her age. :-) She has decided to become a vegetarian so its been a chore to find something without meat that we all will eat, especially when Brian the carnivore comes home to visit. Haha

Maddy is in 2nd grade and doing well. She is a reader like I am. :-) She never ceases to make me laugh with her wit and her brain works in amazing ways. This girl has everything it takes to be a huge success in life. I hope she never loses her way. She knows what she wants and thinks of ways to get it. Awhile ago she made a sign that said "Give me $" and sat on the egde of our front yard and held up the sign to every passing car. A few stopped and gave her a couple dollars. :-)

I work very part time at Maddy's school as a Playground Aide. I love it. I am there before school and during lunch recess everyday.
I still want to get into the Medical Field so bad. I am having trouble doing it. I can't afford school now and I can't find a job that will help me put my foot in the door. Or any job for that matter.
I am still trying to lose weight but its so hard.  I haven't been walking as much because its been so cold outside.  Hopefully it warms up soon.

Shiloh and Marley are doing well. Marley is currently ready to pop with her 3rd litter. She and Shiloh will be getting fixed soon. Haha

We got a dog for protection while Brian is gone. She is 13 weeks old and is a Black Lab/German Shepherd mix. She looks more like a Shepherd. Her name is Duchess. Her ears are starting to stand up too, which is so cute. We got her on New Years Day when she was 6 weeks old. This dog is growing like CRAZY. Marley is not happy with Duchess's presence, as she always tries to attack her. Shiloh just sniffs Duchess and moves along.

I am going to try and upload pics of the girls and other stuff. I hope it works. :-)

FOR YOU LORI!! :)

I am really sucking at this blogging thing. I used to update all the time, but it is now so neglected.

Since last time, we moved from that awful basement apartment. We moved out of Magna to Taylorsville, and into a huge house. Bigger than we have ever been in. Haylee and Maddy think we live in a mansion. LOL I miss my "kids" in Magna, but I still see them often.

When we moved out at the end of January, we scrubbed that house spotless. We washed walls, mopped, shampooed the only two rooms with carpet and made it look nice. We were expecting a full refund of our deposit. Weeks went by and we never heard from them, so Brian texted her and asked when we should expect it. She kindly wrote back and said we were not eligible to receive one because they had to replace the carpets, and had the vents and ducts cleaned out do to pet dander and smell. Total, she "claims" they spend well over $2000 in repairs. She sent us the work order for the ducts and a copy of what the carpet cost. Well, she was an idiot because she thought we were. She only got an estimate for the carpet which was almost a thousand dollars and so we called RC Willey to see if she had in fact ordered. Nope. They said, she still needed to put a deposit for anything to be ordered. LIE. Then we were looking at the work order for the cleaning of the vents and ducts. Also almost a thousand dollars. It said that mold, mildew, dust mites, insect droppings, construction debris, and pet dander were found.
We wrote back saying that we had called RC Willey and they informed us no carpet was bought or installed and also told them that duct and vent cleaning are not the responsibility of the tenants. And since there was construction debris found, it was obvious that they were not cleaned since the basement was finished and possibly since the house was built. Since they lied about the carpet, we questioned whether that cleaning was actually performed. We said that we deserve the $500 deposit, we wanted it by the 29th of February and if it was not received, we would on March 1st, retain a lawyer and sue them for work we did in the house, cleaning we did before we moved out, and for providing our family with an unhealthy place to live with all that junk in the vents. We also informed them that her brother had a dog in the basement which he rented before we moved in. I was so nervous to know what she was going to do. A few days later, we received our $500 deposit in the mail. HAHA! We won!!! I can't believe that someone could be such a little *beep*!! But we got her and her husband.

Since we moved to Taylorsville, the girls didn't want to leave their school, so every morning and evening I drive 10 miles each way to get them to and from school. Next year Tawni can drive herself to Magna, because she is going to Cyprus High. Haylee and Maddy will change schools.

I quit school temporarily. I need to get my tonsils out and so in order to do that, I need to get my diabetes under control. I didn't want to miss school for my surgery, so, I took a semester off. I CAN NOT wait to get them out!!! I know how painful it will be, but it will be worth it.

My diabetes was so out of control with numbers reaching almost 500 on a fairly consistent basis. I went to the doc two weeks ago and I am on two different meds for that, a high blood pressure med to protect my heart, and a vitamin D supplement since I am severely lacking that vitamin. I also take milk thistle to help my liver. My numbers have come down DRASTICALLY and I am happy. Still not where we want them to be, but they don't get higher than about 220-240.

Brian and I are doing FABULOUS!!! He really is a wonderful man. He is still working two jobs. I can't wait until I can graduate and work. The medical field is my DREAM!!!

Tawni is still doing great in school. She and Brandon are still together. He is still in awe that she is his girlfriend. His whole family loves her. :) She hasn't gotten her permit yet. Soon though.

Haylee did wonderfully in her school play. I was able to go see all the performances, and she bought me and Brian the DVD for us for Christmas. She is in love with about different boys at school. LOL

Maddy is such a character. I still can't get her to sleep in her own room. (Tips please!!!) She is such a momma's girl, and it gets tiring. She is a DRAMA QUEEN!! She also informed me that she wants to be a YouTube star. LOL I guess I better video her and get her on her way! I mean how else is she going to be famous and buy me my Mercedes Benz convertible??