A Little Bit of This A Little Bit of That

Well it seems I posted a blog and then disappeared for three weeks! Oops! So rather then write a detailed blog I'm just going to highlight somethings :)


I am grateful! Grateful to all of your for your kind and loving words of congratulations!! To answer some questions I'm feeling GREAT! I haven't had any morning sickness at all and I've been so gratefully for that!!! We don't really care if we have a boy or girl. Honest. I never really believed people when they said that, but I guess now I will since it's how I feel! I'm sure if we have another I'll care then, but with our first it really doesn't matter! People have asked if I'm starting to show, I would say yes although the rest of the world might not agree! LOL I've gained a little weight, my pants no longer fit right but I really don't look pregnant. BUT my stomach is bigger then it used to be and I can tell a difference!!!





I had the flu. It was awful, I thought I might die! Maybe it's because I'm pregnant but it was the worst flu I've ever had! I threw up for 5 hrs straight. By the end almost every 10-15 min. and it was just stomach bile and blood! But the interesting part to me was the fact that the Dr. was more interested in the last time I had gone pee?!?! Which I was able to do just in the nick of time! Other wise it would have been off to the ER for us! I was glad Brent was such a trouper and when I was finally able to keep down some liquid went downstairs every hour to get me a refill. He took such good care of me!





Good part of the flu, yes there was a good part! I felt little Nutter butter flutter for the first time! Around 1 in the morning when I was finally able to keep some pedialite down I felt a little flutter!! I'm pretty sure Nutterbutter was doing a happy dance to finally get some food! I've been feeling some little "bubbles" since then and think that's what it is but being a first time Mom I' m not entirely sure!! But I really do think I'm feeling little baby movements!



One really bad part of the flu, I got super dehydrated! Which has now started causing Braxton Hicks contractions. That really freaked me out when I call the Dr. and they confirmed that that's what's going on. I thought that wasn't supposed to happen till the 3rd trimester. But apparently that starts at 6 weeks!! People just don't usually feel them till later on. I was really freaked out till I talked to a few Mom friends who confirmed it's normal and ok as long as they aren't consistent, painful, or accompanied with other symptoms. So I drink, drink, drink, and then pee, pee, pee. Oh well! I'm pregnant and everything is ok I'll move to the bathroom if I have to! Life is great I'm pregnant!!



Have you ever thought your feet/heels are dry? I bet they are not as bad as Brent's! He put a hole in our sheets with his dry feet!!! And yet the man refuses to get a pedicure! I've actually woken up to his feet scratching the sheets (I'm sure mostly because I'm pregnant and not sleeping as well but still) I try and help, I give him an at home pedicure but man I'm telling ya! So now I make him wear socks to bed. He doesn't like this so I put socks on him at night, yeah picture it! It's funny!


Also I had a housekeeper come and clean my house for me (this is in no way bragging, actually more the opposite, it's admittance that I'm not a very good housekeeper! And just FYI I traded for massage couldn't afford it otherwise) because I was SOO behind. I just needed someone to help me catch up. Well I'm definitely pregnant because after they left I went upstairs and literally got tears in my eyes that my bedroom and bathroom were so beautiful and clean! Yep very pregnant and hormonal! Thought I'd share because it was silly and funny!

PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a miracle! I know it's a miracle whenever a baby is conceived but for those of you who might be unaware this one is truly a miracle! I'll share the whole story but in case you just want the details here they are:

I'm at 14 weeks

Due date Sept 17

There is one perfect baby!

We found out Jan. 16th at about 5:30 pm a moment in our lives we will NEVER forget!! And despite the length of this post there are no words to describe the joy we have found in this!!!

What follows I warn is too much information, too personal, and WAY too long! Do not feel obligated to read. I've just felt like infertility has been such a huge factor in my life the past couple years that I wasn't ready to share with the whole world. Now that we are finally pregnant I feel.....maybe less vulnerable and thus more able to share the experiences we have had in our journey to parenthood!

