Working too hard and hardly working.

Okay, so I teased you guys a bit at the end of my last blog. So here is the news whether you find it good or not, depending on your fondness of Ben's occupation.

Three months after he applied, Fedex called Ben for an interview. We talked it over and determined that the pay would be similar to what he is currently making, however, the commute would be a third the distance. So, he went in for the interview and they pretty much said he had it as long as he could pass the background check. I hate waiting...

He got a call this morning. As it turns out, Ben isn't a criminal and Fedex invited him to work tomorrow morning. And by morning, I mean MORNING.... 3am, morning. This is after working his full day at Sundance. Ah, to be young again, when sleep was optional and kids were something that OTHER people had... and we laughed about both...


Anyway.

For the next week and a half, Ben has two jobs since he wasn't about to leave Sundance high and dry during the last part of the busy season. He'll be working four or five nights a week there until about 10pm, come home, try to sleep, get up at 2am (or so) and head over to FE for four hours (or so).

The benefits as I see them:

1. Ben will no longer have to work on Sunday. YAY!!
2. Ben will be home for dinner every night, which means I won't have to flake out on helping with dinner and I also won't have to pack Ben a lunch. Woot!
3. Ben will be home to help get the kids in bed.
4. Date Night now becomes optional again.
5. Less wear and tear on Ben's car. (Yes, he has his own car. I'll let him tell you about that.. a car is a personal thing, you know.)
6. He'll be sorting packages, so his arms are going to get BUFF... oh, yeah.
And the list could go on...

The downsides include no more Sundance discounts, Ben has to get up at 3am, he'll have to figure out when he can catch a nap during the day, and this MIGHT cause some tricky scheduling with school in the fall... oh, and did I mention that he has to get up at 3AM?!?

On to the hardly working...

Yeah, my thyroid hardly works.

I finally went to see an endocrinologist today (well, her nurse, anyway). I've been trying to piece together the scattered information I've been getting about my issues and I finally decided that I needed to see a specialist.

After filling the nurse in on over ten years of medical history, (yes, she was impressed) I was pleased to find that not only does she not mind that I've been taking the ever so controversial drug Armour Thyroid, she was more than happy to give me the information for a compound pharmacy in Provo where I could get a compound variation of Armour any time the big chains run out of the still-spotty supplies of the brand name. I am thrilled, to say the least!

She also sent me for more blood work (um, yay...) which included antibodies testing. I don't think I've ever had anyone check this before, the goal being to find out what is actually causing my hypothyroidism. No one has ever given me a clear explanation.

I also have an ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday. They mostly want to make sure that there aren't any freeloading nodules wearing out their welcome. Hopefully, they won't find anything other than my lazy thyroid hanging out in there.

After about 6 weeks, I'll go for more bloodwork and then another appointment with the nurse. So, more to come. Wish me luck. I'm not freaked out about it... yet.

The good news is...

We're starting to get settled in down here in the dungeon. We're not completely unpacked, but I'm starting to get a handle on what we have room for.
Audrey loves having the expanded audience of Papa, Grammy and GG. She's always doing something goofy. Her favorite thing to wear is a pink winter hat with bobbles on the top and a pair of winter gloves. Mama is pretty sure she'll have to hide them or they won't last till the cold weather hits. She said her bedtime prayer with the help of Mama and Dad last night. That's progress since she has refused up until now.
Henry is officially laughing, though he is particular about what he'll laugh about. He thinks Audrey is hilarious, especially when she cries. Go figure.

Ben is registered for his fall classes, but still jobless. I'm pretty confident he'll find something soon now that he knows what times his classes will be. I'm a bit stressed about him needing to transfer to UofU next year. The commute is pretty crummy.
However! The excellent news is that Ben only needs 12 more credit hours and he'll graduate from UVU with an Associates of Sciences (I think)! We're anticipating graduating next spring. Then he'll be off and running for his Bachelors in Geography at UofU.

I'm keeping fairly busy with the kids, visiting with family and working on various craft projects. I crocheted a scarf for Henry last week and I'm working on crocheting a blanket for him now. I transplanted my Money Tree into a bigger pot today and bought a new Money Tree as well. I'm going to make the first one into a bit of an experiment and see if I can sprout new plants from it. (Crossing fingers.) Jennifer, Dara and I had our first sisters book club meeting at the end of July. It looks like it's going to become a book/movie club. We'll read a book during the month and watch the movie associated with it at the meeting. The next on the list is Murder on the Orient Express. (I'm not a big fan of mysteries myself, but I'm going into it with an open mind.)

I'll be posting again soon with pictures from Henry's baby blessing, repelling pictures of Ben and his brother, and whatever else I can think up. Until then!

Where am I again?

Even though more than half of my readership is now within an hours drive of me, I figured I'd let those of you not just up the block know that Ben, the kids and I have all made it to Utah safely and are now digging our way out of boxes. The most recent progress was setting up my computer desk so that I can comfortably connect to the internet and get some things done.

The drive wasn't too bad. Audrey did amazingly well, but nearly had a nervous breakdown when we stayed overnight in Moab. I'm pretty sure she was wondering why we weren't home and spending the night in a familiar place. The poor thing hadn't been home since Monday morning. Little did she know that would be the last time she'd see her old house.

It's been fairly busy since we hit Orem. Unpacking of course, dinner at Dara's, a baptism on Saturday and a BBQ right after. We're still trying to get to 7 Peaks with family and there is a ward breakfast on the 4th of July.

Ben and I are still trying to remember to call our new house "Home" and our new ward "the ward"... That will take some time, I guess. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the idea of living in Utah.

Anyway, that's about all my brain can handle today. More blogging as the week moves along. Until then, miss me... because I miss you.