Just Call Me Madame President

That's right. I was acting president yesterday at our genealogy society meeting. I had to lead the board meeting and stand up in front of everyone to conduct the regular meeting. I did great. I was a little nervous right before, but once I got up there it was fine. A little fun even. And my husband said I was hot. I don't think I'd go that far, but I am really proud of myself.

The boys have been fairly horrid this weekend. Ben is determined to push every button and Joey has his whiny voice on at all times. We tried to go to Sunday School this morning but Joey threw a fit when we got there so we had to leave. Then he threw a fit that we were leaving. That was fun. Daddy had even tried to come along for once.

I got my car fixed this afternoon by my mechanic husband. We got a check from the insurance company for $1300 and it only cost him $40 to fix it, so hopefully we'll be selling that soon and getting me a new car. I really like this. We'll see, though. We've never had a new, new car. And if it comes down to it I'd rather have the summer off than work for my new car. So maybe just a newer car.

Oh.. the Dr appointment... She suggested at first adding a medication to what I already take, but when I made a face she decided to try switching meds. So I'm transitioning right now and feeling a bit crabby and overwhelmed, but hopefully in the next week or two I'll be back to being a regular person. I've been missing myself. Hope to see her soon. Maybe she'll notice that my body is changing and improving and will be proud of me. I've lost 3 inches off my hips and waist and my pants are getting really baggy. I actually don't like this stage because my baggy pants make me look bigger, but I don't want to buy the next size down because I am quite sure I will be losing at least 2 more sizes. But hopefully it will start going faster now and I can buy new small pants soon.

Off to read bedtime stories and say prayers. (Please pray for Daddy. He has a job interview tomorrow to hopefully get out of the nasty job he is in right now.) After the kids go to bed I have a bunch of reading I want to do. Until next time...Good night.

The Trip To England

I believe I may have brought this up before, but my husband is in the obsessive planning stage of a trip to England. And Paris. And Scotland. Without me. I've told him several times not to discuss details with me because my feelings are a little hurt about being left behind. With 2 children. At the beginning of summer. Alone. He insists, however, on telling people on the phone what the latest plans are, or watching touristy movies about all the cool things you can do over there, or bringing up the financial aspect and how much this is costing him. Ha, I say. It's costing you more than you think. You imagine me sitting at home for two weeks waiting for your butt to return. Ha! I'm planning my own itinerary as I type. If anyone has any really expensive suggestions, or wants to join me for some fun at the end of May, let me know. I'm a-vail-able. Hee-hee. That felt kinda good, but really what I'll probably end up doing is spending a lot of time at the (free) parks in town.
Anyway, he also wants me to share with him the location that my ancestors came from in Scotland so he can go see my castle. Um, no. I know it is going to be a long time before I get to make this trip, but I will be the one to visit my ancestor's castle. I do not want him to bring me back pictures of it. That kinda ruins the point. And he really just does not understand my point. Sometimes my husband has a difficult time putting himself in other people's shoes.
So that's my house these days. All excitement and anticipation on one side. All frustration and ire on the other.

The Joys of Blogging

You maybe didn't notice, but I have my weight loss ticker posted for everyone to see. And you may not have noticed that it was sitting quite still for several weeks. But I would like you to notice now that it has moved again. 10 pounds! Yippee. I have decided against throwing the scale as far as I can. I have decided against quitting, although I am taking a bit of a break from the strength training. I have decided against self-adjusting my meds. I have a Dr appointment tomorrow to let her figure that out for me.

Tonight I have a conference with Joey's teacher. Have I mentioned that she is great? I hope I'm not setting myself up to hate the rest of his teachers in the future. We have a lot more to meet. Anyway, Mrs Graber has children the same age as mine and the same sense of humor I have. I think she has just a teeny bit more patience than I do, and she has taught my son so many things in the short time she's had him. He is writing! Seriously, if there is something he wants to say he sits down and sounds it out and writes the words. Obviously invented spelling, but it is great. And he is reading Level 1 readers. He gets frustrated because it is slow going, but he reads a few pages each night.

Ben was good at school today. He even answered a question at circle time that no one else knew. Mommy was sooo proud. And he sat with the other kids instead of my lap for once.

I had the radio on this morning while I got dressed and the djs were talking about blogs. The male dj seemed totally against them, saying that people with blogs don't actually interact with real people and if they want to discuss their issues they should do it in person with people who know them. I obviously take exception to that as a blogger, but I wasn't able to listen to see if he got any positive or negative response to his comments. I think that blogging is for some people but not all, but that no one has the right to judgs me for doing something that I personally find important and fulfilling. I just discovered a new (to me) blog yesterday and spent several hours reading about this complete stranger. But I felt connected to her and that we were interacting even though we weren't "speaking" to each other. Check her out. Pioneer Woman link on the left. So anyway, that was my 2 cents about blogging. I'm sure everyone who reads this agrees, since they read and/or write blogs themselves. So Mr DJ, just leave us alone and we'll figure it out ourselves. (Oh, and the bonehead didn't know that "blog" comes from "web log", duhh)

Ughh

I lost my temper for the first time in a looong time yesterday while fighting with my husband. I'm still having a hard time moving past it today, which makes me think that self adjusting my meds probably wasn't the best idea. (Not that my husband didn't give me ample reason to lose my temper, but I shouldn't still be crying about it.) And the dog snapped at me when I yelled. I really just cannot tolerate that.
Ben has also been joining me in bed again which leads to less than sound sleep. He is quite a kicker. And my one OUAF party I have booked for March sounds like she might cancel on me. It just feels right now like nothing is going right, even though I am perfectly aware that many things are going just fine.

