Wife and Mommy Tales

Rest in Peace

2011-11-21T12:28:00.002-05:00

This blog entry is quite somber. A very good friend of mine passed away on Saturday night around 9:15. She had been dealing with cancer for 6 years. It started with breast cancer, went into remission, then returned on other parts of her body. She had chemo for the last 3 years. She wanted to try another kind of chemo but her poor little body was so weak. An active member of our church, fully involved, she was a giving person, a wonderful, beautiful soul that I only hope I have at least a quarter of the faith in God that she had. I went to see her last Sunday. The cancer had spread into her brain. She couldn't hear on one side. She looked so sick. I cried, but I didn't want her to see me crying. I held her hand and just told her how sorry I was that she had to go through all of that pain. Softly, she answered, "It's hard to face, but it will be alright." Her, calming ME. Of course when I entered the room, the first thing she asked was, "How are the girls?" So sweet. I told her that I would take care of her sister, who has been the one helping H throughout this whole ordeal. They live together, neither are married or have children. Now P is all alone, and I worry so much about her. I told H that I didn't want her to see me cry. She said, "It's all the emotions coming out, it shows that you care." I am going to miss her so much. It's going to be so hard to go to the viewing tomorrow night. She was so calm, such at peace. It was almost odd, it helped me be at peace with it too. She is with her heavenly Father now, with no more pain or suffering from the cancer. I am going to step up to the plate and P will be my "missions project" from now on. She has other half-siblings and cousins, but no one near here, as they live out of state. She is a strong, independent woman (they both were), but I know that she will need someone. She's going to be my permanent "prayer partner" who I will keep in contact with at all times. I have such a bond with this family that started at least 10 years ago. I don't want to let that fall by the wayside. I read H's obituary, which, you know, makes it more real that she is no longer with us, and I just cried. Why are we so selfish? She wouldn't want to be back here on this earth with all the pain and misery. She is in a place where there is no more loss.

H, I will miss you so much, but I know you are in a place that we are all longing to be. Someday we will see you again, whole and perfect. You lived your life, even in sickness, with no doubt in your mind who is your Lord, and you are a shining testimony how we should all live. You never gave up hope or uttered a discouraging word in everything you've been through. It has always been, in your mind, what's the next step to get better? Even at the very end, you were encouraging and sang praises to Jesus, even if you couldn't remember the words. Cancer couldn't take your praises away from you. I only hope I have the same words in death as you did. Rest in peace, dear sister.

Money. Eh.

2011-11-19T08:51:00.002-05:00

I realized I haven't posted in so long and while I'm sitting here waiting for a very important email (that I will probably not receive in time), I could post an update. Hmm...update...of what exactly? Bah. Let's see. Work? Well, I could talk about that. I mean, things have happened recently that made me question whether I wanted to be a daycare worker at all, let alone employed at this particular business. But I know that I need to work...at least for now. Being a stay-at-home-mom is a great and wonderful thing but I just need to be working...financially, emotionally, and otherwise. I think I will always feel that push-pull thing of motherhood; work and help provide for the family, yet you can't be home when your kids get sick at school, or you can't help out with PTA and whatnot. Or, stay at home and you feel guilty for not contributing finances to the household, besides the fact of what will happen once your kids grow up...or if husband is no longer around? Decisions, decisions...but for now, I must work. We have too many bills (hence the title of this post) for me to even consider quitting my job. What is it about money and bills that causes so much stress and strife, anyway? I mean I know it's important and whatever, you need it to survive. But really, it's not important. When you look at materialistic things in your life, you have to remember...yes, I need a house, I need food, I need the things to provide the basic needs for my family. If you didn't do the basics, then child services will be at your door. But let's look at the "other" stuff. Someone once told me recently, "I get my son this stuff because he says EVERYONE has it...and when he says everyone, he means everyone. And I know we think it doesn't matter, but it does." Really? What kind of person will you raise your son to be? Someone who has to "keep up with the Jones's?" Someone who is never satisfied with life until he has the latest gadget? I just don't understand. Life is so much more important that how much "stuff" you have. Remember, you were born with nothing, you will die with nothing. You can't take your "stuff" with you, and it's wise to remember not to leave so much "stuff" behind so that your kids/family have to go through all of the clutter. Yes, we all want things and it's okay to splurge every now and then. I am trying really hard to remember what's really important in a greedy, materialistic world. I hope that I raise my kids to appreciate what they have instead of wanting all of the time.

In an effort to stay on budget, which has been super hard since T is in second grade and it seems like every time I turn around, her school needs money for this and that, not to mention she's in girl scouts. Plus we get hit up for fundraisers all the time and I feel the need to contribute. I've really been trying to find things to do that are free or nearly free. Going to the library is a big one, I LOVE the library. I really want to contribute some Christmas money to our local library because it is just so wonderful. We try to just enjoy our house more, play at the park, play in our YARD. There are free things to do in our community all the time, and I feel blessed to spend the TIME with my kids. That's what's important. Just sit and play with them, it's amazing what you can learn just playing with your kids.

Someday our budget will be a little less tight (hopefully sooner rather than later!), and we can breathe a little easier. Just remember that the more money you get, the more money you want. It never seems to be enough.

Blog updates once a week...?

2011-09-17T18:20:00.002-04:00

I'm going to try to update on the weekends. My schedule is crazy during the week, with soccer practice for the girls (first real sport they are doing together; Tessa played T-Ball when she was 5 but this is the first sport at all for Maddie), Zumba for me (love, love, LOVE Zumba!) at the gym, plus midweek church (which we haven't been going to but I'm going to get back into that), and I've GOT to get some cleaning done during the week! I mentioned earlier about starting fresh with Flylady. I already have a Control Journal set up, so it's just a matter of doing her routines and building habits that I will stick with. That means making my bed every day...blech. Shining my sink every night. Setting clothes out the night before...stuff like that. I know it sounds crazy but I really do think I need to make these things a habit and then my house will start looking better.

In other news, I've been really trying to stick with a budget. I think I made the mistake of using a month for my budget that we got an extra pay in it, because I've estimated the rest of this month's income and we're not coming anywhere near what I budgeted that we would have! Well, the good news is that I can look at September and since I've tracked every penny I've spent this month, I can cut back where I need to. Groceries are going to be the big thing, I won't be able to buy as many groceries as I thought. I just need to get our spending under control. Unfortunately that means not getting people birthday gifts. That kills me... But if I can get a handle on it, and be on my way, I can save money and try to pay stuff down. Wish me luck!

I've been working on laundry all day, but that's pretty much it. So I better get off here and get some stuff done. I hate doing housework on the weekends! Maddie and I were playing outside earlier, and I laid on a blanket in the sun. It's been cooler here but the sun felt nice. I'm not ready for summer to end!

Until next time...!

Bahh! bLoGgEr SLACKER!

2011-09-13T22:42:00.002-04:00

Okay it's been over a year since I've posted. Just really have gotten out of reading and posting on my blog. Same old stuff, though, so I don't really have much to report. My house is constantly a mess, so maybe it will give me something to talk about...?

I've been trying the Flylady thing, "fluttering" (as we call it in the Flylady community), for quite a while now. I've thought about trying to start from the beginning of her routines again, but this time, blogging about it. We shall see. I don't know if I'm brave enough to put before/after pics up, but it might motivate me better! I am much calmer when my house isn't in a permanent state of CHAOS.

Tomorrow is my 4 yr old's tonsil and adnoid surgery. I'm a bit nervous about it. I know it will all be great, however. Gotta be at the hospital bright and early!

Hopefully I will post again soon!

PS. If you're wondering, "What the heck is FLYLADY?" You can just click HERE.

Baby (?)

2010-01-24T18:03:00.002-05:00

Got a bit of baby fever.

EEP.

Maddie will be 3 in April. Tessa will be 6 in less than a week.

I can't have another baby. Really, I shouldn't.

1. I need to lose weight
2. Daycare would kill us for 3 kids right now.
3. In relation to #2, we would need to get lots of stuff paid off. Like, LOTS.
4. Not ready to start over, physically and materially. Maddie just got potty trained and I haven't bought diapers in so long. And that feels GREAT!
5. I sure would like to be homeowners before we choose to have another or not.

Um...I think that's all on the "I'm not ready to have another baby because" list.

But I sure do miss that new baby experience...and being pregnant.

*sigh*...notreadynotreadynotready!

Seriously, it's all I've been thinking about for the last month. Haven't talked to hubby about it because I think he'd want to have another one and I'm telling you, I'm not 100% ready. I think it would be better to wait.

Ok. I have to wait. But how do I get myself to stop thinking about pregnancy? :-)

Reflective

2010-01-01T10:10:00.002-05:00

So what have I done in the last decade? A whole lot!

1. I graduated high school in 2002.
2. Began college in the spring of 2003, found out I was pregnant that same season, and got married in the summer of 2003.
3. Had my first baby in 2004. I became a mom and was so frightened.
4. Worked hard in college, and found out I was pregnant again in 2006. More excited that time around due to the experience.
5. Had a hard time in the current major, and withdrew from classes. Had my second daughter in the spring of 2007 and changed my major.
6. Finished school (FINALLY) in 2008 after much work and travel, and with two kids.
7. Got hired at my first full-time job (that has vacation days and some benefits!) in the fall of 2008, and it has truly been a blessing to me! I don't see myself leaving on my own accord anytime soon.
8. I saw my firstborn daughter get on a school bus for her first day of Kindergarten, and my heart hurt a little. Not being able to see her all day and not knowing all that she does in her class makes it hard to let go...but I know it must be done.

So, what will I do in the next decade? Who knows! I don't think I want to have anymore children, I've come to terms with it. I'm blessed abundantly with two beautiful girls who make me happy. I would eventually like to buy a house this decade, but that all depends on how much debt we get paid off.

For the upcoming year, however, I have a few goals in mind:
1. Lose weight. I say this every year, but this year has to be different. I'm worried about my health, and I know my weight has a lot to do with it. I will take it a few pounds at a time. Eventually, I want to get down to 125, but instead of looking at the 50+ weight loss over the long term, I will look at losing the first 5 pounds, and go from there. Five pounds doesn't seem as daunting to me.

2. Get finances in order. I want to get as much debt paid off as possible and stay away from those credit cards. I've been doing well at not using the credit cards for several months, and I don't miss them. I also want to tithe completely my ten percent.

3. Work on being more patient, loving, and kind. I want to work on my spirituality and helping people more. And, I really need to stop gossiping, which is too easy to do in our workplace.

So that's it! We'll see how 2010 goes! Happy New Year!

Sad

2009-08-22T09:38:00.001-04:00

...that summer is almost over. Seriously? School starts in a week. SERIOUSLY?! Where did it go?! Oh wait, I worked all summer, and so it flew. What a surprise.

Stressing about finances. Need to get another job but I don't want to!! Who does, though, right?

Send me a money tree, please!

Drive-In Theaters

2009-06-27T13:56:00.002-04:00

Last night we went to the drive-in for the second time this summer season. We usually can only go on a 3 day weekend because hubby has to work Saturday and/or Sunday mornings, so we usually go Sunday nights if we have Mondays off. We had our vacation this week, and we really wanted to see Up and Land of the Lost. We probably shouldn't have gone, you know, with all our money issues and whatnot. Oh well.

Both movies were pretty good, although I was a bit disappointed with Land of the Lost. Will Ferrell is hilarious, but I thought it would be funnier. Maybe I missed a lot of the dialogue because I was dealing with the children, and I was focused on not getting bitten by mosquitoes, but what did you think (if you saw it yet)?

I hear people talk all the time about how Drive-ins are losing popularity, but they're starting to make a comeback. We have a couple of drive-ins within an hour of each other, so that's nice. I like that you get two movies for less than the price of one at a regular theater, even if you have to wait a couple of weeks from the release date. We always bring snacks in the trunk so as to not waste so much money on concession stand food, but of course they play advertisements over the speakers and they make it sound.so.good! So, we end up eating a bit from there anyway. I have no strong will, I tell ya!

Do you have drive-ins in your area? Do you still go? Last night I was reminiscing about the few times we went to a drive-in (because it is really late by the time you get home if you watch 2 movies) and it really took me back.

Oh well, we're at the library right now and I'm taking full advantage of their free WiFi service! I could seriously live at the library and maybe I can get rid of my phone now...who needs to pay for phone service and internet when we have cell phones and we get free internet?! :-) Off to scout for good grocery deals and start thinking of my next unit for my class...I'm thinking seriously about doing camping...how fun would that be?!

Things have been busy

2009-06-26T19:29:00.003-04:00

I need to get back to blogging. Hoping that maybe I can turn it into a side business but ...well, I'm not that popular to do so! Money issues are disturbing, and trying to get out of debt stinks. So, I'm trying to be creative in money making that isn't illegal of course!! Haha. Anyway, I've managed to sell a lot of my school books on Half.com, but I still have a ton to sell. I'm hoping that people are taking some summer classes! My other options are to get a part time job, and let's face it...who wants to work after working full time? My house will be destroyed then! So, getting another job is my last resort, although it's something I might have to consider soon. We're not in deep trouble, we're just living paycheck to paycheck. And, we just found out that Timmy's hours will probably get cut. Yay. Of course all of the debts are in my name because his credit is crappy. If we didn't have our truck payment, motorcycle payment, and credit cards (oh, and student loan...), we would be great!

Anyone else have money issues? Oh, of course...who doesn't in this economy?! I didn't think the economy was bothering us too much until recently. If we get to November just fine, things will look up...hopefully. I'm expecting a decent bonus from the state for my work and of course we have our holiday club coming and ...well January brings tax refund! So it will get better, we're just struggling a bit right now.

Everything is going well, just took a vacation (unpaid, so that's another downfall, my fault, I know...) so I'm well-rested. And of course the summer's always nice, hot but nice.

Got any suggestions for earning some extra money?! I'm trying to cut back on bills but I'm hoping I can use the internet to help the household. I'll keep you updated!!

Funeral

2009-03-12T21:51:00.002-04:00

One of my best friends lost her not even 2 month old baby on the 7th.

It has shaken me to the core. I have to go to the viewing tomorrow night and the funeral on Saturday. She asked me to read a poem at the funeral.

How can I be strong for her when I can't be strong for myself?

Oh Happy Day...

2009-02-14T19:23:00.002-05:00

Happy V-day...today was nice and then again it wasn't. We slept most of the day away, and Maddie is sick. Timmy made a nice shrimp and alfredo dinner, but then we all took a late, LONG nap and it's going to mess us up when it comes to sleeping tonight! All I did was go to bed to read a book, and the whole clan followed me into bed. We all slept even though I didn't want us to. My house is disgusting and I need to shop for food, but what else is new? Same old crap to complain about, I guess!

Ugh...I hope that Maddie doesn't vomit. I despise vomit!

On that note, I'll end this post. Lovely huh?

Thank goodness this week is over!

2009-02-06T20:04:00.003-05:00

It's been too long since I've blogged, but wanted to say I'm still here, still alive, still functioning (barely, lol). Just got back from eating chinese food and not feeling so hot. Could it be the chinese (because I ate sushi for only the second time in my entire life and am still feeling weird about it? Psychological maybe?), yet another sickness (snot-nosed kids!), or hormonal issues?! Who knows, but I feel like crap.

I am in a ridiculously foul mood this evening, even though I feel much better than I did when I first got home. Maybe the Chinese food did my soul good. I'm still in a mood because today had to have been one of the worst days I've had in a while. I woke up late, the daycare kids were awful and testy, Maddie was sick, found out that we're having another inspection only it would be 10 times worse than the first (we're renewing our 4-star rating for our daycare, so it's expected, but I wasn't expecting it until NEXT year!), and Maddie was NOT cooperating for us to go home from work and there were daycare parents watching me deal with my not-so-cooperative daughter. I almost lost it at that point.

Don't even get me started on the mess of my house...

*Sigh*

My microwave is on the fritz!

2008-12-13T17:23:00.001-05:00

So I just tried to reheat something real quick in the microwave and after 3 minutes, on high, the microwave wasn't even warm. I tried to put it in again for 5 minutes, thinking that my cold house might have been affecting it, but no. Nothing. Frozen chicken fingers still have ice crystals on the top, yes, even after being on High.

It's just a small microwave, given to us by a friend for free (it was almost new, only used a few times) when we moved into this house 3.5 years ago. We have gotten great use out of it, we probably used it at least once a day or more. It's been doing this for a few days now, not wanting to heat things up like it used to. I texted the hubby about it since he's at work right now and he says that maybe I'll get one for Christmas. That's like, 2 weeks away! Can we really survive that long without a microwave? No more reheating dinners quickly, no cooking frozen veggies in the microwave or popping popcorn...the microwavable kind. I know that we can get by without it for a while, but geeze! It makes you realize how much you count on an appliance!

So I pose this question to you: What appliance is your most favorite? Which one can't you live without? Obviously, I mean the "extras"...it's kind of hard to live without a fridge, stove/oven, and washer/dryer. Although I suppose you could go to a laundromat. Anyway, I realized that the microwave is pretty important. How about you?

I love newborns...

2008-12-11T20:45:00.002-05:00

I was looking at some pictures of a friend's newborn recently, and...*sigh*...I miss it. I'm so lucky to have 2 very adorable girls of my own who are healthy and smart and, well, ADORABLE. I feel so lucky, that I thought why should I press that luck? Shouldn't I be happy and STOP having children? Come on, we have a family of four, that's what everything is made for! Amusement park passes, any kind of trip, you know! Plus, we make a great team, the husband and I. He takes one child to bed, I take the other. He takes one child out to the store with him, I keep the other one home. It's a perfect system!

Why would I mess that up?

Because I love babies. I love adding to our family. I love the children that Timmy and I produce. They are so sweet. I love being a parent. Bringing home that new little person for the first time, those early days? Nothing quite like it in the world.

Someday I'm not going to have anymore children. Whether that be now or in the near later, that fact still makes me sad. Something like, my womanhood will be gone I guess. I know that's not true, but it's how I feel. I wish I could have 6+ children sometimes (except of course, when I'm sick or when the kids are sick...), but we just do not have the resources that large families have. It's almost Little House on the Prairie, where family members pull together, help each other out, and grow their own food, make their own resources. I guess, I don't know. We just do not have the money I guess. I know that shouldn't make a difference, but it really does. I want my children to have the basics at least (refer to my last post).

I guess I'm just feeling nostalgic. There's nothing like bringing home that newborn, but there's also nothing like bringing home your FIRST newborn, the one that makes you BRAND NEW parents. I kind of miss that. A little. At least with your subsequent children, you know the ropes a bit and don't feel AS stressed.

Hubby and I are on the fence about having a third, and so maybe that's where this all is coming from. I wanted to wait until Maddie is 3 before I have another child. Guess what? It's not that far away! Tessa was 2 and a half when I got pregnant with Maddie, and it was perfect timing. Madeline will turn two in April, so I kind of need to make a decision. Then there's the I-just-started-this-job situation, and not wanting to take maternity leave, how I would breastfeed, pump, work at the job, and not kill somebody, and don't even get me started on paying for childcare, even with a discount from work!

