Goals Revisited

So in Jan. of this year, I wrote a blog post about Goals and was reading old blog posts trying to make myself blog and came across that.  So I wanted to revisit it and see if a little more than halfway through the year, I've made progress.

Goal 1: Blog More : Failed but I am OK with that, I will blog when I can.

Goal 2: Spend more time with kids: Doing OK with that one, though it is hard at times because I have a lot of stuff still going on.

Goal 3: Spend more time with hubby: So-so, we could def use a date night every couple weeks rather than maybe once a month.  My dad does watch the kidlets for us, but we just slack and don't schedule it.  So new goal, schedule date nights more often!

Goal 4: Spend less time on computer: Again So-so, some days are better than others, but I am trying to be more conscious of it.

Goal 5: Spend more time with friends: Not so good here either. I thought with Summer, it might be better but not so much.  The kids activities/camps keep me pretty busy plus I am still watching V as well. Maybe when school starts? Ha, who I am kidding, I need to schedule it myself!

Goal 6: Purge house: In process of, but need to do more!

Goal 7: Replace living room carpet: Ah yes that was supposed to happen after tax time this yr, but our A/C needed serious repair and ate the floor funding.  So it's on hold until we save enough again or tax time next yr.

Goal 8: Pay medical bills: Still working on this, have paid some, but more to go.

Goal 9: Save money: still working on this

Goal 10: Save for Disney: Yep, non existent right now! Maybe soon?

Goal 11: Be more efficient with Girl Scouts: DONE, I stepped down, so how is that for efficient??

Goal 12: Lose weight & get in shape: In progress, started lifestyle change in May, down 17lbs but many, many more to go.  Hubs is doing it too, he's lost 20!

So some goals, I've done OK on, others not so much.  Maybe revisiting this will make me get on the ball. We have had a super busy Summer and the school year isn't going to be any less busier, so I am hoping I can remind myself of things I want to work on.

Catch up!

It's been awhile since my last post, even when I thought I was going to do better this year, I fell off the wagon. Again.  So maybe I am not cut out for this blogging thing, or maybe I am to tired to care, either way, it sucks!

So what's been going on in my world since February? Today you'll get some bullet points with a bit of detailed info.

• We had H's 8th birthday party in March.  She had a luau themed sleepover. I made almost all the decorations, the cake and had to many 8 yr old girls over for the night. ;) It was crazy but she had a great time, so it was worth it. 
• Cookie season is over, thank you!
• Hubby got a new job! It was the one he has been interviewing/talking with since Nov 2012 
• Softball and soccer season are underway along with school track for J, so we are always busy with something these days. 
• K had her evaluation for school to see if she qualifies for services.  She does not. 
• K turns 3 in 23 days.  Not.Ready. 
• I really need to plan K's birthday party! Perhaps Minnie Mouse theme. 
• I have been working 4 days a week babysitting and just about every Sunday at church.  In fact I am scheduled 8 in a row right now, not happy.  I purposely scheduled myself off on certain days, like our anniversary weekend and that's gone now.  
• We got to put in our schedule for June-Aug and I took 3 weeks off in a row in June, but I expect that will change and I will have to work.  We are going to lose 2 workers in July/Aug because they are college kids going off to another city.  They really need to hire some more people and soon.  
• I am in the midst of trying to plan Summer activities for the kids but some of these camps are outrageously priced. :/  
• I will be babysitting all Summer, so yay for extra money? I guess that can be camp money.... 
• I finally had some pictures made of the girls and I can't wait to get them printed.  They turned out so good! 
• A little bad news, our compressor went out on the a/c unit.  Not good.  We also needed freon, a leak fixed and a new valve that wasn't working properly.  What started out as about $400 in cost, now has gone to about $1300.  
• The good, hubs new company made a mistake and paid him for 2 full weeks of work instead of prorated but they told him to consider it a welcome bonus, so guess what is paying for the a/c repair?  At least we have the cash to pay for it.  

 I know that's not everything that's gone on the last couple months but that is the gist of it.  I hope to update again soon with pictures too!

