So, yes, it's been quite a while since I've updated my blog page. Give me a break - I'm working part-time (at Clear Choice), going to school more than full time, busy being a mom and a wife. I know many people juggle the same amount of things and more and are able to still maintain their blogs - I'm just not one of them.

With that being said, I'm now going to try once again to keep this page up to date. In April I was asked by my professor (Elizbeth Daniels) to present a poster with her at the Western Psychological Association (WPA) conference. I had been helping her with her research (mostly compiling and coding data that she had already collected) and now it was time to disseminate the findings to the world at large! It was a great experience! Not only did I get some experience in presenting a poster, it was great to listen to some of the amazing speakers and try to narrow my focus for my career. By the way, yes I know I'm slouching in the picture. I have horrible posture and my aunt would be devastated to see that I didn't listen to her as a little girl and straighten up!

As for the rest of life, all is well in the Wartena/Lougy home. Brittany is working (YES she finally got a job)!! She cleans house and makes very good money. She is also paying her own car insurance and gas and learning just how quickly money disappears. Ashley is doing track and doing very well at it! The coach wanted her to do varsity already and she's only a
freshman! She likes it alot and will

probably continue doing it throughout high

school. Josh is doing great as well! He's

enjoying being in 5th grade and is looking

forward to Jr. High next year. He's a great

kid and gets good grades. He is looking forward to being able to play soccer/baseball and football next year.

Justin is doing good too, busy substituting and still looking for a full-time teaching position. Hopefully he will be able to find something for next year. I am truly blessed and have the most amazing family on the planet!

What a pain in the.....TOOTH!

So, Monday January 12th Brittany had all four wisdom teeth removed. She was very anxious about the surgery - she had two teeth that were impacted and two that were partially impacted. Brittany has a little phobia of doctors, IV's, etc....which complicates things when you need to actually have a surgical procedure. She was a trooper though and it only took about an hour. She had a hard time with the anesthesia, so she was throwing up for the first couple of days - which also complicates getting your pain under control (she'd always throw up right after I gave her pain medication). We were finally able to get the nausea under control (thanks to anti-nausea meds) but they just knocked her out and made her a little loopy. So she's had a tough road. Today is day three and she's doing a little better, but still in a lot of pain. She's going to try to go to school tomorrow, but not sure how well that is going to work out. What a brave little soul and it gives me the opportunity to "baby" her and she actually let me! I think it's a good way to remind her that it's ok for her mom to love her and do nice things for her. I only hope that she begins to feel much better very soon because it's also hard as the mom to see your baby in so much pain!

Sledding!

So, it's almost time for the kids to go spend Christmas with their dad......We decided to go sledding on their last day before they left. We went with some friends (the Jensen's) and had a really great time! We started out at a favorite sledding spot, but this year there is no sledding allowed. We ended up going to a spot near Dillon Falls and found a great spot!! The kids all had a good time and everyone stayed warm (except Ashley ~ she gave up her snow boots to her cousin Sierra and Ashley wore some old boots that are too small and not waterproof, so by the end of our trip her feet were frozen!) We played in the snow, tried all kinds of different sleds and finally found a great hill (too bad it was almost time for us to leave).

It was a great way to spend time with the kids before they had to leave. My favorite part of the trip was when little Harrison Jensen grabbed one of the sleds, jumped right on and went flying down the hill all by himself (he's only 3 years old). It was so cute!! I love my family and enjoy spending time with them doing things together! Happy Holidays to everyone ~ we all send our love!!

