Back to School

Here is the photo I promised. TWO wanted in on the action too!

The Clothing Battle

I need to decide how to best approach this. My soon to be 16..I mean 6 year old has very strong oppinions on fashion. Now that she in in school I want her to look decent during the week. So every night we have our battle. She wants to wear pants and long sleeves (when it is 90 degrees) with flip flops. Mind you nothing matches. I want her to wear a nice capri outfit. She conceeds on the capris but insists on a shirt that doesn't fit anymore (or has a huge stain on it). So I suggest skorts and a similar shirt to the one that has a stain...

Rinse and repeat at least 3 more times, add tears and screaming with her finally stating, "FINE!! I WILL JUST WEAR THIS, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" as she holds up the first outfit I suggested.

I don't have the strength to do this everynight. Should I just let her wear whatever and live with the consequences? That is just so hard, I don't want her walking out of the house in something completly inappropriate. We go through the flipside of this on the weekends. Then when we are just bumming around the house she comes out of her room wearing an outfit that is dressier (perfect for school) and refuses to put on gym shorts and a t-shirt.

What am I to do? How many more years of this do I have?

First Day of School

We survived our first day of Kindergarten. ONE loved it. She can't remember her teacher's name or any of her classmates but she told me with enthusiasm that she gets to go back tomorrow. I need to post some pictures, but the computer I am on doesn't have a memory card reader so it won't get done right now. I promise to post them as soon as I can though.

I didn't cry at all. I may have wanted to a bit but I held off. I didn't want to ruin it for her or suffer the teasing I would have gotten from my husband. We didn't stay for the "boo hoo breakfast". It didn't sound like something I wanted to do. I mean I know my kid is the best but I don't want to hear others bemoaning the fact that they will miss theirs, that is what blogs are for.

My new life

It is nice to see my life finally moving forward. For over a year I felt as if I was treading water and now I can continue my life. Now the decision is mine as to where it should take me.

The new job is great! I am enjoying what I do. I am still trying to figure it all out but that is what makes it fun. I do miss the girls. TWO especially. I can tell she misses me too. She still will not sleep at daycare. So even when she is at home with me in the evening she is crabby and her bedtime has moved up an hour. I am hoping that she gets over it and our schedules can return to normal but with school starting this week for ONE I am not sure if I can even define normal. I want to carve out time to blog more but I have a feeling it will remain on the back burner until my husband's busy time of year returns late this fall. So I appologize for anyone who is still reading this, I promise, come November I will show up more often with more valid content.

One week and counting

We are down to one week...
One starts kindergarden next Thursday. It is hard to believe that the summer is over and we are starting school. She is getting so big. She is definately ready and she will do great.
I feel old...

July Top Droppers

Thank you to all of my droppers. Here is July's list...

I Like It Frantic
Harmony In Motion
At Home In The Ozarks
A lil Enchanted
The Frugal Kennedys
Upgrade Your Life!
Stacie's Madness
my kids are my world
Harvesting Dollars
Simply Being Mommy

No Longer a SAHM

Short post, but I have to share...
It is official, I am no longer a SAHM! I recently accepted a job offer and I am so excited. It is a job in HR (my field I thought I was going to have to abandon), and the pay covers more than childcare.
Now off to find childcare as I start in 1 week. I will have to figure out a new name for my blog. Any suggestions?

Gems of wisdom from a 5 year old

This week ONE is attending basketball camp at a local college. It is important to note that she is extremely familiar with this college, its campus and many of the athletic staff (including the women's basketball players and coaches) as we are active supporters.She loves camp, but was a little apprehensive before her first day. This led to the first gem of the week. She was trying to get all of the facts and asking a million and one questions when she asked me if the camp was going to be in the gym or in the woods. I will admit, it took me a bit to figure out what she was asking but when I did I couldn't help but laugh.

Gem number two was a bit more serious. ONE has been very attentive to all of the coverage of Michael Jackson's death. We pass a cemetery on our way home from basketball camp. So today we played twenty questions on death. From how do people die, how do they get in the ground, why do we put people in the ground, it looks like a lot of work. But the comment that had me laughing was when she asked "Where to you buy such big shinny rocks to put on the dead people, I don't remember seeing anything like that at Walmart? I think I need to expand her shopping horizons:)

I am back--for a bit

I know I have been remiss in my blogging. For my followers I apologize but honestly you didn't want my company.

I have been struggling with a low. No I am not mourning the loss of Michael Jackson or even Billy Mays, I am in desperate need of returning to the workforce. The stress has started to impact other facets of my life other than just me feeling sorry for myself. My attitude towards the kids, my relationship with my husband and even my faith have suffered. I have felt that my life has been on hold for the last year and I am trying to to be resentful of it or the circumstance around it.

So I am struggling to rebound. My normal blogging time has been reallocated to job searching. In addition, my husband has been home more. This cuts down on my computer time as he needs our one and only functioning computer to do his work from home. So when he is here I don't feel able to just putz on the 'puter.

So I apologize, I should be able to return to regular posting in August when he has to return to work on a normal schedule. So until then I will post when I am able and willing. Until then I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as or more than I am.

June's Top Droppers

Thanks for all of my "droppers".
Here are the top droppers for June.


