The long road of denial

So apparently I have been on this long road of denial, the road to unemployment that is. I didn’t want to think that this was going to happen to our family. It still may not, the company just isn’t communicating with it’s employees but I think it’s about time I came to grips with it. February 2nd is upon us. Monday is the day. It’s seems like just yesterday we found out but now our whole world may change next week. I am really freaked out and kind of crabby. I wish JT wasn’t as crabby as I am but unfortunately the stress is taking a seat at our dinner table and it’s hard not to notice. Just needed to get that off my chest. 4 days and counting.

I don’t consider myself very smart. I have more street smarts or a good sense of right from wrong vs. book smarts but I do know that JT’s company could possibly stop pay raises, make their CEO’s and such take a slight pay cut or even cut bonuses in half.  Possibly any of those scenarios would be better for us instead of a complete job loss. Or how about not giving his job to a person sitting at a desk overseas. I’m a little bitter, can you tell?! Sorry. It’s easier to be bitter than to sit and cry.

Things I Love Thursday – American Girl

   When I was a little girl I was given Samantha as a gift. I really treasured her and didn’t play with her the way that you do with some other dolls. I was quite a bit older than my daughter when I received her but since showing my daughter Samantha she has become enamored, to say the least. We have two dresses, a purse, her locket and a picnic lunch that we she can play with. She loves receiving the catalogs and I admit so do I. I dream of the day we’ll go to American Girl in Chicago together and let her pick out her doll but I am just waiting for her to have a little more responsibility for her things. She already knows which ones she wants: Molly and Kitt and she owns a bitty baby and the twins (that look like her and J).

This Christmas the Hallmark channel had on a few of the American Girl movies. The ones featuring Samantha and Felicity were the ones we taped and then my grandma gave her Kitt’s movie for Christmas (there’s also a Molly one). We really enjoy watching them together and anything that she and I can do together if worth a million dollars in my mind. The movies are good natured  and I love that the little girls in the movie possess manners.

Have you ever sat down and watched The Suite Life or Hannah Montana?! Each show if funny to some extent but each one teaches L how to talk back, dirty looks, etc. Not the behavior I am instilling in my little girl. The worst is Miley Cyrus at the Golden Globes… did anyone see it? She stuck her tongue out at the camera, jokingly, but still. This is a rule I have been working on with L and then she sees Hannah Montana doing it, she thinks well she does it and it must be cool, it sets us back. I have cut back her time watching these shows to practically nothing because she is a totally different little girl when she doesn’t watch them. It’s too bad they don’t have a series for the American Girl dolls, that I would let her watch.

So that’s what I love this week. Check out Diaper Diaries for more.

Works for Me Wednesday – Hyper Kids with too much energy

This cold weather and now the snow has us indoors more than we would like and the kids can get out of control, hyper and annoying. Neither of them are really video game players either. They are still a little unsure of the Wii we received for Christmas. Being young they are unable to coordinate the buttons and moving the controller to where it needs to be so they don’t use it very often, it’s more for JT and I and we use it a lot. After weeks and weeks of looking for a Wii Fit I finally found one. I also discovered that they have running on there. J saw me doing this one day and wanted to try it, sure why not. All he has to do is press the A button and hold the remote, no big deal. HE LOVES IT. So now when he has too much pent up energy I turn on Wii Fit to the Aerobic section and let him run to his hearts content. The other night he ran three short distances and one long. By the end he was back to normal. I highly recommend a little indoor exercise. Works for me.

Check out more Works for Me Wednesday.

Another Snow Day

Not that I am complaining. I love snow. I love how pristine it looks when it’s untouched, I love to watch it fall and I really don’t mind playing in it with the kids. But, my house is a disaster and I can barely stand it. School was finally cancelled last night at 10:36 am. JT and I kept talking about today’s conditions were going to be worse than yesterday’s so why the hesitation?! Well it was called off so why dwell on the fact that he was one of the last schools to cancel. My mom reminded me that at least the communication system has improved. She remembers either receiving a phone call early in the morning or having to wake up early and watch the bottom of the TV screen. Now all I have to do is wait for an e-mail, usually comes the night before. So we can all sleep in and relax in the morning.

J is disappointed. He really loves going to school. He adores Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Carol. If I could afford it he would go more than once a week. So he was a little whiny this morning while talking about not going to school but L was like whatever mom. My question that is lingering… what happens to our teach conference appointment tonight?! Do you think it’s still on? Not really sure, I haven’t really heard from the teacher. I guess if I don’t hear from her by nap time I will need to call her.

Yesterday we had a ton of fun outside. This is the first year the kids have had sleds and we have a little hill in our front yard, nothing special but it’s exciting enough for a four year old and a 3 year old. Here are some pics from yesterday, I am sure there will be more from today.

