"Spring break...but not actually a break.."

Time is flying by in the Hull household for yet another week!  Last week I celebrated my 34th birthday.  Which was really nice, considering that I was under the impression I was turning 35 this year.  During the week was the same old stuff!  Kids and I doing schoolwork and crafts, Hayden, Jeff and I going to rehearsal for the production that our church is doing on Good Friday, me exploring some new recipes for our new healthy way of eating, and appointments at the chiropractor and allergist.  The only real difference was that Jeff was gone both Friday and Saturday for the state drama festival, so most of the running around was just the kids and I (though my dad was sweet and drove me to my allergist appointment and mom kept the kids at home with her so I could have some quiet time!) I'm finding that when I get my shots, I start feeling like I have the flu for a couple of days.  I get sore and achy and really tired.  This week, I  had huge red bumps on my arms which were then surrounded by hives.  This started Friday evening after my shots and they finally were mostly gone by Wednesday.  It really stinks and it makes me feel crappy and miserable, but it will all help in the long run and be so worth it!  I have also spent a lot of the last week developing recipes and meals for our new way of healthy eating.  I have come up with some really terrific stuff, so I'm going to start an extra page on my blog for recipes!  I know that some of it sounds kind of far out- but my goal in this is to have my kids eating the things that they love and not know that those things are not filled with cane sugar or gluten or hormones or preservative or dyes.  So far, we have been very successful!  Nobody has complained about missing out on anything!
I was very fortunate on Sunday to be able to celebrate my birthday with several people that I love and adore!  It was a beautiful day and we spent over four hours sitting outside on the deck snacking and visiting.  It was a perfect celebration for me!
Jeff got back late Saturday night/early Sunday morning from the festival.  His students performed really well, but they were not one of the two schools to advance to the New England Festival.  He has been on Spring Break this week and the kids and I took the week off of school.  I still had daycare kids all day Monday and Wednesday.  And I had an ultrasound on my gallbladder on Tuesday morning.  The results from that are supposed to be in next week. The rest of the day Tuesday we cleaned the garage, cleaned outside, and played outside all day. Wednesday night we had rehearsal from 8-10 for our play and Jeff and mom and I are doing all the costumes so that will have to be worked on.  Today I got up and made some more cookies (check out the recipe page for this tasty treat) and a fruit and nut tart.  Jeff and I cleaned out Hayden and Cebelle's closets and pulled out their spring/summer clothes and tried all of them on to see how everything fit and to assess what they might still need for the summer.  This evening, we are going to watch the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader".  The kids are really excited.  We are having turkey burgers and fries for dinner and eating while we watch the movie.  It's a rare treat for us!  We have more busy days planned for the rest of the weekend as well.
Today was kind of our day to relax...and it has been more relaxing than most days.  But there are always things that need to be done!  We still need to get the kids showered and cleaned up and I still need to make dinner....well, the list goes on and on.  I'm just thankful that every busy day also includes some quality time with the people that I love.  My life is full of blessings and I thank God for them everyday!

"Rainy Days and Mondays...."

