Bust.

Before I start my rant... I just noticed I have 100 posts and 2000 visits (since I started the counter).
Anyways.
It seems like Samantha's (and Nick's party) will be a bust. The only person that has said they will be there are my parents!!! And for those IRL (in real life) friends out there reading this, you have cared enough to read this and cared enough to let me know you wont be coming, so this does not pertain to you. Besides my actual friends and my parents, no one has responded (of their own accord).
I guess what ticks me off the most are those "friends" in my life that I did not bring into the relationship. We (Nick and I) have tried to invite them over for so many things, and either they don't respond or never want to come unless it is at their house. We have kids too, it is still as much of a production to get there.
*sigh* I was in a good mood... now I am just bummed.
Time to go to bed... I should have been there a heck of a long time ago!
C-Ya!

Roller Coaster

Well life has just been one roller coaster of emotions lately.  So far this fall the kids have been healthy (and so have Nick and I) so that is good.  Financially things are not going as good as they could, so that is bad.  Nick had one and will have another hunting trip, while I have my trip, so that is crazy.  I have been working on getting this sleep problem fixed but I still have a lack of energy so that is tiring.  My father in law lives with us, so that is annoying.  I am finally going to see a career counselor so that is motivating.

No wonder one day I am depressed and the other happy as a clam (actually that can change minute by minute).
One thing I love is being my kids' mom.  Almost since I went to work after having them, I have the privilege of coming home and seeing their excited faces.  Now, somedays they are more excited then others.  Last night was one of those excited times.  I was gone all evening and did not get home till almost 10pm (after leaving the house at 7:20am).. and the kids were, of course, still up (well not up, up... they were in their bedroom - just awake).  Well I went around the corner and saw them and got two of the biggest smiles and greatest hugs.  And I know that is something special that they reserve for the most special people in their lives (us and our parents).  Now they both can say they word "Love", I have been hearing it more and more - especially from Jeffrey.  The other day (after he got into our bed way too early in the morning), I asked Jeffrey why he was in bed with us.. and he said it was because he loves Daddy!!!  Aww... melt...

It is a shame that some people who so desperately want kids.. cannot have them.. and may miss out on this kind of Love... even though they have tons of love in their heart.

Well, on a happy note... two more days till Samantha's birthday and 5 more days till Halloween!!
C-ya!

Pumpkins!

The weekend is over, it is back to work... ah well.. that happens...
Not too much to say about the weekend. Like always, I did not get as much done as I wanted to..
We did get our pumpkins though, we went to a Pick Your Own Pumpkin place...
There were so many pumpkins to choose from, Nick probably would have bought 20 if I wouldn't have stopped him. The only downfall was the kids (especially Samantha) tripping over the roots. Oh, and we got a great deal - 5 for $12.00! And of course, I have pictures:
Here are Nick and the kids in the field...

The kids got to check out the corn... and here is later when we got home...

And here is a family pic the nice kid at the stand took of us

It was cold, so I was glad it did not take too long.
Who knows how many we will carve, probably at least two.. I did some nice carvings last year, so I will need to find something else to do!!

And now, back at work. At least I have a 4 day week with taking off Friday for Samantha's birthday!
C-Ya!

Well

Well..
It is Friday...
TGIF!!
Lots of stuff to do this weekend, next week and in the coming weeks.
Feeling like I don't know what to do first.
Ah welll..

Otherwise..
I got a new cell phone yesterday and have been playing with it.
And Samantha's invites have gone out (mostly)...

At least Nick is home...

C-Ya!

Quick add on..

Hey pass the potato...
http://www.passthepotato.com/potato-2.php?potatoid=051020105933-357505

And remember to add your location to my map at the bottom of the page.

C-Ya!

Speed!

I went and got my Rx for my pills the sleeping dr gave me... I have decided to call them Speed!  I take them in the morning to keep me awake and give me energy.  I took my first 1/2 a pill today... we will see how that goes!

I am back at home!!  It is so, so great to be there.  Like I said, I really miss Nick when he is gone (better then me liking that he is not around), I enjoyed laying in my Select Comfort bed last night, and got to take a shower in my own shower w/ soft water.. and this morning I did not have to dress out of a suitcase.  Of course the house is now a mess of food and such, Nick unpacked, but I didn't.. and we have a stack of mail (mostly junk) and newspaper (which our neighbor thankfully picked up for us).