Inside My Head
Whatever Comes To My Mind
Luv a Bargain
FickleMinded-A Life That Is Less Ordinary
I Like It Frantic
At Home In The Ozarks
My Loonyverse
Confessions of a Psychotic Housewife
A lil Enchanted
The Coupon Coup

What a week!

The kids got back from vacation with grandma and grandpa last Friday. I noticed that TWO had a little rash going on. Grandma didn't know anything about it, didn't bother TWO, I just thought it was an allergic reaction to something. Saturday the little rash went from little to pronounced and by Monday morning it was just gross.

I got her into the doctor after I was done running ONE to VBS across town. Turns out that she has roseola. GREAT! Well really it wasn't a big deal just gross to look at. One was loving VBS (she can't wait for school to start in the fall). I didn't give it a second thought since mostly kids under 3 get roseola but yesterday afternoon she started to complain that she was cold. It is freaking 85 degrees, how can she be cold? But low and behold she has a fever. I hope she didn't have the fever at VBS. Well I am keeping her home from it today and hopefully she wasn't a typhoid Mary, spreading the virus to all the kids. I actually hope it was just a fluke fever that has nothing to do with roseola (or that she is old enough not to get the rash). I feel bad keeping her out of the last day of VBS but there is nothing that can be done for it. I promised her a movie day so...

For anyone wondering...
Roseola is a virus that effects kids 4 and under. In most cases, it starts with a high fever that can last 1-4 days. After the fever a rash breaks out that looks like measles. The rash typically does not itch and generally just looks bad. It is contagious during the fever stage and it normally takes about a week to 10 days between infection and fever. There is no vaccination for it and it is generally no big deal, however the high fever has been known in some cases to cause seizures. Roseola is typically over before you know what you have.

Mentoring Mommy

I have be come a Mommy Mentor. This is an incredibly scary thought on my part as I cannot fathom me, (the woman who is ok if her kid eats dirt (just a little), encourages her kids to fight (just a little) and can tune her kids out if necessary (a whole lot)) would be thought of by anyone as an appropriate mentor to anyone. The title is definitely an informal one but it is a role I have taken on none the less.

One of my friends who is only recently married and has recently moved over 1000 miles away from all friends and family other than me is pregnant with her first. Her and her husband are blissfully unaware of the riggers of parenting and are now looking at my husband and I for guidance. I am so excited for her, especially now that I get to go through everything all over again without the commitment of being the parent or pregnant one.

For the past few month I have been fielding pregnancy questions from her. You know, the basic "is this normal?" type of stuff. This past Thursday I got to have all sorts of fun helping her register. She asked me to come along because she didn't know what she needed or how to sort through all of the choices, "why are there so many different types of bottles?" "do I really need a diaper pail, can't I just use the regular garbage?"

Registering was great. I got to see all of the new stuff that was out. I know that my husband was hoping that it would give me the baby bug but I survived without catching that affliction. The other great thing about helping out this friend (other than the satisfaction of helping out someone who feels like she so needs it) is that it is causing me to remember things that I forgot long ago about my pregnancy and early days of parenting.

I am being cautious however. I want to make sure I don't over step my bounds and insert myself too much into the process. I try not to offer advice unless asked (or I see a desperate need for it). I would hate to have this ruin our friendship (it is a rather new one). I just see this as being great and for the moment she does too. I think all new mom's should be partnered with someone. Is there an organization that does that? I would join in a heart beat. I know in the past the pregnant woman's mom would do it but I see a need for it in today's society. Plus somethings are better heard from a friend than your mom.

What do you think, do we need a new mom's mentoring group? Is that what we are doing here on our blogs?

The Kids Return

I know that I have been absent for the last week. Well there is a reason, although it doesn't really make sense. My kids have been gone for the last week. That is right, Grandma and Grandpa came and took both of them away for a week of vacation.

So with such a big opportunity, what have I been doing this week? Well a whole lot of nothing--at least quantifiable. I have been sleeping in, scouring the city for jobs (in my field and out/full-time and temp), spending loads of time with the hubby and some basic household organization.
It has been great. The hubs has had a rather slow week at work so he has been home everyday by 3pm and didn't even go in on Wednesday. We have had dinner together, went on walks and talked. It has been great. I remember the relationship that we had before we were married before kids...I fully believe that every couple needs something like this.

Ok, so it has been great. I missed the kids. I talked to them every night on the phone. They are coming home tonight. I can't wait to see them but hate to see this week go. Back to the normal schedule. Oh well.

Mommy Blogger Muscle

We all know that we as mom's are important, but it is great when the rest of the world knows it too. I came across this article on the front page of MSN this morning and wanted to link to it here in case anyone had missed it. We all know our give aways are great and that someone in PR is looking at us at least as a way to advertise to a segment of the population but to see the power we can and do have is great!
Happy reading all.

Advice Update

I wanted to update all of you on my friend I wrote about earlier this week.

I did send her an email (per your advice). She is doing OK now but had a rough patch. I knew that email was the way to go but it was nice to hear it from all of you. Anyways... She is fine, we are talking/emailing again.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to get in contact with her.

Tag--I'm it:)

Just when I think I have the hang of the blogging world, another new thing comes my way. I have been tagged for the first time. My friend over at Dirty Diaper Laundry (who's blog is great, informative and humorous) tagged me. She thinks it is like one of the MySpace/Facebook Games we all ignore, for some reason it reminds me of some crazy email chain or old fashion chain letter. But I respect her so with some delay I am going to play along.



