Wanted: Vacation

Oh my, today has been a day.  K was nonstop fussy, crying, yelling and me all.day. The only time she wasn't, was when she was sleeping, which wasn't much.  She woke up at 4 am was up til 7 am, slept til 8 am and then it was downhill from there.  The two big kids aggravated me today, they need school. I need school. We all need school. What am I going to do this summer? Oh wait, I know.  Summer means nicer weather, can go outside and run them ragged and hope they laze around the rest of the day.  Plus then I will get to escape to work, sad when work is an escape? Nah.  Well OK maybe a little.

I really really need a vacation.  I love my family, I love them I really really do but I need a break. We have had to much togetherness since school ended for winter break in Dec.  The kids only went back to school for 4 days after that before snowmaggedon hit. They have been home for 10 days straight now, I've not been anywhere except work and am desperately  looking forward to moms night out this weekend.  I am glad I am off Sat night so I get to go.  That's the downfall to the job lol have to work nights and weekends, but we need the money so we'll make it work.

I am dreaming of sandy beaches, warm sun beating down and nice fruity drinks with umbrellas in them.  Ahhh, how nice that would be.  I hope I have enough money left after some bills are paid (when we get our taxes) to actually take some kind of trip. I need to start researching and see what I can afford, even if I have to go by myself!

Sigh

So it's been crazy around here due to our snow, and by snow I mean really a lot of snow for Alabama.  We had over 8 inches all across North Alabama. I know, I know my Northern friends this is not a lot in comparison to what you get, however let me point out again, this is Alabama.  We (as in the state) are not prepared nor equipped for this type of snow.  We have a few snow plows but not enough and when it snows here, it melts and turns into black ice.  Black ice is very very dangerous, especially at night as you might imagine.  Our city & surrounding counties have been closed down since late Sunday night, today is Tuesday.  School has been canceled since Sunday night and is closed at least through tomorrow (Wednesday).  It's quite possible it'll be closed or delayed Thursday due to the amount of snow/ice still on the roads. 

I mentioned before I got a new job at Jo-Ann fabric & craft stores, had orientation last week and was supposed to start work this week.  Actually I was supposed to start last night, but they called at 8 am yesterday morning and said they were not opening due to the weather.  OK makes perfect sense to me. They told me to come in tonight at 5 pm. and so even though the city opened some roads today (they were reclosing them at 5) and my local roads still icy I made the trek into work.  There were plenty of people there, so I thought OK we'll be working no problem.  I go on in and the first shift is leaving and I and only 1 other person show up for the 5 shift.  Um OK. They are like oh yeah we're not working tonight.  Excuse me? They apparently were able to call every single other person  BUT me and this one other guy?? I am pissed, beyond pissed they have such a lack of respect for us.  It kills me because the roads were not clear enough to drive on and they did NOT even apologize for not calling. 

I really am not sure what to do. I am supposed to work Wed, Fri & Sat this week, however we are still under Winter storm warnings, hard freeze warnings and the news keeps talking about the roads being bad.  If they are going to be this way tomorrow, WHY would I drive back to that store? Um I don't think so.  The job is not worth possibly getting into a major wreck, getting hurt or killed.  No thanks.

So now a few pics from this week

Humor

Every once in a while my kids will say something funny, so I thought I would share a couple. 

Not so long ago, if you'll remember Jessica asked me if Alabama was a state when I was little.  Yep that made me feel real good and gave me quite a chuckle.

Last night we had soft tacos for dinner, hubby dropped the last shell on the floor and as he picked it up and shook it off, we were like ummm..  So then Jess says, they are called FLOUR tortillas daddy, not Floor tortillas.  Good one Jess, Good one. 

And eww he was about to eat it! :$

Then he proceeds to tell me how he's always telling Jess that she can't date etc until she's in her 30's or 40's and her retort was, I want to be able to walk down the aisle, not roll.  Um whoa! When did 30 and 40 require a wheelchair? Geesh! I did think it was funny though :)

So there you have it, kids can be funny.

Busy Month Ahead

I think for most people January should be a time of a slow paced life, as the holidays are over and things are back to normal.  Not for me.  January is the start of quite a busy time for me.  First there is all the mom group stuff at the first of the year, Girl Scout Meetings (weekly between both girls), Girl Scout Cookie sales (hey local moms, don't forget to order yours!), Girl Scout Camp, Relay For Life, now add on my new job that starts this month, I just may lose my mind! This week alone, I have orientation for my job, GS meeting with Jess, Cookie Rally with both girls, & hopefully a MNO on Saturday night. It's going to be a busy week.  Thankfully Monday and Tuesday are relatively quiet for me, but the rest of the week will be a blur.

