Hot Hot Hot

Friday I got a phone call from the realtor that we're using and she told met that the house we want is back on the market! So... we went to take one more look at it by ourselves to make sure its what we want. We have a few more questions about the house and when we get the answers, we are making an offer. I'm so excited. I just hope we can get it done before someone else this time.

We did look at one other house that day, but it was smaller and I really didn't like the floor plan... and it was $30,000 more than the other house.

Hubby left Friday night to go to his uncles camp to help do some stuff. Now... in the evening the sun always hits our biggest window and it heats up the apartment like crazy. I didn't think anything about the apartment getting warmer, until it was 9:00 and it was still getting warmer. It kept getting hotter and hotter, the air conditioner was on... but it was just blowing air, nothing cool. I changed the filter around midnight hoping that would help, but it didn't. I didn't sleep at all and Zach was just miserable. I packed me a bag and him a bag and I was ready to call my grandma to tell her we were coming. It was 86 degrees. But... Zach finally calmed down a bit and I didn't want to wake him to take him and I didn't want to wake my grandma up. I know that she's up at all hours of the night, but I still was weary of calling her. Finally at 6 in the morning I had had enough and I took a quick shower and we took off.

We stayed at grandma's for a couple hours before I finally got a hold of hubby to give me the landlord's phone number. Hubby wanted me to go home and clean the kitchen up first... really? So, I called my mother-in-law to watch Zach because I didn't want him in the hot apartment. I get home and its 86 degrees in there and it was going to be a hot day. As soon as I stepped in I called the landlord and left a message and got to work. I washed dishes and did a load of laundry. I hooked up our portable dishwasher and decided to go to the store for some formula... and air conditioning. By now it was 90 degrees in there. I get to the store and the landlord calls me and tells me that he'll be right over. He lives maybe 15 minutes away, so I hurried out of the store to go home. I sit and wait and wait and wait for nearly an hour before he pulls in the driveway.

He says that he's going to check to see if it needs freon. He climbs up on the roof were the unit is and checks it. He says there is no pressure so he's going to leave to go get some, he'll be half an hour at the most. I go get ice cream while he's gone and its melting faster than I can eat it. An hour later he comes and so does his nephew who works on air conditioners for a living. They figure out that a little part is broken and needs replaced. Unfortunately, all the places they can get it is closed. The landlord leaves anyway in hopes of finding one. And hour and a half later he comes back and says he didn't find any. They put a temporary part on and it works fine. The temperature got up to 95 degrees before they got it fixed. I stayed and made sure that it was actually going to work and I left to go hang out with my mother in law and Zach. Hubby came back home Saturday night, he missed all the fun.

Sunday we all went to hubby's sister house to watch a college football game between the two state rivals. It eventually got rained out. I don't know if they got to finish or not. Last time I checked, the banner going across the bottom said they were on a lightning delay.

Yesterday was just a lazy day. We didn't do much. I did laundry and played with Zach. Zach was having one of his 'I want my mommy' days. He didn't want to do anything but be by me or one me and when he wasn't he fussed and cried. We eventually ended up going grocery shopping. It looks like he's getting another tooth, it'll be in within a few days and another one a few days after that. The two top teeth. I'm excited so be able to feed him real food. I gave him some fruit to suck on over the weekend. He likes pineapple, strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe... and I even gave him some chili.

We get Lilly back today. I hope her weekend was great. They were taking her camping. I just hope that she didn't get too hot or sunburnt or rained on. It rained most of the day Sunday and all day yesterday.. and its still raining. I also hope her father got my text last night telling him that today is gym day to make sure she's wearing tennis shoes and to pack her a lunch.

Well... I just emailed our realtor to see if she got the information we were wanting. Lets all cross our fingers that she did so we can make an offer.

House time?

I've fed Zach mashed potatoes and watermelon. I do think that is the only solid foods he's had. Apparently, he should be starting finger foods now. I know that I'm introducing foods to him slower than I did for Lilly, but he just got his second tooth. I've been waiting on those teeth to come in before I gave him certain foods. Last night I tried out some of those Gerber star things that melt in his mouth. It was banana flavor, his favorite. I put one in my hand and he played around with it, not putting it in his mouth. I was a bit baffled. Everything goes in his mouth, why not this? I finally put one in and he made a face and kept his mouth opened. The star was stuck to his upper gums. After a while he closed his mouth and spit it out. We waited a few minutes and tried again. This time, he put it in his own mouth, but quickly let it fall right back out. He was more interested in holding it in his hands and playing with it that he was eating it.

He likes to crawl around, especially in places he knows he can't go. Just about every time we put him down, he head straight for either the bathroom or the dishwasher. At day care, the first thing he does is head straight for the door to go into the hallway.

We get to look at a house today and I have my fingers crossed that its in better shape than we think. Today is going to be a long day only because I'm anticipating that appointment. It does sound like a nice house, but its just so old. It might not have things that it needs or be structurally sound. I hope someone fixed it up over the years. I shall report on it tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me that's its decent.

Lilly is off to her father's today and they are all going camping this weekend. She doesn't know yet. I hope she has fun. I won't see her again until Tuesday. Monday is a holiday, so he'll get to keep her an extra day. She's doing good in school so far. She hasn't gotten into any trouble with her talking or anything. I do like her teacher.

I know I haven't put my awesome thing of the day up for a while, but so much is going on that's its just too difficult to pick just one thing. I'm excited about looking at houses and maybe getting one soon. I'm excited about Lilly doing so well in school. I'm excited about Zach getting his teeth in. OOOOhhhhhh... **baby's first solid foods and the faces they make**

Cough, Cough..... ow

I was sick yesterday. I'm still a bit sick today, but at least I'm functional, a little.

Friday we went to look at that house. It was everything we wanted. Yeah, it needed a lot of updates, but it was perfect. The realtor didn't really have that much information on the house and we also wanted to know how much utilities run. He said he would give us a call when he knew. Well... while I was lying in bed yesterday, I get a call from him. Within the 3 days since we looked at it, someone else gave them an offer and it was accepted. I'm mad at the realtor for not calling us. I was going to give him until today and I was going to call him. He should have called us and gave us a heads up or something. So, we are very unhappy. We thought we were finally going to get out of our apartment.

