Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year

I just want to say 2007 has been such a blessed year with so many changes and I am Thankful for (almost) every one of them. I pray for 2008 to be as good as 2007. Especially the last week. I could die happy right now. Well.. that is a little dramatic, but this has been my week: Going to movies with friends, going to movies with hubby, getting together with family, reading to my hearts content, deep cleaning (don't love that, but love the result- the office is really starting to look good), playing on the computer, playing with the boys, staying up till midnight (which I don't think has happened for many years).

So those New Years resolutions?
I resolve to maintain thankfullness for my blessings.
I resolve to be more patient with the boys.
I resolve to eat better and excercise (I know it's cliche but I really do need it).
I resolve to take time for myself, my husband, and my family.
And tomorrow I resolve to finally go to work and get ready for Thursday. The Christmas decorations are still up and that will just not work for anyone.

May everyone have a beautiful new year.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Turning a Corner

We've had a fun couple of days. Daddy had to work so Mommy got to do work around the house {and lay around just a bit:)} Wednesday was cleaning and errands. We donated ten bags of toys to Goodwill so we could make room for the new stuff. We still need to take about ten more bags. I also got to go grocery shopping by myself since sis was here to watch the kids. Yesterday we went to lunch and Alvin and the Chipmunks with Sarah and Jackson. The kids loved it, and Ben and Sarah got some snuggle time. Last night Daddy went to the Menards to buy some office furniture/storage solutions. I spent an hour last night and several hours this morning putting together bookshelves and cabinets, then cleaning and organizing the office and my scrappin' area. It's really starting to look nice. I'll post pictures after it's all done. We still need a couple more shelves and Daddy needs to sort through his papers. We went for our Friday night dinner at Stockholm Inn with old friends and thier kids. Nobody was too naughty and the kiddos are sooo cute. After we got home the kids played by themselves in their toy area for a looong time without any fighting. They've been doing that more lately, so I hope we're turning a corner. I love watching them entertain themselves. They both love to pretend to be characters and go on rescue missions. The lines Ben chooses to quote from movies are hilarious! Today it was "fire in the hole" from Chipmunks.
Tomorrow my Dad is coming to celebrate Christmas, so I don't get to go to my monthly scrap night :( But the kids are really looking forward to seeing Grandpa Scott. Joey is actually excited for Grandpa to open his gift from us. Love the giving spirit.

A story from Christmas: One of the first gifts Ben opened from Grandma was a pair of fuzzy earmuffs. As he pulled them out of the package, he said in awe "I got Boobies!" {He calls my bras boobies.} We really did roll on the floor laughing. Of course I had to tell the story the rest of the day and embarrass him, so he started yelling at me each time "they're ear plugs!" He'll figure it out soon enough, but I love when the kids say things quirky. I was sad because he has started saying Jack Sparrow instead of Chicken Back Sparrow. At least Joey still says "constructions" for instructions.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Joy

Yesterday after cleaning the house all morning Joey and I went to the childrens' christmas eve service at church. Joey was great- really into Jesus' birthday this year. Then we came home for Daddy and Ben and headed out for our traditional Christmas eve party. This is my step-FIL's family who we just adore. They are very into tradition, though. For the last 30 years they have always done things the same way. Same menu, smae order, same guests (pretty much). So I found out last night that a new food item was introduced about 10 years ago, but since it is not part of the tradition a few people refuse to eat it! Now, I love that they have such strong traditions, but really the sandwiches are really good. So funny. The boys loved the presents they got over there and so did Daddy. Joey got a voice-changing Transformers mask that Daddy just had to try on. I have to admit it was pretty cool, but not meant for adults. Silly boy. Then we went home, got Santa's cookies and milk ready, boys to bed, and I headed out to the 10:30 service by myself.... except it started at 10. Whoops. I still stayed and enjoyed the beautiful service, came home, wrapped the Santa presents, and headed for bed. Oh yeah, and ate Santa's cookies and poured out the milk.










Here's what we've been waiting for! Santa came last night and left the boys one big present that they asked for. Joey got a remote control dragon and Ben got a dancing mat. They were both super excited about those and all the other presents they got today. Lots of Pirates, drawing and reading stuff, jammies, and movies. We all had a great Christmas! Oh- the kids had to wait to open presents until after we fixed breakfast- the most delicious whole-wheat cherry pancakes ever. They were very patient and didn't even mind that Uncle Michael was a little late. Then we headed up to Janesville and my Mom's, then back down to Cherry Valley for the in-laws. Now we are home playing with our toys. Joey actually just asked to do his writing practice. After plenty of roaming the house with the remote control dragon of course.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. I hope everyone had as good a time as we did.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Ahh Family

We had our family Christmas get-together on my Mom's side today. This is the family where everyone hates each other and talks about each other behind their backs. Then they turn fakey sweet when talking to people, and everyone competes for best kid/job/most money/worst health problem. It's just very stressful worrying about who's saying what about me or my kids. Fortunately the kids were absolute angels today. I could not have asked for better behavior. They played together with the one toy in the house for a long time while we visited. They found a couple of grown-up buddies in a couple who were visiting and wrestled with them for a while, then Joey colored a picture for Leigh before we left. Leigh is a beautiful young lady who is in the armed service. She just recently returned from Iraq and is going back the day after Christmas for another year. So brave. Thank-you for serving our country.

Oops. Daddy just walked in and caught me blogging. Apparently he thought that the last time he told me to get rid of it I listened to him. Nope, honey I sure didn't. Kinda like you didn't listen to me when I said no on the moniter. I love blogging. It's my chance to talk about stuff and not worry about if anyone cares. Blogspot cares. That's pretty much all I need. {It's nice that I have some friends who like to check on me, too.}

So anyway, more about that family party. My Mom hosted at my Grandpa's house. (He has a big house- as he said to that visiting couple, he's "loaded.") My two aunts who have always treated my Mom like crap came late, ate, and left before we even had dessert. They made sure to offend my uncle's wife before they left, so she was upset the rest of the time. It was a great time!

Christmas Eve tomorrow. Should be a lot more fun with the in-laws. And hopefully we can work in church somewhere in there. Merry Christmas!!!!!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The Best Laid Plans

Today was supposed to be a busy day with get-togethers w/ Dad and sister and then with FIL family. Well, Dad couldn't make because of the weather and then FIL cancelled on us too, so we had a free day. We used it to do some major rearranging. Guest bed went upstairs to Joey's old room. His old bed came down to the toyroom to be used as a toybox/trampoline. Lots of old toys and stuffed animals went out to the car to go to Salvation Army. Now we are going to get a second desk and some shelving for the office. Maybe now we can be organized like we always planned. Maybe not, but we'll have space for everything. While I was cleaning out the closet in Joey's old room I came across a box for a 22" monitor. I figured he just saved the box from our new one, but when I went to move it - it was still sealed. Hmm. I just told him last week that no, we couldn't afford to get another monitor right now. So I took it down to ask him. Hmmm. Apparently when I say no, that means please just go behind my back and hide it. Grrr. We have spent sooo much money lately. Of course, him working 60 hours a week doesn't hurt. But still.
So right now he's out shopping for that new desk. He still wants to get a newer model of DVD player. And I was really looking forward to trying to get away for a weekend. Please come visit us in the poor house.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

5...

