SunnieFaerie

Again...no school.

2011-01-20T22:47:00.002-06:00

So we got some more snow. Eh an inch maybe. And there's no school tomorrow. I guess it's okay because tomorrow is Jimmy's last day working in Nashville. Starts his new job on Monday....32 miles away! I can actually go visit him for lunch now! Woohoo!!!! LOL

Anywho, I'm in the mod for lasagna. I think I'll make lasagna this weekend. Yum!

Really??!!

2011-01-16T23:45:00.002-06:00

We were watching AFV tonight and there was a clip of this guy being dared to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon. He couldn't do it, of course. LOL Well my boys got the big idea to try it for themselves. @@ Jimmy told them not to bother, they wouldn't be able to do it. Did they listen? Of course not. So, me being the Mommy that I am, I broke out the camera and put it in record mode. Jay went first. Nope couldn't swallow the cinnamon. Explosion of powder.

Now one would think seeing as how Jay couldn't do it, Justin would give up. Did he? Of course not! LOL Justin, however, had me laughing so hard my cheeks started hurting. He put in a spoonful of cinnamon. He worked so hard to swallow...could see it in his face. I think his face turned a little red before the powder came exploding out of his mouth. As I'm laughing and telling him to get some water, he grabs his cup of soda, tries taking a sip but instead hurls. Somehow the cinnamon didn't like the soda because foam started overflowing the top. Didn't stop Justin though. He held on to that cup and ran to the bathroom. Poor kid. LOL

We TOLD him NOT to try it. I guess some things, no matter how stupid, they have to learn on their own. LOL I love my kids...they make me laugh everyday. LOL

Oops!

2011-01-15T22:31:00.002-06:00

I missed a post yesterday. My internet kept going out. Our phone is through the modem so I had to borrow my neighbor's cell phone to call the cable company. A technician came less than an hour later. He changed out the modem and got our internet and phone working again. But he called someone to do something on the outside line. They said as long as we had internet it would wait until Monday. The tech that was here was ticked about that. Apparently when they call someone to climb the pole or whatever, they're supposed to come asap. So he said if the internet went out again to call and raise hell. LOL I laughed and said I would try but since the phone is through the modem, I doubted I'd be able to call until tomorrow. LOL As of now, the internet is doing just fine. Oh and he threw in a battery for the modem so if the power goes out we still have at least 3 hours for the computer. Nice!

Accomplishments...

2011-01-13T23:32:00.002-06:00

I have a couple of picky eaters. But they're not picky over the same things. Justin is my pickiest eater. The ONLY fruits Justin will eat are naval oranges and grapefruits. (Not so weird cause I like grapefruit also.) He will not any vegetables at all. He won't eat any pastas, no potatoes. Well he loves the sweet potatoes my mother-in-law makes on the Holidays. He will eat bacon, sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, bologna, ham, and some types of chicken. The chicken has to be made certain ways. He won't eat white meat. It's rare I can get him to "like" something I've cooked enough to ask for more. The other day, I made french's onion baked chicken (thighs and legs.) I just knew he wouldn't want to eat it. Hello....onions! But he had a leg. And asked for more! He said, "Ok the next time you make legs, you have to do it like this!" Will do, my picky eater, will do.

Another meal I've made that he begs for now is pancakes...with my not so secret ingredient...bananas. LOL I was making pancakes one morning a few months ago. I had one lonely banana on it's last peel and had the idea to smash it up and mix it in the pancake mix. I also add vanilla extract and cinnamon to my mix. Well I hid that I added banana to the mix. Jackson knew and his 5 year old loud mouth had to tell everyone. I denied it and said we didn't have any bananas. LOL Justin inhaled his pancakes and asked for more. He said, "The next time you make pancakes, make them just like this!" I admitted there was banana in them and he said he didn't care! YAY! It took me forever to get him to eat french toast because of the egg. But once he saw me cook them and learned the egg is just a moisture and not an actual fried egg, he devours those too.

I tend to get excited when I can get my pickiest eater to beg for more or to make it again. LOL

No school again tomorrow.

2011-01-12T22:23:00.002-06:00

Ok the prettiness of the snow has worn off. Make it melt so the kids can go back to school! LOL They are driving me c-r-a-z-y!!!! They want to go play in it, but "it's too coooooollllldddd!" So they have cabin fever. I can't take them anywhere because I do NOT drive in the snow. Especially when the roads are icy. Nope, not gonna do it. Jimmy went to work today after missing Monday and yesterday. I was a nervous wreck until he called me. By then, I'd put the kids to work. And I mean to work! LOL We cleaned the entire downstairs. Let me say, we live in a 5 br, 2 ba house with a living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry room. The only rooms upstairs are 2 bedrooms. So believe me when I say they were busy. Oh I helped. LOL I swept everything in piles for them to clean. And I did the laundry. Surprisingly, aside from the laundry, we were done by 1:00pm. It was a good day til we finished working. Then they started fighting. LOL

No school again...

2011-01-11T23:23:00.000-06:00

It stopped snowing. But the snow is still there. The roads are icy. So there was no school today...and no school tomorrow. Jimmy missed work yesterday because of the snow. He tried going this morning. Got about 10 minutes down the road and turned back because he heard on the radio about all the pile ups from our town to his work. He works an hour and a half away. Well not for too much longer. Soon he'll be working about 32 miles away. YAY!

So there's no school tomorrow. The kids have cabin fever. We're not used to weather this cold so they only go out for a little bit at a time. They really need to go back to school so I can mop my floors! I can't keep them still enough to mop while they're home. LOL They've been home for almost 5 days straight. Tomorrow we are doing some major cleaning. The entire downstairs! (Laughs devious laugh! LOL) Wish me luck we get it done.

Snow day...

2011-01-10T22:11:00.000-06:00

Got up this morning to 8 inches of snow. More than we've seen since we've lived here. Jimmy called in to work. Turns out Nashville only got about 3 inches of snow. LOL The boys had a blast playing in the snow. Korinne didn't play, she couldn't find her gloves and I wouldn't let her use mine. I was using them. LOL Here are a few pics from today. Here's Lizzie with a mohawk Jimmy and Jay gave her.

Jackson all red nosed getting ready to throw a snowball at Jimmy.

Brownie after we put her outside for a bit. Isn't she pretty? I wish I knew what kind of dog she is.

Justin and Jackson playing in the snow.

Justin getting ready to throw a snowball at Jay. LOL Jackson's eating snow. We warned him to stay away from the yellow snow. LOL

It's snowing!

2011-01-09T22:44:00.000-06:00

It's snowing here. A LOT! The kids think they still have school in the morning. LOL We didn't tell them school was cancelled before we sent them to bed. Well Jay knows, but that's because I woke him up to give Brownie a flea bath so she could come inside. It doesn't look like Jimmy will be going to work in the morning. So YAY I get him home another day. LOL Here are a couple of pics we took. We've taken 22, but I didn't want to overload the blog. LOL

This one is our footprints after letting Brownie inside through the back door.

Jimmy took this one playing with the camera. I'm holding a flourescent flashlight above the camera. Looks like it's daytime, huh? This was taken 15 minutes ago. LOL

New job!!!

2011-01-08T22:20:00.000-06:00

Not for me, of course. I'm quite happy being a SAHM. LOL I mean for Jimmy. Starting the 17th, he will be working in Florence, AL. This is excellent news, even though we live in TN. This new job is 32 miles south of where we live. The job he'll be leaving is 85 miles north of where we live. Know what this means???? I can go have lunch with Jimmy sometimes. The drive to Florence is a straight shot down the road. No confusing turns. No having to change roads. No Nashville!!! LOL To say I'm excited about this would probably be an understatement. LOL

I'll still have to go to Nashville for Jackson's specialist appointments. But I'll have a cousin take me. Cause I still refuse to drive to Nashville. Jimmy's says we'll work on that. He can work on it all he wants, I'm not driving to Nashville. LOL

This and That

2011-01-07T22:34:00.000-06:00

I gave myself a headache today trying to answer interogatory questions from the defendant's attorney. Some of the questions were the same, just worded differently. Just an FYI, we were involved in a car accident almost 2 years ago...and the other driver's insurance company is finally responding to our attorney. @@ I finished my part today. Now I have to finish Jimmy's part this weekend. The hardest part is getting addresses for the witnesses we're listing.

Anyone know how I can change my settings here so that my blogs don't post for East coast anymore? I'm in central time now.

Jimmy has a meeting with the owner of a bodyshop in Florence...yes Al-a-freaking-bama! LOL We live about 45 minutes from this shop, which would be a hell of a lot better than him driving an hour and a half to Nashville. I've got my fingers, toes, and even legs crossed that this is a better opportunity for him.

First day back to school

2011-01-06T21:14:00.002-06:00

Oh it was sooooo nice and quiet! I went back to bed as soon as the bus left. LOL I got some cleaning done, watched DOOL and the Food Network. Justin came home and made homemade Lemon muffins for a 4H contest tomorrow. He did everything by himself. Ok, I grated the lemon zest and supervised the oven usage. I haven't had one, but the other kids loved them.

Now Jimmy and I are attempting to answer questions the other attorney is requesting. Be nice if they ask them in laymen's terms. @@ That'd be too easy.

One more day...

2011-01-05T13:49:00.003-06:00

The kids go back to school tomorrow! YAY! They've been driving me crazy! Honestly, I will miss them though.
So dinner tonight...oven fried chicken, homemade mac and cheese and corn on the cob. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. LOL

It's raining where I am. It's snowing where Jimmy's working (Nashville.) Better there than here. I do NOT like that white stuff. LOL

Dentist and haircuts

2011-01-04T22:43:00.000-06:00

My cousin, Jennifer, is a dental hygenist down the road from where we live. She called this morning and said she had a no show and to bring a couple of kids in. So I left Jay in charge of Jax and took Justin and Korinne. Justin had no cavities. Korinne has two. Very small ones. Looks like they just started.
There are a lot of hair cutting places in the town I live in. But I prefer one in my in-laws little town. So I took the kids there today and got Jay's and Jackson's hair cut. Not that you can tell looking at Jay. He was quite adament that only half an inch be cut off. LOL Jackson however, I wanted more cut off. Now I can see his gorgeous eyes and his looooong eyelashes. Justin has an appointment Saturday for a haircut. I love this place because they're a small business and they don't charge as much as bigger places. Mainly because when I tell them only half an inch on Korinne, they only cut half an inch. LOL And they remember people. They remembered Jackson had surgery in February.

T minus two days!!! Back to school with them! I can't wait! I mopped yesterday and there's already something sticky on the living room floor. @@

Peaceful Day

2011-01-03T22:39:00.002-06:00

My mother-in-law loves me! She called this morning and said instead of Justin spending the night tonight, she was sending my father-in-law to pick up all the kids for the day to give me a break. Lord knows I needed one! LOL I kept Korinne home though because she's been running a fever since last night.
FIL got here just before noon. Which was perfect because I'd already had the boys scrub the fridges. LOL After they left, I mopped the floors...they really needed it! Korinne and I lounged around watching the Pretty Little Liars marathon. I had about 6 hours of one on one time with my girl. Aside from her being sick, it was nice having a mother/daughter afternoon.
The boys apparently had a great time at my in-law's. I'm proud to report they were all good while over there. They played card games, shot the BB gun (with FIL supervising) and had pancakes for dinner. Jackson was so excited this morning when I told them they were spending the day with their grandparents. He hardly ever gets to go over there without Jimmy or me. As soon as he saw his Granddaddy park, he shot out the door screaming, "Ok let's go!" LOL

Korinne's fever seems to be going down. All in all, it was a good day...a good day.

Time for school yet?

2011-01-02T21:07:00.002-06:00

The kids have been out of school since December 17. They finally go back on Thursday. Thank goodness! They have been driving me crazy! "I'm bored." "It's too cold outside." Blah blah blah!!! Ok I'm with them on the too cold outside. But I can and do find them things to do when I hear they're bored. LOL It took the boys almost 2 hours to clean the kitchen because they were playing and wasting time. So tomorrow, Jimmy said they have to do the floors. LOL I enjoy delegating chores. LOL I'd like to say I don't think they'll take that long in the kitchen again, but I know they will.

New Year, new start?

2011-01-01T20:27:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!!!

So, I've decided to get back into blogging. Or at least try to. I'm really going to make the effort to post a day for the year. I make no promises though.

So here I go. Thursday night, Jay spent the night at a friend's and stayed up all night playing video games. Last night around 6, he was sitting up on the couch, asleep. Seeing as how we all love playing jokes on each other, Jimmy and I decided it was Jay's turn. I'd thought of painting his face with the scarce make up I own. Instead, Jimmy got two of our stainless steel pots and came marching through the living room banging them. I really wish I'd had a camcorder because the look on Jay's face as he literally jumped off the couch was priceless!!! LMAO Maybe an hour later, Jay was again asleep on the couch. Jimmy woke him up and told him to brush his teeth and go to bed. Jay mumbles, "I'm not the one brushing my teeth." Again, Jimmy told him to brush his teeth and go to bed. Jay said, "I'm not the one bruthing my teef. Justin is." Yes he said bruthing and teef. LOL

Anyway, today was a great start to the new year. I'm hoping this year is much better than the past couple of years. :)

Ramblings...