Ok do you want the rest of the story? I guess if you are reading this it means you do! Prepare yourself it's a long story! It all started when Brent and I fell in love and got married (right that's where it always starts!!) We loved each other so much we thought we should share this love with a little one! But when do we want to do that? We decided to wait 2 years. I had always thought it would be a necessity to wait at LEAST a year to get pregnant. I wanted to lay a good foundation for our marriage before throwing in hormones of pregnancy and then the stresses of a child. Brent was in school and had about 2 years left so 2 years met my requirement of time, for us, to grow together, to learn more about each other, to fall even more deeply in love, give Brent enough time to finish school, etc! Well it was a great plan! But I learned about a year later that communication was also something we needed to improve upon when I had thought 2 years meant 2 years to HAVE a kid and Brent thought 2 years to start TRYING to have a kid! Pretty big difference! So I started dreaming of a kiddo, of joining the elite pregnant club, mommy club! Well it wasn't too long before dreaming turned into longing and my loving patience faded into nagging. Everyone who got pregnant before me was just a reminder that I was not any closer to my dream then the day before. Although I got advice such as just stop taking your birth control, I tried to be understanding of my husband. I also felt that was just dishonest! A child was a decision I felt should be agreed upon by both of us and as much as I wanted to start pursuing that goal I knew it would not be a wonderfully exciting experience if one of us was not excited or happy to hear we were pregnant!! I also reminded myself, we are both young and we haven't been married that long! We have plenty of time, there is NO rush! But once I'd been bit by the baby bug it would not go away!

So finally, as in all great marriages we made a compromise, 1 year 8 months after getting married, I went off birth control! Having a mother who was "Mama peez" and got pregnant just by sneezing (I'm only kidding but I'm also the oldest of 7 clearly fertility was not an issue, except maybe being TOO fertile!) I thought for sure we'd be pregnant right away. Now keep in mind I'd been ready for this for a while, so we were serious from the get go. Charting, taking my temp. Every morning, watching for other signs of ovulation. Well after a couple months I began to wonder if I was ovulating since I wasn't really noticing the signs that are supposed to happen at ovulation! But I was new at all this and gave it more time. Four months later I began to be suspicious that something was off. Keep in mind; this was not solely because I wasn't pregnant. I knew that could take a while, up to a year is considered normal. But we were doing everything right and I was NOT noticing signs of ovulating. I talked to a good friend who is a Dula and she told me some things I was experiencing were actually signs of NOT ovulating. So I check in with my Dr. she said keep trying! Give it time! Put me on a medication for a hormone that was imbalanced in hopes that would help and said try ovulation predictor kits for 2 months, that will help us see if you are ovulating or not. Oh and use them every day to make sure we don't miss it somehow! So I peed on a stick every day. With excitement and expectation! Only to never see a positive test! Check back in with the Dr. she recommends going back on birth control for 2 months to let my body "naturally" reset it's self. That was a saddening blow. Two months of birth control plus pregnancy time meant at least a year before we had a child, and that was IF we got pregnant right away after getting off birth control again, which I knew was not likely! After my "reset" birth control we did blood tests to see if I was ovulating. I became a frequent shopper at the lab! Once a week, for two months to have blood drawn, nothing, no ovulation. The Dr. gave me the news that my body was dysfunctional (that is not how she put it of course!) and it was almost a relief! At least I had a reason why I wasn't getting pregnant! Now that we had that information we could work on it and make progress! My Dr. put me on Clomid, a very commonly used fertility drug. Explained the risk of multiples and side effects and said good luck! I got to have more blood drawn every week for two more months, just to make sure the clomid was doing its job and making me ovulate. Good news!!! It did its job! We also had Brent's swimmers tested just to make sure everything was ok there and everything was perfect!
We were both very optimistic that this was all that we needed! Just a little something to make my body ovulate and then I'd get knocked up! I was really convinced in a month or two it would happen! Well two months later, clomid, other med, pee sticks every day, and still nothing. Check in with Dr. she says lets add this drug, maybe that will help. Nothing. Two months later check back in, well let’s tries adding this med. maybe you have PCOS. Well now I'm peeing on a stick every day, on a whole cocktail of drugs, and still not pregnant! My OBGYN says she's done everything she can do and recommends a specialist!

