I'll take a "Monday"

After our trip to the Brazos Valley museum of Natural History, my parents decided to treat us all to Dairy Queen.  In the car, my mom said she wanted a sundae, to which Garrett replied, he'd have a Monday.  We all couldn't stop laughing.

Visit from my parents

My parents arrived Christmas Day about 11 and left Wednesday evening around 7, we packed a ton into 3 days though!!  Monday we were going to go ice skating, but the timing of things just wasn't working out, so we decided to go bowling instead.  It was so fun!  Payton was a bit bored and we had to take turns taking walks with her, but Heather showed some bowling skills, I started out with 2 gutter balls, but had caught up to everyone else by the end, with a couple spares and a strike :-) Garrett even got a spare, it was really a lot of fun.

Tuesday we knew we'd be going skating after naps, so we had a lazy morning and I made sure P got to sleep fairly early, once she woke up we went ice skating.  My Dad's been skating since he was a kid, still skates on a hockey league now, that's why I wanted to go while he was here, I figured he could help teach G.  Heather and I learned to skate about Payton's age, so we were both really excited, but knew it was going to be interesting since we hadn't skated in years.  It's really like riding a bike though, after a short bit we were both skating and neither of us fell.  Don't get me wrong, we are not figure skaters, but we were going decently fast.  It took Garrett a little while to get the hang of it, but before we left he was skating by himself.  He did fall a few times, but we had prepped him well and told him you just get up and try again.  He did take a lot of breaks, but I don't blame him, it was hard work!  Payton was too small, you need to have a size 8 foot, she's about a 6.5, maybe next time though.

Wednesday we didn't really know what to do, but in the end decided on the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History.  It wasn't bad.  I was disappointed only because the website says they have a full size Pteranadon on exhibit and G loves that dinosaur, it wasn't there anymore.  But, they had a T-Rex skull and a duck bill skull and tail.  The tail was about 8 ft long, it really puts into perspective how big those dinosaurs were.  I'm hoping to take G to a real dinosaur exhibit this summer.  They also had live snakes, turtles, lizards and bugs, so G liked those too.  We were there about an hour and looked at everything twice.  It was about perfect for a 4 year olds attention span.

Then my parents left after dinner.  There was a lot of playing with play doh, dinosaurs, baby dolls, riding scooters and cars and bikes, lots of cooking and eating too.  It was great being able to see them.  I originally had hoped they could come before Christmas to help me more with setting stuff up, but I quickly realized it would be more fun after Christmas and to help us get through the "no school" time.  Garrett asked me today when he can go back to school, I guess I'm too boring now, lol!

Christmas Day

Payton woke up first on Christmas Day, I think Garrett might have had a bit of trouble falling asleep, I can't imagine why!!  The first thing she saw was her new "nursery" setup that Santa brought, she immediately ran and got a baby and a blanket to put in the crib.  I'd say she likes it.  We started to cook breakfast and then Garrett finally woke up.  We let them open presents before we ate.  This year was fun, we just didn't have a ton to spend, but the joy on their faces was priceless.  Payton was really into unwrapping this year, so that added to the excitement and thankfully they are still young and don't understand how many or how few gifts they got.  I am happy to report that we had a budget, we used cash and we stuck to it.  I'm proud of us for that :-)  Everyone was coming for lunch this year, including my parents and Heather.  Lunch was great, I planned to eat at 12:30, we sat down at 12:50, not bad.  After we ate, my kids were ridiculously spoiled by everyone, they got way more then I ever expected!  Payton' favorite gift was definitely the Kozy Kar, Garrett's were the T-rex and the Appatosaurous.  I was just thrilled that all of our family could be there, together.  I did miss my brother terribly though!

Christmas Eve

This year our Christmas Eve plans were changed, due to circumstances beyond my control, we had no plans.  Lindsay invited us to go to her church, and since she is converting to Catholicism, I was excited about that.  at the last minute we invited the O'Banion family over for dinner.  Funny thing was, everyone showed up a LOT earlier then I was expecting, so I was still in the shower, oops!  But, after dinner, we went to church.  Lindsay had suggested we meet there at 6:30 for a 7pm mass.  We were expecting it to be very busy.  When we got there, we were the second car in the parking lot, the first was Lindsay's, lol!!  Turns out mass didn't start until 7:15, and apparently, since St. Mary's is in Northgate and primarily a student based church, it never really got very busy.  Mass was very nice, I won't lie though, I've been spoiled by Central's band and choir, I was very disappointed by the 2 singers/band they had.  I was hoping for a really nice choir.  But, other then that, everything was nice, even though we ended up being there 2 hours, the kids behaved as well as can be expected.  I still don't understand why Catholics feel the kids don't need a nursery, but we survived.  Even captured a nice family picture at the church.

Then it was home to put out milk, cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer!

Reindeer Cookies

Garrett wanted to bring cookies for his class party today, together we decided on these cute reindeer cookies.  Yesterday I bought everything we needed and last night, after dinner, we made them.  I would have taken pictures, but my hands were too full!!  Baking with an almost 2 year old should be an olympic event, lol!!  That girl was everywhere and into everything.  She was half laying across the kitchen table, she was eating the dough, poking the dough, grabbing for the knife, the flour, the rolling pin.  I was using a puzzle piece for my template, she ran into her room and came back with another puzzle piece and was trying to use that.  We had some dough left over, so Garrett got a santa cookie cutter, she ran to the drawer and grabbed a cookie cutter.  When we were putting the eyes on the reindeer, she alternated between trying to eat the m&m's and poking holes for them.  All in all, it really was fun, but wow.  I may not bake cookies again for a few months, lol!!

Things I want to do

I have a mental list of things I'm wanting to do this year and time is just running out on me.  So, I thought I'd put it on paper and see what all I can actually get done:

Paint the front door black

Paint the 2 hallways and living room gray
Paint the wall above the fireplace a slightly darker gray
Possibly stencil the picture frame wall in the living room
Recover the pillows on the couches in the living room
Hang a ton of random black frames in the hallway by the kids bedrooms
Refinish the table in the garage and turn our dining room into an actual dining room

I feel that all of these things are very doable, I just need a bit of money.  So, some of it may need to wait until 2012.  Here's the things I'd like to complete in 2012:

Replace the light fixture in the kids bath
Frame out their mirror, with black or white, I haven't decided which yet
Redo Payton's room - this will be a major project and will probably wait until summer when she's ready for a big girl bed
Decorate our bedroom and bathroom, I'm leaning towards a mustard yellow and gray theme, but that may change - this will also be a huge project so will probably be a fall item
Continue my monthly hand &/or foot print art
Paint the entryway
Paint the dining room

I think that about covers it.  Now that we know we are definitely staying here for many years to come, I really want to work on decorating it more.  I'm going to try to stick to my goal of one project a month, and keep it as inexpensive as possible.

Does anyone else have a to do list that looks like it's getting pushed into the new year?

No going back

Well, we did it.  As of about 11am this morning, we filed for bankruptcy.  Toughest decision we've ever made.  Late yesterday we realized we had to take a credit counseling, online class, so after the kids went to bed, I (we) flew through it.  Thankfully, it was rather easy and took 45 min instead of the 90 they said, and the follow up phone call was pretty ridiculous, but after printing out 50 more pages and signing where we needed to, I faxed everything off this morning and the lawyer immediately filed for us.  Time is of the essence because we are 2 months behind on my car, and in Texas that means repo.  Tomorrow was the deadline on that, but we are "safe" now, no worries about the car disappearing while we sleep our I drop the kids off at school.  Don't think we are taking this lightly, I joke a bit, because the seriousness is more then I can handle sometimes, but I am fully aware of how disastrous this is.  I do know a couple other people that have filed and I know that things are better for them now, so I'm hopeful that we will be ok as well.  Although, our situation is completely different then both of theirs, so I'm still really, really scared.  It will take about 30-45 days before our case goes before a judge.  The holidays will extend things a bit and apparently it being a Chapter 13, vs Chapter 7, delays things a bit too. Some things won't change, we haven't used a credit card in 2 years, so that won't be a big difference, but just knowing that you can't get anything on credit kind of scares us a bit.  It also puts added pressure on Matt to make sure the business is profitable and on me to get a job.  Both of us are very focused on these things, but a bad economy is never good for starting a business or getting a job.  I will say, my phone hasn't rung in hours and that's a big change already!  Christmas will be very inexpensive for us, I'm grateful that the kids are young and don't really understand any of this.  They won't know whether they got more or less gifts then their friends.  There won't be any big vacations, but we haven't been on one since our honeymoon so that's no change.  No new cars, but mine is new and Matt's isn't very old either.  And, thankfully we love our house because we won't be moving for 7-10 years now!  So, anyone out there considering bankruptcy, I'm here if you want to talk about it.  I'm no expert, but I am very good with a budget, and I may be able to help you decide if you should file or not.  It may sound ironic, "I'm good with a budget", but remember we aren't in our situation because of over spending, our income took a major hit, so major that we couldn't handle all of our bills.  Hopefully, 2012 will be a better year financially!!

