Positively Positive Stress Reduction

So I had to take some mini online "courses" for points on a wellness program with our insurance. One of the courses was Stress Management. It had a suggestion of every night before bed to keep a notebook and joy down three positive things that happened that day and what you can attribute it to. I tried the excercise on the online portion and thought I'd share my "findings" for today's bolg!
1) I got all of Delaneys bills corrected, her appointment for tomorrow confirmed, and her prior auth with Physical Therapy corrected! It was a LOT of phone calls and took a long time but is nice to know it's all fixed! I attribute this to effective time management and the kids playing happily in their rooms while I was on the phone.
2) I returned the slide to toys r us and got some other great items instead. AKA- the kids and I did a little shopping. I attribute this to opting to shop at the 21st and Aspen store which is a traffic free drive (huge ++) and minimal other customers shopping! It was very pleasant there and we had fun!
3) I put away some of the kids clothes tonight. I attribute this to my wonderfully helpful husband who fed kids dinner and unloaded dishwasher so I could work on this!

There you have it! Maybe not everyones idea of positive, but getting these types of stressful things done and no longer a worry always makes me feel better!

-Rachel Bright
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Bass Pro with Daddy

Today, the subject of my blog does not necessarily include me!
I worked at the school today- it was a good day, nothing eventful.
David however, had way more fun!
Since his good friend Andy is in town for the weekend and they were watching the kids today, they decided to load up in the "swagger wagon" and take the kids to Bass Pro to see the fish and shop. The pic is of some cute camo hats but they did not buy them because the kids refuse to keep hats on. He did get them each a super cute dog (pink camo for Delaney and green for DP). They're beanie baby sized.
After work I went on a shopping spree at Toys-R-Us and bought way toonmuch backyard fun stuff! Pics to come tomorrow!
What did your kids do with their dad this weekend??

Productive day

I woke up bright and early to go get the labs while David watched the kids before work. On the way home I dropped off his dry-cleaning. Once I got home I realized that the tax return money had been deposited and I have been needing to get my TTL on the van for about two weeks. SO, I loaded up the kids and headed to the tag agency. While out we also made stops at two banks to deposit OMOMs $$ and our $$ and another drop at the dry cleaners to bring another load I had discovered. They did well riding around watching their movie.

Then, it was snack and nap time! We had good naps for two hours.

David Pauls ear looks better, the bleeding has decreased and he seems to be feeling better for the most part. They both still have some sniffles and cough but it is clearly resolving itself.

This afternoon we didn't do much, until they started getting cranky so we went to Ross and got them a new book, blankets, Delaney got two play dresses, I got a cute 3/4 cardigan and a pair of flats. Yay for shopping!

Tonight we had a pleasant surprise. Our friends the Shavneys stopped by for about an hour to visit. It was fun seeing them and the kids were super ramped up and bouncing all over Justin. It was hilarious!

After they left I attempted to go let my VBF's dog out to potty, however all he wanted to do was jump on my back!

Then about 10pm our friend Andy arrived from Houston and will be staying the weekend. It is always nice to see him, which is only about once every year and a half. During catching up I also managed to get all the bills paid as well, and another final load of laundry done!

WHEW, what a busy day! Thats what happens though when you've not felt good all week...things pile up :-) Oh well, now I can just enjoy my weekend with everyone!

Tomorrow...work! And maybe some shopping and the park if I can squeeze it in. :-)

Sicky sick

Well, after the kids arrived home yesterday from their night away I was sure they would be so happy to be home that they would sleep all night. Sadly, that was not the case! And I was just shy of a foot in the grace after starting some antibiotics that were literally trying to kill me. David was up with DP who was quite upset, for a while. I barely slept last night- and was up and down with my issues.
Around 930 I suddenly awoke and was pretty confused. When did I fall asleep? Where were they kids at 930?? What is going on here! They were sound asleep. I laid back in the bed and waited for them to wake. About 1015 I started getting worried and went to wake them. I woke DP and instantly discovered at some point he has thrown up and his ear was BLEEDING! it was totally occluded with dried blood. I called and made a dr appointment and quickly dressed the kids, myself, and out the door. It was one of those days. Everything was trying to keep us from getting there! And I arrived 5+ min late only to discover that the sweet receptionist (who knows how close I usually cut it) just told me 1030 so to buy me time in case I was behind! Bless her! I was not actually late!
DP has a ruptured ear drum (he probably got the infection/build up from the cold he caught from me and delaney 2 days ago. He is started on ear drops and was so sweet and cooperative tonight when I had to clean the new blood out of his ear and reapply drops!
We also napped again this afternoon from 130-4! I know right? Like I said, we don't feel good.
Hopefully tomorrow is a good day because our friend Andy is coming in late tomorrow night to stay the weekend. He and David will be watching the kids on Saturday while I work ;)
Hope you are all feeling well!
-Rachel Bright
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All About Me

