New Baby!

My cousin Sarah, and her husband, Jason, welcomed their first baby early Monday morning. He was a whopping 10 pounds, 8.5 ounces, and 22.75 inches long! Welcome to the world, baby Daniel!

Fooooood.

Homemade (super bomb diggity) creamy mushroom soup with chicken and portobello sandwich with caramelized onions and basil garlic aioli and Havarti. It was inspired by a meal we had for date lunch at Flatbread in Bown's Corssing. It was amazing there, but I did pretty good myself! :)

Talking Lila Girl!

I hadn't uploaded videos off my camera for a while, so I might get crazy. :) Here is a video of my sweet Lila girl talking.

Kaden: Person of the Week!

Kaden is person of the week (well, two weeks) at school this week and he got to celebrate by making a huge poster of himself and then presenting it in class to his friends. Here is the video link for it. My sweet boy. :)

Family Dinner.

We had the family over for dinner tonight. It was pretty low-key but nice to see everyone after so long of being sick and miserable. Not much else to report. :)

Cambodia.

Yesterday during the half hour break I have between work and school (where I eat and play with my kids at super speed, lol), Damon came by to bring us some things he got for us in Cambodia! So cool! I will likely never go to Cambodia in my life, so it was so awesome to get some goodies from a place like that. He didn't get to come to my birthday party, so he said he would get us some prizes. :) Kaden and Jackson are OBSESSED with the awesome puzzle animals. And Lila and I got silk robes that are so pretty and have intricate little designs on them. So cool! And then we got a meal set in a cool box with elephants on the front. Below are pics of the awesomeness. I love to feel loved! :) Thanks Damon!

Tonight after work Stu and I worked out for EVER. My whole body hurts and my knees are destroyed, which was probably a terrible idea that I will regret for the rest of the weekend, but it felt good to kick my own ass. :) We had to focus on homework though as the main Friday night plan, which always makes me feel inherently lame. Haha. We went to bed way too late as a result, too. So lame. 

Forensics FTW.

Remember the test I didn't get to study for (including not reading a SINGLE page in my book, and not having a chance to look over the lecture notes from class)? Well, I got that test back to night and I got a B+! Woohoo! That could have gone SO much worse. So for right now, I have As in all of my classes. Let's hope I can keep it up and no more sickness rears its ugly head!

Tonight in my Forensics lab, we did dust lifting and shoe print casting. I like that we have a lab in that class (though it certainly does make for LONG days) because it really is cool to see real-world application of the concepts we talk about. Forensics is so abstract when you just talk about it, so seeing it in action is much better. It's a good group of people in that class as well, so that's nice. And though he is a former cop, I am actually really enjoying the professor this time around. He is super calm and laid-back, but also hilarious, in a very dry, unassuming way. I could listen to him all day. He's got amazing stories.

One more day and the weekend is HERE! :)

In other news, my workout tonight tried to kill me. I took almost two weeks off from working out because of sickness, and it is SO hard to get back into it and to where I was the prior 8 weeks. It sucks.

Never a Dull Moment...

... at the Fox residence. :) Here are some pics of the babes being babes. :)

Lila drinking out of her Bronco cup (full disclosure, she had put a sippy cup inside of the big cup. :))

All of my boys doing wall stands. :)

Jackson swinging Ironman and Mickey. 

Boise Homicide.

Finally back to work and feeling much better. Unfortunately I also had to return to work and a full day of school as well, which is much harder than just putting in my eight hours and then going home, so I think it made the day worse that it was just SO long. But, it is nice to feel like I am finally on the mend.

So, in super creepy news, last night there were three “incidences” around 8 at night in Boise in three different spots. Today it came to light that they were all likely related. So, apparently, (and of course information is still coming to light so I am sure there is plenty that is not public yet) this guy rear-ended a car on Vista and Canal around 8 at night and then when he decided to run, as he drove around the guy he hit, he shot at him, blowing out his own car window and striking the car he hit.

