Lightning and Thunder...Oh My!

Well, the rain that we have been so desperately praying for is finally here. It's been raining on and off since last Thursday. A little drizzle here...a little drizzle there. Today it's a full blown storm. There was lightning and thunder as I was driving to work and visibility was poor. I know we need this, but can't it wait until I'm at work? After hydroplaning twice in the past 4 years, I've become a fair weather driver. Jason demands that I call him the second I get to work so he knows I've made it safely.

Christmas was great. We had a nice time at Mimi and Bumpa's Christmas Eve. Everyone made a haul as usual. Mommy consumed a bit too much wine....which is easy to do when you don't have a tolerance anymore. Christmas morning, Mimi and Bumpa came over around 8 so they could watch the boys open their presents from Santa. Again...way to much stuff. They also opened their gifts from Grandpa and Grandma, the Engstrom family, and J and Nikki. Our living room still looks like a war zone since I had to go back to work on Wednesday.

This has been a hectic week at work considering it's only 3 days. Today I'll probably get the most accomplished since I think there will only be about 5 people in the building. Jason gave me money to buy the bookshelves that I want at IKEA so I'll probably sneak out at lunch to pick them up. Poor Jason has to work both Saturday and Monday. I was hoping to have a nice long weekend together again, but I'll take what I can get.

I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as I can them downloaded. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has a safe New Year.

Still Breathing

My week has not gotten much better. I ended up taking Jameson to the doctor on Wednesday because his fever went up to 103 Tuesday night. I knew it was an ear infection but the doctor had to confirm it. So on top of the really bad cold, Jameson is on an antibotic to clear out the ear infection. I haven't been sleeping past midnight since that's when he decides he's done with his room and crawls into bed with me. I don't know what's worse...Jason's snoring or Jameson coughing in my ear. I just hope Jameson is feeling better for the holiday...poor little goober.

Yesterday I got the 401k true-up ready for my boss to review when she gets back next Thursday...same day that I have to transmit it. I sure hope I have everything right! Today I'm preparing the benefits spreadsheet so once I'm done with my final 2007 payroll and I can update everyone's 2008 benefits. Fun! Seriously...this week and next week are my two busiest weeks all year and I'm having the hardest time focusing (I guess that's why I took time to blog).

I have to sneak out an hour early today so I can go buy gifts for the boys Christmas party at Marguerite's tonight. Jason is supposed to get home some time tonight and then has to work all day tomorrow. Mom and I are going to do some last minute shopping during the day and then on Sunday I'm going to her house to wrap ALL of our presents while Jason stays home with the boys. I thought I was so on top of things this year and here I am....behind as usual.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It'll all be worth it! I'll finally get to enjoy the holidays by spending time with my family. Ayden is so excited about Santa coming to our house!! I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning when he sees all of his presents under the tree. Jameson is oblivious.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas! I'm sure I'll be on before the New Year with some sort of goofy story from Christmas and some pictures.

Love to all!

Breathe!

This is how the last week has gone...

Tuesday - Basically started and finished payroll in one day and transmitted with only an hour to spare.

Wednesday - Left the office around 11am to run errands for the holiday staff breakfast and Central Services holiday outing. Came back around 3pm with about $600 worth of stuff from Target and $9600 worth of $100 bills. I should have just taken the money and run. Started to stuff the employee gift bags and made up the center pieces for the tables. I took pictures and will share at a later date.

Thursday - Took 5 dogs (2 are mine and 3 are my mom's) to the groomers after dropping Ayden and Jameson off at Marguerite's. Ran to my mom's to send out a quick email and ended up handling a plumbing mishap. Raced to Flat Creek for Ayden's school party. Soon realized that out of 7 kids, only 2 of us parents actually work outside of the home. Hmmmmm. Had a blast! The kids were so much fun and Ayden was pulling me from one activity to another. After dropping him back off at Marguerite's I ran to the grocery store for baking supplies. I totally forgot that the heating element in our oven went out so I had to pack up half of my kitchen and bake at my mom's. After picking up the boys, meeting my mom for nails and going back to mom's to clean up the kitchen, I finally got the gift bags for the Central Services holiday outing done around 11pm.