Here is the deal. I have to list six unimportant things that make me happy. That should be easy. I have to tag six other bloggers. That could take some work, but it is do-able. I have to link who tagged me. Done. And I have to comment on the blogs I have tagged. Will do.



1. Pedicures

2. Babby Giggles

3. Dinner made by the Hubby

4. A trashy Romance Novel (huge weakness of mine)

5. Nap-time (mine and the kids)

6. Oreo's



Now the Bloggers for me to tag.



1. Mom-Mom's Harmony

2. Native American Momma

3. Parenting by Google

4. Stay at Home Mom

5. Three Boys and a Dog

6. Random Thoughts while Parenting



Hope you all had fun. I know I did.

Wordless Wednesdays--Tuesday Stitches

Instead of going strawberry picking on Tuesday, ONE sent us to the ER when she crashed into the end table with her head. She is fine but her vacation plans have to be altered as swimming is out for the next several days.

For more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

Top Droppers for May

This is my first month posting this but I wanted to thank all of you who "drop" regularily.

At Home In The Ozarks
Small Town Mommy
Confessions of a Psychotic Housewife
The Coupon Coup
Wii Mommies
Cool Dad Central
Momspective
Luv a Bargain
J. Leigh Designz
Mother by Design

I need advice

I need some advice.

I was cruising around Facebook this morning and saw a comment by a former acquaintance from college. Her comment was (names changed to protect the innocent) " So glad that Jill and Tom's baby is going to be ok". Well Jill was a really close friend of mine in college. We lost touch after graduation when I got married and moved to a different state. We reconnected a few years later for her wedding but then lost touch again. I didn't even know she was pregnant/had a baby...

I want to reconnect, make sure everything is ok and catch up. I am not sure how to do it or if I even should. She is apparently going through some stress right now and I don't want to add to it or come across as a bottom feeder.

Any suggestions? She isn't on Facebook so I would have to try the cell number I have for her or email.

I am back and I am RANDOM

So, this week has gone by in a blur... So much for Random Tuesday, this is Random Friday....

It is officially summer, ONE has practically moved into our backdoor neighbor's house. I am not complaining but I don't want to be thought of as a sponge or bad mother in the new neighborhood.

The local pool is ridiculously expensive--there go my summer plans with the girls. Worse yet, because our neighborhood is still under construction we haven't been annexed in to the town, so we would have to pay the "non-resident " rate.

By the way, I hate the construction. They are working on 6 houses across the street from me. All I hear all day is the sound of trucks backing up and hammers. I wish they would just finish them up all ready.

TWO, my fearless and independent child, has developed this weird fear of the water. She likes to play next to the wading pool in the back yard. She even dumps water on herself but screams like a yetti if you put her in. What is that about?

The job hunt continues. I am waiting to hear if I get an interview at my dream job. Great if I do, but then I have to worry about childcare as my babysitter found a summer job. How thoughtless is that :).

Randomness done for now I guess. I am happy to have my computer back. It is nice to have the use of the "s" key again. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Appologies in Advance

My hubby has gone out of town for work. He took with him our laptop that I normally use to blog. This leaves me with the 5 year old laptop that has several issues. This being the case my postings for the next week will most likely be weak if at all.

Sorry, see you later when my baby (I mean computer) returns.

My Very First Blogging Award

I have been a bit slow to pass this one on, but it doesn't devalue how much I am honored. On May 22nd, The Knutson Update gave me my very first blogging award. I have spent the better part of the holiday weekend mulling over who I should pass this award on to. The idea of this award is to pass it on to 8 people and include the following:

"These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

So after much deliberation, I am passing it on to these eight blogs that I have grown to love - who's writings and insight help keep me sane and smiling.

Confessions of a Semi-Slacker Mom

Soccer Mom Says...

Boogers, Screams, Headaches and Dreams

Small Town Mommy

Born2Impress

Critical Mass

J. Leigh Designz

Mad Hatter Mom

At the Ball Park

One of the things my family enjoys doing is going to minor league baseball games. For less than it costs to go to a movie we go to a game, sit in the grass and have a lot of fun. Friday night we went to see the Salt Dogs in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don't know how much watching of the game we did (they gave up 11 runs) but we all had fun and got to see our first fireworks display of the year.

Holiday Weekend Blues

I had such high aspirations for this weekend. Oh well, I should know better.

First I wanted/planned to go strawberry picking. That would give me a long weekend to process everything, make some freezer jam and maybe a strawberry pie. Called a few strawberry farms in the area and I found out that strawberries won't be ready until next weekend. Grrr!

Then we planned to check out a few farmer's markets on Saturday morning. TWO woke up with a fever. There goes Saturday... I think she is teething but she is consistently warm and only has energy for a few hours at a time so at home I stay.

I didn't make any additional plans for today. Good thing. TWO is still warm (although happy to play) and DH is feeling tired. So we will take it easy again.

Here is to the holiday weekend. Hope you are having fun!

A Castle?

This is a picture of the capital building in DesMoines IA. We stopped here a few months back on a visit back to the Wisconsin/Illinois family. Our hotel was only blocks away and ONE insisted that we check out this building. It was a nice day so we humored her.