It's raining again today....and my family has been going non-stop for yet another week.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I like being busy and having things to do.  I think if more people had really full schedules and other people depending on them, it would mean that there would be fewer egocentric people who think that the entire world revolves around them and their self importance.  And I think we are all prone to that...we become so involved in the drama of our own lives that we fail to see the pain that others are suffering or the joy that others are feeling.  Life is meant to be celebrated and SHARED.  We all have this shared experience of birth, life, and death and I think it is a shame that we often become so self involved that we fail to take the time to share it.  Other peoples experiences not only mirror our own, they offer us opportunities to become better people.  We can learn from mistakes without making them, become more empathetic by experiencing grief that is not our own, and rejoice in accomplishments that we did not work for.   It makes me sad that people miss out on those things because they refuse to see that though they are unique and special...they aren't the only one.  God made all kinds of unique and special and loves us equally.  I think the least we can do is appreciate all kinds of unique and special and not get so caught up in our own version.
This has been a pretty normal week for us.  School, daycare kids, church, etc.  Jeff and Hayden and I had our first rehearsal for our church's Good Friday production last Wednesday. That was really fun.  I think it is really going to be great.  Cebelle is disappointed that she isn't involved, but I explained to her that she isn't quite old enough to read the lines and memorize them.  So she is content to stay home and play with Ninny and Papa while the three of us rehearse.
We had appointments on Friday, which has become the normal for us now.  The kids were at the chirpractor at 9.  They are doing wonderfully in their care there.  The difference in the both of them is just astonishing to me.  I feel so blessed to have met these wonderful people and to have the benefits of their wisdom and experience and to have options that don't involve our family taking tons of medications.  Our change is diet has gone off without a hitch.  I actually ate some gluten and sugar a few nights ago and it made me ill.  I thought I really wanted a piece of bread....but I doubt that I will be wishing for that again.  It also made me really lethargic, which I haven't been at all since we changed our diets.  And I love eating all the fresh veggies and fruits.  Tonight for dinner we are having a maple/mustard pork loin, sweet potato latkes, and homemade applesauce.  I don't feel like I have given anything up.  I'm working to completely get rid of soda.  Right now I have one about once a week.  And then my next step will be caffeine.  I will probably do a cleanse shortly after.
I also had my second round of venom immunotherapy on Friday.  The shots burned this time.  They felt like fire going into my arms all four times.  I also had my first reactions the day after.  My right arm was really itchy and feverish.  I also broke out in head to toe hives on Sunday after cleaning out my flower beds and being outside most of the afternoon.  That resulted in a mess of blood blisters covering my neck and chest.  Hopefully, that is completely unrelated to my injections.
Hayden and Cebelle have been doing amazingly well.  I am so proud of these two kids and all that they do.  Hayden has decided he might want to play baseball this year.  I will wait and see.  He did this last year and then when Jeff and I told him that if he signed up that he was responsible for being an active participant at every game and practice and that if he made the commitment there was no quitting, he changed his mind pretty quickly.  I think he just wants to go hang out with his friends....the fact that there is more physical exercise than I already make him do for PE is a serious drawback.  Also-he isn't really much of a team player.  I think he would do well in martial arts or gymnastics, but I haven't been able to find a program for him that fits into our schedule.
Cebelle has no interest in sports.  She just wants to craft.  She makes all kinds of cool projects and when I craft-she is usually right up in the middle of it!  She is very creative and inspired.  She is actually even learning to knit and crochet.  She does a knit cast on really well and she can do a small crochet chain.  I don't force it on her, I let her practice whenever she wants to.  We haven't moved on from that because she wants her cast on and chain to be perfect and even before she learns the next step.  Considering that I spent days practicing the perfect cast-on before I knit a single stitch, I can completely understand that.
I do wish that the rain would go away.  I love what it does for my flowers...but it always makes me so completely lethargic.  There is nothing I would love more than to curl up with a good book under my favorite quilt and a cup of tea.  And after finishing a chapter....to snuggle up and take a little nap.  But that's just dreaming on my part....I will at some point curl up with my NOOKcolor and read another book.  I read one this morning while Hayden was working on some schoolwork.  But right now I have kids to shower and dinner to start and a house to clean.  I plan on keeping busy.  If I don't keep busy, I will get really depressed that my birthday is on Saturday and that Jeff won't be here.  I'm extremely proud of him and his students for advancing to the state festival.  This group of kids is amazing and they completely deserve to be rewarded for their hard work.  I just wish that it meant that Jeff wouldn't be gone for two days on my birthday weekend.  And if they win and advance to the New England festival, which would not surprise me considering the amount of talent that is in that show, he will be gone for the other half of spring break next week.  So-this is my struggle to not be self-centered and self-important.  Those kids deserve his time and effort and I refuse to make him feel bad for doing something that is so terrific.  I am extremely proud of him and those kids.  And though I will be sad to not share my day with him, I will be glad that he gets to share that special moment of accomplishment with those kids who so richly deserve it.  And I will be thrilled to spend the following day with family and good friends and celebrate what is important in life.   (No, not my birthday....didn't we just discuss the downfalls of self-importance?!?!)  We will celebrate life and love and shared memories and the fact that God has blessed me with another year of those with the people I love and cherish.  In all the craziness that is our daily lives, don't forget to celebrate your life and share it with those you love.  You will never regret it.

