The Page Family is Growing!

I know what you are thinking and I am not preggers! Last week Leland and I adopted the cutest little puppy ever! He is a weimeraner mix. We think he is mixed with pit bull. He is eight months old (almost 9) and a total sweetheart. We found him at the Animal Defense League. I actually had my mind set on a little Boston terrier/beagle mix, but that dog wasn't there when we showed up. We started looking around and went to the small/medium dog habitats. The first little face I saw was Varick (that was his name until we changed it). The other dogs were running around barking and howling and being unruly. Varick was sitting at the fence calmly and sweetly looking up at those who walked by. There was another group that was looking in the same area and they saws Varick as well. My heart completely melted when I saw this guy. I had no intention of getting a dog under 1 1/2 years old. I didn't want to go through all the puppy stages with a dog. But this little guy was all I could think about even after taking another stroll around the complex. Leland knew I was not going to back down, so he gave in and we started the adoption process. We weren't able to take him home right away because it was nearing the end of the evening and the apartment complex had already closed it's doors for the day so the ADL could not get in touch with them. That's okay, because it gave us some time to think of a name for him. Varick was just weird, to say the least. It took us all night then Leland said, "Tyson". I agreed and now we have Tyson Page.

The past week has been full of little surprises on the floor and learning how smart this little guy really is. Leland has been teaching him to climb up on the couch and the bed. Thankfully, he hasn't learned to get on the bed yet. Due to his climbing training he learned to climb over his kennel and take over the whole apartment. We had bought a kennel for Tyson for night time and help him potty train. Since he is so young and we don't know who long he can hold his bodily functions we decided to block him into the laundry room with his kennel door open to his food and water and a wood floor in case there were any accidents. I came home on Wednesday evening and was going to change before letting him out of his enclosure. I walk in and a bunch of Leland's shoes and a a belt in the living room. I knew he was out reffing a game and he would not leave his belt, runners or one dress shoe in the living room. Just as I was looking over to the kennel, Tyson comes running from the bedroom. He has learned to climb his kennel and get out of the enclosure. Right about that time I also saw a nice little present in the middle of the hall too. He is one smart cookie. Now, we keep him in the bathroom where he has room to stretch out and potty on the potty pad if need be.

Tyson is a lot of fun and has a great personality. We love the little dude! He has brought more happiness and smiles to the home and for right now, the family feels complete. I tell people that if we can do a good job with a dog, then we can do an okay job with a kid :) It's great having a fur kid around the apartment. He really does make my day better. Tyson, welcome to the Page family!

PS: I don't know how to upload a photo from my phone, but as soon as I figure it out, I will get a picture up here of him.

General Conference

This past weekend was General Conference. Like always, I have no idea who spoke about what, but for me, there was a lot of cousel and guidance for families. I wish every parent I work with on a daily basis would have been able to hear those talks. It would be evenmore wonderful if every person who heard those talks would heed the cuosel that was given. I don't remember specifics, but I do remember feeling the Spirit testify to me that all the words which were spoken are true. I can't remember the last time I had such a strong impression. I think maybe it is because I am seeing the deterioration of the family all around me. With the families I work with at school and the families I work with at church. It's not very often that I meet two parents that have the same last name as their kids. It's disheartening because I see the troubles of the kids then I look at the family and realize that is where the troubles are starting. I know there are a few quotes that I will be taking from some of the talks and making little posters to hang in my office so every parent who enters my office will be able to read and hopefully learn a thing or two.

Maybe it hit me so hard because I want a family of my own. Someone else to take care of besides my hubs. Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of the hubs, but I feel like I need someone or something else to take care of. Do I want kids? Yes. Do i need kids? Right now, until I get a handle on the ones I take care of on a daily basis, I don't need any of my own. I like the ones that I get for eight to ten hours a day and then give back. What I really want though is a dog. I am starting to wear Leland down on the idea of getting a dog. I know he doesn't want a dog right now because he thinks we are not home enough for a little one, but I disagree. I am gone all day, but he is home more than he thinks he is. I have it all worked out too. When I get up I can feed the little one and take him/her outside for a morning potty break. Leland doesn't get up until later. When he gets up he can give the little one a treat of banana or carrot and let him/her outside for a little bit. Before he leaves he can put the dog in the kitchen with a treat ball, toys, bed and water. When I get home I can feed the pupster dinner and take it for a walk or jog. then, it's all good and the pupster is ready for bed. All planned out. I got this! Now, just to find the perfect dog. I am about ready to go get one from the Humane Society this weekend. If I can just hold out a little longer then it will be all good. But if we get abother text from my sister-in-law with a picture of Patches then I will just break down and get one.