Saturday was my best friend's wedding. The weather was nice and I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. A few teachers from high school came and that was exciting enough. I got there early enough to help her set up some stuff. She wanted cupcakes and a small cake for the top. She had this cardboard tower and it looked pretty. Well.... the tower fell with all the cakes. A few of them survived. Not a big deal. She didn't seem to care. I did get a picture of it before it fell. I didn't get to see her much, but I knew she was busy. She was having a pool party after, but I didn't get to go.

Sunday I took Lilly to go see Phineas and Ferb Live. It was a surprise. She had no idea. I parked here at work and we walked over to the mall and she saw a sign for it. I asked her if she would like to go see it and she said no. I told her that was her surprise and she got a little upset. I got her some ice cream and we walked over to the place where the play was. After she saw the stage, she got a little excited. We bought her a plastic trumpet and Zach got a Phineas doll.

Sunday night I started feeling bad. My head got real stuffy and I couldn't breathe. I didn't sleep well and no medicine I took helped at all. I even tried the breathe right strips and those did nothing. Zach was up all night because he has another tooth that's coming in. Lilly was up with a nose bleed and nightmares. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep altogether. I felt like crap. It was like my head was going to explode and someone ran me over with a bus. I got up and attempted to go to work, but it just wasn't happening. I took the kids to day care and went back to bed, where I stayed most of the day. Today is a little better. I have a sore throat and I'm still stuffy. I have training today. I don't really want to go. I don't know if it was allergies or a cold or what......

Here's some pics of the kids I took at the wedding.

 

Important Decision

So, I have come to the decision.... now, this is a very important and life changing decision... that I would like to have one more child. I have yet to tell hubby about my revelation. I was going to let this decision be up to him seeing as how he is the older one. I told him a few weeks ago, that it was all up to him, that I'll be happy either way, and I'll still be happy either way, but I would like to have one more.

Now, of course, we will wait until we have a house and are settled in. I can't imagine trying to squeeze another body in our apartment. I've been looking online at houses again, as I do everyday, but I have a different outlook on them now. Yes, we've needed to move for a long time now, but I'm more driven by this new discovery.

I love and adore my children. I would do anything for them. What better way to spread all of this love I have then to have another child? I am ready, although certain circumstances prevents us from being completely ready, whenever the right time arouses, I'll be ready. House come first this time. I just hope I can get hubby on board with this. I don't know when will be a good time to discuss this. I already know what he'll say and its things I already know. That we need a house and stuff like that. I know. And more importantly, I know I want to bring another life into this world.

I'm great at being a mother. Yes, it wears me out and is frustrating at times, but its mostly rewarding and so wonderful.

Zach's **first tooth** popped through yesterday!! Its on the bottom...one of the front ones. He was giving me kisses and then decided to chew on my chin like he always does, but this time I felt something. I popped his mouth open and there it was.

Tonight at Lilly's school, they are having an open house, but it starts at 5. I understand not wanting to have it so late, but a lot of people don't get off work until 5. I'm going to try to make it, but I have training today and I don't just want to walk out of that. If it runs too late, I will. I want to go. They are also doing a book swap and I know that'll be something Lilly will enjoy.

A theater group here in the community is putting together a Wizard of Oz play. Its been showing for almost a week now and will continue for another week or so. I'm going to try to take Lilly this Sunday. That's both of our favorite movie. I'm sure she will like it. We've been in need of some girl time anyway.

Long weekend

First day of school went ok. I picked her up at the Y when I was dropping Zach off and then asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Out of all the things, she picks donuts from the gas station. We ate donuts and went to school with plenty of time left, so we hung out in the car and listened to music. Then, it was time... they unlocked the doors and we all herded in. Luckily, Lilly's class is right next to the front doors, so now I don't have to hobble down the long hallways with a crowd. Her teacher is tall. In fact, that was the first thing out of my mouth when I saw her. Me and Lilly were the first ones in the class and the teacher came and introduced herself and I, like an idiot, said, "Wow, you're tall!"

The desks are in lines of groups of 3. The desk to the left of Lilly is empty. Her little boyfriend was assigned to sit there, but he switched schools at the last minute. When Lilly learned this, she got teary eyed until another little boy came in. I slipped out the door then.

I went home and went to bed for a good 3 hours and I had to force myself to get up. I had cookies to make and a car to clean out and a shower to take. The day got away from me because before I knew it, it was time to go. I went and picked up Zach and then went to school to get Lilly. And again.... when the bell rang, we herded ourselves inside. I got Lilly and walked down the hall to her old classroom to visit hubby's mom. Zach got down and crawled a circle around the entire room. The kids that hadn't gotten on buses yet were very amused by him. I basically had to force Lilly to go so I could feed her before I had to take her to her father.

Lilly said she likes her teacher, which of course is a really good thing. I hope today goes well too. Her father just told me that he didn't put tennis shoes on her and today is a gym day. I'm going to be so mad if I have to leave work, just to get her some shoes.

Hubby went camping Friday night. I didn't want to go because its at the point where I just can't stand to be around his friends anymore... and hubby is starting to feel the same way.

Saturday was the firefighter picnic and it was ok. Zach kept me company and the food was free. Hubby talked me into signing up for a cornhole tournament. We won the first round, but lost the second. It was both of our's first time playing.

It was hot. Poor Zach was sweating. I kept taking him in front of the misting fan, and he loved it. I left with Zach around 7.

Sunday was a lazy day. I did laundry and dishes and laid around.

 

Zach in a box

Lilly's last field trip of the summer is today. She's going to a wave pool. Tomorrow they Y is going to have a food fight for all kids that want to participate. Lilly doesn't. She wasn't old enough last year to be in it, so her class just watched. One kid ended up throwing up and now Lilly doesn't want to do it ever. It got so messy and gross that one kid just vomited.

I broke my wedding ring yesterday. I have no idea how it happened. I just took it off because I was going to put some lotion on and I noticed that it was wider. I roll it over and sure enough, it was broken. I have what they call a jacket or wrap as a wedding ring so my engagement ring will fit inside of it. Now I just feel weird without it on. This is the 3rd time its broken since we got married. I guess its broken once a year. We've been married for 3 years.......... hmm........ I guess its a good thing I don't believe in signs.

Nothing much to say today, I have to keep this one short to be able to start my workday. Lots to do.