Friday - Got to work around 7 to finish stuffing the bags for the staff meeting. Every employee got a $100 bill and a VISA card with $50 on it. Not too bad! The room looked beautiful! I loved the way the center pieces looked!! We had Waffle House cater our breakfast and the staff couldn't have been happier. It's probably the only time that all 96 employees are in the same room. Finance/Payroll/HR quickly did our Christmas gift exchange and then I was off to the bowling alley to set up. I made team signs for each lane and decorated with garland. Most of the group (there was 30 of us) was there by noon to start the festivities. Everyone really liked the goody bags filled with homemade treats. I had a few stragglers that didn't want the party to come to an end and I finally got out of the bowling alley around 5pm....only to find that some butt head had backed into my truck. Great!

Saturday - It was rainy, cold and windy. Jason had to work all day so the boys and I only left the house once to pick up one of Jason's presents that I'd ordered. We stayed in our PJ's all day! I talked to the insurance company to figure out when I would drop the truck off on Monday and coordinate the rental car. I found out we have a $250 deductible for collision but we had a $250 voucher waiting for us to use...end result is that we don't have to pay a penny for the damages.

Sunday - Finally found the energy to take a shower and run some errands. Went to Target, brought daddy lunch (who was working at my parent's pool house), ran to Best Buy, Office Depot and Pak Mail to mail the Engstrom family's presents. Brought the boys home for a nap and got ready for a co-worker's holiday party. My mom came to watch the boys while they were sleeping. Got home only to leave again for JC Penny's and grab some dinner. We finally got home around 8.

Monday - I woke up to Jameson having a cough attack in his room around 12:30am. Shortly after he was crawling in our bed...still coughing...keeping me wide awake. Dropped the boys off at Marguerite's, ran to the bank, dropped the truck off at McWilliam's, got dropped off at Enterprise and finally left with my rental car about 9. Raced to work as fast as I could. Had a horribly crazy day since Paul is out sick with walking pneumonia. I can't even begin to go into how much I have to get done this week! Finished printing family pictures so I could finish our Christmas cards. Finished wrapping Milo, Nikki and Erin's presents. I took Jameson's temperature after bath time only to find he had a 101.6 temperature. Pumped him up with Children's Tylenol and Mucinex Cough. I crossed my fingers and hoped that would help him sleep through the night.

Tuesday - Woke up around midnight to Jameson coughing again. Poor little man. He crawled into bed again with us and was coughing away in his sleep. Around 3:30am Ayden woke up crying. This is not normal so I went to investigate the source of the problem. Apparently there were monsters roaming our house and he was scared. Not wanting both of the boys in bed with us, I told him that every night after he's in bed I take out my wand and sprinkle our house with magic to protect us from monsters. After 3 more visits to assure him that our house was monster free, my alarm clock was going off. Jameson's fever seemed to go down so I crossed my fingers and dropped them both off at Marguerite's. Today our Christmas cards get mailed. I have a ton of errands to run tonight, will hopefully ship the rest of our gifts and then Jason leaves tomorrow morning for Alabama again. Hopefully he'll be back on Thursday but that's only if all goes well.

Tomorrows agenda: Lose my mind!

Great Solution

I HATE grocery shopping! Where is the enjoyment in putting together a menu for the week (consisting of meals that you may or may not be in the mood for at the time), going to a grocery store to cruise the isles that takes up about an hour of your day, going home and unloading all of the bags and then having to find a place for everything. Then heaven forbid you forget to take something out of the freezer to thaw for that night's dinner and then your stuck. Let's not forget to mention the amount of crap that ends up in your cart like chips, Twinkies, ice cream...I could go on and on here.

