Hiiiiiiiiya!!!

A few pictures (from my new cell phone, which takes slightly better pictures than my old one, but still isn't quite as good as a camera - sorry!)

The girls each got make-up kits (Jack - and Rob - got foam swords). Kylie decked herself out in light pink, blue and purple makeup and asked that I take a picture of her ~



Before walking to school today to pick up Megan and Kylie, Beth asked that I take a picture of her and her Dora doll. She's holding a broken piece of a window blind in her hand, which she insisted on bringing on our walk along with her Dora doll ~



Jack was a cowboy on the way to school today, albeit somewhat hampered by wearing Beth's crocs, which are too big for him, on the wrong feet. On the way home, he became a ninja instead and valiantly protected us from passing cars, trucks, school buses and especially the UPS truck, which apparently was especially dangerous.







It took us quite a while to get home since we stopped every time a vehicle passed us.

Each of the four kids stopped and picked handfuls of the small purple wildflowers that carpet the field next to the school. As usual, they gave them to me. I brought them home and put them in a cup on the window sill.

It's a beautiful day today - gorgeous blue skies and almost 80 degrees. The kids each got a popsicle when we got home and I sent them into the backyard to eat them. Of course, they ended up on the swings ~



Life has been a bit slower paced for the last week. While testing my thyroid (I've been on thyroid meds for 10 years, but get it retested every year to make sure the levels are right), they ran some other tests and discovered that I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency. Apparently, that's a pretty big deal and they have me taking a huge dose of vitamin D once a week for the next two months to try and get me back somewhere near normal levels. I will probably have to take a vitamin D supplement for the rest of my life as my skin is probably not absorbing the vitamin D from the sun, but it's not a big deal :) I took my first dose last Tuesday. Because of how low my levels are, there are quite a few side effects and most are not very enjoyable. I have developed a new empathy for a friend of mine with rheumatoid arthritis as from what I have read, what I'm feeling is somewhat similar to a flare up. Every bone in my body hurts from the inside out. My fingers don't work right, which makes typing interesting :) I'm physically exhausted, however mentally I'm much less exhausted than I have been in a while, so that's good! I'm nauseous most of the time and occasionally have low-grade fevers and/or headaches. My dr assured me that these are normal symptoms and are temporary. They should start getting better in about 3-4 weeks :)

Anyway, that's what's going on with me. We decided not to get another dog right now. With a new quarter starting today (and I'm doubling up on classes this quarter) and with everything else going on, we decided it's not the right time to add more to the equation.