Here's a pic of Zach in a box. I emptied a box of diapers and just put him in it. I pushed him around like a car for a while, then he just played in it for a really long time. Just sitting there.

 

What? Its NOT Christmas??

I'm at that point in the year where I start to become obsessed with Christmas. I try to plan out everything I'm going to buy and I even go as far as to make spreadsheets. I don't want to forget anyone and I don't want to overspend. I try to buy a little here and there, but the big shopping happens on Black Friday. I think that needs to be a national holiday. I'm not sure if I'm going to have any money to go Black Friday shopping this year or not, and even if I do, I'm not sure if I have someone to watch the kids.

I have planned out what almost everyone is going to get and I even have some stuff in carts online. One of my favorite places to Christmas shop is http://www.abcdistributing.com/ They have so much stuff and its cheap. I bought almost everything from them last year. I have shirts for my brothers in my cart at http://www.cafepress.com/ Mostly lolcatz stuff and an Angry Bird shirt. **Online shopping** is my awesome thing of the day. Its still not as fun as actual shopping, but you don't have to deal with crowds or weather or mean cashiers.

I'm trying to start saving up money, but its not going as well as I had hoped. I'm still awaiting my raise that I was promised.

Yesterday Lilly's school was suppose to have popsicles on the playground for K-1 so they can meet their teachers and whatnot. I even left early so I could make sure we got there in time. It stormed. I tried to get a hold of my mother in law to ask if they are going to move it inside, but then Lilly's nose just started pouring the blood. She woke up at 3 am that morning with a nose bleed that ended up all over her sheets and now she had another one. We got that one under control, but by that time the storm had really kicked up and I decided that even if they did move it inside, I wasn't taking the kids out in that stuff. Lilly didn't know about it, I was going to surprise her, so there was no disappointment from her when we didn't go. 

The countdown for the first day of school is on!! 3 days! I texted Lilly's father yesterday to see if I can get Lilly from him in the morning so I can take her to school and then meet him somewhere after so I can pick her up. I want this to be an every year thing. I want to be able to take her to her first day of school and pick her up. I want to do this with both kids... but he is making it very difficult. My original plan was to just meet him at the Y since he was going to go there anyway if I wasn't getting her and then take her back home to eat breakfast, then take her to school. He told me last night if I want to take her, I have to meet him at his work, which is 20 miles away. I'm half tempted to tell him nevermind and then go get her at the Y after he drops her off. If I have to go that far, there's no time to go home and eat breakfast. I want her to eat breakfast with me so we have time to find her classroom and meet her teacher and everything. Last year she ran out of time for breakfast. I guess I'm going to take her to McDonalds or something for breakfast since there's one right there beside where he works. Why does he have to be like this? Why does he always have to make things difficult?

So, today is the 34 anniversary(?) of Elvis Presley's death. Hubby was 2 months old. I wasn't even though of yet. My mom was 15. They are talking about it on the radio. The DJ is asking listeners if they remember where they were when they heard the news. He said people remember things like that, where they were when big events happened...like 9/11. I remember. I was in English class working on my daily journal when another English teacher came running in our room yelling that the WTC was hit. The entire school spent the rest of the day watching the news. Do you remember where you were? Or can you think of another big event or big news and remember where you were?

School is Almost Here!

Its almost that time again. Time to send the youngens back to school. Time to pack lunches and make sure homework is done. I've been making Lilly slowly try on all the clothes that are a bit questionable. If I'm not 100% sure they fit, try it on. I've noticed that as she gets older her desire to try on clothes has gone down. I use to tell her that we were going a fashion show, but now she sees it as more of a chore than play. I don't blame her. I don't like trying on clothes either, at least not in great quantities. Looks like she gets her lack of enthusiasm for clothes/fashion from me. But oh, if Justin Bieber or iCarly is on something, that's when she gets excited.

Most of her clothes still do fit, but I'm not going to make her go into a new year of school in nothing but old clothes. I will buy her a couple of outfits and a few extra pair of jeans. She needs a new backpack and a new pack of crayons also. From what I hear from hubby's sister, they provide most of the supplies there at school. They provided everything in Kindergarten, and I half expected them to do the same in first grade. I will get a her a simple folder also, even if she doesn't use it at school, we can use it at home to put some artwork in or something. Awesome thing of the day? **going back to school shopping** I always loved doing back to school shopping. It was the only time I got new things when I was in school... not counting birthdays and Christmas of course.

I remember when I was still in school. About a week before school started I would try to retrain myself to get up early, that way it wouldn't be so hard by the time I actually had to do it. I don't have to do that with my kids. I get them up at 6:00 every morning to go to day care so I can go to work. Thankfully day care transports the kids to and from school. Both of my kids are early risers and always have been so its not much of a problem getting them up. Lilly is a little grouchy in the morning, but after we get passed brushing her hair, her mood changes...most of the time. Some days she's just whiney all day. Zach always wakes up with a smile on his face every morning. I wonder how long that will last.

I do hope to get a house before Christmas this year. Of course, now that we've been pre-approved for a loan, there is nothing out there that we like. Maybe we can find one right around Christmas and it could be everyone's big gift. I just think our 'needs' for a house are a little too much and we could rethink some things. We would love to have a decent size back yard-this is nonnegotiable. The kids need room to play outside without being in the middle of the street. Garage is a plus, but not a must have, although lately we've been turning down houses without garages. 3 bedroom or more is a must. I will not back down from that either. There's also a certain 'half' of our town that we need to live in to keep Lilly in the same school. The town is so big there are two elementary schools and they are only about 2 miles apart. We can live anywhere between the Y and the fire station in order for her to stay.

We went out to eat at last night with hubby's parents and there was clowns there doing free balloon art and face paintings. Lilly got dolphins on her face and a flower balloon. Even though she knew she had to wash it off when she got home, it made her day.

Just 5 More Minutes Mom.....

I'm so extremely exhausted today. It feels like someone hung bricks from my eyes and then ran me over with a bus. I'm seriously thinking about leaving work early just so I can run home and catch maybe an hour of sleep. We'll see what the day brings.