I also got a hair brained idea to make a 365 blog, you know where you take pictures daily and post them. Um yep, we'll see how that goes, as I can't seem to blog here daily. If you wish to visit my 365 blog, you'll have to email me through the contact me, since it's by invite only. I do post pictures here and there of my kids, but since this will be full of pictures I have chosen to keep it private.

I am feeling the need to purge stuff.  Our garage is over run with toys, some good and some not, plus outgrown clothes (though we are using them) but it's time to get rid of the baby stuff that K has outgrown.  The inside of the house needs to be purged, closets cleaned, clutter gone.  I guess the Spring cleaning bug has hit me early.  We got all the Christmas stuff down and put up yesterday, I am glad to have my living room back.

I didn't really make any  resolutions this year, not yet anyways. I have mulled it over and mostly I am just trying to keep  my head above water, so that's it. LOL I do plan to spend more time with the kids, less time online (um we'll see how that goes ;) ) pay down some bills (hence the job) and have some more me time and time alone with hubby.  Those aren't to lofty are they?

I have been looking at buying a Kindle, got some extra Christmas money, and they look really cool. Everyone I know that has one, LOVES it.  I checked out my moms while visiting this past week, and it is COOL. :) So I have it and a case in my shopping cart on Amazon, just waiting for me to click check out.  I am just having a hard time spending that much on myself, mostly because it's just one thing.  I am OK buying a couple things here and there, like a skein of yarn etc.but never purchase something over $100 for myself. Still debating.

Well this turned into quite a rambling post, but it covers several topics :) That has to count for something right?

Happy New Year's

Another year has come and gone and it's hard to believe we're heading into 2011.  This past year has been a roller coaster ride for our family.  Things started out seemingly well and hit a tailspin in May, it didn't really seem to slow down until mid October.  By then the holiday season officially started and boom it's the end of the year.

High Points of 2010

-Family Visits
-Girls Weekend-Nashville
-Successful Relay for Life
-Kaitlyn's Birth
-Girl Scout Camp
-J started 5th Grade
-H started Kindergarten
-Awesome holiday season
-White Christmas

Low Points of 2010

-Kaitlyn's unknown birth defect
-Kaitlyn's major surgery at 6 weeks old
-Constant worry about what our future holds
-Insane amount of hospital & doctor bills

Kaitlyn's diagnosis has opened a whole new world up to us, one that's had many ups and downs.  Looking back, I don't think I would change the fact we did not know about the Spina Bifida.  We've learned a lot about the SB community and life and I've met some awesome, awesome SB families online and hope to meet many in person one day. 

So it really looks like the high points outweigh the low points, but those low points were & are stressful.  During all of this though, I've had great supportive family members & friends and they are the ones that helped me/us get through it all. 

So from our family to yours, Happy New Year!

I've Been Dreaming of a White Christmas

For 33 years, I've dreamed of a white Christmas and never did I think I would see one, especially in Alabama! Then again I think the majority of the people in Alabama thought the same thing. It was simply amazing to wake up to a very white Christmas morning, the area had anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow. It was breath taking. 

I not sure I'll see another white Christmas in my lifetime but it was worth the wait.  The snow made the day so much more magical, seeing the kids when they realized there was tons of snow out there, was awesome. They were so happy to be able to go out and play and build a snowgirl.  Of course they made snow angels and threw a few snowballs.  If we had more appropriate clothing, we would have all enjoyed the snow more and stayed out longer.

Our 1st Snow "girl"

Snow Angel in the making

Don't think she quite understood what to do ;)

We had a very laid back Christmas this year, more so since we stayed home rather than try to go out and visit family.  I am very glad, while the roads weren't bad early on, they were later when it iced over. The kids enjoyed all of their presents, Kaitlyn didn't really know what to do or think, but next year should be fun!

A couple days later we headed down to Georgia to visit family and spend a few days there.  It was great, the drive there and back went well.  The last few times we've gone, something has happened.  From the kids being sick, to car issues, but thankfully this time there were none.  The visit always go by to fast, but I am glad we went. 

All in all I would say that we had an awesome Christmas!