why...

Why do I get annoyed when people try to be nice? Why do I just want to be left alone sometimes? Is that really even normal?

The Best Christmas Ever!

Whew! We made it through Christmas and it was the best Christmas ever according to my kids. Hopefully it will erase last year's Christmas which was the worst Christmas ever. Boy, was it a long day. Jeffrey Michael could not stay asleep. He fell asleep around 10pm but then woke up every 15-20 mins from 11pm to 4 am. We finally resorted to a small shot of Nyquil. Yes, I know. Child Youth Services will be at the door before I finish typing this sentence. But it was necessary for his life. I think I would have taken it if I didn't get at least an hour of sleep. Paige and he woke up at 6 am and really had a blast. My husband went back to sleep after all the presents were opened. I had all the gifts put away and the living room cleaned up by 9 am.

Jeff woke up around 10 or 10:30 am and while he made breakfast I wrapped the few gifts that were left over for cousins. We relaxed for a little bit before heading over to my mother in law's house. Jeffrey Michael was so tired from not sleeping. By 8:30pm he was ready to go home and get in bed. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and trying to organize some key spots around the house.

Tonight, Jeff and I are suppose to prime the bedroom walls. The kids are going over their friends house for the night to do their gift exchange. I'd just like to crawl under the covers and sleep. I don't think I've recovered from Christmas eve. New Year's Day I just want to sleep in bed all day. Not sure my family would let that happen.

Have any of you made any New Year's Resolutions? I never do. Though this year I was thinking of trying but I'm not too sure how successful becoming filthy rich and being waited on hand and foot is!!

Holiday Wishes

I'm sending out early holiday wishes to everyone as the next couple days are going to be beyond busy! Hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends!

Why do I torture myself?

This weekend we decided to begin work on our bedroom. Why? Because I don't have enough to do right before Christmas. Seriously. We had a Christmas party with our friends on Saturday in which I needed to put together some dishes to bring. Paige had a birthday party and Jeff had to go to the dentist to have an emergency extraction. Plus we had a nice blast of snow fall.

Yesterday we had our friend come over to move cable wires. Didn't end up happening. My husband's drill wasn't charged and our friend forgot the brackets. Today will be take two. The worst part of all is that I had to empty out my closet and my son's closet so they could drill the holes for the wires. I left everything out last night and this morning I went to our closets 10 times forgetting they were empty! Ah the power of habits!!

The kids and I did start making cookies. As usual, the kids fought. And thinking back to their comments, I'm not to sure I should let anyone eat the cookies. From -"don't put your finger in the batter, you pick your nose all the time" to my favorite "i think my eyelash just fell into the butter." Hmmm tasty! I knew I shouldn't have tried to bake. The kitchen was dirty from dinner and I cannot stand to do anything with a dirty kitchen. But hopefully the kids had fun. They didn't make too much of a mess and I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up as they were mixing. My sugar dough didn't harden as quickly as I had hoped and so we left it in the frig for tonight. I have to run to the store to get storage containers. My lids disappeared!

Right now I'm listening to "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Obviously sung by a man who had nothing to do during Christmas but show up and eat!

If I don't get .........it'll be the worse Christmas EVER!

Every day Jeff and I wait to hear what the next "if I don't get this _______ for Christmas it'll be the worse Christmas EVER" every day from my son. I don't even know where he comes up with some of these items. Now, Paige is chiming in her own. Although hers goes back to last Christmas when Santa brought them a lot of clothes in addition to all the electronic items they asked for. She cried non stop as she opened each box of clothes and even when we saved the nintendo ds and games for last she was still crying. They both received all the things they asked for, it's just that we also bought them each a lot of much needed clothes.

So now Paige is very adamant about getting only a few - THREE and she means THREE - boxes of clothes. This means that I am going to have to find extra large sized clothes boxes so that I can keep her happy and fit all the clothes and new jacket that she's getting. Last night she also added that she would like boxing gloves and bag. She started going to boxing on Monday and that's all she thinks about. They work on conditioning and stretching and if they want to spar they can, but they have to be matched with someone their size and of the same sex. She won't be sparring forever as she's the littlest one there! Thank goodness for that. I don't mind her going there and exercising but even with all the head gear and gloves, I don't want her to spar. Unfortunately, she's not getting gloves and sparring bag. Hopefully her Christmas won't be ruined.

Last night I went to pick the kids up from church and while waiting in the parking lot I was able to watch Paige in her classroom. It was really fun. She is a very private little girl and it was fun to see her having fun with the other kids. I just wish that I could have heard what they were talking about. She's becoming such a beautiful young lady. I want to just freeze time.

Only a week left till Christmas. My kids are looking forward to midnight Mass. They love coming outside and seeing the luminaries all over the church grounds. Plus they are so tired they are usually asleep by the time we drive home!

Somebody please make it stop!

The shopping that is! Last night in less than a half an hour I purchased more clothes for Paige and some wrestling items for Jeff. WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE DONE! Take the computer away from me and hide all credit cards or paypal accounts. Though I have to say, I scored some extra savings from Toysrus by paying with Paypal and using their Bill Me Later plan. In two separate transactions I received $20 purchase using paypal and $25 off using Bill Me Later through paypal. These were unexpected but hey, if they are going to reduce my bill- why not. I used Bill Me Later two Christmases ago when I bought a ton of toys from etoys.com. They offered 90 days same as cash and I just saved the money I was going to spend and paid it within 60 days.

Jeff and I did a little shopping by ourselves on Saturday. That was suppose to be the end of buying for Paige and Jeff, but when I saw the deals at Aeropostale.com for Paige I couldn't help it. They had long sleeve shirts for $8!!

Almost all my items sold on ebay. I made $176. If only I could sell like that every week. It's almost what I make at work!! Haha!

Hopefully, we will get to start wrapping this week. I need to find wrapping paper for them first. Then we have to sort out and make sure there is an even amount of gifts to unwrap. They don't add up the number of gifts just the number of gifts they open up. So I can even it up by putting things together or separating things ie clothes.

A little breezy outside

The storm front has been slowing moving through the area and with it high winds. Right now the sun is shining as the snow is blowing in all directions. Crazy!

Last night was my son's Holiday concert. It was really cute. He had a line to say and boy was he mad! I told him he should tell the teacher that he didn't want to do it, but he said no. His line was "I heard the bells on Christmas Day" and boy did he say it in a monotone. No expression whatsoever! He asked how he did and we told him he was terrific! Usually he refuses to say anything at programs so maybe if he thinks he did good he will try to do more. On the other hand, Paige jumps at the chance to do anything she can at her programs!

My ebay sales are doing great - I've sold $82 worth of items with some items still going. I forgot how much I love to put things on Ebay. There are a couple things of Paige's that I would really like to list- but she won't part with them even though they are just gathering dust on her desk. I even offered to give her the money. I'll try again tonight to change her mind.

Jeff and I are hopefully going to get back on our debt repayment plan. He just sold 2 of his rental properties and as long as things remain the same, he won't have to worry about rents. The past several months were really hard for him as the two properties with mortgages were empty so he was paying out 3 mortgages a month. Now that he sold them, we can work on the few bills we have. He has one charge card with about 3k on it and we still have to pay off the suv about 8k. Then all that's left are student loans and our mortgage. We can probably get them both knocked out in a year and a half. The cc can be knocked out within 6 mos but the car may take a little longer. We've followed Dave Ramsey and Crown Money Management with a few alterations and it has really helped out. Next month we are going to start again. If I can keep selling on eBay
it would help put some extra cash toward bills, but usually I don't see this kind of quick sales only at Christmas time. Still anything helps!!

Keep warm - I know I'm trying to!

Oh- found this from Money Saving Mom - a how-to to make your own bows. I think Paige and I will try this out. Paige is always upset when I don't have a bow for present. This might solve that!!

My young lady

This past weekend my daughterer decided that she wanted to learn how to do laundry. You all know my issues with laundry from this post. So after I gave her the disclaimer about how I am very particular about doing laundry she ok'd starting off with the easy loads. She really did good making sure that she listened for the rinse cycle and folded and delivered all the laundry to each person's room. I had to laugh though as several pairs of my husbands underwear ended up in my son's room. When I showed them to her she laughed too. Guess you would have to see how tiny my son's butt is. I swear it's the same size as when he was a baby! I was really proud of her and told her so many times I think she was gagging in the bathroom.