To be honest, I'm not loving my "new" car. Its not that its big or anything, its just a bunch of little things. I don't like that I didn't really get to pick it out, that it was just sorta decided for me that I was getting this car, but I can't complain... it was free. Then there's the little nit picky things~ it doesn't have leather seats, its very difficult to get Zach and his car seat in and out, its such a gas guzzler... just little things like that. Things that just annoy me mostly. Except the gas... that's horrible.

Today is 60's day at the Y today. Lilly is wearing a long black shirt with different colored little peace signs all over it. She's wearing a long peace sign necklace and a tye dye peace sign bracelet and I put a braid in the front of her hair. She didn't want to wear a headband, but they are taking the kids swimming today. Yesterday, Lilly was the only one dressed up in 50's clothes. I made sure she had a change of clothes with her, too. She got stung by a yellow jacket yesterday while at they Y. Right on the back of her left leg, kinda close to the bend of the leg. I thought it was her first bee sting, so I didn't know if she was allergic or not, but apparently she's been stung before while at her father's.

I don't really have much to say today. I'm just so tired, I can't think. I might post again later today after I have some coffee.

Go check out my other blog... http://www.smilesareeverywhere.blogspot.com/

Can't See

Friday.... I had to go to the courthouse to get my marriage licence so I could get the registration on my car changed to my married name. I know, I know...I should have done that a long time ago, but I'm lazy. Hubby was trying to get things changed over from my old car to my 'new' car so he met me at the DMV. We got there at 4:30 and wasn't called up to a window for a bit over an hour. I needed to leave to go pick Zach up. We went to the window, I presented my marriage licence, and I left hubby to deal with the rest. I called day care to ask when they start charging late fees and how much it was because I knew I was going to be late. The front desk lady said, "How late are you going to be?" I told her maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Then she said, "Don't get on the interstate... ok...bye." And she hung up on me!! I got stuck in traffic, one of the main roads was blocked for some kind of event... oh, and did I mention that I broke my glasses while sitting at the DMV? Well..I did. I touched them to push them up on my face and I hear a "CLICK." I take them off and the freaking arm falls off. Great. Just Great. So, now I'm driving half blind. Ok, well, my eyesight isn't THAT bad. I finally get to the day care and I apologize to the teacher that stayed late.

Later that evening we head out to Walmart since they have an eye center there or whatever. I look around for some glasses that I might be able to just pop my lenses in or at least have the doctor cut my lenses down a bit to fit. All the frames were bigger than mine! I finally just asked if he could fix my glasses, maybe put new arms on them. He says, "Did you get the frames here?" I told no and his response??.... "Well you could super glue the arm back on." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY?!!

Saturday we had to get up early to go to a wedding. It was ok. It was really hot though. One of the bridesmaids had a seizure before the wedding too. She's doing ok now. Her husband took her to the hospital and they kept her overnight. It happened before she even left the house. The wedding was 'fire' themed. The bridesmaids wore red dresses, there was a burning building for a cake, stuff like that. Me and Zach left shortly after they cut the cake. He was sweating like crazy and I felt so bad for him. Hubby stayed for a bit longer. He comes home........ and goes to sleep on the couch. Around 8:00 him and Zach are both asleep, so I head out to look at some reading glasses that I might be able to put my lenses in. No luck. I did end up buying a pair of reading glasses that work for when I'm on the computer and watching tv, but they don't help me to see while driving.

Sunday was just a really slow day. I cleaned everything out of my old car and put some of my stuff in the new car. We watched tv and played with Zach. Then we watched some more tv and played some more. Then I cooked. Then we watched some more tv. Then we popped popcorn and watched Inception. Then we went to bed.

Hubby's grandpa isn't doing well at all. He can't eat or drink anything. Somehow, everything that goes in his mouth ends up in his lungs. The hospital gave up on him and sent him home with a hospice. We are going to visit him today after work.

Lilly comes home today too. It feels like forever since I've seen her. She doesn't know I got another car, yet. We'll see how she likes it. I have so many things to talk about with her. Her trip to the caves, the new baby, my new car, catching her up on things Zach does now...

Here's 2 pictures of Zach. One is him sitting in the passanger seat of my blazer at the wedding. We were hiding out in the **air conditioning** for a while. The other picture is him waking up from a 5 minute nap yesterday. Hubby took the pic. I think Zach looks kinda scared.  

Doctor Visit

Zach had an appointment to get shots yesterday. He took those shots like a big man. He only fussed a little bit and didn't cry at all. He weighs 19.10 pounds and is 27 inches long. He's growing. I almost wanted to bet someone yesterday that he was up to 20 pounds. Here's a picture of Zach sitting on the table at the doctor's office.

Lilly gets to go to the Y today. She's going to the movies with them and seeing Marmaduke. She's already seen it, but it was a good movie. Tomorrow is the make up date for the caves. They had to cancel that trip because the day care was closed that day since they didn't have any water. She was suppose to go bowling yesterday, but she stayed home with her father's mom.
Now, I'm not a very fashionable person. I'm not. I'll tell ya right now that I'm not. I don't wear skinny jeans or the knee high boots or even high heels for that matter. For one, I'm cheap. For two..I like to be comfy. I wear tennis shoes to work, of course they are all black and a bit more appropriate than my other tennis shoes. I don't keep up with what is in or what was soooo last summer. If I could fit into them, I'd probably still be wearing clothes from high school. I was never really interested in being in the lastest fashion, so it didn't bother me at all in school like it seems to other kids. I don't accessorize either. I don't switch out my purse to match what I'm wearing and I don't care if I'm wearing black shoes with gray pants. I just hope my kids don't get caught up in all the hub bub. Its clothes. I believe that if it fits, its comfy, you like it.... that should be all that matters. I thought about all of this because the radio DJ's here was reading off a list of things that proves you're getting older and wearing clothes to be comfortable instead of fashionable was on the list. So.. have I always been old??

Talkin' food

Today is National Strawberry Sundae Day.... who comes up with these things? Can I make up a national day?? Is there a national day of sleep? That would be great!