2009-11-05T00:41:00.003-06:00

I've been dealing with WIC off and on for 15 years now, whether it's me being pregnant or my kids being under age 5. Jax is the last one. He had WIC in SC with special provisions because of his mild allergies. Since being in TN, his WIC for over 6 months has been normal because his allergies have disappeared. Since he's been on WIC, we've gone to the same store and gotten the same items. The only variations have been cereal and juice.

This past Monday, I went to the same store and grabbed the same items as usual. The Cheerioes wouldn't ring up so the new cashier was told to override it. The cheese wouldn't ring up so they brought me different cheese. When I argued over it (because I have always gotten individually wrapped slice...which IS allowed on our WIC) they brought me another kind. After being there for 20 minutes, I said whatever and went home. When I got home I noticed the cheese I was told to get was imitation cheese. That is NOT allowed on WIC. I knew the food list had changed as of October 1st, so I went online and printed out the new list. Imitation cheese was still NOT allowed. Ok aside from them making me take imitation cheese, they did NOT check my signature on the voucher against my signature on the ID card. And when I brought up the whole imitation cheese thing they got an attitude with me. For once, I held my tongue. After all, had I shown my ass, they could have reported me and gotten Jackson's WIC revoked.

Instead, Tuesday, I called the regional director's office and filed a complaint. She agreed that if a store was able to file a complaint against me, I had the same right. She had me take pics of receipt with imitation cheese package on my digicam and email them to her. (I'd already taken pics on my phone to show WIC office at Jackson's appt on the 19th.) She immediately faxed the pics I sent to the store owner. He wanted me to bring in the imitation cheese and exchange it whether they were opened or not. She told me the regional office was going to send someone to the store to properly train them on how to do WIC items.

Having been using WIC for about 15 years, it shouldn't be MY job to tell these people how to do their job. But I'm happy with the outcome. I didn't want anyone to lose their job. I just wanted them to do their job with WIC the right way.

On another note, Jax had an appt this morning with the plastic surgeon. (We saw the neuro-surgeon in July and he wants Jax to have surgery to close the gaps in his skull before he starts school next year.) So we left the house about 8:30am...had to stop for gas and then a potty break for Jax. We were 25 minutes late...hospital is an hour and 30 minutes away. By the time we saw the dr and got home, it was 2:35pm! But the dr was very nice and apologetic cause he had been running later than we had. Because Jackson's last CT scan was over a year ago, he scheduled a new one. DH told me I'd have to start driving myself to Nashville for these appointments, cause it costs him money to take a day off. I was willing to try until I got the call back saying Jackson's CT scan was scheduled for 3pm...meaning I'd have to drive home during rush hour traffic! Yeah sorry, that's not gonna happen! I'm willing to try for his follow up visit with the plastic surgeon on 12/9, cause his appt is at 9:55....and I'll be home before traffic hits. I'm hoping I don't get lost and have a panic attack. LOL

So...the day of his CT scan, I'll ride in to work with DH, Jax and I will stroll around the mall until it's time to head to the hospital. I already asked if he'll have to wear a helmet again, but the dr said he won't have any specific answers for me until he gets the results from the CT scan. His surgery isn't even scheduled yet and I'm already stressing about it!

I HATE neighbors!!!!

2009-08-18T09:37:00.003-05:00

I'm completely convinced that having neighbors in this small town we moved to is WORSE than having neighbors in the bigger city of Charleston. Y'all have seen me complain about psycho neighbors. They actually called the police on the neighbors two doors (to the right)down because he cut their backyard! If someone cut our backyard, I'd be thanking them, not calling the damn police!
Well now to the immediate right of me is this small one bedroom "shack" where at any given time are 6-8 people staying. All young wanna be thugs that play their car stereos LOUD. Now Dh and I like our music loud, but not that loud. We remember being young and not having kids. But we respected our neighbors. The other night at around 11:30 they were out there with the stereo loud enough that every single window in our house was rattling. Dh went out and said "I have kids sleeping in here, would you mind toning it down a notch? Thanks."

Now we're having issues with them. I'm actually getting to the point of taking a page out of psycho's book and calling the cops when they're loud at night. And the thug wanna bes are NOT friendly. I see the way they watch my children as they go to the neighbors 2 doors down (to the left) to play. I'm like a Mama Bear. They better not say anything to my children.

Another surgery and whatnots

2009-07-09T00:21:00.003-05:00

Jackson had an appointment with the new ped neurosurgeon on Monday. I was a little put off by the whole visit. In Charleston, every time we went, they weighed him, took his temp and blood pressure. Not so here. They asked for the discs we brought from SC and that was all. They did measure his head. The doctor came in, barely listened to his medical history. He felt around Jackson's head and said Jackson will need surgery to close the openings that were made in his skull. He suggested the surgery be done before Jackson starts school. Ok his doctor in Charleston did tell us the surgery may be neccessary, so that wasn't too much of a surprise. This new doctor kept saying Jackson's head is defective. WTH?! Defective? IF his head is defective it's because of the previous surgery he had where too much of his skull was taken out. What kind of doctor tells a parent her child's head is defective? Couldn't he have phrased it another way? Like I said, I was a little put off by him. But he's the only ped neurosurgeon and Vanderbilt is like MUSC.

Anyway, in December, we'll have Jackson's pediatrician do a referral with the plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon's office handles everything else. They'll get the CT scan done and schedule the surgery. Because they're booked 3-6 months, aside from emergencies, Jimmy and I decided to start things in December so the surgery can be done in June. That way Jackson will have plenty of time to heal before school starts in August. I'll keep y'all posted, of course.

Now for the whatnot...on the way to the appointment which was an hour and 30 minutes away, Jackson got sick. We thought it was his sinuses because we all get sick from sinuses. Jimmy pulled over as quick as possible. Unfortunately it was on the left of the road. I'd brought a wet washcloth to clean his face so I was able to clean him up. As I was getting ready to get back in the car, a cop pulled up behind us. Jimmy explained to him we had a toddler with sinus problems and he'd gotten sick as we were on our way to Vanderbilt. The officer asked if we needed an ambulance. He was very nice and went on his way.

Later that afternoon, I was on my bed, grooming my toes. LOL Jackson came in, laid on the floor and said his tummy was upset. Next thing I know he's vomiting. I jumped up, grabbed him and said "Oh shit!" as I ran him to the bathroom. The foot I'd been grooming at the time was bare so I slipped in his mess as we reached the bathroom. My right foot went one way, my left another. My left foot hit the AC vent and sliced open. I didn't know at the time because I was too worried I would drop Jackson or knock his head into something. I laugh about it now cause I can see the whole thing in my head. LOL Thankfully, Jimmy and my sister do NOT have weak stomachs so they cleaned everything up while I cleaned Jackson. He was fine after that, thankfully. So that's my whatnot. LOL He's fine now. Back to his usual cuteness self. LOL

We seem to have lost our kitty...

2009-06-10T00:55:00.002-05:00

Twice. Earlier, we couldn't find him. We searched all over. That's a HUGE task since we're in a 5 bedroom with a living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room and two bathrooms. All of which have excellent hiding places for a small kitten. I finally found him in our couch. Sleeping with no care in the world.

Jackson hasn't quite grasped that the kitty is not an older sibling and therefore he does not need to defend himself so much. We feared he'd hurt the kitty the first time we couldn't find him. Thankfully, that was not the case.

However, just before Jackson went to bed, the kitty came running into the living room dripping wet. We surmised that Jackson had tried to give him a bath in the toilet. So I rinsed Lucky off, wrapped him in a towel and left him on the couch. He's since disappeared again. I can't blame this one on Jackson either since he was asleep by then.

I'll try not to worry about him too much. He knows where his food and milk is. He knows where his litter box is...which he's used quite well! I'm sure he'll turn up ready to play again in the morning. LOL

Our new adoptee

2009-06-07T00:37:00.002-05:00

Friday there was a kitten stuck in a tree in our neighbor's yard. A really, really TALL tree. The poor thing was meowing for hours, according to Korinne. I called the fire department and was told, "Oh it'll only stay up there a couple of days before it comes down." @@ Asshole! So, Korinne, Jackson and I were cleaning the yard and watching the kitten. We looked up at one point and the poor thing was barely holding onto leaves. Korinne and I watched in horror as the kitten fell out of the tree. Thankfully he fell into a bush that was under the tree. We managed to get the poor thing out of the bush. He's such a tiny thing. We named him Lucky because well, he's damn lucky he landed in the bush and not the ground or we'd have had to bury him. I wasn't planning on keeping him. He is a stray kitten. But he is just too damn cute! And Jimmy's already fallen in love with him. LOL Last night Jimmy took Lucky to bed with him. LOL The kids are convinced that our cat Stormy is the Dad. Justin even suggested we have a blood test done to see. LOL He's been watching too many of my Law and Order shows. LOL On another note, Jackson is completely potty trained now. His skivvies are still a tad too big for him, but his shorts keep them from falling down. LOL Below are some pics I took of Lucky. .

Lucky sleeping on Jimmy's chest

Lucky sitting with Jimmy in the recliner

Lucky and our cat Stormy

Lucky in Korinne's lap

2009-04-16T00:39:00.000-05:00

Ok so we're in about week 3 of actively potty training Jackson. I say about week 3, because since the accident, I seem to have lost all concept of time worrying about having three teeth pulled soon. That's another story. I digress. We're in say week three. I bought him a package of skivvies, size 2t-3t. Of course his little butt is so skinny, I have to safety pin the back. LOL I bought a potty seat we keep in the living room. He wears his skivvies and until this week would only pee in the seat. For #2, he'd wait until a diaper was put on him at naptime or bedtime. Or he'd be sneaky, take of said skivvies and #2 wherever he thought was out of Mommy's line of vision. This was usually in one of the other kids' bedrooms. Once I told him, I'd pop his butt if he pooped in a nother bedroom, I think he got the idea.

Monday, while the three older ones and I were otherwise occupied spring cleaning their rooms, he came running out of the living room with his skivvies and pants down around his ankles, yelling, "I went poopy in my potty! I went poopy in my potty!" Having heard this before, I skeptically checked said potty seat and sure enough he had gone "poopy in his potty." LOL After doing the obligatory woohoo dance, he asked for ice cream. (I'd told him last week if he pooped in his potty I'd give him ice cream.) Now this was about 15 minutes before lunchtime, so I only gave him a small scoop. Of course, the three older ones thought this was unfair because they wanted ice cream also. I quickly reminded them that when they were potty training, they too recieved special treats the first time the poopied in their potty seat. I'm sure they don't remember that though. LOL

So since Monday, he's been doing well with both aspects in his potty seat. We've even gone as far as letting him wear his skivvies during naptime. He wanted to wear them to bed tonight until I told him he could not have a cup of water beside his bed. I don't think he even drinks the water at night, it's more of a security thing, because the sippy cup is always as full as it was when I gave it to him. Fot the other stuff, the kids are on spring break this week...lucky me. LOL I've had them working cleaning their rooms. I don't mean just straightening up. Oh no, we've gone for the whole schebang! Went through every single thing in their rooms. For just Justin and Korinne, that equaled 3 lawn bags of dirty clothes they'd hidden from me. I know, you're asking, how can they hide dirty clothes from you? Don't you do their laundry? The answer is yes I do their laundry, but those two have accidents sometimes and hide it from me. Since I wash what I knew they wore the day before, I didn't think to look in closets or boxes or containers for additional dirty clothes. Unfortunately the heating element went out in my dryer a few weeks ago so I've had to depend on the weather to hang clothes outside. Normally, I'd just go to my MIL's to do laundry, but since the accident, Jimmy's been driving my car to work leaving me without transportation.

However, my in-laws wanted the two older boys this week to put them to work in their yard, so off they went today. At the insistence of my MIL, the three lawn bags of dirty clothes went as well. Her reasoning was her dryer works and the weather hasn't been all that good lately, so the clothes will get done faster. I love my MIL! I still have a huge box filled with smelly blankets though. LOL It's supposed to be nice tomorrow, so I'm hoping to knock some of those out and get them cleaned.

I have to say though, as soon as those boys left today, I was met with silence. Korinne and Jackson play well together. They're content together or playing alone. It was soooooo nice!

Update on dogs

2009-02-25T23:25:00.003-06:00

The big dog finally got the hint and returned home. I haven't seen him in over a week. Last week I recieved a call about the little dog. She described her quite accurately so I was confortable that she was talking about the same dog. She came and picked the dog up. She'd gotten her the day before Jay found her wandering on our street. She was very thankful that we'd taken good care of Abigail...the dog's name. The day she called me she was on her way to the pound to see if Abigail had been turned in there. On her way, she happened to see one of our flyers hanging. I'm glad the little dog was claimed because I wouldn't have been able to take her to the pound, yet I know we cannot afford another pet. So it all worked out in the end. YAY!

Save me from missing/lost dogs!

2009-02-16T01:03:00.002-06:00

Saturday, Jay came home with this teeny tiny weiner dog. Dachshund, I'm sure. She has a collar and a flea collar, but nothing else for me to go on. We tied her up in the front yard hoping someone would drive by and claim her. No luck. We brought her inside Saturday night because it was cold and she has such short hair. Our cat did NOT like that at all! LOL

Sunday I printed out pics of her and wrote a found dog message and my cell number. Jay hung them up up and down our street. So far no calls.

