I got the sweetest card in the mail today and I am so excited now because of it!
Background real quick...
Christmas Eve 2009 Matt finally proposed to me and I was so excited! i was so happy we had finally made that level of commitment to our relationship;not that having a baby together wasn't significant commitment but proposal for marriage is different. All my friends were excited, all our friends were excited and I thought this would be so much fun to plan a wedding and have a great time putting ideas together with friends and family.
Unfortunately, my family was a great deal less than enthusiastic. Now I will grant you that in my head I had a bit of a movie scene reaction expected, so I had probably set my expectations too high, but if you don't shoot for the stars then you'll never potentially be able to reach them right? Then some time after that we had a few hiccups, but realistically what couple doesn't? At which point a number of people in my family felt it necessary to point out to me that my relationship wasn't the type that should be continuing on into marriage; and while no I don't believe any spoke those exact words, some with similar concept were uttered.
Now I had mixed feelings, wasn't quite sure how I felt, I loved my other half but I was devastated at the fact that my family was continuing on this path of we don't like him and regardless of whether or not you're happy we're not going to like the situation. Then the only solace I found in my situation was that after the fog cleared my darling and I had determined that we really were meant for each other. And that like any normal two adult couple where both people happen to be strongly opinionated, and even more strong willed, we were bound to have arguments, disagreement and times where we really wanted to rip each other apart. But on the plus, any couple that thinks they can get along through life, specifically marriage, without ever having an argument, disagreement, spat, pick a descriptor, was delusional and we live in the real world where schmit; as others have appropriately termed it for reading etiquette, happens.
After that the majority of my focus was turned to school and trying to finish up my degree so I really didn't do too much thinking and or attempting to plan for the wedding. In fact up until a few months ago we really hadn't even come to an agreement as to when we wanted to have the wedding; though the majority of that was due to trying to figure out when and how we are going to pay for it.
Back to a bit more present...
Now that I am out of school I have had the time to start looking into possible venues, methods, decor, dresses, cakes, the whole enchilada! But every time I got some really great ideas I kept coming back to, wow no one in my family has shown even the remotest bit of interest or excitement per the wedding. Matt's had mentioned possibly having the wedding at their house, which Matt instantly said no, he wants more than just the back yard wedding. So I started looking into places where we could have the sunrise wedding with the wonder breakfast buffet like we want. Now the only hard part has been again trying to figure out the logistics. How many people are going to come? Where is it going to be? Where will the reception be? And the questions are seemingly endless. But there is always one question that for the bride to be is a particular one, what is my dress going to be like?
Now I have some ideas and I've seen some things in galleries and on TV but in the same I'm not a person who likes to spend a whole ton of money on something that isn't going to get much use. So the idea of buying a wedding dress was well I'll find one I like but I really don't want to spend a lot. Then it was well, who is actually going to go shopping with me? But thanks to today, both problems are solved and there is an added bonus that I get to have a family member who wants to be involved!n As I mentioned before I got a card in the mail today, it was from my grandmother. She has circled the date that Matt and I picked for the wedding and mentioned that when my aunt got married that my great grandmother bought her wedding dress, so she would like to do the same for me. I'm so happy and so excited that she wants to be a part of the dress process. So now in the next six to eight months I am going to take a trip to see her and she and I, maybe an aunt or two or even three, possibly even my cousins can all go out and go dress shopping!! I'm so excited and now full re-motivated to trying to work out the rest of the details and get ready to have a fabulous wedding in 2012!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The never ending questions
So as we all know there are a few things in life that are the seemingly never ending questions. For example, when will the laundry be done? when will the computer stop shutting down in the middle of trying to write? when will my e-mail stop getting flooded with spam? and most importantly, when will she stop being so cute? The funny thing about all those questions, they all have a common answer, never. Ok well maybe I could find the appropriate setting to adjust so my computer would stop trying to shut down randomly but otherwise, never.
Now there are times where I am ecstatic that she will never stop being cute, but there are times where it's less cute and a little more concerning. This afternoon, while adorable that she wanted so badly to play with the dogs. Chasing them about the house and trying to play with them, in the same she wouldn't stop trying to grab their tails as they ran away. Thankfully we did a great deal of training with them as soon as we found out we were pregnant so they don't really pay any mind to it. However, Guinness will get fed up with it after a bit and then she starts running and barking and in our little apartment, it gets quite loud quite fast. Then after she was done chasing them she decided she needed to nap with them. Well as of late Guinness has picked the bathroom floor; more than likely because it's the coolest surface for her to lay on, also possibly because it's usually the last place bean will go, today was a different story though and she absolutely insisted on sleeping on the bathroom floor with the dog. Again very cute, but a bit disturbing. I try to keep my house clean, as I have mentioned before, but all in the same I personally just really didn't want her laying on the bathroom floor. So I asked her to go lay in the living room and she responded,
"But mommy I have to lay her with Guinness because we're tired and we need to take a nap."
After which she started fake snoring and proceeded with "See mommy we're sleeping so just leave us alone."
I mean come one how much cuter can she get?!
On the flip side we made some brownies today and of course had to have some after we had our lunch. The only downside, she wanted more. And when she didn't get it, WOW, you would have thought I had given birth to the devils child almost three years ago. She ran to the living room, dropped to the floor and started full out toddler temper tantrum on the floor; kicking, screaming, fake crying, the whole nine!
Again not quite so cute but it was another one of those, no these are never going to end. The kicking and screaming and carrying on may but to be sure she will always be very adamant about getting her way. And to be honest I hope she always stays that cute.
Now there are times where I am ecstatic that she will never stop being cute, but there are times where it's less cute and a little more concerning. This afternoon, while adorable that she wanted so badly to play with the dogs. Chasing them about the house and trying to play with them, in the same she wouldn't stop trying to grab their tails as they ran away. Thankfully we did a great deal of training with them as soon as we found out we were pregnant so they don't really pay any mind to it. However, Guinness will get fed up with it after a bit and then she starts running and barking and in our little apartment, it gets quite loud quite fast. Then after she was done chasing them she decided she needed to nap with them. Well as of late Guinness has picked the bathroom floor; more than likely because it's the coolest surface for her to lay on, also possibly because it's usually the last place bean will go, today was a different story though and she absolutely insisted on sleeping on the bathroom floor with the dog. Again very cute, but a bit disturbing. I try to keep my house clean, as I have mentioned before, but all in the same I personally just really didn't want her laying on the bathroom floor. So I asked her to go lay in the living room and she responded,
"But mommy I have to lay her with Guinness because we're tired and we need to take a nap."
After which she started fake snoring and proceeded with "See mommy we're sleeping so just leave us alone."
I mean come one how much cuter can she get?!
On the flip side we made some brownies today and of course had to have some after we had our lunch. The only downside, she wanted more. And when she didn't get it, WOW, you would have thought I had given birth to the devils child almost three years ago. She ran to the living room, dropped to the floor and started full out toddler temper tantrum on the floor; kicking, screaming, fake crying, the whole nine!
Again not quite so cute but it was another one of those, no these are never going to end. The kicking and screaming and carrying on may but to be sure she will always be very adamant about getting her way. And to be honest I hope she always stays that cute.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
As she grows
It really is amazing to me sometimes how much my little one has grown. I still can barely believe she is going to be three in just two months. Today we officially hit another milestone though. She has her first, well at least the first I know about, imaginary friend. A little cat that stays in the palm of her hand named Little One. she was too cute about the whole thing too. She was in the shower, well getting out of it and she had her hand closed so tight she had white knuckles. I didn't pay it any mind at first but when we got to her bedroom and tried to get her dressed and she still refused to open her hand I asked her why.
"Because Little one is in there mommy, I have to keep her covered."
"She can't come out for just a minute?"
"No she's very sad mommy, and she's very shy of you."
"Well why is she so sad baby?"
"Because her mommy went to work and she hasn't come back, but not you mommy you're here and so that makes her feel better."
So thinking that maybe it was a manifestation of her anxiety about Matt being gone at work a lot I assured her that daddy will always come home from work to see her.
"Well that's good mommy because I love daddy and Little one will miss him if he doesn't come home."
And then she went about her business getting dressed and cleaning up her room. It was just too adorable. After a few minutes she came out to the kitchen as I was coming out of the bathroom and proceeded to announce to me "Mommy! she's not shy anymore and she wants to see you." upon which she opened her hand, I reached down and pet the pretend cat in her palm and she simply giggled and ran off to the living room to play.