Last night when I got home the washing machine was running. At first I was a little worried but she assured me she didn't touch the special piles that I had set aside. I told my husband that she is becoming the young lady I have been waiting for. OK, let's rephrase that. The young lady that I was expecting when she was only 2. No not me. I don't have high expectations. I don't want people to act the way I think they should.

She's really matured lately and it's nice to see. She still has outbursts with her brother and they still drive me crazy, but this little lady is a keeper.


ps - the young man that was arrested for child pornography- they were pictures his 16 yr old girlfriend sent to him over the internet. Charges are probably going to be dropped due to the fact that she admitted sending them. Pheww!!

Ebay and I are back together!

Oh what joy it is to have a camera again! Saturday morning I listed a ton of things that have been sitting around my house for months. The greatest was that several of them sold within a few hours!! It just always amazes me how so many people can be interested in the things I list. I am definitely not complaining because they will be out of my house soon. I'm like a kid in a candy store.

Jeff and I sat down yesterday during the debacle of a Steelers game and compared what we had bought for Paige and Jeff. This year Jeff is definitely ahead of the game by tons!! We tried to find out if there was anything else we could get her but we struck out! We scored a laptop for her. Nothing fancy just a basic model that she can write papers and go on the internet. If we keep it in her room we are looking into parental controls. Anyone have those? It's just so hard this year to find things for her. She doesn't want toys and though we got her everything on her list, it's still not much.

Well, I'm off to check on my listings and get some work done!

Brr!

It's cold! This morning I woke up to the sound of the garbage can banging around down our street. It was really windy and Jeff forgot to put the can away so I got up and retrieved it. I'm guessing my neighbors were thanking me as well.

It's so hard to be motivated in the mornings when it's so cold and dreary outside. This is the kind of weather that makes me want to stay in bed with the dog and sleep. Is it strange to be jealous of your dog?

Tomorrow they are calling for snow. My kids are excited. They think there will be no school. Haha! Usually this time of year brings wet snow/rain and it makes for a cold day. I am looking forward to school delays though. My husband still has to get to school at the regular time and me and the kids hang out in the morning. There's no rush and we chill out.

I've been reading my blogs and so many of you do batch cooking. I think I may try it out. Hey I even got my new camera and can put up pictures. If I wasn't so embarrassed by the state of my bedroom I would post the progress of our remodelling. But anyway, I am thinking of trying to cook up some things to have on hand. My only problem is my freezer is horrible to organize. It's just a regular old top/bottom freezer fridge. It has the one shelf and door shelf and it just seems impossible to keep things neat and organized. I had put large plastic containers without their lids and stored like items in each. Unfortunately my husband did not like that idea and dumped everything out of them. I used to have a side by side frig/freezer and could organize and store so much more on all the shelves.

For those of you with a top/bottom fridge- how do organize your items? Or don't you?

Bittersweet Weekend

Today is my first day back to work since last Wednesday. I did get some things accomplished- all of the wallpaper is off the walls!! Yah! Though at one point I wanted to give up and quit. It wasn't hard to remove just boring and monotonous. Jeff did all the high areas and I did the lower stuff. I had the easier task because I could sit on the floor when I got low enough.

We also got rid of 2 large wall mirrors that we had taken down a couple years ago when we remodelled. I had put them in our free bulletin flyer before but no one called for them. So I tried again and luckily someone came on Friday and they are now off my porch.

Of course there were a lot of things that I didn't get done, but mostly because I try to cram too much into a day. Yesterday I did nothing but a couple loads of clothes to keep ahead of that. We had a birthday party in the evening and then we watched wrestling till 10pm. I don't like the kids staying up that late but they had gotten into the habit of staying up late and so it was actually an early evening for them.

Last night I did get some disturbing news. Paige's friends older brother was arrested at his college for having child pornography. My husband and I are beside ourselves wondering if at any time when she was over there if he approached her. Jeff asked her some questions to feel her out and he is confident that nothing happened to her. The police said that they identified the youths involved but we aren't sure what their ages are. The boy is only 19 and it could well be that he had put pictures of his girlfriend who is only 16 on the Internet. Or my husband thought maybe he is gay and they are of boys. We aren't really sure at this time and my brother in law who is with the state police is going to contact the investigating officer to find out more information. The sad part is that they are a good family. The mother is a teacher with my husband and has been my friend for years. Her husband coaches the girls basketball team and was a counselor with high risk youths. The son was a straight A student in high school and is pre med. I hate to think the worse -that he is a sick pedophile - but Paige is not going to be allowed over until we know for sure what all the facts are. He uploaded pictures onto a site called Limewire and downloaded pictures from there as well. Because he is only 19 it may well be pictures of teenage girls and not young girls. Regardless, it's wrong and stupid on both the boy and the girls who let him photo them. But it is hard not to judge when you know your 11 year old daughter has spent a lot of time over there- swimming and spending the night. I'm hoping that even if he would have approached Paige that we've taught her well enough to know what to do. It just sickens me to think that anyone would look at my little girl in that manner. We yanked her off youtube for that very reason.

Well, because I was not told about this till late last night, I did not sleep very well at all and am very irritable and sad today.

Redo

Last night I forgot that we made plans to go out for wings with another couple and their children. It was fun, but around 7pm I thought I was going to fall asleep at the table. I didn't get out of the office early either so none of the things I wanted to do before dinner were done. Oh well. I do have to leave work early to go to a doctor's appointment and will get home early. Maybe I can do some tasks tonight.



My husband said something so funny last night I swear he can read my mind. We were heading out the door and he turns to me and says maybe we can get the wallpaper off the walls in the bedroom over break. I stared at him for a second and pulled my list out of my purse. He laughed when he saw that listed first! The best part of it is that he said he would help so we can get it done faster. Most of it is down it's just where my arm couldn't reach without a ladder that's left! Jeff said he figured there were going to be some things for him "to-do" over break. Yes, he knows me well.



But on another note, I was reading Denise's blog and she hit a nerve. HARD! Yesterday, I was going to post about the fight Paige and I had on Saturday and was too embarrassed. I feel like I am always fighting with her ( since she was 2!). She's very head strong and argumentative. But lately I've come to realize that 90% of our fighting is because of me. I come home from work and turn off. That's not fair to my husband and kids. My customers shouldn't be treated better than my family. Maybe I let it all out at home- all the things that bugged me during the day at work that I couldn't say! Regardless it's not right. And I am embarrassed to admit that I can be mean at home to my family. One of the tasks on my list is to figure a way to correct this. Any ideas?? I try to use my 30 min commute to decompress but sometimes it doesn't work.

Honey Do List Part 2

This week is a nice short work week for both me and Jeff. So of course I have to take advantage of the extra time and get some things done around the house. Not that Jeff knows, though I am sure he is probably aware that I will be asking for some work done around the house. Last night I surprised myself by cleaning the refrigerator after dinner. Why is that shocking? Because I didn't get dinner cleaned up till around 6pm and I normally don't tackle big projects like that so late at night. I haven't seen my refrigerator get so disgusting in a long time. Plus we just had recycling on Friday so I had plenty of room for all those unused bottles that collected and multiplied. One of my projects is to replace the gasket around the door. It is falling apart and since we aren't looking to get a new refrigerator, I'm thinking of just replacing the gasket. The refrigerator is about 12 yrs old and I should get a new one, but it's just not a good time.

But hey everyone, I didn't stop there. I had worked all day doing laundry as I got behind this week. The cross country team's warm up suits were turned in and needed washed. Because my husband knows how careful I am with clothes he asked me if it would be ok to clean them. He didn't want the parents to wash and dry them and ruin them. So in between running to the cross country banquet and Light Up Night Parade on Wednesday and Thursday, I washed and hung over 40 pairs of uniforms and warm up suits. Yuck! But now they're clean and ready to be stored for next year.

So yesterday, I worked on finishing up laundry and after cleaning the refrigerator I went up to my room and ironed and ironed and ironed!! All that I have left to iron are the clothes hanging from yesterdays wash. I have a short day today so I hope to get home and do my downstairs hardwood and vacuum the steps and iron the remaining clothes before WWE Raw comes on. My kids love wrestling and though I am not interested in it all, we usually watch it as a family.

My main goal over this break is to get the remaining wallpaper off the walls in my bedroom. Jeff promised me that we could get our bedroom remodelled over Christmas break if I get all the wallpaper off. And a new floor! The carpet is just disgusting. We definitely are going hardwood but not sure what type- though bamboo is high on the list. I want to go with blue and brown but I don't want it to look feminine. He saw a tv on sale at Target that he wants for our room. That would be nice because I iron in my room and it would be nice to listen to something while ironing and my clock radio has poor reception.