So I thought I was being productive last night. I put all the things for dinner today in a slow cooker last night. I put my cut up beef, cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, and milk in the pot and put it in the fridge overnight so I could just hook it up and turn it on this morning and it would cook the entire day while I was at work. Then, I could come home to a wonderful smelling house and dinner would be ready. I thought it'd be a great idea since hubby has a meeting tonight and I wouldn't have time to thaw and cook any food. Well..... I forgot to take it out of the fridge this morning. It doesn't work very well if you forget to hook it up and turn it on. At least I didn't just hook it up without turning it on, cuz then the food would be bad from sitting out all day. At least its still in the fridge. I have dinner planned for tomorrow now.... if I don't forget about it again. I don't know what we are going to have tonight, though. I'll figure something out. I made some shrimp and crab low mein. Hubby liked it, but I thought it tasted very... fish-like. I think I put too much crab in.

Speaking of food... my 'diet' that I had planned on doing isn't going very well. Its very difficult during the summer. Everyone is having cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers or BBQ's.

Since food seems to be the topic of this, I will continue on about food.

Zach is eating his baby food like crazy. I haven't found anything that he doesn't like or anything that he is allergic to. Someone told me the other day to try to see if he'll eat eggs. Cook 'em and squish 'em up real good. I don't know about that just yet. Maybe in a couple more months or so, I'll give it a go. I'm sure he'll do fine with it, though. His favorite food so far is bananas. I just started him out on meat this weekend and he's loving it.

I've come up with a way to get rid of my excess soft taco shells after we make tacos at home. I always buy too many shells. I take either pizza sauce or just regular tomato sauce and spread it on a shell and add cheese. Heat it to melt the cheese. Add pepperoni sometimes, if we have any.... and Lilly gets a pizza taco for dinner!! She loves them. She has this at least once a week now. Its easy enough for her to make and the extra shells get eaten. Its a win-win. And, **coming up with your own food and inventing new things** is my awesome thing for today! I do this all the time.

Just got a call from day care telling me Lilly isn't feeling well. So.... I might have to leave to go get her... and if I do, I can turn on the slow cooker!! She'll be fine..I think she's just getting too much sun these days. She gets sunburnt at least once a week now. She's outside all time and day care takes her everywhere. They've been spending a lot of time at pools.

Can't believe it

Casey Anthony was acquitted of all murder charges against her 2 year old daughter. I can't believe it. The only things she is charged with is making false statements to the police. THAT alone should tell you she did it. Her kid was 'missing' for 31 days and she kept telling her mother that she was out playing. She never called the police to say she was missing. I freak out if I can't find Lilly after 5 minutes of playing hide-and-seek. How can a mother not report her child missing if she's been gone for 31 days? This entire situation angers and saddens me. Casey didn't even take the stand to tell her side of the story or even try to defend herself. What does THAT say? And seriously, why else would someone google chloroform so many times in a day.... or even at all? I just can't believe it.

I've even known people who have had their kids taken away from them and they don't even try to get them back. I don't understand. I love my children. Its so hard for me to not see Lilly when she goes to her father's for a few days, how could a parent go without seeing their kids at all....or even worse... hurt them because they don't want them around. (or hurt them regardless of any kind of situation) Children are so fragile and precious and yet there are all these people out there that neglect and abuse these poor helpless kids.

Ok...I'm not talking about that anymore. It will just make me angrier.

Zach is almost ready to start crawling. He gets up on his hands and knees and he'll move his legs like he's going to crawl, but his hands won't move and he takes a face-dive into the floor. He will get the hang of it soon. He can also sit up by himself for just a bit before falling over. Last night he was even holding his own bottle. My little man is growing up. (sniffle)

Lilly goes to her father's tomorrow. I'm not happy about it, but then again, I never am. She doesn't have fun there, he won't do anything with her. Sometimes all she wants is someone to play a board game with her. We played Battleship last night and then she read me Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss and she even helped me make dinner, too. She's growing up too. Sometimes I feel bad because its hard to keep up with both kids. Zach needs to eat, but Lilly wants to play. She still has her jealousy moments. She doesn't understand why I give Zach so much attention. I try to explain it, but it doesn't help. It was me and her for so long, and I just sprang a baby on her. I know its hard for her to adjust to. We use to do everything together and I still try to do a lot of stuff with her, but its different and sometimes she doesn't like it. I use to tell my mom that it feels like she's just my little sister and we're hanging out. We did do everything together. I took her everywhere and we played all day. We still do, but its just having that extra person there taking some of my attention off of her is what is bothering her. I'm hoping soon she'll learn that its just the way things have to be for now.

Friday the YMCA is taking her to see some caves. Not these little rinky dinky caves, no these caves are wonderful. I went to see them when I was about her age, maybe a little younger and I can still remember the trip. I'm just a little sad that I won't be there with her to share the experience. Here's a few pics of them I found.

I hope she'll have fun. I'll have to call her at her father's to see how she liked the trip. Oh, and my awesome thing for today is **field trips** Lilly's going so many places this summer. To caves, to make her own pottery, to pools, to movies, a petting zoo, bowling, skating, and school has taken her to museums and the air port. I'm sure she'll have a blast.

4th of July!

So, it hit me like a brick wall last night. I want to write again. I want to finish my book and I've already come up with an idea for a sequel to that book. I might even try to do a poetry book, even though I don't think poetry will get me far. I was damn good at writing too. I have missed it, but it just didn't occur to me to pick it back up. You can't tell on here that I'm good. I write on here like I'm talking to my best friend. Its casual and straight to the point. So, that's what I'm going to do. Within the next month, I'm going to be well on my way to finishing my book. It was even on my list of things I wanted to do before I turned 25, but I never really thought much about it. Other things were happening. I was getting married, I was having kids, I was getting to know my current job. But now....now I'm going to do it. I'm putting it on my list to do before I turn 30. I've very excited about this.

On another note...July 4th is almost here. We're doing our **fireworks** tomorrow. Lilly is so excited for it. She got up this morning in such a good mood cuz tomorrow is firework day. I don't know when the city is doing them, but we don't go to those. I've never been. Maybe I should. I tried one year, but it got rained out. I was only dating hubby and we went to his buddy's mom's house so they could let off fireworks they bought, but I was set on showing Lilly the ones from the city, so I left. I found a nice parking spot 5 blocks away and walked down toward the river with one year old Lilly in my arms. I found some friends and was enjoying the music and the company. But by the time it got dark enough to start the fireworks, it had started sprinkling, so they held off. But then it started pouring and they announced that the fireworks were canceled and would be rescheduled. I ran. I ran with Lilly in my arms in the pouring ran to find some cover. I even lost one of her shoes, but a very nice man chased me down to give it back to me. I was a little scared at first, being chased by an odd man.... The whole situation was comical.

