Got my mojo back.

Finally got my mojo back. It's been back for about 3 months now. I finally feel myself again. I felt like such a dark cloud was over us for the past 2 years. Jack has gone through multiple jobs since Hubbell. I hope he has finally found his nitch at Tel Tech. Since my dad was diagnosed and died from cancer... it was just a struggle. I was VERY close to my dad. Still miss him a lot but his light shines in me. I think of him often but remember the good things.

Last summer was tough with Devin's school anxiety... but she has really shined these last few months. She is doing REALLY well... she is doing great in school and extra-curricular activities. She is now riding the school bus home, buying her lunch, and having no anxiety anymore. In the last month, she has had 4 sleepovers with her friends Rowyn and Katie. Let me tell you, happy kids equals happy mom. When my kids aren't happy, either am I. I am so pleased she is doing so well. Her light is really shining and I feel like Devin has finally turned the corner to my happy, anxiety-free child I knew she could be. She just got her 3rd quarter report card and it was all good. She wanted to re-join the Little Gym in the grade school "Flips" class and is still doing dance at Steppin Out studio. Last weekend, at the Superbowl, she even did rock climbing. I was shocked!!!

As for me, I've been riding more. Rode Moon and Chase last weekend. Rode Chase at Estrella Mtn Park today with Lynne. Been working out more and just started Zumba which I love. Been going to more functions with friends and drinking and just lettin' my hair down and having fun which I haven't let myself do for a LONG time. Been out with friends 3-4 times in the last 2 months. So, it's been great. Jack and I are doing well and will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next month. He cooked for the Mom's Night Out Dutch Oven Cookout at our house last night. Also,I've been reading more and doing some scrap albums and watching 24 on Netflix. It seems the happier I am, the more I accomplish. Plus, I really feel like I've been spending quality time with the family as well... we went to Devin's school Valentine's dance on Friday night. Been going to the library once a week with the kids. Been taking the kids riding. Been taking the kids to all their after-school activities. We've been going to more parties as a family as well. Another thing we've been trying really hard to do is have "family night" once a week together. We also went to the Monster Truck Jam recently. Kyle and Devin loved it. Note to self... wear ear plugs next time. LOL. I definitely got my mojo back. Yea. Next weekend, I go to Vegas for the Western States Veterinary Conference for 4 days. Hope Jack survives the mayhem without me! I will think of it as "Traci appreciation week!" He will realize how much I really do!

Except for illness, life is good.

Well, we have had our share of illness for the last 6 weeks... typical winter flus and colds. Course, Kyle catches every single one of them and gets it the worst! It started with him getting sick with a GI virus the week before Christmas during our Colorado trip in December. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Then, he got sick on Christmas Eve. I stayed home with him and Jack and Devin went to Jack's parent's house. They are not doing well. Jean's health is failing and she has recurrent UTI's. Then, on Christmas day, Kyle spiked a 105 fever. So, off we go to Urgent Care.... and then back again when they told us it's just a virus. That resolved. Then, mid-January, Kyle and I both got sick with a nasty cold/flu virus. About a week later, it turned into a sinus infection for both of us. Back to the doctor for both of us... and on antibiotics. On day 8 of antibiotics, Kyle spikes another fever and develops a cough from another virus. And so it goes. Today, we had to cancel his "makeup" class for Little Gym b/c he was coughing (which also means barfing) too much this morning. Yes, his sensitive gag reflex is still in full effect. Meaning, every time he gets a cold or cough, he will gag or cough until he vomits. It's lovely.

Besides the winter cold blues, we are doing pretty well. Jack just switched jobs again for the 4th? time in 2 years. I hope this is the one. We shall see... I have been trying to get back into working out again. Hard to do when I have a cold or sinus infection... but trying. I just took up Zumba and love it. Have actually gone out a few times with friends in the last month. I am starting to feel "myself" again after a rough 2010. I'm getting my mojo back! Tomorrow, we are going to Pat & Beth's house for the Superbowl. Should be fun. Today, I rode Moon & Chase and they did great. Last weekend, we had our annual client education seminar at our vet clinic. I spoke on colic. I think I did ok... maybe a little nervous... but ok.

