Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Not Seeing Clearly

This is me being shallow.
Most of you by now know that our children recently were testing at school in hearing and vision. I didn't give it much thought at all. I knew it was going to be done. I had it done as a child in elementary school. Jacob has had it done every year since he started school. No big deal. It's not one of those things that you stress about or that keeps you awake at night, at least I didn't think so until yesterday.
I picked up my mail yesterday at about three o'clock and came home. Kevin happened to be here because we are slackers as parents this Halloween and we hadn't yet gone to the pumpkin patch. We decided to go yesterday when the kids got out of school. As we were waiting for them to get home, they now have earned the privilege of walking home together, I started opening our mail. I noticed a white envelope with the PSD logo on it addressed to The Parents of Kayla Olson. My mind started sifting through conversations that Kayla and I have had to see if I could figure out what was inside the envelope. I don't recall her telling me about getting into any trouble, that's just not Kayla. She doesn't have a lunch account, her library book was returned and she checked out another one, she's had all of her shots, she's not sick, hmmmm, what could it be. Then I open it and read, "Dear Parent: ... After failing a second screening, the school nurse recommends that your child have a professional eye examination." Amy's face goes blank. I'm thinking, "What?" Kevin asks what it says and I show him. He reads it, says, "Hmm" and puts the letter down. That's it. Why isn't he freaking out like I am in my mind. I must have had another look on my face. He says, "What, it's no big deal." Then I start in, she hasn't ever complained of headaches or not being able to see/read when we read books together. She never gave me any indications that something might be wrong with her eyes.
I tried not to make a big deal about it when she got home. I asked her if she could see the chalkboard or the overhead projector okay at school. She said yes. I asked her if her head ever hurt when she read books, she said no. So I am thinking, the nurse must be wrong, right? Jacob and Kayla started talking about the hearing and vision screenings that they had. They talked about the beeping they heard and having to raise their hands when they heard the sound. They talked about the vision test and Jacob said it was so easy and Kayla said it was hard at the very bottom, the letters were too small, hmmmmm.
I don't know. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with wearing glasses. As a matter of fact I like the way people look in glasses. My middle sister, Lisa, wears glasses and I think she looks so cute. My mom wears glasses and so does my mother-in-law. I have seen lots of little kids with glasses and I always think they look so cute in their little glasses. Isn't Ms. Palin setting some sort of new trend with her glasses? As a junior high kid I actually had my mom buy me the fake glasses with no prescription in them because I wanted to wear glasses. I'm a dork right. So why am I freaking out about this? I kept staring at Kayla for the rest of the night. She is so beautiful. Not that wearing glasses would make her less beautiful, I just don't want the glasses to get in the way of her beautiful eyes and amazing features. I just can't picture her in glasses. I don't even know if she needs glasses. I am just jumping to conclusions and freaking out with out even knowing for sure if anything is really wrong with her eyes.
So I will be making an appointment to see the eye doctor soon. Kayla has no idea that we got a letter home or anything. This is just me being shallow and not wanting to have to buy my daughter glasses. I guess she can wear contacts when she gets older, right!?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Jacob "Breaking it Down" Part 2

Did you see that video?!?! I can't even begin to tell you how fun and exciting it was to watch him do that. I was so scared and nervous at first, I didn't want him to get hurt. His instructors were absolutely awesome!! They were so good with the kids. I have to admit, I honestly didn't think he was going to actually break the boards. I thought he would attempt to but I really never thought he would actually do it. What a good mom I am, right.

When we signed him up for the class we had to decide how many boards we wanted to buy for him. All of the other parents were buying eight, so we bought eight. The instructor suggested twenty and I thought are you nuts!! No way. We, or rather Jacob, had never done anything like this before. Now looking back, I wish I had bought him more boards to break. Maybe next time. Yes, I said next time. Apparently Jacob really enjoyed the adrenaline rush that he got from this class and can't wait for the next one. He said that next time he wants to try to break scallops (cement). YIKES!! His instructor thinks he can do it. I think he can too!!


Since we got home he has been trying to break EVERYTHING!!!! He got to bring home his broken boards and has been trying to break them again. I was so proud of him. We had a blast watching our little man do such big man things. I think I even saw a tear out of the corner of Kevin's eye. He claims it was the saw dust, yeah right!

If you are considering putting your kids in martial arts, DO IT!! I am so glad Jacob asked us if he could give it a try. It has been such a confidence builder for him.

Good Job Jacob!