Jeff's running in a 5k Thursday morning and then we'll watch the Macy's Day Parade before heading over to my mother in laws for dinner. Then off to Jeff's aunt's for the Christmas gift name pulling and an early evening in bed. Jeff wants to hit Walmart for a trampoline on Friday and I'm sleeping in!

Anyone have exciting plans for this week?

New Curtains

Last night when I got home I went into the living room and decided that I can't stand those sheers any more! They were given to us free but after 6 years, they are falling apart. One panel is an odd shade lighter from the sun and of course when I took them down to wash them I put that one panel back on a different window and it looks horrible! So today I ordered new curtains and sheers. Jeff won't like the price, but with 3 large windows in my living room it's hard to keep the price down. Especially when you can't buy curtains as a pair anymore. I ordered them from JcPenny's and of course I can't get a picture linked.

I hope they go well in the living room. It will be nice to see good curtains instead of those old sheers. They've served us well, but need to be retired. The cat's snagged many of them and the stitching is falling apart.

One thing off my list- at least temporarily until I see if they match.

Tis the season

We all complain about how the stores push the holidays on us. Halloween for sale in July and Christmas in September. But I was really shocked Saturday when we were trick or treating and a house several blocks down from us was decked out for Christmas. Lights on the trees and wreaths on the windows. Really? It really looked odd in between homes that were completely covered in Halloween decorations and spooky music was playing. I told Jeff that it would be funny to ring their door bell and say trick or treat!!! But we didn't.

Christmas is going to be here soon and of course I'm marching to the beat of a different drum as I am trying to pare down and not purchase. Great time to decide to do this!! That's me. Although I have already begun Christmas shopping (I'm usually done by Halloween so I'm behind schedule), I am also looking to rid a lot of things in the home. I have a huge pile in the office, just need to borrow one of the camera's from work, and I get it all on eBay in time for others to do their shopping.

I'm not looking to completely stop purchasing things but to buy only those things that are truly necessary. Jeff wants me to finish taking down the wallpaper in our bedroom so we can paint and install a new floor. Our room is really horrible and in need of a remodel. I did purchase new sheets as our old ones were so cheap and made it hard for me to sleep. Since we don't know what color to use in our room I got a color that would go well in the attic that way when I do buy new bedding for our room these can go to the attic and replace the really old sheets on that bed.

The kids have made up their Christmas lists and other than Paige wanting a laptop, they aren't asking for much. I am pretty much done with Jeffrey Michael's list and now I'm working on Paige's. That just leaves nieces and nephews and teachers. I would like to be done by Thanksgiving so that I can try to get things needed for the house with all the sales. Our living room is in need of curtains. The sheers (that were given to me for free) are bleached from the sun and the cat made runs trying to move them to get to the window sill. Plus I'm hoping to get a nice camera. Too many pictures on the cell phone and I don't want to lose them.

Two escaped prisoners

This morning is a great example of how crazy life has been here at the Shaftics. I got up around 7 am to take my shower. Before I did my hair I thought let me feed the gerbils. So I go down to the office which is actually located between the first and second floor. It is part of an addition to the house many many years ago and it's right off the landing as you turn to go downstairs. I open the door (my husband put the gerbils in there because they were super loud) and my son's black gerbil runs up to my feet. I look at his gerbil house and there is a small hole where the plastic latch used to be. That would explain the noise!!

I grab Robbie and put him in the house and give him some food. Poor guy is more than happy to be there. I look around for the gray gerbil Matt and he is no where in the office. Great! The cat was in the house all night and I'm thinking if he squeezed under the door most likely Chester got him. I'm thinking there is going to be a body somewhere. Figured if Chester did get him then he'd take him to the attic or basement of which there was no body. By now it's almost 730 and I'm panicking that my son will be getting up soon and realize what happened. I run through the house again shaking furniture and looking in every crevice. No Matt! At this point I head upstairs and go into my daughters room to get a hair brush. What's that sound?? Could it be a gerbil under her bed?? YES! I pick up her bed- she was in my bed of course- and move it over and there he is. He pooped all under her bed but I can forgive that. I put him back in the house and he and Robbie are just overjoyed to see each other. But what do I do about the hole?

My son has been asking me for months to get a glass aquarium to put them in. He hears them chewing the plastic and has feared that they would chew a hole. He was right and I procrastinated about getting one. Not today! I called work and told them what was going on and after I dropped the kids off at school I ran across town to get one. I put them in it with new bedding and food and went downstairs to get a bowl for some water. When I came back upstairs only Robbie was in the aquarium. Matt jumped out!! Seriously dude- is living in this house that bad! Luckily he was over by the desk and I grabbed him. Okay- how do I cover the top? I thought I could tape some metal screen over the top but as I am taping he jumps up and holds onto the mesh and starts pushing the tape off. Onto Plan B. Gotta find something heavy and big enough to cover the top. As I am sitting there thinking, the one female gerbil starts gnawing away at the plastic latch on her house. Are you kidding?? Is this a mutiny?? I gave her some wood thinking she just needed to chew on something but nope, she wasn't interested in the wood just the small hole on the latch. And they say animals can't communicate!

I found a piece of plywood and put a heavy tote of clothes on top of that. Ain't no way that little 3 oz gerbil is going to move that. Just hoping that the girls don't chew off their latch before I get home from work!!

Rain and worms

Today is a wet rainy day and of course the worms are out of the ground and all over the sidewalks, driveways, and roads. So if you were one of my neighbors you would have seen me out in the driveway scooping up worms and throwing them in the grass so I didn't run them over leaving the house today. My kids laugh at me - but I hate the thought of squishing them!

I'm glad it's a rainy day. I have a million things to do at home and although I would like to put on my jammies and sleep that's just not a possibility. Well it is but then again the CDC would be at the door with the quarantine tape!

That's what you get for waking up in Vegas

Last week I had taken off for vacation. My intent was to relax and do some little things around the house. Well, intentions flew out the window when I decided to book a last minute flight to Vegas to go with a couple friends I grew up with. My one girlfriend turned 40 (she shares the same birthday as Paige). Not sure it was the best thing to do but it was fun. Unfortunately, all the walking around exhausted me though I did try to spend most of the days by the pool. We only stayed for 3 days 2 nights. Most of our plans were spur of the moment as we didn't plan anything for the days. We saw Cher and were lucky with getting seats right near the stage. I think I'm the only one that came home with winning money, but then again I didn't really play a lot.

Of course, I still don't have a camera and so I had to pick up a disposable. Not really expecting any spectacular shots but hopefully a couple of good pictures for the kids to look at. My daughter did get over me being away on her birthday. She raised a huge fuss and I almost backed out on Sunday. To be honest, last week was probably the worst week for me to go away as there were so many things going on. Monday I was suppose to take my nephew to the KISS concert in Cleveland. I got the tickets last month and we were both looking forward to it. Jeff stepped in and took him for me. Tuesday was Paige's birthday and Jeff had a big cross country meet and then Wednesday started CCD for the kids. Plus throw in the fact that my husband has to be at his school 2 hours before the kids start their school day and you can see the scheduling night mare that I had to work out Sunday before I left.

Being back to work today makes me realize how bad I hate this job. Full-time is not for me at all. Neither is the cold weather!!

Sorry everyone!

I am so sorry for not posting in such a long time. Somehow right before school started I came down with mono. Not much can be done for it but to try and rest, eat right, and wait it out. Unfortunately, I continued to still work my full time schedule and rest after work. Bad move.
I think I am actually getting worse. Today is a really bad day but I wanted to take a second to let you know that I think of everyone and try to read your blogs!

Back to School Slacker

Monday is the official first day of school and I'm excited to get everyone back on a routine. Only problem is- I haven't done any back to school shopping for my kids. I have been shopping here and there for my "stepson" who leaves for college tomorrow. What you say- stepson? Well, there is a young man from my husband's high school that we've become very close with and have taken him as our "stepson". This young man has had a really rocky childhood and when he joined my husband's cross country team a couple years ago, my husband saw a really good kid with great potential. Jeff worked really hard with him last school year and helped him get accepted in college. Jeff even found a lot of financial aid and scholarships to help pay for most everything. Plus we told him we'd buy him what he needed for school. So while my "oldest" is ready for college this Saturday, my other babies are not quite as ready.