Ok, that's what's on my heart and mind. I guess we have to give it some time and LOTS of prayers! Speaking of which, there's a flu/stomach virus going around in the toddler end at work, and staff, parents and kids are dropping like flies! I just got a call tonight about me coming in a bit early because someone is sick and can't be there. Just get me through tomorrow and THEN I can get sick! I don't want to get sick at all, but I don't want to miss work even more. I'll take getting sick on the weekend if I have to! I also do not want my kids catching this nasty virus. I'm so tired of looking at vomit this week....there's been too much of it!

Needless to say, I'm thankful it's Friday!

My PSA on a soapbox

2008-12-09T18:58:00.002-05:00

This just in: Complete idiots can and do have children. Yes, it's true.

Unfortunately, if you lack common sense, that doesn't stop you from having kids.

I'm not saying that you need a degree or anything, but come on! Basic needs people! Respect! Love! And a little money to cover the basics wouldn't hurt!

*sigh*....this field is so hard sometimes...

We spent tonight decorating

2008-12-03T20:26:00.004-05:00

And our tree is finally up. We also strung some lights and put up our stockings, but it looks very redneck-ish...so I won't post pictures of that! LOL

Enjoy!

Thankful in 2008

2008-11-26T21:08:00.003-05:00

Okay, I figured that I'd better do a post about the things for which I'm thankful. I will do a few things, only because I'll be here all night posting, and I'm sure you really don't want to read it all!

1. God...I'm thankful that I have a loving Father who sent His son to die for me. What else can I say? I owe everything to Him.

2. My family. My mother, step-father, even family members I don't talk to anymore, I am thankful for them. I also mean my husband and daughters of course. I love coming home at the same time as my husband, all of us meeting at home together to enjoy dinner and a little down time. Tessa is so intelligent and fun, it's great to engage in different activities with her. As they get older, children are more independent and while I'm sad about that, I can do so many more activities with Tessa. Maddie is my sweet little girl who I love to smooch on and snuggle. She is my laid-back, easy-going one and makes me laugh on a daily basis. It seems like she learns or does something new every minute and it makes me stare in awe at her.

3. My friends. I have wonderful, fantastic friends who keep in touch with me even though I don't always keep in touch with them. They never lose faith in me and would do anything for me or my family. I love them all!

4. My meager possessions. I'm not talking about monetary items that are worth anything. I'm talking about a house that we're renting, a dishwasher that I LOVE (which has ended many fights in this household), a stove, refrigerator, freezer, appliances that allow us to care for our family, and things like running water, toilets, and our vehicles. Yeah, kind of stupid to mention something like toilets, but did you ever think where you'd be without one?! I don't even want to think about it!

5. Our pets. Millie the dog is so sweet, I love her. We also have 2 guinea pigs and a fish that are pains to keep clean, but they bring a lot of love to our home. And did you know that watching fish can relieve stress? Try it sometime...it works!

6. My health. It isn't the best, but it could SO be a lot worse!

7. Living in this country.

8. My job, especially in the current state of the economy. It is so amazing how I got the job in the first place, not to mention the place having enough room to take BOTH of my children in their care! I couldn't ask for a better place to work. The people are awesome, it's a high-quality center, it pays the bills, I earn benefits, and the children I care for are just hilarious. It really is a great place. God is so amazing to give me this great job, and it came to me so easily. I could very well be unemployed right now, struggling to find a way to pay for my student loans. I am so very thankful that my husband and I have decent jobs that cover our expenses. This economy might suck for many right now, but I don't have to worry as much as others. As much as I complain about needing a day off or the children being hooligans, I am overall grateful and thank God every day for this job.

Okay, there's a ton more but I'll stop for now. Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

My ode to coupons

2008-11-19T21:01:00.002-05:00

Yes, again!

I just got back from shopping at Giant Eagle again. Today was the last day for their weekly sales...tomorrow begins a new week. I got some coupons on Sunday that gave me some great deals when I combined them with the sale this week. After they doubled my coupons combined with the store card advantages, I saved a total of $13.44! I know, not much, but I was ecstatic! Every little bit counts!

I got Green Giant frozen boxed vegetables for fifty cents a box, Ajax dishwashing liquid for 69 cents and Lipton/Knorr sides for 65 cents per envelope. I am so proud! I got some pre-cut, pre-washed veggies for tomorrow (shame on me!) only out of laziness. Trust me, I paid a pretty penny for the work to be done for me! It's ridiculous what we will pay for convenience!

Just wanted to share my good news. I'm so glad I clipped the coupons, paid attention and actually went to the store before the sale ended! I hope to stick with this for sure.

My love (almost) for coupons

2008-11-16T19:26:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned before about dreaming of becoming a "coupon queen." I've had an on-again, off-again relationship with coupon-ing lately. I'd get really into it for a while, and then not find time for it, give up, and go buy generic products. I recently had to throw away all these coupon inserts because they were scattered all over the living room floor, ruining the crazy order they were in (by date). Here's my history with coupons.

I remember my mom cutting coupons when I was a child, and I also remember looking at a picture of my aunt clipping coupons and supermarket ads strewn on the floor around her. Coupons were a part of my family. I distinctly remember my mom saying, "There's a good BOGO at BiLo!" She would literally say the acronym "BOGO" and I never knew what it meant. When I finally asked her, she told me what it meant. I thought it was stupid because it should have had an "F" on the end. Oh, the immaturity! But I digress.

As I got older, I don't remember my mom coupon-ing much. Instead, we went to a place called Aldi's about once a month and loaded up on generic groceries, saving a ton of money.

I learned of coupons again when I married my husband and he told me how his mom could get hundreds of dollars of groceries for practically nothing. I never understood how to do so until later on, watching Stephanie Nelson on the news and being amazed at her shopping abilities. I think I bought her book a year or so ago, and really got into coupons. She suggested that you don't even clip the coupons, just keep them in a folder, date them, and refer to her website (www.couponmom.com) because she does all the work for you. I tried that for a while, but sometimes her ads don't match up with my area, and sometimes she has coupons that I don't own. It worked for a while, but like I said, they ended up on the floor and out of order and I just threw them away. I quit for a few months and last weekend I got the Sunday paper just for the coupons. I felt as though I was spending too much money on groceries again and wanted to scale back.

I know that coupons save you money, and it really doesn't take too much time. I will still use Nelson's site as a resource, but I will clip and organize my coupons in alphabetical order by brand. That worked before. I don't buy things just because I have coupons...if a generic item is cheaper, I will buy it instead. I can get items for practically pennies though just by combining sale ads and coupons.

So anyway, that is my history with coupons. I am still keeping my goal of becoming that coupon queen, but it's a difficult goal to achieve! I guess practice makes perfect, right?

I'm so angry that it's Sunday again. How can I waste a whole weekend and not really enjoy it or have anything to show for it? Ugh. The good news is that I'm the middle shift (pretty much my favorite shift) this week, and Thanksgiving break is coming up. I live for the holidays! The good thing about today is that my husband whipped me into shape and motivated me enough to clean the dining room! We have a dining room table and floor! WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE FLOOR! It looks awesome and almost makes me want to clean the rest of the house. Ahem. Almost. Seriously it does look good. Now if the rest of the house can be that easy, eh?

Still didn't tackle the laundry, but hubby says that will be for tomorrow. Oh what fun. At least he's been helping, so that's nice.

Well, gotta run and pay bills and pack my lunch for tomorrow. Oh, and dig out some outfits seeing as how I didn't get to the laundry yet. It's so hard to find clothes that are everywhere EXCEPT the drawers. Oh so fun.

My work week

2008-11-14T21:41:00.002-05:00

It has finally ended! I'm always so glad when Friday arrives. I worked from 7:30-4 this week, and while I LOVE getting off at 4, I have to wake up at 6 to get myself and 2 kids dressed and out the door. This, my friends, is no easy feat! The girls are cranky on this shift and they get even crankier in the evenings!

Thanksgiving is coming up so soon! I am so ready for the break. Actually, I'm anticipating the week between Christmas and New Year's even more. Sure, it's unpaid for me, but I don't care. A whole week off, duty free? Pure bliss. I am sort of looking forward to black Friday. I know I have to wake up at 3:30 or 4AM for the sales, and I think 6AM is bad enough! We always take a nice nap that afternoon! I'm not ready for the craziness, especially navigating it with two kids in tow! I guess we'll just put them in the back of a shopping cart and go! It's always such a rush...I guess you can't take it so seriously. When you do that, it's actually kind of fun!

What else? Oh, Maddie had her 18 month appt. on Monday. Yeah, it was a month late, but oh well. They couldn't fit me in until then due to my work schedule. Bleh. Anyway, she's still a little on the light side, but she's gaining weight steadily enough which is good. She now weighs 23.6 pounds and is 32 inches long. She got a tetanus shot and her Hepatitis shot, and the doctor asked if we were getting the girls a flu shot. After weighing my options, I decided against it. They got the flu shots last year and had no problems, but when I started working, two of my co-workers' children had severe reactions to it. I'm talking seizures and everything. I know those reactions are rare but it still freaked me out. I just don't get the whole idea of flu shots anyway. I grew up without getting flu shots, plus they don't even know for sure if that particular strain will be the flu of the year. Well anyway, that's why I didn't get it for the girls, and I have yet to get a flu shot since they became popular. Timmy gets a flu shot through his work every year, "just because they're free." Pfft.

I need to post some pictures of the girls. I just spent $66 on Lifetouch portraits that were taken at school, and they weren't even that good! Timmy wanted them so bad. After I bought them, he now wants to go get family pictures taken for Christmas! Mr. Moneybags, huh?

This weekend will be filled with a whole lot of nothing, really. Attempting to clean the house (what's new?), get to the library, grocery shopping, and preparing my lessons for school. Busy? Kinda. I love the weekends though! I wish they didn't go so fast!

I forgot! I was tagged!

2008-11-09T19:17:00.002-05:00

Manisha tagged me! Gotta do it! Thanks, Manisha!

8 Things Tag:

8 SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:

1. Jon & Kate Plus 8
2. The Biggest Loser
3. Greek
4. Chuck
5. My Wife & Kids
6. George Lopez
7. The Secret Life of the American Teenager
8. Clean House

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:

1. Hoss's
2. Ponderosa
3. Wendy's
4. Arby's
5. Subway
6. McDonald's (only for breakfast)
7. Ryan's
8. Red Lobster

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY:
1. Washed clothes
2. Took a shower
3. Ironed a shirt
4. Dressed the girls
5. Went to church
6. Took the girls to visit Timmy's grandmother
7. Visited my in-laws
8. Went through 40+ emails

8 THINGS THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. A raise
2. Maddie's doctor appointment
3. Friday
4. Payday
5. Thanksgiving
6. Black Friday
7. Christmas
8. Christmas break

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST:
1. Money
2. A new house (my own!)
3. Debts to be paid off
4. Gym membership
5. A cruise
6. More yummy-smelling candles
7. A new digital camera (only because I can't think of anything else)
8. A new TV with a wall mount for our bedroom

8 OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES:
1. Waitress
2. Napoleon Dynamite
3. Down to You
4. Pretty in Pink
5. Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy
6. Fifteen and Pregnant
7. Passion of the Christ
8. Chocolat

I'm tagging Christina, Maria, Jenny (JayJenny), Alicia, Brittny, Jenny (Jenny & Craig & Chloe), Trish, and Nick.

I'm so not ready to go to work!

2008-11-09T18:48:00.003-05:00

Every Sunday night fills me with dread. I just do not want to go to work! I know I have to and it'll be fine, but just one more day off would be super! The kids are being cranky and noisy, they need a bath (and luckily I'm going to do that REALLY soon!), I'm hormonal and cranky myself, there are bills that need paid and there are mountains of laundry that I need to fold and put away! At least the living room looks decent since Timmy helped me yesterday. Oh, and my throat hurts again.

Oh boy. Is Thanksgiving here yet? I need a couple more days off.

Okay, I'm thankful that I get 2 days off per week, but I'm ready for a break! I'm so tired! I have to be at work at 7:30 in the AM but on the flip side, I get off at 4! Maddie has a check-up tomorrow after work and then Tuesday marks 3 months of employment at my job! I should receive an evaluation (scary!) and I'll hopefully be permanent!

I love it when

2008-11-06T21:03:00.003-05:00

my girls are clean. I don't like actually doing the baths (it takes so much time...and energy...), but the end result is so worth it! Ever since I began my job, I haven't succeeded in giving the girls a bath more than once a week. The definitely needed it more than that, so this week I decided to do it Saturday night, Tuesday night, and Thursday night. I want to try and do it every other day, but I can't do it Wednesdays because of church (we get back too late and just need to get to bed), so that day is definitely out. The rest are fair game. I really didn't want to give them a bath, but we left out the bath toys which cut the bath time in half!

I love Tessa's hair. It annoys me a little bit when I go out in public and so many people comment on the color of her hair (if you haven't noticed, it's bright orange. No, not red...orange! Tessa always corrects people...). I'm pretty used to it by now, dealing with it for 4 years. The problem is that it's taken Tessa 4+ years to grow the length of hair she has now, which isn't much. I can't pull it back into a ponytail yet. Yeah, pretty bad. I have yet to give her a major hair cut. Maddie is having the same problem, although at 19 months, she has more hair than Tessa did at that age. They both have my hair genes. My hair is incredibly thin, thanks to my maternal grandfather. Seems like Tessa has the same problem. Regardless, I love the color. Lately I've been into combing her hair and making it look decent since I can't do anything else with it. I sat on her bed and just kept combing it. The color is absolutely beautiful. I'll strangle her if she even thinks about coloring it later in life! People pay MONEY to get that color!

This week is going ridiculously slow. I went shopping for a little boy who's having a birthday tomorrow. We're having a pizza party lunch and then I have a conference with a parent tomorrow. Fun. At least we get our paychecks. Of course, I can't leave until last tomorrow, being that I'm five o'clock shift, but oh well. Next week I leave at four so it's a good trade-off. The half-hour between 4:30 and 5 is the worst because I'm alone with the kids with no adults to keep me company. The 4:30 person leaves and it just stinks. Then it's remembering to close up everything with two of my own kids running around, begging to go home. Ugh. Can't wait for the weekend!

Timmy says that our agenda for Saturday is cleaning. We'll see. I really hope we buckle down and clean this house, so it might just work!

TGIF!

Ugh. Is it over yet?

2008-11-05T19:03:00.002-05:00

This week, I mean. I couldn't sleep last night (Starbucks was giving away free coffee yesterday to those who voted, and, stupid me, I got coffee...at night...) and after I finally fell asleep, I woke up 5 hours later in a foul mood. The election did it to me. Don't get me wrong, I am glad we've "broken the barriers of race" or whatever, and yes, it's historical and all, but I'm not happy that he won. There are two HUGE issues that I've already discussed and Obama is for both of them. I am afraid of where he's going to lead our country. Ugh. I can't talk about it anymore.

And today, my daycare kids were just awful today. Not terribly awful, just...tired I guess. They would cry at the drop of a hat, argue, and a child who hasn't pooped during the day for the past 2 weeks suddenly pooped today...twice. He knows how to go in the toilet too. Ugh. I am just so ready for the week to be over. To make things worse, it's my turn to work until 5pm this week and I have to close up everything. It makes for a long day and the evenings go too quickly.

Did I tell you that I'm ready for the weekend?

At least I get paid on Friday...

What a fabulous day!

2008-11-04T20:43:00.003-05:00

Well, I have finally received my diploma. I received a card in the mail from the post office stating that I had a certified letter waiting for me. They couldn't drop it off because no one was home to sign for it. I went out today and got it during my lunch half-hour. I got my diploma (proudly resting in my diploma cover), my honors medallion (now I'll have to dress up in my cap and gown again and re-take some photos WITH the medallion! Kidding! lol), and my OFFICIAL transcripts (even though I can print the same thing off the internet, this is official...what, being printed on special "university" paper and all...). I was kind of sad. I told you all before of my yearning to go back to school. All those hours, the blood, sweat and tears (literally!) going into this education, all finalized in one piece of paper. Wow. I finally have a bachelor's degree! A big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but it's also bittersweet.

Obviously, I've already voted and while it looks discouraging for my candidate at this point, I'm not giving up. It's still early! I really hope he wins. I am just so ready for the election to be over. Regardless, I hope that whoever wins will look at God for leadership and wisdom. He will definitely need it now! I never want to be president of the United States...it's definitely a huge responsibility and often, no matter what you do, it's a catch-22 no win situation.

Oh, and I almost forgot! I've signed up for an IRA at work! I'm contributing 5% and my employer matches 3%. I'm so excited. I know that the Lord will probably come back long before I hit retirement, but still, I'm taking care of my future. I'm doing something to save for my future and at my young age, it's a very wise decision. I was hoping that I would be able to contribute something and now that I have this job, I am so glad my employer offers it! This is my first real job that offers paid vacation, paid days off, health insurance, retirement, etc. and I am super excited!

This is such a great week. I'm also getting paid this Friday and that's ALWAYS nice. We're finally caught up on some bills and I am just happy. Something that would make me happier would be for my chosen candidate to win! He already lost PA...boo. So, you already know who I voted for and I'M NOT ASHAMED! Haha...oh well.

Let's see who wins...I will probably be asleep before we know. How sad is that? Lol

Et. Cetera...

2008-11-03T20:02:00.002-05:00

Just got done washing dishes, as in pots and pans, some items that didn't get cleaned in the dishwasher. I loathe dishes. I have to wash dishes by hand at work, and that's bad enough. I get through it because I'm getting paid to do it...lol! We recently discovered that our sink has been leaking underneath, and I had to throw away a few canned goods. They probably were ok, but I didn't want to risk our health. The cans were pretty rusty. It's really making me mad. Why can't things go well in a house? Luckily, we're just renting, but I don't want the Landlord coming over to assess the damage. Reasons being #1, our house is a huge mess, and #2, we don't like to be those pesky renters that always ask for help. We try and do things ourselves and let him know how much it cost us. Our toilet upstairs was broken and we successfully put in a new one. He offered to help but Timmy said he could do it. He wrote us a check for the toilet purchase and even threw in a $20 for the labor. Not too bad, I'd say. So anyway, the area where the PVC pipe and the bottom of the sink is connected is all rusted out. I hope we'll be able to fix it. My FIL said that we might have to take the whole sink out, which isn't too big of a deal. A leaking sink is annoying!

I'm also annoyed at the messy house. I know I can't clean everything in one night, but I wanted to do a lot more today. At least I got the dishes washed and the counters cleaned. That's something, right? After this, I'll read some blogs and fold some laundry. Yay, me.

I wanted to leave you all with some last minute election wisdom. We got this in our church bulletin on Sunday and I thought it was great. It's definitely worth sharing with all of you!

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

And God approves this message! Isn't it great to know who is really in charge? ~Author unknown

Halloween candy galore!