Jacob "Breaking it Down"

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A New Venture

I feel like I have been in my own little world this week. I haven't been checknig my blog daily, I forgot to make some VT appointments (I will do it today, I promise Haley), I have been pretty good about keeping up with the house chores and my kids' activites, but I have been very distracted becuase I have had something else on my mind all week.
You see, I guess I felt that I wasn't busy enough already or something, I don't know, but I decided that it might be fun to try and run my own little "at home" business. Yes, I finally took the plunge and decided to sign up to be a Scentsy Consultant. Do you think I am nuts? I am actually VERY excited. I am doing it for sheer fun. I just really love the product and I love when I get invited to Heathers parties, so I thought why not, I really have nothing to lose. I can make some new friends and maybe a little extra holiday spending money. So I have had Scentsy on the brain all week. That being said, I'll take this opportunity to give myslef a little plug!!
Scentsy Open House
Saturday, October 25, 2008
1:00 - 4:00 pm
My House
I am doing a door prize drawing and also the first 10 guests receive a gift. There are a lot of really great fall and winter fragrances and new warmers as well. We even have a new over the counter plug-in warmer that is great for bathrooms or kitchen counters.
There you have it, my shameless plug for me new little business. Come by if you can. If you can't, call me if you would like to buy some product or schedule a party.
Have a SCENT-sational weekend!!(Yes, I did just go there!)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

This Weeks To Do List

Ever noticed how one week will be really quiet with not much going on and then the next week is filled with lots of stuff to do. It's never evenly spread out, things just seem to all hit at once. I know there are a lot of you out there who handle a lot more on your plates that I do, but for me this week is pretty busy. I always tend to get all nervous and stressed out when I have multiple things going on in the week.



Besides the regular house chores and activities such as gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do, and FHE, Amy decided to throw in a small get together tonight. I also have Activity Days tomorrow and I feel so unprepared. I really want this to be a fun activity for the moms and daughters and I feel like I have nothing ready and like I don't know what I am doing. If I hadn't scheduled my little get together for tonight maybe I would have more time to prepare for Wednesdays activity. I also have to teach the lesson in RS this week. I LOVE teaching in the RS, I just hope I have the time that I need this week to really study and prepare for Sunday because it is such a great lesson. I am doing at least one VT appointment this week and hopefully get to the other two next week, maybe I won't be so crazy. It just happened to be that this week I have both Activity Days and my lesson and I just want to put 100% into both and I feel like maybe they won't be exactly what I want them to be.


This is just me venting. I feel like when I write things down or say them out loud I am able to move forward. I love being busy, though. I would rather be busy than have nothing to do and be completely bored. Like I said I know some of you have way busier weeks than I do, but for me this week, it feels like a lot.

Monday, October 13, 2008

OUR Friday Night Lights

The Olson Family typical Friday night at this time of year usually includes sitting down at Lampson Stadium watching the Southridge Suns play football. We have done it for YEARS! Why? you may ask. Neither of us attended school in the Tri-Cities and Southridge wasn't even built when we were high school age!! Yikes! The reason is that my sister, Lisa, graduated from there in 2002 and my youngest sister, Ashley, is a Senior there now. Besides my sisters going there, we know lots of families and youth who go there from when Kevin and I were in the Kennewick East Stake and attended the old 14th ward. It's fun to go and watch all of these kids who I use to be a primary teacher for and now they are taller than me (I know that's not hard) but they are so grown up. So anyway, that is why you can often catch our family at Southridge events.

This past Friday night took the cake of ALL games I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Why? Was it because the opponent was Pasco? It was a very good game. We have friends on both sides so that made it even more fun to watch. Both teams played so well and there were so many exciting moments. In the end it was a 10-7 Southridge victory, but that wasn't why it was so fun to watch. This was why is was so fun:









This is Kayla's first official performance on a field. She's the one with the pink gloves on. She was SO excited. The wonderful girl in front of her instructing the little girls is my sister, Ashley. It was so awesome to not only watch Kayla out there, but to see both Kayla and my little sister out there together. It was a proud moment for our little family.



This is video of the SHS Dance team, Heatwave, performing (See video up above. Coudn't get it to post here for some reason!). They are simply awesome. They also happen to be three time State Champs in dance and are trying for a fourth title this year. The SHS Dance team also has the AWESOME privilege of going to HAWAII to dance in the PRO BOWL in February. Isn't that awesome! I wish I could go with them!!




So there you have it. This was OUR Friday Night Under the Lights!!



Did you get yours?





Did you get your HSM Ice Tour tickets? We did!! Our kids are so excited! Well, they actually don't know yet, but I know they will be excited!! I am not sure if I should tell them or surprise them. I think I might just surprise them and tell them we are going on a day trip or something.


The tour will be in Spokane from November 19 - 23. I thought I would pass the info along because I know there are a lot of little (and big) HSM fans out there. I know they have other dates in Seattle, Wenatchee and Portland.


Hope to see you there!

Friday, October 10, 2008

While the BOYS are away the GIRLS will PLAY!!

It's officially a girls weekend!! My boys left early this morning to go on the Olson Boys' Hunting/Camping trip. I am not a huge fan of hunting or guns but Kevin grew up with it and I trust him completely to teach Jacob all the responsibilites and safety that go along with it. Jacob just got his first BB gun this week and is so excited to go try it out on the pop cans. I guess getting your first gun is a right of passage for some boys.