Yay! Vacation has begun. We had our three Christmas parties at school the last two days, and they were great. My little 3-year-olds sang their hearts out. And they have officially learned why it is we celebrate Christmas. I was blessed with many mugs of hot cocoa and some new ornaments for the tree, along with other wonderful gifts from so many families. I do just get the warm fuzzzies from being appreciated. Also when I got home today there was a Christmas card from one of my students at my old center. I was thrilled that are still thinking of me and miss me. I miss the family, too. And lots of other families that I don't get to see anymore. I hadn't let myself think about it too much, but it really hit me this afternoon what I had to leave in order to make the change to a new job. I hope I can go visit soon and have it be a good experience.

I have some prayers that need saying that could use some more power:
for Kari who just found out that her unborn baby has some health problems
for Kathie and Julie whose babies are recovering in the hospital
for all those who cannot buy presents for their children this year


The countdown is on for Christmas. I do not want to have to go to the store for any reason for the next 5 days. Unfortunately there is no food in the house. Ugh. Why didn't I think of this before Joey started his break. Now I have to find a way to lug both boys to the crazy crowded Walmart. Ugh. That's all I can say.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Getting Ready







Yesterday was pretty busy. It was Daddy's birthday so he got up early and went shopping - bought himself a new laptop after weeks of research. My sister came over to bake Christmas cookies so we spent the afternoon in the kitchen. The boys got to make a gingerbread house- hopefully a new tradition. It was kind of a fiasco - the pieces kept breaking and the kids couldn't get the candy to stick the way they wanted it, but they had fun and ate a bunch so it was fine. Then Daddy took the boys sledding. They were only gone for about 45 minutes, but they said they had fun. Meanwhile we made a whole bunch of different cookies and only burned one batch and one hand (mine). They look great and I can't wait to share them this weekend at our family Christmas parties. The one funny thing that happened was when we went to roll out the sugar cookies, we couldn't find a rolling pin. I swear I've used a rolling pin in my house before, but I can't actually remember needing it so we decided that no, I've never owned a rolling pin. We ended up using a drinking glass.









After all that we went to Daddy's Christmas party for his work at the Discovery Center. We only stayed long enough to see santa and play for a few minutes because we still needed to eat dinner. Oh, and they gave the boys each $10 gift cards for Toys R Us. That was nice. So then we drove over to Chili's for dinner. {I forgot to mention we were doing all this in the middle of a pretty good snowstorm.} Daddy was super excited to get to use the 4 wheel drive in his truck while we all hung on for dear life.




This morning we got up and started doing some major cleaning in the basement in preparation for the new TV coming in. Our office area is just despicable, but I got some of that cleaned and the TV area organized. Daddy went out for some containers, I thought, but was gone for four hours. My sister helped clear the driveway that we hadn't shoveled yet this season, and then she helped me carry the old entertainment center up to the garage. She certainly earned her keep this weekend, I'm sure she was very excited about getting to sleep in at our peaceful house this morning :).
I have two more days of school before the Holidays- and three Christmas parties. I'm looking forward to them, though, because the kids are just so excited. Tomorrow I have to get some gifts for just in case someone forgets about the gift exchange.
Okay- funnies: Ben said "Mommy, I can speak Spanish. Listen." He leaned in to whisper in my ear: "Ssspanish."
Joey was thinking about where all the helium balloons have gone that they have lost to the sky. He said: "maybe they went up to the planet that has rings around it and when the planet spun around it popped them. Or maybe they flew all the way to Pluto!"

Thursday, December 13, 2007

A Regular Thursday

I'm sitting here staring at the blank blogger because I don't know what to write about, so I'll write about nothing. I don't want to write about how I've been feeling because I'm tired of whining. Hopefully soon I can just write about how much better I'm doing. I don't want to write about how busy we've been because I think we're all pretty busy with the holidays. I will say that I had my final at school tonight and am glad that's done. I don't want to write about finishing up Christmas shopping because ugghh I don't even want to think about it. I know. I'll work on my grateful list.
I am grateful for beautiful Christmas music, religious, secular, country, Manhattan Steamroller, all of it.
I am grateful for Christmas parties. For that time to get together with people who we don't get to see very often.
I am grateful for snow. It helps when there is not much sun to brighten up the world.
I am grateful for the story of Jesus' birth. Isn't it the most beautiful story? I have been teaching it to 45 three year olds for the last few weeks and I've got that baby down. We have read so many great books about the nativity.
I am grateful to get to teach the Christmas story to 45 three year olds.
I am grateful for people who are always happy. They show me what I want to be.
I am grateful for being invited to a scrapbook weekend. I am sooo looking forward to getting away for a whole weekend.
I am grateful for friendly strangers.
I am grateful for book sales. I love books!
I am grateful for blogs. What would I do if I couldn't do this?
I am grateful for the weak ice storm we had- beautiful trees, not scary streets.
I am grateful for having so many things to be grateful for. There is nothing to be sad about!

Monday, December 10, 2007

L-A-Z-Y

Recovering from the laziest weekend ever today. Saturday the boys and I never even left the house. I think I took three different naps. Accomplished nothing. Sunday I at least went to the grocery store, and got myself one present- a scrapbooking tote filled with goodies. And when I got home we got our Christmas picture done. We managed to all be in it this year thanks to the handy timer on my new camera. Have I mentioned that I love my new camera? Today neither Ben or I is feeling the best. Ben woke up croup-y again. Poor thing has the cutest little hoarse voice, though. And me, well let's just say I have a Dr appt. on Thursday. We'll go from there.

I called Parker Center about getting Ben screened today. They can't even screen him until June, so obviously no spot for him this year. If anyone has a solution for me, I'd love to hear it.

I'm almost done Christmas shopping- just gift cards and some stocking stuffers left, yay!

If anyone is interested in Once Upon A Family for Christmas, I'm putting in an order tomorrow. I'm offering free shipping, and there are several things on sale. Just let me know if you want anything. Thanks so much.

Ice storm tomorrow- we are really having quite a winter already! Be safe.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Changes

Yesterday I had to do a group presentation in my class, and I actually was hardly nervous at all! If I had done that a year ago I would have been sick to my stomach. I have made so many changes this year and stepped outside my comfort zone in so many ways that I almost feel like I could do anything right now. Almost. Still not really about confrontation and would rather not jump off a tall building, but other than that...