I was trying VERY hard to not get discouraged but by this point that was becoming difficult. A whole slew of people had gotten pregnant and had their beautiful babies before I'd even gotten pregnant! It seemed like every week at church there was either a new baby born or someone else who was announcing their joyful news! I could have had a baby by now if my body worked the way it was supposed to! I prayed harder than I ever had before in my life! I hurt and longed for this more than I ever had for anything else in my life EVER! I quit going to baby showers. I'd send a gift and my love and congratulations, but it was just too hard to sit around with a bunch of pregnant women and mothers talking about how joyful children are! Anyone who became aware of our struggles had some pearls of wisdom and well meaning remarks. Which often were just hurtful, despite their good intentions. I focused on the heart of the comments rather than the comments itself but really some things people say!! There are always the stories. EVERYONE knows someone who had a hard time getting pregnant and finally did! Although thoughtful, not particularly helpful! That didn't change the fact that I was hurting, that I was still longing. Yes I knew it could happen, but the question was would it happen? Although most of the time people get pregnant there are plenty of people who never do! Would I be one of them? Was this my Heavenly Fathers plan for me? I searched my scriptures for understanding, scoured conference talks, searched of a good LDS book on infertility (not out their) and felt alone! Although Brent has been amazing though all of this, he is a boy, he processes things differently, feels things differently, and it wasn't his body that was preventing us from having a child! It was mine. I wanted to hate my body! I wanted to hate God! I wanted to hate every person who complained about their child! I wanted to hate every person who complained about pregnancy! I wanted to hate every new baby! Every time I wanted to hate someone I prayed! I poured my soul out! I cried and cried asked for strength to make it through that moment, the day, this trial. I started focusing on why, not why me but more what? What is the purpose of this experience in my life. I was reminded of the principle of "The Blessing Of Adversity" and started focusing on the blessings in my life. The blessings I had received in my life because of my trial and just the blessings I had as a living breathing daughter of God. I even made a list of blessings from infertility. It took me a while but not as long as I would have expected! When it all became too overwhelming I turned it over to The Lord (and believe me more than once it was just too overwhelming the pain and sadness were just too much to bear). As I prayed "Father I cannot do this! I know this is your will and I'm willing to accept it but you have to give me strength, it hurts too much! I cannot do this" Somehow the strength came and I had peace in my heart again. Month after disappointing month my Savior did not fail me! There were moments I was convinced had I prayed for this. Previous prayers of "Please help Brent and I to grow closer to each other and help our love to grow. Please help me to gain a greater understanding of the atonement and my Saviors’ sacrifice for me." Yep it's true, be careful what you pray for! Because I certainly got it! Not in the way I had ever imagined but those prayers were certainly answered!

So we go see a specialist. They review all the info sent my by Dr. and I'm happy to hear she's done everything right! They tell us they'd recommend Intrauterine insemination (IUI) We discuss that and feel positive about it! I'm certain that this is going to work and work quickly! I'm also VERY hopeful it will work quickly because the cost is not cheap and not covered by insurance! They recommend 4-6 cycles before suggesting moving on to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). IVF is EXTREMELY expensive and really not an option for us! We discussed if IUI did not work we would pursue adoption. The cost was similar and I felt IVF was in our situation like gambling, adoption more like, shopping. Either way we could only afford to pursue one option! After 3 months working with the specialist my hope was running thin. My mind wondered more and more if I would ever get to experience pregnancy, feeling a child move within me. The fun of I hope they have your dimples, my eyes...... Have the joy of child birth. Being the first person to hold a newborn child and welcome them into the world. I'm not saying there is a single thing wrong with adoption. In face I still consider it something I'd love to do. But when that is your ONLY option there are a lot of dreams you have to give up and a lot of experiences you never get to have. I started browsing adoption agencies online, finding out about adoption benefits through Brent's work and tried to not become extremely depressed. I'd remind myself the one thing I really wanted was to be a mother and it didn't really matter how that happened!