Devin has been doing awesome. She has had a couple playdates and sleepovers lately. As a matter of fact, she is having Katie over tonight. She had 2 sleepovers with Rowyn last month. We are totally encouraging it and on board. Anything which will increase her self confidence is great. She has been doing really well in school and is now riding the bus home. She has been doing that for about 3 weeks now... all her idea and a HUGE milestone in our house. She is still doing ballet/tap class too.

Kyle is doing well despite all his illnesses. Speaking of, Devin said something really funny the other day... I was explaining to her what "donate" means and why her school is donating money for sick kids. She says, "We should collect all the coins in our house and donate them to Kyle b/c he is sick all the time Mom." How do you argue with that logic?! LOL. Anyway, I signed up Kyle for Little Gym's gymnastic class at the beginning of January. He LOVES it!! He is an absolute maniac and sweats up a storm. He is talking like crazy and now will go to the potty (for pee) all by himself (we give him a treat if he goes by himself). Still car crazy. We took the whole family last Sat night to the Monster Truck Jam. He loved it.

Snow Trip in December

Time flies.... can't believe its been 6 weeks since I last posted. Well, we did have a great trip to Durango Colorado. We got Devin on skiis and skiing the baby hill for the first time. I got to ski with my friend Mo in the afternoons. We had a great time with her family sharing a rental condo for 5 days. Unfortunately, Kyle got a GI virus the first couple days which set him back a little. Poor little man. It's always something. Kyle did get a chance to play in the snow and even go tubing with the family and he loved it. We did "everything" snow since we rarely see it. Snowball fights, snow angels, building a snow man, eating snow, skiing and tubing. It snowed like crazy while we were there. A HUGE winter snow storm... almost 3-4 feet!!! We did not plan for this and drove our 2 wheel drive car... mistake we will not repeat. We almost didn't make it up and down the mountain a few times. Scary. Next time we will rent a 4 wheel drive (we had JUST sold our 4 wheel drive truck a month before).

We also did the Polar Express Train Ride. On the whole I would give it a C rating. I heard wonderful things about it.. but it was a bit of a disappointment to Devin. The whole time they were really revving up the kids that they were going to the "real" north pole to see Santa. Well, we rode the train (which was very cool) to a location that looked very fake. I've seen much better decorated houses to be honest. They had reindeer cut out of wood standing up next to Santa's sleigh. Devin was like.... "Mom, the reindeer are fake!" So , I made up some story about the real reindeer being in the barn eating dinner. She didn't buy it. Later, she asked me if next year we can go to the "real North Pole and not the fake one." Oh well.

Off to Durango, Colorado

Well, we are off to Durango, Colorado tomorrow for some skiing, sledding and Polar Express with my vet school friend Mo and her family. Should be alot of fun. Can't wait. Just gotta pack and put together some winter clothes. Had to find them all in storage and have my kids try them on. Also had to go to 2nd hand store to buy Devin a "real" winter jacket and also went to Kohl's yesterday to buy Kyle another pair of "closed toe shoes" for the trip. Can't wear sandals in the snow!

Kids & I went to see Santa the other day and they had a great time. Kyle wasn't scared and they both told Santa what they want. Devin wants Zhu Zhu Pets, Pet shop pets, and a pretend dog. Kyle wants a cement and garbage truck (of course). They both smiled for the camera and we got a great picture ... a miracle.

Well, Kyle is sleeping now ... so gotta do laundry and pack.

The tooth fairy is coming tonight.

Well, Punky Doodle (aka Devin) lost her 2nd tooth tonight. Thanks to Aunt Krista who is the official "tooth extractor" for Devin now. She won't let me pull her teeth- but will let Krista do it. So, the tooth fairy is coming to our house tonight. Don't know what that going rate is... but we've been giving her $2 per tooth. She really doesn't know the value of money anyway. I was really proud of her when her first tooth came out a few weeks ago. She got $2 bucks from the tooth fairy. We told her we would take her to the dollar store to spend it anyway she wants. When we got there, she gave Kyle half her money ($1) b/c she wanted him to have something too. I was so proud of her. It was totally her idea.