Meanwhile, last night another dog showed up on our porch. This one a very furry Lassie looking dog, with a collar but no way to find an owner. This one has been camped out on our porch in front of the screen door. One of my neighbors knows where Lassie dog lives but he keeps coming back to my porch. I haven't fed him, but he won't go home. As far as weiner dog, I'm going to call the local paper and have them put an ad for Wednesday's paper for found dog. Hopefully, someone will come forward. She's obviously an indoor dog so someone should be missing her.

If by the end of the week, no one claims either dog, I'm calling the dog pound. I hate to do that, but I don't want to be held responsible for either dog if one of them bites someone. I would love a dog, but I want one as a puppy so I can it and get to know it right off. Right now, Lassie looking dog is still blocking my screen door. Weinder dog is in a dog crate I borrowed from a neighbor. My cat doesn't mess on the floor, I'm not about to put up with someone else's dog messing on my floor. LOL

Psycho Neighbor pt. 3

2009-01-26T20:51:00.000-06:00

Ok the neighbors to the right of psycho are packing up and moving to Texas. For the past month, they've had a sale...everything goes. The Friday after the swing incident, I was sitting on my porch watching an older couple load a chair into the back of their truck, get in and prepare to leave. There were several vehicles parked on the side of the road. This truck happened to be parked in front of psycho's house...not blocking a driveway or anything. Not that that would matter since neither of them drive. So I'm watching this truck wait to pull out when psycho comes running out his front door pointing and yelling at these people to move their truck. Yelled that they can't park there, they're blocking traffic. They weren't of course as the street is wide enough for cars to park on the side. They leave and he's still cussing and yelling. This car pulls up with a couple maybe in their 70s. He charges towards their car cussing and yelling at them. So I calmly walked over and told the couple they were welcome to park in my yard, or even my driveway. I wasn't going anywhere.

He turns his rage on me saying I'm just mad I won't let my brats play on his swing. I said, "My kids don't want to play on your cheap a$$ swing. You told me to keep them off. I've kept them off. You're the one that keeps bringing it up." He then says, "Tell your GD kids to stay out of my yard!" I calmly said, "My kids don't play in your yard. Keep your dog out of my yard." He says it's not his dog. The neighbors moving are giving him the dog so by this coming Friday it will be his dog. @@ So as he's yelling and cussing he steps one step to me. I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow, and stood my ground. By then there are witnesses outside from the yard sale. I think once he realized I'm not the type of woman to be bullied, he stepped back, pointed his finger at me and yelled, "I'm calling the law!" I snapped back, "Call the law, Steve! What are they going to do?! Not a darn thing! Because nothing has been done to you!" His girlfriend comes out and starts yelling at him telling him he needs an attitude adjustment.

It's been a couple of weeks since that last incident. He barely even looks my way. I still go about minding my own business. I know I shouldn't have said anything at the yard sale. But he was menacing these old people and the wife had such a look of terror on her face.

Oh the day of the swing incident, he yelled he was calling my landlord. As luck would have it, my landlord happened to come that evening for the rent check. Psycho knew who he was but didn't take one step towards my landlord. LOL

I've since decided I'm going to keep my camcorder charged and discreetly video tape any more outbursts so when the cops become involved, I have proof.

My kids ignore him now. Granted he doesn't say hi to them anymore. She does. She still talks to me. I don't have a problem with her. And she knows it. I've instructed my kids to stay in ours or Justin's friend's yard. Don't talk to him, don't even look at him.

Psycho Neighbor pt. 2

2009-01-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago it had warmed enough the kids were outside playing. Justin said Jay had sat on the neighbors swing. It's just a bench type swing, nothing fancy or anything. So I told Jay to stay off the swing as it's not ours. I step outside and Steve leans on our carport and says something to me. I didn't hear since I was reading a book. So I looked up and asked what he'd said. He said, "Would you please tell your kids to stay off my swing?" He was beligerent about it. I said, "Ok." And went back to my book. He got mad and slammed his front door. At that time, Korinne comes over and said Steve told them they couldn't play inthe back. We have a HUGE back yard. Jimmy comes out and I tell him what Korinne said. So we walk to the back where she, Justin and Justin's friend were playing. I asked them to show me where they were playing when Steve fussed at them. All three showed us, which was clearly in OUR back yard. So I pointed to this tree that is just on the border and I told them not to go past the tree. Steve comes out the back and starts yelling and cussing at me. Then starts yelling and cussing at Jimmy. Jimmy said, "There's no reason for you to talk to us that way. You told us to keep our kids off of your swing. They'll stay off. Not a big deal." I guess Steve didn't like that because he yelled he was going to call the law! LOL Jimmy told them to go ahead. Our kids have not been in their yard. Steve has since moved the swing to the side of the house with a sign saying $25.00. LOL No one has bought it. It's definitely not worth what he wants for it. LOL

Psycho neighbor pt. 1

2009-01-24T22:50:00.001-06:00

Here's some background history. We moved from SC to TN last June. We lived with Dh's parents for the first month while we looked for a place to live. We found a charming 5 br, 2 bath house for $260 less than what we paid in Charleston for a 3 br apartment. The house has it's problems and the two large bedrooms are only used for storage since our kids seem to not enjoy having their own rooms. LOL But we're adjusting. To our immediate left is a very small house where two bachelors live. They have a lot of visitors that make me think there's some dealing going on. Whatever. They're friendly and don't involved us in any of their issues. The house next to them is a single mom with her 15 yr old and 8 yr old. Her 8 yr old plays with Justin. Her 15 yr old likes to experiment with hairstyles on Korinne.

Now on to the psycho neighbor...he's to the immediate right of us. The very first time we met them was when we came to look at the house. She proceeded to tell us that her two boys are in foster care, not why, just that they are. Ok red flag there. A complete stranger telling us that. But, the house was large enough for all of our kids to have their own rooms and within our budget. We've lived here since the end of July. We never had a problem with the neighbors to our right until Christmas break. Now the neighbors to our right is a heavy-weight woman that I think has health issues. She rents the house. Her boyfriend is this scrawny bean pole with no job. Aside from her telling us her boys are in foster care, I've been fine with her. She's always been nice and polite. Her boyfriend is the psycho.

During Christmas break, our cat ran outside a couple of times, played for an hour and came back. One day psycho knocks on our door with our cat in his arms, saying he brought Stormy back because they have a sick cat in their shed and they don't want our cat getting sick. I noticed a nasty scratch on his palm, but thanked him and brought Stormy inside. As I was closing the door, I saw Stormy's flea collar on the ground. I picked it up thinking it had come loose. Nope, it was broken! So then I started wondering what the hell psycho had been doing to my cat to break his flea collar and warrant the nasty scratch. Stormy puts up with a lot of rough handling from Jackson. Jackson isn't used to having something smaller than him around so he's a tad rough with the cat. Yet the only time any of us have been scratched by Stormy is when he's in a playful mood, jumping all over the furniture and we happen to walk through.

Well later that day, Jay comes in saying psycho wants to know if Stormy has had his rabies shots. We got Stormy from our landlord when he was 5 months old and she had his shots done before she gave him to us. That's what Jay told psycho. Not even an hour later when I was outside, psycho comes over and asks about the rabies shots. I said "Steve, you know Jay has already answered that. Why are you asking again?" He got pissy and walked off. And that's part 1 of 3 in psycho neighbor stuff. LOL

Snow Daze

2008-12-15T23:55:00.004-06:00

It snowed here last Thursday/Friday. The kids were out of school on Friday. I do NOT like snow! It's way too cold for me! But the kids loved it. Here are some pics I took.

This is a very small snowman Jay made. The pot beside him is a medium pot the kids use to play outside. View from our back yard

Jackson and Korinne Friday morning

View from the side of our house.

The snow only lasted a day. I was told it's rare for snow to come this early. It doesn't usually come until January. It's been very cold here as far as I'm concerned. I want to go home! I miss Charleston weather! LOL

Happy Whatever to Me!

2008-11-01T23:22:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween! Happy All Saints Day. Happy whatever! I took Jay and Jackson trick-or-treating last night. Justin and Korinne went with our neighbors to their church. We have a HUGE bowl filled with candy from just Jay and Jackson. Jay was a monk (Jimmy's costume) and Jackson was a cow (Justin's costume 5 years ago.) Jackson was so cute that several people wanted his picture and most everyone gave him extra candy. He really was cute. I'll have to dress him up again and whip out the camera.
Justin and Korinne didn't get home until 11. They were out like lights within 5 minutes. LOL I still haven't gone through their bags of candy. But it looks like our candy supply doubled.
Tonight we went to a costume party with one of Jimmy's cousins. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast!
Today we realized that somehow my social security number is on Jimmy's paystubs. NO idea how that happened. Ok well the only thing we can think of is I mistakenly put my social down when I filled out his application for him (my handwriting is neater.) On the other hand, he filled out his own W2 form so he would have put his own social down. Either way, we have to get this fixed ASAP. Otherwise we could be in a world of trouble. Wish us luck on that!

Almost a full Tennessee resident and a recipe

2008-10-29T23:03:00.002-05:00

Jimmy took today off of work so we could get our licenses changed over. We'd planned on having the tags changed over for my car also. However, we were unprepared for how much it would cost for our licenses. My goodness! It was higher than we thought! We were in and out since I was so prepared I had more documents than required. So when Jimmy gets paid again on the 7th, we'll plan on having the tags changed over. Then I can have the insurance changed over. I've been quite anxious about that.

After we had our licenses done, we took cupcakes to Korinne's class. Tomorrow is her birthday, but they only have half a day. Friday she has a field trip so her teacher suggested today for the cupcakes. She happened to be at lunch when we showed up. She was so excited to see her Daddy was with me. We sat with her during lunch and even got to see Justin during his lunch. He was proud to show off his Daddy and Jackson. But what was funny was hearing how Korinne's classmates pronounced her name. It was Kuh-rii-inn. Emphasis on the rii. LOL It was just so cute! Try saying it with the biggest southern accent you can think of. LOL We pronounce it Kor-rin with the emphasis on rin.

So we left the school and went back home. I got Jackson down for his nap, refused my own because...hello!!! I had my husband home! I wanted to be with him, even though he worked on his car. LOL After the kids came home he and I cooked together. He got to see how effortless and how quick his favorite meal was. It was a wonderful day!

Here's the meal we had tonight... Garlic Buttered Sliced Steak with Onions

3 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large yellow skinned onions, thinly sliced
2 roasted red peppers, drained well and thinkly sliced
salt and pepper
generous handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 (1 inch thick) slices from a round loaf of good quality semolina bread, from center of loaf (I either use sourdough bread or bread I made my own)
4 Tblsp butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 (12 oz) NY strip steaks (I use whatever thich steak is on sale and I usually only cook two nice size steaks since Jimmy and I are the only ones that eat this.)

Heat extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low to medium heat, then add onions and roasted red peppers. (I add sliced mushrooms as well.) Season with salt and pepper and cook until gently soft, but not caramelized, 12-15 minutes, stir in parsley.

Heat a large skillet or cast iron griddle to high.

Toast bread under broiler and reserve.

MMelt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add garlic. Remove pan from the heat and set aside until steaks are cooked.

Season 1 side of steaks with salt and pepper and place seasoned side down in the hot skillet or griddle. Cook 3 minutes until the meat can be moved easily. Season the reverse side of meat. Flip steaks, reduce heat to medium and cook 6-7 minutes for medium rare, 8-10 for just pink. Remove meat and let rest a few minutes. Slice steaks 1/4 inch thick against the grain. Pile onions over toast, top with slices steak and spoon garlic butter down over each portion.

I usually slice steak and put it on bread first, then pile onion mixture to suit on top. It's so delish!

Report Card Time

2008-10-27T20:58:00.003-05:00

That's right. It's already been 9 weeks. WOW!
The kids were out of school today for parent-teacher conferences. We started with Korinne's teacher. She went on and on about what a wonderful child Korinne is. How she's pleased with how much Korinne wants to learn. She said Korinne was a very happy-go-lucky child and was always excited whenever the class was starting something new. She had all Ss, kindergarten's equivalent to As. I'm very proud of her!

Next was Justin's teacher. She went on and on about how smart Justin is. He's a very well mannered child. She even said he's a testament to my mothering. He made ALL As!!! ALL! I'm so proud of him. The envelope for his report card is also a coupon of some sorts for Wendy's. If the kids get all As, they take their report card and the envelope to Wendy's and they get a free burger, fries and drinks.

Lastly, was Jay. He made 1 A and 4 Bs. Still good grades, but his teachers were disappointed because they feel he can do so much better. He has the potential to make all As. His biggest problem was he isn't turning in his work on time or at all. They all enjoy having him in their classes though. So we're going to work on him turning in his homework.

I'm so proud of them all.

My Goodness it's COLD!!!!!!!

