And so, it goes on...

Well, another week has passed, if it has even been that long. We are still doing the same old things that we always do. Cobahn works, the kids go to school, and I try to keep up with everything else. Ya know, I was just sitting here thinking to myself that it's hard to be a mom of 5. We moms have to stick together! Not only do we cook, and clean, but we also referee, fix things, make things, individualize one on one time with each person in our family, organize, tutor, chauffeur, socialize, teach, learn, care for our pets, and many other things throughout our day. I personally have just added another college class to my fulfilling schedule. I have also taken up an interest in Kenpo, which is a martial art.

We have just been very busy around here. I love being a mom to my fabulous five, but I do have to say that it is very tiring. There are a lot of great moms that I know that always ask how I do it. My answer is always the same. "I don't know." Honestly, I really don't. I think that if I don't keep myself busy with all of the random things that I have to do in a day that I would be more stressed about not having anything to do. I don't mind it. It's the best job that I have ever had, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Cobahn now has a Playstation 3 to compliment his Wii, and World of Warcraft. It was his partial Christmas present, and since I'm not very good at keeping secrets from my husband I went ahead and gave him his other present, which was a really nice black leather recliner. Well, he says they are his gifts.

We are still debating as to when we are supposed to take our little excursion to the mainland. We originally had hoped to go at the beginning of December so that there would not be a rush to get a flight back since we plan on taking a Mac Flight. (That's a military flight). However, the kids don't get out of school for the Christmas holiday until the 18th of December. Added to the confusion, the kids are only off for 2 weeks and then it is back to school. That doesn't give us very much time to visit everyone that we want to visit. So, as with the military, it's a hurry-up and wait game. Cobahn goes on leave around the 20th of this month so we will be able to get the animals all situated in our absence.

Felicity is doing fine and has not complained about her boo-boo from Kota biting her. She is just the cutest little thing. I will have to post it later, but, the other day she fell asleep during dinner. She was too pooped to eat. I have a picture on my phone I will have to put up. Charisma is getting big as always. Her hair is a beautiful blonde and getting so long. Michael is doing well in school, but came home Friday with only one shoe. How you lose a shoe on a big open playground is beyond me, but he did it! Abigail is doing well in Girl Scouts as a Brownie. She is earning patches left and right, but it still takes her a while. She went to Wheeler Army Airfield today with her troop to stuff stockings for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. She said they did "700 something", and I told her that I was proud of her. Faith is moving right along in band as 'first chair'. She helps the other kids with notes and reading the music. She has her first band booster event coming up at McD's. She is excited. I took her to see the movie "This Is It" by Michael Jackson. She loves his music almost as much as I do. She sang, danced in the isle, and even cried. It was our date night and she really liked it. I'm hoping to get 2 kids into a date night on the weekends.

As far as animals go, they are doing great. Nicky (cat) is still crabby all the time and only wants attention when he wants it...typical cat. Patty (cat) is still more affectionate than a dog. Kota (Husky) is still getting into everything like a scavenger, and Sydnie (Great Dane) is still eating everything. Syd weighs 78 pounds. It seems like she is gaining 2-3 pounds a week. She is going to be huge...and she is only 5 months old!!! Yes, it is a lot of poop!

Well, all is well with us. And hopefully I will be able to put a few pictures on here of what has been happening with us soon. I have to recharge the cameras before I put up pictures again. Love to you all and I hope that all is well with you!

Whats New with You?

Well, Saturday night turned into the beginning of a very tiring weekend. Felicity was playing with Kota, our Husky, while Kota was gnawing on her raw hide bone. Kota doesn't take to kindly to anyone touching her when she is chewing on something. She likes to growl and intimidate you, but that is just the kind of dog she is. Being that Kota is only seven months old, she is still just a puppy and doesn't yet realize the power of her bark, or her bite.