I know there are some people out there who think that the imaginary friends are dangerous happening because they let the child believe that they don't have to talk to real people. I however believe they are a wonderful tool in child development. After all when is the last time you remember sitting there and having a conversation with your imaginary friend. I remember I used to work out all kids of issues with mine. Being upset about moving or having to go to a new school, something my friends had done that hurt my feelings, etc. but regardless he/she was always a good thing.
Not to mention the other good things it means about development. Now I know she can use her imagination the play and do other young child activities. She has that creative mind that will most definitely come in handy in life. And above all it just shows a developmental milestone and I couldn't be more proud of my little girl. Though as I said before I still can't believe how fast she is getting so big.
By the way total side note, THANK GOODNESS FOR AUTO SAVE!! I was in the midst of writing, actually almost done all I hadn't written was the last little paragraph there and all the sudden my computer decided it was a good time to shut down and install updates. But thankfully the blog had auto saved so I didn't lose everything.
"Because Little one is in there mommy, I have to keep her covered."
"She can't come out for just a minute?"
"No she's very sad mommy, and she's very shy of you."
"Well why is she so sad baby?"
"Because her mommy went to work and she hasn't come back, but not you mommy you're here and so that makes her feel better."
So thinking that maybe it was a manifestation of her anxiety about Matt being gone at work a lot I assured her that daddy will always come home from work to see her.
"Well that's good mommy because I love daddy and Little one will miss him if he doesn't come home."
And then she went about her business getting dressed and cleaning up her room. It was just too adorable. After a few minutes she came out to the kitchen as I was coming out of the bathroom and proceeded to announce to me "Mommy! she's not shy anymore and she wants to see you." upon which she opened her hand, I reached down and pet the pretend cat in her palm and she simply giggled and ran off to the living room to play.
I know there are some people out there who think that the imaginary friends are dangerous happening because they let the child believe that they don't have to talk to real people. I however believe they are a wonderful tool in child development. After all when is the last time you remember sitting there and having a conversation with your imaginary friend. I remember I used to work out all kids of issues with mine. Being upset about moving or having to go to a new school, something my friends had done that hurt my feelings, etc. but regardless he/she was always a good thing.
Not to mention the other good things it means about development. Now I know she can use her imagination the play and do other young child activities. She has that creative mind that will most definitely come in handy in life. And above all it just shows a developmental milestone and I couldn't be more proud of my little girl. Though as I said before I still can't believe how fast she is getting so big.
By the way total side note, THANK GOODNESS FOR AUTO SAVE!! I was in the midst of writing, actually almost done all I hadn't written was the last little paragraph there and all the sudden my computer decided it was a good time to shut down and install updates. But thankfully the blog had auto saved so I didn't lose everything.
What a day!!
Very productive day today! It makes you feel so good, getting tasks done, and working on projects. Makes you feel so good. Today I got the bookcase repainted, re-arranged the living-room, re-arranged the kitchen and got the living-room and kitchen super clean.
The only thing I didn't do that I wish I had was hand wash the kitchen floor. On the other hand I moved furniture, vacuumed places that haven't seen a vacuum in too long. It's funny really. I like to think that I keep my house pretty clean. I mean it may be a bit cluttered at times with all the munchkin toys all over the place or the laundry; I really hate doing laundry, it seems like a never ending to do. But otherwise it's clean. However, when you move furniture and appliances around and then see dirt and hair balls and who only knows what else hidden away, you start to feel like the place really isn't that clean.
Now I move the fridge, not all the way but I always rotate it out at least once a month to suck up the plethora of hair that collects behind it, but today, oh my goodness! There was soo much hair under it!! Then I got really ambitious and decided to swap the handles on the fridge. WOW!! Way more of an undertaking that I planned. The only relief about it was as bean was watching me get increasingly more frustrated about the whole project she turns to me and says "Mommy you can do it, you just have to fix it a little bit harder." At which point I had to just drop the ratchet and laugh for a minute.
She really was trying to help but there are definitely times where she needed to go do her own thing.
That however was the dangerous part of the day. We had a small shelf that we were using as a supplement for the fact that we have little to no cabinet space in which to put food. The only awkward part was it was actually a neat little shelf that our previous neighbors had their kids put their hand prints all over; very cute but a little weird since they weren't bean's hands. So today I finally decided it should be re-painted.
I had bought two cans of black spray paint when I bought all the stuff to build the fence; don't ask me why I bought two but on the plus side they were only $0.98 so no big deal that I had way too much. and so I figured extra paint and a shelf that needs painting, good deal. The downside, I didn't have enough. So I thought for a min, and remembered there was some spray paint in the basement, so I went to investigate. Tori of course had to follow and we found a gold, green and more black, yay! Now the only issue, she wanted to paint. So I thought 'ok well we can get creative with it and she can paint it and we can custom decorate it.' Again the downside, aside from letting her handle the spray paint cans the only paint she has is either water colors or washable finger paint. so I thought well we'll just re-do the hands, I can trace hers and then spray paint a soft outline of them. However, it was a miserable fail. I ended up totally covering my hand in gold spray paint and just big runny blobs on the shelves. So we touched it up with black and then decided to use the gold to spray nice light highlights across the whole thing. Personally I thin it came out great, little one " Uh oh mommy, you made a mess. I guess you have to paint it again." I almost peed my pants laughing so hard.
as an end result we have a self that actually almost looks like wood if you ask me and I have my living room re-done, my kitchen re-set and for tomorrow.... the front porch and tiny's bedroom, maybe mine too we'll see how motivated I am...
The only thing I didn't do that I wish I had was hand wash the kitchen floor. On the other hand I moved furniture, vacuumed places that haven't seen a vacuum in too long. It's funny really. I like to think that I keep my house pretty clean. I mean it may be a bit cluttered at times with all the munchkin toys all over the place or the laundry; I really hate doing laundry, it seems like a never ending to do. But otherwise it's clean. However, when you move furniture and appliances around and then see dirt and hair balls and who only knows what else hidden away, you start to feel like the place really isn't that clean.
Now I move the fridge, not all the way but I always rotate it out at least once a month to suck up the plethora of hair that collects behind it, but today, oh my goodness! There was soo much hair under it!! Then I got really ambitious and decided to swap the handles on the fridge. WOW!! Way more of an undertaking that I planned. The only relief about it was as bean was watching me get increasingly more frustrated about the whole project she turns to me and says "Mommy you can do it, you just have to fix it a little bit harder." At which point I had to just drop the ratchet and laugh for a minute.
She really was trying to help but there are definitely times where she needed to go do her own thing.
That however was the dangerous part of the day. We had a small shelf that we were using as a supplement for the fact that we have little to no cabinet space in which to put food. The only awkward part was it was actually a neat little shelf that our previous neighbors had their kids put their hand prints all over; very cute but a little weird since they weren't bean's hands. So today I finally decided it should be re-painted.
I had bought two cans of black spray paint when I bought all the stuff to build the fence; don't ask me why I bought two but on the plus side they were only $0.98 so no big deal that I had way too much. and so I figured extra paint and a shelf that needs painting, good deal. The downside, I didn't have enough. So I thought for a min, and remembered there was some spray paint in the basement, so I went to investigate. Tori of course had to follow and we found a gold, green and more black, yay! Now the only issue, she wanted to paint. So I thought 'ok well we can get creative with it and she can paint it and we can custom decorate it.' Again the downside, aside from letting her handle the spray paint cans the only paint she has is either water colors or washable finger paint. so I thought well we'll just re-do the hands, I can trace hers and then spray paint a soft outline of them. However, it was a miserable fail. I ended up totally covering my hand in gold spray paint and just big runny blobs on the shelves. So we touched it up with black and then decided to use the gold to spray nice light highlights across the whole thing. Personally I thin it came out great, little one " Uh oh mommy, you made a mess. I guess you have to paint it again." I almost peed my pants laughing so hard.
as an end result we have a self that actually almost looks like wood if you ask me and I have my living room re-done, my kitchen re-set and for tomorrow.... the front porch and tiny's bedroom, maybe mine too we'll see how motivated I am...
Friday, June 24, 2011
At weeks end
So after much deliberation and a great deal of input I have come to the conclusion that I have used entirely too much energy concerning someone who has no regard for compassion. I have given a lot of thought to the whole thing, really contemplated how I feel about friends and good people vs. bad people and to be honest it all came down to one little statement. "Mommy you're the best for loving me."