"Another week of sheer craziness"

The Hull household has been pretty much going non-stop since I last blogged.  Hayden and Cebelle had chiropractic appointments on Wednesday and Friday last week.  We found out a lot about their spines and how several things have been impacted by the supplexations in them.  I knew that having misalignments certainly wasn't good for you, but when a friend said to me, "It's the way that your brain talks to the rest of your body.  If those nerves are hindered in any way, how can your brain send the correct signals to the rest of your body"  It was a like a total lightbulb moment for me.  And if I can get my kids healthy and off the medications that they are currently taking by keeping their spine aligned and feeding them a healthy diet, then I am all for it!  After our chiropractic recommendations on Wednesday, we have completely eliminated the following from our diets:  cane sugar, gluten, hormones, dyes, and preservatives.  I know that sounds crazy-but you wouldn't believe the difference in our children!  And I feel really good!  It's not as difficult as I thought it would be, either.  We are eating lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins and also cheese and yogurt and mostly all organic.  The price for a box of cereal that is gluten free and sweetened with molasses and honey and not cane sugar is pretty much the same as the price of a box of crazy sugary cereal.  Bread was a little tricky, but we found a really good one that the kids love.  I'm very proud of them for not complaining.  They both have told me how much better they are feeling, so I know that it's the right decision.  (And don't worry-I consulted their pediatrician before I did any of these things and keep in touch with her constantly.  She also wants what's best for them!)  

Thursday was a pretty quiet day for the kids and I.  Jeff was at Castleton all afternoon and evening.  They had workshops and a production of "A Chorus Line" to try and recruit some students.  They all really enjoyed the show.  

Friday was a crazy trip.  The kids had chirpractic appointments early in the morning and then we had to take off to Burlington so that I could start my venom immunotherapy.  I was a total nervous wreck.  I got there and had to have two shots and wait 30 minutes and then have two more shots.  Which I guess is going to be the norm once a week for at least the next three months.  One hour and four shots.  Thankfully, I didn't have any adverse reactions.  After that, we went to Costco and the kids helped us pick out healthy snacks for themselves.  I was really proud.  They chose lots of fruits and veggies and hummus and beans and cashews and string cheese.  I tasted some dark chocolate covered acai berries at Costco.  They were SO YUMMY!  I wanted to get a bag of them, but they were $10 and I was afraid I would eat them constantly and totally defeat the purpose of a healthy snack....maybe next time!

Saturday we celebrated dad's birthday.  Roni and Jim joined us for lunch.  We had a surprise visit from our pastor and his wife.  They wanted Jeff and I to be in the play that our church does for Good Friday.  This year, the story is about Pilate and his role in the conviction and crucifixtion of Christ and how he deals with the aftermath of that within his personal life.  Jeff and I agreed and then Hayden later got roped in as well, so I guess we will be on stage!  I'm a little nervous about it because it's been years since I've acted in anything....but I'm sure it will all be fine!

Sunday we went to church and came home and cleaned house and did laundry.  Nothing terribly exciting.  

Monday I had a house full of daycare kids all day and Hayden and Cebelle had chiropractic appointments in the afternoon.  It was a bit of a crazy day.  Hayden and Cebelle are doing so terrific in their school work, despite our busy schedules and the fact that there are other kids here two days a week.  I'm very proud of them for maintaining their focus and working hard on their schoolwork.  