Growing Up

I don't want to grow up! A little late for that, I know.  How about I don't want my kids to grow up? Will that work? I know they have to, but it is so bittersweet.  We get excited for those beginning firsts, the first words, first steps, first time they go to school (though it is sad) but with all the other first that come later, we decide it's time to slow down!

My oldest who is 12.5 is growing up so fast, I don't feel like it's possible that I've been a mom for almost 13 years.  That means I will soon have a teenager in my house, though her attitude these days makes me feel like she is already one.  ;) Just random times, not all the time thankfully.  She only has 1 year of middle school left....and I already feel like hyperventilating at the thought of her going to high school, learning to drive, having boyfriends, dating, etc.  ACK! Slow down!!!

I am a bit biased as I think all my girls are pretty, but obviously some of the boys at school do too...and I not sure that I am really ready for all that.  Last year for Valentine's Day a boy at school bought her a single red rose.  Awww, so sweet.  Mmmhmm until it's your daughter getting these things!  This year, she got a chocolate rose, a teddy bear and a "I Love You" balloon.  Um yeah, from a different boy.  It was given anonymously, so she doesn't really know, but has an idea of who it is from. 

While I do that it's sweet that these boys have their crushes, it also makes me scared for what the future holds.  She's only 12! Could we please freeze time for a little bit? It would make me feel a little better, even if only for a short time. 

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.

We're off to the Dentist, the wonderful Dentist of....

Madison LOL. :) Jess is going back to the dentist today for 2 cavities to be filled they are very small and they only noticed them on the x-rays, so that's good. Last week we went in because she had been complaining about a tooth and her gum hurting her and she had this little tag of skin hanging down, looked as if it had bled some. I think because she kept messing with it. Either way they didn't seem overly concerned since the tooth itself was fine, and it doesn't look to be abscessed. Good news! However they are keeping an eye on it and we go into today they'll recheck it to see if they need to take it off.

The doctor mentioned something about not numbing her when they do the fillings.....eek! I said she has a low tolerance for pain, she'll likely need to be numbed. I don't want her to be afraid of going back in life. They also mentioned she'll probably get braces at 12, she's got some issues with crowding already with the permanent teeth that have come in. Fun times, can't wait... um right.

Hailey's teeth looked great, on the x-ray it did show one of her perm teeth coming in a little crooked on the bottom, but he said it could straighten out. Fingers crossed! They just opened their new office not to long ago, it's pretty nice. They have an indoor play area, like at food places, some big screen tv's, video games etc. Kids love going just for that LOL

On the weight loss front, I am down another 3.5lbs, for a total of 9lbs now. :) I am proud of that, and hope it continues. I talked to my mom yesterday, she may be having surgery for some bone spurs in her feet. She has an appt with the foot dr today. So I'll know more soon. Other news though, is she has some places on her hands, that is looking very much like the skin cancer she had on her foot last year about this time. They are going to do a biopsy on Aug 4 to find out if it is skin cancer. I am really worried about her, she's over in HI alone right now and has no support. :( This is all weighing in heavily on my heart right now. Prayers needed.

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Christmas Shopping Done!

Yes I am happy to say that I am pretty much done for the girls! I am excited I never get done so early, and I was actually done about a week and half ago now!! Whohooo go me! I feel we didn't overspend on the girls this year, which we couldn't afford to anyway with my hearing aids needing to be paid for.

I won a Rose Petal Cottage off of Ebay for Hailey, and I know she'll love it. It was supposed to be a Santa Gift BUT Jessica was home when I won it and I was so excited I got sidetracked...so now it's just from us LOL dang it! So now Hailey will get something much smaller from Santa. Jessica is getting a Mio Pup from Santa, they are cute but for $50.00 I was like umm no. I tried to win one off of Ebay but I refused to pay that much for shipping when I could get it at the store unlike the Rose Petal Cottage.

We were back at Walmart the other day grocery shopping and we always just browse toys so the girls will be good. They had marked the Mio Pups on sale to $29.98 or something of that nature....which was $16 less than we had paid the week before! So hubby goes and gets a price adjustment for it so yay I didn't have to spend $50!