Speaking of growth, I signed up my second new consultant today! I'm very excited to be building a team and hopefully this will help motivate me to get my own sales going.

In the not so good department, Ben has been having a really hard time in preschool with me as his teacher (at least that's what I tell myself). I think my next step is to get him screened at Parker Center and see if we can get him into an every day class where there is no Mommy around. It's kind of unbelievable to me that I actually want something to be wrong enough to get him into a special needs school {ooh it hurts me to put that into words}, but right now I feel like he needs more than I can give him.
So I'll update on that dilemma as I have news- I haven't even told hubby about my thoughts yet. Of course we're not really speaking right now so that will be difficult...
But that's a whole nother story for a different mood.

More snow this weekend, more snow Tuesday. Yippee.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Cont...




Ok here we are. I managed to get Joey out in the snow for a few minutes before dark, and I took a pic of new cam with old cam. Joey sure did throw snow right down my shirt. That was pretty much the end of that.

Camera Details

I guess I need to take a picture of my new camera with my old camera. It is Kodak ZD710 with 10x optical zoom and 7.2 megapixels. It was on sale at Walmart after Thanksgiving for $149. I just can't convince myself to do anything other than Kodak because I've had good luck with them (aside from gettting one stolen). I want to take the kids out in the snow and take pics, but Ben is sleeping right now. Look for those soon, since the snow is apparently not going away. 2-4 more inches tomorrow night on top of the 5 or 6 from last night. I was the one that said I wanted a good snow storm.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

New Camera



Got my new camera today so I just snapped some shots of the boys. The pics are so clear! Love my present:) {The one of Ben he is telling me "No!" because he doesn't want his picture taken. Joey wanted me to take about 30 more of him.}
On another note, tonight was supposed to be bunco night, but I got snowed in. I'm so sad to have missed my girls night out. Everyone else was braving it, but Poplar Grove was a bit far for my slightly not adventerous self.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Shopping

I'm finally getting some Christmas shopping done. I made a list and there are only 23 people on it this year. We've cut back:) So today I went on the Discovery Channel Store website and ordered all the kids and my Dad's gifts. {He's a kid at heart} I love toys that are at least a little bit educational. Joey has been asking for a remote control dragon, so Santa got him that. And Ben is getting a dance/jump mat with music. I'm hoping for a little energy burn. Now I have to go find webkinz for Cousin Julia and something for all the grownups. I'm thinking about trying to make jars again this year. A couple years ago I made cookie jars. This year maybe dips. Now that I have scrapping supplies I can even dress them up a little better.
I also did some cleaning today- scrubbed the top of the stove (not the burners, that shelf up there) because it was really dusty. Laundry is caught up, the kids straightened up their room, and the TV area downstairs is neat.
Now I need to go make dinner. We've been experimenting since hubby started his diet and discovered that pesto chicken is yummy, and diced tomatoes with whole wheat pasta isn't so bad either. Better than frozen pizzas and TV dinners.

Gotta go. Later.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Let it Snow


Is everyone enjoying the weather? It is just awful out there. If you're not here in town, it started snowing at about 11, changed to sleet/ice by about 1, and is now just pouring freezing rain. The TV has gone out a few times and now they are saying that power outages are a distinct possibility. Yuch! I like a good snowstorm, but this is not it.


Have I mentioned that I finally set up an ebay account? Not a good idea! I first set it up to try to get Brad Paisley tickets, but now I've discovered many fun things. I won a Dad's garage scrapbook set, and I got a musical instrument for school. I can spend hours shopping, mostly for stuff I do not need! How 'bout some shoes? Or kid's clothes? Or maybe books? It's not even that good of deals. Especially after shipping. Oh well, it's fun. Like those new commercials.
This new diet is killing me. Hubby is losing weight and I'm gaining! Maybe because I fall off the wagon every time he is not around. Come on! No french fries, no bread, no sweets, lots of meat and veggies. I think pretty much everyone who knows me knows I hate veggies. Gag. So I really need to get back to working out. But I don't wanna (insert whiny voice here). I just have had no motivation, and I hate waiting 2 months before I see any results.
Tomorrow is Ben's fun fair at school. He is very excited that we are going to his school and not Joey's for this. He asked me several times. "Is it at Joey's school?"
"Nope, your school."
"Does Joey get to come?"
"Yes"
"At Joey's school?"
"No, your school."
"Me and Joey and Mommy and Daddy?"
"Yes"
"Going to Joey's school?"
And on and on. I think he finally got it, but it was rally something to see him try to wrap his head around it.
Okay, I'm going to try to do some reading tonight. Hope the weather gets better and everyone gets through it safe and sound.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Small Scare

Had to go buy a pg test at the Walgreens tonight. For some reason my period has been super regular, so I know right away when I'm late. Well, the test was negative, but it really got me thinking again. I miss holding my babies. I actually miss nursing in the middle of the night. The cute little baby outfits. The big belly. That first smile. And maybe I do still want a girl. I've been telling myself and everyone else I was done, but I was a bit dissappointed when there was only one line on that stick. But the rational side of me says what would I do for work? And where would the carseat fit? And Ben's already an attention hog, how would he react? And we can't afford it. And.... I just keep picturing that little baby in my arms. Oh dear. Now what? Someone else close to me better have a baby soon so I can get my fix, or we're in big trouble. I think Daddy would give me the go ahead, which is even scarier. And what about my depression? That's been a battle of late. So I think I'll try to find a baby to hold and not make one of my own for right now. The timing really isn't what I want, so it's for the best.

So I need to be thankful right now for what I've got. I'm thankful for school being almost done. I'm thankful for being able to wear green shoes. I'm thankful for cars that work. I'm thankful forboys who clean up the first time I ask. I'm thankful for all the support I recieve from everyone. Thank-you

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Real Quick

Ok I need to get to bed, but I wanted to record this so I don't forget. We were waiting in the truck tonight while Daddy ran in to the pet store to buy dog food. Ben was talking in the backseat and said "Mommy, last time daddy got dog food at the other store I was awfully, awfully naughty."
"What happened?"
"I was just awfully mad."(except he has a southern accent so he was ma-ad)
Well. My three year old is apparently now 14. I guess he knows when he is naughty, just not how to stop.

Oh. And Joey thinks I'm one thousand and nine years old. But Daddy is 30. What the heck? Daddy thought that was sooo funny. He had to point out that it must be because of my hair.
Grr.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Welcome



Check it out! I went to Michael's today and got this sign, painted it, and put my UL welcome on it. Then I didn't have any way to hang it so it is propped in the window. SO cute. I even distressed it. So proud of my creativity. And now I want even more from UL.

Sunday, November 25, 2007







All right, the blogger is driving me nuts. I realize now why I don't put pictures in very often. Now I'm doing another post to see if I can make it work the way I want.


Ok- we got decorations up so here are a couple pics of that.