Tragic reminder

I have a bible study friend, she lost her 2 kids and her father in a tragic car accident a few years back.  I didn't know her then, but when I heard her story, it made me take a second to stop and think about how fast your life can change.  Because of her and her loss, on the crazy days when it's super loud, or everyone is crying, or there's too much yelling (by me), I, as I'm sure most moms do, think, "oh, what I wouldn't give for just an hour of peace and quiet", but then Susan pops in my head and I instantly think, no, I really don't.  I can not even begin to imagine how her life changed.  She now has 2 sweet small boys, but her life will never go back to what it was, never. 

On Saturday, I was with the kids ALL day, from 8am to 8:30pm, it was a long day.  It went well for the most part, but as I was heading to bed, I was walking through the house and there were little reminders of my kids; the Trio block house G made for his dinosaurs, plus a few dinosaurs all camped out in the living room; P's white keds in the kitchen, I was reminded how she cried when I took them off her because she loves shoes; then I go in our bathroom and there's the kids toothbrushes,, because my sink is apparently the best in the house; then I see a little princess sippy cup of water on the chair in the bedroom, and as I climbed into bed, the 4 hot wheels cars G left me, "so I could have them to sleep with".  As soon as I got into bed, I thought of Susan, why I don't know, but then I prayed and I thanked God for my children and for the gentle reminders to be thankful and grateful for them.

So, even though I hate that Susan lost her children, I'm glad that I know her so I can appreciate my kids just a tiny bit more then I might have.

Crazy Day

After much discussion back and forth, yesterday afternoon, Matt & I decided that we really had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.  It was an extremely tough situation and not an easy decision at all.  But, oddly, after the decision was made I think we both felt a huge sigh of relief.  Life is not going to be easy, on the contrary.  Some people file bankruptcy because things got out of hand and they ran up too much credit card debt, and I know this happens for any number of reasons; loss of job, pay cut, relocation, or just living beyond your means.  We, on the other hand, are in jeopardy of losing our "property" meaning our house and our cars.  Our problem does include some CC debt, but it's old debt, nothing we've accrued recently (we cut up all our credit cards 2 years ago January).  We have to do a rush filing so my car does not get repossessed, so that meant I had today to get everything to the lawyer, plus the usual Friday craziness of picking up checks and depositing them on top of payroll and normal household stuff.  Thankfully, I have a friend who is a realtor and she was more then happy to allow me to use their high volume fax and entertain Payton while I took care of stuff.  Unfortunately, on the first go around everything did not fax, so we made 2 trips back to her office.  Payton was pretty much right at home by the 3rd trip up there and was just running around like it was home.  Unfortunately Payton took 2 very short naps in the car and exercised her new found terrible two rights and freaked out, arched her back and screamed every time I put her in the car today.  On top of going to fax things 3 times, I've been to 3 different builders offices and the bank 3 times.  Now, I am fairly certain the lawyer has everything he needs and Payton has decided she does not want to nap and is in her bed screaming.  I know she's just beyond tired and has had almost no play time today, which isn't her fault, but I really need her to sleep a bit so I can have some downtime.  Garrett thankfully is cooperating and doing quiet time in his room.

But, back to the bankruptcy, the reason it won't get much easier for us, is we have to get caught up on the back payments on the house and keep up with new, adjusted car payments.  The CC debt we did have will go away, but none of our household bills will change.  So, it's still of extreme importance that I get the job I applied for almost 2 months ago, otherwise we may still face having to sell my car and or the house.  All of these tough things to deal with plus Christmas on top of it.  Couldn't be worse timing.  In reality, we probably should have filed for bankruptcy a year or even 2 years ago, we'd probably be a lot more ahead today, but we, as most people, feel bankruptcy is a terrible thing and we kept hoping we could get back on track.

As I promised, I will blog about this as we go.  Who knows, maybe it'll help someone else, because honestly, I wish I had someone to talk to who had been down this road before.  It's a lonely road right now....

Rings

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but some people have been eyeing my empty ring finger lately and while I kind of feel it's none of their business or maybe they should just ask, the truth is I'm having an allergic reaction to the metal in my rings.  I wear them for special occasions, but it makes my ring finger very red and sore, it's a very uncomfortable feeling.  So, until I can afford to have them re sealed or whatever the correct term is, I don't wear them much.  So, rest easy, Matt and I are not separated or anything along those lines, it's just that the white gold has worn off and I'm allergic to whatever is underneath it.  The lady at the jewelry store said it's very common and some people have to have them resealed every 6 months to a year, considering it's been almost 7 years I've been wearing the engagement ring, it's lasted a pretty long time!

Honesty

I think sometimes I forget that this blog is supposed to be honest and about my life, not just the good stuff, but the bad.  I don't even really know who reads it so it may just be for my own personal memories.  I think it's time for me to be honest with myself though and put it down on "paper" and in 10 years I can look back and remember how bad (or good) things really were in 2011. 

On Monday, I found out my Traverse is going to be repossessed.  That's a term I never thought I'd speak, but here we are, 2.5 years since I lost my job, and are facing really hard times.  After I lost my job we managed to stretch our savings from 3-6 months, then with still no job offers and a baby due in weeks, we cashed in our IRA's and managed to live off those for a year, then with still no job offer, we cashed in my 401k and started our own business.  The business has done ok, but it's just that our income went from close to $100,000 to about $40,000.  There's only so many things you can cut out of your daily living expenses and make up a $60,000 difference.  So, we fell behind on our bills, then the summer hit, business was doing good, we got caught up, then it slowed down again and now we are behind again.  But, maybe hearing the words "repossession activation" was just the wake up call we needed to hear.

On Tuesday, we had our last bible study, the ladies know how we've been struggling, and made us a lasagna dinner with salad and bread and slipped a $150 HEB gift card in my pocket.  And driving home I remembered that one of the ladies used to be an attorney, very recently, she quit her job 4 months ago.  So, when I got home I emailed her and she put me in touch with a bankruptcy attorney.  Again, this is something I never dreamed we'd be facing, but after a preliminary phone conversation today, he told me things I had given up hope on.  We can keep our home and our cars. 

So, in sticking with my desire to be honest, I'll update my blog after my phone meeting with him at 3:30.  He said he has yet to meet someone that didn't qualify for bankruptcy, it's more a matter of which type we qualify for.

Tears

Sometimes you just have a bad day, and try as I do to hide it from the kids, sometimes you just can't.  Well, yesterday was one of those days.  It was just Payton and I, Garrett was at school yesterday, and I kept getting more and more bad news, I hung up the phone after one particular call and I just started crying.  I was sitting on the floor in Payton's room, and what does that sweet girl do, she goes and gets a baby wipe and comes over and wipes my face.  Then she leaned in to give me a kiss, sat on my lap, really still, and flipped through a book.  Payton never sits still and until recently, doesn't much like looking at or reading books, so the fact that she just sat with me is pretty amazing.  God gave me a sweet little angel in my Payton.  He knew I needed comforting and even though she's barely 25 pounds and not quite 3 feet tall, she was all the comfort I needed.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we were thankful for so many things, but mainly that Luther's treatment was a success and that he was with us for Thanksgiving and should be for many to come!  We are thankful for the opportunity to try our hand at owning our own business.  It's a constant struggle, but it's ours and at the end of the day, we are thankful for the opportunity to make it a success.  We are thankful for our family, I was very thankful that my sister was able to spend the holiday with us, it meant a lot to me and I know the kids loved seeing her.  I am thankful for my kids, both of them bring such joy to my life, I can not imagine my life without them in it.  And I am thankful for my marriage.  It may not be perfect, we do fight, but we love each other and are always supportive of each other and I think fighting is natural when you live and work with someone! I am thankful that, for now, we live in such a wonderful house and that we are building so many memories for your children.

Thursday 11-24-11

Today I am thankful it is Thanksgiving and I can spend it with my family!!

Wednesday 11-23-2011

Today I am thankful that I get to bake and cook for tomorrow's feast.  And that my sister is coming to visit later on.

Tuesday 11-22-2011

Today I am thankful for friends :-)  Who ask for help making rice crispy turkeys and let my kids run wild in their house.