Both kids are all about the snow but J loves to throw snowballs. He didn’t rest until I was covered in snow. Little turkey.

   

JT was off in the afternoon so he joined us for some outdoor fun… gotta love that hat.

Ellen DeGeneres Cracks Me Up

I don’t usually sit down and watch the Ellen DeGeneres show but today since we just came in from the snow and we are just relaxing I decided to turn it on. It’s not because I dislike the show, I love the show!!! I am usually at this time getting J ready for a nap and it’s just usually a busy time in my day. Anyway today she had me cracking up. She did her whole monologue on Facebook (which I love by the way). Did you see it? She is hilarious. If you become her fan on Facebook today you could be entered to win a flat screen TV. Easy choice for me. Just make sure you choose the show one, her actual one because there are a ton of fake ones.

Life doesn’t stop for a cold

The worst part of having a cold like mine…. not being able to taste anything. I could eat my most favorite dinner and not even know. Even my coffee sucks today.  But enough bitching about my cold because I could do that all day and no one likes to listen to that.

I did have a good time today despite not feeling 100%. I went to my cousin’s house, she just had surgery, so I went over to help her with her kids and keep her company. I didn’t do very much to help. I brought her a coffee, some medicine, fixed Oliver a snack… other than that we just sat and talked. It was really nice. J went with me and he was so good he played with Oliver the whole time and there was no squabbling. I wish I lived closer, I could stand to do that once a week.

Yesterday I drove in the snow to scrapbook. It was kind of funny because the city streets were not good by any means. I slid through three stop signs, had someone spin out in front of me and someone completely slide through a stop sign to end up a couple feet from my car. The highway had only two lanes clear on the way out there, I got to 270 where it was clear and easy going, I thought the worst was over. Got to 40 and there was a blizzard. It was crazy. All that but I still made it out there and on time. I kind of laughed to myself, thinking this is definitely devotion. My friend and I decided that we would do this once a month and the next time I would be healthy and accomplish more than just two measly pages and MaryJo we want you to join us next time. The worst part about yesterday, being on a budget while scrapbooking at Archivers. Seriously it was awful. Temptation at every turn and $20 doesn’t go very far. I did it though and still came home with $3, yeah me.

I am currently waiting for J to wake from his nap so we can head out to pick up JT before this mess of weather comes in. I couldn’t be more excited though. I love to sit and watch it snow. Plus JT is working from home tomorrow morning and then using some comp time in the afternoon to play with the kids in the snow. He is so sweet lately, not that he isn’t all the time, but the other night I woke up with such a bad tickle in my throat, I just kept coughing and coughing. It was dry in here. He got up at 3:30 and found the vapor rub, rubbed it on my chest before falling back asleep and he did it in a caring way not… shut up and go back to sleep already. Awww!! If it snows the 4-8 inches here in the Metro area like they are prediciting it sure would be nice to not have school on Wednesday since I am room mom. Not that I usually mind being room mom but 17 kids ages 4 and 5 after being cooped up in the house from a snow day doesn’t sound appealing.

Just some stuff worth dotting

Nothing of importance has been going on, just daily stuff, for instance:

• Why is it that my son can name all of the Planet Heroes and Superheroes but he cannot remember to lift the seat when he goes to the bathroom.
• JT has a cold which he has passed onto me, so I am on a Zicam regime.
• L is obsessed with her bows, she takes them all off her holder  and puts them in her hair. Want proof? Check this picture out.
• Could Oprah let it go?! Yes I am happy that Obama is president but a whole week of shows about this fact, common on… we can tune into the nightly news or CNN to hear about his presidency. Let it go Oprah. Does anyone else think that she considers herself above all others? Like she was sent here to save us. Just curious. She is really starting to bug me.
• I may not be a stay at home mom for much longer. I will be applying next week for a part-time secretarial position. I won’t say more than that but it wouldn’t be so bad.
• I am going scrapbooking tomorrow with my friend and I am so excited although I have set a limit on my spending, we’ll see if I can adhere to it.
• I really need to get on my thank you notes. I think I might do a couple in poem form. I am feeling creative lately.
• I also really need to make my window jam things. Our window are really drafty and my mom and I came up with our own design so now I just have to sew them and stuff them with rice or something.
• JT bought some green bags for me. Ah the little things are what matter. He is such a good listener and reads my blog everyday so he knew I wanted some, so he bought them for me. I can’t wait to try them, I’ll let you know how they are.
• L has show n tell every week and this week was the letter N. She’s not allowed to take someone because she originally wanted to take her Uncle Na but the teacher said no. So instead she took her favorite picture of Na. It’s a picture taken of N8 and I in Florida at Epcot on New Year’s Eve 2001.