Paige and I have been looking online for the perfect book bag. She likes using totes and the one she used last year is totally destroyed beyond belief. It was a free tote that I picked up from Bath and Body Works and she took it for herself. I've tried to fix it but it's not salvageable. She found the perfect tote but they were out of it online so I am taking her to the store to see if they happen to have it there. She only needs a few things to start out. I did find some shirts and socks for Jeffrey M at Target. He has a lot of shorts from spring that should still fit him. He really just needs shoes. I'm hoping to get to the outlet mall tonight to get things started. Me and all the other slacker mom's that wait until the day before school starts to go shopping!!

A Day At the Park

Yesterday was my big vacation. We took the kids to a nearby amusement park for the day. The weather was nice, the park isn't very big, and Jeffrey M was tall enough for all but three rides. We met two other families there and everyone had a buddy. There weren't even that many fights, though I did lose it at the end when we were trying to leave. Too many "just one mores" were coming out of mouths and I was all parked out.

Morning came too soon. Jeff Allen had teacher in-service today and it's the count down to back to school. I still have not gone school shopping and will probably only have tonight or tomorrow to do anything. Just too much to cram into this month!

A Working Man's Vacation

My husband is on his way home from Chicago. He left on Friday morning and will probably roll in around 9:30 pm est. We missed having him around, but not his messes. There were no piles of dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, the counters were clean and crumb free, and no one had to wait to use the bathroom. Still, it was quiet and we all felt something was missing.

This is the last week of summer vacation. Jeff jokes and says he's on a working man's vacation. I have no sympathy for him! I am hoping to get the kids back on schedule as they start class next Monday. Paige insists that I start waking her up at 5:30 am. It never happens! She doesn't go to sleep early enough and seriously waking up that early is beyond me.

Tuesday we are going to an amusement park with a couple of families. This is our family vacation. Oh well. The kids are excited and that's all that matters. It's suppose to be hot - thank goodness for water rides!!!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to....

Saturday was my birthday. And boy did I ruin it for everyone. I was in such a horrible mood- later found it due to that time of the month. But I just couldn't be happy or pleased. My kids and Jeff planned a whole day of activities that started with them getting me a bike. Of course I didn't like the style of bike and that just set the mood. I was excited and happy that they bought me it, and I tried to just pretend it was too big for me, but I'm not a good actress. Then they took me to play miniature golf. Not my thing and of course it was a million degrees. All I kept thinking was that I really wanted to be at the pool.

After mini golf they took me to eat at Quaker Steak and Lube. Except I really don't eat wings and never can find anything on the menu. My husband wanted to try the Atomic Wing Challenge and they were having some sort of festival. You have to eat 6 wings to beat the challenge- Jeff was only able to eat 2 wings. And the festival wasn't really geared toward children. So we came home and I felt battered and bruised.

Sunday Jeff really let me have it. He said it made him sad that they planned this whole day and I was miserable and they could tell. He felt bad because he spent a lot of time searching for a bike for me and he said I ridiculed it. I didn't. I took a picture of it and sent it to my friend. I had a feeling they were getting me a bike and I said to my friend he'll probably pick out the one and only style I don't like. And sure enough he did. It's a nice bike, but it's a touring bike and I wanted a mountain bike. It rides nice, but it feels like the wheels are too big and the handle bar is too small.

I feel horrible. I enjoyed being with my family, but I couldn't shake my bad mood. This morning I bawled my eyes out in the shower.

What is wrong with me!!!

Time off....

Taking a couple more days off from blogging. Need time off...be back soon.

Dubi-Dub's Back

When my son was little, he had an imaginary friend. His name was Dubi-dub. They were inseparable. We were all courteous of him, he'd only been sat on a couple times that we know of! But then we stopped hearing Jeffrey talk about or to him. It seemed he was gone and we all missed our friend.

A couple days ago, Jeff and I were alone in the car and I heard him talking. I thought he was talking to me but when I asked him to speak up he said I'm talking to Dubi-Dub.

Welcome back old friend!

Shaving,Weddings,and insanity!

Tuesday I woke up with a fever and horrible earache. I pretty much slept the day away and Wednesday wasn't much better. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into the doctor's until Thursday. It was just a buildup of wax and fluid and by Friday evening I was good to go.

Friday I worked a half day as my nephew was getting married on Saturday. On my way home from work, my daughter calls to ask me something. Luckily, I had stopped at the bank to deposit my paycheck and was sitting in the parking lot when I took the call. I knew I was going to hear something big when she started out the conversation-

P- Mom, I need to ask how you would feel about something.
Me- Okkkaaay???
P-What do you think about me shaving my legs?
M- Well, your dad and I haven't really thought about when you should start shaving or discussed anything.
P- Oh. ( Real quiet). I uh, shaved them this morning. I didn't get cut. Are you mad???
M- (Real quiet). No, I'm just surprised. I'm glad you didn't get cut. I kinda would have liked to be there to talk to you about shaving before you actually did it.
P- Are you mad? I'm sorry! Is daddy going to be mad?
M- No I'm not mad and I don't think daddy is going to be either.

After that I just drove home in shock! Her other friends started shaving their legs and I guess she felt she should too. I'm just nervous that she fell into her own little peer pressure. My husband doesn't think shaving her legs is going to lead to a life of crime, but it just made me nervous. I don't care that she shaved her legs, though I think this could have waited a few more years. It's just she getting closer to being a teen and I don't want her following the crowd and doing things because her friends are doing things. Maybe I'm just reading too much into this - we'll see.

Saturday Jeff's nephew got married. It was bittersweet as he was only 4 yrs old when we started dating and it's rather hard to see him grow into a man and get married. But it was a great wedding and a lot of fun.

Back to the grind today. And it's not looking good so far!!

You did what?

Saturday afternoon my husband and I found ourselves sans kids. We were sitting in the living room watching the Hawaiian Ironman and something in me wanted to go for a bike ride. Only problem is I don't have a bike. Jeff thought it would be okay if I rode Paige's bike and he would run. Yah right. First he had to add air to the back tire-completely flat when I sat on it! Then the seat kept moving around. Plus add the fact that it is too small and I couldn't pedal it very well, oh and then the torrential downpour about a mile into this great adventure.

Once back home and out of completely soaked clothes, I did realize how much I missed riding a bike. Growing up, we all rode bikes until we turned driving age. Even after getting our licenses, a lot of still occasionally rode our bikes. I'm seriously considering getting one.

This weekend our nephew is getting married. My husband also graciously offered our house to out of town family. Not that I mind, it's just that the attic is a complete and utter disaster. I would have like a little notice so I could schedule things a little different this week, but what are you gonna do? I am baking some cookies and have to run to the outlets in hopes of finding something for me and Paige to wear. So in addition to working full time and all, this should be a nice week!

I did get my office organized. This would have been a great before and after moment- if I only had a camera. I am going to swipe the office camera so I can get a few things on to ebay. My son came into the office and asked what happened in here? When I told I cleaned it he said - cool!

It's not all the way done, but it is a ton better! The greatest part of the whole clean up was going through the boxes of cards I have saved. I cleaned out a lot of them to send to St Jude's, but there are so many precious cards from the kids and my family. I know I am the only one that appreciates them, but I don't care.

Tonight after work, Paige had cheer practice and Jeff and I took Jeffrey Michael to the pool. The water was freezing, but it was still in the 80's. It was nice to relax for an hour till we had to get Paige and now I'm ready to hit the hay.

Rip Van Winkle

I came home from work yesterday in the pouring down rain. Seems to be a theme with the weather this week.

My husband's friend was visiting and they were playing golf on the Wii. Somehow, my son won! Bad thing about it was that dinner was still in the frig waiting to be cooked. So I got things going, but we ate so late. Then after dinner at 7:44pm I went to bed. And I slept till 8:15am this morning. Not sure if that was a good thing, guess I'll find out tonight if I can't fall asleep.

This weekend there is nothing planned. FINALLY! It's sunny outside now and I hope it lasts all weekend. Sitting by the pool would be great.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Al fresco dining and hockey

Last night when I got home from work, my kids were setting the patio table for dinner. Jeff had grilled hamburgers and we ate outside. Then we played a quick game of hockey. My son received hockey nets for his birthday and we improvise hockey sticks out of plastic bats and used a practice softball for the puck. It was a lot of fun.

As soon as the winning goal was made (by me of all people), the clouds opened up and it started pouring. We cleaned everything up and headed indoors. Paige had a play date planned for 6:30pm and they entertained themselves in her room. The boys headed out in the rain to drop off fundraising forms for Jeff's cross country team. Me and the ever shedding chihuahua headed to the couch and I started flipping through stations. I stopped on Lifetime to watch a new show called Drop Dead Diva and I really like it. I may have to dvr it since I can never commit to remembering the day and time a show is on.

