Has spring sprung?

I am back!  Ya, life seems to get in the way of blogging but I found a few moments in my crazy world to get back over here.

Weather has been getting nicer out here, 71 right now!  Ya!  We have had a very mild winter with very little rain.  I guess that just means that we are going to be in a drought once again.  But I will take 70's anyday!

Katie turned 16 three weeks ago :-)  Can hardly believe it!  She didn't want to do anything special so I took her and Steph to San Jose to the mall and got her some clothes, went to the sushi buffet, and had a fabulous time hanging out with my girls.

Also in January, I started babysitting!  Full time!  ACK!  My neighbor fired her daycare person for saying some awful things about them to her kids...really?  So, she offered me the job if I wanted it.  I debated and debated, John thought it over, and we decided to go for it.  What's 2 more kids when you have 6??  The girls are 2.5 and 5 (perfect match-ups to my 2 and 5 y.o.), good friends with my kids, and so far it is CRAZY busy but going well.  The first couple weeks I was having doubts and wondered why I even considered taking this on...but it has slowly gotten better.  The girls are real drama queens and it is often hillarious to watch them.  We are even getting school done, just about as well as we did before the girls started coming over.  The best part is that I get a paycheck!  Kristie pays $50/day and we also get their 9 y.o. from the bus a block away at the park.  It is a big commitment but I'm enjoying the extra money for now and will probably quit for summer and definitely by school next fall.  I do miss my quieter days (with *only* 6 kids!) and would rather focus on just my boys once school starts again.  I think before long I will end up working for her at the hospital but not quite yet!

I just had yet another stupid birthday but I have to say, it was probably one of the best ever, or at least in YEARS!  I was off work since it was President's Day and Kristie and Charlie were both off.  I had planned to go solo to the next town over (45 min. away) and do a little shopping.  Kristie asked what I was doing and I told her my plans, then she said she was off too so I invited her along!  She said she wanted to take me out for lunch and for pedicures!  Wow!  So we had a good lunch, shopped all afternoon, found some great buys, but couldn't find the nail salon she remembered.  Kristie knew of a salon near where I wanted to stop on the way home so that was our next plan.  We stopped by my 'special' Gluten Free store to get my raw milk and saw a nail salon next door.  Voila!  Perfect!  What a way to end the day!  It was wonderful.  What a great day that was.

We don't really have much going on right now.  Girls got new contacts (Steph's first contacts) and Max got glasses.  Katie needs her prescription adjusted on one eye for glasses and contacts but otherwise all is well.  I had my last check up with the Lasik center and I am good to go.  I have 20/15 vision in my left eye and 20/20 in my right...can't ask for much better than that!  The enhancement in my left eye did leave my near vision in that eye TERRIBLE but the opthalmologist said it would.  Reading is a little annoying, even with reading glasses, as the difference in each eye is quite different.  Oh well.  I don't NEED reading glasses yet so I'm ok with that.

The little girls have gone home and I am now in the peace and quiet of my own kin.  Aahhhhhh...

Time to make dinner!