And here are some adorable pictures of my adorable boys (if I do say so myself)

Well it still won't work, but hopefully you get the jist.

More Fun


I got my uppercase living tonight and had to run home and get at least one up. It looks so great in the kitchen. Now we are going to get our family picture taken and then put a black and white under this. I love it. I'm going shopping tomorrow for some backgrounds for 2 of my other ones, and I can't wait to give my gift one. SHH.


I just found this on my camera. Bonus points to Daddy for taking pics while hunting.

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey

We got home late last night from all our Thanksgiving travel. We had a great time and nobody got hurt. Thursday we went to Aunt Nancy's. It was a small crowd this year as other families take turns with their in-laws, but the food was delicious and the boys had kids to play with. Thursday night and Friday morning Bill went shopping for Black Friday deals. He was really wanting a good laptop deal so he camped out at Comp USA from 2 am, but unfortunately he was behind 2 too many people to get it. He bought some other small stuff and came home for a nap. Then we headed up to Janesville to my Mom's. She has a Golden Retriever puppy named Gus. He is huge and eats everything. The kids loved it, and Ben did not have an asthma attack with his new meds. YAY! I'm so happy to not have to worry every time we go somewhere. Another yummy meal and then Nana was ready for us to leave. (I think she is used to her peace and quiet, which my boys do not relate to.) We drove 3 hours up to my Dad's and spent some quality time there. They live in such a small town (pop 300), that they were able to take us down to the local restaurant and introduce us to their friends who happened to all be there too. We stayed the night and I got to listen to the trains go by every twenty minutes (that's the other thing- they live right next to the train tracks). Saturday morning we got up and Dad had to go ref some basketball games so we went to the next town (pop 4000) to go to the library and a movie. The library so I could research my Dad's wife's first husband's family for her kids. {Sounds kinda weird, but he died and the kids are interested so I'm doing it.} And we had to stop at Cabela's, but it was tiny compared to the new one in Hoffman Estates so we just stayed for a minute. On the way back we stopped at Walmart hoping to still find a laptop deal, and I've had my eye on a new camera. No purchases there, but when we got back to Dad's house dear hubby got on the computer and ordered my camera for me. I can't wait- 7.2 megapixels and 10x optical zoom here I come. It also has anti-shake so I hope for less blurry pictures when I'm in a hurry. One more yummy turkey dinner and we were on our way home. Got home about 11, hubby went back online to try to find his computer, went to bed and got up this morning to try to find his computer. Still looking. Cyber Monday is tomorrow. Wishing him luck.
So now that we were out of town, I only have today to get Christmas decorations up. The kids have been begging to get them out, so that is what we will be doing all day (along with a quick trip to the grocery store- we have no milk).

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Friends and Family

We won't discuss how day 2 of Open House went. Let's just leave it at not well. I did meet two people who I formed a quick relationship with, which was very unlike me. Charlsanne was selling Stampin' Up and has the most friendly 11 month old I've ever met. She just kept reaching for me to hold her. I told her she makes it very hard to resist those "I want another baby" thoughts. And Deanna sells Southern Living, but really "got" Once Upon A Family. How can I not be friends with someone who loves OUAF as much as I do. She is having a party in January and I am really looking forward to it.

Today was my one day of work this week, and the kids were a bit crazy. THe Holidays really do affect them as much as us. Or maybe it's because our minds are elsewhere the day before vacation. This year we are only having one Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, with Bill's family. Then my Mom on Friday in Janesville. From there we go to Dad's in Prairie du Chein. Looking forward to getting together with everyone. I have been appreciating family more lately (especially since we've all been getting along), and can't wait to see what everyone has been up to. I'm really looking forward to some Pumpkin Pie! I hope it is as good as I've been anticipating.


Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Open House

Yesterday was day one of my open house at some model homes. I've not been having too much luck so tried not to set myself up for disappointment, but I actually did OK considering. Considering NO ONE come. Considering I was in the last house and by the time they got to us they were out of time and money. Considering I had a Mary Kay lady next to me who was very aggressive. She would even keep trying to make a sale when the customer had moved on to my area. ARG. So other than that- I sold a Family Tree Poster that I had been carting around for months, I booked two parties (except one is that Mary Kay lady), I moved one customer/fellow direct salesperson to tears {love that}over Letters To My Dear Sweet Child, I got a ton of reading done between customers, and I did meet several very nice people. Sarah's friend Amy is great. She was very sympathetic about my "issues" and stopped by a couple times to check on me. Today is a new day. We're hoping for more customers with the better weather, and the Mary Kay lady will not be there. Phew. It is very difficult for me to be pretend nice to someone who is driving me nuts. Oh, and I will be eating something before I leave. Yesterday I went from 8 to 4:30 without eating. Talk about headaches.

PS Joey has gone out with Daddy morning and evening the last 2 days and is out there again right now. They've seen 18 deer (Joey's keeping count) but so far nothing to bring home. Daddy had a chance at a doe yesterday, but now Joey is saying he only wants a buck. Hmm. That might make things a little more difficult.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Etc.

I think the sick bug hit our house. Ben was running a fever last night. He woke up cool this morning, but he has been wheezing pretty bad. Probably has an ear infection. He is sleeping right now, which is pretty unlike him, so we'll just rest tonight and hopefully it won't get worse than this.

Joey went hunting with Daddy this morning. No deer:( They saw a couple but they were on someone else's property and for some reason wouldn't come over close enough. They are going to try again tomorrow afternoon. Joey did really well. He got up at 4:30 this morning and was excited even though his little eyes were still puffy. His fingers got a little cold, but other than that he was a trooper sitting up in that tree stand. He even took a little nap. Then he still had to go to school this afternoon. I wonder how that went. :)

Tomorrow is my Open House at a model home with several other vendors. They advertised in the paper and we all handed out fliers, just like mine. I just hope the turnout is better. I'm going in with a positive attitude. People will want to buy. My products are beautiful. Christmas is coming and they make great gifts. Family is important. People will want to buy. Or book shows. Or join the company.

Tonight is the Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Rodney Adkins concert. I'm real sad we won't be there. I actually tried bidding on some tickets last night on ebay, but got outbid. Boo-hoo. Man, I really wanted to go to that!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Not one of my better days

I try not to complain. Life is usually actually pretty good, and I'm not having an episode or anything, but today has not been good. First I got up this morning and my throat was sore and flegmy (ok I don't know how to spell that or even if it's a word). I remember coughing last night so I'm sure I didn't sleep well. Got the kids up and got ready for work. Ben goes with me today so I had to get him ready, too. At school today we were making totem poles, which was fun for the kids, but a mess for me. It involved squirting liquid watercolors into empty bottles and of course at some point I squirted blue all over one of the few pairs of pants that I like right now (they used to be green). Whatever. Then the kids just destroyed the room so we had early clean-up time. I bent over to put something on the floor and stood up right into the corner of the cabinet door. Ouch. Oh ouch. So I'm just standing there holding my head with my eyes watering and noone notices. For like a whole minute. Finally one of the kids looks at me and says "What happened?" I said I hurt myself but they had already walked away. We're going to work on empathy next. Then today was my hair appointment, which is usually a cause for celebration, but not when you have a big lump on your head. And tomorrow is the Brad Paisley concert and we do not have tickets for the sold-out show. Real sad about that. So today is just one of those days. Right now I'm typing this when I should be playing with my kids who are pounding each other. GGRRRR.

