First and foremost, please go here to check out a featured interview by moi. Daddy Dan has some really nice things to say about me (even though I don’t feel like I’m happy all the time :) ).
Now for the next batch of craziness in our lives…
Hubby and I both work, we all know that. When you work, and have kids, you obviously need childcare. As my long-time readers know, we haven’t had the best luck with childcare since we moved to our new house. Anyone see where this is going???
We hired a nanny back in March who has been great. It’s been so nice to leave the house while the kids are still sleeping and not have to take them anywhere. It’s been nice to come home without having to pick them up from anywhere. I loved the idea of having someone help me while I’m going to be on maternity leave.
But I’m starting to find out that good things don’t last. About 1 ½ months ago our nanny tells me that she’s pregnant. Again. She had her first daughter at the age of 16 or 17. She’s still with the girl’s father, but they are not married. He’s in the army, and just happened to be home for a month a little while back. You would have thought she would have learned her lesson the first time…there are ways to prevent babies.
Anyway, hubby and I have been nothing but supportive of her, even though I’ve had my reservations. She assured me that she had a completely normal pregnancy with her first and would only need about a week off when she had this one. However, this week happens to be at the end of February…during the most stressful part of my year. And then, just in passing in a later conversation, she mentioned that she was on bed rest for two months with her first. WHAT??? That’s not a normal pregnancy!!! Who’s going to watch my kids if you go on bed rest again???
Besides all of these issues, I don’t want two babies in the house. It’s going to be hard enough for someone to spend equal time with my son, my daughter when she's there, and the new baby, let alone if she has her own two kids (including a newborn) with her.
So now we’re on the search for a new nanny. As of right now, unless she finds another job right away, our current one will stay until I have the baby. The during my maternity leave I’ll search for a new one…one who hopefully will not be having her own babies any time soon.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
It's Almost Time....
Last night was my daughter’s Open House for school. We also had a meeting for anyone new to the school to get basic info such as attendance policies, when and where to drop your kids off, etc. I love that her school is in our neighborhood because we all just walked right on over!
My daughter got to meet her teacher whom I’ve heard fantastic things about. She’s young and seems full of energy! The classroom is full of things all over the walls and on shelves and book bins…I think she will have plenty to do over the next year :)
Our school district is different from all the others around us in that she will go 2 ½ days per week…full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then Friday afternoons. All the other districts around us go 5 half-days with a few schools doing all day Kindergarten. Her first day will be this Friday, and of course hubby and I are taking the day off so we can take her and pick her up.
I love that at our school the Kindergarteners are in their own separate wing…away from all the other kids. I have to admit I’m a little scared of her getting trampled on by a big 5th grader :)
I learned that our next door neighbor will be in her class, so it will be nice for her to know someone the first day. The little girl’s dad has even offered to walk my daughter to and from school everyday if we want, since he’ll be walking his daughter anyway.
I was also able to write a check to load up my daughter’s lunch debit card, so on the days we don’t pack her lunch, she can just swipe it and go!
I have to admit it was adorable seeing my little thing walking the halls of this huge school. Even though she was shy at times, I think she’s really going to love being there, and I can’t wait to hear how her first day goes!
My daughter got to meet her teacher whom I’ve heard fantastic things about. She’s young and seems full of energy! The classroom is full of things all over the walls and on shelves and book bins…I think she will have plenty to do over the next year :)
Our school district is different from all the others around us in that she will go 2 ½ days per week…full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then Friday afternoons. All the other districts around us go 5 half-days with a few schools doing all day Kindergarten. Her first day will be this Friday, and of course hubby and I are taking the day off so we can take her and pick her up.
I love that at our school the Kindergarteners are in their own separate wing…away from all the other kids. I have to admit I’m a little scared of her getting trampled on by a big 5th grader :)
I learned that our next door neighbor will be in her class, so it will be nice for her to know someone the first day. The little girl’s dad has even offered to walk my daughter to and from school everyday if we want, since he’ll be walking his daughter anyway.
I was also able to write a check to load up my daughter’s lunch debit card, so on the days we don’t pack her lunch, she can just swipe it and go!
I have to admit it was adorable seeing my little thing walking the halls of this huge school. Even though she was shy at times, I think she’s really going to love being there, and I can’t wait to hear how her first day goes!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Beautiful Weekend!
What a gorgeous weekend!
I got out of work early again on Friday and spent the whole afternoon outside with the kids. I didn’t even make them go in and take nap…we were having too much fun! One of our neighbors also had the afternoon off so they came over and hung out with us too.
Friday night we put the kids to bed early (since they didn’t have a nap) and watched the movie 21. It was pretty good…I didn’t really like the ending.
Saturday morning we woke up and took the kids to a sibling class at the hospital where I’m going to have the baby. They learned how to change a diaper and how to hold a baby. The best part by far was the tour of the post-partum rooms and the nursery! That’s pretty much the only part my son enjoyed…he doesn’t have that “motherly” instinct and kept bonking his “baby” (aka “teddy bear”) on the head.
After this we went to a pizza party for my daughter’s t-ball team. There she got her first real trophy. I love watching how excited she gets every time she tells someone about her real trophy.
Saturday afternoon we just hung around the house and relaxed. That night I had some friends over for a scrapbooking night. I got a few pages done and thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate fountain :)
Sunday we went to church and then took a 3 hour nap. I have been running around so much lately that my body had just had enough! After that we had a great time outside the rest of the evening.
Tonight we have Open House for my daughter…I can’t believe her first day of school is just 4 days away. I’m so excited and yet so nervous for her at the same time. I’m hoping I feel better after the Open House tonight and after some of my questions are answered (like how and where do we drop her off/pick her up????).
I got out of work early again on Friday and spent the whole afternoon outside with the kids. I didn’t even make them go in and take nap…we were having too much fun! One of our neighbors also had the afternoon off so they came over and hung out with us too.
Friday night we put the kids to bed early (since they didn’t have a nap) and watched the movie 21. It was pretty good…I didn’t really like the ending.
Saturday morning we woke up and took the kids to a sibling class at the hospital where I’m going to have the baby. They learned how to change a diaper and how to hold a baby. The best part by far was the tour of the post-partum rooms and the nursery! That’s pretty much the only part my son enjoyed…he doesn’t have that “motherly” instinct and kept bonking his “baby” (aka “teddy bear”) on the head.
Here are some pictures (ignore the fuzziness...I forgot my real camera and had to use the camera on my phone):
After this we went to a pizza party for my daughter’s t-ball team. There she got her first real trophy. I love watching how excited she gets every time she tells someone about her real trophy.
Saturday afternoon we just hung around the house and relaxed. That night I had some friends over for a scrapbooking night. I got a few pages done and thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate fountain :)
Sunday we went to church and then took a 3 hour nap. I have been running around so much lately that my body had just had enough! After that we had a great time outside the rest of the evening.
Tonight we have Open House for my daughter…I can’t believe her first day of school is just 4 days away. I’m so excited and yet so nervous for her at the same time. I’m hoping I feel better after the Open House tonight and after some of my questions are answered (like how and where do we drop her off/pick her up????).
Friday, August 15, 2008
Continuing...
A continuation of my thoughts from yesterday….
Parenting is such a hard balance (we all obviously know this), and if you don’t find the right balance in a lot of things, there can be a lifelong impact.
