Thanks to all...!

I am so thankful to my family and friends that helped me yesterday to paint the downstairs and help move my desk to the other corner. I have a bad case of tennis elbow so today I am so sore I shouldn't even be typing this. While the men were watching football and occupying Ella, the rest of us women were downstairs (all three of us) painting. With their help I was able to finish the one corner enough to move the desk to that corner. Overall, the downstairs is over half painted. So happy! Would be happier if I wasn't so sore after doing all that work.

Now everyone is napping and I am debating if I even want to venture out of the house to look for a nice winter jacket that will fit me better than the ones I have. My brother is watching Jeff Dunham on TV, great comedian.

Its one of those days where I want to do absolutely nothing, but at the same time there is a lot of things I want to do. I could be downstairs cleaning and moving more furniture or out braving the crowds on Black Friday. Did that last year. Left the house at noon and lines were still wrapped halfway around the stores to check out at 1pm. Oh well, there isn't really anything I want to go out to get. I could order things online, but there isn't really anything I need. Trying to figure out certain Christmas gifts. Easier said than done.

Oh well off to figure out the day. Wish me luck! Happy Black Friday to all!!! Hope your Turkey day was wonderful too!!!

Progress

I am making progress on getting the downstairs cleaned and organized and fit for living in. The downstairs was J's domain and her responsibility to keep it clean. Let's just say it was anything but clean. I am so thankful that we have a steam carpet cleaner. It makes me willing and able to walk on the floors without shoes. We plan to repaint the living area and the bathroom. They both need major touchups and we are going to go with a different paint scheme. The bathroom is also getting new flooring and new curtains for the shower and closet. It will look so different. We plan on getting rid of our 32 inch hulking heavy TV set and getting a flatscreen to put up on the wall. That will free up some floor space and look much better.

I feel loved...

It has been an interesting couple of days. It's all been building for the last 3 years or so. Finally everyone is seeing how hard it has been for me to live in a household with a teenager that refuses to listen to anything I say and to obey the household rules. She operates to her own agenda. If it doesn't benefit her, then she wants no part of it.

Basically all started when I went downstairs at midnight on Wednesday (school night) to find her still on her cell phone instead of asleep. Rule is in bed asleep at 11pm. When I told her to get off she basically said she will stay on the phone all night if she wants to. What she neglected to say at any point was that she was talking to her best friend (whose boyfriend just broke up with her - nothing new) and that her friend had cut herself. If J had just said what was going on instead of turning into a snotty little bitch and not having any respect for me, none of this would have happened. Hell we would have been in the vehicle driving over to this friend's house to talk to her parents to let them know what's going on. But J felt she could control all situations and this is what happened.

Garage Sale Success!

While I still have a bunch of little girls clothing and women's clothing left, ultimately the sale was a success. We made just over $1,000! Crazy!!!  I need to look into consigning the remaining clothing. I would like to have it gone.

I would have to say the absolute highlight of the weekend was when a Vietnam veteran came by and bought up any and all military gear/clothing we had. Absolutely loved him. I don't have to look at that stuff ever again, don't have to move it around or go through it again to determine what we are going to do with it - it's gone!!! It's bittersweet becuase the military was such a big part of our life for a time, but we are both out now and have no use for the clothing anymore and most of it didn't fit anymore either.

So again the sale was a success. I certainly do not plan to do this again anytime soon. Maybe in another 7 years!

Garage Sale

Heaven help me, what have I gotten myself into? We decided to do a garage sale this coming weekend. Thought about it the last couple weeks, and there is so much to do yet and I only have 3 more days. I started pricing the baby clothes last night and got through bibs/burp cloths, bath towels, shoes, and some winter accessories. Haven't even touched the huge stack of baby clothes or the rest of the items that need to be gone through/set out yet. Essentially its 3 years of baby/kids clothing, and I was very generous about buying her clothes. If I didn't have to work all day before getting home and starting to tackle this mountain, it wouldn't be so bad. Wish me luck. I guess if I don't get all of it out just means I need to do this another weekend. I really don't want anything to come back in the house if it doesn't have to. I would rather try to sell things before donating to Goodwill or Salvation Army. Even if it's super cheap, something is better than nothing in my opinion.

Back To School!