2008-11-02T18:09:00.002-05:00

We have way too much candy in this house. Between trick-or-treating at the mall and on the 31st, not to mention the party at school, my two little angels managed to rack up a huge loot! The four of us have been munching on lollipops, tootsie rolls, gummies, pb cups, milky ways, and kit-kats. Me? I'm all for the chocolate. My favorites are the almond joys/mounds, milky ways, kit kats, and Heath bars. Give me the good chocolate...not that generic dollar store stuff! So, I've totally blown my "good eating" habits out of the water and I'm sure it's all downhill from here since the next two biggest eating holidays are just around the corner!

I can't believe it's November already. The time really is just flying and especially since I've started working. We're constantly looking ahead so I know that's not helping matters. I've been enjoying my job immensely but I enjoy when Friday rolls around even more!

We drive around campus here a lot and it makes me miss school more and more. I don't miss the book buying or leaving my girls but I do miss learning. Not the exams or projects, but I do miss learning overall. I keep wanting to go back to school but I keep reminding myself to be patient. I told myself that before I try and go to graduate school, I would work for at least a year. I need to get my job in order and get on a schedule here at home. Things are hectic and in shambles as far as my house is concerned and I would really like to get on a schedule ASAP! I think a visit to FlyLady is in order...

The girls are growing like crazy and I know I should post some pictures but alas, I can't find my digital camera! Seriously, this house eats things. It's a complete and utter disaster area and I'm sure once it's clean, I will find it. I love my camera and totally miss it! I hope I find it soon.

Well, we're all messed up from the Daylight Savings Time and we will be messed up for a while. It's only 6pm and we're all ready for bed! How sad is that?!

Mondays come too soon...

Election day won't come soon enough...

2008-11-01T22:04:00.002-04:00

I just spent over an hour researching each candidate for the election Tuesday. I'm not just talking about the President; I also researched my own state and county officials. Serves me right for waiting until the last minute. At least I know who I'm voting for...it really ticks me off though that people won't outright say that they are pro-life and pro-family. I would really like to read that stuff up front, but unfortunately it isn't as important as some other issues I guess. That's sad.

Anyway, I tried to see who was most family-oriented and went from there. Again, the moral issues were my deciding factor. I am just so ready for the commercials and phone calls to end! I know I have to accept it and expect them but it's getting really annoying.

At least now I have my paper that has the candidates for which I'm placing my vote. Until recently, I decided on the Presidential candidate because I was undecided up until that point (see last post). Even still, I see two other candidates besides the popular McCain/Obama people. There's also Nader and some other guy that you NEVER hear about! So annoying.

I'm grumpy and I don't know why. Maybe it was all the reading I had to do and I didn't get much housework done today. Hmph. Well, I'll be happier tomorrow because it's time to set back our clocks! I love falling back!

Ashamed

2008-10-27T21:37:00.002-04:00

I just read a news article on Yahoo! about an assassination plan by two people who met online...an 18 and a 20 year old who believe in the "all-white supremacy" or whatever. They were planning on not only brutally murdering 88 black people, but also attempting to kill Obama. They would die trying.

I know you are thinking WHAT?! Whether some people want to believe it or not, racism does still exist in this country. When will we get over that hurdle? Unfortunately, probably never, thanks to groups like the KKK. It just makes me sick. I am ashamed at our country and how we can hate a person based on the color of his skin.

I'm not trying to be political, but I am not voting for Obama due to moral reasons. I have always voted by my morals first, the other stuff coming later. See, I do not see this as a black vs. white person. I know that many people feel the same, but even more are voting for that reason. I would love to see a woman president, as much as I would love to see a black president. That's not why I'm not voting for Obama. Even still, I fear for his life. I know he is taking a huge risk in becoming the president, for these attacks would increase in numbers. It's sad that we are still dealing with this in our country.

Our country needs to get back to God. That's all I have to say.

...been working a lot, tired, and trying to clean this never-ending pigsty. No excuse for my absence, I'm sure. I've missed you all, however!

Good Recipe!

2008-08-21T17:58:00.002-04:00

I've been doing a great job preparing a menu for the week and buying the necessary ingredients for said menu. I wanted to share this REALLY good dinner that I made tonight. It's quick, easy, YUMMY, and it's relatively healthy. I got it from a cookbook called Easy One Dish Meals. I bought it at Border's book store on sale and I've used it many times! Very good dishes. Here it is:

Skillet Chicken and More

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I just used chicken breasts, still good)
2 (10 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups uncooked, instant white rice (I used instant brown rice, definitely tastier and healthier...)
1 (16oz) package broccoli florets

Brown chicken breasts on both sides in very large skillet with a little oil and simmer 10 minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add soup and 2 cups water. Heat to boiling. Stir in instant rice and broccoli. Use a little salt, pepper and paprika on chicken (optional) and place on top of rice. Cover dish and cook on low 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

Hubby commented it was good, Tessa ate 2 bowls AND wants it packed in her lunch for tomorrow...so, it was a hit! Enjoy!

So, so tired...

2008-08-20T21:42:00.002-04:00

Still getting used to the new job. Today was the hardest, so far. I was just frazzled a bit and the children were testing me today, as two- and three-year-olds like to do of course!

I'm seriously blowing my "diet" this week, eating ice cream every night and almost polishing off a HUGE ice cream sandwich cookie. So, so good but oh so bad...man! I cannot stay on this diet!

I bought this cookbook from Doug Kaufmann and he calls his diet the "Phase I Diet"...there are three phases, and you can hardly eat anything in the first phase. You can eat as many eggs, lean meats and veggies (excepts potatoes, beans and peas) as you want, but the rest is limited. Do you know how hard that is when you pack a lunch?! And dinnertime?! Rice and noodles are my staple side dishes. It's definitely been a challenge, but I really want to try and do it to see if I have a fungal problem. The phase one diet is supposed to starve the fungus that may be contaminating your body and you're supposed to feel better...but how can I do it if I can't even eat some of these things? For instance, breakfast...carbs seem to be what everyone eats for breakfast, and it's fast....can't eat 'em! But I have to eat SOMETHING! It's frustrating.

Probably why I'm not doing well...oh well.

Ok, need to get back on track and cut out the junk.

Blog at ya later!

New Job, No Time

2008-08-13T22:48:00.002-04:00

Just updating real quick to say that I LOVE MY NEW JOB, it's going well, I'm happy, and just very busy. I am aching for a break already, but it's going well. I NEED to get to sleep or I'll be dragging in the morning. I've been technically in "training" this week, but on Monday it's all me in the classroom! How nervous am I? VERY! I'm excited too. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a jump on some lesson planning. I'm just trying to absorb as much info as possible from the current teacher (who is awesome! How will I fill her shoes?!). Luckily, my co-workers are great and very helpful...so I shouldn't have a problem!

I'm just scared of messing something up!

Pennsylvania Rules

2008-08-08T11:18:00.001-04:00

I just got this in my email and since I grew up and live in rural PA, I laughed because many of these things are so true! Sorry for the all-caps...so annoying!

THE RULES OF RURAL PENNSYLVANIA ARE AS FOLLOWS:

LISTEN UP CITY SLICKERS!!!!

1. PULL YOUR DROOPY PANTS UP. YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT.

2. TURN YOUR CAP RIGHT, YOUR HEAD ISN'T CROOKED.

3. LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT; IT'S CALLED A 'DIRT ROAD.' NO MATTER HOW SLOW YOU DRIVE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET DUST ON YOUR LEXUS. DRIVE IT OR GET OUT OF THE WAY.

4. THEY ARE CATTLE. THEY'RE LIVE STEAKS. THAT'S WHY THEY SMELL FUNNY TO YOU, GET OVER IT. DON'T LIKE IT? I-80 GOES EAST AND WEST, I-81 GOES NORTH AND SOUTH. PICK ONE.

5. SO YOU HAVE A $60,000 CAR. WE'RE IMPRESSED. WE HAVE $150,000 CORN PICKERS AND HAY BALERS THAT ARE DRIVEN ONLY 3 WEEKS A YEAR.

6. SO EVERY PERSON IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA WAVES. WE THINK OF IT AS BEING FRIENDLY. TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT.

7. IF THAT CELL PHONE RINGS WHILE AN 8-POINT BUCK AND 3 DOES ARE COMING IN, WE WILL SHOOT IT OUT OF YOUR HAND. YOU BETTER HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE IT UP TO YOUR EAR AT THE TIME.

8. YEAH, WE EAT TATERS & GRAVY, BEANS & CORNBREAD. WE FRY OUR FISH AFTER 'CATCH IN' 'EM'. YOU REALLY WANT SUSHI & CAVIAR? IT'S AVAILABLE AT THE CORNER BAIT SHOP.

9. THE 'OPENER' REFERS TO THE FIRST DAY OF DEER SEASON. IT'S A RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY HELD ON THE MONDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING.

10. WE OPEN DOORS FOR WOMEN. THAT IS APPLIED TO ALL WOMEN, REGARDLESS OF AGE.

11. NO, THERE'S NO 'VEGETARIAN SPECIAL' ON THE MENU. ORDER STEAK. OR YOU CAN ORDER THE CHEF'S SALAD AND PICK OFF THE 2 POUNDS OF HAM & TURKEY.

12. WHEN WE FILL OUT A TABLE, THERE ARE THREE MAIN DISHES: MEATS (INCLUDES FISH), VEGETABLES, AND BREADS. WE USE FOUR SPICES: SALT, PEPPER, HOT SAUCE AND KETCHUP. OH, YEAH...WE DON'T CARE WHAT YOU FOLKS IN JERSEY CALL THAT STUFF YOU EAT...IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!!!

13. YOU BRING 'COKE' INTO MY HOUSE, IT BETTER BE BROWN, WET AND SERVED OVER ICE.

14. YOU BRING 'MARY JANE' INTO MY HOUSE, SHE BETTER BE CUTE, KNOW HOW TO SHOOT, AND HAVE LONG HAIR.

15. COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS AS IMPORTANT HERE AS THE EAGLES AND THE STEELERS, AND A DANG SITE MORE FUN TO WATCH.

16. YEAH, WE HAVE GOLF COURSES. BUT DON'T HIT THE WATER HAZARDS---IT SPOOKS THE FISH.

17. COLLEGES? WE HAVE THEM ALL OVER. WE HAVE STATE UNIVERSITIES, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND VO-TECHS. THEY COME OUTTA THERE WITH AN EDUCATION PLUS A LOVE FOR GOD AND COUNTRY, AND THEY STILL WAVE AT EVERYBODY WHEN THEY COME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

18. WE HAVE A WHOLE TON OF FOLKS IN THE ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, AND MARINES. SO DON'T MESS WITH US. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL GET WHIPPED BY THE BEST.

19. TURN DOWN THAT BLASTED CAR STEREO! THAT THUMPITY-THUMP CRAP AIN'T MUSIC, ANYWAY. WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT ANYMORE THAN WE WANT TO SEE YOUR BOXERS. REFER BACK TO #1.

20. 4 INCHES ISN'T A BLIZZARD-IT'S A FLURRY. DRIVE LIKE YOU GOT SOME SENSE IN IT, AND DON'T TAKE ALL OUR BREAD, MILK, AND TOILET PAPER FROM THE GROCERY STORES. THIS AIN'T ALASKA , WORST CASE YOU MAY HAVE TO LIVE A WHOLE DAY WITHOUT CROISSANTS. THE PICKUPS WITH SNOW BLADES WILL HAVE YOU OUT THE NEXT DAY.

A TRUE PENNSYLVANIAN WILL SEND THIS ON!!!!!!!

Oops...

2008-08-04T14:10:00.003-04:00

I was really trying to avoid eating a JJ's fruit pie, but I caved and shoved every last morsel in my mouth. It was a little too sweet, and while I was craving sweet stuff I think I may have over-done it with this little box of pie. I tried to eat some fruit but I couldn't resist.

Now I'm really kicking myself because I just read the nutrition contents on the back. I knew they were bad for you but wow! In a little 4 ounce pie, there are 400 calories, 17 grams of fat and a whopping 510 mg of sodium! Never mind the 30 grams of sugar (THIRTY FRIGGIN' GRAMS IN FOUR OUNCES?!?!?!) or the fact that they use enriched BLEACHED flour.

Oh boy...

Can I justify it by saying that it has 8% of my daily iron needs?

Yeah, didn't think so...

So much news, so little time...

2008-08-04T10:02:00.002-04:00

It's been forever since I've posted, and I'm so sorry! I guess I should just jump right in.

Well, Timmy had a week's worth of vacation this past week, and he was home the.whole.time. Sometimes it got annoying but I was actually sad to see him go back today! He looks forward to this vacation every year. My mom was also visiting this week on her vacation, and as she typically does, she stayed at our house. We had a great time with her. We went to the zoo on Monday, to an amusement park (Idlewild) on Thursday, and just ran around all week. Busy, but fun. We took the girls to the park, on a picnic, and just enjoyed our family time. Mom was a great help this week, feeding the girls breakfast while I took a shower, bought us groceries, and was just a very nice extra set of hands! It was also fun to just sit and talk with her, we don't get to do that often enough. It was sad to see her leave yesterday, but all good things must come to an end I suppose!

As for my new job, it was just amazing how it happened. A friend of mine called me 2 Fridays ago and said that there was an opening at a really good center here in town and that they hadn't found anyone good enough to fill the spot. This friend encouraged me to call and I did. I talked with the lady and she said to bring my resume in before Tuesday. I took it to her that Friday after I fixed it up and added some more classes to it (it really was outdated!). I wasn't expecting to hear from the center until Tuesday, but they called on Monday while we were at the zoo and asked me to come in for an interview. I thought I'd messed up the interview by flubbing a few questions, but they asked me to come back the next day to do "part 2" of the interview, which was actually interacting with the children for an hour or so. After part 2, I talked with the director and she offered me the job! I was shocked, excited, nervous, just a big ball of emotions! I was going to give it a few days but they needed to know ASAP so I just jumped in and said, "Yes!" I have to take in a few more papers like letters of recommendation, tax papers, etc. by Friday. I've been reading through the manual and wondering how I'm going to remember everything, but I'm sure it will be ok. I'm so nervous! I start next Monday and hope that it will go well. My fellow co-workers seem awesome and the place is great, so I will feel more at ease once I get into the routine of things. I have to be on a 3-month probation period, but after that 3 months I will earn one paid personal day. After a year of employment, I will get a week's paid vacation and 3 paid personal days. It will increase after set increments after that. I've never had a job where you get paid vacation or paid personal days! It's really exciting. They also offer disability insurance and health insurance but I think I may go with Timmy's health insurance. I will have to see which one is better. I think there is a retirement plan but I'm not sure. It's taking me forever to read the manual because I want to absorb every word!

Ok, I'm sure you're sick of hearing about the job. I do want to add that the girls will come with me and I pay a GREAT discount for their care. I really couldn't ask for more! I am truly blessed!

Let's see...what else? Oh! My neighbor had her third baby on Saturday morning, and now she has two girls and a BOY! How exciting! He weighed 17lbs 15oz and was 20 inches or so long. He's so adorable and I'm so glad he finally joined the family! She was a week overdue and had to be induced, not what she had wanted but she did what she had to do. Mom and baby came home yesterday and they are both doing great! I have to admit, I was feeling a little bit of baby fever when I saw that adorable newborn baby but then I snapped back into reality. Maddie HAS TO BE at least 2.5 years old before I even THINK about having another. And whether we even have another baby at all is still the question. I am also starting this new job and need to get some debts paid off, and we would like to buy a house soon (like, within the next few years), so getting debts paid off is my top priority! Those student loans have GOT to go, as well as credit card debt and that motorcycle payment!

Well, my house is destroyed and I have mountains of laundry and dishes to clean so I'd better get to it. Life is superb right now and I couldn't ask for more! Well, maybe a 4-year old who would keep her clothes on more than a minute.

PS. I have pictures to share but I need to upload them. Another day my friends!

I got a job! I got a job!

2008-07-30T11:47:00.001-04:00

I've just spent yesterday and today in an interview and I GOT A JOB!!! I start August 11th and I will be a teacher for the 2 and 3 year olds in a high-quality center!

I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Worried

2008-07-21T22:02:00.002-04:00

...about my health. I'm working on getting some health insurance so I can see a doctor. I'll post more about it later. Suffice it to say that some symptoms have popped up and they are worrying me.

If you pray, lift me up in your prayers. I would greatly appreciate it, thanks!

Otherwise, things are going well, just busy cleaning and taking care of the children. Same old stuff!

Lonely

2008-07-14T21:05:00.004-04:00

Kind of.

My husband went to bed at 8:45, claiming he was watching movies that he rented.

Okay.

My children have been in bed since 8:30. I'm here sitting on the couch, typing this entry and watching Jon & Kate Plus 8. New episode...Jon cooks a traditional Korean meal for the family! Interesting to see how that goes!

I had a semi-productive day today. Our living room literally looked like a tornado went through it, and so I knew I had to clean it. I wanted to wake up early and get it done.

You know what they say...

I actually woke up at 6 with the hubster as he left for work. I like to watch Know the Cause on Cornerstone Television (channel 40 on DishNetwork), so I watched that and Kenneth Copeland and figured I would roll out of bed at 7. HAH! I fell back to sleep and didn't wake up until 10!!! I was so mad. Maddie slept in too and Tessa was watching TV but I was upset that I slept in that late. When I sleep in like that, it just messes up my whole day. I am too groggy, have no energy, and I can't fall asleep that night. So, I won't be having an easy time sleeping tonight.

And I'm having chest pains for some reason, which can be a cause for concern, but what can ya do? These are the factors that will contribute to a bad night.

So anyway, after getting the children changed and fed and let the dog out, I kind of just lounged around. Then I got sick of looking at the mess and started to clean. In the middle, Maddie got tired and I took her up to her crib for a nap. I tried to get Tessa to take a nap, but she was just not interested. So, I enlisted her help in cleaning the living room! It was, after all, half her fault with all the papers all over the floor and candy everywhere, not to mention TOYS! She did an awesome job helping though! I was so proud of her! She helped with the dirty clothes by putting them in the basket, then picked up blocks and some of Maddie's toys. Then she wanted to vacuum, and who am I to object? She wanted to use the hose so I just got it ready for her and then when she was done I did a run through with the regular vacuum to pick up pieces she missed. The living room looks FABULOUS now! She did mess it up a little after Timmy got home but we cleaned up the little mess before going to bed, so it still looks FABULOUS! haha!

I've been really interested in natural medicine but I don't know where to begin! I need to read up on it more. I know that it's mostly eating natural veggies and fruit and grass-fed beef and limiting the grains, because Doug Kauffman has an interesting take on the grains...the grains tend to have fungus on them, and by ingesting fungus we get toxins in our body which make us sick. Check out his site here. That is the show I like to watch at 6am.

Oh well, I guess this is a long enough post. Jon is finishing up the dinner on the show and it looks like a success! What a fun show to watch...I wish I was as organized as Kate...of course with 8 kids, you'd HAVE to be!