2008-10-19T01:53:00.003-05:00

It is fricken COLD here! My weatherbug says it's 44 degrees here. WTH??!! In Charleston, we're still in shorts on Halloween! I'm so not looking forward to Halloween if it's gonna be this cold! We haven't had the gas turned on yet, so we have no heat. My kids are all curled up in their beds with ALL of their many blankets over them. Jimmy and I have our quilt and comforter on our bed. MOM, send me some long johns!!!!!!!!! I doubt I will leave the house much if/when it snows. I do NOT do cold weather very well. I could barely tolerate the "cold" in Charleston. How the hell am I going to deal with cold here? How funny are my kids gonna look with layers under their costumes here in Tennessee? LOL

Wave of Light, October 15th

2008-10-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

Wave of Light, October 15th

Been awhile, huh?

2008-09-30T09:17:00.002-05:00

So here I am in Tennessee. Trying to settle in. I finally have my internet up and running. It'll be nice being able to chat or whatever and not be on dial up. LOL Since I've moved, I missed the birth of my niece. My sister finally had a little girl to go with her brood of boys. Morgan Kay was born on August 9th. And she's absolutely beautiful!
The kids started school in August. Jay is in 7th now and joined the band again. Justin is in 3rd and loving it. Korinne started kindergarten. Her class is right down the hall from Justin's. The school is so small it's only one hallway, with the cafeteria and music room leading from it. Jackson turned 3. He's still a tiny little thing. But doing so well. He did so well in speech therapy in Charleston that the speech pathologist at the school determined he doesn't need extra therapy.

We found us a charming 5 bedroom house for $500 a month. It has some problems. But nothing major. And the fact that my kids all have their own rooms (thank you Lord!) makes up for them. LOL We live on a quiet picturesque street. I love watching the leaves fall from all the trees. We have a HUGE back yard. Though whoever lived here years ago, planted a row of trees or bushes that block off the yard in a weird way. So I don't let the kids play in the back very much because I can't see them out of the window.

The cool thing is, I've hooked up with a friend I went to high school with in Oregon. He and his wife live in Summertown, which is where my in-laws live. Small world huh? LOL

Here in Tennessee

2008-06-29T22:49:00.002-05:00

So here we are in Tennessee. We got here last Tuesday. Jimmy starts his new job tomorrow. His boss in Charleston gave him a number to call for a job. The number belongs to a guy that owns 6 or 7 bodyshops around the area. Apparently, Jimmy's boss in Charleston gave such a high review that the main guy was all ready to hire Jimmy. He talked to the VP, then the manager at the bodyshop. He went in Thursday and talked to the manager and was hired on the spot. However, he'll have a commute, which we knew would happen with us being out in the middle of no where. LOL

For now, Korinne, Jackson and I are sleeping in the spare bedroom at my in-laws. Jimmy, Jay and Justin are sleeping in the camper outside my in-law's. We're looking for a home to rent. We don't want to rush into an apartment we'll be unhappy in. And his Dad doesn't want us to rush into anything. The town we're in is full of Jimmy's relatives. So they're all looking for a home for us. What's really weird for me is that these people that have never met me are so accepting and loving towards me. And the kids. Like they've known me all my life. It's surreal to me not having my own relatives accept me. LOL

I can honestly say, I feel at home here. Oh I admit, I was freaking out the first couple of days being out of a city and near no one I know. But then I realized, I love not having neighbors so close. I want to be here. I do miss having Jimmy in bed with me at night. I can't wait til we have our own home and we can sleep together again. LOL

Busy, busy, busy

2008-06-10T21:03:00.003-05:00

Wow it has been a LONG time since I last posted. Since then, we've recieved our supplement check from the government and have been making arrangements to move. We're now down to 2 weeks before we head out. I never realized how much crap we all have. Before when we'd move, we were just moving across town somewhere, so I could just throw whatever into boxes and go. Now, I have to plan carefully on the packing. I've moved out of state before, but not as an adult, having to do it myself. It's a bit overwhelming. LOL
School is now over. Both boys passed. Thankfully. I had no doubts about Justin, but it was touch and go for Jay for a bit. I've already learned what I need as far as school stuff to take with us. I went in yesterday to the ped's office and filled out the paperwork to get all of their medical records. I took Jackson yesterday to the allergist's to get new prescriptions. And he has an appointment Thursday with the neurologist. Just some last minute appointments before we get to Tennessee and I have to basically start all over.

That's tiring itself. Now I just have to finish packing. I've enlisted the kids help whether they like it or not. LOL We pick up the truck on the 20th, so I have until then to get everything packed.

I am so gonna miss all of you. I know I'll be put on the...what is it...ex-pat list...or something like that. I promise to keep in touch whenever we get settled and I have my puter back up.

Shocked!

2008-04-07T21:18:00.003-05:00

I posted back in December about a trip we took the the Hatchery, where we used to go fishing. There was almost no water. Well yesterday, we decided to take another trip to walk around. When we got over the hill, we saw about 20 trucks and trailers parked. We see lots of water and lots of people fishing. We decided to walk through the woods again. But we couldn't walk as far since the water was back. Jimmy walked to the edge to cast out a couple of times. The kids and I saw this beautiful butterfly. (Seen below) As we were walking back, I'm looking at the water and I stop and say, "Is that an alligator? That's an alligator!" The alligator freezes so Jimmy wasn't sure. He picks up a rock and heads to the edge. I loudly whisper, "Are you out of your fricken mind? That's an alligator!" Before he does anything the alligator disappears under water. Jimmy looks up and the kids and I are walking fast the hell away from there. LOL

We get back to where others are fishing and find a spot to cast off. There was this milk gallon with the top cut off and a lizard was inside. The boys let it free. Where did it go? Straight up my leg. So I start jumping around and screaming like the girl I am, trying to get it off my leg. Jimmy and the boys found this extremely hilarious. Apparently, when I screamed, I scared some nearby boater that one almost fell overboard. Jimmy yelled, "Gotta love lizards." The woman on the boat glared at Jimmy while the men laughed. Like she was offended that Jimmy would laugh at me. LOL Oh it's funny now. But dammit, I don't like things crawling on me. LOL So here are some pics we took...

The butterfly pic I took

The butterfly pic Jimmy took Pic from the loading area Pic taken in area the lizard attacked me. LOL

We're moving...

2008-04-04T20:55:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I know. I've been bad. LOL We went to TN for Spring Break. Yes we drove with all four kids! 10 hours! LOL Actually, it wasn't too bad. We'd borrowed my mom's personal DVD player. The kids had their MP3 players, coloring books, crayons, drinks, snacks, etc. On the way there, we went through the mountains. I do not do well through the mountains. I get car sick. At some point, I had my window down and my head hanging out for the fresh air. LOL We left Saturday morning around 9-ish. We got there around 8-ish our time 7-ish their time. The kids did well. Jackson got cranky the last hour. But I think he was just tired of being in his car seat. The visit was wonderful. Though a little sad.
My MIL had a seizure about a month ago or so. It's fuddled with her mind so that there are some things she can't remember. She didn't remember that Jackson has allergies to peanuts. We still don't know why she had the seizure. She's on anti-seizure medicine that make her really sleepy. My FIL cannot leave her alone for fear she'll have another seizure and will not be seen by a doctor fast enough.

While there, we had to find Tennessee's version of a Doctor's Care, that thankfully, took our insurance because Korinne had a bladder infection. Of course the prescription they prescribed cost us the highest co-pay we had. Didn't care. Korinne is more important. But had we been home, her doctor would have prescribed a more affordable antibiotic.

Anyway, we've been talking about moving there for about 5 years. With all that's going on with my MIL, now seems to be the right time. We still have a chunk of money from the van. I can be of great help to my in-laws. And I really, really, really HATE where I'm at now. If I were a vindictive person, I'd have revenge on the people around here. LOL

So with our taxes coming, and school ending in June, we thought, "Why not?" We'll be busy from now until then. My biggest stipulation is I have to have high speed internet. LOL I got on my FIL's computer while there to find a recipe. It took me an HOUR to find it. LOL So there you have it. We're moving...as soon as the boys get out of school!

March For Babies

2008-03-12T23:45:00.002-05:00

I've signed up to walk the 5 miles again this year to raise money for premature babies. Last year it was called WalkAmerica. This year it's March for Babies. This is something really important for me, having lost premature twins. If anyone would like to donate, I would greatly appreciate it. Click on the link to be directed to my website. Maybe some of y'all might join me in this walk. Thank you all in advance.

Did I mention???

2008-03-12T00:23:00.002-05:00

We bought a new car? I know I mentioned the Lincoln...promptly named Lizzie. But we also won a '90 GMC Suburban off eBay. A local seller that had it less than a mile from Jimmy's work. So now we have two vehicles that will seat all 6 of us, plus money left in the bank to allow us to take the kids to Tennessee for Spring Break. We're going to see my in-laws. I cannot wait! We haven't picked a name for the Suburb yet...though I think it might be named the Suburb since that's what we've been calling her. LOL I'm so not used to driving either yet. Well I haven't driven the suburb yet. But I drove Lizzie downtown last week because Jackson had an appointment. And let me tell you....me, Lizzie and the Rutledge parking garage do NOT get along. My arse was clenched so tight, I was so nervous I was going to hit something...I drove to the top floor so I'd know I could get in and out easily enough. LOL I was going around the corners when other cars were coming that freaked me out. I am so not used to long front ends anymore. LOL

I kinda took on another tentative job. One of Jay's friends...his mom needed a sitter for her two younger ones. Her daughter is the same age as Korinne and her youngest son is the same age as Jackson. So they all have someone their age to play with. I've watched them twice so far and it's been easy. Her job is flexible so we've got it worked out that when Jackson has an appointment, she'll take the time off and watch Korinne for me. Plus she has an acquaintance that has a catering company and on Mondays always has leftover stuff. She gives it to my friend, who splits it with me. I had so much fruit this week, I sent a lot with Jimmy to work. But I have to admit, it's nice having a fridge full of delicious and healthy snacks. LOL

I'm long winded. I've been so busy I haven't posted in almost a month. It's all catching up with me. LOL I'm done now. My fingers are starting to hurt. LOL

People amuse me

2008-03-12T00:01:00.003-05:00

Seriously. LOL I've been working at a grocery store 5 minutes away since just before Jimmy had his surgery in October. Just when I think I've seen it all, here comes this woman tonight. She comes to my register already belligerent. As I'm ringing up her items, she's commenting on how such and such is buy one get one free, how such and such it reduced price. She says every time she comes in she goes home with her receipt and realizes she was charged for something she shouldn't have been charged for. So she says, "I'm not paying for anything until we go over the receipt." Patiently, I attempt to go over the receipt with her. This week, our Lays chips are BOGO. She's purchased a bag of Lays and a bag of Ruffles. She insists the Ruffles are BOGO also. So I tell her I'd go check. On the way to the chip aisle, I grab our assistant manager for a witness. No, the Ruffles were not BOGO. They happened to be placed beside the Lays, which clearly say BOGO...the Ruffles did not. Then we have select varieties of the HungryMan meals BOGO with a limit of 2. She's purchased 6. She argues that she should have gotten 3 free. It upsets her more when I point out the sale paper says a limit of 2. So she grabs two and tells me to void them, which I do. At this point customers behind her move to a different register and start complaining loudly about her. She glares at them and says, "If they would get their prices right, I wouldn't be holding up the line." The other customer retorts, "If you paid more attention to the sale paper and the tags on the shelves, the line wouldn't be held up." Of course this pissed her off more. She tells my assistant manager that last Wednesday (which is when our new sales begin) that she bought Ruffles and they were BOGO. She said, "I can bring the receipt and show you." To which the AM says, "Ok, please do." Of course that pisses her off more. She demands the district headquarters number.
After her receipt finishes printing, I circled the toll free number for her then cheerfully told her to have a nice day. If looks could kill, I'd be dead thrice over. LOL She came back in a few minutes later and caught the manager. She was complaining that when I voided the two Hungryman dinners, she only got one for free...remember...it said select varieties. Our shelves are clearly marked which ones are BOGO. I went and checked. So to appease her, he refunded her the money for one of them. As she left, I again cheerfully told her to have a nice evening...pissing her off even more. A few minutes later, here she is again, assaulting the manager about the chips. He patiently explains to her that neither the AM nor I did anything wrong and that her receipt is correct. Again, as she leaves I give her a cheerful farewell. LOL She comes in AGAIN a few minutes later to get the district number. Again she recieves a cheerful farewell.
I do not do well with people in my face cussing at me or having an attitude. But I realized quickly that I could piss her off more by being so nice and professional than I could losing my temper as well as my job. LOL That was really fun! LOL Oh and get this....she calls later in the evening yelling at a co-worker to get the district's number. LOL
Seriously...isn't it easier to catch flies with honey? This woman was maybe early 50s....completely showing her ass....and ended up looking like a fool to the other customers. She told the manager that she shops there all the time, yet those of us working, who are there at any given time during the week have never seen her. I'd love for her to bring in her last receipt. I guarantee it'll be before Wednesday of last week. Cause I know the Ruffles were not on sale after Wednesday. How do I know? I not only work there, I shop there. I take advantage of the BOGOs....but I tend to pay attention to what's really BOGO. LOL

On another note, our store has been asking for donations for Easter Seals for about a month or so. Easter Seals is a charity that helps disabled children in Charleston. I've been the top seller since it began. I don't know why, but I have. Maybe because a lot of my customers are regulars and have heard a little about Jackson's problems. Well tonight when I walked in a co-worker told me that now that I was there, a competition begins. The first person to sell 30 cards for donation will recieve $20 out of the AM's pocket. I was there 20 minutes when I said, "I'm halfway there, Old Man!" LOL Of course, I won the $20. In the end from the time I clocked in to the time I clocked out, I sold 65 cards. That keeps me as the top seller since we began selling them. And I'm only there for 4 1/2 hours a few nights a week. We raised a lot of money for Easter Seals and that makes me happy. I'm so grateful for all the help Jackson has recieved that I'm an advocate for others to help.