Then when hope was running thin a miracle happened! We were pregnant! It's actually pretty funny I took a test and it had a very light, very thin line. I was thinking it was like the ovulation test where they reference line and the test line has to be the same so I THREW IT AWAY!!!! I thought it was negative. Then later that night when we were babysitting I told Brent and he said "I think that any line on a pregnancy test is a positive" I told him, no they have to be the same. We went back and forth about it, I was convinced I was right. We get home, I Google it, look on the paper and about died when I read "any line on a pregnancy test is a positive, even a faint line" But in reading what can cause a faint line I kept myself from getting too excited. A faint line can be a sign of an early miscarriage tubal pregnancy or other not good things. So the next morning I called the Dr. I once again headed to the lab and had blood drawn. We waited ALL DAY to get the call with the results. I was at the lab by 8 am, we didn't get the call till 5:30 that night!!! It was an eternity, but not as long as the two weeks after a procedure to when you can take a test to find out!!! When we heard, well you are definitely very pregnant I swear my heart stopped for just a moment! We were both screaming, laughing, crying!!! It was truly overwhelming! I still get teary eyed if I think about all we've gone through to get here and that I'm really actually pregnant! Once we stopped screaming we immediately kneeled down together and prayed. It was a prayer full of tears and barely audible, but I'm sure our Heavenly knew exactly how happy and grateful we were!!

A couple days later we had our first ultra sound. I got to see a heartbeat and got a picture. I cried! There was just no holding it in! There are no words to describe the joy of that moment!

Just want to give a big thank you to all those who have supported us and prayed for us, fasted with us and cried with us!!!! We love you!

A "Garden"

We planted a "garden"!! I put that in parenthesise because our yard is no where near big enough for a real garden. I'm also quite positive Bosco & Rusty would kill anything we planted in the ground. I already lost a potted house plant to Rusty's chewing & every plant that came with our yard is dead except 1! Dog pee in high doses tends to kills plants! So we improvise! We got some pots, seeds, dirt, gloves, shovels & a watering pot from Lowes came home and "toiled in the earth!" Ha not really but it was fun to plant a "garden"! To protect our little garden from the dogs they are on top of an unused dog kennel. So far they have been safe! I'm very excited for some fresh veggies! Especially tomatos!!!! Oh love a fresh, garden grown tomato!! I just wish we could have planted more!!! My in-laws have a great sized garden! It's not too big, not too small, just right. (know I sound like Goldie Locks!) Someday I'll have a great garden with all the delicious veggies I want! In the mean time I get tomatos, cucumbers, peppers & squash. Very excited for harvest time!!!

Attempted Murder!

I'm a little suspicious that Brent is trying to off me! I was cooking dinner last night, making some yummy fajitas. I get the meat out of the fridge where it had been marinating over night. I throw it in the pan & moments later a giant flame leaps out at me from under the back half of the pan!!! I scream!! I think that's pretty odd, we have an electric stove, not gas??? Then I think it must have been that a little of the oil I had put in the pan had gotten on the edge, maybe it just got too hot and burst into flames!!! Figuring that's all it was I assumed the danger had past since the oil would have burned off. I continue cooking and a few minutes later THE ENTIRE PAN BURST INTO FLAMES!!!! Thankfully I jumped back just in time to not become crispy fried! Now I'm a little freaked out!! Why does my dinner keep trying to kill me?!?!?! I'm CSIing it, oil is gone, what other "elements" are involved that could cause a fire? Then it occurred to me......BRENT!!!!! Brent had put a little tequila into the marinade (don't worry all the alcohol burns off & all that's left is yummy flavor)!!! So the tequila was catching on fire attempting to remove all hair from the front of my body. I swear I almost lost my eyebrows!!! Let it be said I'm grateful to be alive post dinner prep!!! Ok and I have to say Brent was in no way trying to harm me. In fact he was very helpful to prepare the meat and get in all ready & marinating in the fridge! He's pretty spectacular!