And today is Thursday... and I have some busy days ahead.  Plus I NEED to mail out Samantha's party invites.  I need to make a To Do list!

C-Ya!

H Day

H DAY - as in Home Day!!  As in, we all go home!!!  Wohoo.  Not that being at my parent's house has not been fun.. and my kids have enjoyed it... and they have spoiled us, but we (or maybe just I) miss our beds and Nick (and Jeffrey says his misses "Bapa" too).  It is funny, whomever said you cannot go home again is right.  I mean, I did move out for 3 months in college while I went to a college out of town (then I decide to transfer back up to the cities), but walking in my parent's house, where I spent the first 20 years of my life, I know it would be hard to stay there for too long.  My room is now my Dad's office.. my brother has even moved out and there is hardly anything in his room that we shared for the first 8 years of my (well his) life.  I always said that house was a great starter home and retirement home, but not so good in between (especially when there was 3 kids and 1 bathroom).. well they have survived the in between (not that Mom is retireing - but it is an empty nest).

Anyways.  Like I said.. we miss Nick/Daddy.  Absence does make the heart grow fonder!!  I Love Him so much!
And I have booked my ticket for PA... so next time Nick goes hunting, he will come back and I fly out the next day!!!  Wow, the panic attacks are already starting.  I have never been away from my kids for that long, I have never flown completely alone, and there is a layover, so that is 4 take offs and touch downs!!!

C-Ya!

File this under: Great party idea.

Just an FYI.. I was blog surfing and found someone talking about a party they had for someone's birthday.  They staged an Iron Chefcompitition.  Basically had 2 teams of 4 and they had 4 hours to go out, buy the ingredients and create 3 dishes with it containing the mystery agreement..

Sounds like a lot of fun... especially if I had more friends!!  Though if the ones with boyfriends/husbands would also participate...hmmm... or if everyone brought a friend...

File that.
And if you were the blog I saw... you can take credit in the comment section - I totally surfed to the next one and forgot the name.

C-Ya!

Complain, complain, complain...

Ok... really I am not a complainer... but sometimes I feel it is my downfall... lately, though, I have felt there is certain things I should complain about.  I complained to the bus company and got two free passes, I complained to the post office and got a form letter (bull$hit), and now I am going to take my complaining skills to Northwest Airlines... basically I thought I had till today to book a flight at a certain price because they have a sale till today - well I went to book it last night and it went up $80!!  So, I am going to give them my 2 cents.. and if I get nothing from it, I will book with another airline.  I would just rather fly NWA because they are local and I would not have a layover.. but with the price difference (ATA is about $8 more then the fare I was going to book at on NWA) it is worth it.

Plus, I am all crabby because my mouth still hurts, though I am taking less pain pills.. and Nick is gone till tomorrow... and I just want to sleep in my own bed.

On another note.. I had my sleep follow up.  The Dr. said I have excessive sleepiness.. there is a name for it, but all I can remember is the initials EDS.  He said it was not good that when I took my sleep test I could sleep for over 9 hours.  So we are going to try me on some medication to see if I can get more energy.  One of the side effects are nervousness...hmmm..

I saw my bro's new place yesterday.  He is finally moving out of Mom & Dad's house!!  His friend bought a house (which he says he may buy into) and him and another friend and her are going to live there.  It is about 5 min from my parents.. so I am sure he will be back for food and laundry.  Nice house... may need some updating.. and they need to fix up the basement for his other friend.  The kids sure had fun checking it out and rearranging the books he was organizing!

C-Ya!

Ey!

Well work is slower... life has been uneventful.. but I figured I had to post something.
Jeffrey tried out his underwear yesterday.  After trying every pair he settled on one.  He told us he had to go pee once and we made it... then he told us another time and he did dribble a little.. but overall.. not so bad.  Hopefully Grandma is working on that some more today.  And I decided to get Samantha some of her own, just in case she has any ideas.  Plus I bought her some PJs.  I realized that they don't make the two piece till they are in 2T.. and I would rather not get her footsie ones... so I settled on the 2T and we will have to see how they fit.

I miss Nick.  I hate it when he goes hunting.  *sigh*
That is it for now.
C-Ya!

