Happy Halloween!

This picture was snapped yesterday before it started raining. :-) We are having a classic northwest halloween in our neck of the woods - cloudy and drizzly. But, out here, if you let the rain stop you, nothing would ever get done. So, a' trick-or-treating we will go! My little Catwoman is quite excited about all the candy, as usual.

So how are you guys celebrating this festive day?

Too much cuteness

One week ago, Haleigh attended a mini-cheer camp hosted by our local high school's cheerleaders as a fundraiser. The girls arrived and got their very own pom-pom's and a souvenir t-shirt which they all immediately changed into). They were divided up into age groups and spent 3 hours learning a few cheers, a short dance routine, and falling madly into hero worship of the high school girls. As if this were not enough to completely make their day, they were invited to come back this weekend as special guests at Friday's game.

So, last night we got ready for some home town fun. :-) Haleigh and the other girls had their very own reserved section right in front of the cheerleaders. At the end of half-time, they got to go down and cheer with the older girls for a few minutes. It was almost too adorable for me to handle. Those little girls were so star-struck!

This week, my mother-in-law had her final chemo treatment. She still has a few doctor visits including a scan to make sure everything looks good, but after that things are still a little uncertain. I am so proud of her determination to face this with a positive attitude and get through it! It would have been hard for anyone, but she has had a particularly horrible year. I am filled with so much admiration for how she has handled it. If a person's true character comes forth when they go through trials and tribulations, then she is practically a saint. I wish so much that we could have been physically closer to help, but I know that we will be soon enough. In fact, I saw a story on the news today that seven of our Puget Sound orcas are missing. Scientists assume the worst, but I have my own theory. Perhaps they just went to find their friend and bring her back to Washington! They have missed her, too!

Against the world

This morning we had huge drama at my house involving jeans that my daughter did not want to wear. I should explain that this child of mine refuses to wear jeans, except for horse riding lessons because it is basically a requirement. It started some time toward the end of last school year - she just cannot stand how they feel. So, when I determined it was truly bothersome to her and not just an attempt to make me insane (don't laugh, I know she plots against me), I decided to work with her rather than fight her. Mostly it's not been a big deal, but it has made me get more creative with clothing purchases, since removing jeans from the wardrobe means you don't have a bottom that everything goes with. So, imagine my pleasant surprise when she found a pair of jeans with sparkles that she adored. I made her try them on and she was further convinced that she must have them. So, I rationalized the prize with the fact that at least she would have ONE pair of jeans.

Today marked the first day of actually wearing them, and she had a fit when she tried them on. She cried and said they made her look fat, and she was not going to school. Fat. Where has she ever even heard that phrase? I snapped. I lost it. I was completely overwhelmed, and I think my brain was so stunned by the signals coming from my ears that it stopped working. I am not an image-obsessed person, and my child seems to be more concerned with clothing/fashion/make-up/attitude/etc. than me. Today was the straw that broke the camel's back. Did I mention she's SEVEN?

Needless to say, I completely stressed out that my little girl is having some image issues barely into her grade-school years. She acts at times like a bratty teenager. But what should I expet when someone in our society actually thought it was a good idea to market MATCHING APPARREL for little girls and their pimped-out Bratz. It infuriates me that I can't shield her from all the examples she sees all around her! I was playing with Business Barbie and Rainbow Brite at her age. She's surrounded by Bratz and images of spoiled rotten bimbo starlets who make being an idiot look glamorous. Her father said it right - I am one person against a whole world trying to teach her, and I just have to work harder. I could have really worked myself up into a tizzy about the whole thing, but tonight she gave me the break I needed. :-) It might not always seem like it, but I still have a lot of influence on that kid, along with the family and friends who love her. When she had free time to pick a movie tonight, she chose "Baby Take A Bow." Shirley Temple - now there's a role model I can live with.

Trying hard to embrace THIS change

Well, this has been an eventful week for me in my medical world. You might remember that I decided a while back to enlist the help of a naturopathic doctor to get my body back in balance. I had been diagnosed with an oddball little autoimmune thing called Sjogren's disorder, and my cholesterol was out of whack, even after trying for a year to get it under control. Since there is no obvious reason for my cholesterol to be bad (not even my love affair with cheese!), and I've just felt a little funky for quite a while now (I won't bore you with all the details), I knew I wanted to find out what the heck was going on and work on making my whole self healthy.

The first big news was that I have an issue with cow milk. Long story short, I cut out all dairy for 3 weeks, then had some dairy, and it shocked my system. It was unpleasant. So far milk is bad, and cream cheese. Sliced American didn't affect me much, and yogurt is just fine. I'll try brie soon and find out if life is still worth living. So, is the digestive upset the biggest problem? Nope. Turns out that my body doesn't absorb B12, most likely because of the dairy issue. So, I have a B12 deficiency. And you know what that means? I have to get a flippin' shot once a week for 4 weeks, then 2 more every two weeks, then probably once a month forever, unless my body does better and I can switch to the oral version. It's not an option for me at this point because my levels are so low.

Now, I have a needle phobia. Don't laugh. It's horrible, and it totally screws with me psychologically if anyone approaches me with one. This year, however, seems to be the one to cure me of this problem. I've had 2 surgeries involving 3 iv's, a billion labs done, one tetanus shot, and now I get to look forward to regular puncture wounds. Well, CRAP!

But you know what? I'm finally going to feel better. My low B12 means my body isn't taking good care of it's veins, and the cholesterol has lots of places to gunk up and stick around. I am a thin, healthy, 29 year old woman, and I would like my arteries to reflect that. I'm going to put on my big girl panties and be a WOMAN, because I am strong enough to handle this. When I need inspiration, I'll call my mother-in-law, one of the strongest women I know. Now she can tell me about some needles.

Hello, my name is Amy

I felt like I should re-introduce myself after the sporadic blogging I've been doing. :-)

I didn't intend to be away so long. It just got a little crazy around here, and I felt like my blog was destined to turn into a play-by-play of the school, work, soccer games, horse-riding lessons, etc. going on in my daily routine. Now, however, I feel like we are all adjusting well to a new school year. When Haleigh started school, I basically doubled my work hours. Although I am still working part-time, it has taken some getting used to. Bless my bosses' hearts, I still have lots of flexibility and Tuesdays off - so I get to hang out with my lovely husband some more. :-)

Best of all - it's FALL!!!!! My soul feels more nurtured every day that I see more colors on the trees. The cooler air invigorates me, and I think I get more excited about pumpkin patches than most children. I love living in a place where there are 4 distinct seasons.

Happy fall to y'all!