Lets see, do I have anything positive to report? Nope, don't feel like it right now. Hope everyone is having a better day than me.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Updates

Apparently I forgot to let everyone know that yes, indeed the flood was cleaned up and taken care of in the basement. The problem was the same as 5 years ago (the day we got home from the hospital after having Joey). The tree roots in the front yard start growing down in the pipes and eventually cause a clog. The roto-rooter guy put the scare in Bill at first saying that it was going to cost alot of money and take alot of time and effort. He did end up having to go down the manhole in the street, but it wasn't as bad as anticipated. He got done in a couple of hours, and $135 later he was out the door. He did warn us that getting it cleaned out every 2 to 3 years is better than waiting 5 years between visits. Catastrophe could have been avoided. Hopefully we'll remember that before next time.

And I did finally talk to the owner of Swanson's. He was a bit defensive, didn't offer to make things better, and told me that the person would not be getting in trouble but he would be sure to "handle it." That wasn't good enough for me, so we will not be shopping there. We looked in consumer reports and they recomended the Eureka Boss Smartvac, so that's what we got. So far it seems great. Lots more attachments than I'm used to.

Okay two posts in one day is more than enough. Oh wait, I need some gratitude:

I am thankful for the world wide web, for my new good friends at WBCGS, for bonuses, and for naughty children other than my own (it's nice to know I'm not alone sometimes).

Field Trips, YAY!

I had three field trips in two days to the Discovery Center this week. It was actually a really fun time, despite 15 three-year olds doing the same thing three times. As a grown-up, I think I might have a better time than the kids. I went down the mouse holes with all three classes (only two classes really appreciated this), played in the park, solved puzzles, did all the body activities, and nothing is broken. I'll have bruises on my knees later from crawling on the floor, but it was worth it. The only little problem was my fault. Yesterday I decided to give blood on my way home and it left me feeling pretty weak for some reason. So I got just a tad light-headed when I was climbing around in the mouse holes. That would have been fun to explain to the kids: "Yeah Mrs. Leese got tired and just fell asleep while she was climbing. Look at that cool ambulance!" The kids of course showed a different personality around their parents than they usually do at school. Basically they acted like Ben acts every day. Which made me feel a little better.
Ben also got his flu shot yesterday. I know he's tough, but I was pretty impressed when he didn't cry as he got poked. He just said "ow, ow, ow, ow," and then was done. Big boy.
Joey is super excited about going hunting with Daddy this weekend. He has been counting down the days. I'm thinking there might be a story from this experience. More on that later.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Fun Times

Last night was scrap night/girls night out. I worked on something new- some large tags that I'm putting pictures of all the boys' different facial expressions on. I didn't get much done, but I had a great time catching up and laughing about the funny stuff we can't put on our blogs. I'm so glad to be able to be part of this group and have friends who are not just co-workers. (Something new for me.)

Today I have been married for 7 years. I have to say that there is no 7-year itch in this family. We are closer than we have ever been. We laugh together more than ever, support each other, and have hobbies that we actually enjoy doing together. I'm not saying that it's perfect (we'll work on what is and is not appropriate for wiping children's noses:), but I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together and seeing how much fun we can learn to have. I love you, honey, and I hope you have a chance to read and appreciate this.

I think for our anniversary we are going to go shopping! 'Cause we really haven't been doing enough of that lately ($463 at Walmart!). Joey is now outfitted for hunting. We got a camo coat, snowpants, boots, mittens, and a blaze orange hat. Then Ben had to get something so we got him a blaze orange ski mask and Spiderman slippers. He runs around saying "I'm a ninja!" And we finally got a vacuum (not at Swanson's thank-you very much). Consumer reports rated the Eureka Boss really high, so Walmart saved us yet again. And THEN we had to go over and get groceries for Bill's new diet. The doctor informed him that his tryglicerides level put him at a 50% greater risk for heart disease and recommended the South Beach Diet. Lots of meat and veggies, no carbs, low fat. Not too difficult, but not what we had in the house. So after all that, the total was $463. Oy was that difficult to stomach. But we're back at it today because we need a new dryer and Bill has his eye on a big screen TV.

Happy Veteran's Day. Remember our heroes today.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Bad News, Good News

The Leese household has been having sooo much fun the last few days. Our basement flooded. Again. For the third time. Saturday morning we all got up and took baths and showers, and I was doing laundry because we would be busy the rest of the day (good news section). I walked into the laundry room at one point and was suddenly ankle deep in water. AAAHHHH!!!! Not too much is ruined, but it did get on the carpet in the play area right where all the stuffed animals lay. Darnit we might have to throw some out. Well, we figured it was just because we overloaded the drain so I cleaned it up and Sunday morning I started another load of laundry. Nope- flooded again. Well great, now we need to call someone and actually pay to have something fixed- not something we do often at this house. Bill decided to try pouring drain cleaner down and running a snake through it. It seemed fine so today I started yet another load of laundry and watched to make sure it drained. So far so good. Then Bill gets home from work and it's flooded again. This time it seems to be the toilet. So now we really did call someone but they won't be here until tomorrow at 8, and I reeeaalllyyy need to take a shower before then. So if anyone sees me tomorrow, don't get too close cause I'll be havin a pretend bath.

So enough yucky stuff. Saturday we had our genealogy meeting and I am going to be Vice President of our society. Yay. I have fun at these meetings and it is nice to be appreciated.

Sunday Bill's Dad and family came to visit for a short time. We don't get together often enough with all of our busy schedules, but it was nice seeing everyone. Joey and Ben love it because their Aunt and Uncles are young enough to still enjoy rolling around on the floor with them. Of course, Grandpa tried it too, but he got kicked in the chin and that was the end of that. After they left we went to the Office store and finally bought a new desk chair (our old one was in two pieces under the desk). We got a really nice one that is more comfortable than the couch. Now I can sit at the computer for hours and be all cozy comfy.

Yesterday Joey didn't have school so the three of us ran errands all morning. We went to Target to buy a new table, Kohls to get a tree to hang my OUAF keys on and a Thanksgiving decoration, the library, the toystore to window shop for Christmas, and then we rounded it all off with a trip to McDonalds play area.