Almost the work week

Well another weekend is almost over with... darn! At least I survived my weekend.
After going to bed way too late.. I got up early and got the kids ready and went to mass. Everyone said they did really good sitting with me in the choir loft - I sort of beg to differ... but hey what could I do?
Then I went home and made breakfast and then packed to go over to my parents house.
Got to my parents house and had two sleeping kids. We kept Samantha asleep but Jeffrey woke up when they came inside their house. Then my Grandma, Aunt and Cousin came over to see the kids. After we went to McDonalds.. the kids had their baths and then went to bed early (they were acting cranky, so....)
Now.... I am just playing around on my parents computer.
Tomorrow is my sleep follow up!
And about three more days till I see Nick!!
C-Ya!

Another late night post

Well... it is late.. I should go to bed. And I will in a couple minutes. I need to get up for church tomorrow... which shall be interesting because I am bringing the kids up to the choir loft. I have a lot of faith they will do well.
My cell phone is on the outs. I cannot see either screen anymore.. and it is so frustrating!! I really hope they can transfer numbers or somehow make it so I can see my phone numbers. And I also rely on it for the time and to use as an alarm. I really hope it has been a year and a half since Nick changed the contract because otherwise we cannot get the discount... which is BS because I have had the phone for over a year and a half.
Otherwise, today was beautiful. The kids and I went to the park again. They just love it!! And then they were so tired Jeff even took a nap.
Tomorrow it is off to my parent's house for a couple days.
C-Ya!

Mail

Now I had a problem with the mail service...here is my complaint:

On Saturday, October 15th I had gone to the park with my kids.  At that time someone was unloading some materials in front of my driveway and about 5 feet away from the mailbox.  While I was at the park, I noticed the mail truck go by and assumed my mail was delivered.  When I got home it was not there.  I called into the local office an hour later and found out that the mail lady was done for the day and asked about the policy.  I was told that if the mailperson feels the mailbox is blocked they don't have to deliver the mail, nor are they suppose to back up.  I am upset with this because the mail box was not blocked and I will be gone now for a couple days and was waiting for some mail.  Also, I don't understand why they can get out of the truck to deliver a package but cannot to deliver the mail.. and I do not think the response that they cannot do that for all 500 houses is a good enough argument because not all 500 houses have their boxes blocked.
If you care to call me, please call my cell at X.
Thanks.

I am slowly going crazy...

When I was taking my shower tonight I realized that for the third time in a row I have almost gotten done without washing my body with soap... I swear... my brain... it is not what it used to be. I don't know...maybe it is the pain pills or just the pain.
And the kids are in bed. Jeffrey got up to get another book and I let him sit with me for awhile. Partly because it is quite lonely and partly so he may sleep in longer tomorrow.
Hopefully tomorrow it will still be nice and we can go to the park! They enjoy that. Plus, I have to pack, do laundry and clean the kitchen up.
Well Nighty Night to all.
C-Ya!

Hunting Widow!

I decide to split todays post in to two.  I wanted to first recap Jeffrey's field trip.  I hope you have enjoyed the pictures.

I am officially a hunting widow till Wednesday.  Nick (and Gar) and Mollie took off this morning for South Dakota.  And I decided because I want to be able to sing in the choir on Sunday, to not go over to my parents till Sunday vs Saturday.  These means a whole day of it just being me taking care of the kids.  Though I often find it is easier to take care of them when I already know it is going to be just me.  And maybe I will take the time to spoil them!!

Still avoiding the root canal.  Now I wouldn't want one till Nick gets back anyways.  I have been taking less pain meds and waiting longer to take them.  I still have this dang cyst on my eye, though it is also getting better.

And I find out the results of my sleep study on Monday!
Word of the Day (provided by Petersons.com):  exacerbate
Definitions: (verb) to make worse or more severe.
Example: The roads in our town already have too much traffic; building a new shopping mall will exacerbate the problem.
Synonyms: aggravate, infuriate
I just stumbled upon this on yahoo.  Funny to think someone maybe would not know what exacerbate is.
Anyways.. I suppose I should get back to work.  Wish me a weekend filled with 2 perfect angel children... instead of the 2 devils they can be!!! (But I Love them anyway!)

