Life Changing News...

For me! J put in for a specialty unit with the department and HE. GOT. IT! I am so scared out of my mind excited about this new job. He will have a day shift schedule (starting next school year, we hope) which will change my life in this way:

-I have to get up read I get to sleep in now and get the kids ready for school and take them with no help.

-I will have to go grocery shopping and run other errands with just me and Peanut. Read as I have to be responsible for all the meals by myself Since J and I have been married 8 years we have always gone grocery shopping together.

-I have to bundle up the non-schoolers to pick up the kids from school in the winter...read I hate the cold.

-I will not be home by myself during the crazy homework, dinner, bath and bedtime! Read this is the most exciting part of the new position.

-I will get my nights with my husband like normal people. Enough said!

-He can go to church with us on Wednesday nights for Children's Choir and Awana clubs. I dislike late nights by myself especially the driving at night.

I'm sure there will be other changes that occur but these are the things that stick out in my head as of now. We'll see when it actually happens. I am so proud of him getting this specialty assignment.

Time to Share

I had a great Mother's Day and I want to make sure I get it on the recorders! My day started off with the kids bringing me all the presents they had made at school and Awana clubs. Poor Red was so sad he had nothing to give me, he kept trying to take something from one of the kids so he had something to give. I got a book that had each kid in GG's class saying what their mom's favorite things were like food, book and so on and it also had GG's favorite memory of things we do together. It was really cute. I also got a flower pen, a homemade card, and a poem with GlamorGirl's handprints on it. From the Monkey I got a picture of him as a magnet, a cup of paper flowers, and a homemade card. Then I was ordered to stay in bed where I got breakfast in bed delivered by the two oldest but prepared by the hubby. Then it was off to church for Sunday school and service. After Sunday school I picked up Red from his class to take him to the nursery and he had made me a necklace with a picture of him on it. It was a super cute picture just like all his other pictures! The funny part was he didn't want to give it to me. Remember that morning he was sad he had nothing to give but then when he did, he didn't want to give it up...silly boy. The other two kids stayed in their SS room for Children's Church during the service. I went upstairs and sat with J and church started. All the men in the church got up on stage and sang a song to all the Mother's it was sweet. Also amazing that there was more men at church then women! Our service was mainly about men and how they did to show love to the women in their lives especially their wives who are Mother's. It was really good. Oh yeah, at the end they had all the women stand up and they prayed for us. Then they had drinks and cookies for the moms after the service. I picked up the other two kids from CC and they had a handful of things for me. For lunch J made the kids food and picked me up a Burrito from Chipotle. Yuuuummmmy. Oh I forgot the gift J got me. He bought me a new digital camera with better pixels for pictures and better zoom. We had been talking about getting one for when our little girl arrives since the other one is getting old! J had to work so he left and I put a movie on for the kids so I could relax and catch up on some reading I wanted to do. Also Monkey and GlamorGirl took turns playing with my hair...I love that! Then for dinner we met my friend Amy at Panera Bread and she bought the kids their food. My sandwich was so good and the place was pretty empty so it was relaxing as well. All in all I had a great day even though my hubby had to work. I really do love my kids and they are the reason I am a mom.

Doing shows...

Last night I did a Mary Kay show and I had a BLAST!!! One of my bridesmaids hosted and she invited a bunch of people we went to college with and one friend I went to highschool with. It was so good to see those girls and catch up and hang out. It made me feel like I was back in college...loved those days...not that I don't love these days. Just those days were so carefree and crazy ;) I remember one night we climbed on top of a school and watched the stars and played the laughing game, where you put your head on someone stomach then they put there head on someone else's stomach and so on. Then you said Ha...then next person says Ha ha and so on. We did all sorts of goofy things like that in college! Anyways it was really fun and I WAS WORKING. Unbelievable that I had so much fun and got paid!!! J had the kids and he did a wonderful job. I came home to a pretty clean house, the only thing that was out was the laundry he folded but didn't get a chance to put away because Red woke up. I truly have a great man and husband.

The rest of the day should be fun J is off...even though right now he is subbing but he'll be home shortly. Later!

Laundry Boy...