If you didn't already know, let me tell you about the capital building as I was informed by ONE...

ONE: Mom, Dad...can we go visit the castle?

Me: The castle? Do you mean the capital building down there?

ONE: No the CASTLE! The Queen of England lives there with her Prince Charming when she visits the moines in Iowa.

---She even showed me which window was the Queen's bedroom---

So next time you find yourself in DesMoines, don't forget to pay your respect to the Queen and make sure to say hi to all of the Moines there:)

Wordless Wednesday--5 going on 25

For more Wordless Wednesday go here

My dream job has called....

Well the job I have been dreaming about called me! Now everyone relax! We are only interviewing and we are still early in the interview process but they have called me to set up another phone interview (we have already done one mini phone screen and an application). This is a process I know is going to drag out forever as I have already been informed that the top candidates will have to fly to their corporate headquarters (not in a swanky town but small city in the Midwest which means flight times will suck) and also interview at their local facility. So that is two or three weeks beyond this phone interview. Maybe if I am good I will have a job here by July.
This job is everything that I am ready for in my career with a reputable employer. This is why I am excited, but... it is a title that has eluded me and I fear that this position will as well. Maybe my self confidence has just been killed due to over a years worth of rejection on the job front. Well time to pull myself up by my boot straps and prepare to shine. Thursday is the big day and I want to knock their socks off.

Home Improvements

I love our home. We are settled in now that we have been here for 6+ months. This isn't the first home (or only home) that we own so we knew what we were getting into. Now that the spring/summer is officially here we have pulled out our list of things that need to get done around the house. Unfortunately we are not the handy sort of people so most of our major projects require us to hire professionals. Since I am unemployed, these projects have been put on hold. This absolutely sucks! I want my house to be finished but I need to be patient for the $$$ to come in. Our larger projects are truly large including finishing our basement and building a retaining wall in the front yard, my husband wants to tile the master bath and kitchen but I think this may be out of our skill set so we will see how that gets accomplished.

So we are appeasing ourselves with the smaller projects we can handle such as landscaping, landscaping, and landscaping. I am trying to get the gumption together to tackle the painting projects but struggle to find the time (no kids around when I paint) or the motivation to do so. I need to figure out what colors to paint. Once I do start painting I know that I will need several coats of primer as the current colors are dark and disgusting.

What projects are you working on at home?
Is a home ever really finished or will there always be these projects looming?

Yeah!!! New Template

I cannot say how happy I am. Thank you Semi-Slacker Mom for opening my eyes to Leelou Blogs (see link at the top of the page). I got this great non-sterile template for FREE!!! My Blog Envy has been satisfied (at least for now). It was sooooo easy. Cut and paste some code and you are done. I will be playing with this for days. Maybe I can get a fun button (I don't have one yet).
I feel like it is Christmas.

Blog Envy

I have been looking around the blog-o-sphere and I am jealous. I have a sever case of blog envy. Some of you have some truly awesome blog lay-outs and designs. I only wish I had the talent to pull this off.

Blogging is a hobby for me. Yes in the past I have lamented that I do not have a hobby but this is one that has developed. As a hobby it's role is cheap entertainment to keep me occupied during my unemployment. We can also call this therapy. In this role, I have no $$$ to put into making this pretty and I don't have the technical skills to do it myself. So until I am employed or my blog starts producing serious $$ I will have to learn to be satisfied with what I have.

So I am moving forward. I am going to try not to be jealous any longer. Instead, let me point you to some blogs, in no particular order that I have come across recently that I love the aesthetics (I like the content too but that is a different story). I apologize that I don't have a cool button or award to give, but I hope you visit them to show your love as well.

1.Two of a kind, Working on a Full House

2. Boogers, Screams, Headaches and Dreams

3. Catch the Drift with Mama Snow

4. Frugal Mommy of Two Girls

5. Look its Megryansmom

I know there are more blogs out there that look fantastic. Feel free to let me know which blogs you love the most (for the looks not the content). I am always looking for ideas as I dream of my perfect blog.

Outdoor Living--Is Rain bad for Upholstery?

I know that a recent post showed my weakness to this season as I have been held low by my allergies. There is nothing I enjoy more though than enjoying great weather in my yard. I enjoy working in my yard (even more watching my husband work) and enjoying the haven I hope to create. The new house is a blank canvas and I can't wait to make it fantastic.

I wish the weather was better you know, 100+ days of sunny weather (I so wish we had a streak like Arizona seems to pull off every year). It is the weather that is killing me. Today is 60 (not bad) but ever looming gray skies with the threat of major storms. I would love to be able to put an "outdoor living room" in my back yard like this one, but I don't know if it would hold up to our Midwestern storms. Rain seems to be a bad thing for upholstery.

If only we had weather like Arizona, I could have the outdoor furniture of my dreams, but I fear I am left with my plastic that can stand up to it all. Oh well. Back to my dreaming.

http://www.pathwaylandscape.com

What to do with gift cards?

I am looking to my readers and followers for some ideas. This past year for Christmas we received many gift cards. Most were generic/VISA cards that can be used at any retailer. Well we have used most of them but now have random amounts left on each card. I am talking four cards with less than a dollar on each.
I am a frugal person by nature and I hate to just throw this money away but I have no idea what to do with it?

I have been silenced!

No my silencing has nothing to do with my lack of recent posts.