It's been raining all day today and thunderstorms are headed our way sometime around the early evening. At least tomorrow is Friday and closer to time off work!!

Movie Night

Last night, my son realized that we were all home with nothing planned. So he suggested that we have movie night. We have game night or movie night during the school year and they usually get pushed out once summer rolls around.

We first looked on Comcast but with the storm outside the channel kept going in and out. Jeff took the kids to look for videos and I took a catnap with the world's most shedding chihuahua. When they came home my husband had a strange smirk on his face. He started off with this disclaimer- "Your kids picked this movie."

Hmmm. Now I'm bracing myself. Ok- what did we get? Paige proudly states The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What? Yes. You heard correctly. They picked out a chick flick.

I seriously have no desire to watch this. I'm not into chick flicks. I like funny stupid comedies. But I pretended like I really was excited to watch it and it wasn't all that bad. My son hated it and complained about 10-15 minutes into the movie. Paige LOVED it and snuggled near me and actually HELD.MY.HAND. I think that was the best part for me. I love to snuggle and hold hands with my kids but Paige fights me with this.

Paige just called me and said they were watching Friday the 13th. Are you serious? She called because my husband turned it off and she was mad. Big switch from last night's movie. And isn't it rated R?? Time to call the husband.

A-Ha Moments

I was wondering this morning as I drove into work about A-Ha moments. You know, those times when something clicks for you. I read stories in magazines about people having those moments when they've changed their lives. My husband woke up one day 5 years ago and decide to quitting chewing tobacco and started running on a treadmill. He hasn't stopped since.

How does that happen? I have moments when I might read something that really hits home with me, but not enough that it's changed my life. Maybe it's something that doesn't happen to everyone. Maybe you have to be ready for that life changing moment. It just fascinates me to read about an experience someone has that became the catalyst for their life altering change.

Lately, I've been thinking that I need mood altering. I am always in such a bad mood. I want that A-Ha moment. I want to wake up excited over a new day and possibilities. I used to, but try as I might I can't pinpoint when and why it left.

I've been reading Proverbs the past few nights before bed and a few verses have made me stop and think, but nothing smacking me right in the face. I need that! Or a prescription, though I've tried MANY and couldn't find the right match.

Have any of you had those moments? Was it instantaneous or over time? How did it happen?

Tourney Results

And they are not good. We left our house at 6:15 am Saturday to be at the tournament by 7:30 am for an 8 am game. The team we played did not look like 10 and under! In fact the 1st baseman had bigger boobs than me!! Paigie pitched great, but when these girls did hit the ball it was waaaayyy out field. Our outfielders didn't know what to do! The other team's pitching and fielding was comparable to ours. What did us in was how aggressive they were on base running. They slid into the bases and even tried to steal bases. We don't slide or steal bases in our league so it was really confusing to our girls as to what they were suppose to do!! Our catcher tagged a girl at home in the face because she didn't know to put her glove down to tag her feet on the slide. We lost but it was nice for the girls to see how other teams play. A lot of the teams we played this weekend played really good ball and hopefully the girls learned something. There may be one more tournament, but it's over an hour away and may be on the same day as a family wedding so we may be out despite Paige's pleading!

I took yesterday off to have a little extra time to catch up. It was so cold this weekend- jeans and sweatshirts on Saturday! I got soap made and brushed the animals. That dog sheds more than anything I've ever seen!! He's just a short haired chihuahua yet the hair comes off endlessly. I used to give him an organic supplement and he didn't shed so much. Definitely need to buy more!

Saturday night ended up really nice for the kids. We were able to get home early and everyone except Paige took a nap. My husband woke up and went for his run and I started dinner around 7:30pm. As I was cooking, I looked out the back window and saw a yard full of kids that I had never seen before. I went outside and my husband was talking to a couple of guys. They live a block down and over from us. They were walking and stopped over and started playing with my son. Their fathers came down the street to see what they were doing and started talking to my husband. Well, 10pm and several beers later, our guests went home. I had to reheat dinner, but the smile on my son's face was worth it. We had no idea these boys lived so close and they are only 1 yr older than Jeff. The one boy's sister is going to 7th grade and she and Paige talked all night. I hope the boys come over more often. Jeff had a ball!!

Today came too soon. I really didn't want to come to work. Sun actually came out today, but it is still too cold for swimming. Always a perfect day to stay home though!!

Wing Night

Last night after work, I met my family and another couple at a local Irish Pub. It was 35 cent wing night and $1 drafts. I had some appetizers which were 1/2 off if ordered before 6pm. Total cost for the 4 of us was $25 and we were thrilled. Everyone ate a ton and had a great time. Of course we had our usual pop spill-Paige bumped her elbow and knocked her glass over and it spilled down Jeffrey Michael. No one got mad or fought over it and I - imagine this- even laughed over it. I even tried a wing, but of course had to listen to the criticism of using 2 forks to eat it. One to hold the wing down on the plate and the other to pull off the meat. Yup - add it to my strange OCD, but I don't like to get the sauce under my nails.

After dinner we all went to our house for Smirnoff Lemonade Slushies. Tasty! Luckily we hung out on the back patio as my house is a wreck. It was so nice to hang out while the kids played. They didn't leave till almost 9:30pm which was a little late for me. I haven't been able to do any work around the house since Monday and so there is a lot of laundry and cleaning to do tonight since we'll be gone all weekend. I do have to admit it was hard to sit there while in my mind I was thinking of all the things I could be doing. Hopefully today my husband will at least get the dishes washed. Tonight Paige is skipping (although I think there is going to be thunderstorms anyway) softball practice to go to a birthday party. So that will give me time to get laundry and pack food for tomorrow.
Have a great weekend everybody!!

Thought I'd never utter these words....

But I got too much sun yesterday afternoon. Jeff Allen was running a few errands and my son was at a friends. I asked Paige if she wanted to go to the pool but she didn't. BOOO! So I put on my suit and went out back and found a sunny spot that was well hidden from my neighbors. It was so hot! I had Paige spray water on my back but it was so nice to lay in the sun.


Only problem was later last night at the baseball game, I started to feel yucky. I'm not sure if it was due to the sun or not, but even this morning I wasn't feeling too good. Hopefully it goes away as we are suppose to meet friends for wings.


Jeffrey Michael's team played last night and came in second. The team we played against has the worst coaches in the league. They really take the game seriously and want to play by all these rules. Our team and the other teams usually just let them bat around the order and most of the time we never even kept score. Not last night. I thought there were going to be fists flying between the coaches and the parents. I just stayed to side and videoed the game. One of the mom's from my team said we may need to use the tape for evidence if the police are called. Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence where I live. We've had parents arrested and now have a police officer at the ball fields - especially during the older teams games.

The boys were all thrilled to get a medal- though Jeff Michael was confused as to why it didn't say 2nd place. They were just a plain medal regardless of who won and so that really makes you wonder at the coaches. Is it just to boast their ego? Our coaches were really tired of all the arguing at plays and rules that we'd never followed at our other games. Plus the other team was mad that we called up T ball players. Seriously? These little guys ran their little hearts out trying to make it to 1st base but unless the ball was dropped they couldn't beat the throws or even out run an 8 yr old. Our coaches thought that we would have to forfeit if we didn't have a 10 man roster. Especially playing with this team. However, they showed up with 8 and just batted 2 extra if we didn't get the 3 outs.

One sporting event down, one to go! Then maybe I can get back to a normal schedule.

Another All Star

Last night when I went to my son's practice, I found out that it wasn't a practice, but actually their All Star tournament. Our team had to pick up a couple kids from the TBall league due to vacations and this being all last minute. So we had 3 little 4 yr old players. They were so cute. They kept getting out at 1st base because their little legs couldn't get them on base before the throw. Despite playing down 3 players our team won and we play tonight for the championship. My son is thrilled. Plus I don't have to worry about Paige's tournament this weekend.

I have a half day today and I'm hoping to get my rear to the pool for a couple hours before the game.

GO RED SOX!!!

An All Star Weekend

Paige was selected to be on the All Star team in her softball league. Last week we squeezed in practices between Jeffrey Michael's last few games and cheer leading practice. Seriously way too busy!!