This morning, I had a follow-up appointment from my ER visit a couple of weeks ago. I went to and OB/GYN because the CT scan showed a large ovarian cyst. The doctor examined me and went over the causes and such of these cysts.  I have to have an ultrasound in the next few weeks or so to see if I need more follow-up.  AND-he thinks that the problem may not have only been a cyst, but also my gallbladder.  I'm still having pain (which I actually did not know until he poked at me...and then I sweared very inappropriately.  Thank God he thought it was humorous instead of being offended) and so I have to ALSO have an ultrasound on my gallbladder.  Which from my understanding...if that is the case...I will have to have my gall bladder removed.  Also-to add some more icing to my already scrumptious cake...the only way to keep my ovarian cysts from eventually causing issues is to have my tubes tied.  So-more dr appointments, more testing, probably more needles in my near future.  I knew things started going downhill at 30-I didn't realize that everything was going to go to complete crap by the time I turned 35...oh well, here I am, rolling with the punches....

The days from here on out look pretty much the same....appointments, rehearsals, daycare, homeschool....somewhere in all of that comes my 34th birthday.  (Honestly, until about two days ago, I thought it was my 35th...that's how much I care about these things...)  But-I am still extemely thankful for all I have been blessed with and I know that God will not give me something that I cannot handle.  I am in His hands and therefore I am not scared or worried.  I am too busy to be either of those things, anyhow!  But I love it and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Until next time.....God bless!

"Too many days to count...in 10 minutes or less."

When I started this blog, it was with these good intentions:
1.  For my kids to look at and know how much I love spending everyday with them
2.  For my Missouri family to read and get a look at our daily lives
3.  To remind myself of how special and unique everyday with kids is
I forgot to take into account the follwing:
1.  Everyday with kids, while special and unique, is also wild and crazy
2.  At the end of these days, I am so tired I forget what happened all day
3.  Finding time to sit at the computer, even for 10 minutes is very rare for me

There have been so many blog-worthy, crazy, wild happenings around here and I end up too tired and exhausted to sit down and tell the story.  So I'm going to try to sum up the highlights of the last 10 days or so.  I have realized that I don't have 10 minutes to sit down every day, so I'm going to aim for twice a week or so!
The last 10 days have gone somewhat like this:
For the first 2 or 3 days, I was highly medicated on pain pills.  I managed to teach school, go to our church marriage class, and do things around the house.  I did NOT drive, operate heavy machinery, or get out of my pajamas for most of those days.  Also, I'm pretty sure that more stuff happened then, but I don't remember it.
By Thursday morning of last week, I was finally out of my pain/medication haze and I was able to get a bunch of stuff in the house cleaned and organized.  Unfortunately, I remember most of that.  I went Thursday afternoon and picked up some donations for the regional drama festival and chatted with the head cook about the stuff I would need in the school kitchen to cater.
Friday was a round of appointments.  Hayden and Cebelle went to the chiropractor for the first time.  I'm very happy with how that turned out.  Turns out, both of them had some pretty severe misalignments and once they were adjusted, they both felt great!  We met mom and dad that day at McDonalds and had some lunch.  Jeff was busy with festival prep and he didn't get home until really late that evening.
Saturday morning was the start of the festival that Jeff was in charge of.  He woke up at 4:00am that morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Pretty rough, considering that we had to be at the school until almost 11 that night and he hadn't gone to bed until after 11pm Friday night.  We headed out around 7:30 am and he ran the festival and I catered the lunch and the dinner along with a host of some really terrific parent volunteers.  Jeff's students won which means they get to advance to the state competition which will take place over April 8 and 9.  Mom and Dad brought Hayden and Cebelle to eat dinner at the school so we could see them.  It was really fun to sit down and enjoy a meal with them.  Hayden was fascinated that I could cook dinner for that many people at once. (There were about 150)
Sunday morning, Jeff and I had nursery duty at the church.  We took care of 4 kids under the age of 2, which was tons of fun, but exhausting.  We came home and cleaned up our backyard some, cleaned up the driveway, fixed my van, cleaned house, and did the laundry.
Monday morning I had daycare kids start arriving at 6:30am and I had a house full of kids from 6:30 to about 5.  Hayden and Cebelle did all their schoolwork.  They have been running through all their schoolwork with ease and learning lots.  I am very proud of the both of them for all their hard work and dedication.  They both ended up having some major meltdowns Monday evening.  I expected it at some point because it has been such a crazy couple of weeks-and there doesn't look to be an end in sight as of yet.
So far today, we have finished our schoolwork.  I had a couple of daycare kids arrive at about 1.  They will be here until after dinner when we meet their parents at our church marriage class tonight.  Jeff will be home this afternoon early, so it shouldn't be too much trouble.  Hayden and Cebelle are wearing a little thin.  I think they could use naps, but they are refusing to take them.
Planned for the rest of this week:  chiropractic appointments Wed, Jeff taking a group of kids to Castleton and being gone until really late Thu, I have my first venom immunotherapy injection on Friday which requires me to take a trip to Burlington, birthday lunch for dad on Saturday, church on Sunday.  Possibly getting together with friends Friday evening.  And then Monday starts again with a house full of daycare kids.  Like I said, no end in sight!
That's a small summary of what I haven't blogged about lately.  There's been so much going on in our world as well and I don't really have the time to go into all of that!  I am, as every day, grateful for my family and wonderful friends,  thankful that I have another day on this earth,  hoping that people can change, and praying that they will.  God bless!