Coupon Queen

2008-07-13T17:42:00.003-04:00

Well, not really. I was reading the local Sunday paper a few minutes ago and they had an article in the leisure section on couponing...and how it's turning digital. Meaning that you can now print coupons off of websites and discuss grocery savings strategies via blogging or discussion boards.

In the not-too-distant past, I was doing really well in the coupon area. I would scour the Sunday circulars, clipping nearly everything that I use, as well as visit the Coupon Mom's website regularly for her take on the deals.

But since I was so busy with school, I've really slacked. My coupons expired, I was too late for the deals, and I stopped clipping.

After reading the article though, I feel rejuvenated! This lady spent $14 and bought a ton of things including T-bone steaks and lobsters! I know it's possible, as I've done similar strategies. I'm not the best coupon-er, but I'm trying!

I've looked through the coupons this week and while there isn't very many, I'm going to clip some, file them and browse the website again.

Here I go to saving some moola!

Warning: TMI

2008-07-07T21:32:00.003-04:00

Just giving you that warning right now!

Ok, sometimes I really HATE being a woman. I am currently going through ovulation, and it is KILLING me. Seriously, think an ice pick going through your left ovary!

Luckily I took some tylenol and it's going away.

I'm uploading some pictures to my Myspace because I've been slacking. I've also changed some things on there now that I have some free time. Oh, and I decided to update here, haha.

The girls are both asleep and so is the hubby, who is on the other couch right now. I just got my new laptop cord (the old one sparked, fizzed and popped, and I didn't really feel like getting electrocuted by trying it out again). It was only $18 on ebay, but I would've spent a lot more at the stores around here! Luckily, shipping was free. I won the auction on Thursday afternoon and got it in the mail today (holiday and Sunday = no mail). So now I'm up and running downstairs where I like to be! My computer desk upstairs is not convenient to stay on the computer. I like to keep my eye on the children AND surf the 'net ya know!

So I'm officially done with school, although I have a couple more papers to finish up and send in to my prof's office. I just finished a huge theme project and I didn't do as good a job as I hoped. I was in a hurry and I spent 5 hours straight today working on it. Oh well, I hope she understands. I'm pretty embarrassed at the quality of this project.

Now it's job hunting! I have an application to a daycare which is partly filled out. I just need to get a couple of references, previous employer addresses and phone numbers, and print out my transcripts. Timmy thinks I should wait to start in August since he's got a week of vacation scheduled at the end of July and my mom's visiting that week too. I don't think I can schedule time off since I'll be starting, but I really want to get paid! Ugh, oh well. I guess I'll just put in my application with an August 1st starting date (or 4th, if I want to start on a Monday).

It's all so confusing! It's hard to know what to do. A job would be nice...any job!

Got another cold

2008-07-01T10:43:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I HATE sore throats. I made some green tea, hoping the antioxidants get rid of it...plus, hot tea is my favorite thing to drink when I'm feeling icky, it's so soothing.

This week is going to be ridiculously busy. In fact, I need to go and type about a million papers.

Want to join me?

I forgot to mention...

2008-06-28T21:39:00.003-04:00

I am starting the Biggest Loser Diet. I found their book at Ollie's for like $4 and wanted to see what they had to say. Their diet is a lot like low-carb, as they only have you eating 2 servings of grain and more protein. Their food guide pyramid is called the 4-3-2-1 pyramid: 4 servings of fruits and veggies (2 veggie and 2 fruits), 3 servings of protein, two servings of grains and 1 serving of fats/oils (like 200 calories at the most for this section). I made egg whites with parmesan cheese, tomatoes and basil. It was delicious!

I didn't do so well the rest of the day: too much pasta for lunch, cocoa puffs for dinner and a handful of chips...

oh boy...

Today was the day!

2008-06-28T21:22:00.004-04:00

I chose this day to either catch up on schoolwork

(ha)

or catch up on housework...neither of which are very appealing.

So, between some tv watching (Who's Wedding is it Anyway? Awesome show and addicting), children-feeding and diaper-changing, I managed to scrub the guinea pigs' cage, change bedding and give them some veggies and fruits along with regular food, put clean dishes away, fill up dishwasher with dirty dishes, run a load, change the garbage bag in the kitchen (yuck!), wash a million loads of laundry, fold the huge pile of laundry accumulating in the dining room, and put most of it away. I finally got fed up (and ran out of time) so there is one small load left to fold and Timmy's clothes to put away. Oh, and I forgot about the socks.

I hate folding socks.

So anyway, during my laundry-folding, Tessa managed to dump her whole tote of toys onto the floor. Apparently she was looking for dolls' clothes or something. Whatever.

Anyway, so I have been so mad about having to clean up after everyone. It makes me so ticked to clean and clean and clean, only to have it messed up again within a few hours. And I seem to be the only one picking up anything or doing any work around here.

And then the light bulb came on.

Why don't I make the girls clean?!

Aha!

After all, they are the ones making the biggest mess. And it really wouldn't hurt them to learn to clean now since they will have to clean later in their own lives. Plus, Tessa has to pick up toys at school and help her friends clean up the classroom and she does it so well (I've watched her do it!).

After some fussing on Tessa's part, I got her to help me clean up all of her toys. The bonus was that Maddie even helped too! She was putting toys into the tote with the best of them.

Ah, it's good to be persistent. I haven't been making her clean up after herself only because most of the time, it's just easier to do it myself. But I am realizing that I can't keep doing that; I will be exhausted and she will become a spoiled brat.

After the toys were picked up, it was bath time. The girls have not been bathed in two weeks. Shameful, I know! Last week was VBS and we didn't get back until after 9pm, too late to give them a bath. Mondays and Wednesdays I don't get home until after the kids are in bed, and timmy won't give them baths. My girls are squeaky clean...they smell so nice!

Even though my living room is still messy and, let's face it, my whole house is still messy, I feel very productive. I just wish there were more hours in the day! I now have to go and balance my checkbook and pay bills.

Oh, what fun.

Nothing makes you want to lose weight except...

2008-06-27T21:48:00.002-04:00

seeing yourself on video or in pictures! Tonight was the last night of vacation Bible school and as always, we put on a little program for the parents. Pictures are taken throughout the week and just seeing myself just really disgusted me.

I am so fat!

I've been trying to lose weight but I'm back to 181 pounds due to my crappy eating (seriously, who has time to cook dinner on my schedule?). I've been eating greasy pizza and high fat McD's way too much, and I'm disgusted with myself. Of course it didn't make things better tonight since all they had for snacks was sugary drinks, cookies and candy.

How could I resist?

I seriously need more self-control and I DEFINITELY need to exercise. Looks like I'll have to put my elliptical machine to strenuous use!

Anybody know where I can turn to get started with the south beach diet? Help!

I smell

2008-06-27T11:39:00.001-04:00

a very stinky diaper.

I really don't want to change it.

Is that wrong?

Dreams are interesting...

2008-06-27T11:16:00.003-04:00

and I'll tell you why. My dream went a little something like this:

-Timmy and I were on a small speed boat on some little pond or something. We were speeding around and he was trying to do all sorts of tricks on it. He took a couple of sharp turns and we both spilled out, even though I told him not to.

-We fell into this "pond" which was only waist-deep.

-We won this raffle where I got this beautiful gold bracelet with pink sapphires all through it (the regular blue sapphires are my birthstone). Timmy won something too, only they weren't as extravagant...a couple of plastic toys from his childhood...

-We went back to someone's house where we got into a fight with some relatives about us having a ton of money and not sharing with them.

-The fight began because I ate all of their watermelon.

-The dream flashed into a different house and I was in someone's bedroom. I looked in the corner and there were a ton of guinea pigs (I mean, HUNDREDS) in these little cages. They kept having babies, hopping around and dying.

-There was another area of the room that had a glass container full of water and these beautiful angel fish were swimming in it. I was in a panic because they were getting the water dirty and I was looking for an actual aquarium that filters the water so they wouldn't die.

-I think Johnny Depp was somewhere in my dream, but I can't remember. I think he was in his pirate costume too.

The strangest thing is that I normally have one long dream rather than a ton of mini-dreams that are not really related. Many of the items I dreamed about related to the things I thought about or saw before falling asleep:

-We have 2 guinea pigs and I was just thinking that I needed to change their bedding.
-Pirates of the Caribbean was on last night
-I was thinking that I should take the children to the pool at least once this summer
-I ate a huge piece of watermelon (my favorite summertime food!) right before bed and was feeling a bit sick

I just love how dreams play out, don't you?

PS. I am a huge fan of the VH1 shows: "I love the 80's" ...I love to watch each decade they have and laugh at their jokes. If you are a fan also, you will know (or need to know!) that they just came out with "I love the new millenium!" They premiered the years 2006 and 2007 last night! Timmy and I were just talking about what they would call the 2000 decade. I am a little disappointed because it seems all about sex, but I still laughed at many of the comments made. I love reminiscing!

One more week to go!

2008-06-26T12:54:00.002-04:00

After today, I officially have one week left. That means two classes left in Monroeville (my far away drive) and two classes left for my other course, teaching in child development centers. I only have one student teaching day left and I planned the easiest activity: puppet making!

I'm currently working on my very long to-do list for homework, and I've gotten three things done...only two more to go! One of those things has to be done for today's class. Hoorah.

Better get to it! Maddie's napping and I've been able to get the bulk of the work done. Tonight is vacation Bible school and of course I agreed to help out with that. Why? I'm crazy I guess. I really should have said no but I always have a tough time doing that. Luckily, tomorrow is the last day and that's a huge relief! This weekend is going to be full of paper-writing and project-completing. I have three huge things I need to complete for school and I'm not looking forward to it. I can't even procrastinate because it's such a huge deal. Boo!

I really, REALLY can't wait to be done. Another week of this would absolutely kill me.

!!!

2008-06-22T21:32:00.001-04:00

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love me a good party!

2008-06-21T16:11:00.002-04:00

We just got back from a fun birthday party for a three-year-old little boy. He's from Timmy's side of the family. Unfortunately, Timmy has to work until 9pm tonight so he couldn't come, but I took the girls. It was outside and there were a lot of water balloons. The birthday boy also got a slip 'n slide for his birthday so they hooked it up. Tessa went on it and was completely soaked. I didn't think she'd go on it since she's not fond of water and she didn't have a suit, but she had tons of fun. I knew I had to bring extra clothes, so we were well prepared.

It was nice and hot outside. We spent over 3 hours there, and Maddie was getting cranky so we came home. She fell asleep in the car but woke up when I was getting her out. She cried when I put her in the crib but she is sleeping soundly now. Tessa is playing with a water gun (love those party favors, eh?) and she doesn't look like she's going to nap any time soon. I need to get some homework done.

I am so tired! Sitting in the sun really drains you. We got back and I immediately turned on the window air conditioners. The past few days have been cooler and we really didn't need the air on, but it's hot again so we needed the cooler air.

Ugh. Need to go pay bills. I could use an extra weekend day, how about you?

Just finished watching...

2008-06-20T14:12:00.003-04:00

...the movie, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" that I rented a few days ago. Love that movie.

Love that piece of eye candy that is Johnny Depp. Love his long hair and his young face. Man, he was hot in '93! Still hot, but wow.

I <3 Johnny.

I am feeling so sick right now. I woke up with a migraine and took meds. It got rid of the headache but I've been feeling sick to my stomach all day. Watching JD took my mind off of it for a while, but now that it's over I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a long time.

I have so much homework and not enough days this weekend to get it done. Only 4 more classes...the next 2 weeks cannot go fast enough!

Feeling the stress compounding and am about to lose it, but I just gotta hang in there! Maybe I'll rent a few more JD films...

Gee, can you tell how much I absolutely love him?! Timmy hates him, thinks he's gay. I don't listen to him. He's just jealous...lol

Fellow sisters, please sympathize with me...

2008-06-18T12:47:00.002-04:00

I'm just taking a short break from my schoolwork to let you know how crabby and hormonal I am. Angry. Upset. The whole kit & caboodle.

I'm crampy.

Miserable.

I have to drive 1+ hours away for a class tonight, sit there, be bored, and try to stay awake while I drive another 1+ hours home, only to be greeted by a messy house.

I have an exam tomorrow. A very tough exam.

And if you really want to know, the diet has been blown out of the water. No exercise, no control. Between yesterday and today I devoured three ice cream cones (you know the kind. The ones that you buy in the freezer section with the nuts on the top and the bottom of the cone filled with chocolate? *drools*), three snack cakes, and lots and lots of carbs.

And some soda.

And I didn't mention the baggie of salt & vinegar chips on Monday (and really, I can't stand salt & vinegar chips but those were the only ones in the house).

We had hot dogs last night. I hate hot dogs. Nasty as you can imagine.

I feel like crap and look like crap. I am living in sweatpants for the next week.

At this point, I really don't care if I gain back those five pounds.

I think Aunt Flo lives to destroy. I hate her. Sort of. I definitely don't want to be pregnant right now. So that's where the "Sort of" comes in.

I need some more chocolate...

What to do...

2008-06-17T15:50:00.002-04:00

I've really been thinking about what in the world I am going to do in 3 weeks when I'm done with school. Apply for a job right away? Wait a while? And then there's the grad school issue I talked about before. Decisions, decisions! It's not good that I have trouble deciding which shirt to buy or what to order at a restaurant...major decisions are going to be trouble!

My class was canceled for this afternoon. Finally, a break! I am trying to take this opportunity to get a ton of stuff done. I have an exam on Thursday, not really looking forward to it either.

Ugh. What am I gonna do?! I guess I should just get a job at a daycare, and then go from there. Then I have to decide what to do about daycare and look up some places. I prefer to have my children at the same place where I work. Hopefully it will work out. I really want to start earning money, and I need a full-time position. I really want to work at Head Start, but in order to get in there I would have to start out as a sub. Sure, it would get my foot in the door but it would also be inconsistent hours (not good for childcare arrangements). Maybe I'll just work at a daycare until I get my loans paid off and then work my way into Head Start...

Oh well. Gotta run. Happy 27th birthday to my hubby, Tim! He never reads this but I wanted to send a shoutout anyway! I hope he has a fabulous day!

Migraines, grad school, etc...

2008-06-13T22:07:00.005-04:00

I cannot believe I'm awake past 10pm! Actually, I'm usually awake at this time but we go to bed and watch tv from 10 until we fall asleep. And since I've been going to class in a place that takes an hour and a half to drive to (twice a week, don't get me started...), I'm usually not falling asleep until late. But get this, we were actually OUT OF THE HOUSE past 9! We were at Wal-mart, no big deal, but that's odd for us. Sad, huh? 20-somethings, we should be livin' it up! That's ok, the children are definitely worth it. We'll have our time someday!

So for some reason, I've been developing migraines. I've had painful headaches before, but nothing that messed with my eyesight. It really freaked me out! My first one occurred on Tuesday, when I was trying to get some homework done. I couldn't see the words on the computer screen. I was getting scared so I called the eye dr. and got in right away. He informs me that I was having a migraine, but he dilated my pupils to make sure nothing was torn, just in case. Of course, everything was fine, but he told me that I may want to go to my family dr. to get it checked out. Great, if I had insurance. So the second one happened today, right before leaving for the mall. I just kind of sat in the car until my eyesight returned to normal. I bought Exedrin migraine and took it; I still have a dull headache and am a bit nauseous, but nothing like on Tuesday. I always think the worst and worry that it's a cancerous tumor in my head. If I would just go to the dr, I would know for sure but it's one of those things where if I don't know, I won't worry about it as much? Who knows.

I've really been thinking about going to graduate school. A nearby college is offering classes in a city that's 45 minutes away from here, and I could get my Master's degree in early childhood education IN ONE YEAR! Do you know how absolutely fabulous that is? All I would have to do is take four night classes a semester and that's it...I would have my Master's! I NEVER thought that I would get to become a grad student, but it may become a reality as soon as this fall if I wanted to. I talked to my professor/adviser and she is really pushing me to go for it. Timmy wanted me to take a year off, but by 2012, my bachelor's degree will mean nothing to the early childhood field, and if I want to keep a job in the daycare that I want, I will have to get something more...not to mention I'll be higher up on the pay scale. Everything is in my favor: night classes, I have already taken my Praxis exams which are still valid even though I took them back in 2005/2006, the location, my GPA, and the fact that the university offering this program thinks highly of my college and will transfer many of my credits! My only concerns are the workload (how will I get schoolwork done AND work, not to mention the duties around this house and family?!) and funding, although I'm sure I can at least get loans of some sort.

It's really a thought, and I need to seriously think about it. My adviser is meeting with the lady running the program and so she's going to find out more about it and get back to me. I COULD HAVE A SHOT AT BECOMING A GRAD STUDENT!!!!!!!! I'm so excited, yet scared to death. Mostly excited.

That's the news on my front. I have my first lesson on Monday and am scared to death about it, but if it flops, then it's a learning experience and that's what I'll chalk it up to. My cooperating teacher says I'm doing a wonderful job with the children and I am VERY pleased to hear that! It makes me feel a lot better that I'm doing a good job. I have so much schoolwork to get done this weekend, and a house to clean, but I just need to take it one day (and hour!) at a time!

I bought myself some new clothes tonight, so I need to get rid of a lot of my yucky clothes...the stained t-shirts, pants with holes throughout them (even though they are my favorite sweatpants...I have to part with them...*sniff*), and just stuff that doesn't fit. I hate to get rid of the "too small" clothes especially since I'm trying to lose weight, but it's going to take me a long time to get down to that size, and I just don't want that stuff hanging in my closet anymore. Besides, then I can hit the sales again!!! Haha...

Well, that's enough for tonight. Only 3 more weeks, and I'll actually be done. Finished! My diploma will be mailed to me! I'm ready to be done though. These two classes are killing me. Maybe that's why the migraines are coming!

Blogslacking

2008-06-10T20:39:00.004-04:00

...and I'm afraid I will be blogslacking for the next 4 weeks or so. I'm taking those two dreaded summer courses to finish up my bachelor's degree in Child & Family Studies, and they are sucking the life out of me, let me tell you! It's just tough and I'm stressing, but what's new?

All is well otherwise. Keep checking back eventually. I've been trying to keep up with your blogs, but after paying bills and typing up homework assignments, I'm beat; not to mention I have over 300 messages in my inbox. Yikes.

Wish me luck!

Exhausted

2008-05-26T21:47:00.002-04:00

We had a very busy weekend and I am beat!

The good news is that I lost 5 pounds! I've been doing so well not eating junk and really getting off of my butt. I must say I've been feeling a bit more energized. Losing five pounds is really keeping me motivated to keep on track. It seems like just a little bit of weight, but I am happy! My neighbor said she thought she saw a difference. I don't know if five pounds makes a difference in my looks but I don't care!

Well, I'm going to bed. My one class starts tomorrow and I need to get ready...plus I'm going to the gym before class so busy busy!

Feeling a bit better, just tired! Thanks for reading!