I did make it to church this morning and the boys were very good in Sunday School (after Ben ran into church to find me).
That's all I have the energy for right now. More positive post later.

Diet Rage

The d*&% scale is really pi$$ing me off right now. I have lost NO weight in weeks. Despite working out 4 to 5 times a week and significantly changing my eating habits. I have what is called "Diet Rage." It is like road rage, except I am mad at the scale, my body, and other people who are more successful in their weight loss. I mean, seriously, I did an hour of Tae bo yesterday, 45 minutes Tuesday Monday and Sunday. The amount I sweated could at least add up to a pound. My effing body needs to realize that I am going to quit soon if I don't start seeing results.

Let's change the subject... Ben has been really ornry lately, telling us "I'm not going to do that" when we ask him to do something. Yesterday he was outside with Daddy waiting for Joey's bus to get home. The driveway was a solid sheet of ice (I'll save that for another story) so Daddy told Ben to go inside before he gets hurt. Ben said "I don't want to do that." He promptly fell on his bottom. Daddy said "See, that is why we want you to go in." Ben replied "Well, I didn't want to do that either." He did draw his first person yesterday at the Dr's office. It was two long legs with feet and a small head on top. So cute. And he can find his B anywhere but has no interest in learning any other letters. A bunch of the three year olds in his class know all their letters which I know is unusual, but it stresses me out a little about where Ben is.

Did anyone catch the lunar eclipse the other night? We talked about ahead of time and then I let the boys peek at it before they went to bed. It was really hard trying to explain to Joey what exactly was going to happen. He has moved past the age where we can just say "It just happens." I told him that the sun reflects on the moon and that the earth would block it for the eclipse. He asked why. He also wanted to know why it seems like the moon follows us when we are driving. Right now Daddy is watching a special about Teddy Roosevelt. Joey walked by when it showed a picture of an older woman. "Is that Grandma Moses?" What? How does my kindergartner know about Grandma Moses? Who is Grandma Moses anyway? Appparently she was an artist who is now dead according to Joey's art teacher.

I'm hoping for a fairly relaxing weekend. The last few have been busy, busy. The kids earned a trip to Nickelworld so we'll head there tomorrow, and I hope to get to a movie at some point, but other than that I want to stay home and veg a bit (between workouts, of course).

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sorry, life has been boring lately. This winter is really starting to get me down. I need sun. I need warmth. I'd like to go swimming. Outside. I had to readjust my happy pills because I was having the most horrible night sweats. After 2 months of waking up soaking wet each night but freezing all day, I decided to look up symptoms online. Turns out that one of the side effects of my med is night sweats. And, duh, they started about the time my dose was increased. So I have to get in to the Dr to get it figured out, but in the meantime I went back to my lower dose. Hmm, after 2 nights, no more night sweats. Works for me.

I know... I have some thing to be grateful for. I am grateful for my boys making me laugh every day. I can't even remember what they did today but I assure you it was funny. I am grateful for Once Upon A Family. I've been preaching to everyone about how it can change lives, but now that I've really started using it with the kids I have to say it is making a difference in our house. I am grateful for all the new friends I've been making. It has always been hard for me, so this is a big celebration. I am grateful for the old friends I have managed to stay in touch with. Also something I'm not good at. I am grateful for the flexibility of my new job. I asked if I could possibly have a Friday off to go to a conference and my boss let me know that I just have to let her know that I need a sub and it's done. Wow, that was new. I am grateful for heat in the car, in the house, at work.... I almost never feel warm, so I can't imagine how I would feel with no heat. I am grateful for the sun. Maybe it could visit us just a little more. I am grateful for whole wheat pasta and chicken. If we didn't have that, who knows what we'd be eating. I am grateful for body wash plus lotion. If I didn't have that this winter I would have crumbled away into ashes a long time ago. I am grateful for our allergist. Ben has been soo healthy this winter. I am grateful for all of our good health this winter. There have been so many illnesses going around and we have been fortunate to avoid them.
K. I'll try to be less boring in the future. Hope everyone is well and safe and happy. Good night.

60 questions

Dawn gave me permission to use these questions if i didn't have anything to write about.



1.What is in the back seat of your car right now? Two car seats and maybe a little snack garbage. (Only because I had to clean out the car after my accident.)

2. When was the last time you threw up? I think it's been at least a year. I try not to remember.

3. What's your favorite curse word? Hmm. Depends on the situation.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? My sister, my husband (not because of Valentine's Day), my kids.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Heading to work with Ben.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?Watching Survivor

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?Sleeping

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?Nope

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? It's bedtime

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? something with brownies or cookie dough

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?stupid water

12. What are you wearing right now? nightgown

13. What was the last thing you ate? piece of chocolate

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? no

15. When was the last time you ran? this morning

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? Super Bowl

18. Who is the last person you emailed? A girl from my mom's group

19. Ever go camping? yes

20. Do you have a tan? HA! Maybe in six more weeks

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? When I drink POP, usually it is with a straw

25. What did your last IM say? ?????

26. Are you someone's best friend? That is something I wish for

27. What are you doing tomorrow? Working all day, dinner at Stockholm Inn

28. Where is your mom right now? Probably at home in Janesville with her hubby and doggy

29. Look to your left, what do you see? bookshelf

30. What color is your watch? pink and silver

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ? boomarang

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? no

33. What is your birthstone?pearl

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit thedrive thru? Try not to do either

35.How many kids do you want? 3

36. Do you have a dog? yes, a boxer

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? Husband. His boat was beeping and I had to fix it