Devin had her first dance recital for Stepping Out last weekend. We were really proud of her. She did great on stage and had no anxiety about being left back stage or going on stage with the other girls. She also did the Daddy/daughter dance at the beginning with her dad and it was really sweet.

Devin is doing great in school now. No anxiety and really happy. It has been good.

Had a productive day... got my new truck's(which I love) title and license plate. I got all my Christmas cards finally done. I got all my stuff in the garage donated to the Goodwill. Went to the gym. Had popcorn and beer for dinner (yummy). Catching up on my blog. Watching Vampire Diaries. It's a good day.

Christmas Newsletter 2010

Here is a copy of my Christmas newsletter this year....

Merry Christmas 2010!
A lot has happened over the last year… we’ve had our ups and downs this past year. 2010 started with me & the kids traveling to Delaware in February for a week during the “biggest snowstorm” in the last century. We went to visit my parents, and especially to see my dad who was still going through chemo and radiation treatments for brain cancer. We had a great visit with my parents and sister, Katherine. Devin loved the snow and cold. To say Kyle didn’t like the cold is an understatement. Sadly, my father passed away 3 weeks later. We then all traveled back to Delaware for another week for his funeral and to be with my family.
For the rest of the spring and summer, we kept busy with everyday activities and work. The kids both took swim lessons all summer. They are both great swimmers and love the water. Kyle even moved up to the 3-4 yr old class at 2 ½ because the kid has no fear in the water…scary for the lifeguards and me, great for him. Kyle is doing well. He has been fully potty trained since July and just turned 3 yrs in November. He is talking up a storm and has been using full sentences since last summer. We mostly hear… “Why? I’m hungry! I want to do that!” ... ALL DAY LONG. . He is still car and truck crazy and wants a “purple Mac truck” and cement truck from Santa this year. Devin turned 6 yrs old in August. Devin finished preschool in July and started kindergarten in August which caused some school anxiety. So, it was very stressful for all of us the first couple months of school. Thankfully, she is doing well and enjoys school now. Devin has been doing tap/ballet classes for the last 6 months and likes it. She just had her first successful recital this weekend. Currently, “all she wants for Christmas is her 2 front teeth”. She recently lost a tooth and has one ready to go anytime…can’t convince her to let me pull them out even though I do it all the time with horses!
Jack is now working for Netsian. They offered him a job this past summer. He used to work for them about 10 yrs ago when they were Adkins Cabling. He is glad to be back in his nitch and enjoys working there again. He is still actively Dutch oven cooking and does fly fishing when he can. In October and November, he suffered from severe sciatica which was very painful (literally a pain in the @$$). He is almost completely healed now. Sadly, Jack also lost his brother, Joe, in September. We recently had a memorial service for Joe in Camp Verde the day after Thanksgiving.
My mom came out to visit for the month of October. It was great to have her here and we celebrated her 80th birthday in conjunction with an Arizona Bradshaw reunion at our house that weekend. My 3 sisters, Vicki, Katherine and Susan, flew out for the weekend to celebrate. We had about 40 relatives come to the reunion and it was a great success to see family during a happy occasion. We also had our annual Thanksgiving Bash at our house with about 50-60 relatives (mostly Jack’s). We had our usual horseback rides, tractor rides, fire pit, and potluck dinner.
I am still working actively as a horse vet. I still love my job and try to balance being a working mother and veterinarian. Not always easy to do. I crave boredom. In between all this, I try to find time for myself with Mom’s Club activities, working out, and riding my horses when I can. This spring, I went on a painting rampage in the back and power-washed and repainted the pool fence, the storage shed, our barn, and tack shed. Stress reliever--- kind of…until you realize you now need to finish these monumental projects that you started. We are looking forward to a much overdue vacation in late December with my vet school friend, Mo, and her family, in Durango, Colorado. We plan to go on the train ride the “Polar Express” to the North Pole to see Santa with the kids. We hope to get a little skiing and sledding in with the family (if we can convince Kyle to go out in the “coldy” snow).
Hoping all of you have a great 2011… Love, Traci, Jack, Devin & Kyle Hulse

Crisis Mode is Finally Over

Ok. Sadly, I have not blogged for awhile. I feel like my life has been somewhat in constant crisis mode from August through October. It finally started slowing down in November. So, now I am in "catch up" mode. I will try to be a better blogger. So, what has kept me so busy... Well, besides work, kids, husband and farm.....