News

2008-02-18T01:08:00.002-06:00

We bought a car today. YAY! A '91 Lincoln Towncar. It's in emmaculate condition. One owner, garage kept, has only 103k miles on it. Runs awesome, according to Jimmy...and he works on cars for a living. LOL Its something we can use until we find what we really want.

In the meantime, I made a drastic change in my hair. It was long enough to reach my bra strap in the back. I chopped it off and dyed it darker. See below pic. LOL It's not very flattering. I'm not photogenic. LOL

I do it!

2008-02-16T22:23:00.002-06:00

I just love that stage when toddlers insist on doing everything themselves. Jackson has reached that stage. It doesn't matter what it is. I hear, "I do it!" It's escalated to my favorite chore...vacuuming. LOL Yesterday morning, after cleaning up the numerous toys that accumulate all over the living room, I pulled out the vacuum. The first "I do it" was unraveling the cord. Then it was plugging it in, which he does with me standing beside him. Then it was turning the vacuum on. Finally the "I do it" was the actual vacuuming. LOL It's so cute watching a 2 year old trying to vacuum. I just had to whip out the camera for a pic. And he even grinned! LOL I love a man that cleans.

Shopping around

2008-02-14T23:00:00.002-06:00

That's right. We're shopping around for a vehicle. This weekend is crunch time. Jimmy wants to find something that we can share to just get back and forth to work. I want to find something that seats 6 so we don't have to give up our family times on the weekends. We were lucky enough that our settlement check from the insurance company was $6700 after our deductible. That gives us more options. The check should clear tomorrow. My bank put a 5 day hold on it because it was a check over 5 grand. We really cannot afford the rental car any longer than Monday. (I didn't have rental coverage on my insurance.) Luckily, where Jimmy works has a rental company in the office so they've given us a tremendous discount on the van we've rented. We have a few things we're looking at that hopefully one will pan out for us. So wish us luck!

Lucy Blus pics

2008-02-02T23:21:00.000-06:00

I feel so lucky. Looking at the pics Jimmy took and even seeing her in person, I wonder how I walked away without a scratch and not having my air bags deploy. For those that live nearby, this happened on I526, at the beginning of the guard rail AFTER crossing the Ashley River Bridge. The guardrail that starts until the first Ashley River Road exit. Here are some pics of my belived Lucy Blue. When we drove by the site this afternoon, Jimmy was impressed that I kept the van in a straight skid. Appparently, about three hours after my accident, another van had an accident in the same area, only that van flipped over. He could see additional skid marks. I know mine was straight across. I didn't weave in and out anywhere. My marks were much deeper and he could see where I went and where the other van went. I'm so thankful that my kids weren't with me, and also thankful I walked away only shaken.

This is Lucy Blue when we first got her.

This is Lucy Blue Thursday morning.

Lucy Blue Thursday morning.

Lucy Blue is no more. :(

2008-01-30T19:29:00.000-06:00

That's right. My Lucy Blue is no more. I totalled my van today. The entire front driver's side wheel flew off. Not the tire, the whole damn wheel. It went one way, I went another. I hit the brakes and was pulling off the road. Slid in the shoulder and hit the guardrail head on then swung around into the side of the road. I was shaking so bad when I got out of the van I couldn't even stand. A car that had been directly behind me pulled over. I called Jimmy and one of them called the police. They waited with me calming me down until the first officer took their information. Thank you to those two wonderful women. I really think had I been alone on the side of the road I'd have been more of a wreck than I was. Well City of Charleston showed up to write out the report. I was given a ticket for too fast for conditions. Though the officer told me that when I show up for court it will be dismissed. He said it's policy that when there's an accident a ticket has to be written. I won't say what my FIL (retired deputy sheriff) said when I called and told him about it. EMS showed up even though I'd denied medical assistance. The one that showed up said they had driven by going the other way and turned around to make sure I was unhurt. I thought that was very nice of the EMS workers to stop without being called just to make sure I was ok. Trust me when I say I'm lucky I wasn't hurt. The van looks THAT bad. I hit the guardrail so hard the back suspension broke.
Well Jimmy was home with the kids. I was by myself thank goodness. And if by some miracle none of you happened to drive by today, I was lucky I wasn't hurt and even more lucky it happened where it did and not while I was on the bridge. I have a real fear of going over the side of the bridge. Anyway, Jimmy called one of his bosses to have a tow truck come get the van and take it to their work. He told me to just ride with the tow truck driver and get a rental car when I got there. However, when I was getting my purse and stuff out of the van, one of Jimmy's co-workers pulled over. He'd seen me and the van on the side so he turned around and came back. When the tow truck driver showed up, he pulled in too far and got himself stuck so he had to call another driver to get him and my van. LOL
I have a rental for a few days until we can figure out what to do. When I went to the store I work at tonight to pick up a couple items, one of my friends says, "Hi honey how are you feeling?" I said, "I'm fine." She said she'd heard about the accident. I said, "How on Earth did y'all hear about it? I haven't talked to anyone." LOL Apparently one of the kids I work with drove by on his way to school today and told the other kids I work with then told the people I work with. Funny how news travels that fast huh? LOL

Anyway, I'm unhurt though a little sore. I'm sure it'll catch up with me soon. Thankfully, Jimmy still has some painkillers from his surgery in October. Time to find another van. I liked Lucy Blue. I'm sad I have to find another van.

Report Cards...

2008-01-23T22:45:00.000-06:00

I got Justin's report card today. He's making almost all As. His one B is in Social Studies. But this is what his teacher wrote in the comments section..."Justin is enthusiastic about participating. He catches on quickly to everything we do. It is wonderful that he made SAIL for next year. I am so very proud of him. This is quite an accomplishment, especially for someone who skipped first grade! :)" SAIL is the gifted and talented program. They tested all the 2nd graders and from what Justin told me, only three 2nd graders made it. He was the only one in his class. I am so proud of him! Not only did he skip a grade but next year, he'll be in the gifted and talented program. The best part, is he is so excited about it.

Jay's report card will be mailed out tomorrow.

Sick Jackson

2008-01-21T21:12:00.001-06:00

It's that time again. Time for Jackson to get all sick on us, worry us, then run around like he's the picture of health. LOL
He started running a fever yesterday, nothing to worry about. But his breathing was awful! He was wheezing so bad and the nebulizer didn't seem to be helping too much. So this morning, off to the doctor we went. They gave him another breathing treatment then sent us for a chest xray to rule out pneumonia. There was no school today so I had all four with me! Talk about stressful. The xray technician gave me a hug and told me it would be better soon. Jackson xrays came back clear thankfully. But he was still in a clingy mood today. You can tell he's sick cause his eyes are all puffy looking. But he's running around all happy.

I hope he's better tomorrow. I do not like when he's sick. Of course, now Jimmy and I are both coming down with something. It's only a matter of time before it hits the rest of the kids.

Freedom of speech...

2008-01-07T23:10:00.000-06:00

This morning, Jackson had a doctor's appointment. After his appointment, I had to go to my bank to withdraw money to put in Dh's bank for our van payment. On the way to Dh's bank, I was stopped at an intersection. On my left there was a man holding a banner that said, "Hillary's Holocaust." On my right was a man holding a banner that originally said Hitler's Holocaust, but there was a sticker with Hillary's name in the spot not quite blocking Hitler. To my upper right was another man holding banners with Hillary's Holocaust displayed, as well as pictures of aborted babies. One pic at 23 weeks...the age I lost my twins. The other at 30 weeks.
I'm all for freedom of speech and all that, but this was so upsetting and disturbing to me on so many levels. I was so glad that the children I had with me don't pay enough attention outside of the van. Had my older two been with us, they would have seen and asked questions, especially about the babies. I'm glad they weren't with me because the pic of the aborted 23 week gestated baby looked nothing like the babies I gave birth to.

At what point do you think freedom of speech is going too far? And why?

Just because

2008-01-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

Justin had his first basketball game tonight. Because the kids are all 7-8 they don't technically keep score. The kids do though. LOL Justin team is sponsored by Coastal Burgler Alarm. My son is a Burgler! LOL Anyway, he had his first game tonight and his team won 10-6. There are some good players on his team.

Below are some pics...

Korinne in her cheerleading uniform

Jackson trying to get the camera at the game.
Justin's the one that looks like he holding his shorts up. LOL

Happy New Year!!!!!

2008-01-01T22:58:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!
I had to work last night...scheduled for 6:30-11:00. However a co-worker wanted to switch with me to work in my place. Far be it for me to say no. LOL I ended up being able to go home at 9:30. So Jimmy and I were able to spend time together ringing in the new year.
This morning, he had to go in to work for a few hours, so the kids and I joined him. I cooked breakfast in the break room. We left just before noon. After lunch and Jackson's nap, we loaded up and headed to the West Ashley Park. We were going to attempt catching minnows for fishing since it was too windy to fish. But the park gates were closed. We know there are other fishing places that we can take the kids to, but we just can't seem to find them. Other than state parks or whatever, we can't find other public access places. So we came home instead and cooked.
Speaking of cooking, no we did not have collards and black eyed peas. EW! We had fried chicken, homemade mashed taters and lima beans. Oh it was DELISH!
Saturday, after budgeting the money, we decided to rent a couple of movies. One of the girls working there likes me and always deletes any late charge we have. I went in fully expecting to pay the charges we had, which I estimated to be almost 20 bucks. When we got there, Korinne slipped getting out of the van and scraped her knee. When we walked in, my girl had just answered the phone, put it on hold and asked her co-worker where a certain movie would be. I automatically said comedy, then showed her where it was. LOL Then the girl found Korinne a bandaid and made her feel better. After picking the two movies we rented, we went to pay for it. I brought up the late charges and she said, "Oh I took care of it." That was so nice! I think these people recognize me and know I'm in there enough that I'm not going to just stiff the company with a bill. Cause she's the third person that regularly does that for me.
Anyway, this evening, Jimmy decided he wanted to move one of the bookshelves from the dining room into our bedroom. So I unload the one with the DVDs and the kids books and place everything in stacks. We move that one unto our bedroom. Then we unload the other bookshelf filled with ves of my books (double or triple rowed each) and 1 shelf of his books. The kids are moving my books to the room. When I dare look in there, I see all my books in piles...not neatly stacked like I did their books. I almost had a heart attack! LOL Though when I did go in the room, Jimmy was halfway putting my books on the bookshelf. Just my books are on it now. A 5 chelf book case and some shelves are double rowed. LOL
My dining room is still in disarray but at least the books and DVDs are back on the book case. The rest of the stuff that had been stored behind the book cases needs to be put up. The speech therapist is coming over tomorrow but I'm not gonna stress over how that area looks.

I finally converted Jackson's bed into a toddler bed. Okay all I had to do was take off the side that moved up and down. He wouldn't nap in it today...insisted on napping in my bed with me. But tonight when he told me he was ready for nite-nite, I put him in bed, tucked him in and put a baby gate at the door. He's been in bed since. I figured it was really time to take the side off since he climbed over it all the time, it wasn't doing any good. LOL He looks so small in the bed now that the side is gone. He's getting so grown. :(

So sad!

2007-12-30T19:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we decided to take a trip to the Hatchery in Moncks Corner. What we saw was completely depressing. We took the kids fishing there last year and it was such fun. When we went over the summer, the water level had dropped a couple of feet but was still fishable. This. This was just devestating! There's no way to fish now. Boats can no longer enjoy a ride through the lake...not that that mattered to me since we have no boat. LOL

Here are some pics I took...

We used to stand by the tree closest to the water on the left.

A view from the boat ramp...that is blocked off now. We're actually walking where the lake should be. A tree or something, that used to be under water. A dead snake I almost stepped on. I didn't realize it was dead until after I screamed and ran. LOL It was curled when I almost stepped on it. Jimmy said it was a water mocassin.

Grrrrrr

2007-12-28T09:24:00.000-06:00

There went my goal of posting every day this month. Something happened to my computer yesterday. I have no idea what. I was online in the morning, logged off to watch The Nanny Diaries. (Loved the movie, by the way.) I looked over at one point and saw my screensaver on. When the movie was finished, the monitor was black, like the computer had been turned off. So I turned it back on. However Windows wouldn't load. No matter what I did. I called my computer guy and left a message.
So I plugged in our other computer, but it couldn't detect my cable modem. I talked to my computer guy this morning and we went through all kinds of things on the first computer to get Windows to load. No luck. So next time he's down here (he lives in Columbia) he'll take the computer back with him and fix it. So he tried helping me get my comcast to work on computer 2. No luck there.