This weekend her team played in a round robin tournament. It was really nice and she was the starting pitcher! I was thrilled and a nervous wreck. I swear I live and die with every pitch. I would rather her play outfield. It's just too much pressure on ME. I worry that the other parents and coaches are going to be upset if she walks to many or whatever. Surprisingly she walked very few - strike out a lot. They made it to the finals, but lost 5-4 on a bad 3rd out play. The 3rd baseman pushed our runner off base and then tagged her. I have it on video! But they came in second and did awesome. It was just a long weekend for me as Jeff went on his golf trip and so I had to pack up food and entertainment for my son. It was a lot of fun and we have another tournament this weekend coming up.

Last night our son's coach called to say he made the All Star team for his league. Practice starts Tues night. Yah- I'm guessing his tournament will be this weekend. I only have one video camera so I'll have to borrow one from somebody and then we'll play the who goes to what tournament game.

I took yesterday off to give me a day to get things done since nothing was accomplished Saturday and Sunday. It was a really nice day and we went to the pool all afternoon. I could do that every day. Jeff didn't get home from golfing till around 4 pm and he and Jeffrey Michael went golfing at the Par 3 course. Paige had cheer practice and then she and I hung out and played a round of basketball and we hit softballs.

The only bad thing about my weekend was my blood thirsty killer cat Chester. Paige and I came home from her practice and as I pulled up the driveway I saw my cat jumping and playing as he always does in the grass. I figured he was chasing his tail as usual, until I saw the baby bunny. Are you kidding? He has never in the five years since he walked into our home brought home or killed anything in our yard. I had Paige run into the house. I ran over to my one neighbor to ask him to get this bunny before my son comes home as I already had one screaming child. He walks over and just stares and Chester and the bunny. Ok. Your not helping. So I run into the garage and get my garden gloves and my other neighbor walks out his back door. I ask him to come help and he is able to get Chester off the bunny and as he picks up the bunny, the bunny starts to kick and wriggle. He wasn't dead. We walk him across the street to a wooded area and we check him out. He had a couple scratches on his neck and a gash on his back foot. He didn't seem to move his one front paw too well and we're wondering if it was bad before the attack. He didn't show signs of bad trauma or shallow breathing. He scooted into the deep grass and layed down. I thought about keeping him in the house to try and take care of him, but didn't want the kids to get excited only to have him die. This morning I did see him laying in the shorter grass so I am hoping that he makes a good recovery and no other cats get him. I think the worse thing about the whole ordeal was my one neighbor not even trying to help, just standing there looking at the bunny. Seriously dude, your a nurse! Thank goodness my other neighbor was there. It's not that I didn't want to pick up the bunny, which I would have, it was trying to get my cat off of it and getting him in the house. Plus I don't think I could have emotionally handled it if the bunny was dead. I just wanted it out of the area and was relieved to see it moving and looking ok. I am going to go look to see if he is there when I get home. If he is , I may just catch him and keep him. Wouldn't that be justice in Chester's blood thirsty face!

Holiday Weekend and Crazy Weather

As I catch up with everyone's blogs I see that everyone had a great holiday weekend. I spent all Friday cleaning and getting things ready for Sunday's family party for Jeffrey Michael. Saturday was nice and relaxing. We spent most of the day at my childhood friends house. She married a boy we grew up with and they still live in the old neighborhood. So many people that I grew up with still live there and it was so nice to see them. Especially the boy who grew up next door to me! I hadn't seen him in almost 15 years. He was like a brother to me.

The weather was so cold- only in the mid 60's. But other than that, we had a great time and then went to Jeff's cousin's house to watch fireworks. Then home by 10:30 pm. Yup- we're such party animals!!

Sunday we had family over for Jeffrey Michaels birthday. It was nice and hot. I tried to get some sun in between being the host. Tons of food and the kids played nicely. It was really quite enjoyable. Just minimal bickering among the adult family members.

Yesterday Paige had practice for her All-Star team. She was thrilled to be picked from her team and their first games are this weekend. Of course, my husband leaves for a golf trip this weekend and will probably miss them. And they're out of town, so I took off Monday as well. I need an extra day for myself. Plus I'm hoping it will be a nice day and I can actually go to the pool!!

Has anyone tried those Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets? I picked some up at Walgreens as they were on sale and I had a coupon. I've done a few loads with them and I'm not sure if I like them. First, the only scent they had was tropical- and that is too much scent for me. Second, I'm afraid they won't clean the really soiled clothes. I did cut one in half as I had a tiny load of delicates and thought a full sheet was wasteful. Anyway, I'm not sure if I would buy them on a regular basis. What do you think?

We have Rules.

I know it's a shocking idea, but we have rules in my house. Why my daughter thinks summertime means free for all living- I don't know!

Yesterday was my baby boy's birthday. When I got home from work- he and my daughter were over a friend's house playing. My husband and I took the time to run and get him a couple presents to have for today as we're having his party on Sunday. It was nice to spend a little time with Jeff and actually talk about things. Then we picked up the kids and took them to our favorite restaurant. Then we picked up our nephew and headed home. This is where things go wrong.

First, it was still raining lightly and the boys wanted to go outside. It was late and I didn't want a mud mess in my house. Plus we hadn't sung Happy Birthday yet. One disappointment diverted. But after we sung Happy Birthday and passed around the cheesecake (my son's favorite) my son decided to smash his face into the cake. I had been telling him no, that he could do it on Sunday but not tonight. Well, his cousin had been telling him to do it anyway and he succumbed to peer pressure. Because it was cheesecake, it didn't make much of a mess, but he still got it in his hair and thus needed a shower.

Then, as I was doing laundry and hanging my new shower caddy - SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT. I heard noise in my bedroom. The boys were in there jumping on my bed. My kids know that they are not allowed to play in my room. So my husband and I told the boys to play a board game or build legos, etc. Of course, my nephew didn't like any of those. Unfortunately, he is allowed to do whatever he wants as his mother works all the time and when she is home she lays around the house. There are no rules as it is easier to just let him do what he wants as long as she is not bothered. But that's not acceptable in my house even though he tries to get my children to play the way he wants. When my children suggest playing games and doing things they know are allowed he says no. It's always a struggle when he comes to our house.

Then to top it off, Paige's one friend also doesn't follow any rules in her house as far as using the phone. She calls our house late at night for Paige and we've told her numerous times to call before 10pm (summer rule). Last night she called at 10:45 pm and I nicely explained to her that it was too late and Paige would call her in the morning. That set Paige off! She cried all night that it was summertime and what does it matter..blah blah blah. My husband and I think that letting her talk on the phone till 10 pm is lenient. She's 10. What can you possibly talk about that late at night? This on top of the fact that the boys decided that running around the house up and down the stairs was a good game. I looked at my husband in disbelief. 10:45pm- you are to be in bed watching tv or sleeping- summer time or not! My kids are in bed by 9 during the school year and 10 in the summer. My son is usually asleep way earlier and it's my daughter that could stay up all night.

So again, I was not the Mother of the Year last night. And as usual I had to hear how terrible it was to live in our house. And my usual comment- you only got 7 yrs left till college- tough it out!!

Happy Birthday Bubbers!

Today is my son Jeffrey's birthday. I can hardly believe he's 8 years old. Bless his heart, this morning before I left for work he came downstairs and said he grew this much (insert picture of him with hand about a couple inches above his head). My children think that always grow on their birthday.

I've got a half day today- of course the day is cloudy and probably going to rain. I'm sure my son will have a lot planned for us today- with a little help from his sister!

I love you Jeffrey Michael. Happy Birthday!

Bored

Bored. That's all it comes down to. Bored with work, bored with blogging, bored with this crappy weather. I have nothing, no funny stories, no interesting ideas, nothing inspiring.

Sorry guys. Right now my life is dull- achingly slow. I guess that's just life. Not that I'm looking for any drama right now, just something a little exciting. I haven't even had any fun mail waiting for me at home.

Maybe this is the blog's version of writers block.

Swiffer Wet Pads w/Febreeze

Do you guys use the Swiffer wet pads w/Febreeze? I just used one on the hardwood and my feet feel sticky. Is it the Febreeze or do all they all feel this way?

I use Method floor cleaner and mop but thought I would try this for a quick clean up of the floors and not sure if I like it.

Keepin it real on Facebook

Last year I had joined Facebook trying to find an old friend. She came to our town after the sudden death of her mother when we were 12 yrs old. She lived with her aunt and uncle just a few doors down the street. We went to jr and sr high school and even college. But after I finished (she was in a 5 yr program) we lost touch. I knew she moved to Georgia but nothing more specific.