Socialization is a huge thing for kids. Having friends helps determine where you stand. I have been watching this phenomenon with the older girls in the neighborhood and it hasn’t changed since I was young. And honestly? At the age of my daughter, it isn’t so much how cool you might be (I mean they’re 5…there’s not much to be cool about yet) but how cool it is to go to your house to play.
Hubby and I have always vowed that we would try our best to have our house be the one that kids want to come to. We figure that would be the easiest way to keep an eye on the kids without seeming too overprotective (that last part being geared towards high school years). Thankfully, so far, all the little girls want to come over to our house to play with our daughter, so we’re doing something right, and that’s good, because with the exception of a few parents I know really well, I’m not ready to send her down the street to play yet.
As the girls were playing the other night, I thought back to what made me want to go to certain houses over others. Of course toys and what we had to play with played an important role, but so much of it was the parents. Were my friend’s parents ones that yelled at us a lot? Did they have a ton of rules? Did they get me a drink if I was thirsty? Were they generally nice? Were they there if I needed to talk?
My daughter has one friend in particular who has very odd parents that don’t let her do a whole lot. They are constantly monitoring her and telling her she can’t do what all the other kids are doing. Surprisingly, she’s not the oldest.
Now, I’m definitely not one that will let my kid do something just because everyone else is doing it. BUT…I will relook at my position to make sure I’m not being a tad overprotective. My goal is to be liked by my kids and their friends (definitely not at the expense of compromising my morals or beliefs and I am the mom first and foremost)…whereas some parents seem to think it’s fun to embarrass their kids or make them miserable (our old babysitter was like this), and they could care less what others thought of them. I can already tell how this little girl (with the super strict parents) is getting left out of things. As much as I tell my daughter to try to include her, it’s hard, because everything they want to do, she’s not allowed to participate.
I had very strict parents. And while there are tons of things they did right, there are also some areas they really could have loosened up on. My sisters and I were made fun of a lot as kids because of our “rules,” which, looking back, some of them I still can’t understand. Were we scarred for life because of it? Of course not, but to this day it still affects us a little. And I’m still keeping the vow I made as a child when going through all of that…I would never tell my kids “no” without giving them a reason. It keeps me in check. There are many times my kids will ask me something and my first response is “no.” They ask "why?" and I think about it and realize I’m just being lazy and don’t want to do it, or I didn’t understand them, or something like that. Other times I stick to my original "no" because I have reasons and I tell them what they are. This makes parenting that much harder for us because we constantly have to be on our toes. But that’s good…I hope to raise better kids because of it.
And through all of this, I know that I will be much stricter during the teenage years than most parents. I will have no problem telling my kids they can’t go to a party that I’m not sure about, or that they have to be home by a certain time. But to me those are the things that have lasting consequences.
Obviously a lot has been on my mind with my daughter starting school a week from today. She will be with her friends all day. Without me. And even though I know this is just Kindergarten, it’s the beginning of a whole new world for her, and I really hope I’ve prepared her for it. She will encounter new influences and new situations, and above all, I want her to know that she can talk to me about all of it...and I hope she does.
Parenting is such a hard balance (we all obviously know this), and if you don’t find the right balance in a lot of things, there can be a lifelong impact.
Socialization is a huge thing for kids. Having friends helps determine where you stand. I have been watching this phenomenon with the older girls in the neighborhood and it hasn’t changed since I was young. And honestly? At the age of my daughter, it isn’t so much how cool you might be (I mean they’re 5…there’s not much to be cool about yet) but how cool it is to go to your house to play.
Hubby and I have always vowed that we would try our best to have our house be the one that kids want to come to. We figure that would be the easiest way to keep an eye on the kids without seeming too overprotective (that last part being geared towards high school years). Thankfully, so far, all the little girls want to come over to our house to play with our daughter, so we’re doing something right, and that’s good, because with the exception of a few parents I know really well, I’m not ready to send her down the street to play yet.
As the girls were playing the other night, I thought back to what made me want to go to certain houses over others. Of course toys and what we had to play with played an important role, but so much of it was the parents. Were my friend’s parents ones that yelled at us a lot? Did they have a ton of rules? Did they get me a drink if I was thirsty? Were they generally nice? Were they there if I needed to talk?
My daughter has one friend in particular who has very odd parents that don’t let her do a whole lot. They are constantly monitoring her and telling her she can’t do what all the other kids are doing. Surprisingly, she’s not the oldest.
Now, I’m definitely not one that will let my kid do something just because everyone else is doing it. BUT…I will relook at my position to make sure I’m not being a tad overprotective. My goal is to be liked by my kids and their friends (definitely not at the expense of compromising my morals or beliefs and I am the mom first and foremost)…whereas some parents seem to think it’s fun to embarrass their kids or make them miserable (our old babysitter was like this), and they could care less what others thought of them. I can already tell how this little girl (with the super strict parents) is getting left out of things. As much as I tell my daughter to try to include her, it’s hard, because everything they want to do, she’s not allowed to participate.
I had very strict parents. And while there are tons of things they did right, there are also some areas they really could have loosened up on. My sisters and I were made fun of a lot as kids because of our “rules,” which, looking back, some of them I still can’t understand. Were we scarred for life because of it? Of course not, but to this day it still affects us a little. And I’m still keeping the vow I made as a child when going through all of that…I would never tell my kids “no” without giving them a reason. It keeps me in check. There are many times my kids will ask me something and my first response is “no.” They ask "why?" and I think about it and realize I’m just being lazy and don’t want to do it, or I didn’t understand them, or something like that. Other times I stick to my original "no" because I have reasons and I tell them what they are. This makes parenting that much harder for us because we constantly have to be on our toes. But that’s good…I hope to raise better kids because of it.
And through all of this, I know that I will be much stricter during the teenage years than most parents. I will have no problem telling my kids they can’t go to a party that I’m not sure about, or that they have to be home by a certain time. But to me those are the things that have lasting consequences.
Obviously a lot has been on my mind with my daughter starting school a week from today. She will be with her friends all day. Without me. And even though I know this is just Kindergarten, it’s the beginning of a whole new world for her, and I really hope I’ve prepared her for it. She will encounter new influences and new situations, and above all, I want her to know that she can talk to me about all of it...and I hope she does.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Are We Raising Strong Kids or Wimps?
I have to admit I’m worried about how today’s kids are going to be as adults. It seems as though the majority of parents these days are so overprotective of their kids.
When our neighbors and good friends moved last month they took with them their trampoline. My daughter was very disappointed because she LOVED jumping on it. Our next door neighbor…not so much (he has two kids – an 11 or 12 year-old boy and a 5 year-old girl). He actually told our friends “I’m so glad that thing is going to be gone now.”
So a few weeks ago I mentioned a big purchase we made…guess what it was?!?! We now have our very own trampoline. I’ve been wanting one for a while…as a former gymnast I grew up on them…both at the gym and in our backyard. But it had always seemed silly to buy one since our good friends had one that we could use any time we wanted. So once theirs was gone, I decided it was time. I got a nice big square one with lots of room to tumble!
Our city has a code that says a trampoline must either be fenced in or have the netting around it (to keep stray kids off). Most people go with the safety netting.
Anyway, our next door neighbor was not too happy with us (can you tell I do not care whatsoever?) and the kids have a blast on it. But it does worry me that they’re learning to use a trampoline with so much protection around them. When hubby and I were little there was no such thing as those nets. We learned how to not fall off of it, and if we did, we knew how to fall. Now don’t get me wrong, I do love the piece of mind I have with that enclosure knowing I can let my son jump back there without constantly watching him, and that he can jump with the big girls without fear that he’ll fall off. But I still hate the idea of the “safety net.”
