The BIG red Tupperware bowl

It is Sunday.  I should be at church.  It would be about ending.  I miss it.  When I happen to not be there I get almost anxious about things.  I know where I belong.  I feel it when I am there, and I feel it when I am not there.  We had an interesting night at our house last night.  Those kinds of nights when you look back and things were just annoying, and if I had patience it might have turned out differently.  I had a great day yesterday.  I would almost say perfect.  I slept in, then made waffles for breakfast.  Maybe we should call it lunch-or at least brunch.  I think it was 10:30 when we ate.  Got ready for the day....you know normal stuff.  Awhile ago I found this cute little shop locally.  A group of women enjoy refurnishing things and being crafty then selling them.  They all work in the store selling these various items.  Tee Tree I think it is called.  Everything is super cute and pretty inexpensive.  I can't wait until I get in a different house and I am able to shop for bigger pieces of furniture.   Izzy and I checked out the store, then headed over to Bath & Body Works for some of our favorite soap.  Once we got home Kris and I had the chance to go out on a late lunch/dinner date.  Love time with my husband.  We sure have not have enough time together lately.  We are making what time we do have together.   I completely enjoyed every bite of everything I had.  My chicken was perfect.  Every single bite I took was Heaven in my mouth.  It was just one of those days that couldn't have gotten better.  I loved it.  We even ended up having ice cream at Cold Stones.  YUM.  Once we got home I was so out of it.  I get tired so easy.  I thought about taking a nap but it was already 6 and I knew if I got in bed I would not be able to sleep that night.  I tried just sitting in the chair in the living room reading-thinking if I could hold out to 7:30 or 8 it would be perfect.  I had Alex crawling all over me.  I lost my patience with his sharp elbows and ended up in bed.  Not good.  I think I slept til 10:30 maybe 11.  Way too long.  I tried to go back to sleep but Kris was up, then Elaine got up and said she wasn't feeling well.  Evan even came into to cuddle.  Once everyone found there place back in bed I was up and wired so I read.  I finished my book at 4:30.  UGH.  It was a good book.  Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks.  Getting up at 6 was something I planned to do.  With Elaine sick Kris or I needed to stay home.  I quickly volunteered.  So tired.  I went back to sleep, woke up in time to call and find a sub.  Went back to sleep.  Woke up again realized I still hear everyone in the house.    No one went to church.  If I had just asked Kris how he was feeling, I would have gotten up and let him sleep.  He was sick too.  What a guy.  Got up because I was tired, and he was sick.  Just so you know sick parent trumps tired parent.  Sick parent gets to sleep.  If you ask him he might say something on the lines of feeling like I didn't give him much choice. He should have been the one in bed, and then I would have taken the none sick kids to church.  Giving Elaine and Kris some quite.  Our house is loud.  I think part of my amazing day yesterday was not doing the dishes.  I got the well kids moving and generally picking up things in the house.  I started the dishes-the massive pile of dishes.  I have only ever been to one Tupperware party.  I think I even hosted it.  The stuff is expensive.  I have this pasta salad recipe that needs a huge bowl.  I broke down and got the biggest Tupperware bowl I could get.  I think it holds 32 cups.  HUGE bowl.  Mine is red.  I love the color red.  As I was washing my bowl I was thinking about how much I loved my bowl.  Ever have this imagine in your head-it is like the TV thing where they make things sparkle and everything seems brighter.  My bowl is like that.  I think of it all shiny and red and BIG.  All the thing that I can use it for. The massive amounts of watermelon, pasta salad, regular salad, fruit, chips, etc...that I can put in the bowl.  I really love this bowl.  As I am washing it I am just happy having it.  Weird I know.  But I think there are lots of women out there who get it.  I am paying close attention to getting my bowl clean.  I notice that it doesn't seem as bright as it once did.  It has scratches all over.  A gouge or two.  Clearly it is not a new bowl.  I felt kind of sad that it wasn't as great as it once was.  Then I realized how happy it still made me washing it.  Having it.  Being able to use it. How big it is.  Maybe it is because it is Sunday and maybe not.  I started relating this bowl to me.  How imperfect I am.  My scratches-I have plenty of scars.  Gouges-just take a look at my right calf-it has a huge gouge in it.  Not as bright as it used to be-I am a pale girl and feel like my skin as loosing it shine (I need a good moisturizer).   I still love my bowl.  It serves this great purpose.  New or not I really really still love it.  I think I love it even more because it has served me well.  There are people out there and here who I know love me.  Despite my scratches, gouges or personality flaws.  I know that I am loved.  Then I somehow related my love for this bowl to love that God has for each of us. No matter the scratches or flaws that we have he loves us.   We are so loved.  