In case anyone was wondering our week with 4 kids went remarkably well! Not to say it was easy! Mom is the hardest job on the planet but it went well. We made it to church on time, even a few minutes early. I got all the kids in bed just fine the nights Brent was gone. I think I decided 4 is too many! Although I can't decide if it's 4, or 4 in 4 years, or 16 mo old twins!!! But either way maybe we'll stick to 2 or 3!! I did truly love seeing Brent with the kids! He is going to be an amazing Daddy! I can't wait to have little ones of our own! I know being a parent won't be easy but with Brent by my side it will be extremely doable!!! We make a great team!! We balance each other. We are sensitive to each others needs (I have to go to the grocery store or die!!). I feel very confidant that I got the best person for me! I'm so glad I get to face the rest of life with him by my side!!

Catsup

Oh wait I mean Catch up! That's right I need to catch up! I haven't blogged in a while and I've thought so many times I want to write this down! So here it goes a long catch up post!

Valentines day! For the the first time we really did Valentines day. I don't normally buy into Valentines day. I just feel it's a lame excuse for cooperate America to suck more money out of you, on flowers that magically quadruple in price, and chocolates. I even saw a commercial for a heart shaped pizza that could be delivered to your door. Will someone please tell me how a heart shaped pizza says I love you? Anyway I think Brent and I both do a really good job of showing our love to each other through out the year so Valentines day has never been a big deal. We might go out to dinner, but NEVER on V-day, too crowded and crazy. But this year a friend of mine had a great idea for a gift and I figured if I'm doing a gift maybe we can just do a full blown V-day. So we did. All be it over the course of like 2 weeks! LOL We got a room at a nice resort in Scottsdale which thanks to priceline was only $64! Great deal for a 4 star resort! (This was more for practicality then romance initially. We want to redo our floors since the carpet is trashed. We decided why not do it V-day weekend and get a room since we won't be able to walk on them for 3 days when we are done. But we have put the floors on hold due to "funding" for the moment and so then the room was kind of unnecessary but could not be canceled because it was booked on priceline! Way to go! So we were forced to have a romantic night out! Silly)Then we spent the day window shopping at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. Some guy actually tried to sell Brent a 2.5 million dollar watch. That's right I said MILLION!!! Who? Why? When? Would anyone buy that watch? Beats me but apparently this sales man thought Brent might be the guy. Crazy! Brent made me a delicious dinner on V-day. And the next week we went to The Melting Pot for dinner! It is a wonderful fondue restaurant that we have hear people rave about. We've wanted to go but it's pretty pricey. Well we got a gift certificate and some coupons for Christmas and so we decided to go for V-day. It lived up to all the hype! It was delicious! And a wonderful dining experience! We ate for 2 1/2 hrs!!!! I was so full when we were done I could barley move or breath! It was very private and romantic! Perfect night out for a special occasion. Although I'd love to go with some friends, that could be really fun too! Although I don't know that we would go for the "big night out" again if we didn't have a gift certificate and coupons. Since the total was $130 for the two of us once we left a tip!!! So V-day was lots of fun but I still don't think I'm sold on the whole concept of flowers and chocolates cheesy cards etc! Just say I love you and do sweet things all year and that's good enough with me!