How the time flies. J starts back to school, 10th grade, in three weeks. School clothes, school supplies, bus fee - All very expensive. If only J was more like me as a teen. I was aware of money and where it comes from and where it goes. I would get the most I could for a set dollar amount. She doesn't plan her clothing into the winter months - she is only concerned about her current wants and needs.

Follow Up - Credit Card Fraud

Just a quick note that Bremer Bank has found in our favor and reimbursed us the $400 that was stolen from our account. (See previous post for more details). All I can say is thank God! I am happy that this worked out. I am happy that we are at a place in life where we had a little money in savings so it wasn't a complete nightmare being short the money. Still makes me mad that there are people like this in the world. So I certainly won't be leaving my credit card info on any future Amazon.com account. Still won't stop me from making purchases online though.

FRAUD

Credit Card Fraud Sucks!!!
Thankfully it was only $400 and thankfully we have enough money in savings to cover it until we get refunded, but it sucks. And it takes up to 10 days for everything to process and people to get back to you with the final result. Easy to get the credit card cancelled, but now I have no check card and actually have to go to the bank if I want to get money out of my account for the next few days. Easier said than done some days.

Growing Up!

First Official Raincoat!

"I have sand for you."

Me and E July 4th Weekend

Candy - Serious Business!

Starting Tomorrow...

The next 6 weeks are freedom for me! J is going to visit her mother and 3 sisters in Virginia for her summer visitation.

Last year it took E two weeks- 2 full weeks - before she asked where sissy was. Shows exactly how much time J spends with her little sister who lives in the same house as her. I can't think of any more than 5 minutes in the last month where J has spent any quality time with E. Pretty sad. J makes bunches of promises to E that would involve spending time with her but never ever follows through. Ask E if she wants to stay home with sissy and the tears will flow with an adamant "Nooooo!" No love lost there.

Evening Cook Out

We went to a military friend's house last night for a cook out and had a great time. Hubby and I took E with us. We knew ahead of time that there were going to be a few other kids there her age so it worked out very well. The kids had a great time playing in the sand volleyball court or checking out the river which was right there as well. Within two minutes of arriving E was a grubby little girl. There was dirt/sand all over her face and arms. Needless to say she got a bath immediately when we got home.

E played by herself mostly in the sand, but it was nice. Hubby and I were able to sit down and relax and actually visit with the other people in attendence. Overall it was a good time. We definitely have to do more things like this again. Now that we have our own grill, I think we need to do this at our house sometime. There isn't as much for the kids to do, but we do have a trampoline! Next time I get some wine/winecoolers for myself!

Daycare Infractions

I'm so thankful for the great daycare center that I have. E loves it there. Has a really good time and has learned so much. A neighbor mom and I were out last night so the kids could play before supper. She asked me what I thought of a punishment that her home daycare had implemented on her 2yo daughter. Apparently little girl had two seperate incidences on two seperate days.

The Sun Is Back!!!

The sun is back for a few days and I am happy. Time to air the house again and spend plenty of time outside soaking up some vitamin D!

That's all I have to say for now! Enjoy!

Rainy Day Thoughts

Its raining again, and I'm tired. At least there's no wind. I want the sunshine back!

It's Thursday and Hubby will be home tonight. I can relax a little and get somethings done. He's planning supper. I think it will be steak.

E requested a Dora or Princess cupcake from Walmart. We'll see what Daddy brings home.

We need to get to bed earlier tonight. E doesn't want to wake up in the mornings lately. I think it's the strep catching up with her. Of course after her steroid meds at supper time, she doesn't want to sleep at all until after 10pm. Only two more days of that med. Then its just the antibiotic. At least her cough is getting better. Still yucky but not nearly as bad.

I'm tired and here at work. Already done a lot in the last hour trying to clear up some confusion on a warrant. Turns out it was done right the first time on our end and court was just confused. Either way it's taken care of, and I'm the only one that did any extra work, mainly just running back and forth to dispatch to clarify files. Have some reports to type so I suppose I should get started. Yippy yay. Rainy day. Walking tacos for lunch - Human Services fundraiser. Yummy!

Strep, a Croupy Cough, and Crashed Bike!

What a way to end our weekend at the Minnesota Horse Expo. Thankfully the cough is only once in a while and not all the time. Sounds absolutely horrid! Definitely a barking cough. We stayed home yesterday and then went to work/daycare late today (24 hours of meds). E did not want to go. She wanted to stay home again with mom. I didn't want to go to work either, but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do.