I am talking about my allergies. I thought I had escaped this season with minimal discomfort from my allergies even though they are bringing hubby low with sinus pressure and headaches. I was sadly mistaken. I woke up yesterday with a mild scratchy throat. By last night I was ready to kill the person who let a cat use my throat as a scratching post.

Today, I woke up and I have been silenced. It is to painful to speak and when I do it is barely understandable. This should make for a very interesting day in SAHM land! Either the kids will take pity on me and be angels, or they will realize I can't yell so all hell will break loose. At least I don't feel awful, so I can still chase them all over.

Gross Food--What do you eat?

Small Town Mommy has me thinking...It is dangerous to think but I am blaming her. She was just assigned a post on gross food by a blog group she is in. So what foods do the fam and I like that others would consider gross?

I grew up in Wisconsin. So I enjoy my cheese curds. I don't think many people would find this gross unless they actually know what cheese curds are (and the process in which they are made). I think they are even better deep fried. I don't get to enjoy these delicacies much anymore as the curds need to be so fresh (think buying them at the dairy) that they squeak when you bite into them. I am just not located for this freshness anymore and I don't trust the fast food variety that is available.

My husband likes "soft toast" I don't know if this is a real food or something made up by his father but when he was sick as a kid his dad would take a burnt piece of toast and soak it in warm milk, then they would eat it. Can we say ewwww!

ONE is a picky eater so nothing she eats is all that gross. The worst thing that I can think of is grapes dipped in ranch dressing (don't ask). TWO is at the stage where she will eat anything that doesn't bite her back so everything that she eats could be classified as gross.

Other than that, I can't think of anything we eat that others would think was gross but it is all in the eye of the beholder. What do you eat that others may think is gross?

The Job Hunt Continues

So our getaway last weekend looks like it was really our last hurrah for awhile. It appears that the need for me to find a job has increased. We are doing well with me as a SAHM due to my husband's second job. It is a weird type of position that is purely work from home and commission based. But the commission has a cap on it (you get paid x per so many y's you service but once you get to so many y's we cut you off until next year). He figured out that he will hit the cap in August, therefore September will be our last check from that job this year.

I am trying to find ways to generate income from home myself but to no real avail. I don't want to commit too much time to anything because I do want to return to the workforce, the market is just so slow right now I haven't been able to find anything. I will take that back, I haven't been able to find anything that will allow me to make more than the cost of childcare.

I had made peace (to a degree) with my role as a SAHM but the pressure has returned. I have an interview scheduled for next week. I will keep my fingers crossed but it is hard to think positive after going on so many interviews. I am ready to be done interviewing! It has been over a year since I was laid off. YIKES.

Getaway Weekend

As I told everyone earlier, this past weekend my husband and I had a getaway weekend (really I am not gloating---much). We had a great time without the kids. Hubby did a great job in planning the trip. See, we have worked out our roles in our marriage. I take care of the finances and he does all of the planning, especially for vacations.

As a kid, vacations for me consisted of going to one set of grandparents or the other. No real destination trips except for one summer when my grandparents took me to Florida to see Mickey. My husband on the other hand went to a new destination every summer (most evolving around baseball games). So we are now working on expanding my catalogue of vacation spots. I had never been to Kansas before so we went to Kansas City (we stayed Kansas not Missouri).

We experienced the BBQ enjoyed the quiet of no kids and even went to the casino. That wasn't as much fun as it sounded but it is something we wouldn't be able to do with kids so it had some appeal at the time. We saw KNOWING (see previous post). The best excursion of the weekend was the WWI Museum. We are both history buffs so it was something we enjoyed and it sparked some really good conversation. We both had family in that war so we inspected every picture of German soldiers (that is where our ancestors were at the time) to see if we could see a family resemblance--no luck. The guide said it should take 90 minutes to get through the museum, it took us over 2 hours. It was a good weekend. The kids were glad to see us when we got back. They had fun with Grandma and Papa--went to the zoo, had a picnic and basically got their way 100% of the time.

Now that its Wednesday, the house is almost back in order and the kids are almost deprogrammed from the weekend. Hey we have almost recovered.

Knowing--Another Movie Review

This past weekend I had the rare pleasure of seeing a movie that was above a PG rating. For this momentous occasion I let my darling husband take his pick. We are both huge fans of the National Treasure series and Nicholas Cage so he opted for Knowing. If only we had known before we saw it....

For those of you who have not seen the previews, this is a movie very similar to National Treasure as Nicholas Cages character is a scientist working at MIT. He gets a page of what appears to be random numbers. With his ever cunning intellect he figures that the numbers are dates of tragic events leading up to... (I won't spoil it).

I will let you know that we were very disappointed with the movie. The first 2/3rds of it was great (think National Treasure and the Sixth Sense all rolled into one) but it seemed as the studio just didn't know how to end it. My husband was so disappointed that he has told me he owes me a chick flick at the theater. In the end we enjoyed our evening out but the movie wasn't worth the $30 price tag for 2 at the movie theater.

Now what movie should I tell my husband he gets to take me to next....

FREE WEEKEND!!!

I am free this weekend!

My in-laws are flying into town tonight and the hubby and I are taking off for a few days. No Kids! We haven't done this in awhile and it feels more than over due. It could be my daily dose of kids has increased in the last year (last time we left for the weekend was April 08).