I am back!

Two weeks ago I gave a talk in church about Journal keeping.  This is the second time I have given a talk about this subject.  I think just maybe I will actually apply the things that I learned this time around.  Keeping a journal...in any form is better than not keeping one at all.  I am using my blog as my journal.  There are times that it might not be as in-depth with my feelings as what I would write in an actual paper journal that I thought no one would ever see but this will do.  I will apologize now.  I am not great with grammar or spelling.  Please don't point it out.  I know it, I recognize it and if I continue to care a ton about it I will never write things down. I have gotten past it you can too.

When ever I see a blog that is not being updated.  I always wonder what happened?  Why is this person no longer writing for us see?  I love reading what other people have to say.  The last blog I posted was about Christmas of 2011.  Every time I think of writing again I can't make up my mind if I should start where I left on catch up?  That would talk forever.  Or maybe I should start from here, today?  Maybe through out things I will touch on things that have happened or memories that I have.  That seems to just be the easiest.  There were so many things that happened over the non-blogging days....Christmas', Elaine turning 11, 12 &13 (I have a teenager), moving to Omaha, NE (best city ever), Izzy turning 7,8 & 9, Alex turning 1 & 2, Evan turning 4 & 5, Drew turning 10 & 11.  Many many holidays-which were wonderful, many many visits from family heading to Wisconsin from CA, my parents getting a divorce-which is weird, happened a while ago and it is still weird.  Even as an adult weird weird weird. We loved Omaha, we had many kitchen dance parties while cooking dinner, loved the zoo and the many other things Omaha had to offer.  We made some amazing friends and can't wait to see them again. That sums up some of the past few years...the latest thing that has happened is that we have moved.  Yes again!!!  Morganton, NC.  Small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The town is cute, the area is BEAUTIFUL!  People are nice, southern.  We have felt very welcomed and I am sure will grow to love it.  I don't know that we will ever love it as much as Omaha, but hopefully we will grow to love it almost as much.

Here is the most updated picture I have of our family taken on Easter Sunday.  I think we took 5 or 6 and this is the least blurry.  Everyone is standing still-always a plus.

Annual cookie decorating

Thanks for joining us Arnold Family!

Drew turns 9!!!

Halloween 2011

Pirates and a parrot. Not the great pic to show off how super cute Alex's costum was...but it was super cute!!! My neighbor made it!

Evan turns 3!

This is often the face our very excited Evan

He didn't care for our singing!

Super happy!

Evan has been one VERY energetic boy. He is into everything. Running, jumping, climbing, hitting, talking (finally). He comes up with some of the most hilarious things. He is very glad to have some space to run in the basement now. We are all glad that he has it to run off some of the boy energy.

Alex! Baby #5

Alexander Philip Brletich was born September 1, 2011. At 12:43 weighing 8lbs 1oz and I think it was over 19 inches. He looks a lot like Drew....but in the picture below it seems to be more of Izzy and Evan.

We have since taken many more pictures of Alex on our cell phone and posted them to facebook....perhaps after a catch of I will have a chance to post more off our quickly growing baby.

Meet the teachers!

We had an open house/meet the teacher the night before school started.....

Mrs. Brown. Amazing teacher....poor lady had to have neck surgery the month before school started. She is doing great and Izzy is loving her.



Elaine is loving Ms. Smith.

Don't ask Drew if he has a crush on his teacher....he will get rather upset! But we can all see why he would Miss Hanneman is a cutie.

Right before heading off to school!