I realized that it doesn't really matter what people chose to do in their lives all of us are going to make mistakes. Offenses have been made against me, people have hurt my feeling and I know that I have hurt others at various points in my life. But above all I still knew who I truly loved and who really loved me.
There are people in our lives who will test us, but it's not those tests but rather what we learn form those test that it important. And yes I know that sound ridiculously cliche but it's true. I have learned that it doesn't really matter who people are or what they do, at some point they will hurt you, no one in this life is going to avoid it. Now I know you are probably all sitting there saying to yourselves 'oh come on, don't be so cynical about it, there are good people out there.' And I'm not disagreeing with that and I do believe that there are, but in one way or another they will. Whether it is a friend who steals from you, family that doesn't call for your birthday, a teacher that cheats you out of a grade that you felt you deserved, a job that fires you, and the list goes on. But it's bound to happen and the sooner we can accept it the sooner we have that energy to move on with and dedicate to the people and tasks in life that deserve it.
On a happier note my little one is too freaking cute! We went over to Ema's today and brought over some toys for bean to play with, she starts building a castle in the kitchen but then I think realized she had only brought the single post legos; well mega blocks but same difference, and so she stacked them all on top of one another. So she gets it all assembled, brings it to the table and says "Ema look at your castle! I made it for you because I love you!" All with this exceptionally high pitched excited tone. so Ema tells her it looks more like a tower, to which she answers "No Ema a made you a cute tower because I love you!" Which was much more of a scream. Almost as though she had to clarify, and they expression on her face was too funny. She had this face of determination like she was going to make us understand no matter what. She proceeded to take the tower, knock it down and then say that she was going to color instead because she wanted to draw mommy and daddy and "bear moosing and my Guinness dog." Of course Ema looks at me trying to understand the 'bear moosing' and when I tried to explain it I was corrected by little one, "No mommy she is my bear moosing because she is my Honey bear and she is my moosing so she is my bear moosing." With hands on her hips and head cocked. At which point I could help but laugh and just love that little kid.
So once again I saw light in people and the fact that there are people in the world who deserve my energy, time and attention, and there are those who don't. Now it's just time to weed out the mess and love the right people.
I realized that it doesn't really matter what people chose to do in their lives all of us are going to make mistakes. Offenses have been made against me, people have hurt my feeling and I know that I have hurt others at various points in my life. But above all I still knew who I truly loved and who really loved me.
There are people in our lives who will test us, but it's not those tests but rather what we learn form those test that it important. And yes I know that sound ridiculously cliche but it's true. I have learned that it doesn't really matter who people are or what they do, at some point they will hurt you, no one in this life is going to avoid it. Now I know you are probably all sitting there saying to yourselves 'oh come on, don't be so cynical about it, there are good people out there.' And I'm not disagreeing with that and I do believe that there are, but in one way or another they will. Whether it is a friend who steals from you, family that doesn't call for your birthday, a teacher that cheats you out of a grade that you felt you deserved, a job that fires you, and the list goes on. But it's bound to happen and the sooner we can accept it the sooner we have that energy to move on with and dedicate to the people and tasks in life that deserve it.
On a happier note my little one is too freaking cute! We went over to Ema's today and brought over some toys for bean to play with, she starts building a castle in the kitchen but then I think realized she had only brought the single post legos; well mega blocks but same difference, and so she stacked them all on top of one another. So she gets it all assembled, brings it to the table and says "Ema look at your castle! I made it for you because I love you!" All with this exceptionally high pitched excited tone. so Ema tells her it looks more like a tower, to which she answers "No Ema a made you a cute tower because I love you!" Which was much more of a scream. Almost as though she had to clarify, and they expression on her face was too funny. She had this face of determination like she was going to make us understand no matter what. She proceeded to take the tower, knock it down and then say that she was going to color instead because she wanted to draw mommy and daddy and "bear moosing and my Guinness dog." Of course Ema looks at me trying to understand the 'bear moosing' and when I tried to explain it I was corrected by little one, "No mommy she is my bear moosing because she is my Honey bear and she is my moosing so she is my bear moosing." With hands on her hips and head cocked. At which point I could help but laugh and just love that little kid.
So once again I saw light in people and the fact that there are people in the world who deserve my energy, time and attention, and there are those who don't. Now it's just time to weed out the mess and love the right people.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Lazy Day
Today I have decided is going to be a lazy day. It's rainy and miserable outside; though the rain is doing wonders for my garden. But everyone is a little stir crazy from being couped up the past couple days; the dogs especially. So we're going to keep it low key, watch some movies, read some books, maybe paint/color some pictures this afternoon.
It's funny really how crazy we all get. We spend the majority of the winter indoors and it's no big deal. But then summer comes around and we spend as much time as possible outdoors, soaking up the sun, exercising, and in general just trying to be outside that when we get to a stretch of a couple days where we have to be inside, everyone goes a little nutty. The munchkins start bouncing off the walls, the dogs won't stop trying to wrestle the adults get a little wiggy with all the noise indoors. We all lose it just a bit. Then the next day the sun comes out and everyone is forced outdoors where the kids can be as loud as they want, mom can get somethings done around the house without everyone in the way.
On the plus side, school is officially out so Autumn and Amanda can come over during the day and the girls can play, expel loads of energy in the back yard. And with the "fence" across the driveway now the dogs can come out and we don't have to worry about anyone going to far down the driveway to the road. It's not really a true fence like what is around the rest of the yard, it's technically a rabbit fence for the garden but it's easy to move with it only being held in place by a few wooden stakes, but it's also enough to keep the dogs and children in the yard which is perfect!
So I have a dilemma I was up contemplating most of the night that I could use some objective opinions on. We are about 99% sure we know who it was that robbed us the beginning of May, but there was nothing the Police could do without some reason for him to do it. A fight we had gotten into or something like that, or until the fingerprints come back. But last night I got some information that he was in the hospital, apparently he was admitted for alcohol poisoning. Now he used to be a good friend of ours so there is a part of me that wants to go see him and make sure he is ok, on the other hand there is a part of me that says he seriously betrayed my trust and friendship so does he really deserve my kindness. I don't know and I still can't come up with an answer. I guess I'll just have to ponder a bit longer.
It's funny really how crazy we all get. We spend the majority of the winter indoors and it's no big deal. But then summer comes around and we spend as much time as possible outdoors, soaking up the sun, exercising, and in general just trying to be outside that when we get to a stretch of a couple days where we have to be inside, everyone goes a little nutty. The munchkins start bouncing off the walls, the dogs won't stop trying to wrestle the adults get a little wiggy with all the noise indoors. We all lose it just a bit. Then the next day the sun comes out and everyone is forced outdoors where the kids can be as loud as they want, mom can get somethings done around the house without everyone in the way.
On the plus side, school is officially out so Autumn and Amanda can come over during the day and the girls can play, expel loads of energy in the back yard. And with the "fence" across the driveway now the dogs can come out and we don't have to worry about anyone going to far down the driveway to the road. It's not really a true fence like what is around the rest of the yard, it's technically a rabbit fence for the garden but it's easy to move with it only being held in place by a few wooden stakes, but it's also enough to keep the dogs and children in the yard which is perfect!
So I have a dilemma I was up contemplating most of the night that I could use some objective opinions on. We are about 99% sure we know who it was that robbed us the beginning of May, but there was nothing the Police could do without some reason for him to do it. A fight we had gotten into or something like that, or until the fingerprints come back. But last night I got some information that he was in the hospital, apparently he was admitted for alcohol poisoning. Now he used to be a good friend of ours so there is a part of me that wants to go see him and make sure he is ok, on the other hand there is a part of me that says he seriously betrayed my trust and friendship so does he really deserve my kindness. I don't know and I still can't come up with an answer. I guess I'll just have to ponder a bit longer.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
What to do
So I did it again. Went all weekend without posting. Oh well.