So I bid all of you farewell. I will be returning on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Warm Weather Ramblings

I can not say how much I enjoy warm weather. I have been successful in cutting down my girl's TV time this week because I can send them outside. Additionally, with our mostly fenced in backyard, they can be out there without me as long as I have the sliding door open. I have been so much more productive this week because of it. YEAH!!!

The other great thing about the weather warming up is that I am getting to meet my neighbors. We moved into our home this past October and while we had some warm days at the end of fall everyone for the most part had their routines and I met very few people. In the past week I have met nearly all of our neighbors and have been caught up on the local gossip (turns out the couple next door are the town busybodies so I will always be in the know whether I like it or not). So not only have I cut down on TV and met people, I am starting to finally feel like Nebraska is home. Thank goodness since this is where we plan to live for the next 20+ years.

Getting fit--Wii Fit

So on Friday my husband comes home from work with a Wii Fit. This wasn't surprising as he had been talking about it for awhile but I didn't think he would pull the trigger. But he found one and now we are the proud owners of one of the most sought after "toys" in the country.

We have had it for a few days and I must admit I like it. I am not sure how much we will use it but there is no excuse now. If I continue to out score the family the use will go down as we are way to competitive as a family. I was not ready for the harsh reality when I stepped on the first time. I am not a large woman but I am not small. I have been called "solid" my entire life. The new toy didn't mince words, I am "over-weight" and awfully close to being "obese". These are not words I would have used to describe myself and I am not getting wrapped up in this but YIKES!!!

Too Much TV

The TV is always on at my house. I don't typically sit and watch TV but I do enjoy the background noise and when it is off I just seem to be out of sync. Because of my addiction, my children now have a healthy one as well. Now I don't keep children's television on all day (lord help me). They get about 1-2 hours of that in the morning while we are eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. Once TWO goes down for her morning nap, the channel gets switched to news or other adult programming (not that kind--get your mind out of the gutter). Unfortunately, they still get sucked into my background noise. I know it needs to get turned off but I can't seem to bring myself to break this habit. Is there a 12 step program I can join? How about a motivational DVD? Seriously, I am depending on the warmer weather to help me with this, but until it gets warm consistently I am on my own.

Any suggestions from other TV addicted parents?

Keeping House

Domestic Goddess I am not.

Its not in my nature and not in my training (that is a topic for a different post).

Now I manage to keep the "public" areas of the house mostly presentable--toys of course are the constant enemy. However it is natural that the chores you hate most tend to stay at the bottom of the list. What is my most detested task...mopping. Now I sweep the floors several times a day and I vacuum several times a week but mopping only happens when it is absolutely necessary.

So this weekend when my wonderful husband mopped the floors for me without being asked I wanted to weep with joy. It was better than Christmas!

Please tell me I am not alone in failing in this area!

Hannah Montana--The Movie

Well Disney has done it again. This past weekend, Hannah Montana-The Movie was the top earner at the box office. I helped contribute to Disney's latest conquest and I must say I wasn't disappointed. When you go into this movie as an adult you keep your expectations low--Hey we aren't the intended audience--but I found it to be surprisingly entertaining.

The plot was what you would expect. You know, trying to find the balance in "the best of both worlds" but it has its humor (I even caught my husband laughing out-loud), the music was great, and of course a strong moral underlying message--be yourself. Both of my girls (yes even at 20 months) loved it. They were singing and bopping along to the music in their seats.

Disney rarely strikes out in the theatres and with Hannah it lives up to its impressive reputation. My opinion as a mom, not a bad way to spend a gloomy weekend and I won't be opposed to buying it when it comes out on DVD.

The Terrible Twos have Arrived

Well the terrible two's are officially here. I have suspected as much over the past few weeks but now there is no denying it. TWO has always had a mischievous gleam in her eyes. This weekend while we were cleaning she went suspiciously quiet for a period of time. As moms we all know this quiet of getting into trouble so my husband went to investigate.

Our darling daughter was sweetly sitting on the bathroom floor with a roll of toilet paper spread out around her.--Now I thank the sweet Lord that she hasn't found the joys of putting things in the toilet or worse still, flushing but something had to be done to stop this behavior from continuing.--So my husband very sternly scolded her. He didn't yell at her, only firmly told her that what she did was wrong that that she will not do it again. You would think he yelled and disowned her. At first she tried to put it back (I had to bite my lip not to laugh at this attempt) and then she cried, and cried, and howled and turned into a full fledged temper tantrum with her throwing herself on the floor, throwing toys and hitting me when I tried to help her calm down. She was of course shown promptly to her room, but I know that this is only the beginning of this type of behavior.

Thank God, he made two year-olds cute and cuddly too or I don't know how many would survive this stage.

Awesome Giveaway over at Tangerine Kitty!

Hey everyone! Check out the awesome giveaway over at Tangerine Kitty. Not only are the giveaway stuff super cute, but her store has awesome purses. I have already printed pictures and left them around the house for Mother's Day gift ideas. I only hope my hubby catches on.

She is growing up

Ok, I am not one of those Moms who gets all emotional when milestones are hit. My husband normally gives me a hard time because I am heartless about these things. My feelings are that the more emotional I get the more traumatic the event will be for my kids.

