Happy Anniversary!!!!

So yesterday was Curtis and my anniversary. 9 years, yes, I said 9 years. We were young and thought we new it all and that life would never be hard. In that 9 years we have moved, suffered unemployment, my return to work, surgeries, been through infertility treatments, had 2 fabulous boys and lived in 3 states. while the rough times were especially rough the sweet times have been just as sweet. I can't wait to see where the next 9 years takes us!

Weight Loss Adventures

Okay so a couple of posts ago I mentioned a desire to lose weight. Here are the reports. I am down to just under 170. I am in a size 12 (down 2 sizes from before) and I am actually getting up to work out in the morning. Sometimes that is getting on the elliptical, sometimes, the wii fit and others the ea sports active. Its hard, but the benefits I have seen so far have made me happy. I haven't had pain from a cyst in almost 3 weeks, my new pants I just bought are almost to big on me, and I have noticed I don't crave sweets as much as I used to. I can skip dinner if I had a large lunch and not really notice being hungry later. All in all good things are coming from this. The results are definitely worth the effort. I am planning on participating in the Race for the Cure this Oct. with a couple of the other ladies at work. We may not run the whole thing but finishing it will be a huge boon for all three of us. Wish us luck!

Boys!

Raising two very active boys has brought us some very interesting moments. My brother is almost 7 years younger than I am, so I don't really remember too much about when he was younger, something about being a teenager meant life was all about me, so my boys are quite the adventure and not always something I am ready for.

Talon is obsessed with what else? ROCKS! The boy brings homes rocks from daycare by the pocketful. I find them in the laundry, in the car and in their bedroom. Of course having a mommy that wants to go back to school for her geology degree doesn't help the situation at all. I believe that given half a chance every rock/ piece of concrete in the yard would end up in his bedroom as part of his rock collection. He also says the funniest things. We drove down to Austin to surprise my mom for her Birthday and Mothers day. While we were driving Curtis got the kids to start naming words that start with different letters. When they got to "T" Talon told us "T is for me and taco." The kid cracks me up.

Logan is almost done with the first grade. He has done so well in school. He is reading books that are sixth grade reading level and surprises us everyday with how much he learns and absorbs. He loves to learn so much, that we have to threaten to not let him do his homework so he will do his chores. He is such a good big brother and a gentle boy. He loves to read about science and I can catch him at any given moment reading about Dinosaurs and other animals. When we let him watch TV he wants to watch old episodes of Nova and National Geographic. He is a kid after my own heart and I hope he continues to love to learn!

Curtis has been struggling a bit with being ward mission leader, but still loves his calling. He is such a great help during this time of year, when my work schedule gets so changed around. He keeps up with the boys and the house, so that I don't have to worry about it.

I love my crazy boy filled life and wouldn't trade it for any other!

Time to come to terms with my health

Warning: This post may be a bit TMI for a bit so feel free to skip parts!

like 10-15% of adult women in the US I have PCOS. What is that you ask? It stands for Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Basically my ovaries are covered in lots of little, and sometimes big cysts. They hurt, burst on occasion and just make life miserable. I first developed the symptoms 10 years ago, but wasn't diagnosed until 5 years ago. We had trouble conceiving both of our children and my doctor told me if I had even been 5 years older when trying to get pregnant with Talon it would have been very close to impossible. PCOS also makes it very easy to gain weight and hard to lose it. It can mean you have a higher chance of developing diabetes, certain type of cancers and heart conditions later in life. The great part about this is when you talk to a Primary Care Physician most have no clue how it can affect your life. Sounds like a picnic doesn't it?

I have decided that I have got to come to terms with my health. Part of that being to lose some weight. Before I started having symptoms I weighed under 150lbs. Now, I weigh 174 (and that's after losing 7lbs already). I have decided that I have PCOS and it WILL not control my life and I am through making excuses for my health because of it. I will lose the weight and take control of my health and not let PCOS be an excuse any longer! I am eating healthier and working out at least 3 times a week. I will be looking forward to the day that I no longer have to worry about the pain of a burst cyst or the acne I still have in my late 20's. My plan is to be in a size 10 by the end of the summer! I will accomplish this!