Anyways not too much to say as of late. Sunday as you all know was father's day so we had a nice day. Matt was pretty hungover, and actually still pretty drunk from Dan's bachelor party Saturday night. Tom and Nicole came over with little miss Penny, LOVE HER! and we had a nice dinner. I went to the meat market and I have to say of all the things to buy in bulk in order to save money, meat is number one on the list. The meat market up the street from us is great about that. You can buy a whole fillet or a whole NY strip and pay half or less and then they'll cut it to what ever size you want. The only downside was Colie picked up some nice corn on the cob and we decided to keep the house as cool as possible so we cooked everything on the grill, my silly self forgot to put the corn on first so the steaks got a little over done. I could have taken them off and just let the corn finish but I was afraid they would get cold and well there is nothing worse that cold beef. But it was still a nice dinner. NY Strip, corn on the cob, some smashed red potatoes, and a salad. Good stuff. Nicole made a super awesome desert too! She got some really great fresh strawberries from the farmer's market Sunday morning and then I picked up some vanilla pudding and or course there was whipped cream! Bean thought the whipped cream was the best part of course, though she got it as a bit of a treat in general since she slept through dinner.
She hasn't been doing so well with the whole napping plan since she's been home. Which I take most of the responsibility for. Since Matt doesn't get up until 10ish we don't generally go to bed before midnight, of course the little one is usually in bed way before then; sometimes not by much but I try for at latest 10pm. So our schedule is a little wacky, which during the week is fine but then on the weekend when we try to have dinner as a family at a slightly more reasonable hour it has a tendency to bite me. But I figure as long as the schedule works for all of us who cares. Besides if she were still getting up at her school usual of 6:30-7am that would mean I would be awake entirely too early ;-)
Though we may have to get back to a schedule more like that, or at least I will. I have to find a job of some sort. Even if it's just up at Stewart's up the street in the morning. Something to bring a little extra cash into the house. I did put resumes out a little over a week ago, that's on my to do list for this afternoon is to do some follow up calls and see if anyone is willing to let me come in for an interview. thank goodness I don't have to worry about interview clothes thanks to my Aunt Julie. she sent me five boxes full of clothes a couple months ago. Actually it reminds me that I still have some things I went through in the attic that I need to take over to goodwill. Maybe that will be the plan for tomorrow. Go through some more clothes and take things to goodwill. I have a bunch of Tori's stuff that I'm not quite sure what to do with either. I mean I'd like to hold on to it for child number two in the event it's a girl but in the same I don't know that I want to hold on to that stuff that much longer. And some of it I could clean up and give to Tome and Cole for my little Penelope but in the same I know they don't have a ton of storage space either so I don't want to clutter up their apartment.
Speaking of clutter, how exactly does one go through the clutter? For example I have boxes and boxes of stuff, just stuff, in the attic that really NEEDS to be gone through but in the same I constantly find myself saying "Oh yea I still have one of those, it's upstairs." So I go upstairs and rummage through some things and voila! there its is. So is it really safe to go through all those boxes of stuff also, I have quite a lot in the way of papers; important papers, bills, receipts, things of that nature. What do I do with all that. I mean none of it is truly relevant right now but in the same what happens in six months from now when I go up there to look for something only to realize I threw it out. That would make me SOOOO mad.
I guess what I really need to do is just down size. Anything more than, whats the audit line 7 years, so anything older than that can get tossed. Plus I know there are papers from school and crap like that that can get tossed. Maybe that will be my project while this weekend while Matt finishes up the Jeep, or the rear brakes on my car, or the brakes on Joe's car.... and the list of his car projects goes onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.... I think you get my drift.
Ok so plan for the rest of the week...
Well I guess I have my work cut out for me then.
Anyways not too much to say as of late. Sunday as you all know was father's day so we had a nice day. Matt was pretty hungover, and actually still pretty drunk from Dan's bachelor party Saturday night. Tom and Nicole came over with little miss Penny, LOVE HER! and we had a nice dinner. I went to the meat market and I have to say of all the things to buy in bulk in order to save money, meat is number one on the list. The meat market up the street from us is great about that. You can buy a whole fillet or a whole NY strip and pay half or less and then they'll cut it to what ever size you want. The only downside was Colie picked up some nice corn on the cob and we decided to keep the house as cool as possible so we cooked everything on the grill, my silly self forgot to put the corn on first so the steaks got a little over done. I could have taken them off and just let the corn finish but I was afraid they would get cold and well there is nothing worse that cold beef. But it was still a nice dinner. NY Strip, corn on the cob, some smashed red potatoes, and a salad. Good stuff. Nicole made a super awesome desert too! She got some really great fresh strawberries from the farmer's market Sunday morning and then I picked up some vanilla pudding and or course there was whipped cream! Bean thought the whipped cream was the best part of course, though she got it as a bit of a treat in general since she slept through dinner.
She hasn't been doing so well with the whole napping plan since she's been home. Which I take most of the responsibility for. Since Matt doesn't get up until 10ish we don't generally go to bed before midnight, of course the little one is usually in bed way before then; sometimes not by much but I try for at latest 10pm. So our schedule is a little wacky, which during the week is fine but then on the weekend when we try to have dinner as a family at a slightly more reasonable hour it has a tendency to bite me. But I figure as long as the schedule works for all of us who cares. Besides if she were still getting up at her school usual of 6:30-7am that would mean I would be awake entirely too early ;-)
Though we may have to get back to a schedule more like that, or at least I will. I have to find a job of some sort. Even if it's just up at Stewart's up the street in the morning. Something to bring a little extra cash into the house. I did put resumes out a little over a week ago, that's on my to do list for this afternoon is to do some follow up calls and see if anyone is willing to let me come in for an interview. thank goodness I don't have to worry about interview clothes thanks to my Aunt Julie. she sent me five boxes full of clothes a couple months ago. Actually it reminds me that I still have some things I went through in the attic that I need to take over to goodwill. Maybe that will be the plan for tomorrow. Go through some more clothes and take things to goodwill. I have a bunch of Tori's stuff that I'm not quite sure what to do with either. I mean I'd like to hold on to it for child number two in the event it's a girl but in the same I don't know that I want to hold on to that stuff that much longer. And some of it I could clean up and give to Tome and Cole for my little Penelope but in the same I know they don't have a ton of storage space either so I don't want to clutter up their apartment.
Speaking of clutter, how exactly does one go through the clutter? For example I have boxes and boxes of stuff, just stuff, in the attic that really NEEDS to be gone through but in the same I constantly find myself saying "Oh yea I still have one of those, it's upstairs." So I go upstairs and rummage through some things and voila! there its is. So is it really safe to go through all those boxes of stuff also, I have quite a lot in the way of papers; important papers, bills, receipts, things of that nature. What do I do with all that. I mean none of it is truly relevant right now but in the same what happens in six months from now when I go up there to look for something only to realize I threw it out. That would make me SOOOO mad.
I guess what I really need to do is just down size. Anything more than, whats the audit line 7 years, so anything older than that can get tossed. Plus I know there are papers from school and crap like that that can get tossed. Maybe that will be my project while this weekend while Matt finishes up the Jeep, or the rear brakes on my car, or the brakes on Joe's car.... and the list of his car projects goes onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.... I think you get my drift.
Ok so plan for the rest of the week...
- Resume call backs
- Sort through clothes and take not fitting/never going to fit again stuff to goodwill
- Go through boxes of papers and toss anything older than 7 years, or crap I know I won't need again
- Go through the toys and other stuff in the attic, sort out what's what and toss the non needed; or donate/give away whatever I don't want
- Local job applications...
Well I guess I have my work cut out for me then.
Friday, June 17, 2011
TGIF
Not a terribly strenuous week but I still feel as though it was plenty busy. Today we're going for a change of pace. It's 12:23pm and I have dishes done, the air purifier cell is soaking and there is laundry running. That is pretty much all my plans for the day. Now the munchkin and I are outside, I'm sitting in the gazebo talking to all of you and Tori is riding her bike. Not exactly the most beautiful day for the afore mentioned activities as it's overcast and according to weatherchannel.com it's 70 degrees. But we're comfortable and from here I can easily run downstairs and put more laundry in, the dogs can be outside; though Honey doesn't seem to thrilled because Guinness just wants to play with her but that primarily just means getting chased and chewed on, and well we might get a bit of rain and I would love to sit out here and listen to the rain.
Side note Bean just brought me a dandelion, then said 'oh wait no I need that, I need to go put gas in it." left, rode up and down the driveway, came back with the flower, "here mommy now it has gas for you." Where do they come up with stuff like that?