Then, to got on the freeway and got off on Franklin where witnesses called in to dispatch about a man in his car apparently injured. Turns out this guy was shot in the head and was in the lanes of traffick, dying. He died less than two hours later at the hospital. In the meantime, the two incidents appear to be related, but cops are looking for a way to tie the first guy to the second incident.

THEN, around the same time, RIGHT BY MY HOUSE, police got a call from the first guy’s Dad and stepmom, saying the first guy was in their front yard yelling and screaming that he was going to hurt them. Around the same time, the guy fled on foot and dispatch got a bunch of calls from people saying someone was trying to get into cars and homes, testing for unlocked doors. Police sent out a autodial call to residents in the area telling then to lock their doors. They set up a perimeter and finally around 11 PM found him hiding in the back yard of an unoccupied daycare 6 houses away from my house!!! Dude. It is so freaky that crime that that happens this close to where my babies play and live.

It was weird too, because right around that time I was going to wake Stu up because I was getting ready for bed and heard what sounded like the house making noises in the bathroom, but way louder than normal. There was no report of shots fired when they detained him, but I am wondering if that might have been what it was. It was just weird noises, not like any house “settling” sounds I’ve ever heard here before.

Anyway, police are still asking the public for help locating a cell phone, ammunition, and any private video surveillance that might show any of the incidences. Hopefully they get everything they need.

The guy who was killed in his car was 28-year-old Mathew Mohler-Kerns, who is a Boise State student (recent graduate and was just accepted to a master’s porgram) who is originally from Post Falls. I think what resonates most with me is that this guy is the same age as me, is from very near my home town, and is basically doing the same thing as me… working and going to school, trying to get a good education and move up in life. Life is so fragile and is so easily taken away. Just because of some crazy person (who, it has been rumored may have been under the influence of bath salts or salvia). Hug your loved ones. Life is WAY too short. 

Here's KTVB's version: http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/Road-rage-suspect-accused-of-shooting-at-mans-car-192079421.html

and 

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Franklin-blocked-police-investigation-underway-191765781.html

President's Day Vacay.

I thankfully had the day off for President's Day, so I could try to get better for the work week ahead.

In an effort to get me out of bed and into the sunshine, Stu so awesomely made me lunch and he, myself, and Jackson played (well, Jackson played and Stu picked up dog poop while I sat and ate) outside. It’s been so beautiful out while I have been sick and it’s so lame to watch it from inside while feeling like walking down the stairs is just too much effort to muster.

Then I saw a voodoo doll on the fence. That was freaky. Lol. Stu claims it is a pile of leaves, but look at it! Weird!

Mimi volunteered to come over and sit with the kids so Stu and I could go on a date and go grocery shopping (I was definitely not up to the task all on my own). So we went to Flatbread and had fondu and mini pizzas and half-sandwiches. I freaking LOVE their food. It was a great date. :)

Trudy's.

After so many days of feeling like shit, we ALL had cabin fever. But what do you do when you still feel crappy and don’t want to move too much, but want to get outside? You drive to Idaho City! Duh! Haha.

We were super bummed because we had to cancel our attendance at Ian and Jamie’s for the evening, so to make up for that we felt like we HAD to get outside at least, even if there were runny noses abound.

So we packed up the kids and a movie and set off for Trudy’s Kitchen for lunch and pie. The drive was great and so pretty with just a little snow, but also a sunshiney day. The kids had a great time and everyone was very happy to get out of the house. Here are some pics from the day:

Still Sick.

Since I am still miserable, I decided to post photos from Thursday (Valentine's Day) that Mimi and Marcia rescued because it was so awesome and is WAY better than how I feel right now, all stuck in bed. :)

Enjoy!

Nope.

Turns out, trying to do too much of "have to"s, made me even more sick. I spent ALL DAY in bed today. I got up in time for the sun to go down, and even THAT was pushing it. Ugh.

This is my sick bed. Working, doing homework, and eating, all in the same space. :) Hopefully this long weekend makes for plenty of time to get all better.

