life took over

Wow, I haven't posted in a year and a half.  Erg.  But oh well.  Life took over.

My babies are growing up.  Just look at them!

We are all doing so well right now.  Chali is 8 1/2 (she would put the half in there) and Karis will be 6 in 3 weeks.  *tear*  We keep busy.  Very busy.  Chali was doing vocal lessons for a few months as well as hip-hop.  But as the days have become warmer she has decided she would like more free time in the afternoons after school so decided to put the vocal lessons on hold for now.  Karis is still taking violin and doing so well.  They both love school and are quite the little scholars and socialites.  Their little personalities have become very big personalities and I love it.  Sometimes I don't know what to do with them, but I'm glad they have so much independence and individuality.

We're getting ready for school to be out.  I enjoy summer break as much as they do.  The pool beckons us.  This summer, Karis would like to take an 8 week hip-hop class (after seeing her sister compete last month) as her birthday present.  And Chali would like to be in a traveling acting group this summer.  Me? I just want to lay by the pool and ride my bike and work in the garden and finish home projects that I have been working on for a while now. Oh, and I want to go camping a few times too.  The 4 of us!  Nature and my family make me happy.  Speaking of home projects, I have much more to do today, so better get a move on.  Until next time...whenever that may be.

Cooties

Colds, coughs and sinus infections. These are the words of the Moss household this week.  The girls seem to be starting to feel much better.  They both still have lingering coughs, but we know all too well how long those can hang on.  I am down with a cold & sinus infection.  Feeling tired and swimmy, but trying to take it easy despite my urges to paint another layer on the front porch.  The weather is just SO nice (70ish degreees) that it is killing me not to be out there painting.  I pray that this infection goes away very soon and the weather stays nice for the next several days so that I can finish the paint.  Grrr infection!  I don't have time for you!

Chali went to the hospital this morning to have an upper GI test done.  She has been complaining of occasional stomach aches for the past 4 months or so.  Then about a month ago she starting to have some stuff come back up from her stomach just randomly.  Monday she woke up and came out to tell me that her sternum was hurting.  I thought, "Oh no.  I know exactly what this is."  This is one problem I have been struggling with since July.  So I took her to the dr. Monday and they wanted to do an upper GI x-ray to see any stomach ulcer, gastritis or reflux.  If they see nothing, we will assume it is food sensitivities and begin to eliminate certain foods from her diet.  Anyway, she did great during the test this morning.  Papaw (my dad) was back there with her the whole time since he works there.  How nice it is to have him there!  She said it was no big deal except the stuff she had to drink was icky.  They gave her strawberry...and she's like her mama...no fruity flavored stuff for us thank you. ack.  So we had to go eat some breakfast at Hall's  immediately after which she was pretty happy about. =)  We will find out the results within the next couple of days.

You know, I would really like to know how Austin seems to always escape the infections the girls and I all get!

Happiness & Pride

October may just be my favorite month.  I have to say, this has been an amazingly beautiful month here in Fort Wayne...which hardly ever happens up here!  Because the weather has been warmer than usual this month, the trees are beaming with color!  This has been the most beautiful fall since we have lived here.  And because our old historic neighborhood streets are canopied with huge trees, the sight is amazing.  I thank God every day as I drive through my neighborhood.  At times this fall, I have felt like I was back in NC or TN.  Ahhhh, how I have loved THAT feeling!  I need all I can get to help me feel at peace and this sure helps.  The Lord knows this and has blessed me.

Chali ran her cross country 1 mile race again today.  We have been training with her since last week's race.  First Austin ran with her and he told me she beat him.  I kind of giggled and said "yeah sure, she beat you."  He said "no really, she beat me."  But I really just thought he was being nice and being an awesome daddy and making her feel good about herself.  Then, I ran with her.  She beat me too.  No really, she kicked my butt!  Austin laughed and made some smart-ass remark.  We feel old. Anyway, last week Chali came in 25th, today...13th!!!  And she ran against 2nd and 3rd  graders!  She and her friend Eliza were the first 1st graders to cross the finish line! She is so excited because she got a ribbon.  Needless to say, I am SO proud.  I almost cried.  Seriously, I had to choke it back.  How silly am I?  Or emotional. =)

Karis is having so much fun in school!  I was parent helper in her class today.  I do this every other week.  It is so much fun to go in and work with the precious little kiddos.  I notice that Karis is very sweet and loving to all her friends in class.  We already knew she was, but to see her on her own (without Chali around) is such a different experience.  She just truly cares for and about everyone else.  Last night she came up behind me and started rubbing my shoulders because she knew I was feeling stressed out.  Chris told me that on Sunday, when they were over there while we were at a wedding reception, she got up in bed with Nana (Chris) and stroked her face gently and told her she was sorry her back was hurting.  Awww!  Chris has been having terrible problems with her back for a few years and at times it goes out and she cannot walk or do anything.  Karis is just so intuitive and compassionate.  Makes my heart swell with pride and happiness.