I love the imagination though. I remember when Hannah and Laura and Traci used to come over and we would pretend we were mermaids trapped in the pool over the evil sorcerer and we would dive to the bottom to try to see if we could escape through the drain. Or when I still lived in MD and Athena and I would be in the back yard, particularly after the basement caved in and we would take the clay and make little figurines. My mom still had one of them for the longest time, definitely gone by now though.
I think that may be one additional task for the day, getting bean to paint some new pictures, maybe even get creative with some paper scraps and glue, maybe add in a little glitter. I guess we'll have to see where the day takes us.
Side note Bean just brought me a dandelion, then said 'oh wait no I need that, I need to go put gas in it." left, rode up and down the driveway, came back with the flower, "here mommy now it has gas for you." Where do they come up with stuff like that?
I love the imagination though. I remember when Hannah and Laura and Traci used to come over and we would pretend we were mermaids trapped in the pool over the evil sorcerer and we would dive to the bottom to try to see if we could escape through the drain. Or when I still lived in MD and Athena and I would be in the back yard, particularly after the basement caved in and we would take the clay and make little figurines. My mom still had one of them for the longest time, definitely gone by now though.
I think that may be one additional task for the day, getting bean to paint some new pictures, maybe even get creative with some paper scraps and glue, maybe add in a little glitter. I guess we'll have to see where the day takes us.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Excitement!!
So I just had to let you all know that my plants, grass included are finally sprouting!!! I'm actually very proud of myself if I have to say so. I'm glad that I finally got something to grow and even more excited that my lawn may finally stop looking like a sad excuse for, well I can't even come up with an analogy that adequately describes the situation.
Tori agreed it was exciting too but then told me I had to go to time out because I wasn't careful. I was watering some of my potted plants and two of the pots I bought are really meant to be inside so they have no hole in the bottom and I got the one a little too full of water so I went to try to pour some of it out and instead ended up pouring half the container into another pot. She responded "Oh no mommy you dumped it!" I told yes that i accidentally dumped it and she responded with, "well you have to be careful or you're going to have to go upstairs mommy." I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be concerned that my daughter was trying to put me in time out.
I decided laugh was the best option. She proceeded to do her now customary "no mom, that's not funny" which just makes me laugh more and then I explain that yes I do have to be more careful and that's why we have to pay attention no matter what we're doing.
At this point she walked away and started riding her bike again. Oh well so much for the afternoon lesson. Regardless, my plants are growing!! and I'm excited!!!
Tori agreed it was exciting too but then told me I had to go to time out because I wasn't careful. I was watering some of my potted plants and two of the pots I bought are really meant to be inside so they have no hole in the bottom and I got the one a little too full of water so I went to try to pour some of it out and instead ended up pouring half the container into another pot. She responded "Oh no mommy you dumped it!" I told yes that i accidentally dumped it and she responded with, "well you have to be careful or you're going to have to go upstairs mommy." I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be concerned that my daughter was trying to put me in time out.
I decided laugh was the best option. She proceeded to do her now customary "no mom, that's not funny" which just makes me laugh more and then I explain that yes I do have to be more careful and that's why we have to pay attention no matter what we're doing.
At this point she walked away and started riding her bike again. Oh well so much for the afternoon lesson. Regardless, my plants are growing!! and I'm excited!!!
Killing time
So I tried to tell myself that I would be really good and post at least every other day if I couldn't do it every day, but obviously that hasn't worked out so well thus far. But in the same you have to have new things to write about right? Otherwise its just the random babble that goes on in my head, and I'm not sure that anyone other than myself is really interested in hearing all that.
Anyways, so the past two days have been mostly bopping around the mall days. I wanted to get out of the house and it's been pretty miserable weather wise here so Tori has been couped up with entirely too much energy. So we went over to Colonie Center on Tuesday, poked around, tried to come up with something for Matt for father's day; only to come up mostly empty handed. It didn't help of course that he wasn't giving me any ideas. Instead we'll have a nice dinner with friends and our munchkins.
Today we finally got to get back outside though. Yesterday we could have spent some time outside, and we did later in the afternoon. Wen went over the Amanda and Autumn's house for dinner and the girls played in the side yard while Amanda and I sat and had a glass of wine. That venture all in its own was probably the most entertaining part of the past two days. We load up in the Honda to go get a bottle of wine to go with dinner, and Amanda drives a Chevrolet Cavalier so nice little four cylinder, gets them around just fine, and Autumn thought my car was the fastest thing in the world! Those girls were too funny! I would pull away from a light or stop sign, and nothing special, but because they're in the back seat so there was full wind with the windows down and the exhaust on the car being loud they thought we were going SUPER FAST! And that was exactly what they kept squealing in between giggling and screeching in excitement. Amanda and I were laughing so hard. They thought it was just the greatest thing. Now of course Tori has been in the car a million times and so it was technically nothing new for her, but to have Autumn there and so excited you would have thought we put the two of them on a roller coaster. Then we got back to Amanda's and the girls are playing in the yard while we waited to start cooking dinner and they're trying to play tag. Well more so Autumn kept tagging Tori. she wasn't quite catching on to the concept yet. I foresee in the future for this afternoon however lots of bike riding and mommy reading the new book she got last week.
Should be an interesting one, North and South, all about a young man who comes to live in the colonies and then gets wrapped up in the civil war. I'll let you know how it goes. Oh and I found another great pattern for a cute shell bag that I want to crochet too.
Anyways, so the past two days have been mostly bopping around the mall days. I wanted to get out of the house and it's been pretty miserable weather wise here so Tori has been couped up with entirely too much energy. So we went over to Colonie Center on Tuesday, poked around, tried to come up with something for Matt for father's day; only to come up mostly empty handed. It didn't help of course that he wasn't giving me any ideas. Instead we'll have a nice dinner with friends and our munchkins.
Today we finally got to get back outside though. Yesterday we could have spent some time outside, and we did later in the afternoon. Wen went over the Amanda and Autumn's house for dinner and the girls played in the side yard while Amanda and I sat and had a glass of wine. That venture all in its own was probably the most entertaining part of the past two days. We load up in the Honda to go get a bottle of wine to go with dinner, and Amanda drives a Chevrolet Cavalier so nice little four cylinder, gets them around just fine, and Autumn thought my car was the fastest thing in the world! Those girls were too funny! I would pull away from a light or stop sign, and nothing special, but because they're in the back seat so there was full wind with the windows down and the exhaust on the car being loud they thought we were going SUPER FAST! And that was exactly what they kept squealing in between giggling and screeching in excitement. Amanda and I were laughing so hard. They thought it was just the greatest thing. Now of course Tori has been in the car a million times and so it was technically nothing new for her, but to have Autumn there and so excited you would have thought we put the two of them on a roller coaster. Then we got back to Amanda's and the girls are playing in the yard while we waited to start cooking dinner and they're trying to play tag. Well more so Autumn kept tagging Tori. she wasn't quite catching on to the concept yet. I foresee in the future for this afternoon however lots of bike riding and mommy reading the new book she got last week.
Should be an interesting one, North and South, all about a young man who comes to live in the colonies and then gets wrapped up in the civil war. I'll let you know how it goes. Oh and I found another great pattern for a cute shell bag that I want to crochet too.
Monday, June 13, 2011
And to start another week
So I technically never finished describing how crazy the bean was but lucky for us all it continued into yesterday! Oh yay!! It was one of those few time where I have wondered where the mute, or pause, or even just a slow motion button was on the child remote control. Don't get me wrong she was as cute as a button, but she just wouldn't stop. It was like somebody pulled the rip chord with a full tank and decided to just let it run A..L..L D..A..Y! First she would start with hollering at the dogs for being in the flowers, which while I appreciated because no I don't want them in there, was also not just a holler but rather an ear piercing screech that made you momentarily dizzy. Then she would go off and play with her bike for a few minutes only to then be mad because Guinness refused to chase her. Of course followed by then chasing the dog around the yard wondering why she kept running away. All of which would normally be fine since they both definitely need the exercise, however, with the men in the yard trying to assemble the gazebo and me on the porch trying to give them directions, it was a bit too much noise. Then on Saturday we added the rain into the mix and now wet dogs, wet child; because she refused to keep the rain coat on and grumpy men because they were getting wet and it got interesting. So yesterday, not quite as bad since the gazebo was now up and we could just relax in it. On the flip side, still cold and drizzel-ish for the majority of the day. Of course Tori just kept asking to go inside and watch a movie, to which I told her no she had too much energy to be inside. Then provoking the temper tantrum!