Monday 11-21-11

Today I'm thankful I thought ahead and was able to get all my grocery shopping done before the mad rush :-)

Sunday 11-20-11

Today I am thankful for how well my children play together.  They do have their moments spent fighting, and I imagine we'll have years of fighting to come, but it warms my heart to watch them play together.

Saturday 11-19-11

Today I am thankful for family time!  Matt had to work, but after he got home we decided to head downtown and just walk around and look at the lights, show the kids the tree.  It's nothing earth shattering or amazing as far as trees go, but to a 4.5 and 1.5 year old, it all looked pretty cool.

Friday 11-18-11

Today I am thankful for my car!  I haven't had it for 2 days now (Matt's driving in temporarily) and being housebound is not easy!

Thursday 11-17-11

Today I am thankful that God was watching over my family and kept my family intact and safe on Wednesday evening..

Wednesday 11-16-11

Today I am thankful for being able to be home with my children, especially so I can attend cute little thanksgiving lunches, even if I did have to sit in a tiny little chair.

Tuesday 11-15-11

Today I am thankful for the rain!

Monday 11-14-11

Today I am thankful for the one on one times I get with both kids.  Today, while Garrett was in school, Payton and I ran errands, played, ate lunch etc.  After Matt came home, he watched Payton so I could take Garrett to the store, and after Payton went to bed, we played Lego's.  I'm thankful for these quality moments.

Sunday 11-13-11

Today, I am thankful for neighbors and their kids, sometimes we all just need a break and it's so nice that my kids can go there and hers can come here, most of the time in the same day.

Saturday 11-12-11

Today I am thankful for husbands who take wild and crazy 4 year olds to work and allow momma a break :-)

Friday 11-11-11

Today, I am thankful I have 2 healthy children.  I think sometimes we forget how much of a blessing that really is.  To go through 2 pretty uneventful pregnancies and only minor colds up until now.

Thursday 11-10-11

Today I am thankful for our library.  Silly?  Maybe, but Garrett loves going there and picking out new books.  Payton is getting much better at not just running around pulling books off the shelf, so we can spend a bit more time there now.  It is usually quite relaxing.  Maybe one day I'll get to stop on the way out and pick up some books for me too :-)

Wednesday 11-9-11

Today was another of those hard days, we seem to have a lot of them lately.  But, today I am thankful for quiet moments reading with Garrett, while Payton sleeps.

Hair

I thought I would lose my mind last night.  Payton has such a tiny bit of hair, to walk over to her and find a bunch of it in her hand.  I freaked out. 
While I was making dinner, the kids were coloring and Garrett was cutting out some pictures, he loves doing both right now, so I was encouraging him.  I walked over to thank them for behaving so well while I got dinner finished and Payton handed me a huge chunk of her hair.  I literally fell apart.  I yelled at Garrett to get in his room and I started bawling.  I completely over reacted, and I know that, but I still couldn't stop myself.  I was just devastated that he had cut her hair.
In all honesty, even though he cut a LOT of hair, you pretty much can't tell.  He cut all the long stuff on top, and most of the right side of her head, but since it's growing in so slowly and uneven, you probably can't tell unless you look close and see the blunt cut to it.  Her pony tail will just be really thin and kind of lopsided.
Still he is grounded and can't use scissors, he had to go to bed early and he isn't allowed to watch tv for a few days.  Later on Garrett was practicing his letters at the table, I changed Payton into her pj's, and followed her into the kitchen, where without prompting, she walked over and gave Garrett a big kiss, it made me tear up again.  I guess she was showing me she loved him no matter what and that mom, it really is just hair.  Get over it.

Tuesday 11-8-11

Today was a hard day, but I am thankful for my children and my husband.  I couldn't imagine my life without them.

Monday 11-7-11

Today I am thankful for sweet little girls who want to sit on my lap, on the floor, and play with her picnic set and her baby dolls.

Sunday 11-6-11

Today I am thankful my husband enjoys cooking.  After the garage sale I was just plain exhausted, so it was nice that he cooked dinner.

Saturday , 11-5-11

Today I am thankful for heaters and warm blankets.  It was a very cold start to the garage sale today!

I am also thankful for my sister and sil, all the people that came and bought stuff and that I was able to donate things to Goodwill too.

Friday 11-4-11

Today, I am thankful for footed pj's (for my kids, not me), hot water and the heater in my bathroom.   It was all of 35 when I woke up, 71 in the house.  It's cold.  Last night I had the windows open because the house got warm and Sunday's high is 78.  Gotta love Texas!

Thursday 11-3-11

Today, I am thankful for cell phones that text :-)  I don't know how I would get through the day, home, with 2 kids, without being able to "talk" to other people.

Wednesday, 11-2-11

Today, I am thankful that both of my children have schools they can go to and have fun.  I had a list of errands a mile long and knowing my kids were having fun and being taken care of so well, made running my errands, alone, so much easier!

Tuesday, 11-1-11

I've seen a lot of people posting things they are thankful for on facebook, I'm going to attempt to do the same on my blog.  I'm not going to lie, some of the things I'm thankful for are materialistic, but oh well!!

So here goes:

Today, I am thankful for the nursery at church.  I debated on going to bible study but with 2 overly tired, kids going through sugar withdrawal, I was the first mom to church!  I am thankful they were distracted for 2.5 hours and played and had tons of fun.

Halloween

Halloween was a blast this year, I will be posting pictures very soon. 

Garrett wanted to be Luke Skywalker again and since that meant $0 for a costume, I was not about to argue!  I saw a really cute witch costume at the Halloween store, for Payton, but did not like the $39.99 price tag, so I asked around and was able to borrow an adorable tutu and witches hat.  Since I wasn't sure she'd keep the hat on, I searched for something I could put on a shirt for her and found some witches shoes, they were perfect, I ironed them on then had to stitch the edges of it, but her costume cost me $7!  $3.50 for the shirt and $3.50 for the decal.

We had 2 Halloween themed birthday parties this year, so they were both able to wear their costumes a bunch this year.  The Saturday before Halloween we decided to go downtown (it was kind of a flop, I doubt we'll go again), but it was a bit cool for just a short sleeve shirt, so Payton went as Yoda and it was a huge hit!  People stopped us to ask if they could take pictures of her.  And with Garrett being Luke Skywalker, it was just a great combo.  Sunday, we went to the George Bush Library (again, I probably won't do it again, a lot of waiting around for not much fun), she went as Yoda again and got her picture taken for The Eagle's website.

Monday was warm so we went with our witch costume and she was adorable!  Even wore her hat a bunch.  Garrett loved being Luke again, and was SO excited for trick or treating, but I think he was so hyper he wore himself out pretty fast, lol!  We didn't go to very many houses, but honestly, it was fine.  We didn't end up with a TON of candy and we got to go home and help Matt pass out candy.  Garrett ended up at the neighbors house and Payton ha a blast chasing people down to put candy in their bags.

All in all, it was great fun!

Emotional week from Hell!

Last week was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, here's a recap:

Monday - Matt & I made the decision that finances were just not getting any better, so we need to sell my car and the house.  Lots of tears during this process.

Tuesday - I was extremely emotional.  I have bible study Tuesday morning, but after dropping the kids in the nursery I just knew I couldn't sit and make small talk with people, and did I mention I was a bit emotional, I kept crying every time I thought about where we would live, etc.  So, I snuck off to a quiet place at the church and read my bible and texted some very understanding people.  It was cold and really windy Tuesday, so the nursery kids didn't go outside, I saw Payton's class headed my way in their strollers and since i knew if she saw me she'd freak out, I ducked into the sanctuary for a good hour.  It's amazingly peaceful in there, especially when you are the only one in there! 

Wednesday - I got a call from a close friend who said, send me your resume now, a friend of my boss is looking for an assistant.  So, I sent her my resume and then after a bit more info, emailed this individual myself with a very nice cover letter attached.

Thursday - About 9am I got an email back asking me when I could come in to interview.

Friday - I interviewed with her at 10.  I was there 1.5 hours.  The job is a stepping stone.  Her assistant is leaving in May and she is looking to replace her, but in the meantime she has an hourly position she needs to fill, but with the anticipation of that hourly person learning the job and being promoted to the salary position in the summer.  It was one of the best, but toughest interviews I've been on.  It was obvious she is looking for an assistant, not just an hourly associate.

The hourly position is not the answer to all our financial problems.  We may still lose the house and my car, but it's a start.  The job sounds great, and I'm really pretty excited about it.  I'm also scared, nervous, sad, etc.  It's a hard thing going back to work. 

The position isn't even posted yet, so there's no guarantee that I'll get it, but I'm praying and checking out daycares, in case I do get it.