So today when I took ONE to Kindergarten Roundup I wasn't quite prepared for the slew of emotions that hit. Worse still, my husband went with as well so I had to keep up my brave face or risk loosing my reputation or worse yet get picked on for the next several years because I dared shed a tear.

I didn't cry, I wanted to, but I didn't. What am I going to be like when I take her to school for real? She can be shy and self conscious enough without me adding to it.

PS--I restrained myself from taking pictures (this is just practice, I will take pictures this fall) though others did making me feel guilty for not doing so.

2009 Goals

I know I am so far behind on this, but better late than never--right?

1. Strengthen the family's faith and the girl's knowledge of God. (regular bible stories with the girls and regular/active church attendance as a family)
2. Eat more meals at home. (Try to keep eating out to 2 nights a week or less)
3. Reinstitute reading with the girls. (10-20 minutes a day 4+days a week)
4. Teach ONE to tie her shoes before going to Kindegarden in the fall
5. Find a full-time position in Human Resources
6. Get our basement finished off (number 5 to be accomplished first).

Now that I have these out there I will hopefully be more dilligent in following up on them. It is my plan to re-evaluate on a quarterly if not monthly basis.

Here's to accountablity!

Personality Differences

As I watch my girls grow it is natural for me to compare them to each other. The differences in their personalities is truly astonishing. They already at these early ages are polar opposites of each other. It makes me really ponder the Psych 101 question of "nature vs. nurture". Where ONE is passive, TWO is confrontational. ONE is a picky eater while TWO will eat anything that doesn't bite her back (and even that is up for debate). ONE thrives on interaction and people around her while TWO loves being alone and will happily sit in her crib for hours playing quietly by herself.

Now I am an oldest child. I have siblings 4, 5, and 9 years younger then me. While we have our differences none of us are opposites. All but one of us avoids conflict at all costs and none of us were picky eaters growing up (could be that we would have starved if we tried). So this startling difference at 20 months and 5 years seems startling. The funny thing about it , is that my husband and I see our personalities mirrored in the girls. ONE is clearly my mini-me, a self-conscience people pleaser thru and thru. TWO is my husband with her mischievous smile and devil may care attitude (I will have my hands full with her).

As I watch them grow I try not to project these personalities or expectations on them. Who knows, these traits may turn a complete 180 degrees by the time they reach adulthood. This is just something I find myself marveling at on a regular basis.

Do you see this in your children as well or am I just witnessing the developmental differences of their ages?

Dog?

We are a pet less family. Not because we don't like animals, just that our lives have never been conducive to having pets before. Well now that we are settled in a place we plan on being for awhile (we have moved 6 times in the last 7 years) and we own our home and it has a mostly fenced in backyard the question on whether or not to get a dog has come up several times.

My under 2 year-old is completely enamoured by dogs and "dog" was one of her first 4 words. The 5 year-old is still scared of dogs but she needs to get over it. My husband wants one. I am the hold out. I know it is the classic excuse but I just know that I will be the one in the end taking care of it. Additionally I don't see how it could be fair to the dog? When I go back to work (and that will happen) there are days in the winter when we feasibly leave the house around 7am and do not get back until after 9pm due to the running we have to do. I can't see this working.

So I am the bad guy at this point. Do any of you wise readers have any input on the situation? Do you have dogs/pets? How does it work?

Where is Spring?

Alright, this weather is killing me!

I love the sun, but it is missing its favorite companion--warm weather. These temps need to go up. We have been cooped up in this house with the TV sucking the life out of us for too long.
When will we get to the 50's? Sun and 30 is just cruel and unusual punishment.

The guy at the McDonald's drive thru said it best last night "we had warmer weather back in January". So true.

Shopping for a Hobby

I have been told by more than one source that one of the best ways to keep your sanity and identity as a SAHP is to develop a non-kid related hobby. Well time for me to find one! I have tried several things in the past but there hasn't been anything I stick to. I like to bake, but I don't like having all of the sweets in the house. I have also tried scrapbooking but while I enjoy it, I don't seem to come back to it unless my Mom is in town.



I love to read other blogs (I have mentioned my love for personal finance in the past) and I like reading in general. However I tend to get sucked in to whatever I am reading and other tasks seem to suffer. So while it is good, I often see it as a waste of time because nothing tangible comes from it.



Writing and blogging are my latest attempts. Creative writing was an outlet for me as a child but it wasn't encouraged so I stopped. I kept journals for years but it was more the stuff of teen angst. I am going to try to set aside time daily (nap time) to write something. Hopefully it is something I stick to.



Any ideas for future attempts at a hobby?



PS--gardening is out as my husband has already claimed the yard as his domain:)

Confession

I am going to make a confession.

Since we moved, well slightly before, I have become completely obsessed with personal finance. I don't want to get rich, well I do but that is not the drive. I find the information out on the web and especially the blog-o-sphere about people saving money, reducing debt and in some cases completely changing the way they think to be interesting. I have become addicted to Budgets are Sexy, Escape Brooklyn, and Dog Ate My Finances. The worst part is that this is a closet addiction. My husband has no idea. He knows that the PF Blogs interest me and that I read them on occasion. He has no clue that I go to bed imagining how I can pay off our debt in 2 years once I get a job, or figuring out what interest we could earn if we could only find an investment that would pay out x% interest.