We talk to various neighbors about this trampoline, and so many of them have such a fear of it and don’t like their kids on it. I understand there’s a chance they can get hurt. There’s also a chance that they can fall off their bike and hurt themselves too! But for some reason these people don’t think like that.
Another thought...what if my kids go to a friend's house that has a trampoline without a net? Now I know some of you might say that your kids know not to get on it. But let's be realistic here...I have fantastic kids who follow my rules very well, but I was also a kid, and I know that there were things I did even though my parents told me not to (we all did). So would I want them getting on there not knowing what to do or would I want them to be able to protect themselves?
Now of course this is just one tiny example, and I obviously want to protect my kids as much as I can. But I also don’t want them growing up to be wimpy people. I want strong kids that will be good athletes and employees someday and that won’t whine because something might be a little scary. I want them to learn how to tackle their fears. I want them to know how to pick themselves back up when they fall.
I don’t think that a lot of today’s kids will be able to do that…their parents are trying to protect them from too much when they are little. If they don’t experience falling and pain and failure when they’re little and the parents can help them, how are they going to react when their parents aren’t around?
Continued tomorrow….
When our neighbors and good friends moved last month they took with them their trampoline. My daughter was very disappointed because she LOVED jumping on it. Our next door neighbor…not so much (he has two kids – an 11 or 12 year-old boy and a 5 year-old girl). He actually told our friends “I’m so glad that thing is going to be gone now.”
So a few weeks ago I mentioned a big purchase we made…guess what it was?!?! We now have our very own trampoline. I’ve been wanting one for a while…as a former gymnast I grew up on them…both at the gym and in our backyard. But it had always seemed silly to buy one since our good friends had one that we could use any time we wanted. So once theirs was gone, I decided it was time. I got a nice big square one with lots of room to tumble!
Our city has a code that says a trampoline must either be fenced in or have the netting around it (to keep stray kids off). Most people go with the safety netting.
Anyway, our next door neighbor was not too happy with us (can you tell I do not care whatsoever?) and the kids have a blast on it. But it does worry me that they’re learning to use a trampoline with so much protection around them. When hubby and I were little there was no such thing as those nets. We learned how to not fall off of it, and if we did, we knew how to fall. Now don’t get me wrong, I do love the piece of mind I have with that enclosure knowing I can let my son jump back there without constantly watching him, and that he can jump with the big girls without fear that he’ll fall off. But I still hate the idea of the “safety net.”
We talk to various neighbors about this trampoline, and so many of them have such a fear of it and don’t like their kids on it. I understand there’s a chance they can get hurt. There’s also a chance that they can fall off their bike and hurt themselves too! But for some reason these people don’t think like that.
Another thought...what if my kids go to a friend's house that has a trampoline without a net? Now I know some of you might say that your kids know not to get on it. But let's be realistic here...I have fantastic kids who follow my rules very well, but I was also a kid, and I know that there were things I did even though my parents told me not to (we all did). So would I want them getting on there not knowing what to do or would I want them to be able to protect themselves?
Now of course this is just one tiny example, and I obviously want to protect my kids as much as I can. But I also don’t want them growing up to be wimpy people. I want strong kids that will be good athletes and employees someday and that won’t whine because something might be a little scary. I want them to learn how to tackle their fears. I want them to know how to pick themselves back up when they fall.
I don’t think that a lot of today’s kids will be able to do that…their parents are trying to protect them from too much when they are little. If they don’t experience falling and pain and failure when they’re little and the parents can help them, how are they going to react when their parents aren’t around?
Continued tomorrow….
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Happy Anniversary!
Eight years ago today I married my best friend. He was in my Jr. Algebra class, and our junior year we had even hung out together as a bunch of friends. Who would have thought that the boy I thought was cute and had a great smile would be a part of my life forever?
We started dating at the end of our senior year and even got to go to prom together. From then on we were inseparable and happy! We went to college together and got married the summer before our senior year. Having dated since high school, we have gone through so many life-stage transitions together, and I think it has made us so strong. To read more about how we met and started dating go here.
I could in no way ask for a better husband. He has always put me on a pedestal and done what he can to make me happy. He is the guy that everyone drifts towards. People know that if you need help with anything, hubby will be there. If you need anything done with your computer? Hubby will take care of it right away for you…even if he’s sat in front of them all day and never wants to see another one again…he will fix your computer with a smile on his face. And of course he’s the best father to our little ones...I love knowing that no matter what he can take care of them just as well as I can (sometimes even better). I know there are a lot of women out there that can’t say that about their husbands.
There are times I feel like we just got married and then others when I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. We are still learning new things about each other and also relishing in the comfort of things we’ve always known. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
We have friends that joked about each kid they had being a guaranteed 18 year extension on their marriage. It was like a new contract had to be signed each time a baby was born. For hubby and I it’s a 30 year marriage. For some reason during pre-marital counseling, our pastor made some type of comment about having to deal with each other for the next 30 years. We were a little confused by that, but it has become our little joke with each other.
8 years down Hottie, only 22 more to go!!!
:)
We started dating at the end of our senior year and even got to go to prom together. From then on we were inseparable and happy! We went to college together and got married the summer before our senior year. Having dated since high school, we have gone through so many life-stage transitions together, and I think it has made us so strong. To read more about how we met and started dating go here.
I could in no way ask for a better husband. He has always put me on a pedestal and done what he can to make me happy. He is the guy that everyone drifts towards. People know that if you need help with anything, hubby will be there. If you need anything done with your computer? Hubby will take care of it right away for you…even if he’s sat in front of them all day and never wants to see another one again…he will fix your computer with a smile on his face. And of course he’s the best father to our little ones...I love knowing that no matter what he can take care of them just as well as I can (sometimes even better). I know there are a lot of women out there that can’t say that about their husbands.
There are times I feel like we just got married and then others when I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. We are still learning new things about each other and also relishing in the comfort of things we’ve always known. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
We have friends that joked about each kid they had being a guaranteed 18 year extension on their marriage. It was like a new contract had to be signed each time a baby was born. For hubby and I it’s a 30 year marriage. For some reason during pre-marital counseling, our pastor made some type of comment about having to deal with each other for the next 30 years. We were a little confused by that, but it has become our little joke with each other.
8 years down Hottie, only 22 more to go!!!
:)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Great Weekend!
What a fantastic weekend!
I got off work around 12:00 on Friday and went and met my mom and kiddos for lunch. After lunch I decided this was a good time to start shopping for my daughter’s school supplies. She had so much fun with me walking through the store trying to find what she needed. The hard thing is that she doesn’t understand (nor do I really) that these won’t be her supplies. In our school system, you all buy the exact same things and throw them all together on the first day. So when picked up the ugly green binder, she was almost in tears saying that the kids were going to make fun of her for having such an ugly binder. I reminded her that all the kids would be bringing this ugly binder and she felt a little better. It does make me a little mad though…why on earth can she not have a pretty pink or purple one? I remember school supplies making the whole school thing a lot more fun because they were what I picked out and the colors I liked. Anyway…
After shopping we went home and the kids and I went down for a nap :) Afterwards we went to Cheesecake Factory for my late birthday dinner. We sat outside and had a great time in the gorgeous weather.