Red is usually attached to my hip as I bend down and get the laundry out of the dryer or put the clothes in the washer. Well he has gotten BIG! So I invented a new way of doing laundry with Red aka Laundry Boy. I sat him in the clothes basket and started putting clothes around him. He got the biggest kick out of that. Then I called the two older kids to come and see him and before I knew it all 3 of the little ones were laughing historically. I only wish I would of taken a picture but I'm sure there will be more opportunity for that considering I do laundry everyday!!!

This morning Red and I went to our playgroup that is growing and I'm so excited. I dropped Red off with J and went to get the kids from school. When I got home I felt so sick to my stomach. So after lunch I put the two boys down for naps and I turned on PBS for GG and I tried to take a nap too. But I felt so yucky that I couldn't fall asleep. So when Red woke up about an hour and half later I got up too. I think just being still on the bed and laying down helped, because I feel a little better.

Last week J had asked GG's teacher about a computer game that we want to get her for Christmas. It turns out that we need to get a higher grade. So J is going to get Jumpstart 1st grade, which she will learn in school the second part of this year. It was a toss up if we should get the 2nd grade so she could use it longer but I figure that the boys will get to use it too. I just hope she doesn't get bored.

So the Ark performance was great on Sunday. It was called Christmas: Where, When, and Why? It took place on a tree farm and these kids were looking for peoples favorite Christmas stories...where, when and why. The main character was named Tanna and she had a brother named Daniel, like as in Daniel in the lion's den. My favorite line was when he says to Tanna "Don't hate me because I'm biblical." Anyway on the way home J and I were talking about trees and I asked if he thought we would ever get a real tree. He said absolutely not and I'll show you why when we get home. Then he showed me a website called wimp.com and it had a real tree that caught fire and it only took 48 seconds for the whole room to be filled with smoke. It only took like 15 seconds for the whole tree to be burned. At playgroup we talked about who has their Christmas tree yet. Everyone but one girl because they get a real one. She was telling us that her dad was saying that they get the trees from China, because they are pretreated there. It was a joke of course but it was funny. Her dad has a fake tree!

J told me today that he only has to work 4 hours tomorrow for a training and it is from 8 to 12 so he will be home tomorrow night. I am so excited. I love when that happens. Tonight he is going to pick up some subway and bring it home for dinner because he didn't get a chance to get groceries this morning because of court. I'm down with that ;)

I just love the picture J has on the computer for our wallpaper, its so sweet. It is J and all 3 kids covered in leaves. Monkey has his hands under his chin smiling, GG is smiling and J is holding Red in a sitting position. I think I took a pretty good picture if I do say so myself! Yesterday the kids and I went to my mom's house for the night. I gave my first show and it went pretty good. Before the show we were eating dinner and my brother Kory who is 20 asked me to pour him a cup of pop after I filled my cup up. I said, "Anything for my little brother." Then I looked at the kids and asked, "Did you know he is my little brother?" Monkey was so funny he replied right away, "But mommy he is bigger than you." I told him he was right but that I was older than him. So GG asked Kory how old he was and he, of course, said 20 and then she said, "Mommy is 27, yep that is 7 years older." It was cute. GG and Monkey had a blast playing with my siblings and my friend Sunshine's daughter who is 8 years old. GG thinks that is a pretty cool name to have...Sunshine. You should hear the way she says it :) I would write more but I didn't get a lot of sleep last night due to the fact that Red is coming down with something and had a hard time breathing/eating. Poor baby didn't get much sleep either. Plus, Monkey at about 4am says, "Excuse me mommy, I need to go pee pee." So polite even when he is half asleep! So I jumped out of bed to show him where to go I figured it was easier for me to wake up completely then have to clean up pee and wake everyone up.