Oh, and Chali's quote for the day, "You have to know who you are.  That is the most important thing in life."

Where did the summer go?

I started this post on August 30th...
Well I'm not sure how it happened, but summer is over and school has started.  Chali is now in 1st grade and Karis in Pre-K. Chali has been in school a week now and Karis starts on Sept 7th...although she is ready to start NOW! haha.  

Chali is loving 1st grade so far.  At first she was not quite sure about it.  I think mainly because she wouldn't have her beloved Miss Miller and her little groupie of friends got broken up between the 5 classes.  But she also told me "Mom, they don't really have good books in there.  They are even easier than in kindergarten."  She was worried the books weren't challenging enough for her, but I assured her that her teacher would figure out where each kids level was and would definitely get some books that would be good for her level.  Ha. Smarty McFarty.  Chali's school has what they call Art Ensemble classes throughout the whole year that are either free or at very low cost!  Yay for fine arts magnet schools!  Chali has chosen to take Drama the first semester and Choir the second semester.  She will go to school an hour early one day a week to go to these classes.  Chali says the best thing about first grade so far is "everything, especially homework."  lol!  They were suppose to start getting homework today, but when I picked her up from school she said they now won't get it til next week.  Her thoughts on that...(insert sarcasm) "yay. so that's just great."  How happy a Mama I am that she is excited to get homework! =)

Karis had her "home visit" last Wednesday.  That is where her teachers come to the house to visit her and bring us parents information.  It is really designed to make the kiddos comfortable with their teachers in their own environment before starting school.  Miss Dionne sat on the floor and did activities with Karis while I spoke with Miss Jan.  Karis drew a picture of herself and wrote her name on the paper.  She also had a homework page that she had to do for them.  A "getting to know you" sort of thing.  She told what her favorite colors were, drew a picture of her family, cut out and glued pictures of her favorite foods (chocolate, corn on the , and cut and glued pics of things she likes to do...which included, going to the beach, playing games,and dancing.

October 7th...(that would be today.  yes, that's how much I suck at this blogging thing.)

There's so much to tell that I don't even know where to begin. 
School is going great for both girls.  Chali just ran a mile cross country race on Tuesday and is running again next Wednesday.  If she makes the top 10, she goes on to the finals on Oct. 20th.  Unfortunately, she is in the same grouping as 2nd and 3rd graders, so it makes it harder.  But she came in 25th on Tuesday out of 40 and I think that's pretty good for it being the first time EVER she's run a mile!  Anyway, she gets to try again next week.  So we will be practicing this week.  Chali has also been begging me to cut her hair asymetrical for a long time, so I finally did. She's so stylish. =)

Of course Karis had to have hers cut too.  And after just "compromising" with her for the past year or more, I finally gave in and gave her what she asked for.  It is right above her shoulders and it is so stinkin' cute!  It looks much fuller now and no more tangles!  I think she looks a little older though. 

This one is the day she had her school pic taken...

These just make me smile. =)

As far as I am concerned, it has been a long road since July.  I am still dealing with a weird feeling in my throat, which they tell me is from the stomach ulcer they think I have, but the Nexium isn't making any difference. My appetite is back though.  I have gained 3-4 lbs back of the 15 I had lost.  I am still dizzy often, but I have a lot of sinus pressure which I think may be contributing to the dizziness.  I went to the optometrist last week and my eyesight has changed since the summer.  While I was on the antibiotic this summer, I couldn't see out of my glasses at all.  I felt cross-eyed when I would wear them.  So something happened and my eyesight changed.  I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon on Nov. 1st.  After the brain MRI, they discovered I have what is called Chiari I Malformation, which is where the cerebellum comes down into my spinal column, compressing the space and creating less spinal fluid.  Which, unfortunately, can cause all sorts of symptoms...dizziness, headaches, disequilibrium, tingling in hands & feet etc..  I have experienced several strange things, but at this point I don't know how much of it may be the Chiari or aftereffects of the medication that messed me up so bad.  The doctors say "there's no way that medication would have those side effects," but I know better.  I know my body, and most of this stuff did NOT happen before I took that medication.  Anyway, I am just praying and trying to keep a positive attitude about it all.  Well, I should start my day now.