Saturday we went to a neighborhood bike rodeo and met some of the new neighbors which was nice. Then we did some work around the house, and then while the kids were napping hubby helped me with the software that goes with the fantastic birthday present that my parents got me: A Cricut machine!!! I love this thing so much! While hubby was working on the software I made a couple cards for some people using my Cricut.
Saturday night we ran a couple of errands, one of which was to get my daughter a backpack. There were two places she wanted to go…Toys R Us had the character backpacks, and then Justice had a green and pink one that she really liked. She looked at the character ones and decided that she liked the Justice one better, so we headed over there to buy it.
Sunday we went to church and then went to get a paper shredder. While we were in the store we checked the price of the new cell phone I want. Hubby was going to get it for me for my birthday, but his rep told him that the price would go down in about 3 months, so we decided to wait. However, Best Buy had the phone for $100 cheaper than even his rep could get, so we decided to get it. This is my new phone, and I LOVE it! I have been carrying around a phone and a PDA with my contacts and calendar, so now that I have one thing it is so much easier!
Sunday afternoon we played outside and did some work while the kids were napping. Our friend that had moved was in town for the weekend, so we finished it off with dinner with her and some other neighbors, which was really nice.
Of course we had to watch some of the Olympics last night (especially men’s swimming…go USA!!!), so I’m extremely tired only getting 6 hours of sleep :)
This week my son is down with my parents, so our daughter is an only child this week. She was crying when my mom and son left, saying that she was really going to miss her brother…but I think she’ll bounce back quite easily when all of the attention is on her :)
I got off work around 12:00 on Friday and went and met my mom and kiddos for lunch. After lunch I decided this was a good time to start shopping for my daughter’s school supplies. She had so much fun with me walking through the store trying to find what she needed. The hard thing is that she doesn’t understand (nor do I really) that these won’t be her supplies. In our school system, you all buy the exact same things and throw them all together on the first day. So when picked up the ugly green binder, she was almost in tears saying that the kids were going to make fun of her for having such an ugly binder. I reminded her that all the kids would be bringing this ugly binder and she felt a little better. It does make me a little mad though…why on earth can she not have a pretty pink or purple one? I remember school supplies making the whole school thing a lot more fun because they were what I picked out and the colors I liked. Anyway…
After shopping we went home and the kids and I went down for a nap :) Afterwards we went to Cheesecake Factory for my late birthday dinner. We sat outside and had a great time in the gorgeous weather.
Saturday we went to a neighborhood bike rodeo and met some of the new neighbors which was nice. Then we did some work around the house, and then while the kids were napping hubby helped me with the software that goes with the fantastic birthday present that my parents got me: A Cricut machine!!! I love this thing so much! While hubby was working on the software I made a couple cards for some people using my Cricut.
Saturday night we ran a couple of errands, one of which was to get my daughter a backpack. There were two places she wanted to go…Toys R Us had the character backpacks, and then Justice had a green and pink one that she really liked. She looked at the character ones and decided that she liked the Justice one better, so we headed over there to buy it.
Sunday we went to church and then went to get a paper shredder. While we were in the store we checked the price of the new cell phone I want. Hubby was going to get it for me for my birthday, but his rep told him that the price would go down in about 3 months, so we decided to wait. However, Best Buy had the phone for $100 cheaper than even his rep could get, so we decided to get it. This is my new phone, and I LOVE it! I have been carrying around a phone and a PDA with my contacts and calendar, so now that I have one thing it is so much easier!
Sunday afternoon we played outside and did some work while the kids were napping. Our friend that had moved was in town for the weekend, so we finished it off with dinner with her and some other neighbors, which was really nice.
Of course we had to watch some of the Olympics last night (especially men’s swimming…go USA!!!), so I’m extremely tired only getting 6 hours of sleep :)
This week my son is down with my parents, so our daughter is an only child this week. She was crying when my mom and son left, saying that she was really going to miss her brother…but I think she’ll bounce back quite easily when all of the attention is on her :)
Friday, August 08, 2008
Movin' On Up....
My daughter goes to a fantastic gym for gymnastics (Buckeye Gymnastics). It’s a large building that has two sides…what my daughter calls “the big gym” which is for the big kids and has the larger equipment, and then the preschool side, which is just for kids up to six years old.
My daughter loves gymnastics. She loves it more than any other sport she’s attempted or thought about. I don’t think she’s missed a single weekly class the entire year we’ve had her at this gym…she would be too mad!
She had gymnastics last night. She normally goes on Wednesday nights, but since she was down with my parents, she took a make-up class last night. Along with her normal teacher there was another teacher. This teacher would periodically ask my daughter to do some things that weren’t in the normal rotation (i.e. she’d ask her to go to the mat on the side and do a backward roll, or a cartwheel, or a handstand. She’d also make my daughter do more difficult things during the rotation since the normal stuff was too easy for her (as her regular teacher normally does). My daughter was a little thrown by this, and even started crying at one point because she didn’t understand why she had to do harder stuff.
At the end of the class, her regular teacher came up to us and told me that the other teacher wanted my daughter to move up to the “big gym” for her next class. The smile on my daughter’s face was priceless! The warned us that she would be by far the smallest girl over there, but she would be fine skill wise.
I went to sign her up as she only has one more week left in her summer classes. I realized as I was signing her up that she had moved up three levels!!! So not only were they moving her up after having just moved her up last spring, but she was skipping two whole classes in between!
I’m so excited and proud of her! I had always told her she had to be seven before she could go to the “big gym” and here she is as a new-five-year-old going over there! She’ll be dealing with a lot as her new gymnastics class will start right after she starts school, but I think she’s strong enough to handle it!
My daughter loves gymnastics. She loves it more than any other sport she’s attempted or thought about. I don’t think she’s missed a single weekly class the entire year we’ve had her at this gym…she would be too mad!
She had gymnastics last night. She normally goes on Wednesday nights, but since she was down with my parents, she took a make-up class last night. Along with her normal teacher there was another teacher. This teacher would periodically ask my daughter to do some things that weren’t in the normal rotation (i.e. she’d ask her to go to the mat on the side and do a backward roll, or a cartwheel, or a handstand. She’d also make my daughter do more difficult things during the rotation since the normal stuff was too easy for her (as her regular teacher normally does). My daughter was a little thrown by this, and even started crying at one point because she didn’t understand why she had to do harder stuff.
At the end of the class, her regular teacher came up to us and told me that the other teacher wanted my daughter to move up to the “big gym” for her next class. The smile on my daughter’s face was priceless! The warned us that she would be by far the smallest girl over there, but she would be fine skill wise.
I went to sign her up as she only has one more week left in her summer classes. I realized as I was signing her up that she had moved up three levels!!! So not only were they moving her up after having just moved her up last spring, but she was skipping two whole classes in between!
I’m so excited and proud of her! I had always told her she had to be seven before she could go to the “big gym” and here she is as a new-five-year-old going over there! She’ll be dealing with a lot as her new gymnastics class will start right after she starts school, but I think she’s strong enough to handle it!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Golfing Time
My daughter has been down visiting with all the grandparents this week. My mom wanted to have one last long spell with her before she starts school. So she went down to get some one-on-one attention, which right now, she so desperately needs.