Wow what a day it has been for us. I wake up this morning and J didn't come home from work. No big deal because he might have arrested someone or was on a call...a number of things that he would of needed to stay late for. So I got the kids ready and we left for school. At about 9:45 my mom-in-law walks into our class and waves me over. She then tells me J has been in a car accident. But he is OK. So I called the police department to find out more details and where J is at. Then I call the hospital and finally get to talk to him. It was a bad car accident and he definitely had angels protecting him this morning. The accident happened about 3 hours after he would of been home so I was right in thinking he was working, he was but he just didn't make it back to the police station. So I had to tell the kids what happened and that daddy will have cuts on his face and hands from the glass on his car. GG was pretty upset about it (she told me she likes the way daddy looks and didn't want him to have cuts on his face) and I'm not really sure what Monkey thought. I just wanted to prepare them so they didn't freak out when they saw him. Then right after snack, about 10:30, Monkey comes up to me and says, "I'm itchy mommy" as he lifts his shirt. He had broken out all over his stomach so I had to take him to the nurses office but I had to get the rest of the class up stairs for gym because Barb was having parent/teacher conferences. Then this afternoon I had a meeting with the principle but that went good. Tonight for dinner we ordered pizza, J wanted that to eat and we had a free pizza. I had GG asked J if we should order two pizzas. He told her no and then I told her to tell him it was only 14 inches, we normally order 18 inches. He started laughing and came out to me and said I had no idea what she was talking about when she says "daddy it is only 14 inches!" Anyway I am going to give the kids a bath and snuggle with my hubby.

So here is our day. We went to Home Depot this morning and got a curtain rod for the living room. It was the last window in the house that didn't have a shade of some sort. The reason it is the last was because it is a bay window and it measures 120 inches long (10 ft) so we have been putting it off because we knew it wasn't going to be cheap. Then we went to Target to get the curtains, J had been pricing them at various places and they had the best selection for the cheapest price. So now we just have to mount the rod and hang the curtains but J is working right now and I'm not about to do that job. We had subway for lunch, we had a coupon! After Monkey's nap I took the kids to the library. It was GG's reward for getting all her happy faces and Monkey's was getting to pick out a movie. Since they both got to go to the library I let GG get a movie too. They both did a great job this week so they deserve 2 treats! When we got home dinner was done in the crock pot, so I put the movie on for the kids and got their plates ready and we ate a picnic dinner in the living room. Monkey choose Wizard of Oz and GG got Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I forgot to mention that J got his permanent shift for the next year and it is midnights. We are both a little bummed about it but he will make it work, the two older kids will be in school for most mornings during the school year and the baby will be the only one home on most days. The nice thing is J will be able to come home during his shift and check on us :) We have decided to buy a laptop so he can have it at work, midnights during the winter are extremely boring. The department also has a program for buying computers so we will hopefully be able to afford one?!?! Well that is about all for now.

HAPPY 2005! I can't believe it is a new year already. GG will be 4 in two weeks, I just can't believe that either. She is getting so tall she can do so many things without help it is amazing! On the 31st J had to work so the kids and I watched movies and eat popcorn and they crashed around 10:15ish. I wasn't far behind them! I was asleep when J got home at 11pm...I just couldn't force myself to stay awake. J ended up going to sleep 10 minutes before midnight. On the 1st we went to the M's (from church) house like we do every year. It is non-stop eating all day and the food is so good. We watch the parades in the morning and the rest of the day we spend building puzzles. It is so rewarding to get a 1000 piece puzzle done in about 2 hours! The kids got to draw on the kitchen walls because they are remodeling it, GG wrote her full name and then drew a picture of her family. She drew about 8 people and she told everyone that 3 of them were in my tummy! I could handle it if there were two but not three :)

Today was the first day back at school, and it went pretty well. GG had fun seeing her friends again. When we got home I realized that today is also GG's first day of Ballet, Tap and Tumbling. I wanted her to take just the Tumbling because it was at a better time but she really likes tap and ballet so I signed her up. She is so excited about it. She carries her tap and ballet shoes in a little bag that says "Princess!", of course.

J has started the afternoon shift which he is getting over time on but I hate the fact that he is gone from 2:10 to 11 or after. But one day he will hopefully get a better shift. Days would be prefect! But for now we can deal with what he gets :)

Now that it is the end of the week I will just do some highlights of the week! J and I got dressed up nicely and went to the police department for the New Chief to be sworn in to office. Now J has a new boss. But he hasn't made any changes. From what everyone said about this guy he will make good changes like getting a bike unit, horses for parades and things like that. Specialty things! I guess time will tell how this guy is.

Wednesday we had a friend over for dinner. So that was a lot of fun. Speaking of friends I talked to an old friend from WIU and she was telling me about the school she sends her daughter. It made me think about the school the kids go to. Since I work there I see everything they are learning and how they are taught and so on. But it made me think about it and see that this school is the right school for my kids and for J and I. They have learned so much in 4 weeks it is amazing. And they are smart kids to begin with. The one thing I love the most is that the children get one on one time with the teacher and then with the assistant each day. So they are learning and experiencing things at their own pace and are learning to listen to a teacher. I just love that school too because there are Bible stories and memory verses each week. It also helps that there success rate in college is outstanding, great self discipline among other wonderful attributes.