Sick

2008-05-23T21:17:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging or commenting...I've been sick. I just haven't felt well the last few days. Right now I have a headache and am really tired. I am definitely going to sleep soon.

On a good note, even though I've been ill, I've hit the gym twice this week, yesterday and today. I spent an hour each day exercising! I hope to keep it up. I've scheduled to go back on Tuesday (since they are closed Monday) but I hope to do some exercising at home. Perhaps some running around the yard with Tessa or jumping on the mini trampoline? We'll see.

I hate being sick. I went out and bought a glucose monitor because I thought my blood sugar was all wacky...it was fine. My head hurts and the medicine didn't help a bit. Diabetes runs in my family and I haven't been taking care of myself like I should, I just have a feeling I will get it. I have a knack for worrying myself silly in thinking that I have the worst diseases ever. Stupid WebMD.

Hopefully I hear about the health insurance situation. Maybe then I'll be able to get to a doctor. We seriously can't afford it right now. I hate not being insured!

Off to bed now.

Planning rocks!

2008-05-19T20:52:00.002-04:00

Short post tonight, but I'm so proud of myself! I'm watching Greek but wanted to post. We went to walmart tonight to get some things, mostly ingredients for dinner this week. I'm really excited because I'm making a bunch of new recipes. Chicken dijon tomorrow, cheese-stuffed meatloaf Wednesday, sweet & sour cabbage rolls (meatless) Thursday, and steak & pepper fajitas on Friday. I'm so excited for Friday, I'm using stir-fry veggies in the dish. It sounds awesome and I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Well my neighbor just called and they are lighting some sparklers and invited Tessa to join them. Writing again soon!

RIP Toni...

2008-05-18T21:46:00.002-04:00

We had a sad thing happen in our household this morning. Toni, the beloved guinea pig, has died. I discovered her lifeless body in the cage when I went into Tessa's room to get her church clothes.

Sad.

Well, I knew it was coming. First of all, she was fully grown when my BIL (brother-in-law) got her two Christmases ago. Tessa adored Toni; she had a guinea pig named Tony (a boy) in her daycare classroom and loved him, so she wanted the same name.

We had just run out of food for Toni and I couldn't get to the store so we fed her carrots, apples, you know, healthy stuff that we should be eating (haha). She would eat it happily. After a while, she wouldn't eat as much. At this time I had also gotten her regular food. She hadn't touched it in days. She also wasn't drinking water. She wouldn't run around like a normal guinea pig. I had a feeling she may die soon.

This morning, instead of being in her little "house," she was laying in the bedding beside her water. It was a little sad. I broke the news to Tessa and she was a little upset but got over it quickly when her uncle said he'd get her another one.

And he did.

We have a new guinea pig named Shammon. No, not Shannon with two N's...it's Shammon. Weird, I know, but that's what she wanted to name her. She has black markings on her face and head and the rest of her is white. Toni was white and brown all over. She is tiny, much smaller than Toni was. Very cute. Tessa also wants another guinea pig (since they are pack animals and are happiest when there's two or more) and will name it Sonny. Or Sunny? I think the latter because it's going to be another girl. We do not need any baby guinea's running around!

That was the big news today. My BIL buried Toni at his house under a tree. Tessa is over it. I guess when you can replace what has died, everything is right with the world.

Oh, to have the mind of a four-year-old again...

Friday morning

2008-05-16T08:28:00.002-04:00

Maddie is awake in her crib, talking. I really should go get her, but I think I'll finish this post first.

Tessa's already awake and eating breakfast. I have been up and got dinner ready for tonight (since it has to sit in the fridge for 8 hours...no clue why. New recipe.). I should clean. I ALWAYS should clean.

The "diet" didn't start off well yesterday. I made apple crisp because there were apples I got real cheap at the store a week or so ago and they needed to be used up. Well, my mom's recipe has a lot of sugar and butter in it, but gosh is it so good. I nibbled a lot yesterday...on apple crisp (well it's got apples in it!), Cheese Nips (which are so full of grease it's amazing), cheese and sour cream (on the tacos). Timmy also brought home milkshakes from Dairy Queen even though I told him not to.

Oh well. So far today I've eaten a bowl of Trix cereal with skim milk. Not good.

I did get outside with Tessa yesterday while Maddie napped and we ran around the yard. I did get SOME exercise! Today it is raining, so I don't know what I'll do. Maybe clean furiously?

I can't put it off any longer. Retrieving my child from the crib...

How sweet the smell...

2008-05-15T19:34:00.003-04:00

...of freshly cut grass! Timmy finally mowed our jungle grass tonight after he got home from work. I love the smell of freshly cut grass! It was super thick and he had to dump the bag several times...too many times for our size yard!

Not much to report. I was going to evaluate Spongebob Squarepants and my questions for that show, but then I would sound very stereotypical. Ok, since I'm on the topic...I can't resist. I just want to know if Spongebob is gay or not. Come on, I just need to know. Yes, a stereotype of the gay man...very feminine, pays attention to appearance, decorates the bathroom? He may not be gay, as he kind of fell in love with "Patty" at one point (ok, it was a crabby patty but he said it was a "she").

Alright, I'm a loser and watch too much Spongebob.

I'm signing off on that point.

I'm missing...

2008-05-14T21:27:00.002-04:00

...breastfeeding. (Woah, where did THAT come from?)

Sorry.

I'm sure that's NOT what you wanted to start reading!

So, Maddie's been off of my breasts for a month and a half. I wish I could have stuck through it a little longer. I know it's time consuming and whatnot, but I really miss that closeness with her. I've tried to breastfeed her again a few times after she was completely done, and she is just not interested. I guess it's not meant to be. It still kind of hurts though.

Breastfeeding was quite a feat and I didn't lose the weight as much as I would have liked. I did lose about 20 pounds from my end-of-pregnancy weight, but that's it. I thought I would have lost at least 10 more from breastfeeding. Apparently I ate all the wrong junk.

So, I think I'm going to do it. Finally, go on a diet. Eat better. Stay away from the cake and cookies and fried foods. Salads...fruit...not so much cheese...ugh. And exercise. Ok, I am really going to struggle with that one. The good news is that I earned a free one month membership to Liberty Fitness from the WIC office. Our office is so cool because when you breastfeed and reach certain milestones, you get cute little prizes. At 6 weeks, Maddie got a cute little t-shirt. At 3 months, she got toys. They had milestones at 6mos, 9 mos, and 12 months. At a year, Maddie got a sippy cup and I was allowed to choose from a list of big prizes. I could have gotten $10 gift card for some restaurants, a free hair cut, a free massage, or a one month pass to Liberty Fitness. The last one seemed like the best. I think there were other prizes donated from the community but I can't remember...I had my eye on that one! I don't know what I'll go, because I can't take the girls and I'll be starting my summer classes soon. There isn't an expiration date on it so I can start at any time, but once I start, it expires in a month.

I need and want to lose this extra weight. I just need to buckle down and do it!

Tonight after dinner we went to the store and bought a new lawn mower and weed eater. It's just easier to have one of our own. The mower we did have broke...and badly. One of the wheels fell off and it finally won't start. So, I put these two large purchases on my credit card. I didn't want to, but we haven't gotten our stimulus check yet. Once we get it I will be able to pay it off. It just sucks how much a lawn mower is!

Gotta love adulthood, eh?

Allergic Reaction

2008-05-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm normally not allergic to anything. I never had to avoid certain foods, or use specific detergents, or take allergy medication.

But tonight? Oh my.

I just came back from the ER. I didn't go in, just sat in the parking lot. I mentioned earlier about not having insurance, so that was one of the reasons I didn't go inside...besides having to wait hours to be seen.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

We went outside after dinner tonight, just playing and enjoying the warm weather and NO RAIN. We saw my neighbors and went over and played with them. The one little girl and Tessa both gave me these flowers, and of course I took them and smelled them. Nothing happened at first, and I put the flowers behind the bush when the girls weren't looking. I know, that's bad, but I had Maddie on my hip and some other toys I was carrying. Shortly afterwards, I was feeling itchy and hot around my face, head and neck. I also wasn't feeling well in my stomach area, and we went home. I began getting more itchy and felt my face beginning to swell a bit. I started panicking a little and called my neighbor to find out the name of the flower. Oh, I also took two benedryl pills. She told me (since she is a nurse) to wait a bit for the medicine to kick in and see how it goes. After hanging up, I was getting more worried that my throat would swell (not that there were signs of that happening...just my paranoia I guess), and drove myself to the hospital so that timmy wouldn't have to get the girls out of bed. I sat in the parking lot for a bit and looked in the mirror...my face was beginning to feel better. I called Timmy and we talked, he suggested that I come home and try not to worry about it. I drove home and had one last bit of itchyness...now I'm actually not wanting to scratch my skin off. I've broken out in hives all the way to my stomach. I was going to take two more benedryl but decided to wait. I'll probably take two more before I fall asleep. I need to get more.

So that was my scare. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but I am shocked that it happened. I've never had that reaction before! It's really scary when your face swells, even just a little bit. By the way, the flower was a Zalia I think. It was beautiful...I'm sad.

Maybe as you get older you have more allergies to things? I think I may have developed a milk allergy. That's fine with me because milk products are fattening!

Today was a little more productive. I went grocery shopping and washed dishes, AND made a roast for dinner! I know, little miss susie homemaker, huh?! I was proud of myself. I just wish I wasn't getting sick all of the time. As soon as I get insurance, I am going to the doctor to get checked out. Of course, all of my symptoms will probably disappear. Why does that happen? You get sick when you don't have insurance but when you have it, you are fine? I think it's called Murphy's Law.

I hope tomorrow will be more productive and less...eventful? haha...

100% pure laziness...

2008-05-12T18:50:00.002-04:00

Today was full of it. I pretty much stayed on the couch the whole day, except for around noon. I successfully got up and got everyone dressed this morning (even if it was 9am, which is super late for us). We went out to lunch with some friends at 1pm which was nice, but before and afterwards we just lazed around. I slept an awful lot today, but maybe because it was due to me being up half the night in the bathroom. I wasn't feeling good but eventually fell back to sleep and it just ruined my whole day.

I need to clean this house and go grocery shopping. I also need to plan what meals I'm going to make this week. Ugh. I just have no energy. I'd better not get sick.

Timmy rescued us for dinner tonight. He wanted something hot, preferably soup, since it was FREEZING outside! Our house is so cold because my husband put the window air conditioner in...brrr! So anyway, he said he wanted grilled cheese & tomato soup, easy enough. He went to the grocery store near our house and bought bread (one of the needed items on our shopping list), cheese slices (processed cheese is nasty...), and tomato soup. He makes it with milk but that grosses me out. I didn't eat much. I have always used water to mix in with the tomato soup and I always use water to make hot chocolate too. Yeah, I'm probably weird.

So that was an easy dinner.

In other news, the girls finally got their medical cards in the mail. I need to complete and mail in a paper to see about getting my insurance. I also got my Mother's Day/graduation presents from my mom and step-dad in the mail. A cute necklace and cards...I also got a dvd my mom had made for me with all my pictures growing up but it won't play in any of my computers or dvd players. Hopefully I'll be able to play it somewhere.

This country is really starting to suck. Stamps went up another cent, gas just went up to $3.75 (!!!!!), and why does health insurance have to be so high with very little coverage?!?!?! Ugh. I'm going to definitely need a job now. How can people survive in this economy? We're barely surviving some months. I'm getting real ticked about our stimulus check...it was supposed to be here on the 9th in our bank account, but it's still not there. Every time I check on the IRS website, they can't tell us anything. I think it's because we had to send in an amendment to our return this year and so it's messing everything up. We really could use that money right now. I guess I just have to be patient! I also have a rebate check coming for my cell phone...that's fifty bucks I could definitely use!

Ugh, sorry, a lot of griping is in this post. Maybe tomorrow will be a better one.

P.s. What the heck is "Yo Gabba Gabba" all about? It seriously must be one of the most annoying kid shows out there. Sad how people can make money off of such a stupid idea. Just my rant. The end.

Quick Post

2008-05-11T22:21:00.003-04:00

Mother's Day was awesome, as was graduation yesterday. I will post pics soon!

Timmy and the girls gave me gifts last night. I got a wooden spice rack that spins (we both have wanted one of those!), and I am super excited to have different kinds of spices to cook with! I also received a Willow Tree figurine: a mother, sitting, with a child standing near her side and a younger child sitting on her lap. Perfect because I have two children. I now have two Willow Tree items...they are quite expensive so I don't know how extensive my collection will become. I also got some cute cards from them as well. Timmy works hard to pick out just the right cards and he nails them every time!

I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to bed. I almost forgot that Timmy made me breakfast in bed this morning, as he does every year. Makes me think I ought to do better for him on Father's Day! haha!

It was a good day, got a flower plant at church and went to my in-laws and gave my MIL her presents. Timmy had to work today so that sucked, but he at least called her this morning so that was nice.

Off to bed now. I have a swollen gland or something on the right side of my throat. It's uncomfortable and I'm hoping it will get better soon. This is the second day I've had it. It hurts a little to swallow. I don't have health insurance so this isn't good. It better not be mono or strep or something bad. I need to be healthy!

More to come later...

Why I'm in a bad mood

2008-05-09T17:50:00.002-04:00

I am really ticked off. There are several reasons why.

1. I woke up late. I've been waking up late every day since school has been done. It sucks! I used to be able to wake up at 6 or 7 and be ready to go. Not lately. Ugh.

2. I couldn't find my really expensive class ring. I was planning on wearing it for graduation tomorrow but for some reason it wasn't where I left it. Luckily, Timmy looked in my laptop case and it was in there. Go figure.

3. I told a friend I was going to Bible study tonight and while I really want to go, I feel like I have a ton to do before tomorrow. I was thinking of skipping but I probably won't.

4. I didn't get ANYTHING done today. Add to that fact that my children destroyed whatever cleaning had been done earlier this week. Tessa spilled her toys everywhere and Maddie knocked down her tray of food....cereal pieces are everywhere on my floor! We already have an ant problem and so this is just going to make it worse.

5. Maddie's in a crabby mood. She wouldn't only nap for an hour at the most, and she keeps whining. Tessa won't leave her alone which makes it worse. She will come to me and want held but when I pick her up she wants down. I don't get her! And she keeps pooping. And she has a diaper rash from all the poop, which means I have to keep putting cream on her. And she wiggles and whines because she hates getting diaper changes.

6. I think her rash has turned into a yeast infection. She's had problems with yeast infections before, and I think it's rearing it's ugly head again. When Timmy called the pharmacy about getting a refill, they said her insurance card wouldn't go through. I then realized that they must have canceled her insurance since we've just renewed the CHIP benefits for the kids. Timmy didn't ask how much the cream will be. One more thing I have to do tomorrow!

7. It's payday and while I'm happy, I'm ticked because the money will be going to bills. I don't know how much I'll be able to use for food, and we desperately need to get some things like bread and guinea pig food. Ugh. I hate bills. I need to get a job.

8. There is a job fair coming up in a week or two and I'm thinking about going, but the thought of printing out a thousand resume's, dressing up, finding a sitter and then explaining that while I graduated I have to take 2 summer classes and won't done done until the beginning of July is just overwhelming. I've never really done a "professional" interview before, only at a fast food place. I will probably do it though just to get my foot in the door. There's a couple of human services places that will be there and I might be interested in that kind of work. I'm open to anything really!

9. My friend that I mentioned before called me and I just didn't know what to say. I totally do NOT support her decision and know that what she is doing is NOT biblical. She knows this as well and tells me that she feels guilty...so why doesn't she change her decisions? I am just so upset and angry. I want to be her friend but our relationship is definitely strained over this. After she called I became even more upset. I can't say anything more because I've already told her everything she needs to hear.

10. Again, this house is a MESS! Every time I was going to start cleaning, a child needed fed, or changed, or someone was at the door, or the phone rang. Or, I got on here to check for the stimulus check (don't even get me STARTED on that issue!). When I really did want to start cleaning, it seemed so overwhelming. I usually just start in one corner and work my way over until the room is clean. It sucks when you have to do it yourself.

Well, the child keeps whining because I put her in the playpen to keep her from climbing the stairs. I suppose I should let her out and snuggle with her. As for Tessa, I totally blew off the no-tv-rule and she's been watching tv most of the day. We did get to the library today so that was nice. I sold a book online and had to ship it today and the shipping & envelope was less than I expected. After going to the post office, Tessa wanted to go to the library so we spent an hour or so there. It was fun. We brought a few books home so that we'll have to go back! Haha.

I might be too busy to post tomorrow due to graduation, but I'll be sure to post pictures shortly afterwards! Happy Mother's Day if I don't get on here to post it!

Mother's Day

2008-05-08T18:19:00.002-04:00

Online shopping rocks! It's so easy to click, click, send! Well, maybe TOO easy.

So, I figured I'd better get on the ball and send something to my momma for Mother's Day. I slacked last year, but for a while I was sending her flowers for Mother's Day. She lives a few states away, and so it's not like I can just buy something in the store and get it to her the next day like Timmy can for his mom. I have to go through all this shipping stuff and packaging it and...you know.

So, it's getting pretty close to that day and in order to get it to her by Sunday without spending a ton of money on shipping, I thought I'd better do it now. I've already missed her birthday which was this past Sunday, and I feel awful. I wanted to make her something from us, like a shirt or something but it's getting late. I'm sending her a rose bush in this neat little vase so hopefully she can replant them. Regular flowers die, so sending a rose bush seems like a good idea. I went through a local florist in her area, but it still cost a lot. Fresh flowers...they are expensive!

She's worth it though.

I still feel like I should send her something else, like an outfit or whatever. Next year I will definitely get on the ball early with Mother's day and her birthday!

My stupid husband is working on Mother's day. So much for my pampering day.

Well, at least I've done my duty as a daughter. I'm gonna go see what else I can purchase on the internet! Haha!

Urgh

2008-05-08T13:36:00.001-04:00

Blogger totally deleted my photo AND the list of blogs I read!

On to fixing the stupid thing...

Spring Sprung

2008-05-08T13:25:00.003-04:00

It is ridiculously late for me to be posting it, but I feel like I should still do it. I received my Spring Sprung package on April 23rd and I was super excited to see the box on my porch! Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz so I don't have any pictures. However, Angela sent me a wonderful collection of flower bulbs. One type was Lily oriental collection and I received many different colors: purple, pink, and yellow I believe. I feel bad that I don't know the other type of flower as I threw the paper away with the packaging. I've already planted many of the bulbs, and I'm waiting to get some flower pots and soil to plant the rest. I will definitely take pictures of the blooming plants as soon as they ...well, bloom!

I really hope they bloom...I've never really planted flowers before so I'm new at this, but what a perfect time to start! I don't have room for a big flower bed, but there was a little patch of soil right behind our house that the previous renters used to plant some vegetables. That's where I planted mine, but I don't know if they will work.

Thank you so much, Angela for the thoughtful gift and I had so much fun planting the bulbs! Tessa helped me too so they are kind of planted haphazardly. Oh well, it was fun anyway! I also wish to thank Jenny for organizing yet another wonderful swap; she does an excellent job!