Tonight was Bunco night. My throat hurts from screaming. We get so excited, and it is so much fun. I won $35 for having the most wins! (Actually it was a tie, but I won the roll-off!) I never win anything:)

We've left two messages with the owner of Swanson's and they have not even called us back, so they apparently don't want our business and we are now back to looking for a decent vacuum. Needless to say I am very disappointed in their customer service and will not be recommending them. The thing is, I like when local businesses do well, and I believe it is because of service.

My grateful list for today: down comforters, changing leaves, cool weather, libraries, God, medication, comfort food, and pumpkin (pie, ice cream, bars, whatever as long as it's pumpkin)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Costumes





Ok here they are. We had a great Halloween. Ben had his school party yesterday, Joey had his today and I was able to make it. The boys went Trick-or Treating (in full daylight- how are you supposed to know who's open?) for an hour or so, then we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to tell Grandpa Happy Birthday. They only had a piece of candy (or 2), but I think I can still hear Ben talking upstairs. He's probably not going to want to get up in the morning. And for some reason I don't have lesson plans done for tomorrow. I'm really winging it this time. Perhaps the children won't notice since they'll all be hungover from their sugar highs.

We'll see how this picture thing goes. I guess I needed to rotate before I uploaded. Just tilt your head, sorry. *Ok nevermind I fixed it, yay.

Monday, October 29, 2007

H-A-doubleL-O

I sing that song in my head all season until the big day. I've decided that Halloween is at least on the top 3 for favorite holidays, although ask me how I feel about that after I do three Parties over the next two days for my 45 students. We've told the parents to stay, so it can only be crazy. But then I get to go to Joey's first kindergarten party, and then there's Trick-or-Treating. And did I mention how cute the kids are in their costumes?

I've actually been doing some scrapbooking the last few days and I love how it turns out. I'm the least creative person I know, so I'm extra proud of myself for being able to put something together that looks cute. I did some more disney pages, pages from our Minnesota vacation, a park day, and a page about being a Mom. The quote is In Raising Children I Have Lost My Mind But Found My Soul. It's true. My kids are everything to me even when they make me crazy.

Yesterday we ran to the apple orchard (currans)for about 5 minutes- just long enough to get apple cider slushies and some donuts. Yum, my first apple donuts of the season and it's 2 days before Halloween. We never made it to the pumpkin patch, so I'll be putting that on my list of things to do first next year. We just realized that we never made it to the zoo this year either. Something about doing parties and booths on weekends makes these things difficult.

K- Chuck is on, then Heroes. Gotta go watch my shows.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Misc.

Ok just a quick Thankful for the season. I love fall- the cool weather, the yummy smells (and tastes), the Trick-or-Treating. I do not love that we don't have heat yet. Right now it is 59 degrees upstairs. Not exactly getting things done temps. More like snuggle up and nap. Bill is working on the furnace but doesn't want to call someone and pay a bunch for something simple. I say pay before we all decide to hibernate.

Joey has been learning sooo much at kindetgarten. Now he learned about exclamation points. He calls them excited marks, like when you say WOW. So every time he sees one he lets us know and makes sure to read the word in an excited voice.

Off to a show today. Hope it goes well and I get a booking or 2. Shows have not been going well and I'm really starting to see other signs that our economy is struggling. Scary times right now. I hope everyone is doing ok in these slow times.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Vacuum shopping

I've been waiting to write this story, partly to calm down and partly I don't know why.
The other day we finally found time to go look for a vacuum. We'd been hearing great things about the personal service at Swanson's so we headed over to their Machesney Park store. We were the only ones there and the saleswoman immediately started showing us vacuums. She started with a $650 vacuum, then moved up to $750 and $1000. Now, we know we need to get something good for Ben's allergies, but we also did some research and know we don't need to spend that much. I had heard a scecific model that several people were happy with that was only $200. When we asked the woman about that model, though, she would not even show it to us. She said that one doesn't even have HEPA filtration. Well, Bill kept talking to her and I walked over to it and saw right on the front "HEPA Filtration." So that threw me off. Oh, you should know that during all this the kids got bored and were being themselves (a little crazy). The woman gave them some push vacs to play with and that lasted a few minutes, but finally I had to take them outside while Bill continued to get information. I knew from the beginning that this person was not going to sell us what we wanted, and so would not be selling us anything, but Bill likes a lot of info. So 10 minutes later I see him heading to the door with her information. She made sure to write her name on a card so we would give her credit for the sale when we came back. I know these people make their living from their sales, but I truly believe that service makes the sale, not pushiness. Anyway, Bill hesitated at the door for a minute and then came out and started driving before he said anything. I started to say he should have just come by himself and we should know better by now not to take the kids when he said "she just lost that sale." Well, yeah, she wasn't selling what we want.
"No, she just called the kids brats."
"WHAT!?"
She apparently didn't make sure he left the (very small) store before she started talking about us to her coworker. He heard "One of those little brats has allergies" before he opened the door. Now, why did he not go back in and rip her a new one? I don't know. His gut told him to leave and handle it higher up. We will be contacting the owner today. We also have a slim family connection- Bill's brother's girlfriend's uncle is the owner. We talked to her last night and she thought the whole situation was just crazy. So hopefully soon we will get the vacuum we want and the service we deserve.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

What a weekend

Well, today I had my Holiday Open House that I organized. I was soooo nervous that no one would show up and everyone would blame me. Unfortunately not very many people came, though we did have at least a couple of people all the time. But I did meet some really nice fellow direct sales people. And no one blamed me for the turnout (at least not to my face). Of couse Lia Sophia did well, and the Gold Canyon candles. I at least got one order and lots of interest. I think I'm going to back off of booths for awhile though. Too much time invested for just "leads."
The boys went fishing and to set up the tree stand for hunting season while I was gone. Joey is VERY excited that he gets to go hunting with Daddy this year. We were at Cabela's last night and put some cute camo hats on the boys. Too bad we didn't have a camera with us.
Joey is also really starting to read and write. He wrote fntastg 4 (Fantastic 4) on his doodle board and has been writing our names next to his pictures of us. (The one of Ti-ti has lots of teeth, she apparently was angry when she was being drawn. Perhaps after watching my 2 boys all day in a house with no toys, you would be angry too.)
We've decided that Ben was born without that part in him that wants to please people by doing good. He pretty much does what he wants and then smiles so we see his cuteness and don't get mad. Unfortunately for him, that's starting to wear off. He's going to have to come up with another way to be cute. Hopefully it involves behaving, though I doubt it. His new thing is to go willingly to bed, and then 15 or 20 minutes later come out wanting another kiss. He tries it several times until I get mad or he finally falls asleep about an hour later. And who can resist getting a kiss from a 3 year old.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Gratitude

I spent the last two days down in Oregon at my friend Shannon's mother-in-law's Open House. Sales were OK, but the best part of my experience was getting to know Ruth. What a strong and courgeous woman! She has been battling (and winning) breast cancer for the last year. She shared with me what she has gone through, but I witnessed her strength. She was busy the whole time we were there, and most of the people who stopped by were old friends coming to visit and wish her well. Several people made sure to let me know how strong Ruth has been. She also shared some insight about the important things in life. Since she has recovered, she got out her "good" dishes for everyday, she spends her money the way she wants to, and only does jobs she wants to do. She doesn't let anyone push her around, but neither is she pushy. I just had the greatest time, and Ruth is such an inspiration to me. I hope she shares her story with more people.