C-Ya!

Jeff's first field trip

As I said in an earlier post.. Jeffrey went on his first field trip on Tuesday (Oct 11). Nick got to go with so he gave me a full recap, which I will try to paraphrase. This also was Jeffrey's first time on a school bus (though he has been on a city bus with me over a handful of times).

While he was there he had a chance to pet the animals. This was a big step, because the last time he could pet animals he was scared of them. I know he got to pet cows and chickens.

He also got a chance to milk a fake cow and color a farm coloring sheet.

The also read stories, got to play in a hay maze and climb on some hay

And he even learned "Old McDonald. So it sounds like Jeffrey and Daddy had a fun morning. And it makes me want to chaperone his next trip!
C-Ya!

Tickers

Hanging out in the online community - and especially on message boards - you notice the new trend towards tickers and blinkies in signature lines. Sometimes it is one or two tickers - and that is ok - other times it is a bazillion blinkies - and those drive almost everyone nuts. On the one site I hang out at, I have been shying away from tickers (they don't like blinkies - I understand) for my signature because I want to be unique. Now, that does not mean I cannot put them on here!! So here you go.. a multitude of tickers...







I hope you have enjoyed.
C-Ya!

Numb

For those of you out there who have never taken Tylenol 3 w/ Coedine... if it is working it makes you feel all numb inside!  Well the dentist Rx me some for the tooth and when I took it yesterday I really did not get that feeling... but the one I took today seems to be working well enough!  Hey.. maybe I will get to avoid a root canal right now after all.

Of course.. whether I am hurting or numb, I still am not getting much done.  I really should clean the house tonight because Nick's Uncle will be staying overnight before they (along with fil) go hunting.  And maybe I should figure out a nice dinner for tomorrow too... I guess we will see how I feel.  I do have a meeting with Jeffrey's speech teacher tonight, so I should get home early.

And Jeffrey had his first field trip yesterday to the Gale Woods Farm.  Nick went with and took pictures, so once I get them downloaded maybe I can get Nick to recount the time they had.  I guess it was a lot of fun and Jeffrey petted some of the animals (which is a big step because last year he was at a petting zoo and wouldn't).

And so Samantha can have equal time on here.. for those that know us In Real Life (IRL)... her birthday party will be Sunday, October 30 at 3pm at our house.  We will be having appetizers and cake.  Invites should be done this week (especially if I feel better).  I am also thinking of making it a combo party for her and Nick because he turns 30 the middle of November and should be celebrated.. though I know he hates to be the center of attention.

Hey, to all of you that have made comments recently, thanks for letting me know you are reading!! 
C-Ya!

Tooth!

Ok... my tooth hurts like an SOB!! (son of a b***h) Just from that PITA (pain in the a$$) filling! I finally gave in and called the Dentist and have a Rx for Tylenol 3 w/ Coedine at Target to pick up! So maybe I will post more later when I am under the influence of major drugs... I told Rox I would be loopy and she said I already am!!

C-Ya!

Mommy Blogs

There is a trend in blogging called "Mommy Blogs". Basically parents - though normally mothers - fill their blog with what little Timmy just learned to say or how many diapers little Susie went through today. I have to admit.. I am kind of guilty of doing this. Though because I am a Work Outside the Home (WOTH) mother vs a Stay at Home Mother (SAHM).. I have other adult things to draw from. Though it is kind of hard to talk about work related stuff since that self-imposed ban on talking about my work, so that if they ever found this they could not fire me for it!!! So, I guess I can pull from my commute experience...

And in the vein of that... here is one more picture of my babies (actually taken on Friday)!!!!

Anyways... the tooth still hurts... I have been living on advil. I should try to get back to the dentist or at least call but I am too busy this week to do so.

So, I did not think I would find this show entertaining, but I have been watching "My Name is Earl" on NBC.. and find it rather interesting. It is all about karma. Basically (as Earl says) "you do good things and good things happen to you; you do bad things and well.." Do you believe in karma? What happens when you try to always do good things and bad things still happen? I kind of feel that way about Nick. He has done ton of good things, but has the worst "luck"... so where is karma there? Though at least karma is a good excuse to get my fil to stop b****g when he watches NASCAR... I told Nick once that if you root for bad things to happen to a driver, bad things will happen to your driver (I guess a lot of Jeff Gordon fans are hoping the other guys crash - because his season has sucked!)