E was an absolute sweetheart at the walk in clinic yesterday. She was in a good mood. Walking in the main doors she stated, "Mama, I can't talk" in her raspy squeaky voice. She said hi to the doctor and the nurses and had no issues with the male doctor. She was saying it would be a girl that came to see her, but it was a boy. He got her to breathe deep for him and to cough on command into her arm. He swabbed her throat and she sat just fine through it all. Can't believe how amazing she is. I'm also thankful that she did cough once each for the doctor and the nurse so they could hear how bad it sounded. Makes mama look less crazy when child doesn't appear sick. Of course she didn't have a fever yesterday either.

The first dose of meds didn't go very smoothly. Even had to tell her that she would have to get a shot from the doctor if she didn't just suck it (her meds) down. Thankfully the second and third doses went very well. It was looking to be a very rough 10 days if she didn't want to take her antibiotic. This morning she even proclaimed that it tasted good. Crazy kid!

Today the weather is so amazing. The sun is out and there is hardly any breeze. Will have to open the windows and air out the house for a while this evening. I think we will also be spending some time outside riding bike too.

Oh, and speaking of riding bike, we went out for a little bit last night. E crashed her bike. Into the dog. Wasn't pretty. The dog is fine, but she dumped the bike hard. Thank god for helmets. I heard the helmet hit the ground. She cried of course. She had bit her lips so there was some blood, but she did not want to go home to take care of it. She insisted on going to the park. By the time we rode a block to the park she was fine, no more blood. She also wanted me to reprimand the dog and tell him not to run into her again. If we were at home, I think she would have requested he go in time out.

New Carseat Cover!

E is getting a new cover for her carseat in my vehcile! I can't wait to get it. I found it for sale on the car-seat.org swap forum. I would have ordered it long ago from Graco but the print is a Walmart exclusive so Graco can't guarantee that print will be shipped; it even said substitutions may happen. I didn't want any other print. I wanted this specific one! And now I am getting it! So excited. E will be pretty happy too. It's a surprise.

She's done great with the potty training, but I like having an extra cover just in case something happens. I can't believe we've made it this long without an extra cover. I've had to clean the seat cover twice, but this will give me more time to get that done if it happens again. Just thought I would share my excitement!

Fed Up and Irritated!

***DISCLAIMER: This is a vent, a long one, so whoever wants to comiserate with me, please read.***

I am just fed up and irritated with so many things in my life. Sadly they are just minor petty things but they have been adding up and going on for so long that it is driving me crazy.

I can't wait for summer to be here and school to be out. J will be going to Virginia (Yes, she moved again!) to visit her mom, and I will be free of her attitude and demands for 5 weeks - the most peaceful happy weeks of the year! She has mommy issues which get taken out on me. I can't tell her to do anything without getting whining, snotty, bitchy attitude back. She can't stand living with her mom, but doesn't see the difference in what she has here vs. what she has/would have down there.

We have been hounding her for the last 6 weeks to get her grades up and refocus in school. Finally her grade in language arts dropped to an F, and she got grounded immediately. Lost her phone and the internet at home for 2 weeks. Well somehow in three days after talking with her teachers and getting some extra credit and retaking some tests, she has brought her grades up to Cs and above - in three days. Says she likes how it feels to be bringing her grades up. We have been telling her every week, every week, what her grades were and asking about certain assignments that she did poorly on. But take away her phone and internet and suddenly she isn't failing anymore. She just doesn't see the connection.

Giveaway Time!

Free Set of Kristen’s Raw Ebooks:
http://kristensraw.com/blog/2011/04/11/free-set-of-kristens-raw-ebooks-giveaway-time/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KristensRaw+%28Kristen%27s+Raw%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#

I am spreading the word on this wonderful giveaway for an additional entry to win the set of Kristen's Raw Ebooks.

I am looking into all ways to eat better and be healthier, and I keep coming back to vegetarian/vegan/raw lifestyles. Now when I say raw I do not mean RAW, as in raw meat, etc. In this case raw means fruits and veggies and not processing/cooking foods over 115* in temp. This helps to ensure that all the nutrients/enzymes are still active and haven't been destroyed in the cooking process.