I hate rain...

2008-05-08T11:34:00.002-04:00

I have both girls at home with me and am seriously running out of things to do. My only reprieve would be to go outside in our yard or visit one of the many parks in our area.

But no, I can't. It's raining.

I am trying this thing of limiting tv and computer time for Tessa. Maddie doesn't watch tv when it's on, so I'm not worried about her. Tessa needs tv at bedtime to fall asleep, and the pediatric people suggest no more than 2 hours per day of screen time. I've unplugged the downstairs tv so she can't turn it on. Too much screen time isn't good for her anyway.

I'm trying to think up some fun stuff to do. This morning, we've eaten breakfast, played a few rounds of hide-and-go-seek, colored in some coloring books and worked on a letter workbook. She's playing with moon sand now, but I don't know what else to do. It's only 11:36! I doubt she'll be interested in cleaning...although...

Heh.

I think we're going to go bake some muffins. And then maybe some gloop (cornstarch and water...is it a solid or a liquid?).

Gotta find some more activities for rainy days! Entertaining a four year old is so much fun....

7 things

2008-05-07T20:40:00.002-04:00

1. I am feeling sad that finals are over. Ok, I know I complained but now that everything is done and graduation is Saturday, I'm feeling nostalgic. I've had some great professors who I may never see again. I've made some great friendships and will miss my college buddies dearly. I know most of us will keep in touch but it is still sad. Life gets in the way but I hope we will still keep in contact. I feel relieved that the semester is done, like a big weight is lifted but I am also sad. Such a complex individual I am!

2. We just ate dinner at Subway after cruising through Wal-mart. I am super stuffed and wish I'd gotten a different sandwich than the meatball marinara. I'm not liking the meatball sammies as much as I used to.

3. I hate Wal-mart. With a freaking passion. Hate it. Loathe it. There are so many reasons why I hate it, but I'll leave that for another post. I could easily come up with 13 things I hate about Wal-mart. My husband loves it, however, and forces me to go at least once a month, if not more. When he wasn't bugging me to go, I could easily skip going there for a few months.

4. Tessa's teachers from Head Start came to our house for a home visit today. I was sad for her. I remember school ending and being so sad because I loved my teachers so much (hmm...sounds like it rubbed off on college profs too!). They reviewed the previous year for her preschool experience and gave us an awesome summer packet to keep her busy. I love the Head Start program! Too bad we'll probably be making way too much money for Maddie to take advantage of it...poo.

5. Worried about putting Tessa in kindergarten...NEXT FALL! It's not as bad as her going this fall...she's only four...but still. When did my baby grow up so fast? How?! Wishing I could homeschool...

6. Wondering what the heck I'm gonna do after I graduate. I have some time during my summer classes to finalize my plans, but still. I need something to pay off these loans! Buying a house would be nice too.

7. Stressed out about a friend...I hate feeling like I need to "fix" her. I just wish I could. Maybe not fix her, per se, but fix her situation. I wish I could go into detail but I can't. I'm really cherishing my friendships and realizing how important they are. I have so many wonderful, beautiful friends and I really need to sit down with each of them and just spend time with them; lunch, coffee (or tea, since I don't drink coffee), or just sit outside and talk. I could freaking take 5 minutes and shoot them an email, so why don't I?! I'm really glad my friends haven't given up on me and still shoot me a message once in a while. I love my gal pals!

Finals...

2008-05-02T16:09:00.001-04:00

Bear with me, everyone. I'm just studying for finals and last minute things. It'll all be over Tuesday I promise!

uhhhh.....!

2008-04-20T21:51:00.002-04:00

Finals and papers! FINALS AND PAPERS!!!

(It's the last week of classes...can you tell?!)

Good Friday and other things...

2008-03-21T13:39:00.002-04:00

I first want to remind everyone the significance of this day. Good Friday, why is it GOOD anyway? I mean, a man died innocently, what could be GOOD about that?

I'll tell you what.

Jesus paid the ultimate price that day, over 2,000 years ago. He willingly gave up his life and died a painful death so that we may be saved. We are lucky; no more sacrificing animals for our sins. Jesus was the final Lamb to be sacrificed. While I am in remembrance of this day, mournful that our sin caused Jesus, a man who helped people in countless ways, to suffer incredible pain. While I am mournful, I know that my Jesus is not in the grave, and we know that on Easter, we will celebrate Jesus rising from the grave, defeated death and Satan. That is the story, folks. And my, does it ever have a happy ending! When we are in despair, look up, as death and evil will not defeat us.

So yes, it is a Good Friday, after all.

Gosh, I am tired today. I'm kind of freaking out, too. Yesterday I bought my graduation cap and gown. (Ahhhh!) Yes, I did. May 10th, my friends, is graduation, even though I still have to take 2 summer classes. So really, I won't "technically" graduate, but still. Kinda freaky.

You DO know what that means, don't you?

I'll be done with school. D-O-N-E.

I'll be honest, I LOVE school. Always have, always will. As much as I complain and moan about not having a long enough spring break (but it could have been longer!), and how much work I always have to do (it can be a lot...), I truly love education. I love gaining knowledge and using it.

So what's my plan?

If I only knew.

I think I have a decent plan, and here it is.

I might try to get in to Tessa's old daycare. I can take my children with me, and Tessa will be starting Kindergarten next year. She is in Head Start now, which is in the same building I want to work. They aren't hiring any head teachers at this point, but many of the places I looked at aren't hiring teachers either. That means I will not be getting paid as much as I want, but hey, it's a start. I just want to get some experience under my belt, as well as some $$ to pay off student loans (about 15k worth!).

I want to get in at Head Start, but I will have to first get in as a sub, and I know that won't give me enough $$ for said loans. I need a full time job, whether I want to or not! As soon as I get my loans paid, then I can move elsewhere if I don't get a teacher's position.

I'm keeping my eyes open for a director's position too, but I want to work at a daycare that is registered with the Keystone Stars program at 3 stars or more. It will really depend on the situation if I decide to work at 2 stars or less. In theory, if I were to get hired as a director in a poorer daycare center, I could make a lot of positive changes; that doesn't mean I will enjoy the environment, though, after the changes are made. Would I want to work in a bad environment? Not really.

I could go to ARIN, which is hard to explain, but it's an organization that works with families and children with disabilities, among other things. I don't want to work as a TSS, because many people have told me how much they don't like it. It doesn't look interesting to me anyway.

I know I shouldn't be so picky, and that I should accept what I get. But I need to set some standards because if I don't like my job, then what's the point? I know I'm not going to make a lot of money in this field, and that's fine, but I definitely want to make more than minimum wage (which is what the daycare I'm looking at gives you, but no one gets benefits, even head teachers).

After I get those wretched student loans paid off, then I want to go back to school for my Master's. In what? Probably early childhood education or elementary education. It's only going to take 2 years to complete, but I'm going to talk to my adviser about what is offered. The state is going to change a lot of the programs in the very near future, and you're going to need a combined degree of early childhood and elementary education to get hired at pre-k centers. I don't know the details, but I'm meeting with her next week to discuss it.

Will I attain a Ph.D.? Right now I say, no, but honestly, I'm not sure. It could very well happen, and only time will tell!

It's just weird to think that I have to go into the "real world" now. I've been in school most of my life, and now I'm going to be done. It feels weird. Maybe someday I'll get used to it!

Have a super-safe Holiday weekend. Enjoy your families!

Roller Skating

2008-03-13T22:54:00.002-04:00

So, last night Timmy and I took Tessa roller skating for the first time. She has never been roller skating except for around the house on the low carpeting. It was quite interesting, and she had a lot of fun. Her preschool sponsored it so there was free admission and skate rental. She had her own Dora skates on, and I went skating with her too.

I only fell once.

It was fun and she became more confident. She went from needing both her mommy and daddy to hold her hands, to just me, to holding her friend's hand, and then to skating all by herself! She wants to go back soon, but I don't know HOW soon! I haven't been roller skating for at LEAST five years, so I was a little rusty.

I really REALLY want to lose weight. I went out and got skim milk...Timmy thought that was gross. I started jumping on my exercise trampoline for a while. If I could stay on it longer than a few minutes, I would be all set! My goal is to exercise for an hour a day...once school starts up again, it will be tough unless I wake up super early.

Speaking of school, I got NOTHING productive done over break. I spent time with my children and took care of them, washed dishes, but that's pretty much it. I'm angry that I sat on my butt all week, but I DIDN'T watch TV until timmy came home. I actually unplugged all the TVs and didn't watch them during the day. That was a good thing. I hate TV anymore.

So much for spring cleaning!

Maybe after this semester is over...I have 3 weeks before my summer classes begin, so maybe I'll get it done then. I have tomorrow and Saturday (Sundays are for resting, but maybe I'll get stuff done then too), so we'll see what happens. I have to go to the daycare tomorrow for 3 hours, so that's a chunk of my day not getting things done. Ugh. I can't wait until it's over. I'm halfway there!

Hope everyone's doing well!

Yuck

2008-03-09T20:43:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling sick and I don't really know why. I came home from visiting the in-laws at 5:30 and I was a little hungry. I ate some canned pineapple (doesn't even come close to fresh) as I started to defrost some chicken to make dinner. I was trying out a new recipe: chicken with rice and broccoli. I started to make it but I was feeling hungry, yet sick at the same time, as if I had tummy cramps. No, not menstrual, the other kind. I thought maybe it was because I was hungry, as I didn't eat much today. I got some salad and ate it but wasn't feeling much better. Dinner was finishing and I kind of laid here on the couch. Maybe I just ate something yucky yesterday. I'd better not have a tummy virus, not on THIS vacation!

So I think Maddie is sick of eating baby food. She has been refusing to eat a lot of it, except for the fruit. She LOVES the fruit. She will eat most of the baby cereal, but won't even touch the vegetables. She used to eat everything and I don't understand. Well, I didn't understand until she ate half of my plate for dinner! It seems as though she wants "big people food." It makes me a little sad, because she's only 11 months old. Still, it's kind of a good thing because I can stop buying baby food! She ate and loved the chicken, broccoli and rice that I had and I swear to you, ate half her weight!

Oh yeah, and she loves Girl Scout Cookies...thin mints, to be exact. She can't have the peanut butter variety yet, and I never order the lemon ones, so thin mints it is! I limit her to 1-2 cookies a day. She loves 'em!

It's been hard to make sure she gets a decent diet. I need to boil some eggs because I give her the hard egg yolk and yogurt (the Dannon all-natural kind, and NOT low-fat either!) for breakfast and she gets baby food the rest of the day, but now that she's shunning it I'll have to be more creative. If she had more teeth it would be easier to give her stuff to eat, but everything has to be soft. She has 2 bottom teeth and is starting to get one tooth on the top, but that's it. She loves taking her time with everything, that's for sure! Definitely my laid-back one.

Well, I'm gonna go put my 4 year old to bed. She's angry with me because I'm not taking her up right away. Maddie could go to bed now, and then I'd have the house all to myself...peace and quiet. Timmy won't be home for another hour from work, so ahhh...love it. Have a good one!

Sweet Relief...

2008-03-08T17:51:00.002-05:00

I am officially on spring break and it feels SO nice. I'm sitting here typing, watching Spongebob with Tessa (five new episodes this week! I love that show...) and keeping my eye on Maddie as she wanders around the living room.

I am SO happy to be on spring break! Can you tell? :-)

It's a well-needed vacation. Unlike many of my colleagues, I will not be going to a warmer climate. In fact, I will be stuck in my house. Tessa has the week off from preschool as well, since they follow the university's schedule.

So, what WILL I be doing all week? Spring cleaning of course! There are so many papers I need to sort through from last semester and bills, laundry, bathrooms, and kitchen. I hope to tackle the bedrooms as well. I was feeling really ambitious last week and was looking forward to wiping down walls and everything, but as the week draws closer I am feeling like I can only do the bare minimum. I was thinking that I would do 1-2 rooms per day, but I'm so worried that I won't get everything done. I will be doing this all by myself, and the girls will be home with me. And, there's another problem.

You see, I have to do community service for my one course...30 hours, in fact. Another 30 hours to add into my already-packed schedule...but whatever. They said you should try and do 3 hours per week for 10 weeks. I couldn't get into the site that I wanted until recently. So now, I have to do a few 6 hour weeks to catch up and make sure I get 30 hours by the end of April. I decided to do 6 hours/week for the next 5 weeks so I can just get it done by the end of March, and that includes doing it over spring break. Boo. Wednesday and Friday I will be going to my site to fulfill my volunteer hours. I have 12 hours done already, thank the Lord!

[I friggin' love Spongebob!]

So that's the plan. I should go and clean my living room. Yuck.

I am sort of, kind of, getting on a diet. I have been trying to eat better, but Girl Scout Cookie day came and you know how that goes. Plus, sometimes all you can eat is fried, not-so-good-for-you foods, because that's all that's offered. I'll do better soon. I need to exercise, but it'll have to wait until after community service...I just seriously don't have the time. I do get some walking when I go to class, so that's something. Maybe I should wake up earlier!

Miss you all! I'll check in soon. I've been reading all blogs, I just haven't commented.

busy!

2008-03-03T22:30:00.001-05:00

I've had laptop issues for a while now and am finally able to get online. I have been on my PC upstairs but don't like to miss family time.

I'm seriously stressing about school but luckily next week is spring break. I have a ton of stuff due this week as well as many assignments/papers so I'm going to run, but wanted to check in. I am ok, just stressed.

Talk to me next week, I'll be better by then!

Love one another...

2008-02-14T20:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers!

Just hopped on to wish everyone on this love day.

What did I get?

From the girls: a small teddy bear with hand lotion on it.

From Timmy: a box of chocolates (I'm trying to be good and eat only one per day!), multi-colored roses, and a bigger teddy bear with bath confetti, silk rose petals and a balloon. He also cooked a spectacular dinner tonight of fetuccini alfredo (spelling?), grilled shrimp skewers, a salad, and even made a 2 layer strawberry cake with chocolate frosting! Yum! And the kicker: he CLEAN UP HIS OWN DISHES and ours! He's such a sweetheart for all of the hard work, and the food was delicious! Great job honey!

We got Tessa a box of chocolates and Maddie a box of Gerber crackers. Maddie and Tessa got their dad a box of chocolates from each of them, and I gave Timmy a big box of chocolates and a HUGE card. He'll be chocolated out!

I hope your V-day was as wonderful as mine! I love my family!

My Weekly Update

2008-02-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

So, I figured that I'd better update before another week begins. I've been pretty busy, as you can imagine. Yesterday I did a ton of laundry...and I mean, a TON; I spent all day washing, drying and folding, as well as put away baskets of laundry. It sucked. I hate laundry, almost as much as dishes (and I still have to do those yet).

Tessa had her 4th birthday on Wednesday. We didn't do much, just some cake and presents. We took her to Chuck-E-Cheese on Saturday and to Toys R Us to pick out what she wanted. Next year, she will enter kindergarten and start "real" school!

(I don't know why but blogger is being really slow about entering the words I type onto the screen. Weird. It's very distracting).

So, I decided to start typing in Word, then copying and pasting. Hopefully this works better!

Anyway, the weeks just keep flying by as far as school is concerned. I really only have classes Monday nights, all day Tuesdays and Thursdays, but really I work a lot more than that because of my 2 hours per week lab in the infant/toddler room on Mondays, and I need to start doing 3 hours per week of community service somewhere else! It’s going to suck guys. Really, REALLY suck. Besides schoolwork, I need to do housework, and it’s not going well (which is why I had a crapload of laundry to do on Saturday!). I am just aching for spring break, and it’s only been 3 weeks!

We’ve already filed our taxes and got our tax refund back, but we’ve already spent the majority of it on debt! Why, oh why must we get into debt every year? Luckily, we only have one credit card with a balance (actually two, but the second one was for my schoolbooks and I should be getting a refund to pay that off), so that will make monthly payments easier. It’s WAY too easy to get into debt, as I’m sure most of you know.

Both of the girls are sleeping right now, and I’ve just finished paying the bills. It’s very depressing how much money we’ve spent on stupid stuff. It seems we’ve fallen victim to the “American way”…ugh.

What else? I went to see Dr. Cornel West, a very intelligent professor who has written many books and even played a major role in developing the movie trilogy “The Matrix.” He was a speaker at a Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. presentation on Thursday. I didn’t understand about half of his lecture because he was VERY intelligent (ok, he used big words, words that I didn’t understand), and also because it was the end of a Thursday and I was beat. The lecture began at 7pm and I didn’t get home until 9:45! I was super tired, but overall it was a good lecture. What I did get out of it was a lot of respect for him, how we shouldn’t put Dr. King on a pedestal in a museum to only be looked at once a year in January, and many other points that were very eye-opening. I found myself ashamed at the white race because of our horrible history. Watching Dances with Wolves last night didn’t help. How could our race come in and destroy a Native American culture, and then treat the African Americans with such horror based on the color of their skin? It just horrifies me. I wanted to say to everyone a big “I’m SO sorry” but I know that wouldn’t make up for centuries of abuse. I know, I know…it wasn’t ME personally who did those things, but I still feel partly responsible you know? I also realize that not every white person treated others with such hatred, but I am just so shocked that someone could stoop so low as to treat others so badly.

I kind of feel like standing in a big circle, holding hands with people all over the world, singing “Can’t we all just get along?” Seriously? Peace would be a beautiful thing.

I guess that sad thing is that racism still exists, and how horrible is that? I’m taking a lot of sociology courses this semester and it’s really opening my eyes to a lot of the things going on in this country. I was so naïve in believing that “everything’s okay” when really, it’s not…it’s FAR from “ok,” and it could be fixed by people like me, in college and wanting to make a difference.

Ok, enough of my soapbox. It was a very good lecture anyway, and I definitely have a bigger respect for black history.

I’m also getting back into church more. By this I mean making sure that I get there every Sunday, actually paying attention to the sermon, and making a real effort to go to Sunday school and learn all that I can. I am feeling spiritually revived as I listen to some new, upbeat, and even soul-moving Christian CD’s. I’ve missed the tingles that I used to feel in a service and during great songs, and so it’s nice to have that back. I hope I continue on this journey and that I don’t give up. By the way, I love watching Joel Osteen on TV before church (I’m usually nursing Maddie when he comes on), and I get so much out of his sermons. I totally recommend watching or listening to him!

So anyway, that’s what’s been going on. Time to visit the in-laws with the girls. Happy SuperBowl Sunday! Haha…I might watch it, don’t really know. I guess I really don’t want the Patriots to win (yes, boo on me from the Patriot fans!), but unless my Steelers are playing I’m not that interested. Timmy’s in a SuperBowl poll at work, so he’ll be listening on the radio for the scores each quarter (since he’s at work). Otherwise, I’m not a big Superbowl fan…sorry!

Have a good weekend and upcoming week!