And moms, especially the ones with more than one child, how hard is to go grocery shopping with your kids? Let me tell you how hard it is with 2 boys. At Publix, they have those **fantastic** shopping carts that look like cars. Both of the boys fit nicely into the car and each has their own steering wheel. As I'm walking through produce it actually sounds like there's a NASCAR vehicle racing through the store. You can actually here the car accelerate, screech around corners and every once in a while crash into a mystery obstacle. All of this while I'm getting "those" looks from the other childless adults in the store that are only trying to find the ripest tomato. You know "those" looks...the ones filled with pity...the ones that say "I'm sorry you must live such a miserable existence...yeah, "those" looks.

So I've come up with a great solution. I don't plan out a weekly menu, I don't take my kids to the store with me and I don't end up with a $250 grocery bill that makes me want to slip into a coma. I figure out every day while I'm at work what I feel like eating for dinner that night. It also depends on if Jason will be home for dinner, if my mom will be joining us or if the boys aren't feeling well. I go to the store after work and buy exactly what I need for dinner that night. Nothing more. Now, this is not an inconvenience since I drive right past Publix on my way to pick up the boys. I'm in and out in 10 minutes and it's totally stress free. There's nothing to put away when I get home because I'm using it all for that night's meal! I'd also like to add that I don't have to worry about my mental well being when they give me my grand total because it's normally between $10 and $20. Voila!

Does anyone else do this or am I the only one that looks at the grocery store as my enemy? Seriously...I'd love to know!

Homework

My mom and our 2 bsf's (best scrapping friends) are heading to Nashville in April for the Scrap Etc Event. I'm really looking forward to taking some classes again. I haven't taken a single class since our Hawaii cruise in February! In preparation for the classes, each instructor is giving us monthly "homework". Most of the homework involves taking pictures of different aspects of your life...I'm loving this! For December, Vanessa has asked that we take pictures of the places we go to in an average week. I've decided to have fun with this. I took a picture of the Shell station that I go to every morning for a bottle of Diet Pepsi. I took a picture of Marguerite's house since I see it twice a day when I drop off/pick up the boys. I took a picture of the Expedition since I practically live in it. I plan on taking a picture of my office, the grocery store, Target, Judy Nail, McDonald's...etc. You get the point.

So this morning I brought my camera in with me to snap some pictures of the Chamber and my office. I started up my daily walks again, so I thought I'd snap a few of the World of Coke, Children's Museum and Aquarium since I walk past them during my 3 laps around the park. I got a little excited in the car thinking of all the different "places" I can take pictures of that are part of my average week and thought....hey, doesn't my commute sort of count? Why not take pictures of the cars sitting in traffic, the sign for my exit and some of the other buildings I pass on my way to work?

Big mistake! Do not attempt taking pictures while driving in rush hour traffic! Not only was I getting some of the most crazy looks (probably because they were thinking I was crazy for snapping pictures in my truck) but your distance gets out of whack while looking through the lens of a camera. I had to put the camera down before I rear-ended someone!

For all of you scrappers out there. I know how much fun it is to scrap your friends, family and pets. Think of the big picture though. What do you want to leave behind? Are you scrapping to only document birthdays and holidays? Or are you scrapping so that one day your children and grandchildren will know who you were?

Don't get me wrong...I love scrapping the birthdays, holidays and especially the boys but I want them to also know who I am. I'm a working mom that doesn't have it all together. I'm addicted to Diet Pepsi, have been battling my weight since I graduated from high school and am worried that some day my Lupus will get the better of me. I'm a people person, optimistic, and I love life! I have my good days and I have my bad days, but no matter what I'm still a very happy person who is finally content with who she is.

I seek challenge and I love looking at my normal, routine life in a new way. So bring on the homework girls! If your intent is to have us embrace the simple joys in our life, you've already succeeded.

Funny Story

I have no idea how old I was (maybe 6 or 7?) but I have this memory of my mom and I that I will NEVER forget and love to bring up around her....she rolls her eyes every time and I can see her doing it right now as she's reading. My mom was taking me to see my pediatrician and missed her turn. She made a U-turn at the next available intersection where this was prominently displayed...I immediately informed her that she just made an illegal U-Turn with precious cargo in the car and have since then reminded her of it at every appropriate moment. This brings me to my most recent funny story...