You are definitely going to think we are crazy when you read this next part. Last week we babysat 7 kids at one time, 3 of them were 1 yr. old! I was a little worried despite the fact that I'm the oldest of 7 and I've had lots of experience babysititng a lot of kids at once. But they were never all very young! The oldest was 8 followed by 5, 4, 3 and then 4 1 yr olds! But I am proud to report that when the parents arrived no one was seriously injured, all children were alive and happy. Two of the kids were in bed. All were in their pj's and had teeth brushed. The house was clean. And call the kids were calmly listening to a story! Yes we gave ourselves a big pat on the back. As well as saying, "man when we have 1 it will be a piece of cake!" Now we get another "parenting test" this week. The parents of the family I nanny for are going to be out of town starting tomorrow morning and they will be getting back Tuesday evening. So 4 kids 24-7 for almost a week! Wish us luck! I'm not really that concerned I'm with these kids all the time. I love them and they are great kids. I'm mostly worried about Sunday, 8 am church is going to be painful! Especially since Brent and I have a hard time getting to church on time just the two of us! And dealing with 1 yr old twins! Yikes! Thankfully my sweet friend Mary said her and her hubby would sit with us during church! It will be interesting since Brent teaches Sunday School and I'm in Young Womens. Not quite sure how that is going to work! Also Thurs and Mon nights will be fun since Brent will have class both nights so I'll get to do dinner and bed time by myself. Anyone want to come hang out??? LOL I told Brent if we survive 7 hrs with 7 kids and 6 days with 4 we should be pretty confidant that parenting will be ok!

I also don't think I've mentioned on here that I'm going to be the camp director for my ward this year! I'm so excited! I LOVED camp as a young women and hope to be able to help them have as great an experience as I had. I'm sure it will be a lot of work, but at this point I'm wondering what I even need to do! I guess I'll figure it out!

So look for updates of if we survived this coming week and how girls camp plans are coming!

*WARNING*

Watch the DIY (do it yourself) network at your own risk. Doing so may induce thoughts of ones ability to do home improvement projects by them self! The following is the result of watching the DIY network!

Before

(ok so we forgot to take before pics and this is all we got!)

During

Tearing up the laminate

Where the toilet used to be.

Protective gear

The toilet found a new home in the entry way for about a week!

After

Ta Da!

Learning

I love that the little ones I get to play with are constantly learning and saying cute things. Example during our ride home from preschool the other day the following conversation took place.

Gavin: Terina you know what I want to be when I grow up?
Me: Gavin what do you want to be?
Gavin: I want to be a policeman & a builder.
Me: That is great! Gavin those are both really great things to be!
McKinley: I want to be Tinker Bell & Aurora!
Me: Kinney that is awesome!
Gavin: Kinney you can't be that!
McKinley: Yes I CAN!
Gavin: No you can't they are not real!
McKinley: Terina tell Gavin I can be Tinker Bell & Aurora! *spoken with tears in her voice*
Me: Gavin if McKinley wants to be Tinker Bell & Aurora when she grows up then she can! McKinley, you can be what ever you want, you already are a princess so Tinker Bell & Aurora will not be a problem!

Then we talked about how Gavin's B-day is coming up he tells me how he's going to be older!
McKinley: Terina I'm older now, before I was older I was I was baby like Gage & Marley. And before that I was in Mommy's tummy!
Me: (with a laugh) Yes McKinley that's right you were. Then seeing a teaching opportunity I ask "Where were you before you were in Mommy's tummy?"
Both Gavin & McKinley *confused silence* I don't know where?
Me: You were with Heavenly Father in heaven!
Gavin: Oh yeah that's right! I learned that in primary, there's a song about that.
McKinley: I think Heavenly Father tickled us! A lot!!
Me: Silent hysteric laughter!
Gavin: I think he must have changed our diapers too! Man that must have been a lot of diapers!
Me: Uncontrolled laughter! Where do they come up with these things?!?!?!?!?!?

