Snow Much Fun

See how I did that with the title? We had snow much fun sledding today with Grandma. Since it only snows enough to sled like once year, we hit the hill today and had a blast. And I didn't break my tailbone this year, so that was a plus.

 Peanut got his first face full of snow with Grandma.

 Daddio and Bubba.

 Mama and JP. He was not a happy camper after that much cold snow in his face.

 Cute Coco after sledding down backwards.

 Grandma and Coco after he lost his beanie.

 Bubba's first face full of snow on this ride. He got hit like two more times.

Cute JP boy.

Fabulous Five Year Old

 Look what cute five year old lost his third tooth. He's the only one in Kindergarten to have lost that many teeth. It helps that brothers knocked a few loose this year.

My new favorite face he makes. He likes to make this face when we're trying to read scriptures before bed. He's really good at making everyone laugh. Random fun fact he told me today in the car: Polar bears can smell seals through five feet of ice. Never a dull moment with this kiddo around.

Baby, It's Frickin' Cold Outside

Man alive, it's cold out. That's my biggest complaint about living here. I seriously love everything else (okay, maybe not the slow drivers), but we have nice, hot summers, school is across the street from our neighborhood, we have great neighbors, we don't live right in town, it's safe enough for my kids to play outside and roam around the neighborhood. What more could a girl want? No snow! I hate snow. I hate everything about snow. I grew up in Southern California where it was 81 degrees one Christmas Day when I was sixteen. Those weenies down there are complaining right now because it's 55. I used to be one of those weenies. Now, when it's 55 out here, we bust out the short sleeves. It's currently 13 out and it's almost 3 pm. Gag! I have to drive my kids to school. It literally takes five minutes to walk from our house, and I have to stinkin' drive them because your face is frozen before you even make it to the sidewalk. It's not even Christmas and I'm ready for winter to be over. Give me 100 degrees any day of the week and I'm a happy girl.

Our house finally looks like Christmas is coming. We got our delicious smelling tree on Saturday and JP appointed himself Mayor of the Christmas village and set it all up-including who's in charge of each building. We set up our beautiful, new Nativity set that we just inherited from B's bonus-mom. I've always wanted one like it. I've learned to play a few songs on the piano. (Yes, I'm in my thirties and taking piano lessons). I'm done shopping and everything gets wrapped as soon as it comes in the door. I go straight to my closet, lock the door, wrap, and then hide them in boxes or bags (yes, even though they're wrapped). I don't let them put them under the tree until Christmas Eve. Those little buggers are at the age now where they want to shake things and guess what it is. Sometimes, it's hard to disguise the shape too. I caved and let them each bring one down Sat. night. I've even resorted to wrapping small things in big boxes and stuffing the boxes with extra tissue paper, magazine paper, or other stuffing so even if they shake it, they won't hear something rolling around. Made cookies last night and the kids will frost after school. Gonna decorate the gingerbread house tonight and possibly attempt to make some sort of candy to give to the neighbors with our cookies.

My sister is coming down for the holiday and to celebrate my fluffy bunny nephew's first birthday. We were also excited to find out that they will be moving back next month from seven hours away. The boys couldn't be more tickled to see their cousin all the time. And I'm sure my sister won't mind having a babysitter close so she and her husband can finally go on a date again. Plus, Meme is coming after Christmas for the New Year and Grandma Susan is coming after that. Woot! All in all, it's gonna be a great holiday season at our house. (Well, except for the sucky snow and icy roads).

If You're Crazy and You Know it, Shake Your Meds

I saw that on a T-shirt online, and it cracked me up. It made me laugh because that's how I think of myself at times. The people who know me well, know that I suffer from bi-polar disorder. But many of you don't know that about me. I'm very open about it, and decided I want to share my story.

My parents were divorced when I was barely older than my youngest is now, so I primarily grew up with my mom. She was re-married maybe a year later or so. The only happy childhood memories I have are from the time my mom and I lived with my grandparents while she was single and when they babysat me during the summers while she worked. That may sound harsh, but it's my reality. But that's a story for another post.
As a teenager, I had issues. I know all teenagers have issues, but I had some major stuff going on that kept me in a dark place mentally. I always wondered what was wrong with me. I know my junior high and high school friends can attest to the fact that I was extremely moody.

I had dark days, but then there were times when I felt like a total spaz. I was hyper, chatty, excited, productive... you get the idea. It's no wonder none of my boyfriends ever stuck around in high school, or college for that matter. That is, until I met my husband. I have no idea why or how he stuck with me, but lucky for me, he did. He never once called me crazy or asked what was wrong with me. He just loved me for the way I was. After I had our first baby, I got a little post-partum depression. After our second baby, I had it again. My doctor put me on Prozac. I thought it would help, but it didn't really seem to do anything. After the third baby, she put me on it again. After my last pregnancy, I took it again for awhile, but I didn't really see the point. Nothing seemed to help me.

Finally, a friend from church was talking with me one day about her depression issues. She told me she found a doctor who finally diagnosed her as bi-polar. I decided to go see him. It couldn't hurt, right? At my first visit, he asked me a million questions, starting with my youth up to the present. When he was done, he diagnosed me as being bi-polar and explained what that meant. A light bulb went on and I thought, "Ohhhh, that totally makes sense now." It was a great day. I finally knew what was wrong with me. I wasn't just completely crazy! That was a couple of years ago. Now, I'm on medication to stabilize my mood. Anti-depressants (like my doctor kept putting me on after having babies) don't help people who are bi-polar unless you also take a mood stabilizer. I joke about it now, "I have to refill my crazy pills," or "I have an appointment with my crazy doctor today."

I still don't know what a "normal" bad day feels like when my doctor asks me. I've never felt normal, so what does that mean? But I don't have days very often where I don't want to get out of bed or leave the house, hiding out in the dark. I still have low days sometimes, but not extremes like I used to. I do welcome the spaz days. Those are the days I get a lot done. I get into an OCD organization zone or I sit and write. Why am I telling you all of this? I'm not sure. As I've gotten older, I've decided I don't like keeping secrets. I'm done keeping hurtful secrets for other people, and so I'm open about all of it now. I want to share in case there are others like me out there, who have wondered their whole lives what is wrong with them. Don't be afraid to ask for help. And don't be afraid to suggest to a loved one that they might need help. This is something hereditary, so it's important to find out about it.