Sunday, I plan on heading out to visit mom, my brothers and my step dad. Mom has some explaining to do....

Oh, forgot to mention. I went Tuesday to get my license renewed since it expired on my bday. I was going to go after work, but changed my mind and went during my lunch. On my way there I was wondering if I should have given my little brother a call to see if he was ready to take the test to get his learners. I walk in, filled out my papers, did my vision test and took a seat. I then look up and who do I see? My little brother standing there filling out papers. I had to blink twice to make sure it was him. Can't really miss him. 5 foot 8 inch guy dressed in all black with hair that desperately needs cut. Then walks in my step-mom, step-brother and his wife. Step-brother's wife, Erika and my brother, Tony were both there to try to get their learners. Erika is 8 months pregnant and this was her 4th try. Tony was only on his first try.

(Spice Girls just seriously came on the radio in my office just now. Wannabe. Pause while I dance)

I talked to them for a while until the people called for Erika and Tony for the test. My number then came up and I went to get my picture taken. By the time I was done, Tony was done. He failed. I told him not to worry, I didn't get it on my first try either. They fill it full of trick questions. One he remembered was- What do you do if an ambulance pulls up behind you while you're driving? I said pull over. Nope. You don't do anything cuz the lights aren't on. What crap is that? Erika passed, finally, but they wouldn't give it to her cuz she didn't have proof of residency for her address.

Then my step mom wanted to talk to me about my other brother, Chris. He's not doing too well. He's a manic depressive, among other things, and she was asking me for advice. He won't do anything or go out of the house. He quit his job. He won't even fix himself something to eat. Someone else has to cook for him, make his plate and take it to him. My stepmom, Jayne, even said that she's had to make him go take showers. She said that when she does finally get him out of the house, he's like a zombie. He is seeing a therapist once a month and taking meds. I told Jayne that he needs to go to the doctor more often and I looked up one of his medications to find out that its a sedative. Why give a down person a downer? I told Jayne that he probably needs to be off that. The therapist said that he needs 24 hour supervision, but everyone else in that house works. She was thinking about sending him off to my grandma's house and I told her that if she felt that was the only option, that he should only go for a few days at a time. Grandma will drive anyone crazy and I know she'll push him over the edge. I've made plans to go see him this weekend. Maybe Monday. I don't know. He doesn't really like hubby all that much, so he'd have to stay home, but I'd like to take the kids. He was fine a month ago when I went down there and cooked for him and Tony. Something had to have happened and the only thing I can think of that's different is that sedative. I just hope he gets better. I need to go down there and let him know that I'm here for him.

:-P

Anniversary went great. We both got each other cards and then hubby went and bought us an ice cream maker. I'm so excited to try it out!! I haven't made ice cream since elementary school. He brought out the little kid in me last night when he showed me that.

I went out to the Blockbuster kiosk and rented I Am Number Four. Great movie! And the way it ended, there has to be a second one. The movie was much better than the previews lead you to believe.

When we went to bed and was laying there he said, "You know.... 3 years ago today, you were right there." I said..."Yeah... and you weren't" And he laughed. The night of our wedding, he left to go on a house fire. We had just went to bed and his pager went off. He was laying there listening to it. I finally told him to go. He argued a bit, but I knew he really wanted to go, so I basically kicked him out of bed and made him go. I stayed up half the night listening to the fire radio. Yep...that's how I spent my first night as a married woman. Oh, when we were out eating after the wedding (we went for Chinese cuz its my fav) his pager went off for a car fire close to where we were. I told him he could go. I got to watch him in action. It was the first time I ever saw him do anything like that. You should have seen his face when I told him he could go (to both the car fire and the house fire later that night). It was like a little kid was just told he could have any toy in the world he wanted.

Zach is teething. Oh, the joys of teething. When I dropped him off at day care, he was running a bit of a fever and had a runny nose. Yesterday he was very grumpy and slept a lot. I am not prepared for him to start teething. I might have to leave work early to go get him today.

Awesome thing for today **laughter** What ISN'T great about laughter?? Zach is full on laughing now and I love it so much. Yesterday I had him laying on the floor and all I was doing was slowly moving my face toward his face and he thought it was so funny. He was laughing and giggling!! Him laughing made me laugh. Contagious laughter. HA!!

Lilly called me yesterday at 7:00 in the morning to tell me she missed me and was crying. I got her calmed down after about half an hour and told her I'd call her back at noon. 8:30 she called me back to ask me if I was the only one with that phone number. 11:30 she called me back, but I was very busy and couldn't talk so I told her I'd call her at noon like I said I would. Noon I called her back and she told me she wanted me to call her when I got home so she could talk to Zach. About 2:00 I got another call from the same number, but it wasn't Lilly. It was her father's mom calling to see if I needed anything since my number was on the caller ID. 5:30 I called her at her father's house and she talked to Zach while she ate my phone. She seemed much better after talking to him. She's going to my grandma's house today while her father's at work. She's very excited about that. I'm very excited cuz I know she will be taken care of and will have fun there.

Oh, I forgot to say Happy Summer yesterday! Yesterday marked the first day of summer here. The temperature has been in the low 90's/high 80's which isn't too bad, but the humidity has been through the roof. So, in case you wonder out in the sun to have some fun, don't forget your sunscreen... and bug spray if you are anything like me. Drink lots of water... and reapply your sunscreen.

Naps are so great

Left work at noon yesterday. I just didn't really have any energy to do anything and was just wasting my time and the company's money by sitting here. I went home and took a nap. Sent hubby a text telling him I was going home to nap, he calls me at 3:00 to ask me some random question that could have waited. Then he comes in the door on his phone talking soooo loud. After waking me up and stomping through the house and yelling on the phone, he goes outside, but he's so loud I can still here him. I lay there. I finally drift back to sleep and wake up 20 minutes later. He's off the phone and I was kind of expecting him to go get the kids, but he watched tv. So I got up, still so incredibly exhausted and left to get the kids. I got home, fed Lilly and hubby and Zach took a nap on the couch! I think we were all just having an off day. Today will be better. Oh, and my awesome thing for today is **naps** I know that naps are already on the list on http://www.1000awesomethings.com/ but its so awesome, I'm putting it on here too. I know I didn't have an awesome thing for my post on yesterday, so I'll throw in another for today **gag gifts**  I see where I didn't go into detail about my bday presents. Ok, well... my gift from Zach was melted chocolate wrapped in a diaper. We all got a good laugh out of that one. And my big gifts....hubby put them in a diaper box and then wrapped them in duct tape and then wrapped them in wrapping paper. Wrapping gifts in duct tape is a big thing in my family and it was great to see hubby getting into it.

