So MUCH

Wow! Three posts in the same month (just barely!). When was the last time that happened??

So much is going on, so much has happened...I've had productive days and days that I just look at the pile on my dining room table and want to scream and pull my hair out. I've figured out that I'm one of those Type A personalities (that's not the surprise) who wants everything to be perfect, so I just keep putting things off b/c I don't have time to see them to completion RIGHT NOW. Thus, the mess on my dining room table, in my office, in my closet, in my bathroom cabinets. Grr. I hate this.

I AM determined to get organized, though. We are trying to do some rearranging in the basement, and this will require me to get rid of A LOT of stuff and organize A LOT of stuff. I started w/ a couple boxes of stuff that I've been toting around since elementary school and high school - no lie. I found notes I wrote in junior high, papers and cards I wrote to my grandma when I was a kid, pep rally Mums from high school, sheet music from marching band. Oh boy!



I went ahead and spent some time looking through all of it again, and decided it would be the LAST time I looked through it all b/c then I trashed it. There's just no reason to read AGAIN about who was mad at who in seventh grade.

I also organized all my scrapbooking stuff. I'm THIS close to selling all of it...but then...what if I want to pick it back up again? What if I want to start making cards? Well, at least it's organized for now.

My office if full of junk, and I want to turn it back into a storage room - it's intended purpose - and move the office out to the main room of the basement, where I'll be forced to keep it organized or be REALLY embarrassed.

So, with all of the reorganizing going on, I still have everything else. I've put in my notice at my super time-consuming, bothersome job, and I'm fully certified to sub teach in the schools. I was supposed to complete my first assignment on Friday, but we had a snow day. And I'm glad. I was exhausted.

Last week was made up of driving back and forth all over the state of Kansas (or so it seemed) taking my MIL to the hospital and back to visit my FIL (he's well and home now), and taking the boy to the babysitter, going to teach at the Y, driving across town for meetings, and trying to get all my errands done before the snow hit on Friday.

I also found time to take a meal to a friend who's on bed rest, make a thousand calls to my sister and mom to see how Sis was doing w/ some VERY early contractions, go to my Mom's group, attend a slumber party w/ our Mom's group leadership team, play in the snow w/ my son, and take our annual family outing to the train show. Whew. I'm glad it's all over.

Now it's time to start another week. Pray that I can be productive and not get sucked into FB and blogs and stinkin' bejeweled blitz. I need a week to get some other stuff done!!

And since you so patiently listened to my rant and complain, here are some pictures from around our house lately.

Mema's glasses...

Reading the paper w/ Daddy...

Heading out to play in the snow...

Mommy's helper...

His first snow angel, perhaps??


My sweet sweet sweet boy...

Not a Mama Post

Wow, I think that this might be one of the first posts since Lil Major was born that is NOT about being a Mama...but then again, it kinda is in a way.

After I had my little bundle of joy in my arms, I knew there was no way I'd be able to leave him and go back to work full time. So, I found a part time job. It was the best arrangement I could have asked for. I worked 24 hours a week, 3 days a week, and my mom watched my kiddo. Great, right?? Yeah, it was, until the economy tanked and I lost my job.

Ok, move on. So, I did. I found another part time job. At first, this seemed like an even better deal (aside from the 65% cut in pay). It was only 10 hours/week (or so I was TOLD), I could work whenever I wanted, and some of it I could do from home.

What I DIDN'T know at the time was that I would NEVER work just 10 hours/week, my cell phone minutes (that I paid for, not the company) would shoot through the roof, and I would work 7 days/week. But, still, it was part time...averaging about 18 hours/week.

So, here's the rub. I didn't know how easy I had it working full time. I went to work for 40 hours each and every week. I played on the internet, I paid my bills, I made my doctor's appointments...all during my 40 hours. Which meant that when I got home in the evenings, I could do whatever I wanted to.

Working 3 days/week at my first part time job, I never once got on the internet, I paid no bills, I made no personal phone calls. I had work to do! Work that had to be done in just 24 hours/week! No biggie. I still had a couple other days of the week to myself.

At THIS job, I work harder than I've ever worked at any job. I get paid the least of any job I've ever had. I work more days/week than any other job I've ever worked. I do have a pretty decent boss who backs me up, but I also have a "dotted line" to corporate, which is not fun at all.

Let's sum it up: I make 65% less, I work 65% more, I have 65% more stress, and I get 0% of household stuff done while I work.

I get it though. I am paid by the hour, and I only have a few hours to be, physically, at my place of business, or on my computer at home, so I have to make the absolute most of the time I have. Which means no fooling around.

I don't have any idea why I thought I would work less by having a part time job. Aarrrgghhh!!

Don't worry -- plans are in motion for yet ANOTHER part time job which will require less headaches in some ways and WAY more in another way. I'm trying to substitute teach. No extended days. I can say YES or NO to an assignment. No taking work home with me. AND, I can make the same $$/month by working 6 days/month instead of every day/month!

I'll let you know how it goes.

21 months

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last posted. I guess it was a pretty busy month, but still. Time goes by so fast these days.

My boy is 21 months old today! He is amazing, he's the smartest kid out there (we all say that about our kids, right??). =) Well, at least his Mama is proud of him.


His vocabulary has grown and grown this month - he's starting to repeat words when we say them (uh oh - better watch out now!), and every day I hear something new from him. I can't even remember all the words, but here are some of them: wa-wa (water), bounce, choo choo (complete w/ the arm motion for the horn), tra truck (trash truck), shoe, sock, elbow, knee, lap, and NO. I'm not so crazy about that last one, but I guess it had to show up sometime. I still haven't heard YES out of him.



He has some favorite activities and most of them have to do with Christmas gifts. He got a train table and a basketball hoop that are very popular around here. I'm trying to push the boy towards b-ball rather than football -- just call it a paranoid mama. He still loves to read books, but now he comes to you with a book and asks to sit in your lap to read it.


He loves to put on his Daddy's shoes and belts. It's hilarious to watch him try to walk around the house w/ a big belt wrapped around him twice, and humongous shoes on his feet. I should just keep my camera attached to my body at all times to capture all of this. Here's my best try.



When we rock together at the end of the day, he puts his head on my shoulder, and I ask him for a kiss. That little booger lifts his head, puckers up, leans in towards Mom, and then turns his head really quickly and says NO in the cutest little voice you've ever heard. Then he turns his head back and puckers up so I can kiss him. Oh, it's one of my very favorite things.



He is getting taller...he can reach to the next highest drawer and further onto the kitchen counter and table. I have to be extra careful that breakable and dangerous things are FAR out of his reach.

My kiddo has been sick for the last 3 weeks. It started out as a runny nose and a cough when he woke up. It was just annoying at first...but then, the symptoms continued, and then his runny nose started producing green nastiness and then his cough got worse, and then he got a fever. Finally, I called the doctor, and they had us come in. They said he was starting to get a double ear infection and his sinuses were all messed up, so we left w/ a script for antibiotics. And while we were there, they gave him his 2nd H1N1 vaccine, and wouldn't you know it, but my tough boy didn't even CRY when he got poked?? He's way tougher than his dad and mom!

I'm praying for healing, because we're getting tired of being stuck in the house. Well, I've still had to leave to work, but he hasn't been out much in the last week, especially. Not that we want to go anywhere, it's supposed to be a high of 9 for the rest of the week!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of food and laughter and games and gifts and family, and a little bit of snow. It was so fun to see Major's face as he walked out and saw his gifts and the lights...what a blessing to have him in our lives!