Been awhile...catch up time

I am been dreading and dreaming about catching up on the blog all at the same time. Let's see how this is going to work....one really long post....or small ones with each thing...I think we will start with the small ones just in case I can't get it done all at once. Here is the story....on June 28 my Father-in-law past away. We came down that evening leaving the kids with some friends with church. I went home the next to pick up kids and get things together to come back to Indiana and help out. While packing the car on July 1st to go to the wake I feel and broke my ankle....drove on it in the worst rainstorm I have ever been in. Then the GPS went out as I get into town and had no idea where I was going. Found Kris' parents house dropped kids and went to the ER. Remember I was 8 months pregnant at the time too. Ever try to balance on crutches with an extra45 lbs and a huge belly. Not fun, I could hardly walk. Long story about needing to have surgery on the ankle and not being able to because of being pregnant....we basically just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. We stayed in Indiana for a week or two....I can't even really remember how long it was looking back. We decided to move in. So on August 12th we moved in. August 15th, my cast came off. August 17th had my first OB appointment with my new doc. Kids started school on August 24th. Mom came out that weekend, and stayed for two weeks! So helpful. I wasn't able to pack my house or even really unpack it. I had an amazing ward and those Relief Society ladies came over did it all! I mean all! Between the RS ladies, and the missionaries they did most of it. The Elders Q did come pack us and the new ward came and unloaded the trucks. Since then I have had a baby, 2 kids had birthday's, Halloween and some other daily fun things. I meant to blog earlier but the computer was in the boy's bedroom and the only time to blog is when Evan is napping and I can't type with him sleeping. Hopefully I will be better at this now that the basement is finished and our space is set up! Ah it is so nice!

Been fun? NOPE

So a lot has happened in a very short amount of time. I figured I would update the blog...since I have been a slacker. In this order.....
Father-in-law passed away (sad)
Broke Ankle (ouch-really the cast in more of a pain in the rear that what the ankle is)
Turned 33 (eh)
Had my one year NED (no evidence of the disease) date for Melanoma-(BIG DEAL!)
Decided to move family in with Mom-in-law (lots of work)


and I have no pictures of any of it. I might go into more details later, but most likely not...by the time that I have time for details I might have a newborn and have much funner things to blog about.

Meet Cooper

Who might be just as camera shy as Chevy was!

Elaine's glasses

second time!

Chevy 2000-2011

So it feels really weird to blog about this, but I need to. I am a cat person.....you don't have to let them out, if you go out of town you just make sure that they have enough food & water, you know they are simple and they are not so in your face with excitement all the time. Besides I never really had a dog growing up. When Kris and I got married we had discussed kids but not pets. We honeymooned in San Diego. On the way home I knew that it was just the perfect time to ask for a cat. He hates cats. I mean HATES them. Kris wanted to know where I planned on getting this cat I had in mind. I thought we would rescue it from the pound. The very next day that he had off....I think it was a Saturday and only a day or two after we had gotten home we headed for the pound. When you are at the pound you have to check out all the animals....just like going into the pet store when you pass by....I hate snakes and reptiles but for some reason you still have to walk by them. The pound didn't have any cats. Nope-they sure had a couple of cute dogs. We got a couple out to play in the little yard....one of them was Chevy. He was SO SUPER CUTE! I wish I had a picture-but that was before our digital days and I have no idea if we even have one or where it would be. He was tiny...and really really fun....Kris found his dog. How in the world we ended up with a dog when we went for a cat....no clue. We later found out that he was between 5-6 weeks old when we got him. Boy was I not prepared for a puppy. By that next Thursday night I was going C-R-A-Z-Y. I called Kris up at work and said..."I know you really like your dog and all, but I am going nuts....let's have a trainer here by Saturday or the dog goes." I don't know that we had a trainer by that Saturday but it really was just a short time later. We learned so much! Still til this day we say "that was the best $300 we have ever spent". Really it was. Get a dog-get a trainer.

Chevy has been moved all over and handled it well. He had traveled, loved the car, gotten mad and sulked when he wasn't invited to go along, he has protected my kids, not let people in the door, bitten the pizza guy (really if I tell you not to pet the dog, don't do it). He has made me feel super loved, annoyed, protected and irritated at times. He even bit Kris in the butt one time-protecting someone he took a liking too. I think that he may have made us laugh the most though. He was funny....in a very sly (stinky) way. Looking back at his life I think he may have been a little camera shy. I had a super hard time find any pictures of him. The one that I did find-well you can tell that he wasn't happy at all about having to sit and have his picture taken.
We tried dressing him up for Halloween once, not happy about that either. Overall he followed me around the house, and it was great-when he was little, he moved faster and I wasn't always tripping over him. He mainly just did his own thing around the house. When we first to Michigan and he had his first experience with snow-he pranced. Oh he hated it. He would cower over having to go out in it and use the bathroom. It took a snowball fight to get him used to it. He even had a few people that he just loved....when my dad or Kris' dad would come for a visit, we had to let the dog outside to great them. He would just get so excited he would piddle on the floor. Lately he has been constant mess. He learned that Evan would feed him if hung out around the high chair-which also means that we constantly being pelted by something. The last experience was strawberry yogurt-nice pink splats on his black fur. I would really love another dog just like him.....I mean-JUST like him. Stinky gas and all.