I was driving with the boys to my mom's house and came upon a... There were no other cars waiting at the 4 way stop so I sort of coasted through it. Here's the conversation that then took place with Ayden.

Ayden: Mommy, that sign means stop.

Me: Good job buddy! You're right, that sign does mean stop.

Ayden: But mommy. You didn't stop!

Busted! Hopefully Ayden is young enough that he won't remember my momentary lapse in judgement. I'm normally a very good driver with my precious cargo. I certainly can't say the same for when they're not with me.

Getting Better

Things took a turn for the worse Thursday night. Right after dinner Ayden told me that his "brain" hurt as he was clutching his stomach. Thinking this was one of his dramatic moments, I indulged him by taking him into the bathroom. As soon as I put the toilet seat up, he was projectile vomiting. My poor baby! Things didn't get any better. I put Jameson to bed in between Ayden's trips to the bathroom and after only 10 minutes in bed he was screaming and crying. I went in to investigate only to find that he had gotten sick all over himself and his bed. While I was occupied cleaning up Jameson, I wasn't able to help Ayden get to the bathroom so his bed ended up the same as Jameson's. Jason was still on his way back from Alabama so I found myself going from child to child cleaning up messes. I'm pretty impressed by how well I handled things since I'm normally a sympathy puker and I never once felt the urge. I decided to stay home on Friday with the boys and I'm glad I did since it all started to come out the other end in the morning. They both took a 4 hour nap in the afternoon and woke up in much better spirits.

We had the most beautiful weather all weekend and daddy didn't have to go to work once. We didn't venture too far from home since Ayden needed to stay close to the toilet. Since it was 75 degrees both Saturday and Sunday, we let the boys play outside. I tried to get caught up on laundry and Jason worked on our mass piles of leaves. JoAnn's finally got my buttons back in stock so I was able to finish my button trees. All three of them look so pretty sitting on the buffet! With both of the boys being sick I didn't have much time for any other crafty projects.

This week is going to be very hectic. I have to prep payroll today and transmit tomorrow. I have to finish up Christmas presents and get everything wrapped so they can be shipped this weekend. I have to finish up Christmas cards and get them in the mail. Thursday I'm dropping the dogs off at the groomers, going to Ayden's holiday party at school (they're decorating their own cupcakes and Ayden is totally excited) and then returning home to bake cookies. I'm making Christmas tins for all of Jason's co-workers at Patriot and I have 30 goody bags to get ready for our holiday outing at work. It's been fun doing all of the planning myself this year for the outing at work, but it's also been exhausting. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make it perfect and most people only care about the bowling and free beer. I'll post some of the stuff I've made for it later this week.

This weekend, Tyler is out of town so Jason is taking us to see the house. They'll probably have it finished by the end of January and Tyler will finally move in. It took a year to build that house! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures...I know I'm excited to see a 40 million dollar house!!

Have a great week ya'll!

Sick, Sick, Sick

Everyone in the family is sick right now. Bumpa has been sick for about a week, the boys have been fighting a cold since last Thursday and now Jason, Mimi and I are sick too. I had to leave at noon today to pick up Jameson because he simply couldn't nap through his cough attacks. I pumped him up with Mucinex and rubbed Vicks on his chest and finally got him to take a 2 1/2 hour nap. I wanted to get some cleaning and/or scrapping done while Jameson napped, but mom called and advised me to get some rest too since it feels like my sinuses are about to pop out of my head. Poor Jason is battling his cold while in Alabama. With any luck they'll finish early and be back tomorrow night.

I still wanted to post some of my latest projects. Sorry about the really poor pictures. I'm going to start scanning my layouts from my mom's house now that her big scanner is hooked up. I think you can get the gist of it though.

Our new Christmas wreath made from Basic Grey Paper. I used the Figgy Pudding line.