Lilly had a ball game at 7. She did good, but you could tell she was tired. She went to a water park yesterday with day care and today she's going to the movies and then to a pool. Its gonna be a big day for her. Here's some pics from her game yesterday. There's a game on Thursday, but its at 8:00 at night, so we aren't going to that one...that's just too late. Her last game is Saturday and after the game the coach is having a pizza party for them and giving out trophies.

She looks like she's tipping over

Getting ready to catch the ball

Look at the kid that just made it to second base.

Its like he's saying "YES, I made it!"

I'm not so sure what she's doing here, getting ready to run after a ball I think.

Throwing the ball

Lilly running to first base after hitting the ball without the tee

There's nothing on my calendar for today, so hopefully it'll be a nice peaceful day.

I've been thinking about getting a new hair style since I've had the same one since the beginning of time. I did try the side bangs 'do, but that only lasted 6 months. That hair style made me look 10 years older. I hated it. I have no idea what else to do. I just need something to do with my bangs. I could let them grow out, but then I'd have that awkward stage where they are too long to be bangs, but too short to be anything else. I don't know.

School's over

Oh how time does fly. My little kindergartener is a camper now and in just a couple months she'll be a first grader!! Here's my awesome thing from yesterday **the last day of school** I remember being excited on the last day of school. I remember not doing anything, but hanging out and watching movies on the last day of school. Lilly's class had a birthday party for the kids who have birthdays during the summer then she had a water party at the Y. Today is the first day of summer camp. 

I had to leave work a bit early yesterday cuz Zach was sorta sick. Day care called me at 10 and said he won't stop crying and to give them ideas. I told them that he is uncomfortable cuz his allergies are kicked into high gear and he's tired. At noon they called me back to come get him. I got there and he was just laying there on a pillow looking at his hands. The teacher said, "I knew he'd make me out to be a liar!" I laughed. We went home, I gave him a bottle, some medicine and he slept for 4 hours.  

Came into work today and saw that I had an email from the big boss man at 2:50 to come see him. I was gone. I sent him back an email this morning. Cross your fingers for me that its something good and that I'm not going to get yelled at for something.

Why do guys act like they are dying when they are the slightest bit sick?? Hubby's allergies are hitting him and OMG, you'd think someone beat him up. He couldn't/wouldn't even sit up and give Zach his pacifier while I was cooking and filling up Lilly's pool. Reminds me of that Dayquil commercial where the guy is on the couch with a cold and calls for his girlfriend/wife to come hand him the remote and instead she hands him a box of Dayquil and the voice over says something like, "Dayquil even handles the man cold." That commercial is so true. Its like the world stops when a man is sick. You know, if I did what he does when I feel bad, the house would fall apart. I told him last night that now he knows how I felt a few months ago when I was pregnant and couldn't breathe and felt like crap, but couldn't take anything and he was making fun of me. And he said...get this... he said, "You didn't feel THIS bad." I said, "Bull! I felt like I was hit by a truck and someone was suffocating me while I was flying into the sun." "No, you could still get up and move around." "Dear...I had no choice. I don't get to lay around when I'm sick. I still have things to do. I'd love it if I could lounge on the couch when I have a headache or be able to stay in bed when my head is stuffy or be waited on hand and foot when I have a fever... like you do... but I can't. Nothing will get done. Remember when I just got home from the hospital and I couldn't walk very well and was in horrible pain... well... what did I do? I didn't lay there, I continued with the day. I took care of the baby and you and Lilly and no one took care of me. I tell you sometimes when I feel bad and all I want to do is rest, but you do nothing." And guess what he did.............. he got mad. (ok, so I can't really quote that big rant cuz I'm sure some words were different, but that's basically the gist of it.) I'm sorry men... I really am. I know how you feel when you are sick, but do you know how your lady feels when she is sick. Just like you, maybe worse. We're just not as dramatic as you are and we know that things need to get done. I'm sorry, but you're not 5 anymore.

(deep breathe) ok, I'm sorry for that rant. I just had to say it. Here's a friendly reminder to go to www.senotable.com Its not fully functional yet, but you could go check it out. Pre-register for it. Sign up. Its all free. When its up and running completely, you will be able to leave massages for loved ones and they will get these messages when you pass on. I know you can do it in email form, but I also believe that video will be an option too. When you pre-register for it, you will get an email about a week before its fully functional telling you that its almost time. I think its a great idea.

Play Ball!!!

Lilly had a game yesterday. The schedule I had said it was at 7:15, but the one her father had said it started at 6:00. I was just getting Lilly ready when it was almost 6:00 and her father sent me a text asking where I was. Apparently, other parents had the same schedule that said 6:00. (they were all looking at an old one. The coach handed out a new schedule a while back) So I was freaking out thinking I was looking at the wrong one so I rushed to get the kids ready and out the door. Hubby had some meeting to go to, so he wasn't there to help. I get on the road on my way and I call the coach and he says that it is at 7:15, he knows some parents are there and he's on his way and he'll just let whoever is there practice a bit. I get there with the kids around 6:15 and we go down to the field and I don't see her father anywhere. I play with Zach and watch Lilly play with the other kids while waiting on the coach. Around 6:30 her father comes to the field with his girlfriend and Lilly's sister. He says that he was at the field, but went back to the truck. I know he saw us get there from where he was parked. He said that he couldn't stay cuz they had furniture to go pick up at a store. They were going to stay if the game was at 6:00. I told him he had plenty of time to get there and get back before the game, but he argued about that for 20 minutes and then left.

Lilly did really well. She has learned how to throw the ball far, but she needs to work on her aim. She was catching the balls and running fast, but her attitude on the field needs to change. I don't know if she's over-confident or what, but she is kind of mean to the other players, very loud and just not herself. We need to have a little talk about that if she wants to continue to play next year.