Poor Choices.

I went back to work today because my boss was in and I knew SO MANY THINGS were getting farther and farther behind the longer I laid in bed. PLUS, I had my first test in Forensics, so I knew I needed to go to class tonight as well.

This was a bad choice.

The Sydney who is normally polite-ish and helpful, became intolerant, why-are-you-talking-to-me-about-such-stupid-shit Sydney, and it was a wonder I did not injure someone throughout the day. To make matters worse, because I had not planned on being sick for days, I had not had time to study at all for my test (and by "study", I mean read any of the chapters I was about to be tested on, or glance through the slides I'd ignored in favor of Marble Lines during class. Oops.

However, all things considered, I think I did pretty well. I would guess no worse than a B-, if that. We will see, but there were only a couple I didn't know for sure.

Mimi and Marcia came to my rescue and brought us cookies and Mimi brought Valentine's gifts for the kids. They were thrilled and I was thrilled because Kaden had been so excited for Valentine's Day and I completely dropped the ball with my sick and didn't go to the store for a single thing for him for his day. In addition to missing every single "party" they have at school, I typically feel like a pretty shitty parent when it comes to school, but today even more so. So thanks again to my wonderful family (village) for coming to my rescue when things got bleak. :)

Unfortunately, once the "have to do"s were done for the day, I really felt the weight of how long and exhausting my day had been and I was seriously spent. I went to bed early with Nyquil hoping I could will myself into good healthy for one more day of work before the weekend.

Nope.

Today I actually called in sick (well, I texted in sick... technology. :)) for the first time in 7 years. I mean, I have used sick time, but it has all been for my maternity leave. This is the first time I have actually BEEN sick, and stayed home, in seven years. Geez. And it was full-blown necessary. I only got out of bed to pee and twice to make a meal, which exhausted me, and I promptly got back in bed and napped before I ate said meal. Pathetic. Even going to the bathroom was an internal battle as I debated how mad my husband would be if I just peed IN bed, versus how much energy and effort it would take to get out of bed, get seated, and actually pee. Stu probably should not know how close the battle actually was. :) (And I think I herniated something waiting too long a couple of times)

Mommy is sick. :(

So, basically the one thing that can negatively effect our very carefully scheduled life, is illness. I say it all the time and it is painfully true, I have NO TIME TO GET SICK. Well, guess what? Yep. I am sick. I don't think it is the flu, because I am not barfing, BUT, it is knock-me-on-my-ass, achy body, pounding headache, sore throat, etc. of suck, and I feel like utter shit. I came home from work a little bit early with the intention of getting in a nap before I had to rush off to school. Instead, I stayed in bed and on the couch (a big move I was incredibly proud of), before I realized what it would mean to actually go to school... finding a parking space, walking too far in the snow and cold, sitting for 3 hours in a too-hot room, and I felt exhausted. If even the THOUGHT of what I have to do is exhausting, it's probably a safe bet that I should skip it. So I shot my teacher an email and stayed on the couch watching the Chris Dorner drama unfold with the burning cabin and all (and then the painfully underwhelming-but-I-expected-nothing-less State of the Union address). Not what I had planned at all, but hopefully this is a 24-hour deally and I can be back to it soon.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

She's had a rough little while now, but hopefully her birthday is awesome. Love you, Liss Ann!

(The picture was from moving day, so we both look amazing gorgeous, but it is the most recent one I have of us with no one else in it! :))

Walking Dead.

Seriously, I did very little today except get happy that The Walking Dead is back on tonight! Woohoo! Yes, I am lame. Sorry about that. Heh.

Saturday Recovery.

As with many bashes that are fun... the recovery is not. This is what I woke up to though. My husband sure can be a winner sometimes. :)

I spent a good deal of the day lounging around trying to feel better, which made for some seriously fun hangout time with my babes. :) Then we ended the night with the family by going to my favorite, Red Lobster, for dinner (don't hate, I love it). Thanks everyone for making my birthday week so great!