February 11

Yeah, so it turns out, I AM allergic to the white faced hornet after all.  You may be asking yourself, "How could she possibly know that?"  Well, to answer your inquiring minds...its because when I woke up this morning EVERY single place that I had been poked/injected (except for the control) were big, red, itchy bumps.  If you haven't been keeping track...that means the row on my forearm, the two rows on my right upper arm, and the one row on my left arm.  That's a total of 18 swollen, red, itchy bumps.  Nice.  I looked like I was attacked by a very large and very precise mosquito.  So I have now signed all of my paperwork that says I know I could die from treatment and put it in the mail.  I am also contemplating moving to Antarctica because I'm relatively sure there are no stinging insects there.  But I'm not sure I would get cell service there....so I'm still just thinking about it.
School went relatively well today.  Cebelle got a perfect on her phonics assessment.  Hayden needs a bit more practice with this weeks spelling list.  I'm trying to get him to break the larger words into sections to help him remember.  It seems to be working pretty well for him.
I have cornered Ruby about a half a dozen times today.  She keeps trying to get into the trash. I don't know what's up with her naughty self today.  She is feeling very defiant.  I'm assumming that it's because I was gone most of the day yesterday.  Like my biological children, my furry children get pretty angry with me when I am not here to meet their every need every moment of the day.  Ruby will usually find mom if I am busy and she needs love and affection (which honestly, for her, is quite often) but I suspect that since mom was really busy with Hayden and Cebelle yesterday that Ruby didn't get a lot of attention.  Today is payback for that.  She's such a stinker.  You might be wondering "why do you let her get away with that?" Well-for heaven's sake...look at these faces:

Now be honest...you would probably let them be stinkers too if they were sweet and lovable and made those faces at you all the time.  

We went to Rutland when Jeff got out of school and picked up a few things that we needed.  After nearly 3 years of waiting.....Jeff is finally the proud owner of and iPhone.   He is so unbelievably excited.  We ate at Taco Bell and had a great time with the kids.  I got some new rubber stamps for my paper crafting at Michaels.  I paid 47 cents a piece for them and they are going to look terrific with my embossing tools!  Nothing like a great crafting deal!  Mom and dad and Jeff and I are getting ready to sit down and watch Predators.  I took two benadryl because my arms are still all polka-dotted and itchy.  I'm betting that I turn into a total drool monkey about fifteen minutes in.  I'm trying to counteract the effects with caffeine....but not much luck.  I hope you all have a fun and adventurous weekend!