ANYWAY - while the boys are shooting up Bambi, the girls and I are going to have a great weekend full of make-overs and mani/pedi-cures, popcorn, watching High School Musical one and two in order to prepare for number three in theaters soon, we will be going to Barnes and Nobles to buy each of the girls a new book. They have both told me they want a spanish story book. We only have two spanish story books and they have them both memorized. Kayla says we need more so we will go and see what we can find.



All in all we are ALL in for a weekend of fun!! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, too!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

2 Year Well-Check



This morning I had the "pleasure" of taking Kelsie to her two year well-check with her pediatrician. I am usually really on top of getting appointments scheduled, but it seems that with the third child it didn't seem that important to take her to the doctor seeing as how she is not sick. So I scheduled the appointment about a week ago knowing very well that she would probably be getting a few shots. This is where I will start to rant and rave. I feel as though I am a very responsible parent. I take my kids to all their check-ups both medical and dental. Take them in when they are sick, which thankfully is not very often at all. Give the the proper medication following all the directions. BUT - I do have to say that I REALLY hate it when my kids get immunized. I myself am not a fan of needles at all. The only needle that I "enjoyed" was the epidural. I am a very big weenie. I hate it even more when I willingly drive my children to the doctors office knowing that they will be poked any where from 2 -5 times depending on how old they are and what they are due for. Then you have to hold them down while the "nice nurse" with the FREEZING cold hands (why are nurses' hands ALWAYS so cold?) sticks them in the thigh and your child is looking at you like "HELP ME MOMMY!!! YOU ARE LETTING HER HURT ME!!" Afterwards they look at you like, "I trusted you and you let her do that to me, why?" I always feel so bad. When Jacob was a baby I used to make Kevin take him in. I just couldn't do it. Then when Kayla came a long we split the duty. Now with Kelsie I have been the one to do it each time.


My other complaint is that I am positive that with each child they add like 50 (slight exaggeration) new immunizations. Seriously, is that necessary? So we need to be super human and immunized against everything? Isn't it okay to let a few bugs get in from time to time? I mean c'mon. I was literally lectured today about the second chicken pox vaccine that they have now and the new and improved booster/tetanus shot that all adults need to get. I had the chicken pox when I was like thirteen and I am fine. Yeah I was really itchy for like a week but so what. Isn't it kind of a right of passage to get the chicken pox? Of course I am not saying that I wish any of these illnesses or diseases upon my children but I just feel like "they" are trying to make you immunize our kids against everything. If you look at my immunization record it looks practically empty. I am sure my moms' has way less and I doubt that my grandparents EVER got shots and my grandfather is alive and well at 82. I know there are those who choose not to immunize at all. I guess I am just lazy and just conformed to what I am "suppose" to do and never really looked into any other options. Isn't there a lot of red tape and paperwork when it comes time for school and sports and stuff?


I'm just saying . . . I am all for keeping everyone healthy and I understand the importance of it all but really sometimes I just get so annoyed.


So back to this morning . . . so "nice nurse with cold hands" sticks Kelsie twice in the thigh while she is sitting in my lap and I am holding her down and, of course, Kelsie is just screaming. I mean really screaming. Kayla was with me because she has afternoon Kindergarten, but she didn't want to be in the room so the nurse let her step out and pick a toy from the treasure chest for Kelsie. After the shots were administered and they nurse opened the door, Kelsie still screaming, Kayla walks in the room and hugs Kelsie and hands her the Dora Etch-a-Scetch toy that she picked out for Kelsie. Kayla says, "Here Kelsie, I picked this out for you." Kelsie INSTANTLY stops crying. No joke. Stops, just like that. "Thank you Tayla, " says Kelsie and hugs her back. She picks out a sticker from the sticker box and walks out the door like nothing ever happened. WHAT?! I guess mom gets all worked up about nothing. Go figure.


So now I want to know, how do you feel about the whole vaccines issue? I want to hear all your comments whether you agree or disagree with my little tale. What do you think?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Lights, Camera . . . No Smiles

Don't you just love it when your kids are being all cute and funny. They get all wound up and are just acting silly. So then Mom says to herself, "Oh, I should get out the camera." You know what happens next? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! The second I bring out the camera to take some pictures or video, they stop doing whatever cute thing it was that they were doing. Or they try to reenact or "plan out their scene". I want natural action shots you know. Why do they torment me so?

On the flip side, today, and most of the time, Kelsie is all cheesy and smiley. She has the most amazing smile. We got her all dressed up curls in place to get her picture done today for her second birthday. All morning long she was being all cute and smiley and saying "cheese" and laughing. We get to the picture place, still happy and playing and smiling. We go into the photo room, Ms. Photographer Lady grabs the camera and . . . Kelsie starts CRYING!!! What! Are you kidding me. Seriously. So frustrating. I never thought I would be the mother with "that kid" who wouldn't cooperate during pictures at the studio. I was able to bribe her into three, yes a total of three, good shots. She does look completely cute, but I know we could have gotten better.

I need to figure out a way to capture all that cuteness. Any ideas?