38. Have you met anyone famous? No

39. Any plans today? Put something relevent on my blog

40. How many states have you lived in? 4 plus Guam, I think

41. Ever go to college? community college

42. Where are you right now?sitting at the computer, duh

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? pms and night sweats

44. Last song listened to? our song

46. Are you allergic to anything? not officially

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?Crocs

48. Are you jealous of anyone?I try not to be

50. Is anyone jealous of you?Doubt it

51. What time is it? 8:38

52. Do any of your friends have children? pretty much all

53. Do you eat healthy? again, I'm trying

54. What do you usually do during the day? teach preschool

55. Do you hate anyone right now? No

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Probably

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 31

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?yes

60. How did you get one of your scars? Thyroid surgery on my neck

Oh Hi!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have been busy and my mind just really hasn't been on blogging lately. I went scrapbooking all this past weekend, I've been really focused on working out as often as possible, and I'm getting ready to host my Live, Laugh, Love Club on Monday. I'm not a scrapbooking expert and our first project is a scrapbook. I also don't host things at my tiny house very often so I'm worried about that (not to mention it is never clean enough.) But I'm excited to get together with some girls to talk and create and teach our chirrens.
So that is my "interesting" life right now. Hopefully I'll get motivated to blog better soon.
I am putting it in writing that I need to do more gratitude journaling. Next on my list.

A Few Pics

I finally downloaded pictures from the last few weeks so here is the visual of what's been going on. Both boys bowling on their own by the end.

Ben really liked the blower.






This is the crowd I spoke to on Saturday. Makes me shiver.

The car looks lovely, eh?










Today was good. Stayed home all day and got a bunch done. I've been behind on cutting box tops and soup labels so I worked on those, I did two loads of dishes from the super bowl party last night (we had a whole 2 people over but we had to put on a spread), I worked out for an hour, I got some other paperwork taken care of, and I fiddled on the computer. Oh wait, I always fiddle on the computer.

Joey earned a key today. While I was washing dishes Ben needed his nose wiped. He couldn't find a kleenex even though we have them all over the house, so Joey went and got him a kleenex, held it up to his nose, told him to blow, wiped it, and threw the tissue away. I was so proud of his helpfulness, so I gave him the key of Compassion to wear for the day. Fortunately I had just bought some leather string at the new Michael's yesterday to make it into a necklace. I'll put a picture on when I download again. He was very proud of himself.

I just remembered the other thing I did today. I got the OUAF Love Journal yesterday, so I decided to write the story of how hubby and I met and fell in love. I've typed about two pages, and then I'll write it in the journal. I hope to have it done by Valentine's Day. That will be something to work on this weekend when I have 3 days to scrapbook! !!!!!!! yay!!!!!! I'm getting excited!!!!!

Buenas Noches

Public Speaking

So we're all very aware that I am not a big fan of public speaking. Really it has always been the last thing on the list of things I'd like to do. But today, for the first time, magic happened. It was our Genealogical Society meeting today. I am in charge of the program and had scheduled a Librarian from the Wisconsin Historical Society to talk. Everything was fine, but after our board meeting and about 15 minutes before the regular meeting, I started getting worried because she wasn't there yet. Thankfully we thought to call home to see if we had any messages and sure enough, apparently there was a big snowstorm in Wisconsin and she couldn't make it. It took her an hour to get from Madison to Stoughton and when she started seeing trucks in the ditch she decided to stay safe and turned around. Ok, I'm glad she's safe, but the meeting starts in 10 minutes and we have no speaker. So here is the miracle. I actually offered to get up in front of 77 people and speak. I had a story about my own research that I thought would be interesting to tell. So in five minutes I reviewed what I remembered and I got up there and spoke for about ten minutes- no nervousness, no shaky voice. Actually it felt really good. I made people laugh. I think I'll try this again some time. Oh yeah, I have to fill in for the President next month so I'll get even more practice.

So this is the story that I shared: My Mom's maiden name is Smith. Not an easy surname to research. I had gotten as far as her grandparents and that was because she knew their names. After talking to some of her family, though, I learned that my Great-Aunt had done some research years ago and had more information. We got in contact with her and she gave me copies of everything she knew. This was very generous. Many researchers don't like to share for some reason I've found. So I took what she had and was able to use it to find much more information. One line I was able to trace back to the 1700's in the US. Several Civil War soldiers and even Revolutionary War vets. So I put together a packet of what I had found over several months and returned that to my Great-Aunt along with a big thank-you for her help. We went back and forth a couple times about what else we could find out, and then I forgot about it. I really haven't been doing too much research lately with everything else going on.
Well, 2 days ago I got a big packet in the mail from Washington. I had no idea what it could be, but when I opened it up the first line said "Hi Stacie I think I am your Great Uncle who you have never met." Well blow me down! Apparently my Great Aunt shared with the rest of the family what I had come up with. My Great Uncle was very interested and enjoyed reading my stuff. He then took it one step further and did a DNA study on the oldest people I had listed. It turns out they are from Antrim, Ireland and the line is traced way back to kings of Ireland/Scotland in like 300. The oldest person, Eochaid mac Muiredach was born in 314. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? So he sent me all the information he had obtained and a few pictures of his family along with a big thank-you for what I had done. It just made my day. Especially after this crazy week.

In other news, I haven't done a weight update for a reason. Apparently losing 6 pounds in the first 2 weeks was too good to be true, because I haven't lost anything since then. And I haven't been able to work out this week with my stiff neck, so that has kinda been getting me down. I'm not about to give up, though. I have a specific goal and I am determined to reach it. Wish me luck.

In other, other news, I have a link in my list to baby Camille. Her Mommy just found out that she has trisomy 18 and probably will be stillborn or not live long after being born. If you are the praying sort, please pray for the family.