Blessings

I have much to be thankful this year! Although, it's been a tough year there are still many blessings to be thankful for - my family is my number one blessing! Even though there are times when I might think that being a part of this family contributes to my insanity - without them I would not be who I am today. As Christmas time approaches it makes me reflect on this last year and all of the many changes that have happened. We have moved (yes, again!), I quit my job and went back to school full time, Brittany is driving, Ashley will be getting her permit, Josh (my baby) just turned 11 and Justin has been busy trying to find a teaching job. Life can be chaotic at times and remembering that we truly do love one another is sometimes the only way to make it through. Each time I hear Christmas songs it makes me happy and sad all at the same time. Happy, because I love the holidays and I like listening to Christmas music - sad, because it was my mom's favorite holiday of all and it's difficult to try to figure out how to get through this thing called life without having her here as a part of it. Above all, I am truly grateful for each challenge and each blessing. I am a lucky girl and I know it! Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas Tree Hunting

So it was time to find a Christmas tree. The problem is that since we have moved, we have less space. It was my goal to find a "smaller" tree - one that wouldn't take up half the living space but still serve the purpose of being a good little Christmas tree. We rode all around in search of the perfect tree, suddenly there it was! It even had a pink ribbon on it, just like it was specially marked for us! I was so excited to get back to tell everyone that I found our tree. I made everyone drive down to the spot, the perfect little spot for the perfect little tree.

Now, not everyone was as excited as I was at the idea of having to settle for a smaller tree this year, but they were trying to be good sports. So finally we arrived at the spot. And here it is:

Isn't is pretty?! Ok, so it's a little small, maybe a little skinny, but it's cute! Should I share the reactions of my family? Let's start with Justin (he's usually has a positive attitude right?) - he said - whatever you want baby, that one is fine. Ok, we are off to a good start. Then it was time for the kids to see this magical little tree. Ashley said it was a little scrawny, Josh said it's not a real tree (not a real Christmas tree) and (the best for last) Brittany said, "what happened to that tree? Did a bear maul it or something?" Well, I thought once we got it home that they would appreciate it more. We just needed to get it home.....


Really, do we need straps? Pretty funny huh! Now, I knew we just needed to give this sweet little tree a home and the family would fall in love with it. Apparently my attitude was a little more optimistic than everyone elses. We got it put up in the stand last night and put lights on it (we will decorate it for FHE tomorrow night). I think it's kinda cute still, yes - it's a little small and different than what we are used to, but I am still convinced that it's the perfect tree. We have plenty of space left for entertaining and again, it serves it's purpose. So here's a picture of it with the lights on.....


Really, is it that bad? So, here are the comments I'm getting now.....mom, this isn't even a real tree - it doesn't even have the right kind of pine needles......what is wrong with this tree? This isn't a Christmas tree.......it's so Charlie Brown.....and on and on and on......



Well, I'm happy with my choice and I'm glad it doesn't have the "right" kind of needles because it won't make a mess all over the floor. Besides, it's not all about appearances right?! So this will be a special Christmas with our special tree - oh yes, it does also have two trunks (which just confirms with even more certainty to Brittany that this is not a real tree to be used as our Christmas tree because it's sooo bad it has to have two trunks). Even if I'm the only one who can appreciate the uniqueness of our tree, we will still have a wonderful Christmas!!

Family Fun!

So, Jerry was in town for a fishing trip, so we decided to plan a surprise birthday party (just a week early). It was fun - I called Kacee to find out all of his favorite things, so we had roast & potatoes for dinner (no veggies for Jerry), brownies instead of cake (don't forget the chocolate frosting) and chocolate ice cream. The house was very busy - kids singing karaoke, people talking and eating and little kids running around - but it was a lot of fun to just be together as a family! I am grateful for all of my family and I'm glad that we can have fun no matter how chaotic it gets!

Is sleeping really necessary?

So for those of you that don't know.....I do have trouble sleeping from time to time and right now I'm going on about day 3 of very little sleep. I have found that after that many days, you become almost delirious and it doesn't appear that I will be going to sleep anytime soon. See, my sweet little Brittany has asked a boy to the Stoplight dance (a replacement for what us old timers would call Sadies), but see the boy had a playoff game (football) and so he couldn't meet up with her until around 11 p.m. They are then coming back to our house to watch a scary movie (the better to cuddle up together) which means, I will be "supervising". It is now 11 p.m. and they still have not yet arrived to begin the movie, so at what point is sleeping really necessary? I'm so tired, my eyes hurt - yes, they really hurt! This could be a very long night!