3 years

That's how long we've owned this house.  It's the longest I've lived in any one "dwelling" since I lived with my parents, so this is pretty big.  I love this house, and I mean love it.  I picked it out, I convinced Matt we needed it, I enjoy it so much.  I love the hardwood floors we picked out and the tile and the granite counter tops.  I love that the rooms that are painted, I did all by myself.  No one helped.  Matt probably helped pick out the colors, but I did all the taping and painting.  I love that it's on a cul de sac and I don't have to freak out if the kids are playing out front and a ball runs in the street, and I love that Garrett can ride his bike around the circle and I'm not worried.  I love that the backyard is huge and while we don't have a lot out there, we can run and play.  I love the minimal landscaping, for those that saw our old house, you know this is huge for us, lol.  I'm just not much of a green thumb, weeding is not a job I enjoy.  I love the gas fireplace, and all the windows that let in so much fresh air (when it's cool enough to open them) and tons of sunlight.  I think the only thing I don't like is that the sun sets in the back of the house, so the backyard gets pretty steamy in the summer and the kitchen gets hot.  But, we have adjusted to that and we play in the front yard at night and the back yard in the morning.  I love the open floor plan.  I love that our room is on the opposite side of the house from the kids, but I can still hear them, and that Garrett's door squeaks a little, so I hear him when he gets up.  I love my kitchen setup (although I'd still love a stainless stove and microwave).

This house is my dream home, and I love it.  That's why it pains me so much to say we are selling it.

20 months

Payton had her 20 month "birthday" yesterday.  I no longer take her monthly picture, and I probably wouldn't have realized it was yesterday, but out of the blue yesterday morning, Garrett asked me how old Payton was and when I stopped to think I realized she was 20 months old.  Funny how that little reminder popped up.

Here's a few of our favorite things about Payton:
She loves shoes - she can say shoes now, and she will follow you around with shoes in her hand and say "shoes, shoes" over and over until you put them on her.  If you don't, she'll put them down and get another pair.  I guess she thinks maybe those don't match her outfit and she needs another pair, lol, who knows.  She ALWAYS grabs a matching pair.  I'm very impressed by this. I don't know if it's a great skill or not, but I feel like it's pretty impressive.  Oh, and if she sees you putting shoes on, she runs to get hers.

She loves going outside - she will stand at the back door and just say "outside" and she expects us to let her out.  Of course, we can't always, and she gets very mad.

She is very happy - she just is, she's almost always laughing or smiling, it's such a joy.  And it makes it that much cuter because she has this big gap between her teeth.

She is a great sleeper - I'm not going to apologize, she is a fantastic sleeper, she sleeps at least 12 hours a nigh, usually 13, and she takes at least a 2 hr nap, sometimes 3.  Yes, she still has her paci and I'm planning on taking it away........someday.

She is very independent - She wants to walk everywhere, and for the most part she just walks, every once is a while, she'll stick her hand up in the air, so she can hold your hand.  I love those moments.

She plays very well by herself, but loves when we get on the floor with her and play too.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  She is my sweet angel and I love her so much.  I'm already starting to get ideas for her 2nd birthday!

Ponytail

Today, Payton wore her first ponytail, and oddly I am very excited about this!! I have a very funny picture of her on my phone, now I just need to figure out how to move it from my phone onto the blog.

I will say, I was impressed she let me put it in and she left it alone. I thought it was going to look silly, but we tried it at my neighbors house last night and she looked so cute. Next, I"m going to try pig tails......

Talking

Garrett is a big talker, he asks a ton of questions, I do my best to be patient and answer all of them for him. I try the "what do you think" and he usually gets mad and just wants an answer. Sometimes I honestly, just don't know. Sometimes he gets mad and says "just tell me", and then we argue because the fact is, I don't know. I also say, that's the way God made it, and I don't use this as a cop out, I just feels it's true.

He's very intrigued by death and dying lately, I have no idea why, but I do my best to answer as truthfully as I can and keep it simple for a 4 year old. We had a conversation, in the car, on Friday, it went something like this:
G: Where do we go when we die?
Me:Heavan to live with God
G: would I live in a house?
Me:Yes (honestly, I don't know, but that seemed important to him)
G: Will I have a bike?
Me: yes
G: will our house be big?
Me: yes and it will always stay clean, so I'll never have to clean again :-)
G: good, I hate picking up my toys
G: will there be good food?
Me: yes
G: will I have friends there?
Me: yes

This went on for a while and I realized I might have been making heaven sound a bit too good, so I quickly reminded him that if he went to heaven, I'd never be able to see him again, and he said:
"Mom, when you die, you live in people's hearts and never leave them". I quietly choked back tears and said, "yes, Garrett you are right. You will always live in my heart and I in yours."

Yes, he came up with this on his own.

Bathroom - pre remodel

Here are the before pictures of the bathroom. It had kind of an Asian theme to it and it doesn't didn't fit in with the rest of the house, plus it was builder beige....

I knew I was keeping the counter tops, they are a gorgeous, matte black granite with some white and green flowing through it, and the faucets were brand new (when we moved in), so I wasn't replacing those either. I made sure my new hardware was brushed nickle, instead of shiny gold and silver.

I still want to replace the light fixture, I found one I liked, for $20, I kick myself for not buying it, it was on clearance and now is gone :-( I'm not too picky on the light, I just want the shiny silver gone.

Bathroom

I've been thinking about home improvements for literally months and months, but we never have any extra money. I finally decided we never were going to, and that I could do so much more by myself then I was giving myself credit for.


Since the house looked pretty much the same as the day we moved in, other then Garrett's room which I redid while pregnant with Payton, I decided to start with something fairly small. I had so many ideas in my head, it took a while to narrow it down and get organized, but then finally things started falling into place. I had a picture I knew I wanted to use, but had a really hard time matching the color, one day I found a shower curtain I really liked, and it had the same colors as the picture, I took it to the paint store and found an exact match to the green they had used in their example (I knew I wanted green in the bathroom). I ended up liking the color so much I painted part of the kitchen the same green!

So, I had Amber come watch the kids one day and I painted and then Matt took them outside to play one night so I could do a second coat. It took a lot more then I expected, the walls were so dry! But, I loved the color once it was on the walls. I found bathroom hardware I really liked at BB&B, on clearance, oh, the shower curtain was on clearance too. I found dark blue towels on clearance at Target, so I was really pleased. I bought a shelving unit from BB&B that ended up being on sale and a vase and flower from Michael's with some coupons. I found a purple elephant that I really liked, it was online and only $10, but the shipping was $7, that just seemed high for one item. But, after searching at 5 stores for something to put on the shelf I just couldn't get the little elephant out of my head, so I ordered it, turns out it was the last one (it was from etsy) and the shipping ended up only being $5, so she refunded me $2, that made me feel better. I need one more vase for the third shelf. I found one I like at Crate & Barrel for $10, so I"m thinking I"m just going to order it. I haven't seen anything in a store I even remotely like, so it seems like it's worth it.

Oh, and the roman shades! I found a link on pinterest to make roman shades yourself. The shade in there was just plain ugly but I didn't want just a curtain either, it's a small window, but I wanted something cute. I ended up with a soft grey material, since the shower curtain is so busy, I didn't want the shade to compete. I decided I liked the grey more and more, because I want to paint the hallway outside that bathroom grey, so it will all tie in together.



I'm pretty happy with my one room improvement, next is the living room, the hallway, the kitchen area, the master bedroom.......

Payton's backpack

When Payton started going to MDO, I had decided I was ready to switch her from her diaper bag. We just really didn't need it anymore, even though I love her diaper bag so much. I am not going to get rid of it, just won't use it for normal excursions, we'll use it when we need to pack a bit more to go places. I found one I loved on pinterest, it was an Owl, silly me, I thought I could just go out and buy one. Well, not in B/CS anyway! I tried 4 or 5 different stores and then gave up, only to stumble onto it on the Bed, Bath & Beyond website. By going in to the store to order it, I could use a coupon. I had to pay for shipping, but with my coupon that ended up being free. It took a little over a week to come in, so she's yet to take it to school, but we brought it to church with us today and she insisted on wearing it. She was just adorable walking in the parking lot wearing her backpack, I've got to get a picture so you can see.

Grunting

I noticed, about a month ago, that every time Payton sat on the floor, she would grunt. At first I thought it was just plain hilarious, then I started thinking, where in the world did she learn that from. Well, it was me!! I started paying more attention and I guess every time I get on the floor to play with her, I grunt. How funny is that?!?! I don't know how to stop P from doing it, but being aware of it sure made me stop!

Garrett stops napping

A few weeks back, I was beginning to think my 4.5 year old would nap forever. But, things changed, and fast. All the sudden we noticed he was still awake at 9:30, 10, 10:30 at night. I did a little test and had him not nap 2 days in a row, he was in bed by 8:30 both nights and never came back out.