And we’ve been able to give my son some great one-on-one attention too. He’s honestly getting very spoiled :) Anything he wants I pretty much get…it’s so much easier with one child! Getting him a drink or a snack or whatever is much easier because he is so much more laid-back than my daughter. He wants some type of juice warmed up with warm water (we still heavily dilute his juice, and he’s not a fan of cold things, so it’s always warm). My daughter, on the other hand, has to take 5 minutes to decide what type of juice she wants, what cup she wants, and then she’ll change her mind completely once you open the refrigerator.
Monday night he and hubby stayed up really late watching Cars. Then Tuesday night we played outside all evening…baseball, golf, bocce ball and riding his jeep. Last night we headed to the driving range.
Now he loves to golf. And seeing him carrying his real club set is absolutely adorable. Hubby has taken him to the driving range a couple of times, but us girls have always stayed home because my daughter would be bored out of her mind. So I was very excited that I got to go and watch him. He was the hit of the place! All the old men thought it was great that he was starting so young, and all the girls just thought he was the most adorable thing ever.
He had so much fun taking turns with daddy (when he got tired hubby hit some balls, and then after he was rested it was his turn). I thought he did well, although hubby said he normally does even better.
Afterwards we headed over to Dairy Queen for some ice cream, which of course ended up all over my little man :)
My daughter comes home today. I think the hardest part of her being gone is the fact that every night when we get home my son asks us when sissy is coming home. He really misses her. He’s had to sleep by himself the last few nights and play by himself during the day. I know he will be super excited to see her today!
And we’ve been able to give my son some great one-on-one attention too. He’s honestly getting very spoiled :) Anything he wants I pretty much get…it’s so much easier with one child! Getting him a drink or a snack or whatever is much easier because he is so much more laid-back than my daughter. He wants some type of juice warmed up with warm water (we still heavily dilute his juice, and he’s not a fan of cold things, so it’s always warm). My daughter, on the other hand, has to take 5 minutes to decide what type of juice she wants, what cup she wants, and then she’ll change her mind completely once you open the refrigerator.
Monday night he and hubby stayed up really late watching Cars. Then Tuesday night we played outside all evening…baseball, golf, bocce ball and riding his jeep. Last night we headed to the driving range.
Now he loves to golf. And seeing him carrying his real club set is absolutely adorable. Hubby has taken him to the driving range a couple of times, but us girls have always stayed home because my daughter would be bored out of her mind. So I was very excited that I got to go and watch him. He was the hit of the place! All the old men thought it was great that he was starting so young, and all the girls just thought he was the most adorable thing ever.
He had so much fun taking turns with daddy (when he got tired hubby hit some balls, and then after he was rested it was his turn). I thought he did well, although hubby said he normally does even better.
Afterwards we headed over to Dairy Queen for some ice cream, which of course ended up all over my little man :)
My daughter comes home today. I think the hardest part of her being gone is the fact that every night when we get home my son asks us when sissy is coming home. He really misses her. He’s had to sleep by himself the last few nights and play by himself during the day. I know he will be super excited to see her today!
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
A Wedding Weekend
Two weeks ago we had two weddings in two days. I had one cousin get married about 2 hours away, and then another one get married the next day close by. One was on Friday night and one was on Saturday. One cousin was on my mom’s side of the family and the other cousin was on my dad’s side of the family.
Friday after work we headed out for the drive with a full car (my sister and her boyfriend rode with us). After numerous times asking “are we there yet” and filling up on fruit chews, we finally got there. We didn’t make it in time for the ceremony, but pulled in just in time for the reception.
I had a lot of fun seeing cousins that I hadn’t seen since my wedding! These little girls that were my flower girls are now 15 and 11!!! My daughter loved talking to the bride and playing with my cousins. Hubby and my sisters loved the open bar. I loved the two diet cokes I had :) We drove home afterwards and got home around 2:00 in the morning.
The next day we woke up and ran some errands and then got ready for the next wedding. This wedding was cool because the reception was going to be very laid back and down in the hills at my uncle’s cabin. He got us a cabin for the night as well, so we packed up our stuff and headed to the ceremony. It was beautiful!
Afterwards we headed down to the hills and checked into our cabin. It was so cute! We changed because this was going to be a casual reception, and then headed over. They had a huge tent and it was decorated so beautifully! The wedding party all stayed dressed up, but everyone else was wearing anything from sundresses to shorts. The food was delicious and I had a great time talking to cousins I hadn’t seen in a while, as well as my sisters.
Once it got dark it was time to dance! My aunt took my kids out on the floor and got them started. This little boy (who was absolutely adorable) kept trying to dance with my daughter and she would run away! Hubby kept cheering her on and I tried to get her to dance with him. Meanwhile, my son was putting the moves on a little girl himself :)
Sunday we woke up and took the kids to the pond that was by the cabin for some fishing. We had bought them polls a while ago, but had never taken them. My son had fun for about 2 minutes, but my daughter enjoyed it the whole time! Hubby really had a lot of fun teaching her how to do everything…but since we didn’t have any real worms they didn’t catch anything.
We headed home after that in time for church and to regroup before another week started.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
Friday after work we headed out for the drive with a full car (my sister and her boyfriend rode with us). After numerous times asking “are we there yet” and filling up on fruit chews, we finally got there. We didn’t make it in time for the ceremony, but pulled in just in time for the reception.
I had a lot of fun seeing cousins that I hadn’t seen since my wedding! These little girls that were my flower girls are now 15 and 11!!! My daughter loved talking to the bride and playing with my cousins. Hubby and my sisters loved the open bar. I loved the two diet cokes I had :) We drove home afterwards and got home around 2:00 in the morning.
The next day we woke up and ran some errands and then got ready for the next wedding. This wedding was cool because the reception was going to be very laid back and down in the hills at my uncle’s cabin. He got us a cabin for the night as well, so we packed up our stuff and headed to the ceremony. It was beautiful!
Afterwards we headed down to the hills and checked into our cabin. It was so cute! We changed because this was going to be a casual reception, and then headed over. They had a huge tent and it was decorated so beautifully! The wedding party all stayed dressed up, but everyone else was wearing anything from sundresses to shorts. The food was delicious and I had a great time talking to cousins I hadn’t seen in a while, as well as my sisters.
Once it got dark it was time to dance! My aunt took my kids out on the floor and got them started. This little boy (who was absolutely adorable) kept trying to dance with my daughter and she would run away! Hubby kept cheering her on and I tried to get her to dance with him. Meanwhile, my son was putting the moves on a little girl himself :)
Sunday we woke up and took the kids to the pond that was by the cabin for some fishing. We had bought them polls a while ago, but had never taken them. My son had fun for about 2 minutes, but my daughter enjoyed it the whole time! Hubby really had a lot of fun teaching her how to do everything…but since we didn’t have any real worms they didn’t catch anything.
We headed home after that in time for church and to regroup before another week started.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
My sister teaching my daughter a dance:
My son picking up girls at the young age of three:
Hubby, my cousin's wife (not the one that got married), me and my daughter:
My sister's boyfriend, hubby and me (I'm getting so freaking huge!)
Monday, August 04, 2008
A Great Weekend in Michigan!
We filed on Friday!!! Yippeee!!!!
So I got to have a fantastic weekend up with my sister…no worrying about work whatsoever!
We filed shortly after lunch on Friday and I headed home early. We were taking a couch that our friends who moved didn’t want anymore up to my sister, so we got the U-Haul trailer and loaded it up. We got the rest of our stuff packed up at a nice, leisurely pace and left for Michigan around 5:30. With stops and because we were pulling the trailer, we finally rolled into my sister’s place around 9:30.