Felicity decided to get up close and personal with Kota while Kota was chewing on her bone. I mean, she got right in her face. Felicity is a very loving child and was hugging Kota's neck and patting her, but when she put her little hand on top of that dog bone Kota decided to defend her area and nip at Felicity. Felicity had a deep gash in the top of her hand and she started to cry where Kota had bit her. On her hand it was about 2.5 centimeters long and looked like she was going to need stitches. Be lucky you didn't see it, because it was really deep and could make anyone squeamish from looking at that on their own child. We cleaned her up and put some antibiotic on the cut, pushed it together and stuck a band-aid on it.

By the time we go to Acute Care on Schofield Barracks, they said that it looked good and that she did NOT need stitches because of the actions that were taken before she was brought in. Thank goodness! Needless to say Felicity has no fear of the dogs, Kota has not nipped at anyone and she still is giving the pups the old choke hug and loving it. Felicity barely cried when it happened but is back to her normal loving self when it comes to animals.

On the other hand, my husband forced me to go to the doctor. I had been having chest pains for about 3 days and it felt like a quick onset of sharp pain that only gets worse as you breathe in. After a short while of about 3-5 minutes with this happening, there is usually a pop under my left breast. Then the pain is gone. The pain is always in the exact same spot. I have had this happen my whole life, but not 12-15 times a day. Usually it was once or twice a month or two. I don't know what triggered it, but it really hurts.

So, I talked to the doctor and told him what was going on, and of course, he seemed to be confused about what I was telling him. They took X-Ray's, UA's, and an EKG. They said that I am very healthy according to the tests. Good thing there is nothing wrong with the heart and lungs! After showing the Dr. where it hurt and going into detail about the pain he told me that I may have some kind of congenital deformity in the area of the sternum and the rib. There are places on the sternum that sort of look like cups, and your ribs just sit in those cups. Muscles and ligaments are attached to all of your ribs to help hold that space open inside when you breathe. According to this doctor that I saw, he says that one of the 'cups' is not shaped like a cup, and instead, just drops off at one point causing one of my ribs to get 'stuck' and pinch.

I was given a 'super' anti-inflammatory shot that is supposed to work for 24 hours, and a prescription anti-inflammatory to be used on a needed basis. I was told to check into physical therapy to see how to strengthen the muscles holding down the ribs, and to take it easy and rest. I wonder if the doctor heard me when I told him I have 5 children? Anyhow, I seem to be doing OK, but still have the pain in my chest. It is less frequent than before, but still there.

Both Faith and Abigail are being tested at school here in Hawai'i for general learning problems. It is called "Project Assist". This is a program for military children that tests them for things like dyslexia, and developmental delays. Other than that, they are doing well.

Michael got his pencils taken away for playing 'swords' with another little boy Anthony in class. He was 'grounded' at school from using pencils for 3 days. It really irritated me that the teacher sent home a note that told me to take his pencils away for 3 days at home. How, then, is he to do his homework that requires pencils? I think that I would like to parent my child my way, and not be told what to do by a teacher. I have nothing against teachers. I think teachers are great, but, sitting down and having a talk with Michael about the incident and knowing that he completely understands that playing with pencils that way could hurt someone, I think, is sufficient. Maybe I just read it wrong. Who knows?! He knows now not to play with his pencils.

Charisma is still on the same path. She is potty trained, but tries to hold it even though the bathroom is 5 steps away. She leaks, and full-on wets her pants because she doesn't want to get up and go. I have been washing lots and lost of her clothes and every time she does it she gets cleaned too. She doesn't wear diapers anymore, and she hasn't for a while, but I just don't understand it. We are working on it with her and hopefully she will just get up and go potty when she needs to go.

Cobahn is working. Yes, as always. He is excited about getting to go on leave around the middle of this month. No work, and he will finally get to take a break from it. We may actually get to have a Christmas together this year! Yay! It's hectic, but so worth it to get to spend the holidays with your family.

Oh, and I got some wood, and sanded it, cut it, and stained it for the bookcase that I wanted to make Cobahn. He helped me with putting it together. So, it turned out kinda nice for my first piece of furniture that I have made. Reupholstering the rocking chair that was my grandmother's doesn't count. It turned out pretty good.