Poteau, Proms, and Spring Break

As I write this I am sitting in a hotel Poteau Ok. Where is that you ask? Poteau is a decently sized town on the eastern edge of Oklahoma. Since I am a photographer for a company whose main business is school portraits, I travel all over the state and sometimes others. This week is spring break for most of the state of Oklahoma so we do a couple of Arkansas schools this week, that means an overnight in Poteau.

My boys are still trudging along, Logan is asking all kinds of questions about life and science, as children are likely to do. Talon is becoming quite the clown, and parrot. Anything that Curtis or I say around him can be found coming out of his mouth later. I have heard him say things like "you get what you get and you don"t through a fit."

Curtis took a trip to Dallas for work during all of the snow we got in Februaury, and almost got stuck there for a while. The week after Valentines day, my mom and sister met us in Ft Worth and kept the boys entertained for a day so that Curtis and I could go to see the Cougars take on TCU and win in a basketball game. It was a good game and worth going in person for. Curtis is super about his team's chances in the big dance.

All this brings me to PROM. No, not for me or my kids. The end of March and all of April are filled with proms each weekend. This means it is time to get creative on how and when to have family time and time for Curtis and I. Here's to making it through with my sanity intact.

New year and still not a ton of time...

Okay I confess, I am horrible at keeping in touch with family and friends. I realized the other day it has almost been a year since I talked to my best friend. Horrible I tell you. I can't even keep a decent blog going. So to remedy that I am posting today.

August brought the return of the school year and working in the school yet again. Logan started 1st grade and is doing wonderfully. I returned to the grind of being a school day photographer, with all its joys of early mornings and long hours. Curtis and Talon kept plugging along in their lives.

September was more of the same, at parent teacher conferences we found out Logan is reading better than most 2nd graders. We started potty training Talon, Curtis became more busy with work and his calling and I plugged along with my job.

October brought fall, pirate costumes for the boys, and a quick trip to my parents when Curtis had a business trip to Round Rock. The best part was my Grandma being there, I hadn't seen her in almost 4 years.

November meant my baby turned 3. It's official, I no longer have any babies any more. Thanksgiving was fun with just the four of us. I totally botched dinner and forgot to make rolls, Curtis put pies in the oven before I was ready for them and it was interesting shall we say.

December became a very lazy month. I began a 5 week vacation from work and Curtis took 2 weeks as well. We got some projects done, like painting the kitchen, clearing out the kitchen cabinets, fixing our shower, and deep cleaning the laundry room. The boys really enjoyed Christmas and we all look forward to the new year.

In January I went back to work and the season started off with more trainging (my 3rd time through spring training) and some new people but I enjoy hitting the road with my job.

Currently Talon is completely potty trained, Logan is reading at a 5th grade reading level, Curtis is keeping busy with work and his calling, and I am trying to keep up with everything.

catching up

A lot has happened since I last posted. Curtis was released from his calling as a scoutmaster (Yippee!!!!), but then called to be the ward mission leader (BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!). With both of us working again and having to parent our boys it feels like this new calling is just another stresser on an already stressed out family. Curtis now has a meeting every Sunday morning as well as one during the week. Enough about that.

The epic battle against perfume, colognes, body sprays and other smelly items continues. For those not in the know, I am highly allergic to those items and a few more. Being in Sacrament meeting is impossible for me due to the health repercussions. I end up with a major headache and my asthma flares up to an uncontrollable level. Each time I try to attend one meeting, I end up with yet another prescription of prednisone. For those of you not familiar with the drug it suppresses your immune system so that your lungs can heal. I sit in the foyer for all 3 hours each Sunday. At this point I have been doing this routine for over 6 months. I have discussed it with the bishopric and they are unwilling to help. Each and every Sunday Curtis sits with the boys in the chapel while I am banished to the RS room so that I can breathe and be worth something for the rest of the day. One time I asked a sister who sat next to me to move because she was wearing perfume and I got called out on the carpet for it. Why is it that being assertive when you are a woman means you are being a WITCH, but if you are a man it is something you get patted on the back for? Anyway, it is a struggle and one I continue to fight for over and over and over again.

We are potty training our 2yo and things couldn't be more interesting. Today he flushed a pair of underwear down the toilet. and I am sure there are more antics on the way.