I called Comcast and after talking to three different people and being on hold collectively for 30 minutes, I was told all I had to do was hit the reset button on the modem. I didn't see a reset button. It was so small and I had to use a safety pin to hit it. Obviously, it worked! LOL I'm back online. I can now breath a sigh of relief. LOL

Busy day

2007-12-26T22:34:00.000-06:00

Today was laundry day this week due to the Holidays. LOL Also had to pay bills. That's always a chore itself. The kids were all good for a change. Jackson insisted on napping with Korinne and me. So we all snuggled together in my bed. I had to go back to work tonight. But time seemed to fly. Now here I am, everyone else is passed out and I'm trying to wind down. That's about it for me today.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T21:15:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I had such a wonderful day! I cooked my first ham...ever. I cooked it in my electric oven roaster I bought just before Thanksgiving. It turned out awesome! I didn't do anything to it, no glaze or anything. Just stuck it in the roaster. We also cooked a whole chicken, homemade mac and cheese, homemade mashed taters, corn on the cob and rolls. Oh it was delish!

We went no where! Not one outing. That was awesome. LOL My sister, brother and my sister's kids came over this evening. We called our Dad together. My house is now more trashed than it was. LOL But I have all four kids home this week, so guess who will be cleaning while I'm doing laundry tomorrow. LOL

The kids LOVED their MP3 players and digicams. They've been walking around half the day either listening to the music they picked, or taking pictures. LOL

Me? I've been enjoying my new digicam. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Dusk shot, just to see how the camera worked. From left to right...Justin, nephew Ronnie, nephew Alex, Korinne, Jackson, brother Billy, nephew Christopher, Jay Jackson playing with Justin's Flywheel, with Jimmy in the background peeling potatoes. Me and Jackson last night after I took my contacts out. LOL

New Digicam!

2007-12-24T21:43:00.000-06:00

I got a new digicam today. My old one somehow got moisture under the lens. So the pics were all funny looking. I got a Nikon Coolpix. Here are some pics I took this evening...

Jackson with Jay in the background

Korinne with parts of Jackson Jimmy and the three older ones...Jackson was in bed. Jay giving a real smile. LOL

Free ham

2007-12-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

Did I mention I got a free 10 lb ham yesterday? During our second trip to the store for ingredients needed for all the stuff I cooked, I was behind this man buying over $777 worth of ham for his employees. After he finished paying, he asked if the bagger could help him load the ham into his truck. Said he was going to pull his truck up front. So I told Jay to help him since I could see his truck and see Jay. We pay for our items and go outside to help also. When I pick up the last ham (he had 4 carts full) to hand it to him, he said, "It's yours." I protested. And he said, "I always buy extra just in case. You and your kids helped me with the ham. You keep it." I didn't catch his name but he had on a shirt with the name Lawn-O-Green, Inc. So thank you to the man that gave us a ham.

I don't even know how to cook a ham. But I'll figure it out. LOL I'm searching for how to cook it in an electric oven roaster. So if anyone has any tips, please share them with me by Monday night. LOL Thanks in advance.

Are you kidding me?!

2007-12-21T23:50:00.000-06:00

I came across this article about a 60 year old man that works for Reader's Digest suing an 8 year old boy for a ski collision. I just recently bought a subscription to Reader's Digest and if this asinine lawsuit continues, I will most definitely cancel the subscription. This is just ridiculous!

Cooking up a storm!

2007-12-21T22:49:00.001-06:00

That's what I did today. Jimmy "volunteered" me to make some things to bring to his work today for the Christmas fiesta. Oh he told me about it last week so it wasn't like it was last minute. Today, I made homemade mac and cheese, stuffed shrooms, mushroom crab melts and artichoke cheese puffs.

We went to the shop at 3:30, dropped off the food then went to the bank. When we got back the stuff was almost gone! LOL Well except the mac and cheese. They waited for that until the turkey was finished frying. There was a lot of excellent food. Something for everyone it seemed. We couldn't stay long though because I had to work. But I had a great time. And of course, the kids were being fawned over. LOL

Exam scheduled

2007-12-20T21:02:00.001-06:00

for December 29. That gives me just over a week to study more.

We're finishing our Christmas shopping this weekend. Jimmy will do his sometime this weekend. I'll do mine when he's finished. Not much left to do. But the wrapping will keep me busy Christmas Eve. LOL I actually look forward to all the wrapping. Even though the kids rip into it in the morning. LOL I can't wait! LOL

I PASSED!!!!!

2007-12-19T22:56:00.000-06:00

Yes! I passed the simulation exam! Barely. But I passed. Talk about a relief! Now I have to schedule the actual exam and I can study more on the questions I missed. Oh man. Breathing deeply! LOL

Heebie Jeebies!

2007-12-18T22:44:00.000-06:00

::::::Shuddering::::::This afternoon after we got up from our naps, we decided to go check the mail. On the way back, we stopped to talk to some of the kids' friends. I'm standing there and I hear this squeal. I look down to see I'm standing on....ready for this? A FRICKING BAT! Its little head was up and its mouth was wide open. So, I of course do the whole girl thing and scream and run away dragging Jackson with me and yelling for Korinne to follow. LOL The bat doesn't move. So I creep back thinking I've killed the little thing. I see the body moving with the heartbeat. So I drag all the kids away with me to hunt down a maintenance worker. (I didn't want any kids playing with it and get hurt.) When I tracked one down, he followed me and teased me for killing the bat. Like I knew I was standing on a fricking bat. LOL So he grabs a piece of trash and carefully tries to lift it. He gets one wing off the ground and the bat takes off flying. Again, I do the whole girl thing, grab my kids and run. LOL Oh I laughed about it the entire time.

Busy week

2007-12-17T22:32:00.000-06:00

I'm going to be so busy this week. I work every night but Wednesday. Though Wednesday, Justin has basketball practice and I'm taking my exam. (I'll be off Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so that'll be cool.)
Jackson is still sick. I guess that's another doctor's appointment. He's so congested that when he coughs he gags. But he doesn't understand to just let it come up. Tonight while at work, Jimmy brought out some towels and told Jackson if he needed to get sick to do it on the towel. Jimmy simulated getting sick. So Jackson would lean over the towel and just make the noises. It was a lot funnier when Jimmy was showing me and making the sound effects. LOL

Now let's add in laundry, a trip to the WIC office, oh and tomorrow is the boys' last day before Christmas break. I'm looking forward to things calming down.

Celebrating Christmas early

2007-12-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

Well not too early. LOL
Jimmy will be off Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. (Well he's supposed to be off Monday.) Because of the way we alternate the Saturdays and Sundays I work, I'll be off on Sunday. The store closes at 6pm on Monday and closed Tuesday. Well since I don't work during the week until after 6, I won't be working on Monday either. So I'll have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off! Our plan is to celebrate most of Christmas either Sunday or Monday so Jimmy and enjoy watching the kids play with their new items before he goes back to work. (I think so he can play too. LOL)

I had full intentions of taking my exam tonight, but by the time I got home from work and finished dinner it was late. I feel like I'm disapppointing my "boss" because I haven't finished this course yet. But I'm going to use Monday and Tuesday to study hard. I have to work both evenings, so I'll take my exam Wednesday night, come hell or high water! Have I mentioned that I hate tests? I always feel such pressure to do good so I don't disappoint anyone.

Just rambling....

2007-12-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

Jimmy went into work this morning. His sister left her mustang convertible with us for the week while she goes to Tennessee to visit their parents. He's supposed to just be painting one side of the car that's peeling. But because of everything she's done to help us, he's planning on painting the entire car. Anyway, so he drove that to work and I loaded the kids into Lucy Blue and went grocery shopping. Started out at the store I work at. Got cereal for the kids for 99 cents (Shrek and chocholate Cookie Crisp) and YOGOs for 99 cents! Not to mention some awesome deals on chicken quarters. For those that have a Food Lion around and have kids that eat those particular items, go check it out. If the store is out, get a raincheck!
Afterwards, we went to the store I regularly shop at. OMG I could have beaten Jay and Justin. They were so hyper and bouncing all over the place. Playing and fighting with each other that I was tempted to just pop them both, not caring who saw. LOL

After the shopping, we had just enough time for the kids to eat lunch before Korinne had cheerleading practice. I let Jay stay home by himself...though it was only 30 minutes. I think he peeked into the Christmas presents because the tape was different on the boxes they're in. LOL

Practice was a joke! Her coaches didn't even show up. So we had some guy...that was so obviously gay...trying to teach them how to jump. Now I'm not opposed to gay people. I have a couple of relatives that are gay. But they don't talk condescendingly towards people. This guy talked so not only to the girls but to us team moms. I just sat down and let him do his own thing. It was obvious he didn't want the help we were asked to give.

I was supposed to study this afternoon, but I just couldn't get myself into it. The kids were too distracting. LOL I work tomorrow from 8:30-3:30, so I'll study after that.

Almost done for real now. LOL

2007-12-14T22:27:00.000-06:00

I finished the last chapter and quiz of my online course. All that's left is the simulation exam they provide. I'll study for that tomorrow and take the exam Sunday afternoon/evening. No pressure there. @@ It's apparent that my brain is not as young as it was a decade ago because I have a case of the CSRs! LOL Wish me luck.

Cheerleading and Band concerts

2007-12-13T21:22:00.000-06:00

Korinne had her first practice tonight. Though had to leave 30 minutes early. I somehow got roped into being a "team Mom." LOL I'm not quite sure what that entails yet. But I have gathered that I have to learn the cheers also and help the girls learn it. I think I'll have to make phone calls every once in awhile. I'll find out more at her Saturday practice.

So onto Jay's band concert (the reason we left early). He did so well! I'm so proud of him. We took the camcorder, of course. But I haven't uploaded it to the puter yet. I'll try that this weekend. Yeah I got all teary eyed. LOL I could tell he was nervous. But he did wonderful. And I was very impressed with the 8th grade band, not so much the 8th grade strings. But the band was excellent!

Whew!

2007-12-12T22:54:00.000-06:00

I think I'm almost finished with my online course! WOOHOO! I have two more chapters and quizzes. Then the exam. I hope to get another chapter done in the morning. And the other after Jay's concert tomorrow night.

It's about time!

2007-12-11T21:34:00.000-06:00

I finally got a call today concerning Korinne's cheerleading. (I signed her up for cheerleading through the city parks. Justin signed up for basketball and has already had 3 practices.) Her practices are Thursday nights from 5:30-7:00 and Saturdays from 12:00-1:00. Not really a big deal. I can just tell whoever does the scheduling at work that I can't work those times. I can't wait to take pictures of them in their uniforms. (They get to keep them, btw.)
However, this Thursday, Jay has a band concert at school at 7. He's planning on staying after school to practice and help set up, so we'll just meet him at the concert. That actually helps because then I can take Korinne to practice for at least an hour, swing home and pick the rest of the brood up before heading to the concert. I'll make sure the camcorder is charged that day.

Now Justin has never played basketball before, but he's doing wonderful. He made quite a few shots tonight at practice. He's getting good at bloacking also. The games will start after the first of the year.

Me and my online course. I didn't realize until this weekend, that there are individual little quizzes on each chapter. I'd read through 9/12 chapters before I realized that. And these are not short chapters. I printed out one tonight to read during Justin's practice and it was 55 fricken pages long! So now I've actually completed reading and the quizzes on 7/12 chapters. I did two today. In between laundry and the kids. Jimmy said he'll do more so I can get these done by this weekend. That would be so nice. I can't wait to get this stress out of the way. After I finish the chapters and subsequent quizzes, I have to take an exam simulation.

I'll probably print out all the chapters so that when I go for the state exam, I have a study guide.

Pajama Day

2007-12-10T22:33:00.000-06:00

Justin has been talking about being able to wear pajamas to school for a week now. The kids get to wear pajamas and they're going to watch The Polar Express. We get to the bus stop and he's the only one in pajamas. I just knew I would have to make the trek to the school. LOL

I get home and call the school and sure enough, no pajamas today. It's NEXT Monday. LOL So we took Jimmy to work, went to the school and ran some errands. We were all ready for our nap today. LOL

Lottery

2007-12-09T21:06:00.000-06:00

I really want to win the lottery! I want to be able to pay my bills on time every month without stressing. I want to be able to buy the kids things they need without putting off paying a bill. I want to be able to buy a house. I want to be able to pay whatever medical bill the insurance doesn't cover. I want to be able to pay off my van and get all the little problems fixed. No I don't want a new vehicle, I'm quite partial to the one I have now.

I know it's unlikely that I'll ever win the lottery. Even more so, since I've never bought a lottery ticket. LOL But it's nice to dream. LOL

I'm quite proud of myself...

