Updates Vol. II

[5ft Diva]

Okay, it's time for updates again. What's been going on w/ all of you. I think our last update was sometime in September so I would think that there's at least something fun and exciting (or not so fun and boring) going on in your lives. I love hearing what the members of this forum are doing.

Since we last updated I have become big w/ child. I'm about seven months along in my pregnancy. We do not know what we are having.

I am still homeschooling ds #1. It was a lot in my day to teach him everything that we signed up for and I noticed that English was just a bunch of busy work for him and I absolutely hated teaching him art so we dropped those subjects and are now only doing Math, Science and History. We are both much happier and I am able to spend more time w/ my little ones.

We are working towards getting our house ready to sell....still. I think BS wants to put the selling part on hold for right now, but I could be wrong so it might be a while before we get a sign up.

We just bought a new "family mover" as BS likes to call it and need to sell our other one. I can't wait until that is all taken care of!

We have all three boys in Jr. Jazz and so our Saturdays are crazy busy. I do like that all of their practices are on the same night though. It certainly makes things run a lot smoother during the week.

There's really not a whole lot going on w/ me personally because I'm devoting so much time to the family right now. Well actually, now that I think of it, I've been working on some key relationships and core issues in my life and so a lot of what I spend my time doing is below the surface where there is very little detection of activity going on. So, I guess I am doing a lot for me. Okay, I'm not feeling so bad about ignoring myself anymore. I am, however, feeling socially deprived - so I'm going to need to work on that. I haven't been out - "out" - w/ my friends in months it seems and would like to do that sometime. Anyway, there's my recap.

[Stargazer]

This isn't fun or exciting, but it's my update - take it or leave it. The last year and a half has been really hard. We found out my mother had cancer in September 2006, 5 days later we burned up the engine in our van, 4 days after that our beloved car got totalled (not my fault may I add). I'm still dealing with that physically and emotionally. In May we were rear ended on a freeway in Seattle and it totalled our van (fortunately we were able to drive it home and thanks to the great generosity of a friend it is fixed). I was starting to feel pretty "normal" again when my mom passed away on February 1st of this year. It has hit me hard and left me with a lot of questions. I was going to say more here, but maybe I'll start a new thread somewhere more appropriate. I have made it through the anger stage and am now in the weird/sad stage. I thought maybe things would level out now, but things just stirred up at Todd's work and so it's raised some issues here. I am truly wishing for a break. Does that make sense. It just seems that it would be nice to have some less stressful days for awhile. I do have to say that I have learned a lot. What kind of frightens me is wondering what I'm being prepared for . . .

On a happier note - my children are doing quite well. My babies are 5 and going to kindergarten I'm not expecting. We have hit puberty with our oldest and wow - emotional rollercoaster!!! She's a good kid though. Our oldest DS got baptized in October and is enjoying cub scouts. And girl scout cookie delivery is getting close to being done. My commitments at the school are nearing an end and I'm not commiting to anything until the fall when I see where I'm at mentally and emotionally. I'm most looking forward to figuring out how to spend 2 1/2 hours of alone time 5 days a week. Maybe I'll figure out how to get my house clean.

[natickgirl]

Wow! You've really been through a lot. Any one of those things you mentioned is stressful just by itself. I hope you get a break.

My mom died of cancer, too. It's been almost 15 years, now. You never really get over it, you just learn to deal with the sadness when it comes. You can PM me if you ever want to talk about it...I've learned a lot. I wish you the best.

[PhillyGirl]

The biggest update for me is that I am training for a sprint triathlon. It is on June 21st so I have a few months to prepare. I am very excited and nervous at the same time. It is a .5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. I am in no way in great shape so I will just be happy if I complete it. So wish me luck that I won't die along the way!

[crazyK]

Okay, I haven't been on here for ages. So, I will start from beginning. I have 4 kids, 5 if you count DH (did I use that right for husband?). 2 girls and 2 boys in that order. Yep lucky. We have lived here for 9 years. I am trying the coupon thing from RS Stake Conference. I am seeing a little bit of a difference. But I also am on a budget. Which is working really well but yuck. I love to read, sketch and play games. I also do like to cook but I hate to clean. I was supposed to run a marithon or just a 5k but my lung might explode. I am still working on it but not for this year. I do like riding my bike and as far as weight loss the biking is the best for me. I am a jack of all trades. To me that means I can do a lot of things but not very many of them can I do well. But I do have fun trying. And of course I am a choc-o-holic!

[5ft Diva]

Good luck, PG, with the ST! I'm envious - not really, but you get the idea. I can't wait til I can start running again as it's such a stress release for me even though it's hard for me to get out and do it. Let us know how you are doing.

Yes, CK, you used DH right. So much easier than writing it all out, eh?

SG, I hadn't realized how fast all of those things happened in your life for you - and don't forget to mention you have twins. You are an amazing woman to get through all of this the way you have. I can't imagine the depth of pain one would have in losing her mother, especially with as close as you were to her. I think I might be in the nut house at this point if I were you. You surely are a strong person. Your example is encouraging.

[Erudite]

Well, I have news and this is a good spot for it.

My life is SLOW and that's a GREAT, GREAT thing! Last November, I got really, REALLY sick. I've been close to bed ridden for just over 4 months now. On Monday, I had an appt with a specialist and got a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. It wasn't a surprise, but what to do about it was. He thinks I also have a sleep disorder, which is what brought on the fibromyalgia. So I have to have a sleep study done and he gave me some drugs (ah the beauty of living in the 21st century!) to help regulate my sleep. That was a bit of a surprise, but then I've always been a sleeper. That's all I thought it was...that I needed a lot of sleep, but he thinks it's that I don't sleep right (as in I don't get to deep sleep the way I should) so that my body gets overloaded because it doens't have rejuvenation time.

Also, he said I need to stop doing "weight bearing" exercise. That one floored me. I'm like "wait, I was training for a 5k! Are you saying that that CAUSED the problem??" He said "pretty much." So, I can't use walking and running as exercise anymore. I need to get a stationary bike and go swimming.

So get that...the treatment for my illness is my two favorite activities...swimming and sleeping. Am I blessed or what? Anyway, I went to our local pool yesterday and got a membership. I have to start with just 10 minutes 2 days a week, but I get to start and for that I'm grateful. I've been so exhausted I haven't wanted to exercise, but swimming changes the whole picture. I'm going to save up to get a bike next fall when I can't ride mine outside anymore. Anyway, it's very encouraging.

Other news is about the same. I still teach online college courses, I still study the scriptures nearly every day. I still have 4 wonderful kids, though I wish the 11yods would pull it together a bit more with the homework thing. I'm still married to the BEST husband on the planet. Oh...we have two kittens who might be new to you all...

I used to introduce myself, with some pride, as "crazy busy". I don't anymore. My life has slowed down to a crawl, and while I expect that it'll pick back up to healthy stride fairly soon, I will keep it from becoming "running faster than I'm able" forever. The Doc said my body would remind me that I have fibromyalgia if I did that. But I've found untold blessings in slowing down. "Mothers who know do less" Sister Beck.

[bookworm]

Thanks for the update, E! I was wondering what was going on. When I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue, I kept hearing about fibromyalgia- I guess the symptoms can be similar, but CF usually doesn't include pain, where I guess fibromyalgia can. I hope your treatment has great success.

I agree with you on sleep and swimming- I love those two activities, too.
Good luck!!