Ugh...it's not fair

2008-01-26T11:46:00.000-05:00

Would you like to come to my house? You know, the house with all the sick people in it, blowing snot into tissues and drinking soup? Watch out, though, we tend to cough and hack and sneeze all over the place. On second thought, you'd better not come over or you'll catch it and be miserable too.

Scratchy sore throat anyone? Pass me the Tylenol Cold Multi-symptom please.

Do you know what's not fair about this whole thing? I. JUST. GOT. OVER. A. FREAKING. COLD. A week before classes started, that is. IT'S NOT FAIR. Of course, THAT cold was a DIFFERENT type of virus, which made me susceptible to the current ailment.

I hate being sick.

Worse than being sick, is when your children, your precious innocent children become sick.

Even worse than that, is when you are sick AND your children are sick AT THE SAME TIME.

Do you know what I spent today doing? Wiping noses, suctioning out my baby's nose so she can breathe, and sitting in a steam-filled bathroom to open up air passages of my baby and myself.

Tessa started it. She missed nearly a week of school (although she finally went back yesterday), and has managed to infect nearly everyone she comes in contact with: Timmy, me, baby Maddie, and yes, even her uncle who lives across town. How can one tiny almost-4-year-old infect that many people in less than a week? HOW?!

So, while I am furious at being sick, there's nothing much I can do except sleep, eat soup, drink tea, and wash out the humidifiers (which I did last night). Maddie will hopefully breathe better with the cool mist in her room. Tessa, too, although she spent last night at her grandparents' house. I washed her humidifier too so that it will be ready for when she goes to bed tonight.

I hate being sick. And I hate when everyone around me is sick too.

Well, that's it for now. I know we'll get better but it's a matter of how soon. I am SO READY FOR SPRING! YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I am ready to open up my windows and get rid of the dry, hot, forced air from this house! I caught a whiff of spring fever a month or so ago when we had beautiful 60 degree weather...I loved it, but started feeling dread as I came to realize that winter was not even HALF over with and we will be dealing with brutally cold temperatures, freezing up my car and harboring the whole family in the house. I am sick, sick, SICK of winter and I know that 43 degree temps are in the forcast for the near future, and I am excited over it. 43 degrees? That's not exactly warm, but it feels like it for us who've been forced to live in 20 degrees, or lower depending on the wind chill.

Ugh. Ok. I'm done talking about weather. We plan to take Tessa to Chuck-E-Cheese after Timmy gets home from work. Yes, the lot of us, spreading our sickness around. Aren't we nice? I'll be sure to bring a box of tissues and hand sanitizer to stop our germs from spreading too much. Then it's off to Toys-R-Us, again for Tessa's birthday, to get her picture, a balloon, and a hat, and to get her name announced over the loud speakers. I guess it's become a bit of a tradition. Gotta love the birthday club at Toys-R-Us. Wednesday is Tessa's official birthday, and she will be turning 4. I can't wait, although, she has to go to the dentist for her bi-annual cleaning that day. Boo, mommy. I didn't even realized they scheduled it that day! Oh well.

Have a fantabulous weekend!

Winter Wonders

2008-01-26T11:11:00.000-05:00

(OK, the stupid blogger wouldn't let me post the graphic. Boo!)
I am SO late in posting this, but that's for another post. I got my package either last week or the week before, but had to get my pictures uploaded and whatnot. So, here it is, my wonderful Winter Wonders package, courtesy of Rusti! I opened up my door to get some shoes and I found a package on my front porch. I was so excited!

"Warm up those feet, without any slipping." I LOVE these slippers! They keep my feet so warm!

"Indicators of holidays dear, with some for next month, and some for next year." There are homemade coasters, sticky hearts to put on windows for Valentine's Day, and Christmas lights for next year! So clever!

"Never can have too many of these during the cold winter months." Tessa wanted to model them for the camera. She was so excited to help me open the package. I was also able to model them for you. Thumbs up for Rusti!

"Time to look at your loved ones." A wonderful clock that doubles as a photo frame! Love it!

"Everything you will need for school, and a little something to keep the girls busy too." So sweet that she thought of my girls too! Of course, Tessa ripped into the crayons, and they're scattered about the living room. The rest of the category included pencils, pencil sharpeners, dry erase board, magnets, and note pads! I'll definitely need them for school!

"Remember to pamper yourself with some sweet-smelling treats." Yum...gingerbread! I won't want to leave the shower! Shower gel and lotion and bath salts...who could ask for more?

And of course, some photos of Tessa helping me to put the hearts and arrows on the window of my front door to get ready for Valanetine's Day!

Thank you SO much Rusti! I loved all of the gifts and you were so creative! Thanks also to Jenny for organizing the entire event!

And so, it begins...

2008-01-19T12:18:00.000-05:00

I am so overwhelmed and exhausted after my first week of classes. I generally feel this way after getting the syllabus from each of my courses, but ugh! It's going to be tough. Luckily, I only have classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Monday nights, and I have an online classes. Eighteen credits are going to kick my butt!

I need to go to laundry and dishes, but needed to hop on here and post.

I have some sad news. My adopted grandma passed away on Thursday night. It feels weird, like she's not really gone or that I don't want to believe she's gone. Like, I'll go back to her house and find her sitting on the couch as always, watching her game shows with the Bible by her side. For this, I'll call her GG. She was amazing guys. How do I describe GG? She was so kind and loving, faithful to Christ and loving those around her. She simply adored my girls, and gave Tessa a ton of things for birthdays, holidays, etc. She attended my wedding even though she was placed in a nursing home for therapy and didn't know if she had the strength to attend. I barely knew here then but was so touched by her willingness to support me on my wedding day. Little did I know what an impact she would have on my life. I look at her for support and for a reminder of how faithful we all need to be to Jesus. She was always at church, always involved, as much as she could be despite being bound to her wheelchair. She was hilarious, too; her comments on things were like no other. If she didn't like something, she would let you know and EVERYBODY would hear the same thing! I lovingly remember sitting with her one day and watching the news or a game show or something. There was a lady on there wearing a very skimpy outfit, showing her cleavage; GG commented about how women should NOT be wearing that sort of clothing and that she looked like a floosy! HAHA. She was strict in her beliefs and always let you know it!

GG was born in 1910, and so she was 97 when she passed. She lived through so many historical events, and is a great loss to our community. I loved her as if she was my own grandma, and am sad that Maddie, and probably Tessa won't remember her later in their lives. She lived with her two daughters, who took care of her as much as possible. Sometimes they needed to send her to a nursing home for rehabilitation and therapy, and it was a heart-wrenching thing to do. They never wanted to do it but had to because it was best for GG to get well. I admire them completely for the dedication to their mother. When I went to see GG for the last time (she passed just an hour and a half after I left), one daughter was sitting on each side of GG, holding her hands, and singing hymns to her. It was a perfect reflection of what they have done most of her life; took care of and loved her. They brought the commandment of honoring thy mother to life, because they surely did.

I will miss her but I know undoubtedly that GG is in Heaven, able to see without glasses, able to hear perfectly, and able to walk and run and dance with the angels. She is free from pain and ailments, and is with her parents, husband, and siblings who have gone on before her.

I love you, GG and will never forget you. You've inspired me to be a better person. Thank you for all of your kindness. You are finally at rest now. See you in Heaven one day...

Doctor's appointments, school, periods, etc.

2008-01-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

I have SO much to talk about! Every time something comes up at home, I think, "Wow, that would be something to talk about in my blog!" Hopefully I remember all of those tidbits right now.

I am so upset with myself because I missed sending out my package for Winter Wonders! I'm going to go out today as soon as Maddie wakes up from her nap. I bought all of the stuff but Saturday was one of those days and I just didn't get to send it out in time. A couple of days shouldn't make too big of a difference...I hope. Anyway, sorry for slacking!

Today is the first day of classes. My schedule is going to ROCK this semester! I have a Monday night class for approximately 3 hours. I have the rest of my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some breaks in the day. NO classes on Wednesdays or Fridays! Woo hoo! And another good thing: Tessa went back to preschool today! She was so cute; she kept asking me if it was Monday yet. Haha! I was so ready for her to get back to school so that I could clean up the house without her messing it up five minutes later! But seriously, she also needed more structure. She got WAY too much TV time this past month. It'll be good for her to get out of the house and play with her friends, as well as learn a bit too. She was so excited to go to school, I had no problem getting her out the door! I'm sure she will be exhausted when I pick her up though.

Maddie had her 9 month appointment last Wednesday and let me tell you, I was so angry after seeing the doctor. He's claiming that her weight isn't increasing like it should. She's 16 pounds and currently in the 5th percentile. Now, that wouldn't bother me, except he's a really big formula/food pusher. At the first sign of any change, he will try to push formula. As you know, I've been breastfeeding exclusively from the beginning. She eats baby food extremely well and seems generally happy. Her doctor told me that my milk was drying up, she shouldn't be nursing every 3-4 hours, and that I should feel engorgement. Ok, first of all, when you get on a nursing schedule, you WON'T feel engorgement because your body is regulating itself. Secondly, WIC told me I need to nurse her 7 times a day, which equals out to every 2-3 hours. He then informed me "Well, she is crawling and more active, and most 9 month old babies stop gaining weight for a while at this stage." WTH??? So why tell me that? He then said that even though she shouldn't be drinking much breastmilk, he wants me to supplement with formula. OK, can we say MORON? If he doesn't want me feeding her as much breastmilk, why do I need to give her formula? Needless to say, I couldn't understand him and I felt like crying. He made me feel horrible. He wants to see her back in a month for a weight check.

When I started thinking about Maddie's diet, I realized that she probably wasn't getting much fat from her baby food. She eats 4 jars of baby food a day and 1 cup of cereal a day. The jars of baby food consists of 2 veggies and two fruits, and when you look at them, they have NO fat at all. The cereal has some, but not much. And a growing 9 month old needs more nutrition and fat than from breastmilk alone. I realized that I wasn't giving her enough protein. So, after talking to my local WIC office (where the people there are WAY more supportive of exclusively breastfeeding), I've bumped up her baby food to 3 times a day. In the morning, she gets plain yogurt (not the low-fat kind), and I can mix fruit in with it. I also give her one egg yolk (from hard-boiled eggs, cut up or smashed). I give her this food after I nurse her in the morning. At lunch, I'm giving her one or two meat sticks, as well as a vegetable and a fruit. For dinner, she gets a jar of baby food that has meat in it, a meat stick if she wants, and a fruit or veggie. She also gets cereal with her lunch and dinner. WIC also said to continue nursing every 3-4 hours, and to try and nurse her even closer than that. I also pump at night to build up a supply for when I'm in class.

Hopefully these changes will help her gain some weight without me having to give her formula. Trust me, if there was something wrong, I wouldn't mind giving her formula. I'm not against it if Maddie needs it, but the doctor was just being a jerk in my opinion, and he is known for doing this to many families. WIC told me to come back in about 3 weeks to do a weight check at their office to see how she is doing.

So that's the drama there. Maddie and Tessa both have multiple doctor appointments in February, so I'm going to be busy at doctor's offices.

Let's see...oh yeah, I just got over a cold which sucked. I couldn't breathe and my throat hurt, but it went away within a week thanks to my wonderful prenatal vitamins! Then, a day after my cold was gone, I got my period. I was ticked. My periods have been weird since I've been nursing. They're much heavier than I'm used to, but the good news is that it comes about every 5-6 weeks; meaning I don't get it as often as I used to! My cycles are just weird, and it will probably stay that way until I stop nursing in 3 months or so. I hate to think that I won't be nursing anymore. I might keep the morning nursing sessions because it's so convenient. It will be the hardest session to quit. Ah, well...it's been a good ride I suppose.

Anything else? I've been trying to clean my house and I've finally discovered my dining table! All of the stuff (papers, etc.) that accumulated on and around the table was taken upstairs and dumped. There is a huge pile of STUFF on my floor beside my computer. Someday I will go through it. Ugh. At least I don't have to look at it until I go to bed!

Well, I have a ton of stuff I need to do before my night class: Pack a diaper bag, gather baby food, figure out what to make for dinner for the husband, and try to clean the living room. *sigh* So begins the spring semester!

I will try and post at a minimum of once a week. Don't worry if I can't post more frequently than that! Have a great Monday!

not really anything happening

2008-01-05T19:47:00.000-05:00

I just figured that I would update, not that much of anything is going on in particular.

Maddie turned 9 months old today, and I cannot even believe it. She has finally mastered crawling on her hands and knees rather than army crawling and I am happy yet fearful. She is always putting something in her mouth as babies are supposed to do, but I have to either watch her like a hawk or keep my house meticulously clean...usually both! Babyproofing stinks!

Tessa will be turning 4 in just a few short weeks and I can't believe that either! She is so creative and loves to pretend. She got a lot of new toys for Christmas. That has kept her occupied but I don't know what to get her for her birthday. Probably not too much stuff. She has everything she could possibly need! I'm sad that she's growing up but excited to see what the next year will bring.

I have one week until classes begin and my house is STILL a wreck. My goal is to get it decent because taking 18 credits will keep me busy for sure. I also have a goal of making up recipe lists for 3-4 weeks in advanced, with 2 days out of the week for crock pot meals so that we won't find ourselves eating out every night like last semester. It's going to be a busy week because Maddie has her 9 month appointment on Wednesday and other errands to run. I'm going to miss being at home with Maddie and Tessa, but the sooner I start, the sooner I will finish the semester!

I haven't been doing well on the diet/exercise resolution. Mostly the exercise part, and that's probably due to this stupid laptop! I've actually eaten better lately and am proud of that. I even chose salmon at a restaurant rather than steak or fried chicken! It's going to take a lot of perseverence but I hope to be on track and be fit by my doctor's appointment in August! We'll see!

Hope that everything's well for you. I need to get out there and shop for Winter Wonders! Eek! This is the week to do it too. Oy, just add it to my ever-lengthening list!

So long, 2007

2007-12-31T16:56:00.000-05:00

On my last entry of 2007, I am very reflective. I am thinking of the wonderful and not-so-wonderful things that have occurred this year, and hope that next year will be twice as good.

So, what has happened this year?

Well, my Tessa turned 3 in January. That is always a big age. I was always scared of having a three year old but it has been a lot of fun.

Next, my beautiful Madeline entered the world in April. What can I say? It was a scary thing; I was terrified of what it would be like having two children. I thought Tessa would hate me for having another baby. You know what? I wouldn't trade Maddie for the world. She has added so much to our little family. I love her so much, as you can imagine. She has such a sweet personality and is very calm, cool, and collected. Her whole birth experience was a memorable one, and I've had a lot of good times remembering that, and writing down memories in her baby book...as well as taking a ton of pictures!

Timmy and I celebrated 4 years of marriage in July. That's always fun, and it's great to take that walk down memory lane. We've come a long way, yet have such a long way to go.

I made the decision to change my major to child and family studies. I was TERRIFIED, but it has turned out fine. See a pattern here?

We left our church of 5 years to find another one. That was a tough decision but ultimately for the best. We are currently attending a wonderfully BIG church with many opportunities for growth, and we're slowly adjusting to it.

My mom informed me that she possibly has cancer in her esophagus. Luckily, the doctor caught it in time and the medication will hopefully help her. She is on a liquids-only diet at this point, and that will last for about 6 weeks. She's very upbeat about it, leaving it in God's hands, which I should too, but I can't help but worry...and cry. I'm better about it now, but I still worry.

I'm sure there are other things, like my obsession with coupon-ing (that's a wonderful post in and of itself!) and saving money, but my family is begging me to play games with them. I will be taking pictures and posting them later.

Tonight will be our tradition of watching the ball drop at midnight and having non-alcoholic drinks. I am breastfeeding and I don't drink anyways. Oh yeah, the breastfeeding is a new thing too! I'm still breastfeeding, almost 9 months later, and that was a wonderful accomplishment. Anyway, we will be playing games and enjoying time as a family. The girls will be asleep so it will be just the two of us...which will be nice.

Please be safe during your celebrations and be thankful for all you've had. Be reflective for the past year and hopeful for the year to come.

Happy New Year, everybody!

And sadly, good-bye 2007...I remember you fondly!

Back to routine...

2007-12-26T10:12:00.001-05:00

My husband has gone back to work, and I am sitting at home with our two girls. New toys, clothes, and candies are strewn all over my living room, mixing in with all of the OLD toys and clothes. Tessa has been playing all morning with her new toys and games, while Maddie is trying to play with Tessa's stuff! I've found that she's not as interested in her own baby toys. Of course not! Tessa has become very protective and will not let her play with anything. So, I am the self-proclaimed referee in this house. Luckily, Maddie is entertaining herself by eating Gerber's fruit puffs, and conflict is avoided...for now. I'm sure that before too long, fights will break out over these new toys.

I am just overwhelmed with this house! Last night, I cleaned Tessa's room; this, I swear, took at least an hour. Her room is a little big, but not much, so it shouldn't have taken me that long to clean. But guys, her room was a disaster. She has a guinea pig named Toni in her room and that thing is the dirtiest animal ever. I had to change his bedding, which is bad enough, but he also likes to kick bedding outside of the cage! Therefore, there was bedding all over Tessa's bedroom floor. There were also clothes everywhere, dirty and clean, and paper garbage. I needed to clean her room so that we could bring up at least some of her toys from downstairs to keep in her room. I cleaned out her closet and packed away the clothing that she has outgrown. After throwing away broken toys, vacuuming and changing bedding, her room was clean and I was proud...and exhausted. I should really take a picture right now because my three year old will not keep it that way for long.

Maddie's room is pretty bad too. Not quite as bad as Tessa, because she can't make the mess herself. She still has a lot of clothes on the floor (mostly outgrown that I need to pack up and give away), but that's mostly it. Timmy took down her bassinet a few weeks ago (sad!) and while he put up the small parts of it, he left the big metal and wood pieces laying beside the gliding rocker! I would like to bring up a lot of Maddie's toys and put them on her shelves and in a basket.

I just feel like I have a ton of work to do. It's hard to know where to start. And I enjoy blogging a lot more than cleaning, so that's why I'm here! I have a lot of laundry to do, as mentioned earlier. I need to just go room by room and start in one corner and work my way over. That's the plan. Ugh. I hate cleaning!

Well, I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Time for the sales to start, eh? Crazy consumer-ism. I think I'm done buying stuff for 2007...besides the essentials.

It was a wonderful holiday, and I'm sad it's over. Timmy took down our tree last night! I wasn't happy. I would have liked to keep it up at least until New Year's day, but no. Oh well.

Only 364 days to go... :-)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T10:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here on my laptop, typing from my new connection! My husband bought me a router and I am so happy it didn't give me any problems while I tried to set it up. Usually nothing computer-y works well as I try to install it; there's always something that gives me a hard time.

Anyway, I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I love Christmas. We're headed over to my in-law's house for more gifts. The girls absolutely loved their gifts, although Maddie was a cranky butt and went back to sleep not even an hour after opening presents!

Overall, Christmas was a blast, and it's not over yet!

We're off to eat, watch the remaining of the 24 hours of a Christmas Story on TBS, and enjoying my family. Please remember the military this day and for peace. This should be the one day that we have peace, patience, and love.