Thursday it was absolutely beautiful outside! I took the kids to the doctor because GG has had a cough for almost a week. Yeah it was a virus nothing they can really do for her. But the doctor prescribe something to help her sleep at night...the coughing was keeping her up. Monkey also got a well baby check up and they both got tested for lead. I will find out those results next week. So after that they got ice cream at Mc Donalds for being good at the doctors...and I felt bad about them getting poked for the lead test. We did them both at the same time. They sat on my lap and the nurse did one and the doctor did the other. While I held their hands. They both screamed and I felt super bad. But they only cried for about 30 seconds. That is because they knew mama was right there to hug and comfort them. I hate seeing them hurt. Then we spent the afternoon outside with the neighbors. GG had Cubbies and got her first patch for her vest. She is doing so well keeping the verse for Cubbies and the verse for school straight. Smart little girl, sometimes too smart if you know what I mean!

Then today GG and I went to school and Monkey stayed home with J. They went to the Library and Police department. GG got to eat dirt for snack, smashed oreo cookies, chocolate pudding and a gummie worm. It was D week! Well that is about it.

Ok so today was my very last day of working at the YMCA. I brought all my cleaned shirts in and left the one I wore today there. I filled out my time card one last time. It was sad but this new work environment I think will be great...only 10 kids at a time, organization and structure!!! We got home around 1:30 and had lunch. Now GG is watching the movie from the library and Monkey is napping. When he gets up we are going to a house warming party for a lady J works with and immediately after that we are headed over to our Sunday Schools BBQ. We have to pick up some pop on the way though. So I am going to get myself ready to have some fun :)

Wow I just re-read my last post and it jumped all over the place! Sorry about that. I have a lot of things on my mind and I guess I was thinking faster then I could type and so it made for a jumpy post. J has started the midnight shift and I hate it. So the last couple of days we get up go to work and come to my dad's house for a couple hours so that J can get some sleep. It has been ok because the kids get to see Travis and Becky. Travis goes back to school this weekend so they won't see him for awhile. I am so excited I have gotten replies back from my friends WIU and everyone so far is able to go to the Mom's Night Out!!! It is going to be so much fun. I can't wait. Other than that J planted grass in the area that we worked in the other day so we will see if the grass will grow there or not. I really hope it does because I don't want to pay for someone to do it. The key is doing as much as we can ourselves so that we save money. Well that is about it from this end of the world.

Ok yesterday was a bad day. I left work early because I was in pain. And spent most of the day laying on the couch while the kids watched movies. I hated doing that to them but I really had no other choice.
Today was a great day. My in-laws came over for dinner. Joe and J fixed our shower and now we have awesome water pressure!!! I am super excited and we didn't have to spend any money...the best part. This morning the kids and I went to work and then the fun began. After work we went out to eat with my co-worker Jen and her 3 kids. Then we went to her house and the kids played and I picked out material for the kids coats she is going to make for them. GG's is going to be purple on both sides, the coats are reversible, light purple and then dark purple. It is going to have Cinderella on it. It will be very cute. Then Monkey's is going to be forest green on one side and a dark plaid on the other side. The green side is going to have a soccer ball on the back and a 02 on the front. That was J's soccer number and it was the year Monkey was born! They are going to be so cute in those coats :) Then we got home and we had our company. After they left I had to call my boss and give her the bad news about me not working there anymore. I hate doing stuff like that because I feel like I am letting her down. I just hope they find someone to fill my spot, I know what it is like to be short staffed. That is all from this end of the world.