Benefits

Most of the time when you are considering a job the benefits are a major weighing factor. Unfortunately that is not something you think of as much when you are single and don't have a family, and that is usually when you are "deciding what to do with the rest of you life" Well if benefits had been a major weighing factor (or even a factor at all for that matter) I may have thought twice about becoming a Massage Therapist. Which maybe makes me grateful I was none the wiser at the ripe old age of 21 when I started massage school! I love the knowledge I've gained and experiences I've had as a Massage Therapist. BUT Massage Therapy is not exactly known for it's incredible benefits. Neither is being a Nanny! Which is what I spend my time doing, nannying and massaging! Traditional benefits of a job usually include, medical, dental, vision, paid time off, holidays, etc. I feel very luck that Brent has a job with amazing benefits so that I can feel perfectly justified in enjoying the benefits of my job, which really don't help him out at all, unlike the many time's I've offered a prayer of gratitude for Brent's amazing benefits! Though not traditional I've come up with a good list of benefits from my current employment, and self employment, here's the list

Food: Random right but regularly during the summer I would get a call from Angie "I'm at Bahama Bucks, what do you want?" It is also common to hear, "I'm getting ______for lunch what do you want?" Brent and I get Free pizza or Panda Express every Thursday night of baby sitting. And I often hear "I've cooked too much _______ for dinner do you want to take some home with you," or "I have leftovers do you want some?" Love hearing that when I have no idea what I'm going to fix for dinner.

Free hand me down odds & ends: I love that I hear, I've got such and such I don't want/use any more do you think you guys can use it? My dogs have been grateful for hand me down dogie beds, our couch has been grateful for new throw pillows. And many other things!

Life Lessons: It has been my philosophy for years that if I can learn from others mistakes then maybe, just maybe I can learn some valuable lessons with out having to go through all the hard knocks! Which is a great philosophy much easier spoken then applied! But I try! So one of the great benefits of massage is the life lessons I learn from such a broad range of people from a multitude of backgrounds and life experiences. I've gotten wonderful advice and learned so much from conversations with people about, finance, investing, business, motherhood, children, parents, family relationships, religion/spirituality, marriage, self, and the list could go on and on! It's amazing the things that will come out of peoples mouths when the feel safe and relaxed! Many valuable gems of wisdom can be gathered when you really listen to what people say and not just the words that come out of their mouths! Or when you take a moment to ask a thoughtful question.

Quiet Moments of Introspection: Massage clients often like to chat but just as often they just want to relax and "zone out." It is in those moments of quite I have had some of the best quality time with myself! A Dark, quiet, atmosphere with gentle music, is perfect place to ponder life's mysteries! I've done some good soul searching while giving a good massage!

Restored Youthfulness: As we age we loose the carefree feeling that is childhood. It is my firm belief that if we can hold on to at least an aspect of that life will be less stressful, more enjoyable, and a whole lot more fun! Being around children reminds me to appreciate the little things. Like a seed pod on the ground (McKinley would pick one up in the drive way of her preschool every day before getting in the car to go home, thought it was the greatest thing in the world!). They also remind you to laugh! Laughter is abounding in little children! It's contagious so it's inevitable that being around them will make you smile at the least! Kids also realize there is no time like the present! They take advantage of every moment of life as the treasure it is! Relishing even 5 minutes of swinging on the swing or playing out side before nap time calls! Why is it I can grump about only having 5 minutes to do something I love and they can be ecstatic they even get the chance to play?!?! Children are also extremely resilient! They can be crying because the end of their world just came on SECOND and the next be laughing! If only I could move on so quickly and easily!!!

Entertainment: Children and massage clients will say and do the funniest things! A lot of those life lessons are shared in very funny antidotes! And kids! My goodness the things they come up with to say are never ending! McKinley's new favorite hair do is Hippo hair?!?!?!? Just a pony tail done in any way, one, two, doesn't matter, that's hippo hair and she loves it! Oh and massage client thank you for sharing how your mother in law walked in on you naked after a shower when she was visiting!!! The stories are never ending!!!