I am also grateful to my sister, my mom, and my mother-in law for all their babysitting help.
And to my husband for buying a new garage door remote. (Long story)

Ok so here's the long story: I was gone all day yesterday and left the remote with my Mom so she could go somewhere with the boys. I got home before them and was waiting in the driveway (yes, the only way in the house is through the garage, and yes we live in a fortress.) They pulled up, opened the garage, got out and got the car seats out, Mom came in for a minute to say goodbye and went home. Later, we were going back out and I didn't see the remote. Oh great, Mom took it to Janesville and we have to go get it. Well, when we called she didn't have it, then we checked the house and car- no remote. Needless to say we have searched everywhere and the remote is nowhere. It is the big mystery of the day. Very frustrating, ggrr.

Now I have to be grateful that that is the biggest problem we have. There was a family in town who just lost their brand new home to fire, one of the other sellers at the open house lost her 22 year old niece to an asthmw attack a couple weeks ago, I could go on and on about much bigger problems than my own.
I am grateful for our health, I am grateful for our house, I am grateful for our jobs, I am grateful for our family, I am grateful for our friends, I am grateful for the weather, I am grateful for our country, I am grateful for our ancestors, and I am grateful for us. Amen.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Getting Back On My Feet

I've been feeling better the last couple of days, though I've still been really tired so I will still call the Dr. I've got some busy weeks ahead so I hope to keep my head up. This weekend I have an Open House for OUAF all weekend, and I'm hoping to get away Fri night to scrapbook. Then next weekend I have a genealogy conference on Saturday and the Open House I am organizing on Sunday. I really want to take the kids to the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch (they've already been without me a couple times), but time is getting away from me. How is it already the middle of October? I think this crazy weather has me all confused.

Oh, why am I still posting, you say? Well...Bill hasn't said anything in a few days, and he knows how bad I've been feeling, so I'm pushing my luck while I can.

Joey's favorite song right now: "I'm strong to the finish cause I eat my spinach, I'm Popeye the sailor man." Ahh the wonders of watching movies with grandma :)
Ben was sitting on the toilet (naked) the other day when the air conditioner turned on. "Mommy, it's too windy in here!" "Well, maybe you should be wearing clothes."

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Goodbye Blog

My heart is hurting right now because I will probably be giving up my blog. It has been therapy for me writing about what is going on in my life, whether anyone reads it or not. Unfortunately, my husband sees it as an invasion of our privacy. Even though I don't agree with him, I need to respect his feelings. He's right, anyone could look at my blog, though I don't know why just anyone would or what they would do with it. So if anyone was reading and still wants updates, we'll just have to talk on the phone or email. I think I will try a journal, because I still need an outlet. I am for some reason having a rough time right now with my emotions, and I need to figure out how to relax.
I know there are many people in the world with much harder lives than mine- I don't even think I have a hard life, but I can't seem to pull myself out of this feeling of not being worthy. I'm a bad Mom, I'm a bad employee, I'm a bad friend, I don't have any friends, no one cares. I know in my brain that all these things are ridiculous, but this is what my heart tells me over and over. Before anyone panics, I am not suicidal and I will not hurt the children. I know enough to know that I need to get help.
The changes that have been happening in my life have been all positive, but combined they have left me feeling inadequate. I think I took on a little too much all at once, plus gave up a lot of my daily interaction with my closest friends. I do miss so much that part of my old job.

So read this quick, 'cause it will be gone soon. Call me or write me for updates, or to talk.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Bunco

So I have a new "hobby." Last night I got together with some girls in my moms group and played Bunco. I haven't laughed so much or had so much fun in a long time. Which might be kind of sad. We all felt like old ladies sitting around playing games, but I had to draw the line when someone suggested that we have shirts made. I will not be a part of that. I might be a dork, and you probably can tell just from looking at me, but I try not to advertise my geekiness if I can help it.
I missed Biggest Loser last night cause I was playing:( It does help motivate me, and trust me I need motivation. I can't imagine going on television wearing the clothes that they have to wear, or stepping on to that scale in front of everyone.

I took the kids to Sapora Playworld the other day to get some exercise. We had a great time, especially on the steep slide. The kids came down first and I was cracking up at how fast they shot out of the slide. Then I decided to go down. Oh my. I FLEW out and across the floor right as another family walked in. They were looking at me like I was crazy, I was laughing hard enough to pee my pants, and then we realized we knew each other. How embarrassing. I was done after that (until Ben peed his pants and I had to go fetch him all the way at the top.)

Sunday, September 30, 2007

8 LBS

Yep, I've lost the equivalent of a healthy baby. I've been working real hard again over the last month or so, diet and exercise, and it is finally starting to show. It takes forever for me to start losing weight. Supposedly it is because I'm "gaining muscle," but in the meantime I get really frustrated. Then I wake up one morning down 2 lbs. And then another few days and 2 more lbs. I guess I just have to keep at it and be patient. Patience is a key word in many areas of my life.
Once Upon A Family is not going very well for me, and since I'm spreading myself so thin anyways, my husband suggested I give it up. I don't want to quit, but I also don't want to put a bunch of effort into nothing. I've done 2 all day booths the last 2 weekends and had no sales. I can only tell myself I'm getting leads for so long. I broke down tonight, I think mostly because my stress level has actually gone up since I started working part time. The kids have been driving me nuts. They are not used to spending so much time together and all they do is wrestle (when Ben is not playing in the toilet- uh-huh, 3 years old and still plays in toilets). I'm not used to spending so much time with them either. We run out of things to do and we all get frustrated. I know none of this is their fault, and I need to have more patience, but see above. Patience is not always my strong point.
So tomorrow is a new day. I'm going to take the boys to the park if it's nice out, and try not to worry about getting anything else done.

One more kid story- Joey's new thing is to write random letters and ask what he spelled. Today he wrote c-o-s-e-s and s-e-e-l next to his picture of Daddy (with a beard and mustache and glasses). And when he puts his name on a paper that he colors, he puts MR Leese. He so wants to be grown up. We have his parent-teacher conference tomorrow. I hope to hear good things about how grown up he is at school.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Goal Update

(My goals for this week: Commit to one volunteer opportunity, have a successful craft show Saturday, get October lesson plans done, paint the town with flyers for the open house, get started on these soup labels, make a whole bunch of song cards for my class, help Heather find her right house, get a new vacuum (and vacuum the house), empty the kitchen table, work out at least every other day, and take a little, but not too much, time for myself.)