Ok this is so cool to my world. Last night Monkey slept 8 straight hours!!! It has been a few nights that he has started to sleep longer periods of time and I can tell that my body is getting more rest at night. It makes me so happy. Well today we got up and got ready at no special speed which was nice. I received a phone call from my work telling me that I was suppose to work today and I told my boss that she told me not to come in. I was subbing for someone else and she didn't think she was going to need me, well someone called in sick, of course. I didn't go in. So the kids and I went grocery shopping at Aldi and then at Jewel. I wish we could get everything at Aldi because it is super cheap but they just don't carry everything and somethings aren't good to get there like their bread. We got home and ate lunch then we all took naps. After our nap my dad came over and we went to buy a tv for our house it was his house warming present. We got a 27 inch panasonic flat screen one. We both like it so that is a plus. Then we went out to eat with my dad at Baja Fresh a mexican restaurant, it was pretty good, first time I had eaten there. Then we came home and put the tv away and got the kids to bed. Tomorrow my plan is to go to the cable company and get our cable hooked up sometime soon. Then the rest of the day we will probably spend in the pool!!! Oh yeah I officially excepted the job as a Teacher's Assistant in the preschool department. That should be fun :)

I have exciting news! At least for J and I it is. Monkey slept from 8:45pm to 4am last night. That means I got at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That was super exciting for me. Since we have moved in here the sleep issue with Monkey has been quite difficult. He prefers to sleep in our bed but since we don't have the twin up next to our bed we really don't have much room for him. I don't want him falling out of the bed either. Needless to say last night was AWESOME. Then this morning Monkey woke up at about 6am saying that he had to go pee pee. J was up getting ready for work so he put him on the potty and realized that he had runny poop in his diaper. Poor baby couldn't help it. He sat on the potty and went some more. Then the kids and I went to work. At first it was dead at work then all of a sudden tons of people showed up and it became crazy. Of course, that would happen on the day we are short a staff person. We had a mother come in for the first time to "check it out" and she seemed unhappy. So I asked her if she had any questions, that was a big mistake...she bombarded me with about a million questions about the place. I answered the best I could but some of the questions I had no idea about. I was just glad that she came after Monkey flashed everyone! Then we went to my dad's for some lunch. After lunch we went to Target to take back a present that was a duplicate. I got Monkey the toy that he really really likes. When we got home our neighbors were having a garage sale so I walked over and talked to them. They ended up donating tons of the toys, books and videos that didn't sell to the new preschool. I was very excited about it and I can't wait to tell my new boss on Monday when I tell her that I am taking the job! Then we set up the pool and let the water fill it up while we ate dinner. Then you guessed it we got in!!! Wow was it COLD...brrr. So that didn't last long. Tomorrow will be better once it gets warmer. Our pool is awesome I must say, it is 10 ft by 7 ft. A great birthday present for Monkey!!! Now we are winding down and getting ready for bed. I so hope that we have another night like last ;)

This morning the kids and I headed to work. But instead of taking GG with me to work I dropped her off at Emily's house for a play date. She had so much fun. The rest of the day she talked about having Emily over to our house. I told her that us mom's would work that out!!! She is so happy to be able to have play dates again. Then when we got home we really didn't do much but talk about our landscaping and what we wanted to do with it. But that is stuff for my other journal :) The kids road their bikes outside and we had freeze pops. J got some OT and for dinner we grilled out on our new grill. It is super nice. When people ask what gift we got from our realtor they don't believe us. Amber is just the sweetest, nicest person and I am glad she was our realtor...because she is now our friend. Oh yeah Jen called to find out if I was going to take the job but J and I are still in the process of talking about it. However, it is leaning more towards me taking the job. It will be a set amount of hours a week and closer to our house. I think we would be fine just on J's income but it is nice to be able to have the extra for the unexpected stuff, ya know what I mean? Plus I think the preschool program would be good for the kids. GG would be in the other room and Monkey would be with me. It is only a few hours in the morning. Ok that is all I can think of to write about.

We are still here at J's parents house. This morning after we got up and moving we went to Shore Galleries for J to buy a holster for his secondary weapon. While we were there one of the workers gave the kids each a little flashlight that shines a green light. They loved it. The best part was they gave them to the kids and we didn't have to pay for them. Then we took the kids to the pool that J grew up going too. There was only 5 other people in the pool when we were there. We went when it was only parent and tot time. No kids over the age of 5 allowed in the pool. As we were leaving it started to down pour...good thing we had our swim suites on! Then we came back here and ate lunch then J and Monkey took a nap and GG and I talked, played and ate ice cream :) J's parents came home around 4:30 so the rest of the night we have spent hanging out with them. Oh I think I figured out what is wrong with GG...I think she may be allergic to something on grandma. I am thinking the laundry detergent?!?! Sue said she didn't have any lotion or perfume on. She was fine all day and then they get home and she starts braking out...hmmm makes me wonder. J starts midnights tonight. Kind of bad timing if you ask me. We move into a new house and he is going to be gone at night. I don't think I like that too much. That is it for me.