She really has gotten entirely too good at them and it makes me wish those were one of those things they video taped; got you all riled up then had you sit and watch the tape while some annoying sound was in the background, or while your husband shouted directions from the lawn, something to keep the frustration going so you could truly experience a good one as an adult. I mean it's one thing to sit and watch a kid on a "reality" show throw a fit and watch the "Supper Nanny" or someone come in and say, "Now all you need to do is add a bit more structure to the child's life and this won't happen." FYI for all you non parents, not the way it works. In the heat of the moment you have screaming child in front of you, probably doing the one thing you have told him/her not to do a million times; our case, playing with the door, and then more screaming. You try the "goose-fra-ba" the breathe in and count to ten while you exhale and you're getting to a calmer state when all the sudden WHAM, something or someone has hit the floor. Now there is either more screaming, some added crying or the moment of silence before the wail because your child is trying to take in enough air they can actually make that much more noise. Oh, and don't forget the dogs pacing around your feet because they hate to hear the baby cry, or the husband outside the house wanting to know where a particular wrench is.
"I HAVE NO *&$^ING CLUE, CHECK YOUR TOOL BOX!!!"
What a novel idea that men would keep tools in the tool box.
Ok, pause, re-focus, screaming child on the other side of the door. Evaluate the screaming and crying. Is there a twinge of pain in there, nope. Ok now do you hear the true distress because they did something they actually feel bad about, hmm that one is questionable still. Is there at least a three second pause between phases of noise, yes. Ok, it is clear to enter the room and try to calmly talk to the child, reason with them as to what ever it was that initiated the tantrum. In our case, not being able to watch a movie after getting home from the farmer's market. Provided all goes well you sit and chat with your child for a few minutes, explain why they weren't allowed to :fill in the blank:, ask if they understand, explain that it makes you sad when you have to yell, or when the child yells and that everyone gets what they want much easier and faster if we use big girl words and don't scream and yell. Offer a hug and kiss, provided all is going well and then an alternative activity.
Yea sounds easy when it's written down but it's like the mass amounts of training the marines go through to stay calm and re attach their respirator in the event they get attacked while underwater. You never really know how you're going to respond until you're in the water blindfolded and some jerk comes ad punches you in the gut and then rips the hose off the back of your head. SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME AIR!!!
Fortunately after some lunch and a nap moods improved and although the clouds never gave up we did sit and enjoy the back yard until bed time. Just felt so good to not be stuck inside.
Now we have moved on to Monday and seeing as I got absolutely no laundry done this weekend that is what my day will be filled with today. As well as putting out a few more job applications. I did have the college go ahead and re-enroll me for next year but the financial aid department said there was little to no help there so I have to figure out some way, other than more student loans, to cover the next year so I'm hoping with work will come money to pay tuition! and daycare and gas etc.
She really has gotten entirely too good at them and it makes me wish those were one of those things they video taped; got you all riled up then had you sit and watch the tape while some annoying sound was in the background, or while your husband shouted directions from the lawn, something to keep the frustration going so you could truly experience a good one as an adult. I mean it's one thing to sit and watch a kid on a "reality" show throw a fit and watch the "Supper Nanny" or someone come in and say, "Now all you need to do is add a bit more structure to the child's life and this won't happen." FYI for all you non parents, not the way it works. In the heat of the moment you have screaming child in front of you, probably doing the one thing you have told him/her not to do a million times; our case, playing with the door, and then more screaming. You try the "goose-fra-ba" the breathe in and count to ten while you exhale and you're getting to a calmer state when all the sudden WHAM, something or someone has hit the floor. Now there is either more screaming, some added crying or the moment of silence before the wail because your child is trying to take in enough air they can actually make that much more noise. Oh, and don't forget the dogs pacing around your feet because they hate to hear the baby cry, or the husband outside the house wanting to know where a particular wrench is.
"I HAVE NO *&$^ING CLUE, CHECK YOUR TOOL BOX!!!"
What a novel idea that men would keep tools in the tool box.
Ok, pause, re-focus, screaming child on the other side of the door. Evaluate the screaming and crying. Is there a twinge of pain in there, nope. Ok now do you hear the true distress because they did something they actually feel bad about, hmm that one is questionable still. Is there at least a three second pause between phases of noise, yes. Ok, it is clear to enter the room and try to calmly talk to the child, reason with them as to what ever it was that initiated the tantrum. In our case, not being able to watch a movie after getting home from the farmer's market. Provided all goes well you sit and chat with your child for a few minutes, explain why they weren't allowed to :fill in the blank:, ask if they understand, explain that it makes you sad when you have to yell, or when the child yells and that everyone gets what they want much easier and faster if we use big girl words and don't scream and yell. Offer a hug and kiss, provided all is going well and then an alternative activity.
Yea sounds easy when it's written down but it's like the mass amounts of training the marines go through to stay calm and re attach their respirator in the event they get attacked while underwater. You never really know how you're going to respond until you're in the water blindfolded and some jerk comes ad punches you in the gut and then rips the hose off the back of your head. SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME AIR!!!
Fortunately after some lunch and a nap moods improved and although the clouds never gave up we did sit and enjoy the back yard until bed time. Just felt so good to not be stuck inside.
Now we have moved on to Monday and seeing as I got absolutely no laundry done this weekend that is what my day will be filled with today. As well as putting out a few more job applications. I did have the college go ahead and re-enroll me for next year but the financial aid department said there was little to no help there so I have to figure out some way, other than more student loans, to cover the next year so I'm hoping with work will come money to pay tuition! and daycare and gas etc.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Holy Crap
Wow what a day. My child has officially gone crazy, I think I may have lost a bit more of my own mind, and my dog... completely bonkers.
At 8:15AM Matt's phone rings, Joe decided since he had been up all night that 8am was a good time to get up and building the gazebo; forgetting the detail we still had to go get it from Sears and they don't open until 9:30 or 10. So the house was up, I managed to drift back off while Matt showered and Tori watched cartoons for a few minutes, and then all hell broke loose.
We all got up Tori started hollering about how she wanted cookies for breakfast; finally got her to sit down with a bowl of Lucky Charms, not the greatest cereal I know but at the moment something is better than the nothing she's been way more interested in eating lately. So then we load up and head to Sears. Not such a big deal other than the fact that we had to make two trips since the chairs came pretty much assembled so the box was HUGE!!! (yes that needed to be bold, a few sizes bigger too)
So we get home and already the boys are saying they need beer, but the problem with that is whenever they get beer they stop working so they weren't allowed to have any until they were done. Silly me thinking that would be added motivation to work quickly. We started the project at ~11AM and I just got inside at 5:30PM. A much longer endeavor than I originally planned on is an understatement. On the plus side my gazebo is up and now they're motivated to build a semi-permanent deck for it to sit on.
We originally thought that just having the dirt underneath would be fine but as the rain proved today, not such a great plan. The ground is mostly sand here so Joe started sinking. That was hilarious by the way! He's sitting in the chair, says "I feel like this is slowly leaning back more and more, almost like it's getting shorter too." Matt "Um yea you should get up, you're sinking into the ground." He had about 3" of the back legs buried. Hopefully the deck won't be too terrible a job. I have to try to find something that resembles a plan to follow or I have to sketch out what we're looking at making too so that we actually have a plan and I don't just have men with wood and power tools making a mess of the back yard.
It is nice to have a nice place to sit and relax outdoors too. It's surrounded in netting too so we can keep the bugs out. Now I just have to come up with some sort of lighting. The little ground lights I put in by the sidewalk are nice but definitely not enough light. I'm actually contemplating garage sale searching for an old chandelier, something I can put candles in and not care when wax drips all over it. We have no outdoor electric so anything like that is out of the question; I am not running an extension chord just to be clear too. so we'll have to look around. I love the whole solar powered concept but with the roof over top there isn't much chance for sunlight to come in; though I guess I could try to find something that I could set out during daylight to charge and then bring in as the sun goes down. We'll see. As for right now, the boys went to go help our friend Mike with his car for a minute and I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I feel like beef is definitely on the menu!
Oh and I'll fill you in on the craziness of Tori and the dogs later.