Other than that, we are just getting ready for Thanksgiving and trying to get ready for Christmas at the same time. Rush, rush, rush...and rush some more. Before I become too frazzled, I will close, and hopefully you all have enjoyed our latest Hedge adventures in the lovely land of Hawai'i. Hope all is well with you all and I will post more later.

Our New Family Blog

Well, I finally gave in and made a blog spot page for our Hedge Family. There have been many things going on in our lives. First and foremost, I would like to say that I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful life and an extraordinary family. I have an exquisite husband and five, yes five, great kids. Faith, Abigail, and Michael are all in school and doing great in their studies.

Faith is in fourth grade and is also a member in the band. She plays clarinet, and at home, she also entertains herself with guitar and flute. She gets good grades on her report card and studies all the time. She's exceptionally smart! Abigail is working hard and finally starting to catch up to her classmates. She has an IEP which stands for Individualized Education Plan. She is currently in second grade and moving right along. Abigail is also in Girl Scouts as a Brownie. She has been officially pinned and is already earning patches. Michael is in Kindergarten. He can count up to 13 and skips a few numbers in between and starts again at 17. We are working with him. He likes his flash cards that we use with him, and he is already writing his name very well. He has nice penmanship. He is also ambidextrous.

Charisma is three years old and starting to talk a lot more to where we can understand her. She is doing well at mimicking Michael with counting and her ABC's. She has quite the personality, too! She is very helpful to her Mommy during the day when we are cleaning up our house. Felicity is getting big also. She is two years old and has such a look that can get Daddy to give her almost anything. It's cute now, but wait until she is 16!

We have two male cats, Nicky and Patty. They are three year old brothers or litter mates, and the softest, fluffiest cats I have ever seen. The children love them and we know that they love us too. We also have two female dogs. One is a 7 month old Husky named 'Kota'. She is full blooded and very smart. At times, though she is rather rambunctious. The other is a 5 month old Great Dane named 'Sydnie'. She has a great temperment about her. Even though she is two months younger than Kota, she outweighs her by about 20 pounds. Sydnie weighs 65 pounds and is as tall as my hips, and I am only 5'2"! The kids love all of the animals and are always playing with them and trying to hug and kiss them.

Cobahn is still in the United States Army and working all the time. He is eligible to be picked up on the next promotion board for E8, and we are excited that he is just eligible. I am so proud of him! He has physical therapy for his knee and hip. He also has ankle problems. When he was in Iraq in February there was a Chinook crash that he was in, and we think that when he was flown in the crash that something was jostled and now he hurts all the time. He was in Iraq for about 8 months. I am just thankful that he is alive, bum leg and all! He works all the time, and usually his hours consist of 5AM - 5PM, but it is nothing uncommon to us. He seems to be doing well, besides the aches and pains of being a soldier.

Speaking of soldiers, Jonathan, my Ex-Husband, is currently in theater (deployed). Faith writes him emails and usually will write something down for Abigail and Michael as well. The talk to him as much as they can, but he is a very busy person with much less than we have here as far as amenities goes. So, please keep him in your prayers!

As for me, well, I have been busy doing the Mom thing. I am constantly cleaning and making sure that everything is in it's place. I have been going to appointments and tests for the police department here and have been progressing well. So far, I have achieved every goal that I have set for myself career-wise. I just recently passed my PTT(physical trainability test) and am moving along in the hiring process. Thanks to all of those who kept me in their prayers and thought of me. That test was tough, but I did it, so thanks. Other than that, I have been to photo shoots and have been in the process of working with a legitimate modeling agency here in Hawai'i. The pictures came out really well and they want me in local bridal magazines and sky mags. Sounds like fun! I have been with them since August of this year. I also took a trip to my hometown of Archer City, Texas. I got to stop in and see the graves of my son and my brother. It was a very relieving feeling to get to see them since I live so far away now. I had a few good cries and took some pictures for the kids, since they did not get to go.

Not much else going on here in beautiful Hawai'i. I hope that you all enjoy the blog and that I can learn to get pictures and such on here. Love to you all, and be blessed.