Her new house is adorable!! It is in a beautiful city, and a beautiful neighborhood, and the inside (minus the painting that desperately needs done) is gorgeous!!
We started right in cleaning up the couch. It was a disgusting mess! But with the three of us working on it we were able to make it look fabulous! We worked until about 2:30 in the morning on it, and then some more the next day.
On Saturday we helped her with stuff around the house and then around 3:30 we headed out for lunch/dinner. After that we went to a park and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! Then my sister was so nice and watched the kids while hubby and I went out. We walked around the beautiful city just enjoying the weather and all the VERY nice cars we were seeing.
Sunday we woke up and did a little more work and then headed out for a fantastic pancake breakfast. After that it was time to pack up and head home. The drive back was much faster as we didn’t have the trailer and the kids slept a lot of the time so we only stopped once. We got back around 7:30 Sunday night.
So now it’s back to work, only at a much less-intensive pace. So hopefully I won’t be as stressed out as I have been the last couple of weeks. One night last week my son asked me if I was angry when I was helping him with something. Before I could answer, my daughter casually said “mommy’s not angry, she’s just really stressed out.” Definitely time to relax, both for my sake and for theirs!
These are the only pictures I took the whole weekend…my sister playing “Go Fish” with the kids: 
So I got to have a fantastic weekend up with my sister…no worrying about work whatsoever!
We filed shortly after lunch on Friday and I headed home early. We were taking a couch that our friends who moved didn’t want anymore up to my sister, so we got the U-Haul trailer and loaded it up. We got the rest of our stuff packed up at a nice, leisurely pace and left for Michigan around 5:30. With stops and because we were pulling the trailer, we finally rolled into my sister’s place around 9:30.
Her new house is adorable!! It is in a beautiful city, and a beautiful neighborhood, and the inside (minus the painting that desperately needs done) is gorgeous!!
We started right in cleaning up the couch. It was a disgusting mess! But with the three of us working on it we were able to make it look fabulous! We worked until about 2:30 in the morning on it, and then some more the next day.
On Saturday we helped her with stuff around the house and then around 3:30 we headed out for lunch/dinner. After that we went to a park and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! Then my sister was so nice and watched the kids while hubby and I went out. We walked around the beautiful city just enjoying the weather and all the VERY nice cars we were seeing.
Sunday we woke up and did a little more work and then headed out for a fantastic pancake breakfast. After that it was time to pack up and head home. The drive back was much faster as we didn’t have the trailer and the kids slept a lot of the time so we only stopped once. We got back around 7:30 Sunday night.
So now it’s back to work, only at a much less-intensive pace. So hopefully I won’t be as stressed out as I have been the last couple of weeks. One night last week my son asked me if I was angry when I was helping him with something. Before I could answer, my daughter casually said “mommy’s not angry, she’s just really stressed out.” Definitely time to relax, both for my sake and for theirs!
These are the only pictures I took the whole weekend…my sister playing “Go Fish” with the kids:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Happy Birthday To Me!!!
Today is my birthday. It's too bad that I'm so busy at work I had to tell them to push back my cake until tomorrow :( But I will keep with my long standing tradition of having lunch with a good friend today, so that is definitely something to look forward to!
I'm now in my last year of my 20's. It's really depressing. I've never been one to really think about age, but as this pregnancy has progressed, I have really noticed a difference between being pregnant in my late 20's vs. my early 20's. So I know my body is slowing down a little. Depressing.
I'm not sure what the plan is...I know I'll do something with my family tonight (I'm NOT bringing home work for the first time this week). We are going to Michigan this weekend to see my sister, so I'm sure I'll celebrate a little with her. And as for the rest of my family...I have no idea...probably next weekend???
OK...back to work I go. I just wanted to announce to the whole world that it's my birthday, because birthdays are a big deal to me...it's my special day (even if my reward is working on a 10-Q :) ).
I'm now in my last year of my 20's. It's really depressing. I've never been one to really think about age, but as this pregnancy has progressed, I have really noticed a difference between being pregnant in my late 20's vs. my early 20's. So I know my body is slowing down a little. Depressing.
I'm not sure what the plan is...I know I'll do something with my family tonight (I'm NOT bringing home work for the first time this week). We are going to Michigan this weekend to see my sister, so I'm sure I'll celebrate a little with her. And as for the rest of my family...I have no idea...probably next weekend???
OK...back to work I go. I just wanted to announce to the whole world that it's my birthday, because birthdays are a big deal to me...it's my special day (even if my reward is working on a 10-Q :) ).
Monday, July 28, 2008
I'm Here...
I'm here and fine. The family and baby are doing great. It just happens to be that time of the quarter where I barely have time to sleep, let alone write up a post :)
When I slow down a little I will write about the fantastic wedding weekend we had, our new purchase for the kids (and me :) ) and maybe about how we still have not even come close to deciding on a name for this little baby that will be here in approximately 8 weeks.
But for now, I'm back to working :(
When I slow down a little I will write about the fantastic wedding weekend we had, our new purchase for the kids (and me :) ) and maybe about how we still have not even come close to deciding on a name for this little baby that will be here in approximately 8 weeks.
But for now, I'm back to working :(
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fabulous Weekend!!!
What a fantastic weekend I had! Friday I left work and headed up to where the crop was located. It took me about 40 minutes and I jammed to the Sex and The City soundtrack. When I was listening to the first song (Fergie’s “Labels or Love”) I turned it way up and felt really cool…and then I looked down at my big belly, and then remembered that I was on my way to a scrap weekend…I wasn’t as cool as I thought I was :)
Once I got there we unloaded and headed to the local Farmer’s Market. Part of the reason we like this crop so much is that we find some neat things to do in this small little town. After the market we headed back to the hotel to scrap. After scrapping we headed to our Friday night tradition of Christy’s Pizza. They have great pizza! After that we went back and scrapped some more. I was addicted to the Cricut machine. I had so much fun playing around with it! I told hubby that’s what I want for my birthday, so hopefully I will have my own here in about 2 ½ weeks! We then got tired, so we headed up to our room sometime around 11:30 or 12:00 I think.
One of the girls brought her own air mattress. That left three of us and two DOUBLE (not queen) beds. So we called down and got a rollaway bed. This is what the room looked like:
Once I got there we unloaded and headed to the local Farmer’s Market. Part of the reason we like this crop so much is that we find some neat things to do in this small little town. After the market we headed back to the hotel to scrap. After scrapping we headed to our Friday night tradition of Christy’s Pizza. They have great pizza! After that we went back and scrapped some more. I was addicted to the Cricut machine. I had so much fun playing around with it! I told hubby that’s what I want for my birthday, so hopefully I will have my own here in about 2 ½ weeks! We then got tired, so we headed up to our room sometime around 11:30 or 12:00 I think.
One of the girls brought her own air mattress. That left three of us and two DOUBLE (not queen) beds. So we called down and got a rollaway bed. This is what the room looked like:
We stayed up and watched Tori and Dean and I fell asleep around 1:30 AM.
Saturday we woke up and headed down to scrap. We scrapped until lunch time and headed over to the town square where there was a local Jazz and Rib festival going on. We had some wonderful ribs! I even bought some of the Bar-B-Q sauce to take home and make my own ribs!