At 8:15AM Matt's phone rings, Joe decided since he had been up all night that 8am was a good time to get up and building the gazebo; forgetting the detail we still had to go get it from Sears and they don't open until 9:30 or 10. So the house was up, I managed to drift back off while Matt showered and Tori watched cartoons for a few minutes, and then all hell broke loose.
We all got up Tori started hollering about how she wanted cookies for breakfast; finally got her to sit down with a bowl of Lucky Charms, not the greatest cereal I know but at the moment something is better than the nothing she's been way more interested in eating lately. So then we load up and head to Sears. Not such a big deal other than the fact that we had to make two trips since the chairs came pretty much assembled so the box was HUGE!!! (yes that needed to be bold, a few sizes bigger too)
So we get home and already the boys are saying they need beer, but the problem with that is whenever they get beer they stop working so they weren't allowed to have any until they were done. Silly me thinking that would be added motivation to work quickly. We started the project at ~11AM and I just got inside at 5:30PM. A much longer endeavor than I originally planned on is an understatement. On the plus side my gazebo is up and now they're motivated to build a semi-permanent deck for it to sit on.
We originally thought that just having the dirt underneath would be fine but as the rain proved today, not such a great plan. The ground is mostly sand here so Joe started sinking. That was hilarious by the way! He's sitting in the chair, says "I feel like this is slowly leaning back more and more, almost like it's getting shorter too." Matt "Um yea you should get up, you're sinking into the ground." He had about 3" of the back legs buried. Hopefully the deck won't be too terrible a job. I have to try to find something that resembles a plan to follow or I have to sketch out what we're looking at making too so that we actually have a plan and I don't just have men with wood and power tools making a mess of the back yard.
It is nice to have a nice place to sit and relax outdoors too. It's surrounded in netting too so we can keep the bugs out. Now I just have to come up with some sort of lighting. The little ground lights I put in by the sidewalk are nice but definitely not enough light. I'm actually contemplating garage sale searching for an old chandelier, something I can put candles in and not care when wax drips all over it. We have no outdoor electric so anything like that is out of the question; I am not running an extension chord just to be clear too. so we'll have to look around. I love the whole solar powered concept but with the roof over top there isn't much chance for sunlight to come in; though I guess I could try to find something that I could set out during daylight to charge and then bring in as the sun goes down. We'll see. As for right now, the boys went to go help our friend Mike with his car for a minute and I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I feel like beef is definitely on the menu!
Oh and I'll fill you in on the craziness of Tori and the dogs later.
Friday, June 10, 2011
All the things to do
So I finally got the rest of the plants potted. Now I'm thinking I may need to get some actual plants, the only problem, other than like petunias or begonias I don't know of any. I need some suggestions on some shorter plants. Everything I planted is going to end up being at least a foot tall so I have to find something to fill in the bottom. Especially where I didn't really plant anything and where there is just bare space under the bushes. I have noticed some sprouting on my greenhouse plants too. I'm so excited! Never really thought I had the nack for the whole planting and gardening thing but it's really great. Now I just hope it really grows.
Bean is getting tuckered out being out in the sun too. She's too funny on her bike though. She's gotten in to figuring out how to get one of the training wheels up on the grass next to the driveway so then the rear wheel is free spinning. She thinks it's a riot. Have to keep on her about the helmet and shoes rules though. I feel bad though, she was outside with me Tuesday and something bit her. She has these three little welts all together on her cheek and then one up closer to her temple. They don't seem to be bothering her but they're so red and swollen, I think I may take her to the Dr.s on Monday to have them looked at.
I finished a crochet project last night too. Didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to; too short. It was supposed to be like a market bag but like I said it's too short so it's a bit more clutch like. But I like the way it came out. I used this neat piece of ribbon to make the handle piece. And it can drawstring which is nice. I have to try to figure out how to get pictures onto this and then I can show them off. So just a few more things on my to do list for now. Not to mention the laundry that has been piling up. That is definitely on the agenda for the evening; the kitchen is in desperate need of attention. Off to the cleaning.
Bean is getting tuckered out being out in the sun too. She's too funny on her bike though. She's gotten in to figuring out how to get one of the training wheels up on the grass next to the driveway so then the rear wheel is free spinning. She thinks it's a riot. Have to keep on her about the helmet and shoes rules though. I feel bad though, she was outside with me Tuesday and something bit her. She has these three little welts all together on her cheek and then one up closer to her temple. They don't seem to be bothering her but they're so red and swollen, I think I may take her to the Dr.s on Monday to have them looked at.
I finished a crochet project last night too. Didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to; too short. It was supposed to be like a market bag but like I said it's too short so it's a bit more clutch like. But I like the way it came out. I used this neat piece of ribbon to make the handle piece. And it can drawstring which is nice. I have to try to figure out how to get pictures onto this and then I can show them off. So just a few more things on my to do list for now. Not to mention the laundry that has been piling up. That is definitely on the agenda for the evening; the kitchen is in desperate need of attention. Off to the cleaning.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Morning
So this one is particularly for you Texas Grandma.
This morning Tori gets up and we have breakfast, nothing special just some cereal, and she is talking to me about Kiara and Kovu; Lion King 2, and how she could see them on her TV but she can't because she broke it. [She didn't really but I was trying to find a way to get the TV out of her room since it was only supposed to be a temporary thing after she came back from my mom's with it, but then she was sick for a few days so I let it stay and then it became and all too permanent fixture. So one day she knocked it down and I told her it was broken and I would have to fix it but until then it would have to go in the closet.] It's too funny to listen to her sometimes. She gets going and has a whole conversation, sort of with you but mostly without. Then she looks at the fridge and sees some artwork she has hanging there from ages ago; she used to do all kinds of cool stuff at daycare in the tiny tots room, not so much in the toddler room and well I'm just not that comfortable with my absent minded child to have paint and the more permanent art supplies in the house. Especially when I know if it smells even remotely good Guinness will try to eat it. I caught her chewing on a strawberry explosion crayon just the other day actually. Anyways, so she looks at the art work and exclaims to me "Mommy look at my pretty picture! I made it and I gave it to you! I can make one for Grandma Texas too, she loves my pictures!" So excited and proud of herself it was so cute, so I told her after we were done with breakfast that we could get some paper and pens out and she could color.
The downside of course being what crayon does she reach for first? Black. Why does it always have to be black? I now know why my mother always wanted to know why I wanted to wear black clothes so badly; that awkward phase most young teens go through, mine was sophomore year for the most part. The parachute pants, the combat style boots, heavy makeup, etc. Looking back, yes I was just plain weird, oh wait I still am....
So now she is sitting in my bed with her black pen, Micky Mouse Clubhouse, and a sheet of white paper "drawing Texas Grandma a picture because she loves my pictures and she will like my picture that I can give to her."
This morning Tori gets up and we have breakfast, nothing special just some cereal, and she is talking to me about Kiara and Kovu; Lion King 2, and how she could see them on her TV but she can't because she broke it. [She didn't really but I was trying to find a way to get the TV out of her room since it was only supposed to be a temporary thing after she came back from my mom's with it, but then she was sick for a few days so I let it stay and then it became and all too permanent fixture. So one day she knocked it down and I told her it was broken and I would have to fix it but until then it would have to go in the closet.] It's too funny to listen to her sometimes. She gets going and has a whole conversation, sort of with you but mostly without. Then she looks at the fridge and sees some artwork she has hanging there from ages ago; she used to do all kinds of cool stuff at daycare in the tiny tots room, not so much in the toddler room and well I'm just not that comfortable with my absent minded child to have paint and the more permanent art supplies in the house. Especially when I know if it smells even remotely good Guinness will try to eat it. I caught her chewing on a strawberry explosion crayon just the other day actually. Anyways, so she looks at the art work and exclaims to me "Mommy look at my pretty picture! I made it and I gave it to you! I can make one for Grandma Texas too, she loves my pictures!" So excited and proud of herself it was so cute, so I told her after we were done with breakfast that we could get some paper and pens out and she could color.
The downside of course being what crayon does she reach for first? Black. Why does it always have to be black? I now know why my mother always wanted to know why I wanted to wear black clothes so badly; that awkward phase most young teens go through, mine was sophomore year for the most part. The parachute pants, the combat style boots, heavy makeup, etc. Looking back, yes I was just plain weird, oh wait I still am....
So now she is sitting in my bed with her black pen, Micky Mouse Clubhouse, and a sheet of white paper "drawing Texas Grandma a picture because she loves my pictures and she will like my picture that I can give to her."