Man I think I am getting really bad at this thing! So yesterday we went to work got home at noon. I had a doctor's appointment and then we looked at a few houses. We were planning on taking the kids to the King's Yomen at church but we weren't able to get there in time, we were putting another bid on a house. So instead after dinner we took the kids to the Y and went swimming. We had tons of fun. Then off to Wal-mart we went to get a couple things. That was pretty much our day yesterday. Today I went to work, GG had class today we brought snacks that she picked out so she was pretty excited about that. J picked her up after her class and when they got home he noticed that she was hot so he took her temperature and she had a 102. When I got home I finished my cover letter, resume and reference page to turn into the school for the preschool job. We also had to stop at the realtor's to sign some papers before went to see grandma at school. Tonight Monkey, grandma and I went grocery shopping. J stayed with GG because she was sleeping. I really dislike when she is sick because she isn't my fun loving little girl all she wants to do is lay on the couch. But I do love when she snuggles with me! Tomorrow night she is spending the night at her grandparents which she is super excited about :) One more thing...lately when I tell Monkey, "I love you" He responds with "I love you so much!" He is such a sweetie. Well that is it for now.

Ok I got sucked in again. I worked this morning and this afternoon I got a call asking me to come in because the lady that was suppose to work had to take her little boy to the hospital. He had a high fever and a lump on his neck. That is so scary. So I of course told her yes. But you know what if me or my kids were sick I would want someone to cover for me. This morning at work GG went to her preschool class. They made paper chickens today so she has been playing with it, really cute to watch. I talked to the realtor for over an hour today. She was explaining some things to me and talked about certain houses and stuff. GG helped me make dinner tonight...I was hoping that if she helped she would then want to eat it. She has been really picky lately on what she eats. I got her to eat a couple bits. I guess it isn't a huge deal because she eats a really big lunch and she eats breakfast and has snacks during the day. It just frustrates me that she doesn't eat the food I make her. I even let her pick what we eat, oh well. She won't always be like this at least I hope! Tonight at work I worked with a bunch of highschoolers. They are so funny to talk too. Completely different conversations then my co-workers from the morning :) They talked about clothes, zits and school. It brought me back to my high school days. The day timers talk about parenting things. I couldn't believe Monkey today. He slept from 2:15 to 5:15. That is the longest nap he has ever taken and GG took a nap today too so that was why I was able to talk to the realtor for so long! I keep forgetting to mention this about my boy Monkey...he is in the "WHY?" or "What is that?" phase. We ask or tell him something then he says "why" we answer it and then he asks why about our answer and it goes on. Finally we say why not or ask him a question in which he responds "cause" he learned from the best...he big sister. Whenever we ask her a question she says cause, then gives us an answer he just hasn't gotten that far yet. Right now he is singing to me while I type. I think it will be a long night with him because he took such a long nap. I might just put on a movie and try to fall asleep on the couch, yeah like he would let that happen :)

I'm such a sucker! I worked this morning and was asked to work again tonight because they needed help. So I said, "yes". I have a hard time telling people no...my mom-in-law is like that too. Anyway other than that my friend Amanda came over for a couple hours. She is so nice and easy to talk to, plus the kids like her. She has a little boy 9 months old, a real cutie. Tonight is J's last night before he has three days off! I have funny stories of the kids so I could write more...but the bed is calling my name. Later......

This really isn't my fault...the computer and internet have been acting up. Ours still isn't working so I am using my dad's. Yesterday was J last day off his rdo (routine days off) we took GG outside and let her ride her bike. Then we went to play at the park. J made dinner and started a fire! GG and I had hot chocolate :) Yummy!

Today I worked and GG went with me and Monkey and J stayed home. Well they went to the storage to get Monkey's big wheel out and J put it together. Now they both have bikes to ride!!! Monkey was really excited about that. My friend Amanda came over for lunch today and she looked at the kids' scrapbooks...she is going to be doing one for her son. I like to get ideas from other peoples and so does she. Well that is about all I want to write.