A Month Ago

Doesn't seem all that long. A lot has happened this past month, and I mean A LOT! It all has to deal with school since that is all I ever do now. I still am not a fan of my principal. He is still thinking of things on an elementary level with our kids. I wonder if he is ever going to make the cognitive switch to secondary school. I have not been in my office for more than 10 minutes the past two days so the fact that I am writing this right now is a miracle. The school is being taken to court because of an idiotic mother whose son is not even autistic but when we say there is no evidence to support autism she decides to sue. It's a really, really long story and I don't have enough space in the world to tell it at this time. Two sixth graders had their first fight ever at school. Imagine two little guys that weigh maybe 70 pounds soaking wet and with glasses. Total nerd brawl. I have eighth grade girls that think they are the shiz and nothing can touch them. I have teachers who couldn't give a care in the world to working at this school and are only doing it for the paycheck. I have other teachers who are already telling me they are going to quit at the end of the school year because their concerns are not being taken seriously. I am ready to hang up my hat because I still cannot get any respect from the male admins. There are so many Special Ed kids in the school I am starting to think we are turning into a behavior/special needs school instead of a college prep school. All I can talk about at home is work. All I can talk about at work is work. I have nothing outside of work in my life. My poor husband has to listen to me talk about work all the time. I feel like there is nothing else to talk about. I have not had a good day at work since, well I haven't had a good day at work and we are now in the sixth week of school. I keep telling myself things are going to get better, but I don't know if that is going to happen at this point. I am having a really hard time believing things are going to get any better.

Now that downer is out of the way, I have to talk about something more enjoyable. I am almost finished with Personal Progress. I hadn't looked at my book in a really long time and as I was going through it, I realized that I have done almost everything. I just have a couple of more journal entries to write and once I finish reading the Book of Mormon I will be finished. It's amazing how much stuff I do in my daily life that relates to Personal Progress. I have forgotten how it feels to be able to work on me. I am so focused on other things that I forget to focus on my personal development. I am grateful that Personal Progress was opened up to all women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel so refreshed and renewed! I was also able to attend the Relief Society General Broadcast this past Saturday. Don't tell anyone, but the presidency messages were a little boring to me and I went all ADD up in the place. President Uchtdorf's talk was amazing! I love listening to that many speak. The talked about the flower the Forget-Me-Not. He said there are five petals on the flower and five simple things in life must remember in life. They are:

1) Be happy now
2) Be patient with yourself
3) Sacrifice for the good things
4) Forget not the "why" of the gospel
5) The Lord loves you.

Those five things are so very important and I needed that reminder at that time. I love the simplicity of the gospel and sometimes I need that reminder. Life can be simple but we have to have those little reminders. Now, if I ever see a Forget-Me-Not I will remember those five things.

The best two parts of this week will be being able to see my dad. He isn't coming to visit me or anything but it will be nice to just see him and relax for a little with him. The best part about the weekend? It's General Conference weekend! One of the two best weekends of the year. I know I will be watching a lot of recorded sessions, but that's okay. I will still be learning and soaking in all I can. The speakers will be wonderful and I know there will be many questions answered on my part. I am so glad it is conference weekend. I really need this right now. I really don't know what else to say. My life is boring right now because it's just work. Hopefully the next time I post I will have some better stories to tell.

Back to School. . .

And I'm already ready for Christmas Break. It has been a bear of a week. I was told on Monday that I was not allowed to smile at the kids, ever. Then I was told the first day of school was a complete disaster because the kids did not leave the cafeteria in an elementary order. Meaning that the high schoolers were let go when the bell rang in one big group not led out by a teacher by grade level and section. Then, half the lockers do not work. I tried every single combination in the book for those lockers and NONE of them worked. I have been chewed out by not only parents who refuse to follow school protocol but by my principal as well. I never want a repeat of this week, ever again.