I should probably explain that after he goes to bed, we don't go check on him unless he calls for us. His door squeaks and we found that if we went int to check on him, we were waking him up. We like the door squeaky because then we know when he's coming out of his door.

Then, I had him take a nap. It was Saturday, so I figured if he was up late, it was ok. Well, he came in our room at 10:40, just wide awake, I decided then and there that naps were done. So, for 3 days we've been doing "rest" time, because honestly, momma needs time to get stuff done and I need rest time. So far, so good. No major meltdowns, which tells me he really was ready.

My baby boy is growing up.

Ice

Payton LOVES ice, and not to chew on, she wants it in her sippy cup. I'm not exactly sure when this started, but because it's so hot, I always have a cup of water for her, she usually carries it around the house. When it gets too warm for her, she'll take it to the freezer and stand there hitting the fridge with it until someone comes and puts ice in it for her. It cracks me up every time!

I guess I drop a lot of ice, so when you fill up her cup, she looks on the ground for fallen ice, so she can put it in the sink. Which brings her a ton of joy. So, now, I make sure one falls, just so I can see her smile and clap her hands :-)

Payton's first day of school

Payton started MDO, 2 weeks ago. She loved it! We were so blessed to find a place for her. Powersports had originally said they could take her as well, but turns out they are only licensed for 2 and up, so we had to scramble at the last minute to find a spot for her. I finally got a call back from Christ United Methodist churches, School For Little People. I had requested 2 days a week, when I went the very next day to sign her up, that spot had been taken and there was only a 1 day a week available, so I jumped on it. We were also lucky that we were able to visit with her teacher and go to the school about 4 times before school started, so on the first day, P walked right in and ran to the toys, no trouble at all! She normally naps about 12:30 and school goes until 1:30, they said about 1:15 she started whining pretty bad, but we all agree she was just getting tired. This past Wednesday didn't go quite as well. She has a bit of a cold, so she wasn't feeling great. When we got there, there were 6 kids there, 5 of them were crying, hysterically crying. I twas so loud I could barely even explain to her teacher that I knew she had a runny nose, but wasn't running fever and otherwise was fine. Because both teachers were holding screamers, I got her as distracted as I could and then tried to escape without her seeing me, but she did and she started crying too. Honestly, I might have cried if I had to stay, it was loud! But, they go outside about 15 minutes after drop off and the teachers said every kid stopped crying.

I ordered her a new back pack and it came while she was at school Wednesday, but she's been wearing it around the house, I think she likes it.

Garrett's first day of school!

I cannot believe I haven't posted about the kids and school yet! Especially considering I was one of the few moms I know that was SO excited their kid was heading back to school.

Garrett started 3 weeks ago, and he was so excited! He's at Powersports again this year and I somehow missed the orientation they had, I never got the notice, so I was pleasantly surprised when I showed up the first day and there was an entirely new building and it was amazing! Everything in his classroom is brand new, everything! I promise you, kindergarten won't be so nice next year! He has the same teacher he had last year, so the drop off was very easy. I think we are officially done crying at drop off, for school anyways. There are 5 kids total in his class, which I love. I also realize kindergarten will be somewhat of a shock, but I'm ok with that, he needs the more individualized attention right now. His only complaint? That I come to pick him up too soon, lol! This year they offer an extended day program, for working parents, it's purely play, so the first week, he actually cried and asked why I can't work all the time like the other moms.

He's doing great though. I can already see an improvement in his name writing. He takes after me with his love of reading, but he takes after Matt with his dislike of sitting still to do school work. We are working on this.

Tricycle

For some reason, Garrett never had a real tricycle, I really want one for Payton. We were at Target last night and I was showing Matt the one I want to get her (it was about $55) for Christmas. Let me back up just a bit, Payton did not nap yesterday, so she was a bit feisty in Target. She happily was playing on a kids chair until I put it back on the self and then she cried, Matt thought she had gotten hurt. Ok, so we're over by the tricycles and I see a little one, P climbs right on it and starts trying to ride it. It was cute, a pink Red Ryder one, but not as big as the one I wanted. Well, when I tried to take her off it she went ballistic! I am not into giving in to my kids demands, esp if they throw a huge fit in the store, but when she was screaming I noticed the tag on it. It was originally $65, marked down to $23.88!! I said Matt, this is only $24. We had to get it, I mean it was too good of a deal to pass up. So, unfortunately, the fit thrower got what she wanted. Of course, she refused to get off it through the entire store and screamed when we handed it to the cashier, who very quickly handed it back.

When we got to the car, we knew this was going to be bad. So, what did we do, we videotaped her, lol!! Are we the worst parents ever?!?! I picked her up off of it and was putting it in the back of my car as she screams bloody murder and then proceeds to throw herself down in the parking lot. All the while Matt and I are laughing, hysterically. I have no idea if other people saw us or not. It was just too funny! She just did not understand that it was going home with us. I think a big part of that was her being so overtired. She pouted all the way home. We left it in the car so she wouldn't be reminded of it when we got home.

I think it's safe to say she likes it :-)

Garrett

Garrett and I have our battles, but lately, he's just cracking me up. Here's an example of our last 2 mornings:

Yesterday, Garrett asked if he could go outside and play. I was making breakfast, so I said sure, just come in when I call you. And he ran out to play in the front yard. A few minutes later I go to get him, and I really wish I had brought my camera. He's running through the sprinklers in his winter coat and underwear! When I stopped laughing and asked him why he was dressed that way, he said the winter coat was because it was cold (65) and to keep his shirt dry (it did), and his shorts had gotten wet, so he took them off. I did hear neighbors drive off to work, I can only imagine what they thought as they drove by my house, lol!!

Today, Matt was home and since Garrett needed a shower before school, I sent him in to shower with Matt. G still sleeps in a diaper, so Matt sent him to throw the diaper in the "big" trash, meaning the kitchen, not the one in the bathroom. I was laying in bed watching tv and I thought I heard the front door open, then I know I heard the back door open, so I get up, ready to be mad, and again, where was my camera?!?! He's standing on the back porch, naked, carrying the diaper, trying to figure out how to get to the big trash can, lol!!! Because our sprinklers were broke, the grass is very much like straw and he said he couldn't figure out how to get to the trash can and not hurt his feet. I have no idea if anyone saw my naked son in the front yard trying to get the gate open while carrying his diaper!

Sometimes you just have to stop and laugh

18 month checkup

Payton had her 18 month check up today. Garrett is at school, so it was just her and I. She, being little miss Independent, insisted on carrying her water and walking all over the Dr's office. She got on the scale, like a big girl (23.6 pounds 50%), but cried when we laid her down to measure her (32 3/4 inches 50%). The rest of the appointment she did great. Said very still when the Dr examined her (on my lap). He determined that she's advanced, physically, for her age, but behind, verbally, for her age. It is true that second children tend to talk slower then the first, but at 18 months, the minimum is 7 words, she says 5. He did a simple hearing test and asked me a bunch of questions. We do not feel it is a hearing or cognitive issue, she hears just fine and follows commands as well as can be expected. She does "talk" a lot, we just can't understand her. He said it'll be time to be really concerned when she's closer to 2.5, for now, we just continue to try and get her to use her words. He did say that going to MDO starting next week may help her. She will be the second youngest in her class, and I was floored by how some of the kids were talking. He said when she sees and hears her peers talking, she'll most likely start talking more too.

Everything else was perfectly fine, he does want to me to cut back on her milk consumption a bit, and try and encourage her to eat more for breakfast (not sure how I do that, lol). But, he said at this age it's pretty normal for them to eat one good meal and 2 not so good. She probably does 2 good and one very bad, so he said over the course of the day, she's probably just fine.

He also said, that she is not too early for time out and when her little temper starts flaring up, I should put her in time out.

She did get one shot and she let everyone in the office know she wasn't happy about it. Poor thing started crying as soon as I set her on the table, she must remember that's what happens up there. She only got one, but she screamed, hard. I still say it's harder for me the older they get. She just looked at me with this pure terror in her eyes. And then hugged me so tight, and she's not a hugger, so that made me sad. She whimpered until the nurse opened the door, then took off. She wasn't giving us a chance to reconsider and give her any more.

But, no more until 2 years. Oh, expect for the flu shot.........

Rain!