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Busy busy!
So I have definately been busy and so has the little one. We went to Home Depot and Wally World a few times over the past couple days, stocked up on garden supplies.
Went to Wally World and got top soil and garden soil, a few bulbs and some seeds and started planting out own garden. Of course first I had to have a place for all of it to go so I got out my garden goodies; newly bought :-) Some gloves, small tools, some black plastic edging and many hours in the sun and I now have and actual garden space in which to plant. Add to that the beautiful sunburn across my lower back and it was wonderful! Actually it wasn't all that bad and it was a lot of fun and Bean and I had a great time digging in the garden. We planted almost all our bulbs and I got a whole bunch of seeds planted in a temp. greenhouse, now we just have to wait and see what does or doesn't grow.
Tori was too cute too, she wanted so badly to help and I felt bad becasue I really wanted to let her but I was so afraid she was going to hurt herself with the metal tools/shovel/clippers. As a solution we went up to the dollar store today and got her some plastic garden goodies. Technically meant for going to the beach or in a sand box but what difference does it make to her right.
The funny part about it all was that once we got her set up she wanted nothing to do with them and was way more interested in playing Doctor with Honey Bear.
The dogs have even taken their own attempt at the garden. Guinness has gone to the corner of the yard under a couple of the bushes and dug herself quite the hole. Not really a hole more like a burrow. I have to give her credit though. It will definately keep her cooler, and she is well shaded by the bushes, and it has just enough room for her to put her bowl in there so she has water. Not to mention it keeps her out of trouble in general if I know shes under the bush.
Silly child and silly dogs, but you gotta love 'em!
Went to Wally World and got top soil and garden soil, a few bulbs and some seeds and started planting out own garden. Of course first I had to have a place for all of it to go so I got out my garden goodies; newly bought :-) Some gloves, small tools, some black plastic edging and many hours in the sun and I now have and actual garden space in which to plant. Add to that the beautiful sunburn across my lower back and it was wonderful! Actually it wasn't all that bad and it was a lot of fun and Bean and I had a great time digging in the garden. We planted almost all our bulbs and I got a whole bunch of seeds planted in a temp. greenhouse, now we just have to wait and see what does or doesn't grow.
Tori was too cute too, she wanted so badly to help and I felt bad becasue I really wanted to let her but I was so afraid she was going to hurt herself with the metal tools/shovel/clippers. As a solution we went up to the dollar store today and got her some plastic garden goodies. Technically meant for going to the beach or in a sand box but what difference does it make to her right.
The funny part about it all was that once we got her set up she wanted nothing to do with them and was way more interested in playing Doctor with Honey Bear.
The dogs have even taken their own attempt at the garden. Guinness has gone to the corner of the yard under a couple of the bushes and dug herself quite the hole. Not really a hole more like a burrow. I have to give her credit though. It will definately keep her cooler, and she is well shaded by the bushes, and it has just enough room for her to put her bowl in there so she has water. Not to mention it keeps her out of trouble in general if I know shes under the bush.
Silly child and silly dogs, but you gotta love 'em!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Gotta Vote!
So I'm not sure if there are actually any readers of this yet. Actually I know there aren't but a girl can dream can't she?
But you all have to go vote for my friend Megan's picture.
http://bit.ly/kML0Wm
But you all have to go vote for my friend Megan's picture.
http://bit.ly/kML0Wm
Venture forth
So after doing mass amounts of laundry yesterday I realized that the majority of my daughters clothes are too small for her so we went shopping yesterday!
Got her lots of cute things, some a bit to big but she'll grow into them. I figured we had gotten most of our chores done so we deserved a break, plus I really needed to get out of the house for a bit.
It's funny how looking at the same four walls makes you go a little crazy after a while. Or maybe not so much since solitary confinement is supposed to be a torture method. Makes me a bit curious as to how they get away with those kinds of things in prison. I know they classify it as a severe punishment and everything but still. Having spent some time stuck in the house I can feel their pain. But then again I guess that is the whole concept behind prison; punishment for the crimes you committed. Now we just have to find a way to make house wives and stay at home moms feel a little less imprisoned.
I know there are a lot of you out there who will say "Well I go out and do things every day. So I don't feel that way at all." You are also probably the same ladies I see at the store dressed to the nines to go grocery shopping because you are a house wife out of want; not necessity or it being forced upon you. Myself on the other hand, well I just graduated from college in one of the worst economies this nation has seen in over 50 years. So I stay at home with my two year old because we can’t afford to have only one parent working and pay for daycare.
On a more positive note I did get my resume finished so I am going to send it out to a few places. I would try the old drop it off method but with munchkin in tow that doesn't work quite as well. So I'll email it to a few people and see what happens.
As for today, it's been a bit of a lazy day so far and maybe we'll manage to tackle some dishes and definitely need to get the kitchen floor cleaned; may be in need of a deep cleaning; hands and knees with dilute bleach and/or softscrub. Sometimes the mop just doesn't quite cut it. Though I do have to admit I got one of those Quickie mops with the reservoir on the side and the washable pads for the bottom and it is great for the easy once a week mop up to keep the floors fresh. Plus if I run my Oreck simply sweep over it first, cleans up a lot more dog hair and little dust bits that would otherwise clog up the mop too fast.
Time to go curl up with the bean and watch a movie, try to get her to take a nap, and maybe finish up a crochet project. Then put together my "To Do" for next week. Have to figure out a way to fit in some more play dates too. Might even venture to the indoor play facility that went in up the street... We'll see.
Got her lots of cute things, some a bit to big but she'll grow into them. I figured we had gotten most of our chores done so we deserved a break, plus I really needed to get out of the house for a bit.
It's funny how looking at the same four walls makes you go a little crazy after a while. Or maybe not so much since solitary confinement is supposed to be a torture method. Makes me a bit curious as to how they get away with those kinds of things in prison. I know they classify it as a severe punishment and everything but still. Having spent some time stuck in the house I can feel their pain. But then again I guess that is the whole concept behind prison; punishment for the crimes you committed. Now we just have to find a way to make house wives and stay at home moms feel a little less imprisoned.
I know there are a lot of you out there who will say "Well I go out and do things every day. So I don't feel that way at all." You are also probably the same ladies I see at the store dressed to the nines to go grocery shopping because you are a house wife out of want; not necessity or it being forced upon you. Myself on the other hand, well I just graduated from college in one of the worst economies this nation has seen in over 50 years. So I stay at home with my two year old because we can’t afford to have only one parent working and pay for daycare.
On a more positive note I did get my resume finished so I am going to send it out to a few places. I would try the old drop it off method but with munchkin in tow that doesn't work quite as well. So I'll email it to a few people and see what happens.
As for today, it's been a bit of a lazy day so far and maybe we'll manage to tackle some dishes and definitely need to get the kitchen floor cleaned; may be in need of a deep cleaning; hands and knees with dilute bleach and/or softscrub. Sometimes the mop just doesn't quite cut it. Though I do have to admit I got one of those Quickie mops with the reservoir on the side and the washable pads for the bottom and it is great for the easy once a week mop up to keep the floors fresh. Plus if I run my Oreck simply sweep over it first, cleans up a lot more dog hair and little dust bits that would otherwise clog up the mop too fast.
Time to go curl up with the bean and watch a movie, try to get her to take a nap, and maybe finish up a crochet project. Then put together my "To Do" for next week. Have to figure out a way to fit in some more play dates too. Might even venture to the indoor play facility that went in up the street... We'll see.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Well here goes nothing
So just a quick note, I actually started this Blog a little over a year ago; it lasted a week. Lets see if this time is any better.
I'm 24, mother of a two year old, to be three in August, and I have a wonderful loving fiancee.
Life hasn't been easy, but we also haven't had it the worst.
Now I am officially done with my Bachelors degree and trying to figure out what stage two is. So I decided to try to chronicle what is going on maybe get some feedback.
Today's to do list is to finish laundry, my resume, and finish cleaning my kitchen.
And they're off!!
I'm 24, mother of a two year old, to be three in August, and I have a wonderful loving fiancee.
Life hasn't been easy, but we also haven't had it the worst.
Now I am officially done with my Bachelors degree and trying to figure out what stage two is. So I decided to try to chronicle what is going on maybe get some feedback.
Today's to do list is to finish laundry, my resume, and finish cleaning my kitchen.
And they're off!!
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