And one more question - especially for those that have surfed and found this blog... do you make money from you blog and how?

C-Ya!

BEAUTIFUL Fall Day!

Wow, second post on a weekend!! But I do have more pics, so it is a little easier to do it at home and I cannot email pics (as far as I know). So.. it is about my bedtime but I am still posting.
Like the title says.... if Fall was always like this, I would love it!! Today it got up close to 60!! No need for gloves or tons of layers.. so we took advantage of it.
After church we made our traditional big breakfast - today it was french toast. Then Nick got to go outside and clean out the ponds and re start them. Then Nick and I and the kids went to the park a couple blocks away with Mollie. Nick got to throw the dummy for Mollie so she could get ready to go hunting on Saturday

She did a good job bringing the dummy back to Nick

And the kids had a great time watching

Then we went over to the swings and slides and they got to play on both. Normally Nick doesn't get to go to the park, so he got to have fun swinging high like he used to.
Later, during Samantha's nap.. the NASCAR race was kind of boring and the Vikings had a Bye week (thank goodness - they need it) so Nick and Jeffrey went next door to learn how to make horseradish. I came over after I finished lunch. Then the neighbor and Nick decided to both dismantle their vegetable gardens, so we got more nice, outside time.
And the day was just gorgeous... the leaves are starting to turn, though you really cannot see it in this picture.

And then inside and back to the reality of making and cleaning up dinner (Nick made it, I cleaned it up).. and laundry.. and that it is back to work tomorrow!!
And a side note...my darn tooth still hurts!! I have had to take so many advils I feel like a druggy... but I can so tell when I need one because it just aches like I had my wisdom teeth removed.. in fact it hurt less when I had them removed!
Well... I suppose I better go to bed... busy week this week...
C-Ya!

A Saturday in the Fall

So, I feel bad.. I have not posted in a couple days. I guess I was busy at work trying to get out early.
On Thursday I had one of those dreaded trips to the dentist. I have some cavities that need to be filled. And like most people, I dislike going to the dentist. Well this trip, again, was no fun. I guess I had a big cavity and it was right near the nerve... so now the tooth is sensitive, blah! The dentist said, sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent some cavities..great...
Otherwise not much happened Thursday and Friday.
So now it is Saturday, I love Saturdays... of course when you work a "traditional" M-F, 9-5 job, Saturday and Sunday are a day of rest. And with Sundays filled with church and sports (on TV), usually Saturdays are our only "clear" day. Though most Saturdays, especially in the outdoor months, involves Nick working. So that is what he is doing and I am here with the kids! This is how they started the day, eating their breakfast on the floor:

And it has just been a barrel of fun since. I took Jeffrey to the post office and library and we happened upon their used book sale so the kids got some new books!! Now I am in the craziness of home just waiting to put Samantha down for a nap and hoping Jeffrey will fall asleep too.
That is all for now!
C-Ya!

Blog Explosion

Hey.. anyone out there that is looking for a way to get more people to see their site.. they should check out Blog Explosion

Basically it is like those old website rings that you get on and people can surf blogs - this is how I do most of my surfing - and there are also other ways to get people to check it out.. then, you earn credits and they get used for you getting your blog to be seen by others.
Kind of a shameless self promotion, kind of me wanting to see more blogs!
Check it out anyways!
C-Ya!

So far..

So far today I have gone on my walk w/ Laura because we had to pick stuff up.
So far today I had Chipotle - yummy!
So far today I am not too tired.
So far today I have spent time w/ Samantha on the bus to work.
So far today I have joined a lottery pool for tonight's Powerball.
So far today I have not had any snacks (though we are getting treats at work in a little bit)
So far today I have already posted once on my blog.
So far today I made on call I need to make - which means, as of right now, I still have choir practice.
So far today I have blog surfed - still on my quest for the perfect blog entry.
So far today I got some tea at Caribou because part of the proceeds go to Hurricane disaster relief.
So, so far today, I have had a good day! :-)
C-Ya!