Happy birthday Jesus!

PS. Pictures to come later with my awesome new digital camera! I love my husband...

Winter break!

2007-12-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the comments!

Finals went relatively well; I will find out my final grades hopefully tomorrow or Thursday. I am officially on winter break and it is well-needed! The spring semester begins January 14, and I want/need to get a ton of stuff done. Basically cleaning my pigsty house. I'm working slowly at it, but I've kept up on the dishwashing part. I hate dishes. Seriously, if I could get any Christmas present, it would be a dishwasher! I can't put one of those built-in dishwashers due to us renting this house, but a portable one would be AWESOME!

I know this isn't much of a post, but I'm going to end now with some pictures! We just got them back last night. Maddie's awake and I'm sure she's hungry for lunch.

Enjoy!

Family Portrait:

My two precious girls:

Madeline, or as we call her, Maddie, at 8 months old:

My firstborn, Tessa, 3 years old:

After our portraits, they were doing free pictures with Santa, so we thought, why not? They were already dressed up anyway. Tessa told Santa, "I want a swimming baby, and my sister wants the popping balls." Too cute!

More to come later!

Finals are here...

2007-12-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

...beginning on Tuesday, and they will last until Thursday.

I just wanted to post really quick so you all know that I'm still here, just stressed, as usual.

Also, to say this:

CHRISTINA!!! I MISS YOU!!

YOOO HOOOO...WHERE ARE YOU?

I miss Christina :-( *tear*

Ok, enough crying. I'm off.

PS. I won a scholarship this week. I am so excited!

Ahhh!!

2007-11-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

Next week is the LAST week of classes...then finals begin the week after that!!! I cannot believe it. A bit stressed, but shocked. Next week, I have a paper due, a case study, an exam, and a portfolio due, as well as 2 extra credit assignments that I REALLY should do.

Yipes!

Wonder how much schoolwork I can get done this weekend? Housework will JUST have to wait!

I babysat my neighbors children today and is was SO much fun. Of course, with her two girls and my two girls, it was a bit hectic. The ages, in order, were two 3 year olds, a 23 month old, and my 7 month old. Crazy huh? But we had a blast. It was rough at first because their mom left on a trip and she'll be back Sunday afternoon, but it's really the first time she's left them overnight for this long. The 23 month old was okay at first, but then wanted her mommy and just melted. I was able to calm her down by having everyone watch a video. After the video, I turned off the TV and we played great games like hide and seek, storytelling, and drawing. We had lunch and a snack. The oldest of the 3 year olds (she's like a month older than Tessa) cried at the end when I was getting ready to leave. She quickly recovered and they went for a nap. It was fun though. The greatest news is that my neighbors are having another baby!!! They're going to have three wonderful children in their family. I am SUPER happy for them. Any pregnant person just thrills my heart because it's such a blessing to carry a living soul and bring them into this world. I loved being pregnant and wish I could do it all the time! haha...just kidding, but I really do love it. There are times when I really miss being pregnant. I just miss the whole experience.

Anyway, enough of that. I have to go order some books from the Scholastic book orders. They're due today, but I can order online so I'm not worried; 95 cent books are the best!!

PS. I AM SOOOO excited for the new swap! Thanks Jenny!

Interesting...

2007-11-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

I heard on the news this morning that there is a law trying to be passed that will forbid parents to spank their children.

Hmm.

Their reasoning is to protect our children from child abuse. Some parents use belts, switches, or other means to spank their children.

I agree PARTLY with this law. I will not spank other people's children because I don't know their beliefs on the matter. I do think that most of the time, talking to your children is a much more effective way of disciplining them than smacking them around. HOWEVER, I do think that children should be spanked from time to time. I DO NOT mean using belts, tree limbs, or anything but an open hand on their BUTT. Not on the face, back, etc. Butt cheeks are flabby for a reason... :-)

Seriously though, there will come a time when your child will just plain act out just to push your buttons. There are too many children in this world who AREN'T getting punished AT ALL (when they need it), and that doesn't do society any good. What happened to respecting our elders? Respect, I think, is a lost entity.

Well, that's my view on the whole subject. I do agree that some parents take it way out of control and I feel for those poor children. But I also think it's another way that the government can stick their hands into our private lives.

On a better note, I hear that more stores are bringing back "Merry Christmas" in their advertising and whatnot. I am quite pleased with that!

Anyway, I'm hormonal. Sorry to rant a bit on the whole spanking issue. I know I will have some who will disagree with me, but let's agree to disagree, shall we? Thanks. I would like to hear opinions, though.

The husband came home from work, sat down, and I said to him, "You're really getting on my nerves." He didn't even SAY anything, let alone DO anything. PMS? Oh yeah!

I missed Shrek the Halls tonight. Urgh! I wanted to tape it too.

Finally, I am THRILLED that a new Johnny Depp movie is coming out in December, around Christmas I believe: Sweeny Todd and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Ever see that musical? VERY GOOD MUSICAL! I won't ruin the plot for anyone, but I AM SO EXCITED THAT DEPP IS PLAYING TODD!!! Well, let's face it, I'm glad to see Depp playing in ANY movie. I am a big fan. I know him and Tim Burton work well together, and while Burton's films are on the strange side, I love watching Depp act them out.

He's so great.

I <3 Johnny...

And there goes Thanksgiving...

2007-11-26T21:57:00.000-05:00

*sigh*

I know, I've been gone for way too long. I just wanted to get on to let you all know that I'm still around, even though I've become more of a lurker. I've been reading blogs, just not commenting. Shame on me. I'm sorry, I really am.

Today was the first day back to classes after our LOVELY week-long (first time ever that it's been a whole week!) break. I am absolutely beat. Coming back today, I had a presentation this morning, then had to prepare all the rest of the day for another presentation this evening. After setting up, tearing down, and everything in between, I am quite tired.

The husband went hunting today as it is first day of deer season. Is it just a PA thing? Not sure...but most schools here in Western PA get the first day of hunting off. They just add it to Thanksgiving break. Funny huh?

No deer here, though. Timmy I think has the worst luck at anything hunting/fishing related; or he doesn't have the patience. Yeah, that's it. He'll be going out again tomorrow, but then it's back to work on Wednesday. Lucky guy.

If I get tomorrow over with, I think I will be ok. I have this week, next week, then finals the week after that. And I'm done for a month! I have been sorely neglecting my house cleaning, so that is the main goal I will be working on for a month. Who knows how far I'll get because Tessa will be home with me!

Can you believe Christmas is a month away? Less than that, even! I am so excited. I hope it snows.

Well, I'm tired. I need to go to bed. Tomorrow is another day of schoolwork...what fun! I can't wait until December 14th!

Hope you all are doing well! I'll comment soon!

PS. Thanks for the comments earlier. I read them via email but didn't get them moderated on here until now. Yeah, again, shame on me. :~)

Calling all cooks!

2007-10-10T20:43:00.000-04:00

I have here a personal invitation to come to my house and cook for me. Nice, yummy, home-cooked meals.

Would you love to come over?

For the past, well...ever since school started, actually...we've been eating CRAP. McDonald's, Wendy's, Long John Silvers...any greasy, fast food place you can think of. Cooking is at the low end of the to-do list, especially when I have my evening classes.

This is not good on:
~our money
~our diets, not that we're on one or anything.

I'm sure, though, that I've gained so much weight eating this junk. Ugh. I feel so gross.

And it doesn't help that Mcdonald's is doing that stupid monopoly game. And yes, I've been collecting those dumb pieces. Clog your arteries for cash anyone?

More later...

A little history lesson on birthdays:

2007-09-29T21:28:00.000-04:00

(You don't have to read it if you don't want to...it's just interesting)

* The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented; the number of candles often equals the age of the person. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles; if done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true, but only if the person keeps the wish to himself (or herself). It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake.

If the knife touches the bottom, or when withdrawn from the cake comes out with pieces of cake adhering to it, the birthday boy or girl may have to kiss the nearest boy or girl (of the opposite sex).

Birthday cakes have been a tradition dating back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes. Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.

Typical birthday party decorations include balloons, streamers and confetti.

For special birthdays and for when the number of candles might be considered impracticable or a fire hazard, special candles may be substituted for the many individual candles. These candles are in the shape of a numeral; for example, on the fifth birthday there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral 5, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral 5 followed by the other in the shape of the numeral 0.

* A birthday is considered a special day for the person, and so the person will often get special treatment from friends and family. This is especially true for children who cannot wait for their own special day. In addition to parties, people often receive gifts on their birthday.
* Birthday parties for children often include fun games which are relevant to the local culture, or the visit of a magician to entertain.
* There are also traditions of surprise parties.
* Not all traditions are equally generous. In certain circles the birthday boy or girl is expected to treat their party guests; this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or other nice gesture. In some cultures the birthday at which the youngster reaches the legal age for alcohol consumption may be celebrated with a party at which free or abundant alcoholic drinks are available.

It was fun to read, and I thank Wikipedia for this interesting information.

My friends, I turned 24 today.

All in all, it was a good day. The beginning of the week started off badly; I caught an ugly cold, which is affecting me a week later...and other things that just add to a particularly bad day. That saying, "When it rains, it pours," really held true this week, but by Friday, things started to look up.

When will I get to that point when I'm no longer excited about my own birthday? I'm not sure, but I think it may be when I hit my 30's. I really hope that no matter how old I get, I will still be excited for my birthday. After all, it's another year of life and experiences that God has blessed me with, and I will be grateful for every day...every MINUTE that I'm given!

After spending some time with one of my best friends, some birthday cards and gifts, clothes shopping, a yummy dinner with my husband, and loving with my girls, I am one happy and lucky gal.

Here's to another fantastic year, even through the ups, downs, and in-betweens. I'm glad to share it all with you!

Poo on A&P

2007-09-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

I had an exam today, my first exam of this semester. Please realize that I'm just now getting back into the groove of things, having been out of the college classroom for about a year due to the student teaching fiasco. I was a bit nervous about this exam, because 1) it's the first one; 2) the teacher is new at this university, and even though she's been teaching for a while, she's HUNGARIAN. Yes, I can't understand her thick Hungarian accent; 3) it's friggin' A&P...Anatomy & Physiology. What makes it worse is that she doesn't give homework, reads directly from powerpoint slides and gets her info straight out of the book. Little to no explanation of the material...yikes.

I thought the test was "ok" but not the best. Thursdays are my long days, and so by the end of today as I was picking up my children, my head hurt. A lot.

A&P? You stink.

Why do I have to take it if I'm going to be working with preschoolers? Babies, even? I know some stuff will be relevant, like soft spots on baby's heads, general overall anatomy stuff. But seriously, do I REALLY need to know the parts of a cell, what the different bones look like, how they fit together, and what they are named? Let's not forget tissues and their function, which by the way, was 90% of the test and she said there wouldn't be that much tissue info on there! Urgh. Frustrating.

We'll see how I did in a week or so. Again, anatomy stinks.

I'm going to bed now. Friday brings reprieve: a 50 minute class, and an hour-long observation of a child for a different class. Then, I'm done...I get to go home and clean.

Yay.

Does it ever end?

Does September really stink?

2007-09-13T17:09:00.000-04:00

September is a month of anniversaries, and it seems to me, not the good ones either.

September 11th...need I say more?
13th...Miss Allie Scott passed away from cancer back in 2004 and touched thousands via the internet. On this exact same day, a 5 year old boy from my church also passed away from a terrible disease affecting his brain.

19th: Timmy's grandma, whom I loved dearly, passed away just 2 months after our wedding.

I know of others who have passed away this month too. What is it about September? The end of summer to the beginning of fall? My birthday is this month, and it almost seems selfish to celebrate...it feels like I should be in mourning all month long.

I can't think of the song by Green Day without thinking of Allie Scott: "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

Fall is soon approaching

2007-09-10T11:23:00.001-04:00

I just finished writing my assignment for my evening class and thought I would post. I have a ton of stuff I need to do, but I felt the need to update as well. Besides, who wants to do dishes?! :-) This is the perfect excuse to procrastinate on those!

I have Maddie in my lap, and she's trying to type as well. She finds the noise of the keys fascinating. I just finished nursing her, and I assume she's full because she just keeps going back and forth from nursing, to letting go. She turned five months on the fifth, and I am in awe at how fast she is growing. I just uploaded a ton of pictures from my camera (since the end of july! Crazy!), so I'll have to post pics soon.

Tessa is at Head Start until 3, so this is prime time to get stuff done. Maddie isn't into things yet, so it's easy to do stuff with her around (until she wants fed, that is!). I am working on my third week of school already. Isn't that something? I had a morning class and then I'm done until my 5pm class. Since I changed my major, I feel like a freshmen again because the classes are all new. But I think this semester will go quite well. I'm hoping that 2008 will be my graduation year! Let's hope and pray! I am hoping that it will be August, but it might not be until December. We shall see!

It's hard getting on track with a schedule, but it's already falling into motion. My schedule changes daily, so I have to be on top of things to know which kid goes where, which building I need to go, and which house to leave. It was very tiring and a little overwhelming at first, but like I said, I'm falling into a routine. I'm not working this semester, so that might be a good thing!

Amazingly, I'm still nursing throughout all of this. I pump every night before bed to build up a supply for when I'm gone. My longest days are Thursdays, which I hate (it all begins with a 3 hour lab in the morning and then I don't get a break until 3:15, then I have to go to my last class which is 5pm...craziness!). I have 3 night classes, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and of course Wednesday night is Bible Study. So my weeknights are packed. But I like being busy, so that's good.

Well, the dishes are (unfortunately) calling my name. I need to bake as well, so I should get going. All of this before I pick up Tessa at 3! Oy. Hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all! I've been reading, just not posting. Shame on me, I know. Have a great day!

Summer busy-ness

2007-08-07T00:35:00.000-04:00

You'd think that August would bring some downtime, but it hasn't and it won't! We've been ridiculously busy recently. The last two weeks of July brought Vacation Bible School as already mentioned, as well as our 4 year wedding anniversary and Timmy's vacation. During his vacation, I don't get a lot done in the way of emails, paperwork, or anything for that matter. I missed him that following Monday when he went back to work, but it was kind of nice getting back to a regular schedule.

August brings a birthday party, a cousin's wedding, doctor appointments, and finally, the start of school. I sit here, looking at the calendar with scribbles of bills due and important dates and I think, "Where has the summer gone?" I feel like there just isn't enough time in the year for summer...or warm weather rather. Soon we'll be heading into fall, which I will admit is one of my favorite seasons. But the weather gets yucky somewhat, and of course winter follows that and winter is my least favorite season. I just wish that summer could be extended for a month or...two...?

But, the Bible says that for everything there is a season...and what begins, must end...etc. etc.

I don't like goodbyes, let's put it that way.

So I'm kind of anxious about school beginning, especially since I'm starting a different major, and getting back into the classroom after a year (or more) is a bit frightening. I hope I can get back into the groove of things. Books, taking notes, studying, projects...it can be daunting, but kind of exciting all the same. I guess I'm even more nervous because I have a new baby...well, sort of. Can you believe she's 4 months old? I can't. The time is just flying, and I keep saying that but it's true! Maddie has her 4 month check-up this thursday...I can't wait to see how much she's grown!

Well, I got on here to post, and now I have. I couldn't sleep and I'm hoping this helps. I want to post more often, I just hope my two children will let me do so more than once a month! I've missed posting and have often thought of many things to write about, but other things needed to be finished. I hope you all are doing well and I hope to write more later!

Long time...

2007-07-20T12:52:00.001-04:00

This week has been extremely busy due to Vacation Bible School! Yes, VBS is upon us once again (and finally over tonight!). I say this every year: by the time Friday rolls around, I'm so glad that VBS is over! But I really do enjoy it. This year, as always, I am a teacher for the 4 year olds to the kids that have just finished kindergarten. I had 9 kids on the first night already, so we split my group and they were with another teacher. Even though we split the kids, I still had at least 6 or 7 for the rest of the week.

That group was so much fun! And they're super great to teach as well. They are so enthusiastic and whatever I threw at them as far as activities, they soaked it up like little sponges! Yeah, sure, they wear you out...but they are super fun! Tonight is the closing program, and I'm excited. It will be nice, next week, to not have to rush out the door at 5:30 and not get back until almost 9pm. It's been hard because I've had to do a lot of stuff during the day because I don't have my evenings this week. And the girls' bath times? ha! I've got to bathe them sometime today. They are so used to night time baths that this is going to confuse them.

Tomorrow we are going to an amusement park for the whole day, and as I was budgeting for this trip I was appalled at how expensive it is just for admission tickets! Luckily we will be bringing food and drinks from home so that we won't have to spend too much money on that stuff, but still! It's going to cost at LEAST $50 for us to get in. But, it should be a good day, and I will be sure to take a ton of pictures! I hope we don't get rained out!

Things have been going well, especially since Tessa's been home. I haven't taken her outside as much as I would have liked, but we have gone to the park and she loves it. Maddie is growing so much and I can't believe that August will be here before we know it and she will be 4 months already. I am loving being home with her but soon I will have to start school again to finally graduate in a year or so. I've changed my major shortly after Maddie was born to Child Development and Family Relations. I think that's a better major for me. Hopefully I will graduate in this century! Haha...

Next week is our wedding anniversary (4 years already!), and Timmy is taking the week off because it's his vacation time again! Unfortunately his company isn't giving him as much vacation time as last year (for reasons that are too confusing at this point in time), so he's going to pick up extra security shifts during the week. I don't know which days but it'll be sometime. Not too many hours, but enough to get him a decent paycheck! We're not planning on doing much because money is always tight, but it'll be nice to just relax.

Well, I think that's a good update for now. Tessa wants to get on the computer and play on PBSKids.org or NickJr.com...who knows. She's such a pro at the computer and she's been bugging me all morning. Now that I've paid the bills and blogged, she can get online! haha...Have a super weekend!

Tired

2007-07-05T22:18:00.001-04:00

I feel so odd today. I think it's because of the 4th of July. I'm telling you, it really messed me up being in the middle of the week. All day I felt like it was Monday or something. Oh well.

I'm pretty tired. Yesterday was busy, running around and enjoying the time with the family. Timmy had off work, so that messed me up even more. They had a bunch of things going on at the fairgrounds all day, and one of them was a pet parade. We brought our dog and she won for being the smallest. All the dogs won for something, though, so it wasn't too big of a deal. Not like an AKC Best of show or anything...haha.

We went to some cookouts with friends and family and then went to watch the fireworks later that evening. Maddie was asleep before the fireworks even started, but Tessa thoroughly enjoyed them.

Tessa has been going to Head Start (preschool), but tomorrow is her last day for a while. Since it's just a small summer program, they will be finished until at the end of August when the regular session begins. I don't know what I'm going to do with her being home all of the time, but I know I'll get used to it. I will be taking her to the park or just outside in general at least twice a week or more! haha...

This is such a crappy blog but I am at a loss for words right now. I must be tired.

TTFN