I figured maybe she was on Facebook and after sometime, she did join and it's been fun. Unfortunately, my sister in law also friended me. What could I do? At the time I didn't realize you could restrict what people saw.

Now I don't update my status a lot. But I do like to check out everyone and leave comments. Except a few weeks ago. I can't even remember -or find- exactly what I said, but it was something about my husband. I'm sure it wasn't too bad. But of course, my sister in law had to leave a smart comment on my wall which I saw in my email. I know. She is just sticking up for her brother, but honestly. After 21 years of being with my husband, I think I've earned the right to say whatever I want. I've been with him longer than my mother in law and father in law (divorced after 7 years), my sister in law (divorced after 7 years), and my brother in law (still married but they haven't been together as long as us).

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so bothered by it. I did change my settings. I don't think she will notice because I don't post often anyway. I love my husband and think he's a great dad and husband, but let's be honest. We don't get along all the time. I get on his nerves and he gets on mine. Sometimes you just need to vent and if I want to do it on Facebook too bad. It was very hard for me not to reply with a smart mouthed sarcastic comment. I just called my friend who also just went through this with her in-laws and Facebook.

I guess that's why I love my blog and that my husband doesn't even know what it's called or how to access it. This is my little domain. My relief channel. Hopefully I don't lose this too.

Doggie Bags

Oh, last night we took Jeff out to our favorite Italian restaurant. As usual, we had leftovers and as I was putting them together in the take-out containers (styrofoam) I started wishing I had brought containers from home.

But then I was thinking, would that be tacky? I am not sure my husband would be too thrilled if I whipped out a few containers from home. But it drives me nuts to be handed those styrofoam boxes.

Ideally, we wouldn't have any leftovers, but that would either mean eating everything on our plates or leaving it to be thrown away. I don't mind having leftovers and it saves me money with lunches at work.

What about you? Is it no big deal to use the styrofoam containers? Do you bring your own containers or is that bad?

Blog Catch-Up

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. No reason, just my own laziness. The weather has been pretty bad and we've had so much rain and tornado watches the past few days that it was strange to see the sun yesterday.

I finally took Paige clothe shopping. Despite 2 tops, she picked out some really cute clothes and I didn't have to do much side stepping. She was so excited because the Aeropostale store is testing children's clothes. She can actually fit in the xs adult t- shirts, but the children items were so much cheaper. And we had her ears re pierced. She had them done when she was 5, but the one hole was done at an angle and it was so difficult to get the earring in. It closed up last year, because she never wanted to put earrings in. Her other ear also closed up the past few months as well. This is the last time I'm paying for ear piercing. I hope they were done correctly this time. All in all the day cost $454. I didn't really give her any limits since we only shop twice a year. I did get Jeffrey Michael a new swim shirt and swim trunks and me a swim cover up. If we would've had more time I may have done some shopping for me. But I'd rather go by myself.

Yesterday, we planned a very activity filled day for Jeff. The big surprise was taking him golfing at a local 3 par golf course. I figured it would let the kids have fun and still allow Jeff to get some actual golfing in. Paige had a rough time with hitting the ball and was discouraged till the end when she hit it better. I still can't hit well, but it was such a fun time. My husband wanted to walk the course, but I talked him into getting carts. THANK GOODNESS. It took the kids forever to get the ball to the green and they would've never wanted to tote around their bags. I'd like to take them there more often. Jeffrey Michael swings really well and did hit some good shots. Plus I think if Paige had more practice she would relax and do better. Plus, we think she is left-handed with golf and we're going to get a couple of Jeff's old clubs shortened for her to try.

All in all it was a very expensive weekend. But well worth it. It did end on a funny note. When my kids were learning to talk and learn about the world around them, we expected them to go through the phase of asking us a million whys. They really never did that, and I'm not complaining. I remember my nephews going through that phase and driving us all kooky with the endless questions. Well, Jeffrey Michael is going through that phase now. I swear to you when I tell you he started his day with a question and never stopped! Everything that came out of his mouth was a question. ALL DAY LONG. By 8 pm we were so ready for him to go to bed. It didn't matter what we were doing, Jeff had a question. We kept telling him he was over his question limit, but of course he had no idea what we were talking about. I even joked about giving him some Benedryl around 7 pm to get him to bed. We couldn't take the questions any more.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Adult Education

SUMMER CLASSES FOR WOMAN at

THE

ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED

by Tuesday, June 19, 2009

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1

Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.

Meets 4 wks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2

Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Bitching About It for 3 Hours?Round Table Discussion.

Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3

Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate.

Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4

Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase--Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.

Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5

Curling Irons--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet?Examples on Video.

Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 6

How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program.Help Line Support and Support Groups.

Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7

Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?

Open Forum.Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8

Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT!

Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9

I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials.

Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10

How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.Driving Simulations.

4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11

Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield.

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12

How to Shop by Yourself.

Meets 4 wks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 13

How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy--Remembering To Take a List To The Store, Avoiding Separate Trips for Each Item Needed.

Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours...

Class 14

The Stove/Oven--What It Is and How It Is Used.Live Demonstration.

Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.Send this to all your guy friends for the best chuckle of their day . . . and to all your gal friends " who have a sense of humor ". . .

What class would you take? I am personally going to sign up for Class 12, though my husband may want to add a few courses!

I'm it! Well, not IT, just tagged.

Okay- I have been tagged. Simplelivin tagged me and I am going to try not to foul this up. I read the rules, but not sure if I will do this right. Hopefully this is not like those chain letters where devastating things will happen because I goofed it up! Here we go!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list the rules in your post. (?????)
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they've been tagged.

My Seven Facts


1. I went to my first concert last year when I took my then 10 year old to the Miley Cyrus concert. My 16 year old nephew thinks this is hysterical as he's seen every 80's rock bands in concert that have made the concert tour these past few years. I've promised to take him to see KISS if they put a Pittsburgh date on their calendar. I did have fun at the concert, but more so watching Paige's reaction.

2. My husband and I have been together since 1988. He was only the second boyfriend that I ever had or hopefully will have. He was 16 and I was 17 and I count those years when people ask how long we've been married. In fact, I always mess up the year we were married. Pretty sure it was 1997.

3. Related to No. 2- I had always wanted to get married on the day we went on our first date- March 22nd. However, the year it fell on a Saturday also happened to be Holy Week. The priest suggested March 8th and after a few days, I realized that date was the day when my husband first called me on the phone. I remembered this only because it is his nephew's birthday and when he called he said he just got home from his party. We had a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday at my wedding to my then 13 year old nephew.

4. I love to drive. I probably should have been a trucker as I will drive anywhere. I have a good sense of direction and often times will aimlessly drive around new places just for fun on my way home from work.

5. I am ambidextrous. I used to have almost the same handwriting whether I wrote left handed or right handed. I primarily use my right hand as life is geared toward right handers. This came in handy when I had a cast on my right hand for 6 weeks.

6. I have a memory for numbers. This is not good as sometimes I can't get them out of my head. I can recall social security numbers for a lot of people that I worked for and with. Not that I would do anything with it, but sometimes when I see them I say their SSN. Weird I know.

7. I secretly always wanted braces as a teenager, but was blessed with perfectly straight teeth. Same with glasses, though we all know that's changed!! Though my poor daughter just got her first set of braces off two months ago and last month got her first pair of glasses. Maybe it skips a generation.


My tags are the following:

• The Good, True and Beautiful
• Me in Millions
• TeacHerFinance
• ThinkMaya
• BeingMoreThroughHavingLess
• ThatBritishWoman
• WinYourBattleWithFinances

Can't wait to see your facts!

Update

I'm not sure if anyone else had this, but I could not log in to blogger Sunday and Monday. Anyway, Friday was the Penguins game and it was on every one's mind all day. Paige had a softball game at 6pm and luckily it ended by 8pm in time for us to head over to a friend's house to watch.

My son was so thrilled with the win. He didn't watch the whole game as there were a lot of kids to play with, but I did grab him at the last 2 minutes. Poor thing was so tired, I wasn't sure if he would even stay awake for the ending. I think he fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

Saturday, Jeff had an all day golf outing. Paige had stayed over her friends house and swam all day. I took Jeff Michael to the pool we belong to, but it was really cloudy and the water wasn't heated yet. He enjoyed it which is all that matters. The three of us hung out at home in the evening.