I get the kids home around 9:00, feed Lilly again while giving Zach a bath, Lilly took a shower while I fed Zach and packed diaper bags and backpacks. Zach did tummy time while I got Lilly ready for bed. It was 10:00 before I got her to bed. That's about the time hubby came home.

Relay is next week. I am so excited! I haven't raised as much money as I had hoped, but I did reach my goal. I'll make sure I take lots of pics and post them on here. I need to tell Lilly's father cuz he has her that weekend and I want her to be there, even if its for a little bit. She remembers it from last year and wants to go. I'm glad I got her interested in this at such an early age.

So in an attempt to keep my mood up I'm going to follow the advice of an awesome man. Neil Pasricha, I am going to find one awesome thing about my day and post on here. The 1000awesomethings blog does cheer me up and have me looking for small joys in life, but I need to go a step further. I'm going to try to overcome my depression myself, hopefully I'll get some progress. I did look up some psychologists yesterday and found 2 not far from my house, but distance isn't the problem. They have to be good and they have to be super cheap. Those two things don't really go together. Anyway... My awesome thing from yesterday is ***watching your kid play sports and seeing how much fun they are having***  Lilly really loves playing ball. Besides from her new attitude, she is having so much fun and is getting really good at it. She's made new friends and learned a lot. She gets to run off her energy and play. I love seeing that big smile on her face when she hits the ball far or catches the ball. Here is her ball pic.

Oh and has everyone seen the video of that guy that dropped his kid to catch a baseball.... but he missed it anyway??? Wow!! Dropped his kid. To catch a ball. Really??

Lilly jumping rope

I've been meaning to tell you guys for weeks now, that Zach has found his hands. I think it was the day right before Easter when he started staring at them. Its so funny. His eyes will zoom to his hand that is in front of his face. He'll open his fingers wide and just stare. He looks all serious like he's thinking, "What is this? Where did it come from?" And he'll look at it for 5 minutes at a time and when he's done looking at it, he jams it in his mouth.

Lilly went out on the porch to jump rope, here's some cool pictures I got of her.

We made her sign for the little league parade last night too.

My list

Lilly's game went great yesterday. She was awesome!! She got out in front of that ball and stopped it, she threw the ball like she meant it and she hit it like she was mad at it. She did this one play-the little boy hit the ball right to Lilly, it was a grounder, she caught it and threw it right to first base. The little girl on first base, Chloe caught the ball and touched the base before the boy got there! I was so proud. Lilly moved so fast, she knew exactly what to do, she was paying attention and she threw that ball right to Chloe. It was perfect. Here's some pics of her warming up. I couldn't get any good ones on my phone while she was playing, my zoom doesn't zoom very far. She doesn't have anther game until next Wednesday.

My 'diet' has gone completely off track, but I'm jumping back on. I gained a couple pounds over the weekend. Hubby and Lilly bought me and his mom a giant cookie cake....so I ate basically half of it by myself. I LOVE cookie cakes, and so do my hips unfortunately. I'm back to climbing the stairs during my lunch hour and only eating with utensils.....but for how long. I'm going to really try to stick with this. I think that I'm going to do my horrible diet the week Lilly is with her father this summer. I eat nothing but fresh, raw veggies and fruit. No meat, no dairy, nothing cooked or steamed. I haven't done this since last year. Every time I do it, I do it for about a week and lose about 10 pounds. My body reacts horrible to this diet and its probably not very healthy for someone that's not use to eating that way, but I've been doing it about twice a year for 3 years now. The weight I lose usually stays off, unless, ya know, I get pregnant like I did last time. I told hubby last night that we need to have another kid just to make the world a prettier place. He quickly gave me weird look.

A few years ago I started this list of 25 things I wanted to do before I turned 25. Here are the things. The underlined ones are the ones I have already done.

*Buy a house

*Empty storage building and have a yard sale

*Organize pictures into photo albums

*Lose 30 pounds

*Get a new hairdo (I've had the same one since elementary school)

*Go to a comedy show

*Get new shoes

*Save $5,000

*Fix my car completely

*Do something new as a family

*Go to a concert of one of my favorite bands/signers (I've done this back in the day when I was younger, but I haven't done this recently)

*Ride in a boat (again something I did in the past, but would like to do again soon)

*Go somewhere I've never been

*Have a baby

*Get great at my job

*Take up a new hobby

*Cook Thanksgiving dinner (Can't do this one before I turn 25 seeing as how my bday is next month)

*Make a gourmet meal

*Drink a fancy wine

*Ride a horse

*Go to WWE event

*Finish writing my book (I'm a long way away from accomplishing this one)

*Read 10 best seller books (I only started counting when I made this list. Past books didn't count)

*Meet someone famous

*Be more social

8 out of 25 so far. Being more social- I kind of am, but I'm not at the point yet where I can mark it off my list. I've also been working on my list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. I will share those on or around my bday. Some of my things from this list are on that list. I also have a lifetime list. Some of the things on that one are-learn to drive a stick shift, learn Italian, relearn French, go to Italy, go to the beach, buy a house, get to pre-Lilly weight.... There's a few more and I'm pretty set on getting that list done. There are several places that I would like to visit, even here in the US, but I figured it would be a nice thing to do for hubby once we are retired. He's got some Italian in him, I don't know which side of his family is. Both his parents LOOK Italian, but I don't know.

Looks like I'm down to one cup of coffee a day now. No one is allowed to use the kitchen here at work that has the coffee pot in it. A lot of people already had their own coffee pot by their desk. I don't own a little one to bring to work. Might be something I put on my bday list. No one really knows why we can't use that kitchen anymore. There was some mumbo jumbo about interrupting meetings with clients and whatnot, but those meetings are held behind closed doors away from the kitchen and I'm here making coffee before ANYONE is here anyway, so I don't see the big deal. It gave me an excuse to get out my coffee pot at home. I got it as a wedding present, but I've only used it maybe 10 times. I don't drink coffee on the weekends unless I crave it. So I got it out, dusted it off and made my coffee this morning, but its already cold. How can I continue the day without my coffee. I didn't drink coffee while I was pregnant, but I was getting sleep back then. No sleep=needs coffee. I can't afford to go out and buy it everyday. I'll just have to get my own little coffee maker and put it in my office right beside my Sentsy warmer.