Today was All About Me...in a sense! You see, with our new insurance they have a "Wellness Program". If you participate in these required "activities" then the company rewards you with money into the Health Savings Account (HSA)...supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of $450. We have until Feb 28th to complete the activities. Two items on the list were: See the dentist for a dental exam/cleaning/xray; Have a physical/labs done with your PCP. That is why my mom took the kids last night because her babysitting duties were needed all day today!
I slept great, and in until 9am. My friend and house cleaner arrived at 9:30 to start on my house. I left for the dentist and started that at 10am. I got out of the dentist at 11:45 and grabbed some McDonalds before deciding to have a little impromptu massage at Clary Sage. I mean it was, after all, Health and Wellness Day for me. What better way to improve my well being and health than an hour massage!!! After the massage I had about an hour to spare before my doctor appointment. I went to Old Navy on the hunt for some jeans for baby Delaney. Did I have any luck you ask? Why yes. I bought her first pair of "skinny jeans" to match mine, along with a pair of boot cut, again, to match mine :-) She also got some jelly flats but her foot has grown and I need to exchange them for a larger size! I then went off to my regular doctor for my "physical". This included ht/wt/vs and ordering of labs...which I could not do today because apparently my insurance is only accepted out at SouthCrest physicians building lab. I will go tomorrow.
Did I mention I have been sick for several days? Or that my autoimmune "stuff" has been giving me trouble the past week? My very kind doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and we are going to try Celebrex. I say try because it is $125 a month! I bought 5 pills for my trial run...stay tuned for that update next week.

As I was leaving the doctor, I got the text I have been DYING to get from my VBF about the gender of her baby. ITS A GIRL!!! I am so excited for her. They were really hoping for a girl (she has two boys and one girl already, the girl being the youngest). We (meaning her, but I am borrowing all of her girl stuff) already have tons of girl things because she saved them from her daughter who is now 5. I am so excited for Delaney to have another female friend coming into our lives! Yay!
I arrived home near 4:30 from my day of ME to a clean house, and babies that were happy to see me. I was quite happy to see them as well! We played and had a good time. They are so sweet and apparently had a fantastic time at the farm. I am glad. Despite my differences and dislike of my step-father, I still want my kids to experience the farm and be able to enjoy their grandparents. Even if it means me having to bite my tongue for that to happen.
Tonight, I plan on eating some Papa Murphys pizza and watching American Idol...and taking some cough syrup because this mamma doesn't feel too swell, even after a day of wellness! Lets hope for a mild night with the kids since David is going to have to help me tonight because of the cough syrup. I sure hope I feel better soon!
What did you do for yourself today??

Going to Grandmas Farm

Well, this afternoon my mom came and picked up the kids to take them to get farm in Maramec (about 20 min from Stillwater). I have some appointments tomorrow so this is part of the babysitting. I am sure they will have a good time!
Since we were kid free tonight, David took me on a date. We went and tried the newly opened Billy Rays BBQ on 101st and Elm. The food was very good! I had my usual BBQ favorite: chopped brisket sandwich and fried okra, Mmmmm; David had a 1/2 smoked chicken with fries and tabouli which he also really liked. Then we headed on out to Broken Arrows new Cinemark Theater near 71st and 193rd to see "I Am Number 4". Let me just say: AWESOME movie!
Once we got home I settled in for some TV watching of Teen Mom 2 & Glee! What a nice evening!
Below is a pic of the kids leaving for Grandmas.

Sweet lovin' & laughin'

Kissing one another

Hugs & Kisses

Today was filled with hugs and kisses! A few days ago (specifically Saturday) DP hugge Delaney- unprompted. It was cute, but I thought it was a fluke. That is until they did it again- prompted , yesterday. Today while laying on the couch (I haven't felt well all day) they climbed up to sit by me. I asked them to hug and kiss one another and they did! Along with this came hysterical laughter (mainly from Delaney who was receiving most of the loving). It was SO sweet! These babies can sure drive me crazy at times, but these sweet moments make it all better! LML.

-Rachel Bright
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