We went back and scrapped some more, and then headed out to visit a local scrapbooking store, Hobby Lobby, and our famous Saturday night restaurant, La Paloma. It was so good and I was so stuffed!
Went back and scrapped some more…I finally went up to the room around 12:00 AM to watch some TV.
Sunday we woke up and scrapped again. I actually got almost all of the pictures that I had brought scrapped, which never happens! Had I not been addicted to the Cricut machine, I’m sure I would have gotten them all done.
I decided to leave a little early so that I could get home before the kids took a nap (maybe I could get a nap in as well!). I left around 2:00 and got home around 3:00. I pulled in and noticed that my dad was still there, which was weird because I thought he would have left on Saturday. I came in and saw him and hubby in the family room. I said “hello” and hubby told me that the kids were still awake upstairs and wanted to me give them kisses. He told me they were in Pappaw’s room (they like to sleep in there sometimes).
When I walked up the stairs I could hear them giggling. As I opened the door I noticed that the walls were no the normal white color…and I found this:
Hubby and my dad and the kids had done the nursery for me! I started crying because it looked so good and it was done! I had been stressing about it for a while now, since I only have 2 ½ months left until this baby comes, and hubby knew that if he did it, a huge burden would be lifted from me. And my dad was absolutely awesome in helping with the room and helping to keep the kids occupied when they needed to stay out.
This is the same theme that we've used for each of the kids...it brings back so many memories each time we get everything out and set up!
I can’t describe how appreciative I feel towards both hubby and my dad. I sat in the room on Sunday (and yesterday) thinking about how lucky I am to have such a great family. What a huge relief to have this done, and what great people I have in my life that made it happen!!!
Now if we could just decide on a name for this baby… :)
I can’t describe how appreciative I feel towards both hubby and my dad. I sat in the room on Sunday (and yesterday) thinking about how lucky I am to have such a great family. What a huge relief to have this done, and what great people I have in my life that made it happen!!!
Now if we could just decide on a name for this baby… :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Time For Good-Byes...
Today is a sad day…our best friends are moving. The ones I told you about here are loading up the last of their belongings right now and will be heading for New York in a couple of hours.
Last night we were all outside until about 11:30 hanging out and saying “good-bye.” The kids were all playing having such a great time…it really broke my heart that this wouldn’t happen anymore. And honestly, it really hasn’t sunk in yet that when I get home from work today they won’t be there.
They keep talking about coming back in a year or two…I hope that happens. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be really, really nice if they did. They haven’t sold their house yet…not even any real prospects, so I’m taking that as a good sign :)
I will miss them a lot – more than I think I can even comprehend right now. But I’m trying to take comfort in the fact that there is a reason they’re moving…I don’t know what it is, but everything happens for a reason and according to a master plan. I just hope and pray that we never forget each other and that we make the effort to see each other as much as possible.
Last night we were all outside until about 11:30 hanging out and saying “good-bye.” The kids were all playing having such a great time…it really broke my heart that this wouldn’t happen anymore. And honestly, it really hasn’t sunk in yet that when I get home from work today they won’t be there.
They keep talking about coming back in a year or two…I hope that happens. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be really, really nice if they did. They haven’t sold their house yet…not even any real prospects, so I’m taking that as a good sign :)
I will miss them a lot – more than I think I can even comprehend right now. But I’m trying to take comfort in the fact that there is a reason they’re moving…I don’t know what it is, but everything happens for a reason and according to a master plan. I just hope and pray that we never forget each other and that we make the effort to see each other as much as possible.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Fun Weekend Ahead
So guess where I’m going this weekend??? To a nearby city that houses the Longaberger headquarters for a 48 hour crop event.
It’s completely snuck up on me…I can’t believe that after work I’ll be heading out and meeting up with my friends for some great scrapping, food and fun! It’s the same type thing we went to in January only this time, thankfully, it’s nice and warm out! We will scrap and stay here, and definitely eat here (the best food that we accidentally found last time!).
At the one in January I did my whole Disney album, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make some really good progress on my other albums this time…especially since I’m so far behind and now have another little one coming along that I will have to start :)
I’ll let you know how the weekend went and how much I got done on Monday…have a great weekend – I know I will!!!
It’s completely snuck up on me…I can’t believe that after work I’ll be heading out and meeting up with my friends for some great scrapping, food and fun! It’s the same type thing we went to in January only this time, thankfully, it’s nice and warm out! We will scrap and stay here, and definitely eat here (the best food that we accidentally found last time!).
At the one in January I did my whole Disney album, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make some really good progress on my other albums this time…especially since I’m so far behind and now have another little one coming along that I will have to start :)
I’ll let you know how the weekend went and how much I got done on Monday…have a great weekend – I know I will!!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Book Meme...
I was tagged for a meme by Julie at Dribble and Drool.
Here are the “rules”:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
Really, you guys are not going to like this, but here is what you’ll find on page 123 in the book that is laying on my desk….
"The Registrant undertakes to make available, in person or by telephone, representatives to respond to inquiries made by the Commission staff, and to furnish promptly, when requested to do so by the Commission staff, information relating to the securities registered pursuant to Form F-9 or to transactions in said securities."
I'm going to stop right there at one sentence because really, who cares???
As you can tell I'm buried deep in work and the book right next to me is The SEC Handbook, Rules and Forms for Financial Statements and Related Disclosures.
Tell me you aren't jealous?!?!?
Here are the “rules”:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
Really, you guys are not going to like this, but here is what you’ll find on page 123 in the book that is laying on my desk….
"The Registrant undertakes to make available, in person or by telephone, representatives to respond to inquiries made by the Commission staff, and to furnish promptly, when requested to do so by the Commission staff, information relating to the securities registered pursuant to Form F-9 or to transactions in said securities."
I'm going to stop right there at one sentence because really, who cares???
As you can tell I'm buried deep in work and the book right next to me is The SEC Handbook, Rules and Forms for Financial Statements and Related Disclosures.
Tell me you aren't jealous?!?!?
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
July 4th Weekend
What a great 4th of July weekend! Hubby took Thursday off and spent a great morning with the kids. I couldn’t handle it anymore and ended up leaving work around lunch time to go and hang out with them. We went to lunch at the “hot dog place” (Skyline) and then went and got some more Cars cars. My dad came up that night and surprised the kids (I didn’t tell them he was coming).
On Friday (the 4th) it was cold! I had everyone in shorts and then looked at the temp outside and it was 65 degrees! And rainy! So we changed into pants and headed to the grocery store. I had watched Live with Regis and Kelly that morning and they have these Friday specials called “Grilling with the Stars.” They made two things that I decided I wanted to make that day, instead of your normal hamburgers and hot dogs.
After grocery shopping we headed home and the kids took naps. It’s weird, this was the first year that we really didn’t have any plans. No one coming over, no picnic, nothing. So hubby called up the guys at our local police station (they are one of his clients) and asked if they wanted to come and have dinner. I made my recipes (I have copied them below) and three police officers came over. It was honestly one of the best 4th of Julys I’ve ever had! My food was a GIGANTIC hit! And I wasn’t stressed about entertaining at all. The officers were so nice – they kept asking me if there was anything they could help with.