Good Night

Crazy Week

Sorry for the bad blogger. I think I am ready to update from this crazy week now.

Friday- I drove myself into Chicago for my OUAF training. I knew going in that I would only know one other person there and I was determined not to cling to her. I was very nervous and did not stop for lunch. When I got there, my one new recruit was there so I sat and talked with her. Then came all the training which was very exciting for me, but boring for you. We had a prime rib dinner, yum, and then we all changed into jammies and talked in the lobby of the hotel. I slept on the couch of the room my only "buddy" had gotten.

Saturday we got up and had a yummy buffet breakfast. The French toast was to die for. Especially after 3 weeks of dieting. Then more exciting training. I got soo many ideas for boosting sales and sharing our message with more families. We also have a new motto: "Happy homes don't just happen." We are all about being intentional with our families.

Saturday evening I drove home and the boys were out having dinner at Machine Shed so I had an hour to calm down before I saw them. They got home and I was on the computer catching up. I said I had just gotten home a little bit ago and Joey said "Yeah right, you've been on the computer the whole time." Daddy about fell on the floor laughing. I guess I have a bit of a computer addiction. I am getting help. Soon.

Sunday Daddy was gone all day. We did some house cleaning and I worked out twice. That felt good. Just mostly a lazy day.

Now for Monday. Black Monday. I had a couple of girls from my mom's group bring their kids over for a playdate. It went pretty well and I was able to share my excitement for OUAF with Cindy. She booked a show, yay! But when she went to leave...(Side note- we have a double wide driveway, but it is narrower at the end and there is a fire hydrent right next to it.) yes, she backed right into the fire hydrant. Popped her tire and scraped the whole side of her new car. OMG. I wanted to die. We both felt like it was our fault. I should have warned her, she should have looked, etc, etc. Of course it was no ones fault, but oy, now she has to get her car fixed. Daddy came home from work to change her tire for her, and then she was back on the road. Ben and I left to run to the library and then to Michaels. I got a bunch of fun books at the library that I can't wait to dig into. Then I just headed down N 2nd to Springcreek to cut over to Mulford. We got off the ramp onto Springcreek and had to stop because of the red light and there was an ambulance going by. We were just about to start going again when I looked up in my rearview mirror and there was a car quickly filling my view. I had enough time to think I should move but not enough time to do it when BAM. I hit my head on the headrest but it didn't really hurt. I turned around right away and asked Ben if he was ok. He said "Yes, but what did we hit, Mommy?" I said someone hit us, honey. I got out after a minute and the driver was already writing down his info. I called the police. They arrived in about 30 seconds (but just by coincidence. He was pulling someone else over.) Then I called my husband and he had to leave work for the second time in one day. He came right away and took Ben home. Ben thought he was at some kind of party where we play in the streets and I was getting really nervous with all that traffic. The cop had us sit in his squad car while he took all of our info, then let me go. I drove straight home but with my eye on the rearview the entire time. I just could not believe that we had two accidents in one day. There was seriously a black cloud over us.
So DH had me make an appointment for the Dr the next day just to make sure we were ok. Ben was fine but I have whiplash. My neck is really stiff and sore, I have a headache and I keep getting dizzy. They did x rays just to be sure nothing was broke, then sent me home with muscle relaxers and ibuprofen. The muscle relaxer makes me sleepy and I feel weird so I'm trying not to take it. But my head and neck are still pretty sore. They hope I'll feel better in about a week. Meanwhile there is no way I can work out like this so I'm worried that I am getting off track. And the whole experience of the last 3 days has left me feeling crabby, which I can't relieve with exercise so I'm getting more crabby. Probably I shouldn't be around people until I feel better.

So that has been my week. This weekend is our genealogy meeting and next weekend is scrap weekend, yay. If I can just make it to that I'll be ok.

Scattergories

I got this in email. Passing it along. Consider yourself tagged if you are reading it.


*Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions...* they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers, especially, if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. (WHICH BY THE WAY IS HARD IF YOU ALREADY READ THEIR ANSWERS) You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl.
1. What is your name: Stacie
2. 4 letter word: star
3. Vehicle: Saturn
4. City: San Francisco
5. Boy Name: Sam
6. Girl Name: Sarah
7. Alcoholic drink: Stone sour
8. Occupation: Sanitation Worker
9. Something you wear: Socks
10. Celebrity: Snoop Dogg
11. Food: Starfruit
12. Something found in a bathroom: Slippers
13. Reason for lateness: Stopped by Police
14. Cartoon Character: Swiper
15. Something You Shout: Stop!
16. Animal: Sloth
17. Body part: Skin
18. Word to describe you: Saint (Ha-ha)

Insomnia

Help! I can't sleep. I shouldn't still be awake. I have to drive into Chicago in the morning. I went to bed and just laid there with my eyes open listening to my husband snore. Now I'm down here checking out everyone's blogs and not drowsy at all. Except I know I will be tomorrow, when I'm going to want to stay up late. I'm sure it is because I am going to a new place and meeting new people and having new experiences. I'm kind of a nervous person. New stuff makes me jittery, anxious, etc. But I'm doing it. Just with less sleep than I'd like this time.
Good night, I hope. Update on Sunday.

Mustaches and Pizza!?!

