Wow a month has gone by, it seems like I was just on the computer yesterday writing. So the latest with Jordan; I took him to the cardiologist last week, and the doctor determined that he needed an MRI to see how constricted Jordan's airway has become. He seemed concerned that the surgery hadn't happened when he was 4 and wondered why the previous doctor had decided to wait. He said that when breathing problems are involved they generally do surgery to prevent further issues, so depending on the outcome of the MRI, Jordan will be having surgery. I will keep everyone posted. Ashton will be 5 this saturday, and can't wait. We were in the car coming home from the babysitters, and Jordan made a comment about school, and I guess Jordan had been talking about it at the sitters because Ashton got an exasperated tone in his voice and said "Get over it already." I couldn't help but laugh-he seems to come up with these phrases, and saying at the most appropriate moments that seem to be years above him. Kali is a typical girl, singing and dancing, and being so sweet. Nick said something to her the other night, and it made her so mad she ran to her room and slammed the door, he tried to apologize for what ever it was, and we could hear her through the door, "leave me alone, I need my quiet time" She gets over things pretty quickly though so no worries about a diva, she came out and gave Nick a hug and kiss and said she was "okay now". Nick is almost finished with my laundry room floor, He is notorious for starting projects and not completing them 100%, so I may be doing laundry in a garage with a build up floor and no walls until next winter, but that's okay, the end result is usually worth it. The husband of an employee of mine is the bishop for the womens correction facility, and he went to a regional coonfernece where Boyd K.Packard was speaking--she told me what was discussed at this conference and I got pretty nervous about the state of things in the world. He said that 1 out of 5 members of the church will be out of work within the next 3 years, and that war will be the only thing that pulls us out of this recession. He also said the the economy will become even worse within the next 3 to 5 years. The most important thing to say to your spouse is "I Love You", the 2nd most is "Honey, Can we afford that" Not to spread doom and gloom but I know that my food storage will be a priority for awhile, and I wanted to share that with you all. I love you guys, you are all my friends, my family, and my existence. I am Thankful that we chose each other to be family on this earth. I will keep you up to date on Jordan, and will blog with you all later.

Hi everyone! So here is the latest on all of us here at the Vance household. Jordan has been placed into an IEP-or individual education plan, classified as a communication disorder. He will be given specific coaching in speech and lanaguage, as well as have a reading recovery class. When we were in the meeting to discuss the steps needed to help him, it seems as though everything they want him to achieve he already does at home, but cannot relate it to a school situation, or generalize an answer in a situation. We are hoping more one on one teaching will open him up and help also with his attention span and possibly short term memory. We have also noticed he is starting to show symtoms of his heart condition being a problem. We are trying some perscription allergy medicine, but if that doesn't do anything to help, we will have to have him go back to the cardiologist to see if the sling around his trachea has grown with him or is cutting off his airways. Ashton has quite the personality, and is unpredictable in what he will say. He and Jordan are expert Wii bowlers, and can ham it up playing Mario Kart Wii, its fun to watch.
Kali is a dancing queen, and will see the theme to Mama Mia around the house while dancing to her own tune. We are thinking of putting her into a dance class in the summer. Nick is currently working on my laundry room, he is building it off the kitchen so we can finish the basement and add the family room and Jordan's bedroom by next year. I am excited for the laundry room, I drew a picture for him with alot more storage space, cabinents, and shelving for decor. Plus he promised me a new washer and dryer. I am doing well, Work is good, someone said something to the boss and he has mellowed out alot, so it isn't bad walking the store with him anymore. I have become infatuated with reading about King Henry the eight. I got alot of book gift cards for the holidays and got several novels from the different perspectives of his life. I am almost done with one written from his point of view, and will start on one from his 4th wife Anne of Cleves. I remember a long time ago Mom was saying that as she got older "time goes faster" I remeber thinking she was crazy, because time crawled and you had all the time in the world to play--but she was right--Each day gets shorter and less gets done, my hair gets longer, my body gets fatter, and the list to do gets longer--what's up with that?