Sunday, we took the kids to the Pirates game. We played - of all teams- the Detroit Tigers. But it gets even better. Before the games several Penguins players showed up and they brought the Stanley Cup out onto the field. Jeffrey Michael was in his glory. He wanted to go down to get an autograph, but there was no way anyone could get close. My husband promised to take him to some of the practices in the fall. Hopefully, he will be able to get an autograph then. The game was fun, but it was so hot. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. If only the two day's weather was reversed. We left by the 6th inning because the game was taking so long and it was just too hot baking in that sun. The kids had a great time.

Honey do update- Jeff fixed my washing machine and the front steps. He said he was going to do a project on Tues and Thurs (his days off from cross country). Again he won't tell me what the project will be that way if he doesn't get around to it, it's no big deal. I was very happy with the last two projects as they were really the only ones that I wanted done immediately. He still has to put a final layer of patch on the steps which he probably will not do till August. Even if he doesn't, it is still better that it was!

Honey Do List

Last night I rushed home from work in time to eat a quick dinner and be off to Paige's softball game. Softball/baseball this week is horrid. There is a game each and every day! I am so glad I skipped Paige's game on Tuesday to do laundry as it is at least one thing I don't have to worry about.

My husband fixed the back screen door. At least we hope. The screw holes have stripped and won't hold a screw and although he will tighten them once a week, they just work themselves loose and the door starts hanging crooked. He went to the hardware store and bought longer screws and if confident that this will fix the problem. He said he also had a surprise project today for me. I think he and the kids are going to clean the house. That would be great. Paige still hasn't cleaned up her school pile and it' s sitting on the end table in the living room. If she would go through the papers and make a pile for the recycling it would be so good.

There are a lot of little projects that Jeff is determined to do this summer. I have some ideas for projects, but I will wait to see what his list looks like before I mention mine. Mainly, I would like the front steps fixed (replaced preferably but not sure if we can do this year) and my washing machine fixed. It leaks water from underneath when I do a load. Tuesday it leaked a lot since I did about 8 loads in a row. I was praying it wouldn't explode by the time I was done! The water runs out right in front of the stairs so if you forget, you step in a puddle! I can't stand that.

I am hoping to get home from Jeffrey Michael's game early enough to get all the clothes off the lines in the basement. I might try to get some ironing done but just pulling the clothes off the lines would be good for me. I've already decided that I am not going to get a lot accomplished this week and to just be happy for the little things I can.

Another dreary day outside. The clouds keep coming and we had a little rain last night. It's suppose to be sunny this weekend which will be nice. We're taking the kids to a Pirate's game on Sunday. This time I know I will get a Primanti's sandwich since they have a vendor in the stadium. Can't wait!

Last Day of School

Yesterday, I rushed to the greenery to grab a plant for Jeff's teacher. My husband had stopped home and so he brought it to the school on his way. Whew! Of course, my daughter came home with a boatload of stuff. She dumped it in the living room and then later my son came home with all his stuff. Uggh. I understand the desire to clean out and rid your self of clutter, just don't send it my way! Paige was in no mood to clean out her school bag and so I just left it there for today. I was able to go through Jeffrey's things with no problem. They both were excited to show off their report cards.

My husband got through his day at school and didn't go golfing. He said he was too tired. He did go running. I sat in the sun and fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt yucky. I stayed home from Paige's softball game and did laundry. I washed every stitch of clothes in the house, at least I thought I did. This morning when I went up to the attic bedroom to say goodbye to my husband I saw a pile of his clothes on the floor. Grrr. I totally forgot to check up there. I should have known. I ended up finding his dress clothes EVERYWHERE. I did 3 loads of his dress clothes alone. It was only 2 load until I found a stash of clothes on the closet door in the bathroom. But all his dress clothes are drying on the lines in the basement.

All the uniforms are washed and ready to be put away. I need to go through them and determine what stays and what goes. I put away the last winter clothes. I'm praying that the cold is over finally! I need to get more totes. I used to be able fit the kids cloths together but not this year. Also, my husband has collected a lot of sweatshirts and hoodies from cross country and track this year and they need a tote of their own! I have asked him to please clean some out and give some to his students and not to bring so many home!

As much as I love the first day back to school, I equally love the last day of school. No more lunches to pack, homework to oversee, bedtimes to enforce (though my son will still crash early) and no morning wake up battles. My laundry washing decreases dramatically as well. Plus, with my husband home I am able to have him do a lot for me.

Oh and the post I was going to write about yesterday. After work Monday I went straight to the ball field for my son's game. I had propped my feet up on the open window and fell asleep waiting. My husband came over and stood by the side of the car and we talked a few minutes before he brought Jeff to the dugout. As he was leaving, he patted my leg and my capris made a funny sound. They have a two inch cuff and as I put my hand in the cuff I pulled out a coupon! No clue how a coupon found it's way into the cuff of my capris or how long it was there. It wasn't expired yet. My husband got a good laugh. Although he said it would be better served if I actually used my coupons instead of carrying them around in my cuffs! Told you I was a coupon loser!

Another Mother of the year moment

I had planned on posting about a queer incident yesterday involving a coupon, but of course this morning changed all that!



Today is the last day of school and it's a half day for the kids. We are all heading out the door when my son asks me where his present is for his teacher. OH SHIT! Yup forgot. Last week was Jeffrey's last day at his enrichment class and I forgot to get a gift. Luckily, my next door neighbor had some extra potted plants so I stole one from her and sent him on his way.

Not so lucky today. You'd think I'd make a reminder note especially after what I did last week. No, guess I was relying on my brain. I felt so bad and told him I would drop it off before the end of the day. I have to rush out of work a little earlier than my scheduled half day so I can grab something and get it to him before school ends. I have really been horrible at keeping track of things. Just like my couponing, I have dropped the habit of list making and calendar scheduling. It's as if my brain is missing some key synapses. Large gaping holes of missing synapses. And everyday hearing my husband and kids counting down to the last day should have reminded me to get a gift instead of just annoying the heck out of me.

I just don't want him to feel sad or be embarrassed that he is not handing anything to his teacher today. I never want to see either of my children experience that kind of sadness. Probably, because I was that child that never had anything to give my teachers while the other children did. As an adult, I understand that it's the parent's responsibility to take care of those details. Jeffrey wasn't real upset about it and seemed fine that a gift would be there for him at the end of the day. Paige would have had a huge fit over it and cried for days!

Some day I will get my act together!

Edit- I had texted my next door neighbor that morning so she was aware that I was taking a plant. I just haven't replaced it yet. Heck, I still haven't bought my own flowers or vegetable plants yet!

Was yesterday Monday??

Yesterday afternoon just spiralled down to a black hole of craziness at work. It ended up with me being left in the office at 12pm on by myself. In my office, my main job is to prospect new business and review our current clients to make sure they are insured properly. I go through policies and meet with the clients to make sure they aren't over insured or under insured. I really like this because I find that many people do not know much about the insurance they own. I also am the financial person of the office and help people with auto and home loans and do a little with investing although I have to get my series 6 and 63 to be licensed.

I had scheduled appointments yesterday, but since I ended up alone, I had to quickly try to reschedule. Some people couldn't be reached and it's frustrating to be going over important information and have to stop to help others. Plus, I didn't get lunch as the girl that was there left for her lunch at noon and then didn't come back. I had some snacks to tied me over, but had planned on going out for lunch as a treat. Wrong day to decide that!

By the time I got home, I had only enough time to grab a bowl of cereal. When we got to the golf course, I asked my husband to see if he could get me something quick to eat while we waited. He and my neighbor's husband went in to get beer/coolers and of course he came out with no food. Ugg! There was no time to go back to see about food as we were ready to start the scramble. Let me tell you, I drank half of a cooler and was buzzing big time!!

Golfing was fun and I didn't do bad despite not knowing which club to use or how to aim the shots. God must have felt sorry for me and the day I had because I did drive a few shots that we used and chipped a couple close to the hole. We ended up coming in 4th place and they were all happy. My husband said he wants to go every Friday. We'll see. It's just hard getting a sitter and I missed seeing the kids all day. I can't wait to go pick them up. Two minutes in the car and they'll start fighting and it'll be back to normal!

My husband had another golf outing this morning and we're going over to my friends house to hang out. Tomorrow we have a picnic fundraiser for Jeff's school and then back to the grind on Monday.

OH- I just remembered. Last night I had a dream about my blog. I went online to post Friday's wonderful events and my blog said I earned $200. I had earned it for some post I wrote previously. But of course my inability to figure out the computer prevented me from getting the funds transferred and the redemption time limit expired. It was fun while it lasted!