Yesterday was my full day of working. After work I ran Grandma home, got Joey off the bus, straightened up a bit, then headed out for a haircut. I love getting my hair cut. {Which might explain why my hair is so short.} My stylist and I are a lot alike and we always have a great conversation. Last night, she had a student with her who she was "training." It was interesting to hear her talk about my hair. It is very thick and there is a ton of it, which apparently makes the cut a little complicated. I found out that she razors my hair every other time and uses scissors every other time. And she can never thin it enough. I don't ever have to worry about going bald. Gray, yes. I've been plucking many of those. Anyway, then it was on to the lip wax. My abundance of hair does extend to my lip, and I would prefer not. In case you've never had a lip wax, you should know that I am subjecting myself to great pain to avoid my mustache. But this time she had this new wax that she used me as a guinea pig for. I wasn't too keen on being a guinea pig, or having 4 people stand over me to see the hair removed from my face, but it really was less painful. Gotta love that.
So after all of our chatting I got home 20 minutes later than I expected to find the hungry family waiting in the driveway for me. Apparently I can't leave at dinner time and expect Daddy to figure something out. He figured out Pizza Ranch. It was my first naughty eating since starting this diet and it was good, but my tummy hurt after and the scale didn't like me this morning so I consider it not worth it and not going to happen again anytime soon. Except maybe this weekend when I'm out of town. Going to Chicago for OUAF training. I'll do my best to eat healthy, but I don't think I'll always have too many choices. Super excited to meet other consultants and get motivated, though.

Today after work I did Tae bo Sculpt Express for 45 minutes. I am going to be so sculpted!

Quick Exercize Update

Saturday I did Tae bo Lower Body - 35 minutes.
Sunday went bowling
Today I did Tae bo Amped - 45 minutes

Sunday Recap

I have a lot of things I want to write about today. I hope I can get them all down the way I want.

*This morning we had our everybody wrestle in Mommy and Daddy's bed ritual for the first time in a while. Our schedules have been too crazy to sleep in lately, but today both boys woke before us and came to our bed. Ben starts with me, being goofy and trying to tickle me. I send him to tickle Daddy who doesn'r even stir. Then Joey jumps in and starts getting Ben and me. All of sudden I'm getting tickled by Daddy which just amazes the kids. It was fun family time that we've been kinda missing out on. (I'll have to check for bruises later- Daddy tickles hard!)

*We took the boys bowling for the first time today. It was a blast, especially not having to deal with the smoking. Joey was able to hold the ball and throw it down the lane pretty well by the end. He had this crazy wind-up dance that was fun to watch. Ben marched his ball up to the line, set it down andshoved it as hard as he could. The ball never got stuck, but it sure was agonizing watching it meander down to the pins. He was just delighted with himself every time, coming to give double high fives with each score. A couple of times he set the ball down and kicked it before we explained to him that bowling is not like soccer.


*Have to share this dear husband story. I'm standing at the sink washing dishes and he is standing at the fridge. He notices that there are no bottles of water in the fridge so bends down and opens the new case right next to him. I'm about to say I'm going to grab the camera to record him putting water in the fridge since it never happens when I realize that, no, he is not putting water in the fridge. He is getting one for himself and leaving the rest to get warm. All I could do was stare incredulously. He noticed me staring and still chose to walk away. So I finished the dishes and moved on to loading the fridge. Then laundry, straighten up.... all for his family to come over to watch the game this evening. Hmm.

*Going to talk more about this later, but I'm just finishing up The Golden Compass series. I think that some of the subjects in the stories may not be appropriate for young children, but I did find the books to be quite fascinating. If they are read as fantasy. I like fantasy. I loved Harry Potter (who didn't), and The Wheel of Time series, and even the Left Behind series. But I read them as fiction. Not as something trying to influence my beliefs. I am strong enough in my faith that I don't find them to be offensive. So that's my opinion about that subject. Now I would like to see the movie to see how it is adapted from the book. The special effects seem pretty awesome.

Bullet Points

*Joey got his kindergarten report card yesterday, which means he is halfway done. Oy this goes so fast. The good news is that even with the trouble he's been getting into he still had a great report card- all S's. The teacher says he is an eager learner and is well-liked in class. Super news.

*I had another OUAF show this morning. I think I like doing morning shows, because I still have the rest of the day to do stuff. Like run to Target with the rest of town. It was way crazy in there! I had to park far away and run in the -20 degree windchill. Crazy. Got some milk and cereal and a gift for our gift exchange tonight at scrap night. Can't wait for that since I had to miss the last one. Then in 3 more weeks we go away for a whole weekend to scrap. I'm excited, but unsure of what I will do. I need to get more organized before I go.

*Speaking of -20, my crazy husband is on his way out to go hunting. This is the first year he hasn't gotten a deer and this is the last day so he refuses to stay home. Stupid. What if he gets frostbite? And if he does get one, he's going to make me really late for my scrap night. Grr. I don't get it. What is the point?


*Oh, I sold my first ebay item. My Tae bo videos went for $41. Pretty good for my first try. Better than $.99. The person who bought them is actually a Tae bo trainer, so I guess they're going to a good home. She already told me she's selling some of them, though. Oh well, guess I can't control that.

*I did get my new Tae bo amped set. I did the first 2 Thursday and Friday. It uses a 3 pound bar- a big adjustment for me. My shoulders and back HURT, but I am going to be so strong. I got to work out Friday because we had to cancel school. When we arrived in the morning our rooms were 53 degrees. Not good. The furnace guy didn't come til lunch time so we couldn't let the kids come in and freeze. Not sure what's going to happen with my paycheck, but it was nice because Joey went to school in the afternoon and Ben took a nap so I had like 3 hours to myself. I worked out and then read in silence for a while. I actually got a little bored!

*Ok I can't seem to tie my thoughts together coherently, so I'm going to do my blog in bullet points. I am jealous of people who write their blogs all about one thing, or are able to transition from one topic to the next. Not me. Oh well, this works for me.

Celebrate!