Sunday we came home from church and by the end of the evening he made a couple of messes in the house. Poor dog not feel good at all-not acting different, but you don't vomit for nothing. I notice that in one of his piles there was a corn cob. So I got on-line and googled "my dog ate a corn cob". The many message board that came up basically said that he would either pass it or he needed surgery. The signs we needed to look for were vomiting, diarrhea, not wanting to eat or drink, discomfort. If the dog had these signs to rush him to the vet. When did we have corn??? A week before-an entire week! By the next morning he had gotten sick two more times and was just not himself-we got him into a vet and sure enough corn cob on the x-rays. Bowel blockage. We did have the option to do surgery. BUT he is (was) old. There could be complications with anesthesia, and the vet really wouldn't know what he was in for until he got in there.....he bowel was already really swollen. The minimum surgery cost would be $1,200, going up for any complications. He was old. It was better just put him to sleep. We asked if there was something that could be done to comfort him so that we could take him and give the kids a chance to say good-bye then bring him back in the evening.



Nothing like coming home from your very last day of school and hearing that you dog is going to die. I warned them the day before that he was sick...really sick. After we told the kids.....Elaine was upset and started to cry, Drew said "cool can we get a new dog?". Izzy was okay for a bit and then she ended up being the one that took it the hardest. Evan, he is asking about the dog from time to time but doesn't really get it. I made sure that kids got some pictures with him before I took him in. He still tried to slyly walk out the picture.

The girls spent time making cards for the dog. I took them with me. He was such a trooper. I have had this experience before, and this time it was different, he was peaceful. The funny thing, he seemed like he knew what was happening and was ready. The vet assistant came in and put a blanket on the floor...he wouldn't lay on it. He found himself a comfy spot on the floor and that was it- right beside the chair I was sitting in and smashed up against the door. When the vet came in and looked at the dog, in his selected very odd spot in the room...I shrugged and said "at this point he gets to pick his spot". Right now I am missing his ears-odd thing I know but they were super soft and I didn't touch them much...

He will be missed, but it was time....soon than we expected, and really not at all how we thought it would happen....come on it was CORN! We will get a new dog soon. The kids are really looking forward to it.

Favorite talk from General Conference

This was my favorite talk from General Conference this year. I needed to hear it.

Easter 2011

This post is long overdue. I am sure that my mom has been waiting so patiently to see pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes.....they look great mom-THANKS! She was even our here the next weekend and never got to see the pics. Overall Easter day was ruff. I must have just been hormonal. I didn't even take pictures of the egg hunt after church. No one wanted to cooperate for their pictures...and I was hurting.

Drew would not take a normal picture.

Getting a group shot is always so much fun...zoom in on Evan's face.

Why do you need a fridge lock???

So we don't waste the sour cream.

We are having a.....

BOY!!!

I thought for sure that it was going to be a girl. Kris knew it was going to be a boy. I was surprised. I was so sure that I agreed to his name if it was a boy if he would agree to my name if it was a girl. I don't like his boy name. It is weird. In a cute weird way. My girl name was Anne. When the ultra-sound tech was doing her job she spent a lot of time on the heart. I kept telling her..."it doesn't look right to me". Knowing that she could not discuss anything with me. Well turns out that there was a bright spot on the heart....it is called a left ventricular echognic focus. The doc says that nothing is wrong with the heart. BUT that it is a genetic marker for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. Do you know anything about genetic markers? Well I didn't. It doesn't mean that my baby will have it, just increased my chances from 1 in 750 to 3 in 750. Well, that and my age add to the increase risk. Am I old???? I didn't think so, but I guess I am old enough to have it increase the risk. With it being a 3 in 750 chance it is still less than a 1% chance. The next test to figure anything out would be an amnio. Not interested. My chances of having a miscarriage are higher doing that than having any issues with the baby. I didn't have anything else bring up red flags. I also had the triple screen blood test and everything came back normal. So one "soft" marker, huh? Does the chance of having a child with either one of these conditions scare me? Oh yeah.... Trisomy 18 is very scary. VERY VERY SCARY... down syndrome...not so much. We are not guaranteed anything in life. Just one more bump in the road to my blessing. Oh and one more thing...this little guy has Drew's ears!