Rainy Day

I thank God for the rain today. I will be able to get some things done in the house without feeling guilty. Not cleaning of course, oh no. How much my house needs to be cleaned! But I need to get creative. It's been a long time. My sewing machine was not working for quite some time and now I've got it fixed, so I will be sewing today! I also have some beautiful new flowers to make hair accessories! So busy busy I will bee. =) It's fun with the hair things because sometimes, the girls can help. They have very interesting ideas. Chali is a regular Picasso and I go with it. When Mom was in town, I made a Button Barrette from a couple of buttons that Chali picked out and it turned our SOOO cute. I am going to continue on that path as well. The girls seem quite tired today though and are watching Alice in Wonderland. Movies and crafts...sounds good to me!

Sumthin's gotta give

Haven't posted in forever. Though I've thought about it time after time for the past 6 months, life grabs ahold and never lets go. Things have been crazy. Seriously. Starting MiJee consumed me for 4 months.

I'm working for an independent insurance agent answering the phone M-F. I have a business cell he transfers calls to me. I have also been working on spreadsheets for him. I thought this would be a much quicker process than it is. I literally cannot find time to work on them during the day. This leaves me the evening after bedtime. So by the time the girls are in bed, it's 9:30 when I get started. I work on them til my eyes can't stay open any longer and my neck, shoulders and back are hurting. Oh, and I had to learn HOW to make a spreadsheet all over again since it's been like 15 years.

I wish I could sit and work on MiJee and Bugg & Bean Boutique during the day too, but if I do, I feel guilty for making Karis go play by herself or watch a movie. She is starting to get a bit of an attitude and I can't help but wonder if this is due to lack of attention from me as I try to catch up on everything...which is a never ending battle.

Austin never gets home at any sort of normal time. It's usually while I'm reading books to the girls just before bedtime. This makes it very difficult for me to have any sort of "me" time. Weekends are always full, and if a day is not, I always feel like it should be family time since the girls don't get to see Austin throughout the week much. Where's the balance? How do people do it? I wonder if every mother feels the way I do. I feel like I do so much, and yet, don't get much accomplished. How do I get everything done & do it well, raise my children, run my business, work for someone else, do hair, etc. all while keeping my sanity???

On another note, today is Karis' 4th birthday. I wanted to do something special for her instead of buying toys and such. So I thought it would be a grand idea to book her and a friend of her choice to go to the salonspa and get their fingernails and toenails painted and their hair done in pretty curls or whatever they want. She loved it of course and walked around afterwards like a little prissy thing. We get home and after a while I notice both big toes have no polish on them. I asked what happened and she had picked it off! I had a conversation with her about not picking off her pretty polish because it was a special gift. She's 4, she doesn't care.

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!

Heads, noses, wrists and legs, wrists and legs

I know that this post is a week past due, but the past week has been very, well, challenging to say the least. We had a wonderful 4 days with Chali and Jen! We took all the kids to the park and had a picnic. The weather was amazing. I took them back to the airport last Monday which was really hard for me to do! I miss my girlie.

We've always had really difficult nights with Josh, but now the days are becoming tough as well. They say 6 weeks is the honeymoon stage and now we are running up on 2 months, so honeymoon is over. We are working really hard with him on discipline, cause and effect (which he doesn't understand yet) and anger management. It's a long, tough road ahead, but we feel that with God and good people surrounding him, it is possible! He is actually sometimes saying "yes ma'am, and please and thank you" without being prompted now.

Well the results of Mom's MRI...fractured tibia. Owie! We are thankful it isn't muscular though and doesn't require surgery! Mom is still getting around with the help of a cane, but she's moving a bit quicker now. She's not in as much pain anymore which is so great! She is still needing to ice it each day though, because there is still swelling in her knee. I think she twisted and sprained her knee as well, not just fractured the tibia. Her next appt is on the 23rd. She gets the cast off of her arm and recheck the leg/knee. She is thinking she will be able to drive after getting the cast off.

On an exciting note, I am coming home to surprise Chali on her birthday! I am so excited, I feel like a little kid! Originally, I wasn't going to be home until after mom got her cast off and could get around well enough to keep up with Josh, but she insists I be home for Chali's birthday. She has some people lined up to help out. I am nervous about leaving her though. I know she can handle herself, but Josh is another story. He is my kids times 10. I am trusting that God will provide and knows what the heck he is doing. =)

Mom and I started to get sick about 3 days ago. We both have colds. No fun. Yesterday, we all stayed in our pjs. The kids played most of the day by themselves. That is one huge thing we have to be thankful for...Karis and Josh get along really well. They played games, hide and seek, mommy and daddy and blocks all day. I feel a tiny bit better today. We are drinking lots and lots of cold care hot tea and honey. Well, looking at the computer makes my head hurt even worse, so I'm going to call it quits now. Hope everyone is well!