I am a geek, a nerd, insert any other high school derogatory name here. I know this but it is true. So when my blogs turn in topic I apologize but be fore-warned!

The Job Search Continues

I am upfront about the fact that my career as a SAHM is not one of choice. I have been interviewing fairly frequently since Christmas but as my anniversary date looms in the near future I am starting to feel desperate.

I was laid off from my last position in April of 2008. It wasn't a surprise but I still struggled with it psychologically. I got over it, I lamented that the area of the country I lived in had no open positions in my field. My husband then found a new job (that he absolutely loves) and we moved. 4 months of job search out the window.

The new part of the country we live in is fantastic. There is industry, there are legitimate suburbs, there is growth! Two months of my job search were pretty futile due to my moving (no local address, time spent planning the move, getting to know the new area...) then came the holidays. Being in HR I know that next to nothing happens in the hiring world between Thanksgiving and New Years, scratch 2 more months off my job search.

So looking back I know I am truly only 3-4 months into my current job search. In these economic times we are told that you should expect to take 6+. So I am still within the norm but that doesn't help. Financially we are fine but I still worry. Now that we are up to a year will my resume get dismissed with out a true review (honestly this all depends on the idiosyncrasies of the hiring manager)? Should I find temp/PT work? What about daycare expenses if I do that, I would actually be going in the hole to work.

I love my career of HR but is it time for me to look for alternative careers? What would I even do?

Scheduling

I am not sure if this post is meant to vent or inform. For those of you who are not SAHPs do you realize how much scheduling goes into a day? I mean everything needs to be scheduled. Now those of you who have not experienced staying at home with young children may think that this is ridiculous. I mean, there is no boss setting schedules. There are no deadlines or meetings so why would I have anything to schedule right? Wrong.

My biggest pet peeve is having to schedule the insignificant things, such as my daily shower. I am one of those people who have to shower every day and it needs to be in the morning. I need this just to wake up, think of it as my morning coffee. In order for me to take a shower, I need to schedule it for one of two times. One, before my husband leaves for work (not really an option most days) or two for about 10am when my 18month old is taking a morning nap. Those are my only options for my 5 minutes to myself.

The other thing that needs to be scheduled is any errands that need to be done. While this is fairly common I am limited to a 2-3 hour block from 11:30-2:30 (between nap times). This is something that is a bit more flexible as the kids will sleep in the car but still I pay the price if naps don't happen.

I know these things are fairly common but it is still frustrating. Especially when my non SHAM friends whine that I have it so easy that I have the whole day to do whatever I want. URGH!!! I would love for them to just see one day. While it is not as structured as a day in the office, my little bosses still dictate my actions down to the most personal of personal time. I don't remember any of my bosses ever telling me when I could use the bathroom or opening the door when I was in there just to make sure I was still there :) Do you?

Appologies all around

This blogging stuff is harder than I thought. I suck at keeping up with correspondences so what made me think that I could do this.
Oh well.
I have continued the rounds of interviews lately. I definitely believe in karma now. For every candidate that I ever failed to close the loop with, return calls or send the almighty DING letter I apologize. I believe I have been paying for these crimes for the last year. I HAVE PAID MY DUES!!! I hope now that I have admitted this I will get a job. And not to be to greedy, but I want to find a good job. One that pays well, that I enjoy, and one that I can grow in.

Kid Food

I am making a confession here. I cannot cook. I am not a complete failure I just struggle making anything that is for a meal. I have no problems baking. I can bang out the brownies, cookies, pies even cakes (although they taste better than they look) I just can not cook.

This being the understood fact makes my husband's busy season all the more intolerable. When my husband is in season he leaves the house 7:30 AM and often doesn't get home until 10:00pm or later. If I eat anymore mac&cheese, hot dogs or chicken nuggets I may scream. Now often I do make the kids their food and then I nuke a frozen meal for myself but that gets old too. Add to all of this my kids don't eat large quantities so when I do attempt to cook (casseroles, tacos, stuff from a box...) I end up with enough leftovers to kill a cow, and oh yeah, I am the only one in the house that eats leftovers... I also worry that I am creating bad habits for the girls. They are getting use to nothing but "kid food", I worry that when it comes time to reintroduce family dinners they won't have anything to do with it and be picky eaters (which they are not, yet).

Does anyone (assuming anyone is out there) have a solution because I am going nuts.

Welcome!

For anyone reading this I thank you. This is my first post on my first blog. I am sure I will make mistakes, hopefully some friends and potentially I may upset some people.

I decided to start this blog as an outlet for my frustrations. I have read many blogs, articles and postings about being a SAHM or even a SAHP and a vast majority come across as it being the best thing in the world. I know for some that it is the ultimate job and that nothing can be as important as nurturing and caring for your children, but for others (such as myself) it was not the plan and it is not the thing that makes me jump out of bed in the morning. I want somewhere for individuals to talk about the reality of being a SAHP without all the sugar and pretense hanging over it.

Lets not be mistaken. I love my children, I have 2 girls ages 18mo. and 5 years. I will always love them and I like to spend time with them--I just like having a career and talking with adults as well.

Now this post may or may not be the tone and format for the future, perhaps this needs to go in the profile. I am sure I will figure this out as I go but I ask you to speak up if you have an opinion and band together if you feel my pain. I am sure I am not the only one out here that feels this way.