Yesterday was a great day! I worked all day and then drove out to Itasca (about an hour and 15 minutes) for my first celebration in a WHILE. The hostess was one who doesn't DO home parties but just fell in love with our product. She had the same reaction I had when i found it. Her party went well, and I didn't leave there until 10:30. She is considering becoming a consultant, but with three kids and her own business she's not sure when she'll have the time. I hope she joins my team because I think she'd do great. She has the passion. And two of her guests wanted to do a show and I'm not so sure how worth it it is to drive out there all the time. Hello? Is there anyone else in Rockford like this? I do have another show Saturday here in town with another "love it" hostess, so I hope to get more leads and bookings from that. And next weekend is corporate training in Chicago so I'll come home with even more ideas.

So we talked to Joey when he got home on Tuesday. He knew he was in big trouble and at first refused to talk. After we had an honesty talk he told us the story, which was the same story the principal told us. Joey wanted to sit next to his friend but another child was in his way. He told the child to move, and when the child refused he hit him. Wow. I still cannot believe my child did this. I pray that this is the first and last call I get from his principal. Poor kid had a dream the next night that the principal called me again but he hadn't done anything wrong. I think he'll be on his best behavior for a while.

I adjusted my weight loss goals. Right now my BMI is in the obese range. In order to move to the healthy range I need to lose a total of 40 pounds or 35 more pounds. So my goal is to have a healthy BMI by the end of summer. And MAYBE try for another baby at that point. There, I said it. You heard it here first. I want another baby. Not sure I'm ready, but the desire is there. I miss my babies so much.

Ben just came over to sit in my lap. He was rubbing by hairy legs and asked "what's this on your legs?"

"hair"

"no this stuff"

"goose bumps"

"no- gooses have goose bumps at the zoo."

well, duh mommy.

So here are some pics. Bill posed like this with his family about ten years ago when he first started seeing them again. The kids wanted an update. They are so grown up. And this is our completed kitchen wall finally. I love it. And, of course, just a cute pic of the boys together.

Uh-oh

After Joey gets on the bus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ben and I take Grandma home and then run any errands we need to do (today it was library and Walmart for OJ and doilies). This afternoon when I got home, I could hear someone finishing up a message on the machine. I checked caller id- Joey's school. Uh-oh. Pushed play- "This is the principal. Please call back. Joey had an incident on the bus this morning and we have to assign him a seat." Oh crap. What happened? My first thought is that someone messed with him. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's completely innocent, but I also don't picture him as a bully. So I called back- yes my child hit another boy and made him bleed. Horror. I am just in shock. Now I am waiting for him to get off the bus and tell me what happened. He is soo grounded. I still think someone probably instigated, but that is no excuse for hitting. What has gotten into him? Now I'm worried that when his progress report comes home Friday there is going to be a note about behavior.
Joey has always preferred to play by himself and I have always worried about him making friends. He is not reassuring me right now! He doesn't come home and tell me about friends he plays with. When we go to other people's houses, he either plays by himself or with adults. How can I teach my child to make friends? Raising children is a fine art that I am feeling very unqualified for lately.

Diet department: I took yesterday off partly because I had no time and partly because everything was sore. So much for just my calves hurting. Today I did 45 minutes of lower body Tae bo. And I know I'm a scale addict, but I can admit that and still go on with my life. How can I not get on when I'm seeing these great numbers right now. I have already lost 5 pounds! I'm back down to my pre-holidays weight and less than 30 to go.

Random Occurings

I did an hour of Tae bo Extreme yesterday and 1/2 hour of abs today. The only thing sore today is my calves for some reason.

Grandpa Bill, Grandma Julie, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Jeff and Uncle Mark came over for a visit today. The boys love playing with their Aunt and Uncles, and really kept them busy. We finally got my pics hung up in the kitchen right before they came and we got comments on them right away. It does look really nice, if I do say so myself. I took a picture of my pictures, but it's not quite the same.

I have two OUAF shows coming up this week. I am very excited to get back into it. It's been a while since my last show. I have high hopes for both of these shows that they will lead to more. I would just like to bring in a little extra income each month. And it would have been nice if it was enough so I wouldn't have to work this summer, but that is not looking good so far. One step at a time.

Tomorrow we have a playdate in the morning and I'm covering for my boss in the afternoon so I don't think I'll work out. Tuesday I'll hit it, then Wednesday is my full day and my show. I cannot let myself get off track. Maybe I can squeeze something in tomorrow.

I'm selling my first ebay item right now. I have 12 VHS Tae bo tapes that I can't use anymore because we don't have a VCR hooked up, so I'm hoping to get a little $ to go towards the new ones I'm getting. If anyone is interested, I can deliver here in town. The item # is 120209368450. I'm just a tiny bit worried that they'll sell for $.99 and then I'll be a little screwed. But hopefully everyone with their New Years resolutions will be looking for these.

I'm realizing my post is really choppy today. Just little snippets. Tomorrow I will try to do more early memories. Have a good week.

Prayers and Weekends

First of all, we need a lot of prayers over here. My boss lost her Mother-in-law Thursday and her kids lost their Grammie. They are relieved that her pain is over but sad to not be with her. And our Mayor lost his baby Thursday night. Words cannot express how heartbreaking this must be. I cannot imagine losing a child and hope I never have to. I hope that both of these families find peace that their loved one is in a better place.

In the better news department, I've still been working out and even ordered some new Tae bo DVD's. I've lost 3.5 pounds this week which is amazing for me. Usually it takes a month to see any results. I've already noticed more energy and I've actually been able to get more stuff done around the house. And I've finally been able to go to sleep and stay that way the last 3 nights. I had been having some major insomnia for the last few weeks. I would go to bed and just lay there thinking for an hour. Then I would fall asleep only to wake up every couple hours. Not fun.