I have 2 Rose Petal Cottages right now, the one I got off ebay and then one that I got from Target.com because I got notified it was back in stock online. So now I am trying to get rid of one on Ebay but not having such goodluck. I just really want to get what I paid for it, not overpricing it like so many others are doing. Hopefully it'll sell very soon!

Hubby and I aren't exchanging gifts this year, really no money to do so. It's sad not to have anything to open on Christmas but you get used to it as an adult. Our Christmas present together will be getting my hearing aids and hopefully him finding out he gets his promotion in Jan. instead of March. Fingers crossed but not banking on it til he signs the papers.

Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Hello December!

Wow time is sure flying by is all I can say, it seems like just yesterday was the beginning of November. Just about 15 days of school left until Winter Break! I am pretty excited this year right now anyways because my mom, stepdad and sister will be spending Christmas with us here at our house. This will be the first time in over 10 years that I have seen my mom on Christmas Day. The girls are very excited about getting to see Nana and Papa and Auntie Lauren.

We finished up Christmas shopping yesterday and I feel we did pretty good and didn't overspend to bad. Maybe $150 on each one which is way less than last year. I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning, going to be exciting! This is also the first time that I have cooked a family holiday dinner! So glad my mom will be here to help LOL.

I was just sitting and daydreaming about the girls and realized that in 10 years Jessica will be graduating from high school and hopefully starting college! Insane and the fact that Hailey would start high school that same year! Arrggh have I mentioned that my baby is going to be 3 in March?? That's really hard for me to believe!

I also think she's at a perfect age (except when being a typical 2 yr old toddler), she loves to learn, sing, dance and have fun! She just makes me heart melt when she runs up and gives me a big hug and says I love you Mom. Awww, makes me a bit misty eyed.

Hailey is also doing very well with her ABC's, stumbles a bit over the L-M-N-O-P but what kid doesn't in the beginning? I have been working on them with her and she can now almost sing it all by herself. She also can count to 13 most times by herself and when she's in trouble and I start to count 1-2- she keeps going 3-4-5- etc lol hard to stay mad when she makes me giggle. She is becoming quite the little girl, loves to play with her babies and play house and still a rough and tumble girl too!

Jessica is doing very well in school, 2nd grade and is going to be tested for the gift program apparently. They sent a form home about a week or so ago asking if we wanted her to participate in that. I am excited to hear back the results. She's been on the honor roll every year and loves to read and learn new things. She's also growing up way to fast! She's so tall and so smart but time is going to fast for me.

Hmm anything else interesting? Just waiting to see if hubby will get his promotion in Jan rather than Mar, and hope to find out mid December. It would be great to know sooner than later! I pray he does so we can pay down the cc's and fix up the house and move into a much bigger house. We have outgrown this one soo much so I am looking fwd to a new one.

Guess thats about it on the home front, and hopefully I can do better at posting.

PS. Yes we finally had a family portrait done for Christmas. They turned out pretty good, I'll post pics tomorrow.

Outdoor Fun

Why exactly do they call it fun? Who exactly is it fun for? Not for me the parent thats for sure. We ok well I decided that we needed to buy another pool for the girls since the one we had was rather small and round and all they could do was sit in it. So I went to Target this past weekend and got new pool, has a slide, basketball goal, ring toss on it. Sounds neat, looks kinda cool but isn't as big as you think it'll be. I think the size is just fine for them though the slide is to small for Jess and to large for Hailey. Oh well I tried! The slide is removable though, so we can have more roaming room which will work out.

While at Target I ok not really me but Jess decided we needed a slip n slide and a water mat as well, and of course a pump to blow up all this stuff! Gee I spent to much money but I figure I'll need as much activity as I can get for them this summer so they do not drive me crazy. Oh yah and I bought a bubble blower lol. FUN FUN FUN did I mention fun?

So this morning as soon as Hailey got up (6:30 ) she says outside, play outside mama. hmm ok yah but not now, later. Whew saved a few hours for waking up. So she and Jess both proceed to look out the door for the next few hours, outside mama outside. After Calliou I tell Hailey, she seemed ok with this at 9 am, though Calliou doesn't come on til 10 lol guess it's good to not have the concept of time yet.