• My mom was the latest victim in layoffs but it’s only for a month so that’s really good for her.
• JT still hasn’t found a job but there are so many rumors bouncing off the walls at his work that he may not need to worry. Um hello rumors don’t pay bills, how about they announce something officially before he is due to get his letter in 8 days.
• I am very excited that it’s going to snow next week Monday and Tuesday. We have all the equipment necessary this year… sleds, boots… so you know that means it won’t snow. Last year we didn’t have any of that stuff and it snowed A LOT.

Well hopefully something worth noting will happen today because otherwise I’ve got nothing. Maybe tomorrow I will have projects to blog about, we’ll see. Have a good weekend.

Vacationing At Home

With job status still unknown we have decided to do things around STL this year instead of traveling to say Florida, Gulf Shores or even Chicago. Today we took the kids to the Arch. It was a beautiful day, a little chilly when we headed out but by the time we were headed home we had shed our coats. With only one car, we drop JT off at work everyday which means we pass by the arch everyday. The kids are always mesmerized and talk about how big it is and what’s up there so finally we decided to take them.

I remember why I hadn’t been in 15 + years, the ride up is not one of my favorite things to do. Even JT was a little thrown a couple of times. L loved it, she has absolutely no fear but J was clinging to my leg with his little hand the whole time.

Once up at the top the kids loved looking through the windows and as J put it “seeing the city”. We only stayed up there for a total of 10 minutes, because once you’ve looked at the river a couple of times and watched a barge head North or glanced at the cars going by on 55 and seeing the tall buildings doing… well, nothing, you’re good. So we headed back down and this time I decided to sit farther back in the “egg” (as I refer to it, because that must be what a baby chick feels like) while L sat looking down the entire time. Lord help me.

The midwest expansion museum was interesting to walk through. They saw a teepee,  a covered wagon, stuffed horses and buffalo, automated Indians and a magic cow. L was pretty interested in the older pictures and the displays, J could have cared less, he liked the horse and buffalo. They have two gift shops. One is an old grocery store/candy store with ladies dressed in period garb and the other is your run of the mill gift shop. We walked through both and let the kids each buy a USA puzzle.

So there you have it, our sightseeing trip right here at home – total cost $50. $30 to go up in the arch and $20 for souvenirs (if you count USA puzzles as souvenirs). I bet you’re wondering if there are pictures, you betcha.

In the “egg” this is the leg room you have….

L looking down while we were going down

L took this picture for us, a budding photographer

Such a great day!!!

Qlubb Review

I love doing reviews for Team Mom and so when they sent out a review request for an internet service called Qlubb I was very excited to check it out. I am on my computer a lot because I enjoy it. I am constantly updating my two blogs, my facebook page and checking my e-mail so anything that makes my life supposedly easier on-line is awesome.

This website Qlubb claims it’s “the easiest way to get your real-life groups organized and on the same page”. I decided to make a page for my book club on Qlubb. We are always e-mailing back and forth about our meetings that take place once a month. Usually there’s an e-mail to announce the book we chose, then there’s one when we decide on the meeting place, then there’s one for a reminder, well it can get exhausting to keep up with and also to remember to type all those things out.

On Qlubb you basically go on and choose the group you want to create. You name the group and create a password everyone can remember, then you invite everyone. EASY PEASEY!! There is a calendar for the group to put any important dates, you can rsvp to the events you place on the calendar, there is a blurbs section where you can leave quick notes to each other, you can e-mail the group, there is a place where you can put useful tips or websites etc. I personally love the members section. You just answer a couple questions and in one place you have everyone’s e-mails, phone numbers and addresses. I have even uploaded a picture of the book we are reading to the front page. There isn’t much you can say about the website that isn’t positive.

One cool thing… everyone has the exact same privleges. There isn’t a moderator, just a creator. So my friends can go on and change anything they want. I like that we are all on the “same page”. Just think of what you could do with this website… you could plan a family reunion, put together one for a playgroup, bible study groups, your sports team and they say for classrooms. I highly recommend this site, check it out, it could simplify your life too.

A healthy co-pay

Today I decided to take L to the doctor. She was screaming in pain every time she ate something and when we would touch her jaw or her right cheek so I was starting to get a little worried. Plus on Sunday she had a fever and it kind of continued in low form through today. So off to the doctor to pay a co-pay of $25. She’s fine. They said that it’s just a really hidden canker sore (the largest I have ever seen) and probably either from an allergic reaction to aluminum in her toothpaste (because she gets them all the time) or from the fever. So there you have it. $25 for a canker sore. Brilliant!!!

I also talked to them about this whole chicken pox thing and the nurse and the doctor said that she probably won’t get them, she is about 80% covered with the vaccinations. If she does get them… it will be an extremely mild case. Good to know. But J could get them like anyone else since he hasn’t had his second vaccine yet. So that’s the last you’ll hear from me on this topic. I even had a great blog title if they had contracted the pox…. “Nothing here but us chickens”.