Weekend plans: Get my pictures hung, grocery shopping, house cleaning, workout today. Visit from Father in law and family tomorrow. Doesn't sound too busy but hope to get a lot done.
Have a good one.

Old Movies and Babysitters

I am sooo sore today. It hurts to move anything. So I just did a 15 minute stretch. But I'm twitching to get back to it, and I've already been shopping for the new Tae bo set. That's how I do things. Jump in running. I get almost to the point of being obsessed with it. Whatever works to get this flab off, though.
Today was a bit crazy because my babysitter/MIL called in sick at 6 o'clock this morning. We kept saying we needed a backup, but of course never figured one out. So I ended up calling our friend Amy who stays at home with her kids. I woke her up, oops, but she watched the kids for me at the last minute. And she said they were good! I ended up working the morning, but got a sub for the afternoon so I could get Joey to school and I didn't want to take advantage of Amy. I rushed over to pick the kids up after my morning class, picked up Burger King for them on the way home (I had a grilled chicken sandwich- no fries), and shoved Joey onto the bus. Then Ben and I had a relaxing afternoon off. Ben watched a new Backyardigans movie we got from Netflix while I tried to finish my latest book.
It's funny. We've been getting the kids movies that we used to watch when we were young. They've seen Home Alone, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and The Neverending Story the last few weeks. Certainly some reminiscing from Mommy and Daddy watching those. And the boys really liked them. Now they want Home Alone 2 but my memory tells me it wasn't nearly as good. We'll also have to get Goonies and Short Circuit.
Off to finally finish that book. Good Night.

Woo-hoo!

I worked out again today. I really wasn't planning on making this commitment right now, but I'm moving while I have the momentum. I am really sore from yesterday's workout, but that didn't affect today, 'cause I mostly just did cardio. The scale was nice this morning and showed -1 pound, which was helpful.
Tomorrow I will take a break and I have to work all day. The real test will be Thursday.

Today at school, the only thing we could talk about was the tornado and the apple orchard. These 3-year old kids are very sad that the orchard was hurt. Fortunately they said on the news tonight that they plan to rebuild and be open by the fall. We also had a chance to talk about what we do during a tornado warning. I was glad to hear that most of them went to the basement.

I want to record a few more memories from childhood:
*The earliest thing I can remember is getting in trouble with my Mom. I must not have been too naughty because she asked me where her good Stacie had gone. I just remember thinking I was some interloper who had taken over the body of her good Stacie.
*When we lived in North Dakota, my Mom was driving us to church one day, and my Dad must have been home sick. Well, she drove off the road and down into a ditch. Several other cars stopped to help us and we were able to sit in their cars until ours was out of the ditch. Once out, we turned right around and went back home. We had to wake Daddy up to tell him what happened. It was quite the adventure for us, but I'm sure not for my Mom.
*When we lived on Guam?, my Mom worked at a day-care center as the cook. I remember she used to make tuna and noodles there just like at home. Yechh.
*If you know me, you know my front two teeth are caps. When I was six I was sleeping on my bed in a sleeping bag and fell face first onto the ceramic tile floor. My two front teeth were broken in half and there was actually pieces of tile stuck to the part that was left. My Dad let me pick a book out the next day and I picked a Garfield cartoon book. I remember thinking I was a little cool because they put things like braces on my teeth. Have I mentioned my dorkiness?

I've run out of memory for now. More later.

Trying To Get Back In The Groove

I worked out today! For the first time in several months. I managed to do 45 minutes of Taebo with the boys' help. They like to stand in front of me and do the exercises, especially when we pull the resistance bands out. Billy Blanks was really life-size on my 52 inch TV. I can tell I will be sore tomorrow, but it felt really good and I hope I can keep it going. I also signed up with sparkpeople.com. It's a free site where you can track your weight loss, exercise, and eating goals.

I also baked a cake. I know, that doesn't really fit in with losing weight, but it was for a co- worker's birthday. Cake baking is not really up there on my list of things I like to do, but it turned out ok.

And can we just mention the weather today? This morning I just thought it was so wierd how warm it was. Ben and I went to the grocery store in short sleeves. But then it got kinda scary for awhile. We had a tornado warning and one actually touched down east of us. Our favorite apple orchard seems to have been destroyed. :( Joey was 20 minutes late getting home because he had to put his head between his knees right when school was supposed to get out. But as far as I know everyone is safe. Phew.

This is just a cute picture I caught of Ben. He fights getting his picture taken so I took a bunch while he was in a good mood this evening.

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!

I just had to put this on here- I didn't write it, someone shared it with me.

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning. Uphill BOTH ways. Yadda, yadda, yadda..........

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but Look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Play station video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids' and the graphics sucked ass! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens it was just one screen forever!

And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen Menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire... imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd

My Precious Few Memories

I've been thinking about my blog and wanting to put something a little more than just my boring day to day stuff (which even to me has gotten pretty boring), so I'm going to try to do some reminiscing. Now, I need to put a disclaimer that anyone who knows me knows I have terrible memory, so I really should get down what is still up there before I've forgotten everything.