We did manage to make it outside at 10:30 and both kids played in the pool, splashed each other, cried because the other splashed them and generally didn't listen. I kept telling Hailey to stay in the pool, do you think she listened? NO of course not, she's 2. Ah well they had fun, we stayed out for about an hour and half and then had lunch. Inside playtime and then nap time yippeee! Love nap time NOW that's FUN!. :)

So we'll see what FUN tomorrow brings, hope it's much better than today!

Headaches and Kids

I went to bed with a migraine last night and woke up with it still. So I tell the girls to be quiet my head hurts. I think Ok Jess will listen, she's 6 and Hailey will not. Yah right they are both being hellions and of course making all kinds of noise and screaming and not playing nice. Then what happens? I have to punish them both which of course means my head hurts even more.

Where is that damn calgon when you need it?

Happy Belated Mothers's Day

Yes I am way behind in blogging this week, to many sick people and not enough time in the day! I hope all of you mamas out there had a great Mother's Day, mine actually didn't turn out half bad!

I had breakfast cooked for me on Sunday morning, got a couple cards and 2 Cd's and a plate with Jess hand print on it that she made at school. I was quite surprised as I didn't expect anything at all. After a nice relaxing morning we all got dressed and went up to Monte Sano State Park and had a picnic lunch and let the girls run and play. They have a decent playground and it actually wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it would be.

Good thing Mother's Day turned out well, because the next 2 days wasn't so fun. You can read about that in my previous post.

To A New Beginning

Yes that's how I feel this morning after a long heart to heart talk with my dh last night. We really needed it and it took a year or so to make it happen. Tears, sadness, happiness and laughing and making up does wonders for your marriage and outlook on life.

Sitting down and talking about whether we want to have any more kids turned into a talk we really needed to have. Marriage isn't easy and there's been some very rough times the past year or so, mostly due to me ( I think) but we both share the blame. I for once just listened for close to an hour on what he had to say and didn't interrupt except to say I am sorry. That's not something that comes easy to me when it comes to this type of thing.

Have you ever really sat and listened to your spouse, I mean really listened? No tv, no kids, nothing as a distraction but really sat and focused on each other? If not, I really recommend you do it, you will be surprised on what you learn. I found out that I was pushing to hard and complaining about everything (not tech but it felt like it after he finished talking) and not trying to work on things to make them better.

So after much discussion last night, we both are going to try to reconnect, I am going to try to quit being so critical and he is going to try to be more affectionate by showing not telling me he loves me. We also talked about the last year has affected our kids, how we don't spend enough quality family time together. So we are refocusing on our kids as well and I think they'll be better for it.

Last night was good for us and I hope to report back soon that things have greatly improved.

May has arrived

The sun is shining, the kids are still in school for a few more weeks and I am a ray of sunshine... NOT. Another night of not sleeping and my kids waking up at the crack of dawn, yet I get no break from it. My husband knows that I haven't slept well the last week because of my allergies but what does he do? Wake me up to tell me he's leaving and the little one is asleep! OMG I could have killed him. Why would you wake up someone to say I am leaving?? Just leave the freaking house.

So you do know what happened right? She woke up 5 seconds after he walks out of the door. Good thing I was already awake from the dumbass telling me he was leaving. Luckily she's been in a good mood so far, but me not so much.

I think I should get some things accomplished today, answer some emails, get my Tupperware Fundraiser orders tallied up, shower, get dressed, get the girl dressed the list goes on and on. Oh yes and I must go to the store and buy some chips for a Spring Fling party tomorrow, buy Mothers Day Card for my mom and get it sent out in time. If it doesn't get sent today it'll not make it to Hawaii by the 13th.

I would like to get my mom something special, but what? She's been so stressed with my stepdad in Iraq and my sister graduating later this month. She doesn't really need anything (she has more $$ than I do lol) but a card just isn't enough. I sent her flowers for her birthday so can't do those again, plus she flies out of Hawaii the 15th (my birthday) to SC for my sis grad. Hmmmm any ideas?