On my last blog I discussed Devin having problems in school. That was the tip of the iceburg. It was a complete nightmare for 6-8 weeks. She had a REALLY hard time adjusting to school. The school was NOT helpful despite me asking for a counselor, coming every day at lunch to sit with her, picking her up early, etc.... She cried hysterically everyday at drop off for over a month. The school was not helpful and kept sending her to the principal's office or by herself every time she cried. It made it worse. She wasn't eating well, losing weight, etc. On top of it, my pediatrician's office wouldn't allow me to make an appt to talk to my doctor about it. Being fed up, I switched my pediatrician. I loved their doctor, but didn't like the front office staff AT ALL. So, we have a new doctor now. Anyway, finally, I got in touch with the school "psychologist" (not "counselor") after much prodding and investigating on my own. Still don't understand why it took over a month for this to happen- not a single person in their school suggested this to me. And let me tell you.... EVERYONE in the school knew she was having a problem... the principal, the nurse, her teacher, the front office staff, the lunch ladies... etc. Still don't get it. Anyway, the school psychologist and our new doctor really helped us and got Devin and her teacher on the right track. She is doing much better now and seems to like school now. During this whole saga, I was running around with my head cut off... running between school, Kyle's daycare, Devin's school... back to work, back to daycare... I got REALLy sick for weeks at the end of August and missed a few days at work. Ended up at the doctors myself with a sinus infection.

During this time, work got crazy in September. My boss and all the other vets at the practice decided to go on vacation or take time off at the same time... leaving me to do all the work myself. It was a nightmare. During this time, my husband's brother, Joe had a massive stroke and died a week later. Jack was by his side all week and it was just stressful all around.

In October, my mother came to visit for a month. It was great to have her here. The kids loved having their grandmother here. During this time, we decided to have a mini- family reunion and 80th birthday party for my mom. Well, it ended up being a huge "party weekend". My 3 sisters flew in and we all went out to eat to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Then, we had a party and family reunion at my house all day the next day. I thought it was going to be a small party of 15-20 people. It ended up about 40 people. Then, we had "spa day" with my sisters and Mom. That was fun and I really needed it. My sisters stayed another day. Overall, it was a great weekend... just a lot of planning and hectic.

Another crisis we had during October was my husband Jack. He got severe sciatica at the beginning of October. He was severely incapicitated the whole month of October and basically was just lying around in pain on meds. He was back and forth seeing mulitple doctors. So, he was no help with the kids or any of the events for the month of October. He is still on the mend, but doing much better now. But, it has literally taken 2 months.

During October and November, I also sold my 3 horse gooseneck trailer and bought a smaller 2 horse slant. I just recenty sold my one ton truck, which I'm sick to death of driving. We are in the process of buying a smaller 1/2 ton truck which should be done by tomorrow. I finally feel like things are slowing down a little. Still really busy but not in "crisis mode" anymore. Actually got a chance to ride and workout a few times in last 2 weeks. Had about 50-60 people over for our annual family Thanksgiving bash. We went up to Camp Verde last Friday for Joe's memorial service and spread his ashes. Got my Christmas cards ordered. Finally been able to go to a few Mom's club functions in last few weeks. So, life is getting better.

Jack's parents are not doing very well and Jean has really been going down hill lately. Jack's sister in law, Geri, is also not doing well. So, don't know what will happen with them in next 6-12 months. Doesn't look good.

Well, gotta go. Kyle's finger is bleeding and Devin's tooth is about to fall out.