After we ate we hung out for a while. My daughter took one officer back to the swing set, and my son took another out to place baseball. To anyone driving by our house would have been a strange site with three police cruisers in the court and officers playing in the yard, but thankfully our neighbors are quite used to it by now :)
Later that night, after everyone had left, we sat in our driveway and watched a bunch of different fireworks that people were letting off. We were going to actually go to a set, but since it had been raining off and on all day, we decided the grass would be too wet and we’d be miserable. We headed in to bed around 11:30.
Saturday was gorgeous, so we headed outside to play. Our friends (the ones moving) asked us if we wanted to go with them out on their boat, so we spent the afternoon out on the lake. The kids had a blast and my son actually fell asleep during part of the ride!
Sunday was again beautiful, so we set up our little pool, our little shade-tent thing and sat outside. Two sets of our neighbors came over and spent some time hanging out while all the kids played in the pool. After that we went to church and then out for dinner.
When hubby and I got into bed, we could hear our son talking to himself. They had been in bed for about an hour, but he just wasn’t tired, so we brought him in with us and got some really special cuddle time. He was so cute! He kept trying to “warm hubby’s ears up” which made both of them laugh. The only bad part was that he started crying about his feet hurting. I figured it was because he had run around all afternoon without any shoes, and his little feet just aren’t used to that. So I gave him some Tylanol and got him some ice and he was fast asleep within minutes. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
Now I’m super busy until the beginning of August when we do our next filing. While I’m not looking forward to the stress of the next couple of weeks, I am excited that this is my last quarterly filing before the baby gets here!!!
Here are some pictures and the fantastic recipes I made!
Cajun Firecracker Shrimp:
INGREDIENTS:
2lbs shrimp, tails on
1 onion finely chopped
1cup peanut oil
2tbsp cajun seasoning (to make your own Cajun seasoning: 1 ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon pepper.)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp rosemary
1tsp thyme
skewers
DIRECTIONS:
Put shrimp in plastic bag, combine all ingredients in small bowl and
pour in bag with shrimp when your done. (reserve some sauce for basting)
refrigerate 1 or 2 hours.
Put shrimp on skewers.
Grill on medium heat.
Baste with remaining sauce while grilling.
Dipping sauce for shrimp:
1 stick unsalted butter
About 8 dashes of tabasco
A little fresh parsley
Red, White and Blue Fireworks Salad:
watermelon, blueberries, cucumber, feta, mint & lime juice
Growing up, hubby said that it was a tradition to take a family picture on the 4th each year (writing the date somewhere so you knew what year it was), so hubby's dad asked us to take one of our family this year to get the tradition back going again.
On Friday (the 4th) it was cold! I had everyone in shorts and then looked at the temp outside and it was 65 degrees! And rainy! So we changed into pants and headed to the grocery store. I had watched Live with Regis and Kelly that morning and they have these Friday specials called “Grilling with the Stars.” They made two things that I decided I wanted to make that day, instead of your normal hamburgers and hot dogs.
After grocery shopping we headed home and the kids took naps. It’s weird, this was the first year that we really didn’t have any plans. No one coming over, no picnic, nothing. So hubby called up the guys at our local police station (they are one of his clients) and asked if they wanted to come and have dinner. I made my recipes (I have copied them below) and three police officers came over. It was honestly one of the best 4th of Julys I’ve ever had! My food was a GIGANTIC hit! And I wasn’t stressed about entertaining at all. The officers were so nice – they kept asking me if there was anything they could help with.
After we ate we hung out for a while. My daughter took one officer back to the swing set, and my son took another out to place baseball. To anyone driving by our house would have been a strange site with three police cruisers in the court and officers playing in the yard, but thankfully our neighbors are quite used to it by now :)
Later that night, after everyone had left, we sat in our driveway and watched a bunch of different fireworks that people were letting off. We were going to actually go to a set, but since it had been raining off and on all day, we decided the grass would be too wet and we’d be miserable. We headed in to bed around 11:30.
Saturday was gorgeous, so we headed outside to play. Our friends (the ones moving) asked us if we wanted to go with them out on their boat, so we spent the afternoon out on the lake. The kids had a blast and my son actually fell asleep during part of the ride!
Sunday was again beautiful, so we set up our little pool, our little shade-tent thing and sat outside. Two sets of our neighbors came over and spent some time hanging out while all the kids played in the pool. After that we went to church and then out for dinner.
When hubby and I got into bed, we could hear our son talking to himself. They had been in bed for about an hour, but he just wasn’t tired, so we brought him in with us and got some really special cuddle time. He was so cute! He kept trying to “warm hubby’s ears up” which made both of them laugh. The only bad part was that he started crying about his feet hurting. I figured it was because he had run around all afternoon without any shoes, and his little feet just aren’t used to that. So I gave him some Tylanol and got him some ice and he was fast asleep within minutes. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
Now I’m super busy until the beginning of August when we do our next filing. While I’m not looking forward to the stress of the next couple of weeks, I am excited that this is my last quarterly filing before the baby gets here!!!
Here are some pictures and the fantastic recipes I made!
Cajun Firecracker Shrimp:
INGREDIENTS:
2lbs shrimp, tails on
1 onion finely chopped
1cup peanut oil
2tbsp cajun seasoning (to make your own Cajun seasoning: 1 ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon pepper.)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp rosemary
1tsp thyme
skewers
DIRECTIONS:
Put shrimp in plastic bag, combine all ingredients in small bowl and
pour in bag with shrimp when your done. (reserve some sauce for basting)
refrigerate 1 or 2 hours.
Put shrimp on skewers.
Grill on medium heat.
Baste with remaining sauce while grilling.
Dipping sauce for shrimp:
1 stick unsalted butter
About 8 dashes of tabasco
A little fresh parsley
Red, White and Blue Fireworks Salad:
watermelon, blueberries, cucumber, feta, mint & lime juice
Growing up, hubby said that it was a tradition to take a family picture on the 4th each year (writing the date somewhere so you knew what year it was), so hubby's dad asked us to take one of our family this year to get the tradition back going again.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Quick Update
I'm here, but I'm busy :)
We had a great 4th of July weekend...hopefully I'll remember my camera tomorrow so that I can show you pictures (if I even have any good ones). It was a great 3 1/2 day break before I get super busy for the month of July.
We had a great 4th of July weekend...hopefully I'll remember my camera tomorrow so that I can show you pictures (if I even have any good ones). It was a great 3 1/2 day break before I get super busy for the month of July.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Clippers Game
Last night we went to a Clippers game. The Clippers are the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals. So we get to see some good (most of the time anyway) baseball at a cheap price!
It was our city’s softball night, so all girls with a uniform on got in free. So we loaded up the kids and headed to the park. It was nice because it was the first night in a long time that was perfectly clear and sunny and warm! We’ve had so much rain lately it’s ridiculous!
The team did great, and the kids actually sat there for a little over two hour without too much trouble! We left before it was over because hubby and I were getting tired!
Here are some pictures from the game and some cute video :)
Clippers Game from Debbie on Vimeo.
Clippers Game 2 from Debbie on Vimeo.
It was our city’s softball night, so all girls with a uniform on got in free. So we loaded up the kids and headed to the park. It was nice because it was the first night in a long time that was perfectly clear and sunny and warm! We’ve had so much rain lately it’s ridiculous!
The team did great, and the kids actually sat there for a little over two hour without too much trouble! We left before it was over because hubby and I were getting tired!
Here are some pictures from the game and some cute video :)
Clippers Game from Debbie on Vimeo.
Clippers Game 2 from Debbie on Vimeo.
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