2007-12-08T20:09:00.000-06:00

Usually when someone comes at me yelling and cursing, I yell and curse back. Today, I held myself in check, surprising both myself and Jimmy. LOL
Today, Justin was playing with his friend, Koby, at Koby's apartment. Justin comes home saying Koby was starting fires and stomping them out. Then started a fire in a tree close to Koby's apartment. Justin swore he was not starting any fires. When I asked him where the lighter came from he said Koby got it from his apartment. So we told Justin he was to stay inside the rest of the day. I went to find Koby's mother to talk to her and find out what was going on. I'd just stepped onto my porch when she comes marching up yelling that Justin was no longer allowed at her home for starting fires. I said, "Ok but wasn't Koby doing it too?" She went on yelling and cussing. I told her there was no need to get an attitude or curse at me. That seemed to only enrage her more. I told her, her behavior was making her an immature mother (which she really is...she had Koby at 15 and another baby at 17 and her attitude matches her maturity.) She told me I was an immature mother and that I should watch my son better. I said, "They were at YOUR home. So obviously YOU weren't watching them." Then she got in her car and peeled out. @@ I told Justin he was no longer allowed to play with Koby.
It's sad that Koby has to pay for his mother's attitude. I'm just not putting up with that bullshit. I take responsibility for my children. But she's the type of mom that blames others when Koby gets in trouble. I know I posted about her last summer when the boys were playing on a trailer that rolled down and hit another car. She and her mother were beligerent and saying the trailer shouldn't have been there. They didn't like me reminding them that regardless, our children were playing on it so we were responsible for any damages. They said they weren't paying a dime.

It's interesting to me that when the boys are playing over here they don't get into trouble. Why? Because I'm constantly checking on them. My windows are open so I can hear them.

I'm curious to see what, if anything, Koby's grandmother says to me at the bus stop Monday morning. That'll be interesting (evil gleam in eye. LOL) Oh yeah, Koby, his sister, mother and mother's boyfriend live with Koby's grandma

My day

2007-12-07T21:43:00.000-06:00

Jimmy had a follow up appointment for his knee this morning. All is well. He wanted us to go with him for support, though all we did was sit in the waiting room. Then we took him to work. One of the higher ups told me to come back around 2 to pick up Jimmy's check. So 2 comes around and the two little ones and I head to the shop. After standing around for 30 minutes, I'm told by one of the guys in the office that the big boss isn't there and he doesn't know where the checks are, if they're even ready, but said he'd call me as soon as he had Jimmy's check in hand. Of course, I'm trying not to panic, because I know I have to be home from 3:30-4:00 for the boys to get off their buses. I know I have to deposit some money into Jimmy's account to make the van payment.
So I leave to head home. I get 5 minutes from home (10 minutes from Jimmy's work) when I get a call saying he has Jimmy's check. That they had been ready but the big boss hadn't told anyone. So I make this big circle back to Jimmy's work. I get his check, head to my bank for a deposit, then Jimmy's bank for a deposit. At Jimmy's bank my low fuel light comes on. Now my gas gauge doesn't work. It either says full or low fuel, so we've learned to calculate when to put gas in...well somewhat. LOL So while in the drive thru for Jimmy's bank, I'm repeating, "Oh please let me make it to the gas station, please let me make it to the gas station." Oh I made it, thankfully. LOL
I get home 5 minutes before Justin got off the bus. When Jay got home, we headed to the store to get something for dinner before going to get Jimmy from work. After dinner, Jackson and I went to Kmart to get our stuff off lay-a-way.

Lay-a-way was a pain in the ass. We went to one area to pay it off then had to wait in another area to pick it up. Apparently, instead of going in order of those in line, they were picking things at random. Oh I won't complain since mine was one picked in random and I didn't wait as long as I thought. LOL Jackson and I head to the van. There's this explorer parked beside us with this guy and toddler in the front. I assumed they were waiting for someone. The guy must not have noticed us because I hear him say, "Boy, I will punch you in f-ing mouth!" At that point he notices me putting Jackson in his car seat cause I hear, "Baby, you can't do that. Don't write on that." Sounding all sweet and shit. That's when I loudly remarked to Jackson, "I'd be damned if I'd ever let your Daddy talk to you that way. Some people shouldn't breed." The guy didn't have a chance to respond because I was getting in the van and had shut the door. What the hell? That poor baby. I can only imagine how he's treated when no one is looking.

Well there's one goal out

2007-12-06T21:08:00.000-06:00

I set a goal for myself to finish my online course by the end of this week. I have 4 more chapters to go. Only tonight I realized there were tests for each chapter. In addition to the final test I'll have to take. And this is just for pre-licensing. After I finish the course, I'll have to take a final exam. Do you know how hard it is to try to read a bunch of stuff with a screaming 2 year old in the background that doesn't want to be pleased, just doesn't feel good and wants to cry? LOL
I got two chapters read today....and they're long...like 2 hours long. I did one this morning in between laundry and trying to calm Jackson down. Read another tonight after dinner and had to listen to the kids trying to talk to me while I'm trying to read.

I know I'm okay as long as I get my license by the end of the month. But it really shouldn't take this long. If I'd just gone to the classes, I'd be done by now. But I can't find a sitter for 5 days for 8 hours a day.

Eventually I'm going to have to admit that I'm not Superwoman. I cannot do it all at once. Otherwise, I'm just going to be worse than I already am. I'm not liking who I've been lately. Snapping at the kids over the smallest things. Snapping at Jimmy for no reason. That's not me. And I don't like it one bit.

One for the day

2007-12-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

I am begrudgingly admitting that I'm liking having a job. Getting a paycheck today was such a wonderful thing. I was able to pay rent. WOOHOO! Granted I hate that it went up again. But my check helped pay it. Plus it gives me gas money and this and that money until Jimmy gets paid on Friday.

I have to get stuff off Lay-a-way on Saturday. No idea where I'm gonna stash it so the kids don't find it. LOL The other things are in the trunk of Jimmy's car at his work. But he no longer has a key so we can't stash it there until Monday. That's two days I have to figure out where to hide them. LOL Wish me luck.

Things that make you go hmmm...

2007-12-04T22:35:00.001-06:00

So I'm at work tonight and this guy comes in, drunkoff his ass. I mean he totally reeked. I'm ringing up a customer (who bought over $330 worth of stuff) and a coworker is bagging (customer wanted everything in paper bags.) Well this drunk guy comes in and is telling Chris (the bagger) that he's plugging in his laptop outside and wants Chris to go watch it for him. Chris tells him he can't do that, he's working. So the guy mumbles something and leaves. He comes back about an hour or so later and buys a bag of chips and dip. I wondered if he'd fallen outside because one hand was missing several chunks of skin. Well he pays for the chips then hands me a corner of a 5 dollar bill. Like where the serial numbers are, but opposite side. He goes to hand this to me and asks if I can give him a different 5 in exchange. Trying not to laugh, I told him I couldn't do that. After he left, I told the other cashier about it. Well then he comes back in to buy a pack of cigarettes but goes through the other lane. He tries to use the corner of the 5. But again is told he would have to go to the bank or something. Though the other cashier went a step further and asked where the rest of the 5 was. LOL I really was thinking, "Hmmmmm." LOL

2 Down, 2 to go...

2007-12-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

Well I now have two on antibiotics. I called the ped's office as soon as they opened at 8am. His appointment was made for 9:10. We left home at 8am to take Jimmy to work. We left his work and made our way to the interstate. Traffic was at a stand still. So I got right back off and decided to take the scenic route. Figured I had an hour, no problem. Not so! Traffic was bad all over. What normally takes me about 30 minutes took me 65 minutes.
Because of Jackson's medical history, his doctor was concerned. They pricked his finger to check his white blood count. Thankfully, it came back normal or I would have had to take him for a chest xray. So now both he and Korinne are on antibiotics. I'm waiting for the boys, fervently hoping they don't catch whatever is going around. My voice sounds a little better today and I haven't been coughing too bad.
I still have so much pressure on me, but I know that I just have to plow through or give something up. What's funny is I signed Justin up for basketball this season and Korinne for cheerleading. Justin had his 2nd practice tonight, yet I haven't heard anything for Korinne. I called today and was told they were still trying to find cheerleading coaches. Of course, then I was quite disappointed that I have a part time job because I'd love to coach Korinne's team. I just don't see where I can make time with my part time job, online course, and trying to keep the apartment clean. (Oh and just once I'd love to come home from work and find the apartment at least as neat as it was when I left. But that's another rant.)
After talking to Jimmy, it seems there is a way I can coach Korinne's cheerleading team. I know she'd have practice once a week. So that's another day during the week I'd not be able to work at the store. So if I'm already taking that evening off, why not be coaching? It's not like I'll have to come up with the cheers, right? LOL I'll call tomorrow and check it out.

I'm tired of sick babies!

2007-12-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

Jackson has been coughing so bad today he gags. I was to go to MUSC tomorrow for a visit with an oral surgeon. But I'll be cancelling so I can take Jackson to the doctor. He sounds congested and with his history, his doctor doesn't take any chances. I hope he doesn't have to have a chest xray. I'm tired of doctor's bills.

10 Things

2007-12-01T18:42:00.000-06:00

Came across this while perusing my friends' blogs. This is from my friend Sonia.

The number of bottles of water I’ve drank today.
The number of alcoholic drinks I've had so far.
The number of times I went to the store I work at to buy something.
The number of children I'm raising.
The number of people I can truly count on.
The number of babies I've given birth to.
The number of jobs I've ever had.
The number of hours I spend cleaning in any given day.
The number of jeans I own...and not all fit. LOL
The number of days I usually work in a 2 week period.

So who's next....tagging Ami, for sure. LOL Cause I know she regularly reads my blog. LOL

Let's try this again. LOL

2007-12-01T17:40:00.000-06:00

I'm going to really make a conscious effort to post every day this month. Wish me luck! LOL
We're starting off the month with two sick kids. Korinne is on antibiotics for a sinus infection. And now Jackson's running a fever. Both are coughing a lot. Jackson to the point of gagging. Looks like we'll be going back to the doctor on Monday. With Jackson's history, his doctors don't take any chances when he has a cold and is congested. At this moment, he is curled up on the couch sleeping. My poor baby. :(

Jay is grumbling because he has to clean the kitchen. Oh boohoo! I did a whole hell of a lot more when I was his age. Justin is impatiently waiting for Jay to finish so we can all watch a movie together. LOL

Jimmy's fine and my voice sounds like I've been at a concert all night. LOL Oh and I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I'm so glad I have my part time job. I get paid Wednesday, and thank goodness! Cause rent went up, due this week, plus the van payment is due. Oh and I have to say, it's a reprieve from instigating, whiny, annoying kids. LOL

America's Most Hated Family

2007-11-28T00:18:00.000-06:00

If you do a search for "America's most hated fmaily" you will most definitely come across the biggest whack jobs ever! Now I believe in God. I don't go to church, I do pray. I'm not judgemental (usually) on other people's belief's. But this family...they picket the funerals of soldiers with signs that say "Thank God for 9/11" or "God uses Terrorists." I can't believe there are really people out there that believe this stuff. And it's not really the one family...it's a small church. However, it's the daughter of the "preacher" and her 11 children that do the picketing. And her younger children when questioned about their use of "fag" didn't even understand what they were referencing to. One child when prompted by the journalist said the Swedish were included in their picketing. They insult people that question them. The kids have no friends in school because they tell all their peers they're going to hell. One insists she'll never get married because her main priority is serving God. Now I know there are nuns that do that. But this girl was just different about it. From what I've learned, nuns consider it a calling. This girl considers it a sin to "seek" a husband. It's just weird all around. Yet I can't seem to turn off the tv and go to bed.

Oh and the pastor, when asked how many children he had, evaded the question. Insisted the journalist was wasting oxygen. Makes you wonder if there is polygamy invilved.

Like I said, I'm not anti-religious by any means. But these people tend to make me want to stay away from church and any type of organized religion.

Honestly, after watching this program, I'm convinced this family is so out there, they're anti-America. They have picket signs that say "God Hates America" for crying out loud!!! They truly believe that God is the reason for 9/11, that America, as sinners, deserved it. That our soldiers out there fighting for our country, deserve to die because they're all sinners. This is from the Westboro Baptist Church. According to them, everyone but their church members are going to hell.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I'm watching this on one of the Discovery channels. Next time, I'll just avoid the program.

AAACCCKKK!!!!

2007-11-26T20:40:00.000-06:00

I need a vacation! I'm being pulled in so many directions. With Christmas coming up, I have to find gifts for the kids. I'm trying to deep clean the apartment. By that, I mean, going through all clothes and toys and getting rid of what's not worn or played with. We decided to switch the rooms again. Moved Jay and Justin back together and set up the bunk beds. Ok I did that by myself today. I didn't lift the top bunk by myself, I'm not that strong. LOL I got one of the maintenance guys to help me when I saw him driving by in the golf cart.
Ok so I spent all day doing laundry and rearranging rooms. I had Jackson's crib converted to a toddler bed, but changed it until we move the tv out of their room. I don't want him to pull it down on top of him. Aside from the tv, I almost have Jackson and Korinne's room finished. I have to finish going through her clothes and then go through the toys in the closet. Next comes the boys' room. Going through all of their clothes. There's no toys in there, so that's one less thing to do.

I already went through Jackson's toys and have 4 people from Freecycle coming tomorrow to pick stuff up. I have a large container of toys that I think I'm going to cut in half and donate to MUSC. No need to go through his clothes though, he hasn't changed sizes in a year! Though I do have to go through all the clothes that were given to him that won't fit him for a couple of years.

Now let's add in basketball practices for Justin that started tonight. Korinne's cheerleading practices should start soon as well. I'm still working, though I have an easy week this week, only 3 days. However, one of the office people wants to start training me for office work this week, learning how to audit tills and do overrides and all that. No pressure there.