Practice: I get to practice being a parent on someone else's children! Observe what they do and what works and doesn't. Hopefully that way my oldest child will not end up being too much of a guinny pig!!! I get to practice listening and compassion as people share intimate details of their life with me. Tragedy knows no race, social status, religion, or finical position. A persons true character is revealed as their spirit is being tested. Most of the time I've found a beautiful person come shining through! With that tragedy comes great forgiveness. It amazes me then things people are able to forgive! Just as Christ has taught us to be like little children if we can be as forgiving we will truly be more Christ like! They hold no grudges!!!

Lust for Knowledge: Kids have an intense desire for knowledge. I love how learning is fun! Gavin has been working on adding numbers. He successfully conquered 1+any number up to 20 so I thought 2 is not that much harder. He was afraid it might be too hard for him but with a little persuasion quickly grasped the concept f 2+__ He said to me, "this is fun can we do it some more!" How much wiser would I be if I was as excited and anxious to learn! On then other end massage allows me the opportunity to gain knowledge about human instinct. I love meeting new people, learning their stories, and finding out what makes them tick! I love learning how we as humans are all the same, and all uniquely different. Massage has allowed me to do this much more then I ever did before!

So although I do not have any of the traditional benefits of employment I feel the ones I do have make up for it!!

This is Why We Live in The Great Phoenix Area

That's what I keep telling myself. This is why I endure 110+ degree weather in the summer. For 77 in January. But here's the sad part. I'm not really enjoying it! It's beautiful don't get me wrong. But I have so many cute scarves and gloves and hats and a love affair with outer wear! So rather then relishing the glorious weather I'm lamenting not being able to bundle up, see my breath and barely feel my nose. I was especially bitter when I had to turn on the AC last night to be able to sleep. It was 80 degrees in our house. Right now current temp 82 this is after putting a fan in the window to suck in some cool air from out side! It was 83. Makes me want to cry a little bit!

One Missed Call

Let me start out this blog by saying that I am a very imaginative person. I can get completely taken away in stories. I get lost in books, transported to different places, eras, a different life (saved me as a teenager!) Same thing with movies, I fall in love with them, I hurt with them, I get terrified with them! Having a shining imagination can be a great thing, life is interesting and fun. But on occasion, getting caught up in fiction and carried away to another place can get me in trouble. A TV show that I watch can keep me lying awake in bed wondering about their lives. So silly I know! Well this comes in especially detrimental to me when watching scary movies! My heart pounds, I get completely freaked out! Even after the movie is over all the lights have to stay on till I'm safely in bed, and I keep Brent with in arms length! To protect me from what ever evil I just got engrossed in.

Well over the weekend we watch One Missed Call. It was a really good scary movie. Not too gory, not too freaky, and it had a semi decent ending (the ending is always where scary movies fall apart!). In case you haven't seen the movie the premise is you get a missed call and a voicemail. The voicemail is your voice and it is dated in the future. The date it is set for is when you die and the voicemail is your final words (or screams). The movie is over, Brent and I go up stairs to get ready for bed and I decide I need a drink of water. I go down stairs turning on every light on my way. I get some water just as the home phone rings. It only rings once, which is quite odd because not very many people have our home number and the ones who do know not to call us late, and it was 10:30. Late! At least for us anyway. So if someone was calling late it should be for something important, not to hang up after one ring. I come back upstairs to check the phone. Brent is laying in bed right where I left him. I pick up the phone and check the Caller ID, and is says 1 MISSED CALL FROM TERINA!!!!! I had a missed call from myself! I'm sure I'm going to die in a day or two (not really but my heart did drop and I got really freaked out!) I say "Oh my gosh you have got to be freaking kidding me!!!" I'm wondering how did I call myself! I never called myself! What!?!?! Then Brent busts up laughing. Yes my wonderful loving husband was a jerk and called the home phone from my cell phone while I was getting a drink of water! He thinks he's hilarious! The past few days he's just started laughing for no reason. I'd ask what's so funny? Oh just remembering the other night! Laugh it up chuckles, laugh it up! Just watch your back Brent! Your next!