Storms

In a months time we have had about three big storms. Luckily, we have not had any damage to our house. Last night it was raining cats and dogs. I guess we got about 3 months worth of rain in one night. This, of course, caused flooding. Again, thankfully, we were spared (I think). There was really cool video on WCCO and WCCO.com of a manhole cover hoping around a block from my work. Here is a still I got from the website:

If you want to see more video head to http://www.wcco.com
And thankfully both kids slept through the storms. Nick said that we had some big "boomers" and "light light" (thunder and lightning according to Jeffrey) but no one else woke up. I used to hate storms. Thunder used to scare me. Now it is really cool to watch (from someplace safe). Though now my kids are getting scared, especially Jeffrey. It is our turn (Nick and mine) to be the adult and reassure them everything will be allright.
C-Ya!

Lately

Lately I have just been floating along.. trying to keep my head above water... or maybe I have just been doing that my whole adult life.  Being an adult is hard, but I would not change it for the world!  I love having choices and I love that I can be married with kids and I love that I have no legal restrictions (well, I cannot run for President yet...).

My horoscope from my yahoo page:
        Daily Virgo Forecast
        Quickie: Minor setbacks won't slow you down -- pick yourself up and dust yourself off.
        Overview: It's never easy to let the world know you're not happy with the way it's treating you, but when the representatives of that treatment are     people you don't care much for, it's easier. Take them apart, verb by verb.

I am kind of iffy on horoscopes... they are fun to read at times, but I definitely do not let them run my life.
So we almost thought we were going to need a new dryer (long story), but it turns out Nick may be able to run a gas line.

And did I tell you.. I think I figured out the kid's costumes... if I can find them I think Jeffrey should be a frog and Samantha should be a ladybug!!  I told Nick he will have to be an animal then.. or a plant!  No clue if I will dress up!  Does that not sound cute??

Less then a month to go till my baby girl is 2!!  Wow.. she is such a little peanut!
That would be that.  (Anyone else think this post is schizo?)
C-Ya!

The Great American Blog

I know I will never write the Great American Novel... nor anything else with Great American in the title... so here it is The Great American Blog (entry)... and with it comes words of wisdom and whit about my boring weekend! (THUNK!)

Quick recap...
Friday night I stayed up late to scrapbook and have conversations about nothing with Nick... I went to bed at 2:30am knowing I would regret it in the morning...

which I did when Jeffrey was up at 7:45 or 8am.  After trying to get him to lay in bed for a little while, I proceeded to get up because he also went in and out of his room a couple times and woke up Samantha.  Then they had breakfast and baths and playtime (which usually involves spreading all their toys over the floor and then not picking them up).  Eventually my parents came by and after more playtime (which at this point turned to me stressing because they were outside getting dirty less then an hour or so after their baths), Samantha went down for her nap and Jeffrey, Mom and I (and Nick at the first place) went to look at a couple houses on the Parade of Homes tour.  Of course the nicest ones were the ones we will never be able to afford...but they sure were nice.  It would be nice to check out a couple more houses though I don't know if we will have the time.

Friday night I went to a Pure Romance party.  If you don't know what PR is, well it is an adult (ladies-only) party.. that sells lotions, crèmes and other sexual enhancements.  That was a new experience, though surprisingly not as awkward.  The consultant could say the (c-word/female sexual anatomy) like I say my name.  And I saw things I have never seen anywhere - even online.  There is even something that substitutes for the inner workings of a female - though I just cannot see most men wanting that when their hand works just as good.  (Can you tell, I am trying to keep this PG so I don't get an adult rating, nor to embarrass my parents if they check this out)

Sunday was church and then NASCAR/football.  Which means I did not get much done around the house... oh well.  Oh, I did go through some hand me downs..

Now back to the work week.  And I don't have any time off till Samantha's birthday so...
Oh... and I am still a Creative Memories Consultant...though most of the order was for stuff for me... I am just so frustrated with that.  I love Creative Memories.. it is the reason I scrapbook.. I am pretty much a CM purist (though I just bought some non-CM tools) and I cannot imagine not being a CMC..but yet it is so hard.. I don't have the personality to just talk to anyone about CM, I don't have the energy to chase down customers, and I don't have a lot of time to do what I need to do.  Yet I just cannot give up.  I have so much CM I could not just break away.  Uggh!!

Well that is my boring world and the Great American Blog. 
C-Ya!