Yes, it finally rained, and not once, but twice! It started on Wednesday night, it got super, crazy windy. Payton kept falling over it was so windy, and then it sprinkled and I got a bit nervous that the wind was blowing the storm right over us and then it started pouring! We were all outside watching it, we could hear the thunder and see the lightening before the rain hit. Once it started raining the kids were running around the yard. Since it rained in Michigan, about a month ago, I think Payton remembered it, but she still giggled like crazy. Garrett insisted on wearing a jacket, to keep his shirt dry. Mind you, it was still probably 90 out. When the lightening got a bit too close for comfort, we made the kids come in and boy was Payton not happy about it! Why I didn't take any pictures I have no idea, maybe I was just so shocked it had rained. In case you aren't familiar with Texas's current drought situation, I believe it's the worst drought since 1916 or something insane like that. It's also almost the hottest summer, so rain is a HUGE deal for us.

Well, I woke up Thursday and thought what is that odd sound, it was rain. Not a hard downpour like the night before, but it rained for about 6 hours I'd say, off and on being heavy, mostly just a light drizzle, but the kids slept in SO late, probably because it was overcast. All that rain also meant the temp stayed down, I remember at noon, it was 79 degrees out, that's huge! By 5, it was close to 100 again, so it didn't last.

Here's hoping we get some more rain!

Oh, and the sweetest thing ever was when we were driving around (thursday), Garrett said I bet the trees and grass and flowers are so happy that God made it rain, Thank you God :-)

18 months

Today is Payton's 18 month "birthday"! I am amazed, daily, at this girl.

She is much more physical then Garrett ever was, she climbs on everything. The other day, we got home from the pool, with McD's, and I ran to change, came back and she was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table trying to eat my hamburger! Yep, our biggest battle right now is keeping her off the kitchen table!

She doesn't talk a ton, or I should say, she talks a ton, but we can't understand much. She says:
here you are
thank you
momma
daddy
her version of Garrett
bing bong
right here
she mimics our sounds a lot, if Garrett makes a dinosaur growling noise, she does too. It's very cute.

She doesn't say no much, but she shakes her head and gets her point across, lol!

She is still a great sleeper, she goes to bed about 7:30 and wakes between 7 & 8, then naps for about 3 hours in the afternoon.

She is still a good eater, but is getting pickier, she used to be a huge breakfast eater, now she picks at it, but will eat a bigger snack, so I just make sure the snack is healthy. She loves canned veggies, personally, I think they are gross, but she will eat them up and prefers them at room temperature, blech!

She is starting to pull at her diaper and if you ask if she wants it changed, she will take your hand and pull you to her changing table, she's even brought me a diaper a couple times and when I've changed her she's pooped. I'm hoping this is a sign that potty training will be easy!

She still loves shoes, she picks out which pair she wants to wear and there's very little room for discussion. Today, I was cleaning up and picked up all her shoes and put them away, and she was SO mad!

She will help you clean up, she understands a lot, if you ask her to take something to Garrett or Daddy, she does. She likes to help you sweep and pick up toys, I hope this continues :-)

At night, if she's pretty whiny, we'll ask if she wants to go to bed, and she will take your hand and pull you right to her crib, she tried to climb in it for Matt the other night.

We don't go to the Dr until next Friday, so I'll have "stats" for you then. And hopefully, a picture later today :-)

Ugh, Hot Again

Yesterday, the ac quit on us :-( I noticed it was a bit warm in the morning, but I didn't give it too much thought. We went grocery shopping and grabbed some lunch, everyone fell asleep for a late afternoon nap, and I woke up SO hot. Matt commented on it too, we laid for a little while longer watching tv and I realized I was just overheating so badly, so I got up and checked, it was 86 in the house, by the time both kids woke up it was 88. We debated on what to do, and after thinking about 2 whiny kids all night, we started calling around and found a good deal on a hotel room with a pool, I packed in about 15 minutes and we were out the door.

I knew it'd be an interesting night, one king bed and only one room. I wasn't so worried about Garrett, but more so about Payton. About 8:30, I laid her in her crib, she did not cry but kept waving at us and I could tell she wasn't going to go to sleep while the tv was on, no matter how quiet it was. About 8:45, G asked us if he could go to sleep, so we gave in and turned off the tv and bam, both kids were out in minutes! Of course, that meant we had to go to sleep too, so with G hogging the bed between us, we all managed to get some sleep. Matt went in to work a little late, just so he wouldn't wake them both at 5:30, but still P slept from 9-7, normally she sleeps from 8-8, so I knew she'd be tired.

We did get to swim after eating dinner, and that was fun, the first time Matt's seen how great both kids are swimming, I think it helped tire them out for the night too. Sadly, we had to leave today before we were able to swim again. As I sit here sweating, I'm dreaming of that cool water.....

We came home to meet the a/c guy (we are waiting on him now), it's a cool 86 in here, but P was just miserable, so I laid her down, she seems to have fallen asleep! Even though she hasn't taken a morning nap in months, but I guess when your tired, your tired.

hot

Naptime Diapers

Let's do a little dance, yippee, yahoo, yee haw!! I am happy to report that Garrett is now staying dry at nap time :-) Seems like such a little thing, but it really isn't. One, it saves me some money, but two, he's so excited and proud!

It all started in early July, when I kind of just had enough. G has always wanted milk to drink while we read stories, a full cup of milk. Since I had decided to do away with sippy cups, this just wasn't possible anymore. So, we talked about it, had a little countdown and on the first day, he was fairly excited, even more so when he woke up dry. The second day didn't go quite as smooth, he cried, wanted his cup, I refused to give in, but he was excited when he woke up dry. After that, he was fine with it. we stuck with diapers for a couple weeks, just in case, but most days he was waking up dry. Then at Grandma and Grandpa's, Grandpa put G down for a nap one day and forgot to put a diaper on, he woke up dry and hasn't looked back since. Some days he still takes a 3 hour nap and still he wakes up dry.

Nighttime is not so successful, we haven't started trying no diaper, but he wakes up with a full diaper every single night, so I'm not even tempted to try that yet. I'll wait until he shows more signs of readiness, I have no desire to be changing sheets in the middle of the night or washing them daily. I know, I'm a bit lazy, I'll admit it.

Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Hot!

Yes, this week, it's been HOT! Everyday has been over 105, most days have been 106 or 107, and our a/c started to die. Which made the house unbearably hot! I took it for a few days, but 3 days of sitting in the 83-85 degrees and I couldn't take it, plus, the a/c was running NON-STOP, so I could imagine what my already high electric bill was going to be. We paid $387 for July, which is the highest we've paid since living here. And, I keep the temperature set at 78, so it's not like I'm sitting around in 68 degree coolness or anything. Last night was just the breaking point, it was 85 when we put the kids to bed, I don't have a clue how either of them fell asleep, especially, Payton, her room is by far the hottest in the house. At 2:30am, we turned the a/c off since it had been running for 12 hours straight and the house was still only 83. So, this morning, I put the word out, asked if anyone had any a/c contacts and LW came through! We used to have a contact but I think he moved. I was pretty sure we only needed freon, but the first place I called wanted $70 and hr, with a 1 hr minimum, and $18.50 per pound of freon and they couldn't give me any idea of how much freon I'd need. Oh, and they couldn't be here until Monday, maybe late Friday. Eeck, an entire weekend of those temps, I couldn't deal with it. The second place no one answered. Then LW called, he has a friend who owns an a/c biz, I called and he said he'd be over in a few hours, could I hang on that long? Seriously, he was that concerned! I said, yes, I can hold on that long. He was very nice, cleaned off the coils and added freon. I was inside with Payton and I kid you not, I could tell when he added the freon, the air coming out of the vents became SO much cooler! He explained that there is a leak, and depending on where it is, he might be able to easily fix it. I suggested we get together again, in the fall, when he isn't so busy and see what we need to do. He said, sure a new unit would be more efficient and probably save us some money on our electric bill, but they are also pretty darn expensive, so maybe just having a part replaced might save us this headache from happening every year. I liked that he didn't just try to sell us a whole new unit.

so, the kids are napping, G even asked for a blanket, lol. I think we will all sleep better tonight. I've adjusted the temp to 81, it is 105 outside, but even 81 feels fantastic compared to the 85 I woke up too!

Poop

My brother and sil loaned my parents a kiddie, blow up pool. It was a huge hit and usually resulted in multiple outfit changes a day because someone would fall in. One night, it was really hot and Payton's clothes were soaked, so I just undressed her, but then her diaper was full of water, being too lazy to go inside and upstairs to get a swim diaper, I decided to let her run around naked. My sil, Beth, says, Oh, I hope she doesn't poop. I said, no, she's a morning pooper, we should be fine. Next thing we know, there's something odd hanging from Payton, I think it's grass, go over to check and she pooped! None of us saw it, she descreetly went behind the pool and pooped, and had a bit hanging from her. Only my kid, lol!!!