These are some simple ornaments I made for the tree. They are plain wood letters that I bought from the craft store. I painted the back, added some KI paper to the front along with a photo and simple embellishment. I stapled ribbon to the top to hang. Easy!

BTW - Yes, there's an ornament for me too but the picture I want to use is on my mom's laptop. I just need her to print it out for me....hint, hint, hint.

I made this layout to express how proud I am of Jason. He has become such a wonderful daddy and I thought it really showed through these pictures I took of him and the boys while on vacation.

Journaling Reads: I am so proud of the man, husband and father you have become.

This is a simple layout with a few of my favorite pictures from the state park on SGI. This was such a wonderful day to wrap up our vacation.

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Feeling Good

I took last Friday off from work to get some cleaning done at home. I've been trying to get things done on the weekends, but we've been so busy lately that it's been accumulating to the point where I couldn't stand it any more. So I took a vacation day to clean. I dropped the boys off at Marguerite's at the normal time (6:30am) and got started!

I got totally road blocked as soon as I hit Jameson's room. Anyone with small children know how quickly they grow out of their clothes. With 2 boys, I'm constantly packing up outgrown clothes and bringing down the next size for Jameson and buying more for Ayden. It's a vicious circle! According to Jason, who is our haul-it-up-to-the-attic-daddy, our attic is busting at the seams and there's no more room. I simply could not believe that! So after dusting Jameson's room, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I dragged my butt up to the attic and started reorganizing, which led me to open boxes...boxes of stuff that hasn't been looked at in years...stuff that we will never use again! It was very difficult for my obsessive compulsive mind to accept that this is not the time for a rummage sale and all of this useless stuff had to remain up there. I still managed to reorganize and move the tubs of clothes from the hallway up to their new home in the attic. With all of this new found space, I packed up baby toys that haven't been used in ages and took those up as well.

Let's just say that this slight detour in my cleaning project lasted about 2 hours. I was now ready to tackle Ayden's room. After going through his closet and realizing that most of his clothes are size 3 and he's officially in a size 4 (I can not allow my baby to look like he's ready for a flood any longer), I was ready to give up. I finished cleaning his room and decided to take on my desk/scrapping area. BIG mistake. I am simply running out of room for my supplies. My little nook by the fireplace just doesn't cut it anymore. We need to finish our remodeling projects so we can buy a bigger house so I can have an entire room dedicated to my most favorite hobby. Okay...see why I probably should have just gone to work? The next thing I knew, it was time to start dinner and pick up the boys.

After all was said and done, I felt good about my accomplishments. Reorganizing the attic and cleaning out Jameson's closet has been haunting the back of my mind for ages and now it's done. Did I finish cleaning the entire house? No. But I still feel good.

Jason surprised me by planning a supply run for work with Ayden Saturday morning. My mom surprised me by calling in the morning looking for someone to run errands with. Jason took off with Ayden and we took off with Jameson. Belks (like a Dillards) was having their famous "Red Dot" sale. I found some awesome deals for Ayden...shirts for $3 and jeans for $7.50! I never buy clothes for myself so I was pretty shocked when I loaded up with 4 button down shirts, a sweater and a casual long sleeve...all on sale! I even went to Old Navy and bought a new pair of jeans!! To make the day even better, we picked up Jason, Ayden and Bumpa and headed up to Stone Mountain to see Santa. We rode the Christmas train, took the sky tram to the top of the mountain and even waited until 6pm for the parade. Ayden was so excited to see Santa!

Yesterday was the kick off meeting for the Scrack Addicts (scrappers with a serious addiction to the hobby). From 10:30am to 5pm I scrapped, ate yummy food and hung out with the girls. I adore my family and look forward to spending time with them, but every once and a while I need to get away. We plan on meeting the first Sunday of every month at my mom's house. I will be counting the days until our next meeting!

Jason was off this morning to Alabama again and won't be back until Thursday. Since I get tons accomplished while he's gone, I have no doubt in my mind that the rest of my cleaning that didn't get done on Friday will be done before he returns.

Until next time!