Ok, about those goals: I signed up with my Moms group to be volunteer coordinator and am currently doing a drive for MELD. Craft Show, not so good. Not one sale, hardly any traffic. The one good thing was the Tupperware lady behind me loved the company so much she booked a party. Hopefully I'll have better luck at the Family Jamboree this weekend. Got the lesson plans done. Been handing out flyers. Ugh, soup labels. Why did I get myself into this. I've been cutting for three nights and my hands are very cramped. Made some song cards, want to still make more. Heather has a house that she loves, and 2 backups. Hmmm no vacuum yet... Emptied the kitchen table and now there's new junk on it. Worked out the last 3 days in a row. Got some reading in between cutting, especially since the computer crashed. We're borrowing my FIL's laptop now, but I had no computer for 2 DAYS. It was horrible, but I survived. Nothing burned down when I couldn't check my email for 24 hours. AND I tried to give blood but got deferred, took the kids back to the allergist- Ben is allergic to peanuts and now has an epi-pen just in case, scheduled speakers for our genealogy meetings, and cleaned the basement. I think I won't even make a list of goals this week. I'm good. Feeling much better about my purpose.

Perhaps my husband will come home soon and get my computer fixed. He had to work on his friend's car first. Priorities!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

What's My Purpose?

When I sit down and stare at this blank page, I start to wonder what I do all day and where is the signifigance? I know I've been super busy. Between planning lessons, teaching classes, taking a class, working on my business, organizing this open house, trying to keep up with my household chores, maybe spend a little time with the kids, working out, I don't know where the day goes. And I was just reminded today that I signed up at Joey's school to take care of the soup labels that are collected. But it all seems to start to run together. What am I doing that is important? I was reading today about a woman who is fighting cancer. I also read about a friend who is going to be a surrogate. I need a purpose right now. I have to step back and decide what is important (probably not playing on the computer), and rearrange how I go through my day. That means getting better organized to start with. Then what? I have a couple ideas about volunteering my time. My goals for this week: Commit to one volunteer opportunity, have a successful craft show Saturday, get October lesson plans done, paint the town with flyers for the open house, get started on these soup labels, make a whole bunch of song cards for my class, help Heather find her right house, get a new vacuum (and vacuum the house), empty the kitchen table, work out at least every other day, and take a little, but not too much, time for myself. Hopefully there is something important in there. One step at a time.

I do have two exciting things that happened today: I signed up my first consultant with Once Upon A Family! Yay! I have worked hard and want so much for this to be successful, but I was getting discouraged that not very many people have the same passion I do. Well, Barb does. I look forward to her success as well as mine.
Also I did a scholastic book order with my classes and it was almost $500 dollars! That's huge. We are going to get so much free stuff for our classroom!

Until another day. Keep smiling.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Genealogy

Alot of people look at me like I'm crazy when I say one of my hobbies is genealogy. There are not too many people in our age group who are obsessed with dead people. But I just wish I could convince people how fascinating it is to find an ancestor that no one in your living family knows about, or to confirm a story that has been passed down, or to trace your line so far back that you know where hundreds of your ancestors lived. We would not be here if it weren't for them. I wonder all the time if I have traits that my great-great-great grandma had. I have noticed that on both sides of my family mental illness is fairly prevelent. It might be coincidence, but it actually helps me with my struggle with depression. I at least have medication. Imagine going through it when they just lock you up, or shock you, or who knows what.
Last year we joined a genealogy society (we being my husband and I-he is just as obsessed as I am) and quickly joined the board. We realized that we were the youngest members by far (like 20 years), but thought that we'd be able to get more younger people to join us. Guess what, it hasn't happened. People are just so busy, or maybe they don't care, or maybe they just don't know where to start. Now Bill and I have taken over scheduling programs for our meetings, Bill is heading the committee to nominate new officers, and we're putting together a member survey. We're worried that people will think we're trying to take over, but no one else is willing (or able) to do these things. Where do I find people like me? Are we really that weird? We know we're nerds, but we like us.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Count your blessings

September 14, 2007 - Friday


Today is good day to count my blessings.

1 My husband- he does what he has to to support us. He's dependable. He's funny. He loves us and we love him.
2 Joey and Ben. My heart. Even when they've been running around screaming for seven weeks straight.
3 My job. It has been so wonderful. This is what teaching is supposed to be like. It's just so relaxed, the kids are alot of fun, I work with some great people. I love it.
4 Working part-time. I can actually do things besides work, come home and crash. I've been keeping up on housework (kinda), taking a class, working out, organizing an open house, stuff that I WANT to do.
5 My health. There is so much family history of ill health, so I am extra blessed not to have too many worries with mine.
6 Excersize. Crazy, but it makes me feel so good.
7 Our lack of debt. Part of it is because we are careful, but I also thank God that He has blessed us with good fortune. Many things could have gone differently in our life to change our financial situation.
8 My Family. I'm thankful to be close to my sisters, have a good relationship with my parents, and to be learning about where I came from. If it wasn't for every single one of my ancestors, I wouldn't be here and I certainly wouldn't be the person I am.
9 Life Experience. I make mistakes, but I learn from them. I am a human being. I appreciate the chance to grow.
10 Friends. I left behind many when I changed jobs, but I have been making connections and forming new friendships in different areas. I look forward to becoming closer to my new friends, and finding a way to maintain my old friendships.

God Bless

Things You Should Know About Me

September 11, 2007 - Tuesday

This blog, though technically "public" is really for my friends and family, so that is my audience. That being said, many of you know these things about me, but I need to write about them right now.
1. I take things personally. If someone is upset with me, then I am upset. (Maybe that's 2 things.)
2. I will always apologize when I make a mistake, and I expect the same of others. I know that no one is perfect, so when we make mistakes, we say sorry and move on.
3. I am a perfectionist. I expect myself to not ever be wrong. However, see 2. I can forgive others long before I forgive myself.
4. I suffer from depression. I am medicated, but some days are better than others. Especially when something happens involving 1-3. Once I get upset, it starts feeling like that song: "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms." I know in my brain that everyone hasn't suddenly turned against me, but in my heart I need to curl up in a ball and sleep until, say, midwinter.
5. I tend to say inappropriate things sometimes. If you are offended by something I've said, please ask me what I mean, because I would never say something to purposely offend anyone.
6. I'm the most non-confrontational person I know (but I'm getting better).

Okay that's enough introspection for today. I feel much better now.

I took the boys to the park the other day, and of course Ben had to do everything Joey was doing, so he scared me a few times. At one point he was standing on top of this high twisty thing, and said "look at me mommy, my husband does this."
"Who????"
"My Joey."
"But what did you say the first time?"
"Joey is my husband."
The logic of a 3-year-old.