Houston airport

Wednesday, July 13, we set off on our way to Detroit. We, meaning, me and the kids, with the business being so new, Matt just couldn't get away, and my parents were missing us so bad, they offered to buy us some flights. Things got off to an ok start, we got out of the house exactly when I estimated, I was very proud of that accomplishment! Payton nodded off to sleep about 30 minutes before we got to the airport, but I figured that was a good thing. Then things got a littler tougher. We couldn't check the car seat in at curbside check in, so in a panic, Matt went and found a parking spot so he could help me get the stroller, car seat and our 2 suitcases inside. Once inside, the desk people, (I have no idea their title), were very helpful. One guy helped me get checked in at the kiosk and then helped me get all my stuff to the counter. I was very appreciative. Then we got to security....
These must be the most unhappy people in the world! I know not everyone likes kids, I get that, but Payton was SO excited (and probably had no idea why), so she was waving and saying Hi to everyone. The TSA agent barely even glanced at her, she never smiled at me, no hello, nothing, I'm not even sure she spoke to me at all. Then we got to the conveyor belt. Now, 2 bags, 3 pairs of shoes and a stroller are a bit much, but I was prepared for chaos, so I wasn't going to be frazzled. Amazingly, Payton stayed right by me as I had to fold up the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt. Of course, no one helped me AT ALL!! One agent, said, that's too big, you need to take the stroller over there and then walked away. The new screening was new to me, so "over there" meant nothing, plus by this time, at this point, Payton is trying to run through the xray scanner thing and this guy just keeps saying, she can't go in there. Right, I get that, but I also don't have 8 arms! Finally, some random guy behind me in line, helped me wrestle the stroller off and held P's hand while I got the stroller back upright, thank God for helpful strangers! Then I just rolled it in line with me, since I still had no idea where "over there" was, that agent wasn't happy either, but finally got someone to help me push it through some side gate. After we got through, helpful stranger hung out for a second and helped me get all my stuff gathered back up and off we went. The funniest thing was, when we got to the gate, I realized there was a fairly large container of hand sanitizer in the front basket of the stroller, no one caught it! So, if you are a terrorist and want to get a liquid bomb through Houston security, put it in your stroller!
After that, things were pretty much fine, we grabbed some lunch at the slowest and most expensive McDonald's ever, and boarded without incident. The flight attendant on the plane was very helpful and no one had any issues with letting Payton just walk up & down the aisles. Both kids got very fussy at the same time, but in came my friendly flight attendant and hooked me up with some milk for both and it seemed to do the trick, both kids were fine again after that. Neither one napped, but I was prepared for that, so no stress there either.
In Detroit, my bags were practically waiting by the time we got to baggage claim, which never happens, but stopping for a potty break and diaper change seemed to be just long enough. In all, I'd say the flying experience was just fine, and of course, having Grandma waiting for us at baggage claim helped too!!

Michigan

I had so many things I wanted to blog about while I was there and couldn't access my blog for some reason, and now I've forgotten half of it :-( I will post pictures as soon as I can and maybe that will help jog my memory!

Remote control

So, yesterday was not one of my finer days, I was just not having a great day, felt tense, seemed irritated by everything. My kids whining and hanging off me might have had something to do with that. But, after Payton took a horribly short nap, and I got maybe 30 minutes of me time (i needed a LOT more!!), her and I were playing on the couch when she grabbed the remote and was just kind of swinging it and it hit me smack in the mouth, it hurt SO bad. I instantly teared up and then felt myself explode. It was a culmination of many things, but the remote to the mouth pushed me over the edge. I did not yell or scream, I took the remote from her and walked out of the room. I laid on my bed and cried. I knew she was safe in the living room and let's face it, I needed to release all the pent up frustration I was feeling and rather then scream or take it out on my 18 month old, who did not deserve that, I decided going in my room for a mini time out was best. Next thing I know, I hear her climbing up on my bed. (I was laying face down) She came over and patted my back and then brushed my hair out of my face and with her big toothy grin, got right in my face and said, "momma, momma, hi". How can you resist that?!?! I cried a bit more, because then I felt guilty for being mad at her and she's just so sweet. But, then I rolled over and we had a nice game of tickle. I know we both felt better after that.

Getting dressed

Another "new" thing for Garrett is getting himself dressed. I don't mean physically putting his own clothes on, he's been doing that forever. But, actually waking up, and picking out his own clothes and coming out completely dressed. I'd say about 6 out of 7 days he does a great job and matches well and I don't give it a second thought. At least once a week he comes out in something so atrocious, I wonder if he's color blind, lol! And then I have to decide if it's worth trying to get him to change. One day last week, he came out in a long sleeve, flannel shirt and plaid shorts, not only did it hurt my eyes (the shirt was an orange and blue, shorts were red and white), but I was a bit worried he'd get sick from the heat, so I had to make him change his shirt. He decided to wear the shirt as a coat, but that lasted about 30 seconds once he got outside!

He always comes in my room so proud, and he'll ask, does this go? To me, that's a pretty "big" kid ting to do, pick out his own outfits.

Big Kid

I've noticed, recently, a new level of maturity in Garrett. It's in little things, but I can see the little boy slipping away more and more. It makes me sad, but I also love seeing how proud he is, and that makes me very happy.

In the last 7 days, he's mastered the ability to strap himself into the car, this sounds like a small thing, but it's really huge! He's proud he can do it, and it means I don't have to walk back and forth around the car a couple times.

He's also started swimming with no floaties. That was my goal this summer, I put him in swim lessons thinking that would do the trick. I was a bit disappointed that it didn't, but on Sunday, I took the kids to the pool and finally convinced him he should try, he finally had enough courage and once he took them off, he was done. He's even told me we don't even need them in the car anymore. Sadly, I told him, he may still wear them sometimes. If I'm with Payton in the baby pool, then he'll have to wear them, but he now knows he can jump in and swim all the way to the side or the stairs, and he was SO proud! And, I can see that the swim lessons did pay off, when he swims the way he was taught, he goes so much farther, faster. I might put him in lessons again in August too.

He's also dying to sleep in underwear. His body isn't as ready as he is, so he still wears a diaper at night and naps are hit or miss. He LOVES to drink milk before he goes to sleep (while we read stories). So, he gets to make a choice, no milk and underwear or milk and a diaper. But, he gets to make the choice, not me, and that he likes.

Being silly

Here are just some random pictures I've taken of Payton over the last few days.

So Big!

Momma's funny

Just so happy

Laughing at Daddy

Wearing her brother's sunglasses

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of my peanut!

16 months

Yep, Payton is 16 months old (well, she was last Thursday, I'm a bit behind here)!! Not a ton to report differently from 15 months, lol, but it's still fun to try and record any changes we've seen.

She is still the best sleeper ever, I've been extremely blessed with a good sleeper. She is a climber, she climbs on anything and everything. Her favorite thing is to get up on the couch and run from one end to the other, probably not the safest game for her, but it's her favorite, not mine! She still isn't talking much, well, that's not entirely true, she talks non stop, but we still can't understand her. She gets her point across pretty good by grunting and pointing though. She hates wearing a diaper, and if she doesn't have shorts or bloomers on, the diapers coming off, I'm hoping this is a sign that she won't be too hard to potty train.

She is just a joy, she is a very happy baby, no temper tantrums as of yet, I know they're coming, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. She loves to sit on your lap, if you're sitting on the ground. She loves to play blocks, flip through her books (on her own, you can't read to her), she is obsessed with shoes, hers, yours, any ones. If she notices you don't have your shoes on, she will go and get them for you and grunt at you until you put them on. And, amazingly, she always grabs a matching pair.

She adores her big brother, and thankfully, Garrett adores her too. Every once in a while he doesn't want her to play with him, but mostly he loves showing her stuff and he basks in the way she thinks he is the funniest thing ever. And, her daddy, she LOVES her daddy. Runs to him when he comes home and if he's really dirty and can't pick her up, she is crushed. I am all but forgotten once he's home, until bedtime, she only wants me at bedtime. (I secretly don't mind)

I cannot wait to see what more this little peanut has to share with us.

Credit Cards

It was 18 months ago that Matt and I completely cut up all of our credit cards. We have some open credit lines that we are paying off, but we no longer have the cards to use to buy things. (Well, that's not entirely true, we do have a Sears card, we used this to buy our appliances in the fall, we have a 0% interest on those items as long as we pay them off by the due date.)

This has been the hardest thing ever! I don't mean the actual, physical act of cutting them up. I know that freaks some people out a lot. But, after I lost my job, we assumed I'd get a new job fairly quickly, when that didn't happen and I was getting farther and farther along in my pregnancy, we made as many cuts and changes as we could; pulled Garrett from daycare, switched our Internet and satellite plans, stopped eating out, changed auto insurance, etc. Anything I could think to call on and try and reduce our monthly budget on, I did. But, the honest truth is, we bought this house based on 2 incomes and both our cars too, so going to one income was a huge stretch for us.