Melanoma

May is Melanoma awareness month. So I thought that I would do my part and make you more aware of what the fact are, just in case you didn't know. Some of them I find crazy and I am sure that you will too. The first time I met with the surgeon even before introducing herself she asked if I had ever had a really bad sunburn? My question was "A?" While holding up 1 finger...."yes a really bad sunburn?" Holding up just one finger. My answer-"I was kid in the 80's growing up in Southern California." I can't even count the number of sunburns (even really bad ones) that I have had. I love the sun-The sun sucks! I find myself or use to find myself loving the sun. Cover those nasty spider veins right? Tan skins helps that. Plus don't we all just want that little bit of a healthy glow? Not anymore I don't. Ever see people that oh so orange? Now I just shake my head over it. I have heard other people say "don't you just want to walk up and slap them for not getting it". The sad thing, we don't realize how bad it is....it is just skin cancer right? Cut it off and you are done? NOPE. Farther down you see some facts about it. Australia is trying to ban the use of Tanning beds to minors. I am not sure if I am for or against this. I have heard the argument....make them aware and then give them a choice. Anyone ever had to sign the paper that they are aware of the risk before entering a tanning bad? I have....the problem with that is that NO ONE GETS IT. As a society we just don't understand those risks that are spelled out for us. We need more awareness. People seem to shy aware from it. Famous people have died from Melanoma.....let's talk about Bob Marley....ask someone what he died from and if the person knows anything about Bob you will most likely be told "brain cancer"....well nope...it was cancer in his brain....it was Melanoma that started on his foot and then because he didn't take care of it, it did end up in his brain. So to keep this from getting any longer...just one last thing...all of my friends....we all know that we hate the little facebook status post about "if you know someone who has or has had cancer....". I am asking that you fill someone in, or spread the word somehow. Help me bring a bit of awareness to this cancer. Just one person maybe? Did you know that there are times when doctors say "I wish I could tell you that this was breast cancer, instead I am saying it is Malignant Melanoma." Can you believe that it is better to have breast cancer than melanoma????? We are so much more aware of Breast Cancer....just a bit of awareness would help. Don't you think. Now I am not saying that having Breast Cancer is not scary, and that people don't die from it, it is just more treatable. There is more awareness for it. THANKS! in advance.


Here are some facts about it from melanoma.org.

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US.


• Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Every hour a person dies from melanoma.


• Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the US and worldwide.


• Melanoma can develop anywhere on the body, including eyes, scalp, hands and feet.


• Melanoma is most common in men over the age of 50; in from of colon, prostate, and lung cancer. (Funny we hear a lot about those cancers don't we?)


• In ages 15-29, melanoma is the second most common cancer.


• The incidence of people under 30 developing melanoma is increasing faster than any other demographic group, soaring by 50% in women since 1980.


• Today 1 in 58 people will develop melanoma. It is estimated that this year there will be 68,720 new cases and 8,650 people will die from melanoma.


• Melanoma can develop on anyone-no matter their age, sex or race.


• The majority of melanoma is caused by exposure to UV light and sunlight.


• It takes only one blistering sunburn, especially at a young age, to more than double a person's chance of developing melanoma later in life.


• Exposure to tanning beds before the age of 30 increases a person's risk of developing melanoma by 75%, and younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to develop melanoma than people who have never used them. Occasional use of tanning beds triples their chances.


• The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified tanning devices into the highest cancer risk category (carcinogenic to humans).


• Unlike all other cancers, melanoma is visible on the skin, making it easier to detect in the early stages.


• Most melanoma is curable in the early stages with an 90% survival rate.

Cuddling on the floor

Orange Julius anyone?

See that mustache!?!?! MMmmmm YUM! Homemade Orange Julius. He loves it!

6 oz. Frozen OJ concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8-9 ice cubes

mix it all up in the blender. I like more ice. Don't try it with regular already made OJ and then adding more ice....I just doesn't work. Trust me I know. I have heard that you can replace 1/2 of the regular sugar with powdered sugar and it makes it creamier. Haven't tried it. I like it better than the Orange Julius in the mall....or at least better than the last half a dozen times I have purchased it...they just make it too watery. Hope you enjoy.