So the holidays are over, and my house has finally gotten some semblence of order and I am bored. I know, sad huh. I am so used to rushing everywhere that now that I feel like I do not know what to do with myself. Less hours at work, I need to start decorating again. Nick will be redoing the front room so I may have a project to keep me busy soon. Everybody else is doing well--Jordan is still struggling with school, we have finally gotten the school to start the special ed testing. I had to do a psycological assessment for him the other day, but haven't heard back yet what it was for. I have seen the progress reports from his reading coach that look good, but he seems to slip father behind his class every day.
He is a master at the Wii though, he got so upset with me today because I wasn't "doing it correctly" He is pretty smart when it comes to this kind of stuff. Ashton is addicted to his nintendo DS, I will find him hiding under his covers at night playing, he gets so into the game that you can carry on a converstation with him the entire time he's racing Mario Kart. He is doing well in pre-school, and has started to read with us. Kali is such a girl--she got a purse that she refuses to put down, and her baby get its diaper changed every hour, and the barbies are constantly by her side. She has really gotten into grooming too, she has to do her hair a certain way each morning before she will even get dressed. Nick and I continue to work, but we have ajusted our schedules now to be able to have days off together more which is nice. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to a New Year! Love to All!

So I got pulled over the other day--I think I was being profiled--I did not do anything illegal.  Th police officer followed me from my store to the freeway and pulled me over- first thing he says is that my tire is low, and I need to get my husband to fill it up. I asked him if that was why he felt the need to pull me over- he then gets rude- and tells me that I do not have any insurance.  I asked him what law I broke that would give him the right to run my plates, he avoided my question and went right into the typical mumbo jumbo of "license and registration please..." What a jerk!  So anyways- because I neglected to pay last months bill he gave me a "no insurance" ticket and to my astonishment tells me he is going to take me to county jail.  Turns out I had a warrant for my arrest for a traffic ticket in 2002.  He was going to arrest me and make me go to jail and have Nick post bail!! Oh My Goodness! I convinced him to let me pay right then and there and avoid jail--he softened up alittle and let me do that but now I have to go to court and show proof of insurance and a reinstated drivers license to avoid jail time. All because this guy got bored and ran my plates while he was driving behind me!! What More? Work is hectic, my boss is an unrealistic power hungry jerk, my kids are all over the place, and I cannot seem to get ahead of the laundry!:) Santa Claus is wonderful--you mention the name and suddenly the kids are angels. We went through the kids's clothes and toys and made DI bags, Ashton and Kali went with me the other day and even after telling them why we were giving away the toys Ashton had a breakdown and started crying, all I had to say was that we were helping Santa give to little boys so that they had presents too, he calmed down and said, "Okay, Anything to help Santa." AHHH. If I don't talk to you all soon, Merry christmas and I Love you all.

Okay  Two weeks in a row I am off to a good start!  This last week was exhausting.  Not only was it the busiest week for business but I got a Regional visitor tour my store before Thanksgiving, as well a 2 DM visits--Thank goodness all of the visits were good. The last time I had a regional visit I had only been in the store 2 months and was starting to make progress in turning the store around but not enough in their eyes, so a good visit this time was fantastic.  The kids spent the night at my in-laws the night before Thanksgiving because Nick and I had to work at 4am, and I hate that.  Not only does my mother-in-law bathe them any chance she gets(she has a way of making it seem as though the kids are dirty any time we send them over), she actually cut Kali's hair!  Kali came running to me when I got there and her bangs were cut mid forhead and curled so it looked as though she had 1/4" bangs. I try to think its no big deal bu it really irritates me when she takes liberties.  Knowing that I hate them spending the night, Nick ambushed me in front of everyone asking me if they could spend the night again, so they did...When I picked them up the next day, Marian acts as though she did me this huge favor by having them, and after I told her my parents were in town and I did not appreciate the ambush to look like a jerk in front of everyone she had the nerve to say," Well they saw Marty and John, so atleast they saw family, even if it wasn't your parents, but I am sorry they did not see them." ?Malicious?, or could she possible be that inconsiderate and stupid to not know that she insulted me? I am more inclined to think she really did not think before she spoke. It was great though to just be able to talk with Mom, without having the kids running around us. So, that was my week. It was good, other thatn the few hiccups with the sleepovers, and the "fun" of being busy at work(I had over 400 people come in at 6am for Black friday) Until I write again....

Hello!! I have come to realize that I am a terrible communicator and I needed to set up something to be able to connect to everyone I love-so-here is my attempt to Blog--hopefully Mom and Jessica will be proud of me if I can keep it up. :) I have been busy these last few weeks at work trying to get ready for the Holidays, and life at home has been chaotic, but I know that I will be able to grow from these experiences--atleast that is what I am telling myself-Right?! I wasn't able to share my Disneyland photos with everyone so I hope I do this right and you all can see some of them.