Cutting up the credit cards seemed like the only other way to cut any extra spending, if we can't pay cash, we can't buy it. Sounds simple enough right?!?! Except for the fact that we always had/have just barely enough to cover all of our bills, so there was/is never any extra to buy things. I cannot have a bad day and run out and buy a new pair of shoes, the kids need new clothes, nope, can't charge it, I need new shoes, clothes, etc, nope, cannot just charge it and pay for it later. How many of you do that?!?! I bet a lot. It's easy, I "need" this and I'll just pay for it next month, etc.

It is SO hard, especially with a baby, who has a lot of needs. Some how, we are managing though. Don't ask me how, I don't know. The first huge help was the ladies at church, through the diaper drive they did, and a small baby shower i had, I had enough diapers for 6 months! I nursed Payton until she was 6 months and then the Dr's office kept me stocked with samples of formula, I never once bought a can of formula. And tons and tons of hand me downs, all for Payton. Poor Garrett, he's the same size as all our friends kids, so no hand me downs. Thankfully, he still fits into most of his clothes, so we get by and buy him just a couple new things each season.

I know it drives Matt nuts, he loves to shop, probably more then I do, and he just can't. Sometimes we break down and just have to buy things, he needs clothes for work, I had the same shorts going on 4 years, I had lost weight, nothing fit, and then my sandals broke. I mean sometimes you just have to buy things.

Last night we went to the mall, I saw SO many things I wanted, but I came home with a pair of $15 flip flops, that's all we spent. It is so hard. I wish we were in a different place financially, but we aren't. Some day, that's what we keep telling ourselves, someday, it'll be better. We'll probably never go back to using credit cards, but maybe someday we won't be so tight on cash and we can go shopping if/when we want to.

Fish

I've decided my kids are fish. They love the water!

I decided to sign Garrett up for swim lessons this year, so he could gain the confidence needed to swim without his floaties. He loved the lessons, did really well, but is still not ready to lose the floaties. I'm not going to force him, but I might do one more week of swim lessons.

I wasn't sure how Payton would react, she loves the bath and the pool in the backyard, so I thought she would do ok. Wow, ok is an understatement! She loves the water, but hates the baby floatie thing. She wants to be held, so she can float on her back, put her face in to blow bubbles, kick her feet, "jump" in. She's a bit out of control. By the second day at the pool, any fear she had was completely gone. Now, I worry she's going to run and try and jump in without me. Since the gym has 2 pools, I worry she's going to run into one while I'm in the other one. While we are in the big pool, everything is fine, she's content to hang out in my arms, well, until Saturday, then she started pushing me away and kicking at me. I went yesterday and bought her a floatie thing called a puddle jumper, we're going to try that this week and see if she's strong enough for me to let her go. If nothing else, it makes me feel better that if she did get away from me, she'd bob back up to the top and not sink to the bottom. I'm not a good diver, so the idea of diving to the bottom to save her is very overwhelming to me! She doesn't much like the small, kiddie pool, it's just a tad to deep for her, so for her to walk around, the water is right at her chin and she doesn't like that. I don't either, but my arms get tired holding her for 2 hours. I'm really hoping the puddle jumper works. I will not be putting her in the pool and laying out to tan, but maybe I can hold her hand while she kicks around rather then me having to hold her so tight.

A few parents have asked how long we've been doing swim lessons (with Payton), they are amazed that she's been in the pool less then a week. She doesn't mind going under, she loves to float. She wants to jump, but doesn't quite get it yet, so she wants me to put her on the side, but then she just kind of walks in, or falls forward, so we'll work on jumping.

Garrett is great, he has very little fear, with the floaties on. He was in a class with 6 year olds who have had swim lessons since they were babies, so I was impressed with his ability to swim. Now, if I can just get him brave enough to kick the floatie habit.

I don't have any pictures because I'm at the pool alone with them and I can't take my eyes or hands of Payton for even a second. So, maybe we'll get pictures one day!

Luther update

I'm not sure if I've blogged about Matt's Dad or not. He is currently at MD Anderson, in Houston, about to undergo a stem cell transplant. The process itself is kind of cool, the fact that he's there at all, is not!

We went to visit yesterday, because it was the last day the kids would be able to see him. Starting Tuesday he'll be in isolation and the kids won't be able to be near him for about a month.

It took us about 1.5 hours to get there, Payton slept about 30 minutes, Garrett watched a movie. When we got there, Luther had on a mask and gloves and I think it kind of scared Garrett, it took him a minute to warm up to his PaPa, but after a while he was fine. Both kids were a bit hyper, even for my kids! Luther was able to leave the floor, so we went to an area called "the Park" and sat where it was more comfortable. It was just a large open area with lots of comfy seats and foot rests and tables, there was a Starbucks kiosk, that was closed and a gift shop. Once Payton discovered the gift shop, any sitting was over, she was constantly trying to run in there. We were able to visit with Luther, Maryanne and Lindsay for quite a few hours, then we had to leave PaPa so we could get some lunch, he isn't allowed on that floor. Turns out his nurse was looking for him. We teased him that they are going to put one of those electronic bracelets on him that tell them when he "escapes" off his floor, lol!

We had to leave after lunch, the kids were just so tired. But we were able to see PaPa's room and meet one of his Dr's. Both kids slept all the way home, they were just beat!

Starting tomorrow, Luther will be given chemo for 4 days, the intent is to knock his immune system down to pretty much 0, and that's why he'll be in isolation. Sunday, they like to rest the body, so on Monday he'll receive his stem cells. The stem cells were collected from his brother, Everett Lynn. My understanding is they've been duplicated and it will be about an iv bag size full of blood, platelets and new stem cells. He will also start taking anti rejection meds. The nurses and Dr's have told him that he will feel like he has a case of the flu, fevers, chills, nausea, vomiting, all that exciting stuff, but that it affects every person differently, so until next week, we won't really know how badly it does affect him. And, for the most part, that's it. He'll be in isolation for about 30 days, and we hope and pray that his body accepts the new stem cells and starts replicating them asap. I also understand that the Dr's were able to extract enough from Everett for 3 treatments, so if need be, I guess they can repeat the process, but that hasn't been discussed much, so I don't know much about that.

so, now he needs every one's prayers, that the treatment works and that he doesn't feel the side effects too badly.

Speech Therapist

Garrett has been stuttering since before he turned 3, at his 4 year checkup, the Dr suggested that we contact BISD to have him evaluated, since he'd been stuttering for over a year. The entire process was just a headache! It took about 60 days from when I first contacted them to get my initial meeting, this was without Garrett. I met with the director of the special ed department. Apparently, in Bryan, if your child needs to attend therapy of any kind, he needs to be enrolled into the Special Ed department, for the time of the therapy. After the initial meeting, it was determined that yes, he needed to be evaluated by a speech therapist, and he had 60 days in which to contact me, and buy did he wait almost those entire 60 days!

We finally met with him on May 10, the therapist did a great job, he was so good with Garrett, put him at ease, tested him in a variety of different ways, and of course, Garrett barely stuttered! His stutter comes mostly with conversation, he just can't get past the first one or two words. He does not show distress or even any signs that he's aware that he stutters, these are good things. But, the testing they did was mostly on words, not a lot of conversation, so there wasn't much stuttering.

The therapist admitted that he doesn't work with kids Garrett's age much, so he wasn't even sure what kind of treatment program he would use, but on his initial evaluation, he did not feel Garrett needed therapy. I went back and forth and at Payton's 15 month check up, I asked the Dr's opinion, he said again, he would like Garrett to get treatment before kindergarten and before he becomes self conscious about it.

I had a follow up meeting yesterday and came away feeling slightly better, we've decided not to enroll Garrett at this time. I even had a letter typed up requesting an evaluation by a second therapist, but the fact is, they really, honestly, and truly, feel he will grow out of it.

One of the tests they did, kids his age score a 100, he scored 126, the principal, said it shows he's a very bright child and what's probably happening is his mind is going so fast, that he just can't get his thoughts out fast enough. We also discussed the fact that he has been in 4 year old preschool, not 3 year old, so he's "competing" vocally with 5 & 6 year olds, and that over the summer, we may notice a lot less stuttering.

If at Christmas, he is still stuttering, as bad or worse, then we are to bring him in again, and they'll most likely do therapy at that time. So, we'll see. I do feel a it better after talking to the therapist, the principal, and a kindergarten teacher and I think I just need to relax and see if he does grow out of it.