Oh and then there's the online course I'm supposed to be taking to get my insurance license back. He wants me to have it before the end of the year. Then I'll start training on working from home before I start actually working from home. I'll keep my job at the store though.

At some point I'm going to snap. I have got to clear my head. I have to remind myself that this won't last. It's only a month right? LOL It won't last. I know this. ::::::::breathing deeply::::::::::

Wow that was therapeutic! LOL

I really hate shopping!

2007-11-25T22:09:00.000-06:00

Today, I went shopping...not for Christmas. But because Jackson needed clothes. He's still in size 12 month clothing and I couldn't find anyone to donate upper or lower hand clothes to him. My nephew Christopher turned a year old in April, and while he's a chunky monkey, he can stillwear 12 mos clothes.
So today I went to Once Upon A Child and browsed through lots of clothes just to find things that would fit him that weren't the same price as buying brand new. That was a nightmare!

So if any of my friends have any clothes in size 12 months, maybe 18 months that their babies can no longer wear, please help me out. I would so appreciate it.

Was I this immature?

2007-11-22T00:25:00.000-06:00

I have this neighbor, she's 18. She lives with her boyfriend, brother and two other guys. One of the guys, A, I'm convinced wants to be with her even though he's on and off with the mother of his baby. J (my neighbor) and A work together. Her brother doesn't have a job, her boyfriend, F, just started a job and the other guy is rarely there, so I'm not sure if he has a job.
Well J tends to confide in me (as does A.) J came over today and said she'd taken a pregnancy test...3. Two were positive, one was negative. She went to her gyno yesterday and the test was positive, but they were unable to detect anything on an ultrasound.

So this afternoon, she rode with me to get my paycheck and I bought her a pregnancy test and had her take it. It came back negative. Now I've had some false positives in my past experiences, so I wasn't surprised either way.

She told me that F said if she was pregnant, they could give the baby to his parents and the baby would never know otherwise. This tells me, that even though he's adult enough to play, he's not adult enough to be responsible. I was completely appalled by this. That's the mom and adult in me. She said she would never get an abortion and when I brought up adoption, she asked if we wanted the baby. It was said so nonchallantly that I was taken aback. I said, I would gladly adopt, but that we couldn't afford it. I informed her that there were so many couples out there that cannot have children and wanting to adopt.

Given their attitudes and ages, I pray the test she took today is true and she learns something about birth control from this.

I became pregnant with Jay when I was 19. I was told I would not be able to have children due to PID. So it was quite a surprise when I learned I was pregnant. Never once did I think of any option other than having him. I was even willing to do it by myself. But I was not going to just give up. And abortion was NEVER an option. I just don't understand young people anymore. Things that are so important seem so blase' to them.

Happy Thanksgiving...and more

2007-11-22T00:19:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
We're cooking up a feast. Turkey, chicken, maybe some ham, homemade mac and cheese, homemade mashed taters, some veggies, rolls and a couple of pies. It's gonna be just us, though my sister and her family will stop by so she can get her fix of homemade mac and cheese. I invited one of my boss's cause her family is scattered this year.
Black Friday. I don't venture into any stores on this day. However, I may break that rule this year when I saw that Walmart has 20" bikes for $29. The boys need new bikes so I may venture out that day just for bikes. And hope I come home without an arrest warrant or looking like I've been in a barroom brawl. LOL Wish me luck. LOL

This is why I don't do drugs. LOL

2007-11-19T23:22:00.000-06:00

Illegal or otherwise. This morning I woke up in horrible pain. Horrible cramps that come once a month. It was hard to do my chores. So I decided to take a lortab leftover from last month when my wisdom tooth was inflamed. I knew that even though I had to work tonight that the effects would be worn off by then.
So I take this pill and go on with laundry, cleaning the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and hall bathroom. I also measured the two bedrooms the kids are in as well as their beds and dressers. (We're about to move the two older ones back together and set up the bunk beds.) I was flying high, all woozy, cleaning like crazy. LOL At the same time painting with Korinne and coloring with Jackson.

Lunchtime comes around bringing naptime. Jimmy comes and goes on his lunch break. I put Jackson down for his nap and Korinne and I head to my bed. I slept so weird that I was dreaming that I was still awake and getting frustrated that I couldn't nap. LOL And talk about some really weird dreams! LOL When I woke up from my nap, I actually felt refreshed with no cramps.

So while my home looked great for a few hours, I think I'll pass on the drugs. LOL

Appalling!

2007-11-19T00:03:00.000-06:00

While checking my AOL mail, I came across this article. It lists North Charleston as the 7th most dangerous city in the US. I never liked living in North Chuck. NEVER! I'm so glad I moved us from there. I know we're only 15 minutes away, but still. I think I wanna move outta state now. LOL

Some random pics...

2007-11-17T20:02:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Korinne eating her birthday cake.

The other night while getting ready for work, Jimmy yelled for me to look out the window. After doing so, I grabbed my camera and ran outside snapping the whole time. Another night a few days ago while I was at work, Jimmy took this pic using my camera. Can you see the beautiful butterfly?

Does this catch me up? LOL

2007-11-14T23:51:00.000-06:00

Ok I know it doesn't. But there are 30 days in November, so maybe posting 30 posts will help me sorta reach my goal. LOL
Jackson has been talking a lot more since he's been in speech therapy. This week, I taught him how to say 'I love you more' and 'I love you the most.' He says, "I luh you Mo." and "I luh you mos." So cute! Because he's in Babynet for speech therapy, he automatically qualifies for school next year. A couple hours a day each day. I am so not ready for that! Korinne starts kindergarten next year. I thought I'd for sure have Jackson home at least two more years! All to myself!
I know it'll help him more. I've just enjoyed having my children home with me. I wanted to be able to enjoy Jackson with me. Sounds stupid since he'll only be gone for a couple of hours. But those are two hours I'll miss of him before I legally have to send him to school, or homeschool if I chose.

Why does time go by so fast? Or seem to?

Time for a toddler bed...

2007-11-14T23:45:00.000-06:00

Well it looks like it's time for Jackson to move from the crib to a toddler bed. He managed to climb out of his crib and opened his door today after his nap. I was napping too. LOL I woke up as he was running down the hall yelling, " 'Ello, Mama!" So it looks like I'll be looking into a toddler bed, as well as better gates to block him from the kitchen and living room. That way when he gets up, he's stuck in the hallway or coming into my room. (We have the childproof thingies on the doors so he can't go into any rooms.) I need to find gates we can attach to the walls so they can't be knocked or pulled down. He's mastered the gates we have now by pulling them. LOL Any idea where I can find some of those gates that won't cost me an arm and a leg? LOL

Bad me!

2007-11-14T23:42:00.000-06:00

Well there goes my goal of posting every day this month. LOL I've been so busy that I haven't been able to get online. That's evident by my full email boxes. LOL

I started an online course today to get my insurance license again, so I can work from home. Since I have experience in automobile insurance, it's really just a refresher course. I'm sure I'll be able to get my license back with no problems. But trying to take a course during the day (since I work at night) with Korinne and Jackson home is a little tricky. LOL

So sad...

2007-11-11T22:11:00.001-06:00

Jimmy goes back to work tomorrow. I'm so sad! I've loved him being home the past two weeks. I've become spoiled by it. Spending so much time with him. I really need to win the lottery so he wouldn't have to work. He could just do side jobs at whatever home I would buy. LOL

Friends of Bob and Tom...

2007-11-10T22:23:00.000-06:00

was friggen awesome! I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt. LOL We were in row B. It was awesome being that close. Jimmy bought me a shirt that says "Say it to my face" and underneath "Donnie Baker." He signed the back with my name and wrote "Nice booty (arrow pointing down). Was here. I swear to God I was." And signed his name. You'd have to know who Donnie Baker is to get the joke. LOL
Suffice it to say, Jimmy and I had an excellent time. Well worth the wait since I bought the tickets in August. LOL

Of course, the other comedians were just as funny. We'd seen Drew Hastings when he was here last year. But there were new ones this year. Chick McGee was here again. He's one of the DJs on the Bob and Tom Show. There was also Greg Warren (Flute Man Greg!), Larry Reeb and Tim Wilson. All hilarious in different ways.

Happy Birthday, Justin!

2007-11-09T22:05:00.000-06:00

My Justin turned 7 today. I baked him some cupcakes and took them to school during his lunch period. Korinne had lunch with him and I sat with him. His teacher gave him a pin that said "Happy Birthday." One of his classmates didn't want her cupcake, so Justin gave it to another teacher whose birthday was also today. Wasn't that sweet?
After Korinne and I left there, we went to Jimmy's work to pick up his paychecks, returned home so he could sign them, then I went off to run errands. Before I went to work, I signed Justin up for basketball and Korinne for cheerleading through City of Charleston/St. Andrews. They get to keep their uniforms. I can't wait to send out pics of Justin in his basketball jersey and Korinne in her little cheerleading uniform. They're going to be so cute!

I had to be at work tonight at 6:30. Was supposed to work until 11, but there were two of us on schedule until 11. Even though the other woman was there a lot earlier than me, she let me go home since I have to be back at 7am.

Tomorrow, after work, I might be able to squeeze in some grocery shopping before I pick up my mother. She's spending the night and babysitting while Jimmy and I go see the Friends of Bob and Tom. I cannot wait! I'll share that show tomorrow night. :)

I have the most wonderful husband!

2007-11-08T22:58:00.001-06:00

I really do. Here he is out of work for his knee and has been spoiling me! I love him. He's my lobster. :)

This and That.

2007-11-07T22:05:00.000-06:00

I got my first official paycheck today. (Well I got one two weeks ago, but it was only for $24. LOL) I was so excited because I had to put $120 in Jimmy's bank for the van payment. That would have left us with about ten bucks in the bank. So getting my check today was a huge help. It was only a couple hundred for part time. But still a huge help.
To top off the day, we cooked our japanese food. Jimmy's co-worker came over to eat. He made the white sauce and ginger sauce, as well as mustard sauce. I love ginger sauce! Jimmy loves the white sauce. He also brought over and cooked the shrimp. I made the fried rice and sauteed some shrooms and zucchini. Jimmy cooked teriyaki steak. We also made the soup they serve at the restaurant. The only thing missing was the salad. But that's ok. The meal was so damn good! It turned out so good, if I hadn't been there cooking it, I'd have thought we brought it home from an actual japanese restaurant. Besides the salad, all that was missing was the little show those cooks do while cooking. LOL

Tomorrow, Friday and Monday, all the 2nd graders are being tested for the gifted and talented program. I don't know what more they need from Justin. They did bump him up to second grade after the third week of school. If that's not gifted and talented, I don't know what is. LOL Either way, wish him well. :)

12 Years ago today

2007-11-06T22:39:00.001-06:00

I gave birth to my first baby. I was 20 years old. We were scheduled to be induced so went to the hospital at 7:am. By 8:30, I was all hooked up and the pitocin was dripping. At 11:45am, the nurse came in and asked if I was feeling the contractions. I wasn't. Jimmy and I had been joking around and watching tv. She upped the dosage of the pitocin and my water broke. Of course, then I started feeling the contractions. And oh were they painful! At 12:27pm, after three healthy pushes, my beautiful baby boy was born. Matlock was on the tv. LOL I had no drugs to help with the pain. Well at least not until afterwards. LOL

Now I have a 12 year old adolescent with a major attitude problem on the verge of puberty. Heaven help me! LOL

Jaws...by Justin

2007-11-05T22:08:00.000-06:00

I came home from work tonight and Jimmy hands me a piece of paper. It's a short story Justin wrote with a picture underneath. Here's the story...
First, they went to the beach. One of the people that were skatting (Skiing?) on the water. She got took down by a shark. The shark bit her on the leg. The people found her. Her leg was off. After that they took her to her Dr. Then they announced everybody get out of the water. But one persen stayed in. And the he got bit him everywhere and before he dide he said, "OWWWWWWWWWWW!"
He'll be 7 on Friday. LOL His handwriting is wonderful, by the way. I wrote it word for word, without correcting his spelling. LOL

Good food

2007-11-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

Jimmy and I love to cook, alone or together. I enjoy perusing websites for new recipes. Today, we cooked a whole chicken in one of those Reynold's oven bags. I stuffed the chicken with onions and garlic. Then I sewed the ass shut. LOL I threw some mushrooms in the bag. Stuck it in the oven and roasted it. Jimmy made bacon-scallion mashed potatoes. He had peas and I had lima beans. It was delish!
Jimmy's got some steaks marinating for us to cook tomorrow. They smell yummy! LOL

Today was a beautiful day. Such nice weather, I had to put on shorts. Though I'm back in sweat pants now since the temperature dropped. I don't do cold weather very well. LOL

Working..

2007-11-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

Since I've been working evenings, Jimmy and I have been planning our meals each night. This coming Wednesday, I'm off so we're doing Japanese night. We're going to have filet mignon and shrimp with fried rice, sauteed shrooms and zucchini and the soup they serve. A friend of ours got the recipes for the white sauce and ginger sauce from the main chef at Kyoto's. So we'll be using those. I cannot wait! I LOVE Japanese. And if I can make the stuff at a fraction of the cost, it's even better!