Ok, so most of the things I remember are traumatic and I don't want to go into those. How about sports? I remember playing t-ball and my dad was the coach/ sometimes umpire. No, it must have been Little League, because I remember pitching. My strongest memory is of one player on our team who was maybe developmentally disabled. He would swing at the ball well before the pitcher even pitched it, or well after it crossed the plate. I remember trying to understand how hard it would be to not be able to do things like that. I also remember that we did not tease the boy. I don't know that we were especially nice to him, but nor were we cruel the way children tend to be. I was always the "nerd" of my family. I was never really pressured to be in sports, though my younger sisters played at least one sport thoughout their childhood. I know at the time I could have chosen to play, and once in a while I did, but usually I took the easy way out. The thing about that is that I really felt left out. My sisters played, my dad coached, and I just watched. That's kind of been a pattern in my life. I have a hard time jumping in and being an active participant in things. The other night I was riding in a car with 4 other moms. They were all talking and I did feel like I had something to say a few times, but I couldn't jump in fast enough. I felt uncomfortable and hated myself for it. But that is something I continue to work on, and as an adult I can see what I need to do most of the time. Like today. I officially took over as vp of my genealogy society, and had to stand up in front of everyone and speak into a microphone to introduce our speaker. I was nervous, but I did a great job if I do say so myself. I never would have been able to do that 2 years ago.

Wow, somehow that ended up being a negative memory! Ok I'm racking my brain for a good one. When we lived on Guam, and I was maybe 9 or so, our next door neighbors who we called Aunt and Uncle had this elaborate party at their house. I think it was for their daughter's birthday. Was her name Gina Ann? My friends and my sisters and I got hula skirts and choreographed a huge hula dance to do in front of everyone. I remember practicing for weeks, but then that night when we went play the tape the music kept cutting out. It was fun, though.

I also remember my best friend from that time, no I remember 2 friends. One from school was Patricia. She moved away before we did. And one who I really think must have been a "local." She used to tell me she was really a monkey and I believed her. She was small and dark and obviously very creative. I think she was the one who taught us the dance.

Oohh. I remember riding my bike to Patricia's house. Looking back, her Dad must have been an officer because they had a way nicer house. And I rode my bike to piano lessons, which were near Patricia's house. One day I fell off my bike on the way to piano lessons, and got through my whole lesson with skinned knees and ripped pants.

Then we moved to Utah. My best friend there was Nikki. She was a naughty girl and I don't think my parents wanted me spending so much time with her. We watched Dirty Dancing in her basement and she used to claim Jennifer Grey was her cousin. We also played spin the bottle with some older neighbor boys. There was probably a reason for me to not hang out with her. Our neighbors across the street had four boys: Trevor, Tate, Todd, and Tyler. Creative. The two older ones were real cute. Perhaps one of my early crushes. But a boy at school asked me to "go with" him. Kevin. My first love. Cue aawww. This was sixth grade. We put on a play of "The Christmas Carol" and I was the narrator. I remember the dress I wore. Was I a dork.

Here I found some Christmas pictures from around that time. I was a dufus. Hee. Oh well, we get better with age, right? Sorry Heather and Trina, had to put you on there too.

Well that's enough reminiscing for tonight. Hopefully I've inspired someone else to look back to their chilhood as well. That was the topic of our program today. :)

Did You Know I'm Royal?

It was back to work and school today. Actually it went rather well. Ben didn't want to wake up at 7, but really neither did I. The kids were anxious to tell me everything from the break, so it was a little noisy but otherwise they were good and I had missed them. It was nice to see everyone again. Joey was getting ready for the bus and said he had really missed his teacher, too. He has the greatest kindergarten teacher. I'm glad he likes her. Except she is a Packers fan, so he comes home and tells us about that. He almost wants to be a Packers fan just to make his teacher happy. Not quite, though. He also veers toward the Vikings because Grandpa Scott and Ti-ti are fans.

Tonight is Bunco. Yay! 24 moms get together and eat, then scream at the top of our lungs over this dice game. It is so much fun. Can't wait. Oh, and we win money. Last time I won $40. Woo-hoo.

I found out that Shedd Aquarium is free next weekend, so thinking about dragging the family there. The only way we would go is for free. It is way too expensive otherwise, but I think the kids would really enjoy it. We took them to the Field Museum a couple years ago but Joey was bored. We'll wait a few more years to try that again. And I remember going to the Museum of Science and Industry and really liking it, but I think they should be a little older for that too.

Last night I was actually doing some family tree research and discovered Ancestry's new content- passport applications for all of the 1800's. I didn't find any for my direct ancestors, but here is one from a cousin. Really cool. Some of them even had photos attached. I'm hoping with some more digging to find one for one of my direct ancestors. Somebody had to have traveled during that time. It also reminded me how fun it is to do research. I've been away from it so long and feel like all my lines are dead ends. I really need to take another look and get back into it. The excitement of finding a new ancestor is like winning a huge contest. I do really love it. Oh man, am I a nerd or what?

I don't think I've mentioned on here the famous connections I have made. On my Dad's side, we are related to President Bush and the Wilson brothers from the Beach Boys. Also the founder of The Seventh Day Baptists in the 1600's in Rhode Island. And we have royal ties in England.

On my Mom's side we descend from a family on the Mayflower. And there is a historic site in Indiana with my ancestors' first home in the US.

Boobie Update

Here is Ben with his "boobies"/"earplugs."

I keep trying to take pictures of the nice new office, but there is still clutter. Will keep trying.

Today I got up, washed dishes, did laundry, took down all the Christmas decorations (by myself), went to work for a couple hours, came home, did laundry, ... the house looks nice, my classroom looks nice, I feel like I accomplished something, it's all good. Now I just need to get all the laundry put away. The hard part.

Oh, yesterday we went to 2 movies. I've been to the theater 3 times this week which is a record. We saw National Treasure - very cute, and I Am Legend- very tense. Then we came home and I fell asleep on the couch but woke up for the countdown before heading to bed.

Tomorrow Daddy has to go back to work. I am actually looking forward to going back on Thursday. I start missing the kids and the interactions. I don't think I could be a stay-at-home mom. Hats off to those that can.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!!

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.

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.

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!"

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.