I also found out this weekend that my husband's little cousin William (he's about 2 or 3 years old) has tumors on his brain. He is at a children's hospital in Utah. Many prayers and people fasting for that little boy. He is a doll and a half and the funniest little kid I have ever seen. IN the words of little William "Aw, Man!"

On the bright side, my energy is through the roof! I have not had any feelings of wanting a nap in the middle of the day even after getting only a few hours of sleep every night. The surgery was a success and the biopsy came back clean. I go back to the doc this week to do some blood tests to make sure all my levels are still good and in the clear. My mom told me about this cloud she felt like she was under before she had her surgery and then after it was lifted. I didn't really understand her at the time, but I do now. I feel like my old self again! I am so happy I had the surgery.

Today Leland and I will finally get to go dryer shopping! He was able to secure some financial aid and receive two months worth of pay. This will make laundry way easier to do. I hate having to wash my clothes at home then go to the laundromat to dry. I would also hate to go to the laundromat to wash and bring home to dry. Either do it all at home or all at the mat, but going between both is awful! Hopefully we can find something within our price range.

Well, that's all I have time for right now. Maybe I can write some more later, maybe ;) Have a wonderful weekend!

The surgery was a success! The two adenomas and glands were removed and my levels have dropped to normal. The strangest thing happened during the surgery though. I swear to all that is good in this world that I began to wake-up during the surgery. I know some people don't believe me, but at one point I remember hearing the doctor talking and feeling a pulling on my neck as well as a burning in my neck. I also remember trying to move some part of my body and trying to yell to let them know I was felling something, but I couldn't do anything. It was strange. I have heard of this happening to people before, but I have had four previous surgeries and have never had that happen so I though it would never happen to me and it never even crossed my mind. From what I have heard from news shows about the phenomenon, it happened. The things I heard described is what I felt. Call me crazy or say it was all in my head if you want, but I know it happened.

The recovery has been slow and I am not happy at all. I have been locked up in my apartment for four days, four days! I am going crazy! I am not suppose to go anywhere until my doc appointment on Wednesday, but I have to get back to work Tuesday. Whatever the doc doesn't know won't hurt, right? I am also doing my best to let Leland take care of me. My mom came for a few days and did a great job of being Nurse Mom. It's not easy for me to be so helpless. I want everything to go okay at the doc so I have to keep reminding myself to stay down and let other people do things for me.

In news from around the country, the US has lost it's triple A (AAA) credit rating and the markets from around the world are crashing. The Dow has lost 600+ points in less than a full day of trading. The world is starting a huge slippery slope of markets. Fox News just showed the European markets and every country has lost huge. Just another sign of the times.

I am starting to feel a little light-headed so I should get back to my recovery. Have a great week!

Goin' Under the Knife

I don't have much time to write seeing that I have been in meetings all day and now have a ton of assignments to do before surge tomorrow. Surgery is tomorrow. I am a little nervous, but I know and have enough faith that things will be okay and turn out how they are suppose to be. No biggie. Mom is driving into town as we speak, er, write. The only items on my list of things to do before I have surge are laundry and grocery shopping. I had plans to do all of that yesterday afternoon and today, but meetings at work took six hours each day. Six hours! Let me tell you, it's going to be one really, really, really long school year. I just may have to try to find another job next year. Hopefully they won't be as bad as what I am thinking they are going to be. Back to work!

Surgery. . .

is a go. Friday I received a call from the doc office saying the scans showed a bilateral parathyroid adenoma and a possible thyroid adenoma. I will have the two glands with the adenomas removed and a possible thyroid biopsy if there is something there. I am fine with the removal of the parathyroids, no sweat. I am more worried about the thyroid adenoma. All the "what ifs" start coming to mind. What if it's cancerous? What if it's metastasized? What if what if, what if? On the other hand there is relief knowing that what is ailing me could be gone forever if the adenomas are removed successfully. Such a mix of emotions! Now it's a race against time to prepare every needful thing not only at home, but at work as well. I have my surgery Thursday and the following Tuesday teachers and admins go back to work. I have to make sure I have all my presentations ready so that I don't have to try to do too much when I get back. That's the plan for today. Get all my presentations updated and ready to go. In order to finish all that, I have to stop playing around on the computer. Have a wonderful Monday and an amazing week!